The Aussie Next Door

by Stefanie London

  Jace knew him in passing, enough to know that he worked from the Bright Bluff Café every Wednesday morning without fail. Jace had seen him here a few times when he’d stopped in for a coffee if he was having a particularly hard time with Hermit vs. World.

  “Thanks for doing this,” Angie said. “I didn’t want to sit here all morning by myself like a creep.”

  “Always better to creep in pairs, right?” he quipped.

  She snorted and took a sip of her coffee. “Smart-ass.”

  “What exactly are you looking for with these guys?” he asked, his eyes lingering on the front door, which tinkled with a tiny bell each time a customer came or went. “Other than a fast track to marriage.”

  “The same thing anyone wants in a relationship. Someone they can trust, someone who makes them feel good about themselves. Someone who makes them feel alive.”

  “I never understood that. Isn’t the fact we’re all breathing enough to make us feel alive?”

  Whenever he used to say things like this to Julia, she would roll her eyes and call him an emotionless robot. But he was genuinely curious. This mythical “alive” feeling that people chased was put in the same confounding bucket as the fact that people talked about wanting to “find” themselves.

  It didn’t make a lick of sense.

  Angie cocked her head. “It’s not really as literal as that. It’s more… How should I put it? You know that feeling you get when you meet someone who truly understands you? When you don’t have to explain yourself all the time? They just…see you, all the good bits and the bad bits, and they accept it all.”

  Jace wasn’t sure he’d ever experienced that. People were always a bit confused by him—by his need for solitude and privacy. By his need for schedules. His general cluelessness and advanced ability to generate awkward moments. Oh, and the fact that he wasn’t inspired by any ridiculous motivational sayings that skirted the edge of logic.

  “You come from such a loving family, it’s probably not something you’ve had to deal with,” she said, dumping a little sugar into her coffee and wading her spoon through the frothy layer on top. “I always felt like a misfit growing up. Like I didn’t belong. I want someone who makes me feel like I do belong, like I’m wanted and cherished. And I want to be able to give him that feeling, too.”

  His chest tightened. So feeling alive was feeling wanted and understood. That was something he could get behind. But before he could respond, a familiar figure walked through from the back of the café and took a seat at the spot with the laptop.

  “The eagle has landed,” Jace said, stifling a laugh as he picked up his coffee. “I repeat, the eagle has landed.”

  “I never knew you were such a joker.” Angie’s gaze shifted to the bar, where Theo Hasikos sat by the espresso machine. Without him even having to ask, a coffee materialized in front of him, and his empty cup was whisked away. “Okay, research mode engaged.”

  “What are we going to do, watch him work all morning?”

  “I want to see what he does, how he talks to people.” Her eyes were still trained on Theo’s back, and Jace shifted in his seat. He wanted her eyes back on him; he wanted that sunshine gaze making him warm on the inside. “You can learn a lot about a person by the way they speak to serving staff.”

  “And how are you going to tell if there’s chemistry?”

  She lifted one shoulder in a cheeky shrug. “I’ll have to make an excuse to go talk to him.”

  “Is this how people date?”

  “No idea. I haven’t been on a date in years before yesterday’s disaster.” Angie chuckled. “I am woefully inexperienced.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Why on earth did you tell her that? This isn’t about you.

  He leaned back in his chair and let his gaze drift around the café. There was a big table with five women and about as many small children. Another table held two women wearing the uniform of one of the local banks. There were several lone coffee drinkers, all with laptops set up in front of them. Free Wi-Fi tended to attract people with work to do who were looking for a change of scenery.

  Theo chatted with the female barista. Jace had seen her the last few times he’d dropped in; she was a newer resident. Looking to make friends and fit in, like Angie. If he wasn’t mistaken, her name was Felicity.

  “When was the last time you went on a date?” Angie asked.

  “Define date.” Yeah, stalling was not going to work for this conversation. This would give her further proof that Jace was definitely not the kind of guy to put on her list. Not that she needed proof, mind you. She’d outright told him she wouldn’t be knocking down his door to change his mind about marriage the night of the twilight party.

  But that was before the almost kiss.

  God, his subconscious was such a pain in the ass sometimes.

  “Two adults going out with the purpose of getting to know each other in the hopes it might turn into something romantic.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “How else would I define it? Unless you happen to be more of a casual-sex kind of guy.”

  Ha! If that wasn’t the world’s biggest joke, he didn’t know what was. Most guys his age would have been happy to screw their way around the coast, but that wasn’t Jace’s style. Never had been. Until the Julia fiasco, he’d thought himself a relationship guy. Turned out that wasn’t him, either.

  So what did you call a guy who didn’t want to sleep around but wasn’t looking for a relationship?

  Painfully celibate.

  “It’s been a while.” He raked a hand through his hair, wanting to avoid the intense curiosity radiating off Angie while she looked at him. She appeared to have forgotten all about Theo. “I don’t really date.”

  “But you’ve been in a relationship before?”

  “Yeah, once.”

  “How long did it last?”

  Too long. “Eight years.”

  Angie blinked. Clearly that wasn’t the answer she’d anticipated. “Whoa. That’s a serious long-term relationship.”

  If only she knew. He’d had the tux, the diamond, the vows written in his neat handwriting that were more personal than anything he’d ever shared in his whole entire life. He’d known love…at least he’d thought so at the time.

  “Theo’s leaving.” Jace caught sight of Theo packing up his things, a takeaway coffee cup in hand. Saved by the bell! “That was quick.”

  “Should we follow him?”

  “Doesn’t that seem a little stalker-ish?”

  Angie bit down on her lip. Her eyes sparkled, and she drained half her coffee in one long swig. “So long as we’re outside, it’s a public place, right?”

  Anything to stop the discussion about his own dating habits. “Sounds legal to me.”

  He knocked his own coffee back and pushed up from his chair. They made it out the front door a few seconds after Theo, in time to see him round a corner. “I feel like I should be wearing a fake mustache and hiding behind a newspaper.”

  “Or we could be dressed like shrubs. That’s how they do it in Scooby-Doo.” Angie grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. There was laughter in her voice and in her eyes, and damn if he wasn’t having fun himself. Only she could convince him to go on such a silly adventure and make him actually enjoy himself.

  They hurried along, keeping a few paces behind the unsuspecting Theo. They walked past the bank, past the Wattle & Oat bakery, past the gourmet grocery store run by Mr. and Mrs. Giannopoulos. Where was Theo going?

  The street thinned out—bustling shop fronts giving way to residential buildings. The houses here were small and square, like a child’s drawing of a house. Two windows, triangle for a roof.

  “If he turns around, he’s going to see us,” Jace said. “How far do you want to follow him?”

  “A little longer. I know he’s not going home, because
he lives off Ocean View Drive.” Angie chuckled when Jace raised a brow. “What? It’s a fancy house, and it stands out. Everybody knows where everybody lives around here.”

  It was true. Patterson’s Bluff was a typical Aussie coastal town—beautiful views, zero privacy.

  “Wait, it looks like he’s stopping.” Angie laid a hand on Jace’s arm.

  Theo paused in front of a little place that was charming, if a little in need of some TLC. Peeling paint and cracked steps showed the property’s age. But it had been decorated with cheerful pots of flowers and a funny statue of a gnome. He opened his satchel and pulled out an envelope. It wasn’t a business envelope, more like the kind that would contain a card, since it was red and large. He slipped the envelope into the mailbox and then turned around, causing Jace and Angie to hurry along as though they hadn’t been watching. But Theo didn’t even seem to notice them.

  “It would be bad of me to snoop, wouldn’t it?” Angie said, her mischievous eyes glowing bright. “For research purposes, of course.”

  “Stealing people’s mail is a crime.”

  “But it’s not a crime to look, is it?” She waited until the coast was clear, and then she scuttled over to the mailbox like some giddy schoolgirl. “Keep a look out.”

  Rolling his eyes, Jace awkwardly kept watch. What the hell was he supposed to do if someone came past? Flap his arms and create a diversion?

  Angie peered into the mailbox and tried to angle her head to see better. After a moment, she stood up. “Who’s Felicity?”

  “The barista at Bright Bluff Café.” He sighed. “Now I know why he goes there so often. She was working today.”

  Jace would bet his last ten dollars that it was Felicity’s regular shift. Theo Hasikos was writing love letters.

  “I can’t very well chase a guy who’s in love with someone else,” Angie said with a sigh.

  “It could be anything. Maybe it’s her birthday?”

  “Then why not give her the card in person if he just saw her?” She shook her head. “I know a secret crush when I see one. I have to strike him off the list.”

  Two down. Both Theo and Elijah were cut. “Who’s next?”

  Angie shifted on the spot and wouldn’t meet his eyes. The evasion made him suddenly nervous, like intuition had wrapped a cold hand around his heart. There weren’t that many eligible bachelors in Patterson’s Bluff. Not the kind of guys who were the settling-down type anyway.

  “Angie? Who’s next?”

  “I don’t know.” Her big whisky brown eyes tilted up to his, and it was like a fist to his solar plexus. “Well…your brother seemed interested when he invited me to the twilight party.”

  Shit. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

  Bloody Trent. He loved his brother, he really did. But the guy seemed destined to get anything that Jace wanted for himself…without even trying. That was possibly the worst part about it—there wasn’t a bad bone in Trent’s body. Every time he won, it was without any sweat. Everybody loved him. Old ladies, babies, animals of all descriptions. Hell, even the mean old cat that lived down the street had loved Trent when they were growing up.

  But how would things fare for Angie? Her affections would be returned, of course. But not in the way she wanted. Not in the way she needed. Trent wasn’t really the settling-down kind. He was all about living life to the max, and enjoying every moment like it was his last, and whatever other crap was likely to be printed on the side of an energy drink.

  That didn’t include a committed relationship and speedy trip down the aisle.

  And if Trent screwed her around, promising more than he was willing to give…then what? He’d have to stop talking to his own brother, be exiled from the family, become the town pariah, and live out the rest of his days with his cacti.

  A sick feeling settled in his stomach. He couldn’t let the two of them get together—it was a disaster waiting to happen. But what was the alternative? She had six weeks to go. Who the heck fell in love and got married that quickly?

  Nobody.

  “We should change the subject,” Angie said. The air felt as though it had thickened around them—filled with the kind of tension that was like an itch in a hard-to-reach place.

  It burrowed under his skin. Jace’s mind spun as he searched for a safe topic.

  “So, uh…we’ve got a celebration next week.” He kept his gaze ahead of him, trying to make sure he didn’t give too much away to Angie. If she really was interested in his brother, then he had to keep his jealousy to himself. No way would he let her see it. “It’s the last weekend before school starts.”

  “What’s the significance of that?”

  “Well, one, it’s a long weekend. But two, it’s something that we’ve always celebrated as a family. Like one last hurrah before ‘real life’ starts again.”

  “Enjoying summer until the very last bit.” Angie smiled. “Very Australian. What do you usually do?”

  “Catch some sun, drink beer, and have a barbecue. Then we play backyard sports because my brothers can’t handle a day without some kind of competition.”

  “Sounds fun. So it’s a family thing?”

  Hmm. An innocent question, or was this all about her scoring an invite so she could hang out with Trent?

  Wow, cynical. Maybe she doesn’t want to spend a long weekend on her own? Don’t be an asshole.

  “Would you like to join us?” he asked. “We get the whole family together at my parents’ house every year. It’s a tradition.”

  Was it his imagination or did she blush at the last part about the “whole family” being there? “I don’t want to impose.”

  “You’ve met my family, right? Open-door policy.”

  She laughed. “Your parents are always taking in strays.”

  “You’re not a stray, Angie.” He hated her thinking of herself that way. “And you’re officially invited.”

  The smile that lit up her face could have powered a rocket to the moon. “Really?”

  “Absolutely. It’s a Walters rule—nobody is allowed to be left out.”

  She nudged him gently with her elbow. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  She looked at him for a long moment, as if thinking carefully about what she wanted to say next. “For being you.”

  As they walked home, he thought about the plans for the long weekend. Maybe it would be good for Angie to come and spend more time with Trent, and then she would see for herself that they weren’t a good match.

  Either that, or she’d fall totally head over heels, and his invite would blow up in his face.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The last weekend of summer seemed to have a few traditions associated with it, at least in the Walters family. Of course, there was a barbecue involved—although Angie learned pretty quickly after arriving in Australia that “throwing a shrimp on the barbie” wasn’t a thing, because Australians didn’t use the word “shrimp.”

  They called them “prawns.”

  Unsure what to wear, Angie had thrown on a pair of denim shorts and a T-shirt she’d picked up while traveling earlier in her trip. It was pale blue and had a sun printed across the front, which felt very on theme. Now she was walking down the street toward Jace’s parents’ house. He’d gone over earlier with the dogs to help set up for the day’s festivities.

  And while he’d said his parents had an open-door policy, she wondered for a moment if maybe she was intruding. But hanging out with Jace’s big, lovable family was the kind of thing she’d been chasing since forever. She couldn’t pass it up.

  Or should that be Trent’s big, lovable family?

  Everything was so tangled up. Why had she even said that to Jace? It wasn’t like Trent really did anything for her. But part of her had wanted to see how he’d react—would he crack and admit that he was attracted
to her? She’d been sure he would kiss her and then…poof! The man gave enough mixed signals for a Katy Perry song.

  Sucking in a breath, she headed up to the front door and pushed the doorbell. There was a commotion inside—dogs barking and people laughing and music playing and feet running around. A second later, the door swung open, and Angie was greeted by Olivia, Jace’s younger sister.

  “Hello! Welcome to the Walters family home.” Olivia gave her a quick squeeze. Like the rest of the Walters siblings, she had bright-blue eyes and tanned skin. Only her hair was darker than her brothers’. “I was so happy when Jace mentioned you were coming! It’s always nice to have another woman in this house, helps even out the testosterone a bit.”

  This was exactly what she loved about Jace’s family—how kind and open they were. They would have done this for anyone, because whoever came into their home was considered one of them.

  “Mum usually picks up a few things each year from the Reject Shop to make us laugh. One year we had this giant inflatable beach ball, but we thought that might scare the dogs. Oh, and she always bakes something amazing.” Olivia accompanied Angie through the house. “This year she outdid herself.”

  The house was totally empty, but a big sliding door led out to a huge yard. Jace’s dad, Frank, and his oldest brother Adam stood by the grill. His mother, Melanie, was fussing with the table settings, while Nick and Jace chatted off to the side. Trent was playing with Truffle, tossing around a yellow tennis ball that was almost too big to fit in the little dog’s mouth. Not that it stopped him trying, mind you.

  “Have you met Soraya before?” Olivia asked.

  “I don’t think so.”