by T L Swan
“We had better wait in the car until Joshua gets here.”
Adrian nods. “Good idea.” Huh, whose cars are they? And why do we have to wait here?
“I would like to go in please,” I announce.
“No, we will wait for Joshua,” Ben snaps and I frown at Adrian.
“Is Cinderella inside?” I whisper. Adrian winks and nods. Right, that’s it. I barge the car door open and start marching up the stairs towards the front door. Adrian bungles out of the car behind me. “Natasha, stop now.” This only infuriates me more. What, is the house frigging full of Penthouse pets or something? I can hear music and laughter coming from the house as I get close to the huge metal double doors.
Adrian catches up with me. “Tash, I’m not playing Cinderella anymore if you are going to act crazy every time I say it, and trust me you will hear it a lot.” I scowl as I open the door and march in. I stare open–mouthed at my surroundings. There is a massive foyer with a beautiful pendant light lighting up the area. The floors are all dark polished concrete and the walls all stark white with massive abstract art adorning them. The place is so modern it looks industrial almost.
A red–headed lady in her fifties comes around the corner and gives us a loving smile.
“There’s my boy,” she laughs in a German accent. She pulls Adrian into an embrace and gives him a cuddle, which he returns.
“Where is my other boy?” she asks as she looks out the front door for Joshua.
“This is Birgetta, Joshua’s housekeeper. He is on his way. Birgetta, this is Natasha.” I smile as I shake her hand. Her eyes shoot to Adrian, he smiles and nods.
“Speak to me child.” She smiles.
“Um, hello, nice to meet you,” I stammer. She laughs and claps her hands together and holds them under her chin as if praying.
“Australian—so you’re the beloved Natasha.” She pulls me into a cuddle. Yep, I like her already. Anyone who calls me beloved Natasha is in the good books. A man’s voice echoes from the room next door.
“Birgetta, where’s my drink? I’m not a fucking camel.” Adrian rolls his eyes and Birgetta shakes her head. I frown.
“Who is that?” I snap.
Adrian gives me a sympathetic smile. “Carson,” he says deadpan. “He’s Josh’s best friend.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re his best friend Adrian.” He smiles and grabs my hand. The voice echoes again. “Birgetta, is this a fucking joke?” Birgetta goes to walk off but I grab her by the elbow.
“Why don’t you two wait here?” Adrian frowns, not understanding my meaning. I storm into the next room. Oh shit, this is worse than I imagined. There are five men in the lounge room all sitting on the biggest leather lounge I have ever seen. They are all drinking and have a tray of what looks like frigging cocaine on the coffee table. Is this for real? Adrian walks in behind me and the boys notice him and all start yelling.
“Murphy, you’re home. Where’s Stan? We thought we would host a little welcome home party. Birgetta, drinks…fuck.” Oh my god, he did not just yell at her to get him a drink. I cross my arms in front of me.
“This is Natasha,” Adrian says. They all ignore me and go back to their conversation. Ok, I have had enough of this shit. I am fuming. Who are these losers? I walk over to the stereo and turn the music off and they all look up to see what happened.
Carson speaks first. “Birgetta, you speaka de English? I want a drink.”
I glare at him. “And I want you to treat Joshua’s staff with some respect. Please get your own drinks.”
Adrian grabs my arm from behind and I snatch it away. “Don’t,” I snap.
Carson looks up at me. “Who the hell are you?”
I cross my arms. “Who the hell are you?” I snap.
He narrows his eyes at me. “I’m Joshua’s best friend and I don’t take orders from bimbos. So fuck off.”
I smile a sarcastic smile and raise my eyebrows. “Did you just tell me to fuck off?” I asked way too sweetly.
Adrian steps in. “Carson, this is Natasha…you know Natasha, Natasha.” He widens his eyes.
Carson stands up. “I don’t care if she’s the fucking queen of England. I don’t take orders from anyone. And there is no way in hell I’m listening to her.”
I smirk. “We’ll see asshole,” I snap. Birgetta puts her hands over her eyes and leaves the room as Joshua comes in the front door. He looks around the room and quickly sums up the situation. The animosity in the air is stifling. He puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple as he pulls me into him. The boys all jump up and run to Joshua to shake his hand.
“Stan the man…you’re back.” Oh get off it you losers—so fake.
“Boys this is Natasha, my girlfriend.”
Horror dawns on their faces and you could hear a pin drop.
I smile at the boys. “Nice to meet you, now get the fuck out,” I snap.
Joshua coughs in shock. “Natasha,” he gasps.
“They go or I do Josh. There is no way in hell I am staying here with these drug–fucked assholes.” His shocked eyes shoot to Adrian. “What’s going on?” he asks him?
“Your mate Carson just told me to fuck off, so you can stay here with him and I can stay at Adrian’s or they can leave and I will stay, have it your way,” I snap.
He frowns at Carson. “Is that correct?” he asks.
Carson glares at me. “I don’t take orders from chicks, you know that. And I am not going anywhere, she can leave.” Oh god, I hate this man with a passion. Joshua looks at him deadpan and runs his tongue over his top front teeth. He’s annoying him too. Good.
“Natasha is not going anywhere. In fact she’s moving to America and in with me, so you will show her respect in her own home. Go home. I will call you all tomorrow.” Joshua then walks over to the staircase and starts to go up to his bedroom. “Ben, can you show the boys out?” he calls from the stairs.
I stand still on the spot and cop the full wrath of Carson’s evil glare.
“I give you two weeks. He won’t put up with your shit,” he snaps.
I smile a little too sweetly. “Such a pleasure to meet you boys, pity you had to leave so soon.” I think Bridget’s bitchiness is contagious. I head into the other room to find Birgetta and locate her in the kitchen.
She grabs me in an embrace. “Natasha, Natasha,” she whispers.
I giggle as I return her cuddle. “Birgetta, don’t put up with their shit. Joshua isn’t like that. He won’t let them speak to you like that.” She nods nervously.
Adrian comes into the kitchen and picks me up and spins me around. “You’re a tough little thing aren’t you?” he smiles.
I roll my eyes. “Maybe I’m stupid. I think I just made hating me all that much fun.”
He nods. “Baby, all of LA is going to hate you. You have just nabbed yourself one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. They don’t know your history with Josh and they will try to test you but tonight you passed with flying colours.”
He smiles as he rubs my shoulders and gives me a wink. “Mission accomplished.”
Chapter 26
Cameron walks through the front door carrying the bags.
“What the heck just happened? Carson is fuming.”
“Tash just told him to get the hell out,” Adrian smiles.
Cameron’s eyes drop to me in mortification. “Fuck. What did Josh say?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Nothing really.”Actually, that is strange—where is he anyway?” I walk out into the lounge room and head toward the huge staircase that splits in two and turns into two separate staircases from the landing. My eyes stare at wonder at the opulent room. It’s so modern, no wonder he didn’t like the last house. It looks like a museum compared to this swanky pad. I gingerly walk up the stairs and look left down the massive opulent hallway. It’s so wide that there are beautiful Balinese benches along the walls outside each bedroom with beautiful hanging pendant lights above them. It has a real holiday resort fe
el, although it doesn’t feel like a holiday at the moment. The light at the end of the hall is on and I hear drawers slamming shut inside. That must be Joshua’s bedroom. I walk in to find him decked out in training gear and sitting on his bed putting his running shoes on. I stand at the door and watch him. He’s angry. I can tell by his body language. His eyes lift to mine and without showing me any emotion they drop back down to tying his shoes. He can’t be angry at me…surely? I walk over and put my hand on his shoulder and he shrugs it off.
Just fucking go back downstairs before I tell you to fuck off, Natasha. I blow out a breath and try to calm myself. If she thinks for one minute I’m putting up with her shit she’s going to be sadly mistaken. How dare she kick my friends out of my fucking house… if anyone is going.
“Are you mad at me Josh?” she asks as she runs her hand up my arm. I quickly shrug it off.
I stare up at her. “Is that a joke? I walk into my house to hear you tell my friends to get the hell out. Use your imagination, Natasha. I’m fucking thrilled with you.”
She looks at me as if shocked. “But you said downstairs that this was my house too.”
I frown at her. “It is your house and that’s why I backed you up. But the whole throwing down the gauntlet, I stay if they go shit. What in the hell was that? If the first time I met Bridget and Abbie I told them to get the fuck out of your house what would you say?”
Her face drops. “Carson was rude to Birgetta, Josh. I had to stand up to him.”
I shake my head as I stand up. “Carson is rude to most people, Natasha, and it is my place to pull him up—not yours,” I snap.
“He told me to fuck off, Josh. Please don’t tell me you condone that.”
“He thought you were a bimbo I just picked up. He had no idea you were important. He would never have spoken to you like that if he did.”
She glares at me. “Oh right, how stupid of me. I keep forgetting that you constantly pick up bimbos. You fucking sleazebag!” She storms through to my bathroom and slams the door. I am not taking this shit for one more minute. I storm downstairs and through to my gym.
En route I pick up my phone to text Carson:
Misunderstanding tonight, mate.
I will call you tomorrow.
I blow out a breath. How in the hell do I explain this situation—what a fucking bitch. Who in the hell does she think she is—fucking sleazebag. She has no idea. A text comes back from Carson:
What time is your operation tomorrow?
Huh—what in the hell is he talking about?
What operation?
A reply immediately bounces back:
The one to get the thumb print on your forehead surgically removed.
Fuck. That’s it. I’m fuming. I throw my phone onto the lounge with such force it bounces back onto the floor and I storm to my gym. I set the pace on high and start to run for my life. If I stay on here long enough I might just calm down enough to be able to go to bed. What I really feel like doing is ringing the boys to come back and pick me up and hitting the clubs where the women don’t speak or call me a fucking sleazebag—or tell my friends to get the fuck out. But I know I will regret it in the morning. I always do. I’ve worked too damn hard to get her back here to fuck it up now. She’s got me between a rock and a hard place and she damn well knows it. I’ll stay on this treadmill all night if I have to, anything is better than getting into bed with that raving bitch.
Two hours later I am exhausted and dripping wet as I leave my gym and head out to the pool. I strip off and dive in and swim a couple of laps. It’s good to be home, I’ve missed my house. I love this pool. It’s a twenty–metre lap infinity pool at one end and the other end has a beach area for kids and a swim–up bar. The overhead trees are all lit up with fairy lights and there are ground spotlights scattered everywhere in the garden. It’s huge, it took them eight months to complete but I love the whole resort feel going on, and it’s great for entertaining. I purse my lips, hmm, there’s a question. Will I ever be entertaining again? I knew my life would be different when I moved back with her but I didn’t expect the change to be rammed down my throat. I trudge up the stairs from the pool and grab a towel out of the cupboard and wrap it around my waist. I head to my inside bar to pour myself a Cointreau and ice. I open a packet of darts and take the bottle and the cigarettes back out to the deck chairs near the pool. I need to clear my head.
I am on my second glass when I am asked from behind.
“What are we drinking?” I put my head up and see Natasha sinking into the deck chair next to me with an empty glass full of ice. She probably wants to grill me about smoking now too. She holds her glass out to me and I give her a small smile and fill it.
“Cointreau,” I reply.
She nods as she takes a sip. “I like it with coke—do we have any?”
I frown. “You like Cointreau?” I ask, quite shocked.
She smiles and rolls her eyes. “Yes but with coke.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“I think there is some in the pool bar fridge,” I reply. She rises from her seat and I watch her walk around the pool and down the steps into the pool bar. She fills her glass, puts some ice in her cup and walks back around to sit in the deck chair next to me. I look at her as I bite my bottom lip.
“Nice place, Josh, I like it.” I smile, still unsure what to say and nod. “I’m sorry about before, you’re right I shouldn’t have told your friends to leave. They just caught me off–guard, that’s all. I won’t do it again.” I take a sip of my drink as I look straight ahead. I know I should tell her it’s alright but I can’t. It’s as far from alright as you can get.
“Tash, I have been single all of my life,” I reply.
“I know baby, I forget that sometimes. But I won’t take shit from your friends and you need to talk to them as well.”
“I told you I would but if you could just hold that temper down a bit. It would be very handy.” I smirk at her as I take another sip. She picks up my packet of cigarettes from the table. Oh god, here it comes. Another lecture. To my utter amazement she opens the packet and takes one out and lights it. What the fuck, she smokes. I sit still in amazement as she sits back in her chair and takes another drag. You could knock me over with a feather. I did not expect her to just do that.
“You smoke?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders. “Not really. I probably would though if I knew it wasn’t trying to kill me.”
I smile and nod. For the first time in a while I am seeing her in a different light.
“You?” she asks.
“Same.” I nod. She smiles as she raises her glass and clinks it with mine.
“Let’s not kill each other on our first day. Do you want to call a truce?” she asks.
I nod. “Yeah, I suppose.” I am riveted to my chair as I watch her blow the thin stream of smoke up into the air as her eyes lock onto mine. Why in the hell is that sight so arousing? It’s just so unexpected, sort of good girl goes wild thing going on here.
She picks my hand up and kisses the back of it. “You’re staring,” she smiles. I shake my head and smile into my glass. This woman is a total mind–fuck. One minute I hate her, the next thing I want to fuck her into next week. I can’t keep up.
Cameron walks out of the back doors. “Natasha Marx smoking, that’s a little bit hot,” he states as he walks over.
“Shut up Cam,” she smiles. “Pull up a seat.”
He sits down and takes a sip of his beer. “Am I interrupting?”
I state the word, “Yes.”
At the same time Natasha says “No.”
“Josh,” Natasha snaps, “don’t be an ass.” I nod as I take another drag of my cigarette.
“What are your plans for the week Cam?” she asks.
He shrugs. “I suppose go to the hospital and try and check out where I am going to live.”
She nods. “Why don’t you live here with us?” she asks. What the fuck, she wants Cameron to live with u
s. That’s a new revelation. Cameron’s eyes shoot over to me in question. I already told him if Natasha came he couldn’t live with me.
“You want me to move in here?” Cameron asks her.
“Yes, why not. I think Josh and I will need someone to referee our fights, don’t you think?” she smirks into her glass as she drains it. Bitch.
“Josh what are your thoughts on this?” he asks.
“I told you I don’t want Natasha waking up to three strange girls at the breakfast table.” Both he and Tash laugh out loud.
“I’ve only ever done two at a time, idiot,” he snaps. “Three is still a work in progress. I’m working up to it.”
Natasha looks at me. “Have you done three at a time Josh?” Oh shit. Don’t ask these fucking questions. I look at her deadpan. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to, presh.” Cameron laughs at my answer and Natasha rolls her eyes.
Cam sits back on his deck chair. “So do tell. Natasha Marx, what is her sordid history?”
She smiles as she pours another drink. “I’ve only ever slept with your brother Cam—no sordid history.”
Cam’s mouth drops open and his eyes shoot to mine. “Fuck off,” he snaps.
She nods. “True story.” I bite my lip and smile. I can’t believe she told him that. I’ve been dying to.
“You waited for Josh, for seven years?” He sits up in his chair, his eyes the size of saucers.
I nod. “Unbelievable I know.” I smirk.
Cameron is in shock. “I didn’t think girls like you existed.”
