by Nicola Marsh
‘Why, when the fact you’re blushing over a guy for the first time in years is so much fun?’
Tash and Alisha had confided in each other forever, but could she tell Alisha about that tense moment with Kody in the bathroom and expect objectivity when her loved-up friend was planning a wedding? Alisha had been the most practical person Tash knew until she’d hooked up with Harry and begun walking around with hearts in her eyes like a love-struck cartoon character. Not that she begrudged them happiness, but if Tash told her what had happened with Kody, Alisha would give her all sorts of crazy advice, like: ‘Flirt with Kody and see what happens’.
So she settled for: ‘I blush at the slightest glimpse of that hot farmer from Mildura who pops in here once a year, so it means nothing.’
‘Keep telling yourself that, babe.’ Alisha’s grin stretched from ear to ear. ‘What are you doing here on a night off?’
‘Isla had a hankering for fajitas.’
‘Like everything Harry cooks, they’re the best.’ Alisha’s grin turned goofy. ‘You know how much I hate exercise but if I don’t start taking those local Zumba classes soon I won’t fit into my wedding dress.’
‘You have a dress?’
Alisha nodded, her eyes glittering. ‘I found it when I was in New York a few months ago. It’s simple but stunning and I love it.’
‘I’m so happy for you.’ Tash gave her an impulsive hug, thrilled for her friend, but unable to ignore the niggle of discontent that she may never find the same happiness. The dating pool in Brockenridge was a minuscule pond and until Isla was older and independent, Tash had no intention of leaving.
Alisha released her. ‘Looks like your fajitas are ready. You better get over there before Isla demolishes the lot.’
‘I’ll just grab a water jug and two glasses—’
‘You go eat, I’ll get it.’ Alisha hesitated, as if she wanted to say more, before blurting, ‘I know how hard it must be for you, having Kody back in your life. And you’re probably worrying about what kind of impact he’ll have on Isla, but I’m here for you, sweetie, whenever you need to talk.’
‘Thanks, Lish.’ Tash touched her arm in gratitude and managed a wan smile. ‘When I feel like chatting, you’ll be the first to know how I saw him almost naked in the bathroom today.’
With a smirk at Alisha’s shocked expression, Tash headed back to the table.
CHAPTER
16
Jane arrived ten minutes early for her meeting with Mason. She told herself it was to see his reaction when he walked into the roadhouse but in reality she couldn’t bear second-guessing her choice of outfit for another minute. She’d already changed five times, swapping dresses and skirts and tops until she’d flung the lot on her bed and grabbed skinny black jeggings, a free-flowing paisley blouse and her comfortable crimson ankle boots. She never dithered over what to wear on a date these days. Then again, meeting Mason to discuss interior design plans for his new café was far from a date. This was business and nothing like going out with guys over the years, when she’d been searching for … something. A connection. A bond. A way to feel cherished.
She’d never got that from her mother, though it hadn’t mattered how non-maternal Gladys was because her dad lavished enough attention on her for the both of them. But he’d been dead for over a decade and there wasn’t a single day that went by when she didn’t mourn him and remember who drove him to it.
Nobody in town understood. They saw Jane with a beautiful mortgage-free house, exercising a lot because she didn’t have to work, filling her spare time with a variety of hobbies from pottery to bowling, and labelled her a privileged brat at best, a rich bitch at worst. Throw in her healthy dating life and she’d been judged and found lacking for years. She pretended not to care that the one person who should be her greatest confidante was her greatest disappointment.
Regret expanded in her chest and she dragged in a few deep breaths. Her mother had inadvertently driven her to make many mistakes. Then again, she should own the crappy things she’d done. She’d been responsible for driving Ruby away and if she could take back every bitchy thing she’d done or said to her, she would. Although she’d apologised, it didn’t seem enough. To Ruby’s credit, she’d forgiven her when not many would.
Frequenting the roadhouse was Jane’s way of saying sorry and as she glanced around the retro interior, she wondered if offering her design services would be another way to make up for the past. Then again, this place was often packed, so it probably didn’t need changing. Patrons loved the old-style charm just the way it was.
She spied Tash eating with her daughter and something Ruby had said, about the single mother being judged yet turning her life around, resonated. They had another thing in common too: Tash’s parents had abandoned their pregnant daughter and Gladys had virtually done the same to her but for different reasons known only to her mother. As Tash laughed at something her daughter said, hope expanded in Jane’s chest. Tash had definitely come out the other side after shoddy treatment from her parents and she could too.
With one eye on the door, she ordered a sav blanc from Aldo, the young guy behind the bar who always tried to flirt with her, before finding a table towards the back of the room. She’d barely sat when Ruby appeared from her office near the bar, caught sight of her and waved. Jane acknowledged the greeting with a wide smile, hoping Ruby could read her sincerity behind it. She really wanted to put the past behind them. That had been another reason Jane had chosen The Watering Hole for her meeting with Mason tonight: she wanted to confront her shame from earlier that morning rather than running from it. If she wanted to make changes, she had to face up to her failings and coming here tonight was a start.
Ruby wound her way through tables and stopped next to her. ‘Hey, how are you?’
‘Better than I was this morning,’ Jane said, gesturing to the seat opposite. ‘I want to say thanks again for making me brekkie and being a good listener.’
Ruby sat. ‘No worries. You look great.’
‘Thanks. I’m meeting Mason Woodley here to discuss his ideas for revamping the bakery.’
‘Mason’s back? Last time I chatted with Betty she said he loved Paris and wouldn’t return in a pink fit.’
‘They’re expanding, apparently. They’re buying the empty shop next door and plan on knocking down walls and creating a French vibe for the whole place.’
‘It’ll be a shame to see the old bakery go.’ Something akin to regret flickered in Ruby’s eyes. ‘It was one of my go-to places.’ A wry smile twisted her mouth. ‘Nothing a good sugar fix can’t cure.’
Guilt peppered Jane anew at the angst she’d caused Ruby in high school, but she didn’t want to dwell on the past, not when she intended to take charge of her future. ‘I know the feeling. Betty’s been a good friend to me over the years—always supportive.’
If Ruby wondered why a woman old enough to be Jane’s mother was one of her closest friends, she didn’t show it. Instead, she fixed her with a curious look. ‘Have you seen Mason yet? As I recall, you two didn’t get along too well.’
‘He had very poor judgement back then.’
Ruby laughed. ‘More like he was the only guy in school who didn’t fall at your feet and you hated it.’
‘That too.’
‘I wonder if he’s the same geek who used to help me with physics occasionally.’
‘He’s not,’ Jane said, trying to sound nonchalant—and failing, if Ruby’s widened eyes were any indication. ‘We bumped into each other at the bakery earlier today and he’s … changed.’
‘How?’
How indeed. Jane could wax lyrical about his broad shoulders, strong arms, dark chocolate eyes, tousled blond curls and chiselled jaw. Instead, she settled for a less telling, ‘He’s more mature.’
‘Aren’t we all? Is he still good looking?’
‘You thought he was good looking?’
Ruby nodded. ‘Yeah. He was quiet but had that whole smouldering look dow
n pat.’
Jane hadn’t noticed. She’d been too hung up on the footy players and, in year twelve, she’d only had eyes for Connor. Mason had been an annoyance, a pest who wouldn’t worship her like the rest. For that, she deliberately didn’t pay him much attention. Perhaps if she had she would’ve seen more beyond her own shallow interests and made better choices.
She made a noncommittal sound of agreement anyway, considering she’d just spied Mason stroll into the roadhouse and didn’t want to acknowledge that his teen smoulder had morphed into outright sexiness. They were about to have a business meeting. She had no right noticing how his navy T-shirt moulded to his chest or how his beige chinos elongated his muscular legs. He may have changed physically but his reaction to her during their first meeting after all these years still showed he didn’t think much of her. Sure, he’d apologised, but that’s only because he wanted her to design the interior for his precious new bakery.
‘He’s just arrived,’ she said, feeling increasingly antsy as Mason spotted her and his handsome face broke into a smile.
With a knowing grin, Ruby stood. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
Almost panicked at the thought of being left alone with the gorgeous guy strolling towards her, Jane said, ‘Stay. He’ll want to say hi.’
‘Okay, just for a minute.’
They watched him cover the last few feet and Jane could’ve sworn she heard an echo of her sigh in Ruby’s.
‘Ruby?’ To Jane’s chagrin, Mason leaned down and brushed Ruby’s cheek with a kiss, an easy greeting far removed from their fraught first encounter. ‘Long time, no see.’
‘Ain’t that the truth.’ Ruby laughed and Mason seemed unable to take his eyes off her.
For a moment Jane experienced a stab of jealousy so potent it took her breath away.
Stupid, because she and Mason were frenemies, acquaintances thrust together for business purposes, but the fact she noticed his attractiveness and didn’t like the ease with which he interacted with Ruby compared to her meant she wanted to impress him, shake up his opinion of her.
Bad girls like her had no right showing interest in good guys like him.
‘Mum told me about Clara.’ He touched Ruby’s arm. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’
‘Thanks. I still miss her every day.’ Ruby gestured around the room. ‘She left me this place and keeping her legacy alive is my way of acknowledging her.’
‘She would’ve been proud of you.’
Ruby smiled. ‘Jane tells me you’re lending a French flair to the bakery? Good for you.’
‘It’s a pet project.’ Finally acknowledging Jane’s presence, he turned that warm chocolate stare onto her. ‘And Jane’s being kind enough to lend me a hand.’
‘Great. On that note, I’ll leave you to it.’ She pointed at the kitchen. ‘If you’re hungry, Harry’s whipped up a mean butter chicken as the special and I highly recommend it.’
‘Thanks,’ Jane and Mason said in unison, followed by an awkward laugh.
As Ruby walked away, Jane held her breath, wondering if Mason would kiss her in greeting, and couldn’t help a little twang of disappointment when he didn’t, and took the seat Ruby had just vacated.
‘That was a blast from the past,’ he said, resting his tanned, muscular forearms on the table. Jane had a thing for guys’ arms. You could judge a lot by the strength in a forearm and it looked like Mason spent a lot of time preparing dough. She stopped staring at his arms to find him studying her with blatant curiosity.
‘Yeah, it’s great Ruby’s back in town,’ she said. ‘Most of our year left after school so it’s nice to have some of you return.’
‘So does that mean you’re happy to see me? Because when we bumped into each other you had that same look in your eye you had back in high school.’
‘What look’s that?’
‘The one where you’d like to push me into the Murray River and hold my head under.’
She laughed. ‘You were a pain in the arse at school.’
‘Why? Because I didn’t grovel like the rest of your minions?’
Harsh, but true. ‘You didn’t put up with any crap.’ She shrugged. ‘I guess that’s a good thing.’
‘I hated that you and your friends never looked twice at me,’ he said, with a sheepish wince.
‘Are you fishing for compliments?’
He chuckled. ‘What if I am?’
‘You don’t need to. You’ll be turning enough heads in town.’
‘Is that right?’ He arched an eyebrow, lending a rakish quality to his face. ‘Does that apply to you too?’
Jane wanted to tell him his flirting was wasted on her, that she didn’t want to stuff this up for Betty considering how supportive she’d been over the years when not many had. But when Mason looked at her with that intense stare, like he wanted to see beneath her deliberately cultivated façade, she knew she liked this new flirtatious Mason way too much to be good for her.
‘I’ve lived here my whole life, so trust me when I say the local spinsters will pounce on any new guy with a pulse.’
This time, he laughed out loud, the deep timbre rippling along her skin like a physical caress. ‘I’m not sure if you insulted or complimented me.’
‘Let’s just say if you attend the blues night here in a fortnight, you won’t be short of dance partners.’
‘I’ll make sure to stay away.’ He winked and in that moment Jane wished she could go back in time and tell her younger self to wake the hell up. She’d tell young Jane to not want to be a people-pleaser so much, especially with her mum. She’d tell her to not worry about designer clothes or hanging out with the richest kids or being considered the prettiest and most popular. She’d tell her to change before it was too late, to acknowledge kids like Mason and Ruby at school, to embrace friendship rather than considering life as a giant competition.
But she couldn’t turn back time so the best she could do was ensure she didn’t screw up now.
‘Shall we get down to business?’ She sounded brusque and softened her abruptness with, ‘I’m buzzing with ideas.’
‘As much as I admire your enthusiasm, I’m starving, and that butter chicken Ruby mentioned sounds mighty fine. How about you? You hungry?’
Jane didn’t want to eat because sharing dinner with Mason reeked of this being a date and her overactive imagination didn’t need the encouragement, but her stomach betrayed her with a loud rumble.
She could tell he was biting back a smile as he stood. ‘I’ll order two,’ he said, making his way to the bar to order, leaving her to study how fine his butt looked in those chinos.
Damn it, she always did this, check out a guy for his physical assets, deliberately not seeing beneath the exterior because it could never go anywhere. The guys she hooked up with were transient, despite her yearning for security.
The thing was, Mason would be transient too. If he’d lived in Paris for so long she couldn’t see him hanging around once the bakery revamp was done—he’d hit the road again, live in Melbourne or Sydney or beyond. So technically a fling with the hot baker wouldn’t be entirely out of the question. Once they got business out of the way, that is.
But there was something about Mason that appealed to her on a deeper level, beyond his obvious attractions. When he looked at her, she didn’t feel an urge to take a shower to rinse off the sleaze like with other guys. Instead, he looked at her like he knew she had half a brain. Heady stuff for a girl whose intelligence had been undervalued her whole life.
When he returned, he placed a bottle of chardonnay and two glasses on the table. ‘The kid at the bar said this wine goes well with the butter chicken so I took his recommendation.’
‘Perfect.’
As he poured the wine she studied his fingers and suppressed a shiver of longing, imagining them caressing and stroking—
‘Jane?’
She blinked and refocussed on the glass he held out to her. ‘Thanks.’ She flashed a smile, took the glass and cl
inked it against his. ‘To bringing French flair to Brockenridge.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’
She gulped half her wine before setting the glass on the table, eager to concentrate on business. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
‘Why Brockenridge? I mean, I get that your mum’s bakery has been a fixture here for decades, but you’ve worked in Paris. Why not open your own patisserie in a chic city like Sydney or Melbourne?’
Shadows clouded his eyes and she mentally cursed, hoping she hadn’t hit a sore spot. ‘Because I owe Mum. Every cent she saved from the bakery went towards me doing my apprenticeship in Melbourne and later funding my life in Paris. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am today, so this is my way of giving something back.’
‘That’s sweet,’ Jane said, her admiration for him increasing. ‘So does that mean you’ll be staying around once it’s up and running?’
‘What’s with the twenty questions?’
Nice deflection. As if someone like him would stick around in backwater Brockenridge when he’d lived in Paris.
‘Just curious.’ She shrugged. ‘Betty’s been a good friend to me over the years, almost like a second mum, and I want what’s best for her.’
‘What about your mum? You’re not close?’
And just like that, Jane shut down. She couldn’t talk about Gladys without wanting to blurt the whole sorry truth or thump something.
‘Not so much,’ she said, and changed the subject. ‘When Betty initially mentioned the expansion she said something about knocking down the wall between the two shops. But I actually think it’d be nice to keep the current bakery and spruce it up with a retro theme, adding a few French touches, then having an archway flowing into the new space. What do you think?’
Mason bought her distraction, and they launched into a detailed discussion of his vision and what that entailed. They only stopped to eat, oohing and aahing over the butter chicken served with rice and naan bread, before resuming their shoptalk.
