Yours to Keep

by Diana Fraser

  “You weren’t at the café,” he said. His voice was gentler now his eyes were on her. She swallowed.

  “I took a few days leave from the café to be at Belendroit while Dad recovered from an operation.” There was a silence. He obviously wasn’t the chatty sort. “And I’ve been doing some painting.” Again another silence which even the usually loquacious Jim didn’t fill. “Hm…” She shrugged. “And stuff like that.” She frowned. Wasn’t anyone else going to say anything? “So… you wanted to see me about something?”

  David looked startled, as if waking up from a dream. “Yes! Sorry, I, um, wanted to apologize. For the other day.”

  “What for?”

  “You asked me to dinner and I declined. I was wrong.”

  Amber ignored her father’s gasp and mutterings as he stomped back into the kitchen, pulling the door closed behind him.

  “You were wrong?” she repeated. “You seemed pretty certain.”

  “I was. I didn’t want to have dinner at your place. I’m very particular about where I eat. But I would like to take you to dinner.”

  “Oh.” She screwed up her face a moment, while she digested the fact that he had suggested that her house wasn’t sanitary enough to eat in, but that he still wanted to be with her. She met those green eyes again and tried not to weaken. “Well, that’s a little odd.”

  It was his turn to frown. “In what way?”

  “In the way that you’ve just insulted me by saying that either my cooking, or my home, isn’t good enough for you to eat in.”

  “It’s not. I lead a very regimented life, Miss Connelly. I exercise hard, I eat carefully, and I work.”

  She tried not to laugh. But one glance at those stern green eyes and the laughter died. This dude wasn’t joking. “Sounds very… serious.”

  His frown lowered, darkening those eyes. It was his turn to shrug. The movement didn’t look right on him. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  She laughed out loud then. And then her laughter faded as she realized he meant it. He really was being serious about being serious. “Well.” She shrugged. “Sometimes people like to have fun. You must make time to have fun, surely?”

  His frown didn’t lift. “Miss Connelly, I’m serious about my life. I’ve had to be. And I’m serious about dinner.”

  Amber had never met anyone as intense. It did something strange to her head and her stomach. Or maybe that was simply because of the fit of his shirt around his shoulders and arms, and those green eyes. “Goodness!”

  “So, would you care to join me for dinner on Friday at St Augustine’s?”

  “St Augustine’s?” She thought she’d misheard. She’d only ever been there once and that had been by mistake. She certainly hadn’t eaten there.

  “Yes, that’s right, St Augustine’s. It appears to be the best restaurant around here.”

  She blinked twice. Was he kidding? It was the best of the best; it was so ‘best’ that famous people even made a detour from Christchurch to dine there. She swallowed. “Do they do vegan?”

  “I’ve already checked. Yes, they do.”

  Her heart dropped. She kinda hoped they wouldn’t. But her heart didn’t drop too far because she was struck by the fact that (a) he knew she was vegan and (b) he’d checked.

  “You knew I was vegan?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “I asked that young woman you always speak to in the café. The tall blonde who sits with the man who glares at me.”

  “Maddy? You asked Maddy?”

  “I don’t know her name.”

  “You didn’t check that then?”

  “No. I only wanted to find out about you.”

  A weird sound escaped her mouth on a sigh—something between a whimper and a laugh.

  “So, would you like to come to dinner with me?”

  “Well, yes, I would. Thank you. That would be nice.” She smiled, and his face lit up with an earth-shattering smile which reflected her own. More than nice, she thought as she felt its effect in every single part of her body. Talk about an atomic smile. During weeks of coming to the café, he’d never smiled. But it was like the sun had burst through cloud, not only lighting up the world but making you feel glad you were alive.

  He thrust his hands in his trouser pockets and rolled back on his heels, betraying his relief. She liked that.

  “Good. So I’ll pick you up around eight?”

  “That would be lovely, thank you.” It seemed Amber had become Lizzie Bennett to David’s Darcy. She half-wondered if David would seek her father’s permission, too.

  He pressed his lips together as if to stop himself from smiling. It worked. “Good. Shall I pick you up from here?”

  “Yes. I’m staying a few days more.”

  “Good. I’ll see your father, then.”

  “What? Why?” He had to be kidding! But he was already out the door, striding down the hall to the kitchen where Jim Connelly was crashing around as if he were desperately trying not to hear their conversation.

  “Mr. Connelly?”

  David stopped suddenly and Amber nearly bumped into him. She exchanged surprised looks with her father.

  “Yes?” She’d never seen her father look so alarmed with any of her, or her siblings’, friends before.

  David strode forward and held out his hand. “Good to meet you, sir.”

  Relieved that he wasn’t about to have some unwelcome revelation foisted on him, Jim gripped his hand in a very firm handshake. “And you, David.” It seemed her father had come to the same decision about his name as she did. “And call me Jim.”

  “Will do, Jim. I’ll see you on Friday, then.”

  The alarmed look returned to Jim’s face. “Friday?” he repeated faintly.

  Amber took pity on him. “David is going to pick me up. We’re going to dinner at St Augustine’s on Friday.”

  “St Augustine’s?” Jim looked from one to the other.

  “That’s right, sir.” David corrected himself. “Jim. I’ll come by at eight.”

  He turned to Amber. “Goodbye, Amber. And thank you for agreeing to come.”

  Her heart nearly stopped when he said her name. The second syllable came out like a little puff, causing his beautiful lips to pout slightly. She cleared her throat. “My pleasure.” She was sure it would be.

  His lips curved into another of his rare smiles and she lifted her eyes to his. The smile lingered in the green of his eyes long after his lips resumed their usual stern shape.

  David glanced at Jim and nodded before turning and descending the steps with a purposeful tread. She liked how sure he always was—so opposite to herself. She sighed as he got into his dark blue Jaguar and drove carefully across the potholed drive. Amber winced as the car bounced and crunched over a rutted area which had suffered at the hands of her habit of parking on boggy ground, now dried hard, and an errant tree root. The car disappeared among the trees which lay between the house and the road. She waited as she heard him pull out smoothly onto the highway and drive off towards Akaroa.

  She shook her head in disbelief. Green-Eyes, David, here to see her. She twisted her mouth into a grin. He must like her. She called for the dogs who’d trotted after the car and sat staring at where it had disappeared into the trees as if they, too, couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

  She walked back to her father, who still held a kettle in his hands. She took it from him with a grin and went inside the house. After a moment Jim and the dogs followed.

  “Did he…”

  “Did he what, Dad?”

  “Did he just call me Sir Jim?”

  Amber burst out laughing and continued to laugh as she placed the kettle on the kitchen bench. “I think he did, although I don’t think he meant to.”

  Jim grunted. “I doubt there are many things that young man does without meaning to. He’s, well… He’s quite unlike any of your other young men, Amber.”

  Amber flicked the switch on the
kettle and turned to face her father. “That, my dear father, can only be a good thing.”

  “Yes, indeed.” Jim replied, but Amber noticed he didn’t look convinced. But he would be, or at least she hoped he would be, because Amber had never been as attracted, or as intrigued, by a man in all her life.

  Amber ran out of the sea toward Flo’s Backpacker’s Lodge.

  She grabbed her towel and bag and opened the small gate that stood between Flo’s back verandah and the beach. The main living room was already crowded with people. She shouldn’t have stopped for a swim, but she couldn’t help herself. Deferring her gratification wasn’t her strong suit.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Amber mouthed to Flo as she sat cross-legged on the floor. The others shifted along for her. Flo smiled and looked up at the long-haired, earnest man standing up. He swallowed and began talking.

  “Thanks to Flo for letting us use her place. But we all know why we’re here.”

  “Too right!” someone called out. “They can’t keep on getting away with it!”

  “Precisely. Sterling Property Holdings are true to form and continue to ignore our protests about demolishing historic houses in central Christchurch.”

  “They called Tiritea a slum!” said Flo.

  “It’s not a slum,” said Amber, looking indignantly from Flo to the speaker. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is beautiful,” affirmed the young man, smiling at Amber. “And it’s important. It’s the birthplace of one of our foremost citizens—someone who we have to thank for all the past work on saving our beautiful land—and is a prime example of early colonial architecture.”

  “And EarthFoods wouldn’t find anywhere else as cheap to operate from.”

  There were mutterings of agreement to this. EarthFoods was an organic health foods cooperative with little money to spend on fighting the huge conglomerates that wanted to develop the old, neglected quarter of Christchurch. EarthFoods’ major shareholder was Amber, who’d used the inheritance she’d received from her mother to keep the company afloat.

  “So what can we do?” asked Amber.

  “Ah,” the man said eagerly, leaning forward toward Amber. “That’s where you come in.”

  “Me? What can I do? I don’t have any more money, I’m afraid. You want me to bake?”

  “No, I want you to create your art.”

  Amber blinked and shook her head in confusion. “I don’t see how my little paintings can help.”

  “That’s because they’re little. What I’m suggesting is something much, much bigger.” He looked around at the small group. “What we need is more of Amber’s rainbows except on a larger scale. It’s Amber’s rainbows which have drawn the little attention we’ve garnered. And we need to double down on that.”

  Amber jumped up as a vision of what she could do filled her head. “I could do one large rainbow on the side of the building, with birds over it, and fish under it and hills, rolling out behind it all.”

  The man sat back in his chair with a big grin. “Exactly. A vision of nature which fits with conservation and fits with EarthFoods’ ethos. And, more to the point, a vision which will catch the public’s attention. Perhaps then we’ll get enough support to stop the destruction of Christchurch’s heritage buildings.”

  He sat back as people cheered and clapped. Someone popped open a bottle of elderflower champagne and poured it into the tumblers which Flo had brought out. Flo was listening as the original speaker expounded on the importance of their mission. She rolled her eyes at Amber who nodded towards the door. Flo excused herself and joined Amber outside in the rear garden which fronted onto the road.

  “I can’t wait to get started on those rainbows!”

  “It’s illegal though, Amber. I mean, you guys have a watertight lease on the building. But that doesn’t cover painting.”

  “It’ll be fine. No one’s ever gone to prison for painting a rainbow,” said Amber, peering around the corner of the house.

  “You’ve got a point there. And, besides, it’ll create the kind of publicity which they don’t want.”

  “Ha! Peaceful protest at its most effective. Sterling Properties is scared we’re going to win over public opinion. And we can’t fail to with rainbows! No one can resist a rainbow.”

  Flo grimaced. “Don’t count on it.”

  Amber jumped up and stood in the only place in the garden where the road and pavement could be seen. She turned to smile at Flo, who looked at her suspiciously.

  “Why are you so fidgety?”

  “No reason,” Amber said, pushing open the gate and looking up and down the street. She relaxed. There was no sign of him, so she hadn’t missed him. He ran this stretch of road like clockwork.

  “Are you waiting for someone?”

  Amber blushed and shrugged. “Not exactly waiting…” More like hoping, she thought to herself. “Anyway, I wanted to know what your reaction was to the news.”

  “What news?”

  Amber’s heart sank. She’d known Gabe and Maddy were having dinner with Flo last week, and so had told Gabe to tell her. He must have chickened out.

  Amber licked her bottom lip uncertainly. She raised her eyebrows and grimaced a little. “About Rob?”

  Her delicate approach didn’t appear to do anything to ease the blow. Amber could see it in Flo’s face—the pain was heartfelt. Amber reached out to Flo. “Oh, Flo, I’m so sorry.”

  Flo flung open her hands. “Nothing to be sorry about. I…” She trailed off. The defensive expression fell and she jumped up, turning her back on Amber in a way which Amber recognized. It was what Flo did when she wanted to hide her feelings. But Amber wasn’t one to let someone grieve on their own.

  She put her arm around Flo, pressing her head to hers. “It was a long time ago. I’m sure things will be fine.”

  Flo twisted her face away from Amber. “Fine. Absolutely fine.” She placed the emphasis on the last word.

  “I know it’s not what you wanted. Fine is nothing compared to what you two had.”

  Flo breathed in deeply. “Fine is all I want, believe me, Amber. Your big brother and me are over, long gone, dead as a moa. It was just a bit of a shock, that’s all. I didn’t think he’d return. Thought his big life in London would keep him there forever.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. He can have all the beautiful girls he likes there.”

  Amber felt the bitterness in Flo’s words as if they were a knife to her own heart. Her eyes smarted. “He was young and stupid, Flo. And I’m sure he regrets what he did with all his heart.”

  “His heart?” scoffed Flo. “That’s a good one.” Then she huffed at the sight of Amber’s tears. “Look, I’m sorry. I know he’s your big brother but he was a bastard to me and I can’t say I’ve waited with bated breath for him to return to Akaroa.” She sighed, and dead-headed a rose with unnecessary force. “Still, I guess I can lie low for a few weeks until he returns to the big smoke.”

  “Oh, no! He’s not coming for a holiday, Flo. He’s here to stay; he’s back for good.”

  This was obviously too much for Flo. She walked to the end of the garden by the road and Amber’s gaze followed. Just then she saw what she’d been keeping a watchful gaze for. A head—a very handsome head with short cropped hair and a strong profile—bobbing up over the top of the high fence at regular intervals. Amber ran up to the front gate just as the bobbing head reached it.

  “Hi!” she called out.

  David stopped abruptly. “Amber. What are you doing here?”

  She laughed. “Visiting a friend. It’s not so unusual. I do live near here.”

  He followed her glance toward her house and nodded. “It’s just that you’re usually at the café.”

  “Afternoon off.” She breathed deeply of him—a beautifully clean, outdoorsy sweaty smell which made her mouth water. It nearly made her lose focus, nearly made her forget what she’d wanted to say. But as he jiggled on his feet as if to run away, she focused. “
I was about to go to the beach. Do you want to come?”

  His gaze remained on her face. She pulled the towel from around her neck, leaving her upper half clad only in the brief, damp bikini. It was revealing, but then she often went skinny dipping at Belendroit, much to her family’s irritation. They didn’t seem to understand how joyous it was to feel the cool water and moonlight on your skin, as if you were a part of nature.

  But still his gaze didn’t falter. Her heart plummeted. Didn’t he like her?

  “No, I have other things to do.” His expression didn’t change. She had no idea what he was thinking. He stepped back a few paces and it was all she could do not to jump the gate, and him. “But I’ll pick you up on Friday at eight. Right?”

  “Right,” she said, echoing his business-like manner. “Definitely right.”

  “Right,” he repeated. “See you then.”

  She walked out the gate and watched him run off without a backward glance. She turned to see Flo leaning on the fence watching them, her good humor returned.

  “What was that all about?”

  Amber sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s hot, right? And he’s asked me out. But that’s not like until the weekend—”

  “And waiting isn’t your strong suit.”

  “Exactly. So I thought”—she shrugged and plucked at her bikini top—“that he might like to join me at the beach.

  “Ah, so you thought you’d lure him with your womanly curves to the beach for some tumbling in the sand.”

  “You know me so well,” Amber replied with a smile. “But he’s not interested.” She watched as David turned up a nearby street. “Hang on a minute! Where’s he going?” She squinted into the light as she watched David let himself into a front door with a key. She pointed to him and turned to Flo. “Does he live there?” She looked back as the door closed on him. “I didn’t know he lived there! Flo! What do you know?”

  “Not a lot. I know that the old cottage was knocked down and that new modern house was built in its place. And I also know that you’ve got it right—that man is definitely hot. Scorching in fact.”