by Sofia Grey
Charlie admired AJ’s honesty, but the blunt words hit him like a hammer dropping on his toes. He didn’t know what to say, so for once, he kept his mouth shut.
AJ looked up at him. “Shit, that came out wrong. It’s no reflection on you. You had no idea either. We were both lied to, by people we trusted.”
“Yeah, that’s what Daisy said.”
“I knew she was smart when I hired her.” He smiled, but then it disappeared again.
Charlie braced himself for an interrogation about Daisy. Whether he’d stop behaving like an asshole? Whether he’d treat her right?
“I’ve no clue what to do about Joni,” said AJ. “I mean, I promised her I wouldn’t press charges if she brought him back, and she did. It wasn’t her fault we had an earthquake and everything that happened after. I told Frankie I’ll discuss it with Syl and talk to him later. Joni’s staying with him in Wellington at the moment, and he’s taken her passport in case she tries to skip town.”
“Joni has serious issues, man. If anyone needs help, it’s her.”
“I know. When I think how different this could have turned out, it gives me chills.”
“Me too.”
AJ studied his drink, a frown on his face. “When we were in the water, I swear there was someone else with us.”
Huh? The change in direction was confusing. “What?”
AJ leaned closer and met Charlie’s gaze. “Lucky didn’t believe me, but someone pulled my head out of the water. He shouted to me. He said, come on, Rock God. You’re not quitting now. I didn’t imagine it. When I opened my eyes, I saw you going face down, and I grabbed you.”
Ice trickled down Charlie’s spine. He could do without the reminder of how close they came to dying in that fuckin’ river. He never wanted to see it again. “Okay. So who was it?”
AJ’s gaze was steady. “I think it was Rico. He saved me once before, in the car crash last year. We used to joke that he was Syl’s guardian angel, but you know, I kinda believe in that stuff now.”
Charlie stared back. “Or you imagined it?”
“Maybe. It doesn’t matter now. We made it. Still here.” He held up his bottle to chink against Charlie’s.
“Still here,” Charlie echoed. And he wanted to make the most of every last minute.
*
Juli spent a long time talking to Jordan. She wanted to explain her strange behaviour with Yanni, and the way he’d been manipulating her and playing mind games with her. They also had a de-briefing session with Aiden—currently on crutches—and Tanner, where they talked about the earthquakes.
They’d no idea if the device failed or had been destroyed. They still didn’t know where it had been located. Most of the damage to the region was caused by landslips, made worse by the storm.
Yanni’s prediction that Wellington wouldn’t be damaged was right, but Juli bet this was more due to good luck than anything else. There were no deaths, and the only quake-related injuries—apart from people in Aiden’s car—were minor.
As for Yanni, they could only speculate on where he might go next. Juli told them all she could—that he planned to go to Auckland and charter a boat, maybe head toward Fiji or Tonga. She couldn’t add anything else.
Her biggest question, one nobody could answer, was painfully simple. Where could she find Jack? He’d disappeared again, gone undercover to try to flush out Yanni or find proof of his death. And since she was flying back to the UK at the end of the week, it seemed most likely she’d never see him again.
Jordan didn’t insist she stay at the house with them, and she was grateful for it. She wanted to spend time with her parents, and she found them a nice country hotel on the Kapiti Coast. She booked a room there too. She needed to talk to Philip. She had some difficult things to tell him.
*
Daisy knew a few people were invited to Jordan’s barbecue, but the house was packed out. They ended up drifting from the deck down onto the sands, and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine while the children played together.
Jordan turned off the music and rattled a knife against a champagne bottle, to get everyone’s attention. He stood on the edge of the deck, holding Kate by the hand.
He smiled around at everyone, and Daisy followed his gaze. Charlie, holding her hand. Alex and Sylvie. Mick and some of the roadies. Aiden, Tanner, Darcy, Lucky. Louisa and Marcus. Jon, Anita, and Mindy. Lara and Nick. Kate’s sister with her husband. A tearful looking Juli with her parents. And a whole bunch of people Daisy didn’t know. Quite a gathering.
The only one missing was Jack. Where had he gone? On assignment, according to Tanner, but he wouldn’t be drawn into saying anything else.
“I’m really glad you could all come today,” said Jordan. “It’s a special day for us, and I have a major surprise for Kate.” He smiled at her and eased her closer to him. “Our wedding was a very small and rushed affair, and I wished we’d done it differently. So today, I’m going to renew my wedding vows to Kate, in front of all the people that matter, and tell everyone how much I love her.”
Kate blushed bright red. Her eyes looked bright and damp.
Jordan looked at Alex. “It’s not a proper wedding ceremony, so I don’t have a best man, but I need Alex for a moment.”
Alex walked onto the deck and dug in his pocket. He pulled an agonised face to the crowd, and pointed to his pocket, before shrugging. He was hamming things up, like he did on stage. He patted each pocket in turn as though searching for something, and then—with a huge grin—alighted on a small box, which he handed to Jordan. It was the right size to hold a couple of rings.
Everyone was silent, as Jordan opened the box and slipped a ring onto Kate’s finger. He handed her a second ring, which she slid onto his finger. The hint of tears gave way to a full-blown torrent, but she had a smile from ear to ear.
“Kate,” said Jordan, his voice ringing out, “I promise to love you forever, to stand by and protect you and our growing family, and to thank you for making me the happiest man alive.”
Tears blurred Daisy’s vision, and she squeezed Charlie’s hand. They all listened as Kate hesitantly gave a vow back to Jordan, and then they aahed as he swept her into his arms and kissed her.
As the sun slid down into the sea, they partied, and celebrated life, love, and happiness.
SATURDAY 17 MARCH
Chapter Forty-One
Juli adjusted the fine mesh scarf around her neck, ready to pull it up over her face if the mosquitoes became too much of a pain. The early morning was still cool, but visiting Peru in March meant she caught the tail end of the rainy season. Mosquitoes were a small price to pay, to ensure she wasn’t here in the peak tourist period. The hotel in Cuzco had been fine, a one-night stop on her way to the epic city of Machu Picchu—her last destination. On this trip, at least.
With her backpack securely beneath her, she settled down to update her journal as she waited for the bus to Poroy Station, where she’d catch the train to Machu Picchu.
March 16th
days w/out Jack = 55
On my way to MP today, taking the Backpackers Train from Poroy. Cuzco is busy. Looking forward to seeing open spaces again. No word from Jean-Luc, but had an email from Marcus Reeve, inviting me to a BBQ when I arrive in Houston.
She heard the bus rumbling in, and closed her notebook and stowed it in the bulging side pocket of her backpack, along with the pen. She had cash ready for the fare, and as soon as she found a window seat, she pulled out the journal again and stared at it.
This was a journey she’d talked about for years. One day she’d explore South America. It was up there along with one day she’d explore New Zealand. She could cross that one off, though her exploration had been pretty limited.
Juli had no intentions of going back there. Too many bad memories. And some good ones.
The bus wasn’t due to leave for another ten minutes. She leaned back in her seat, adjusted her hat low over her eyes, and pretended to doze. She didn’t allow her
self the luxury of thinking about Jack often, but sitting on a bus was too vivid a reminder of how they met.
Finishing with Philip was painful, for him more than Juli, and she’d spent the next two and a half months searching for Jack. But he’d vanished. She kept in touch with Jean-Luc. They spoke most weeks, and he promised to let her know when he had news. Except there hadn’t been any. And her last call from Jean-Luc had been to warn her he was going on assignment and wouldn’t be in touch for a few weeks.
She’d even arranged a transfer to the Houston office, in the hope she’d be closer to Jack’s home base, and therefore nearby when he eventually surfaced. It was just a case of waiting.
He could be anywhere. In her last week in New Zealand, she spent hours staring at faces, looking at random people, in the hope that she’d see him. Every bus and train journey, every flight, she looked for him. And she still looked, although even the most optimistic part of her had to admit chances of spying him in South America were extremely slim.
Those first few days after he left...she was in pieces. Her calls and text messages to him went unanswered, and even though Jean-Luc gave her an email address for Jack, she never saw a read receipt for the long email she sent. It had been a last-ditch attempt. A Hail Mary pass. She told him everything. All about her non-relationship with Philip, and how she broke up with him when he arrived in New Zealand. How she couldn’t think of any man but Jack. How she wanted him to forgive her for not being honest. How she wanted him to love her as she loved him. Juli put her heart, her soul, and every ounce of hope she could muster into that email but like all the other attempts at contacting him, it fell on deaf ears.
The bus filled up around her. A small child wailed, a dog yapped outside, and there was a buzz of voices as people took their seats. She kept her eyes closed, the journal open on her knee.
She felt the heavy thump as someone took the seat next to her. They banged against her foot as they settled. She frowned and shifted her feet out of the way, cursing at clumsy passengers under her breath.
It reminded her again of Jack. She felt a twinge in her chest. A pang for him that remained as strong today as it was two months ago. What would happen if she opened her eyes to find him sitting next to her? She played this game frequently.
The bus eased forward, and Juli opened her eyes. From her slumped position, the hat low over her face, she stared at her neighbour’s legs. Strong, thick thighs, encased in denim. So like Jack’s. His body was so hard. So muscled. Making love with him was incredible. He possessed her body. Demanded that she give him everything. Nobody else came even close. She sighed, lifted her head, and sneaked a quick glance at her neighbour.
Dark-blue eyes twinkled back, a smile flitting across a face so achingly familiar that she blinked in surprise.
The heat had finally gotten to her. Not only did she dream about him, but she was now hallucinating him as well.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
Juli stared and reached out to touch his face. He was real. She nodded, speech deserting her, and he smiled fully.
He grinned with a mischievous flash of his eyes. “What would happen if I kissed you now and asked you to play along?”
She ran an anxious tongue across suddenly dry lips. “Why don’t you try it?”
All her dreams came true in an instant. He leaned into her and wound one arm behind her back. Catching her neck with one hand, he caressed her face with the other, as his lips swooped to claim hers.
She may have moaned a little. She certainly grabbed the front of his T-shirt and bunched the fabric under her fingers. He smelled of apples again, his lips soft and warm, and his fingers gentle as they stroked her skin.
Juli pulled back. “Where have you been, Jack? I looked everywhere for you.”
He shrugged, not taking his gaze from her face. “I’m here now.”
“Yes”—she smiled—“you are.” But— “How did you know I’d be here today? Even my parents don’t know my travel schedule.”
“Ah.” He had the grace to look bashful. “I... umm... cheated a bit there.”
She pretended to frown, although she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Cheated? Like how?”
His hand still rested against her face, his thumb caressing her jawline. “I asked a friend to trace your credit card movements, and tracked you to Cuzco. Machu Picchu seemed like an obvious destination. And here you are.”
“And here I am,” she echoed softly. There was so much she had to say to him. So much to explain. “Did you see my email? Or my text messages?”
He took hold of both her hands. “I have a confession to make.” He sounded solemn, his eyes intent and watchful. “I deleted the messages without reading them. I didn’t see the email for a couple weeks, but I was so pissed at you, that I didn’t read it. Not at first.”
“But you did?”
“Eventually. And I figured we’d been apart too long, and then I kinda worried that you might not wanna see me again.” He shrugged. “I didn’t find Yanni, if you were wondering. I didn’t do much apart from think about you.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you either.”
“That’s good. So. I was hoping we might spend some time together, You know—if you want to? I’d really like to,” he said.
In answer, she kissed his knuckles, then disentangled her hands and wound them around his neck instead. She pressed her lips close to his ear. “I can’t think of anything I would like more, except maybe spending a lot of time with you. We have so much catching up to do.” She pressed a kiss onto his warm strong neck. “I love you, Jack. Please don’t leave me again.”
He wrapped his arms so tightly around her, she thought he’d squeeze every molecule of air from her body. “Remember when I was in the hospital and you pretended to be my wife, so the nurse would let you in?” he asked.
“How could I forget?”
“Well, I kinda liked that idea. Life’s short, and we need to wring every last drop out of it. And I want to spend my life with you.” He leaned his forehead against hers and drew a quick breath. “Je t’aime. Veux-tu m’épouser?”
His accent was atrocious, but the meaning was everything. I love you. Will you marry me?
Her heart was going to burst in an explosion of happiness. “Oui, Jack. Yes, a thousand times over. I want to spend my life with you too.”
There was plenty of time to tell him about the Houston transfer, although—knowing Jack—he probably knew already. Right now, she had other things to think about, like kissing her new fiancé.
The End
