by Jewel, Bella
I think I fell a little bit in love.
She and her mate said something to the people around them, the dance floor cleared, and the lights went off everywhere but the bar fridges. The room fell silent for just a few seconds before I heard Luke’s voice asking, “Why the fuck have we come up here? S’not even open.” He was drunk, I’d recognise that slur anywhere. The lights behind the bar came on to reveal Luke standing just inside the entrance to the VIP area. Two waitresses made their way towards him carrying a huge birthday cake lit with candles and sparklers, and I couldn’t help but smile at the wide-eyed look of shock on his face as the whole place started to sing “Happy Birthday”.
“You fuckers.” He laughed as he spoke and raked his fingers through his hair. Something I knew for a fact he did when he was nervous.
He blew out the candles, and everyone cheered. I cheered and smiled, but then she was there. Walking towards him. Without even thinking about it, I made my way through the crowd and got closer so that I could witness their interaction myself.
The lights had been turned back on, and despite the handshakes and back slaps going on, I knew the instant his eyes met hers. His face lit up, she smiled big, once again revealing those dimples. He smiled and shook his head as he pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head.
When she wrapped her arms around his neck, I felt out of control. A burning rage twisting up from my toes, coiling its way through my belly, lodging itself in my chest.
Anger, jealousy? Of what, I had no clue. I didn’t know her, and he was one of the nicest blokes I had ever met and my business partner. I seriously felt the need to break something, or someone. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Luke leaned back so he could look at her and said something in her ear and they both laughed. She’d cheated on him. We’d gotten pissed up in Sydney and spent an entire night bitching about unfaithful women, but here he was looking at her as if she were the only girl on the planet, and they laughed, they were laughing, together.
Too much vodka.
Jet lag and too much vodka. That was the only explanation as to why I was feeling like this. Unhinged. Fucking deranged in fact.
“Del?” I looked up, only my Aussie mates and Luke called me Del. “No fucking way. You fucker.”
Luke made his way the few steps towards me, his arm still around the girl. His smile was infectious, I couldn’t help but return it, despite the fact I felt like I was gonna throw up or have a heart attack, or both.
“I spoke to you. You’re here. You said you were still there.” He threw his arm around my shoulder and laughed. Yeah, he was definitely drunk.
“You fuckers. The lot of ya. I can’t believe it. When? How did you know?” He took a step back. Someone put a drink in his hand, and I noticed he was shaking. I didn’t know why, but that calmed me somewhat. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that he was my mate. This wasn’t high school, and apparently, I was a complete wanker for being jealous.
“Did you do this?” He turned to the girl, who was still standing at his side. She blushed and smiled, and it was then that I realised she had only one dimple on her right cheek.
“It was a joint effort between me and Will, but Sasha helped me out big time too.”
Her voice was soft and a little bit raspy and sexy as fuck, and I really shouldn’t have been having those thoughts.
“Did you two meet?” Luke asked. “Did you already get introduced?” He looked down at the girl, eyebrows drawn into a tight frown before adding, “Fucking hell, Sunshine, you’ve got underwear on, where are your clothes, your top, or a blouse thing, or summit?”
Despite her looking up at him, rolling her eyes, and saying through gritted teeth, “Don’t start,” every inch of her exposed skin turned a beautiful shade of pink.
“No, no we haven’t been introduced.” For some reason, I felt compelled to help her out.
“Liam, Liam Delaney. Luke’s business partner.” I held out my hand and watched as her mouth dropped open. Before she got a chance to speak, Luke said, “Del, this is my little sister Sarah.”
My heart stopped. Started. Froze? Who the fuck knew, but it felt like it did a lot of shit at once, shit it had no right to be doing. Noise, light, and air all ceased to exist for a few short seconds before almost flooring me when they reappeared in a rush.
His sister.
Not the ex. Not his lying, cheating, whore of an ex.
Sarah, his little sister. She was a good girl. He had told me what a good girl she was.
Still, she was his sister. His little sister. Better than being his ex, though, much better.
Her small hand slid into mine, I placed my other hand over the top of both of them, enveloping hers.
I gave my head a shake, no clue what was actually going on with me. I didn’t think about the size of a girl’s hand, what they were wearing, or the colour of their skin. Yet, all of those things had run through my head that night. Perhaps high-end recruitment wasn’t my forte, perhaps I should apply for a job reporting on E News or Next Top Model instead.
“Sarah, good to finally meet you.” I couldn’t think of a single other thing to say. My mouth felt dry, and my brain had apparently shut down any kind of communication with my voice box and mouth.
“You too, Liam. Wow, Australia. Big change for you then? When did you arrive?”
“Wednesday . . . No, Tuesday. Shit, I can’t remember. What day is it now?”
See? Idiot, fucking idiot.
“Friday.” The Carter siblings responded together and laughed. It was then I noticed the resemblance across their eyes. They both had the same shade of blue.
“Jet lag, it’s a killer. You won’t know if you’re on your head or your arse for the next week or so dude.” Luke reminded me.
“Yeah, I remember it well.”
“Have you been over here before?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, back when I finished school. I travelled for around two years.” She nodded and smiled, seeming genuinely interested, which made me happy and sort of nervous. I’d no clue why.
“What about you—” Before I got a chance to finish, Will arrived with a bottle of Moët and a waitress with a tray full of glasses.
“Happy birthday, Luke. Here’s to many more as well as the very best of British to you and Del in your new business venture, and thank you, Sunshine, for being the best and the prettiest event organiser I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”
Prettiest? Is that right, fucker?
The dark haired girl that Sarah has been with all night appeared at her side. “Hold on a minute, what about the best event organiser’s assistant?”
“Sorry, sorry, Sash. And to the best assistant an event organiser has ever had,” Will added.
“And prettiest.” Sasha nodded.
“That too,” Will agreed.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Sarah said, smiling and giving Sasha a cheeky wink. Why was it that Sarah’s wink made my pants tight, while Dicklan’s just felt wrong on every level?
“Popping the good stuff, are we? Hope there’s a glass there for me.” I heard the collective groan as if right on cue, the little orange fiend appeared.
Definitely wasn’t just me then.
He leaned in to give Sarah a kiss, and it was thanks only to her own skilful manoeuvring that he didn’t land one on her lips. She pulled a face and physically shuddered as he moved in on Sasha. Sarah caught me watching her, blushed, and gave me her one-dimpled smile.
Stick a fork in me. I was done.
“Happy birthday!” I heard from over my shoulder. “Great party, thanks for the invite, Sunshine.” I turned and came face to face with the blonde that I was avoiding eye contact with earlier.
“I didn’t invite you, and the name’s Sarah.”
“Whatever,” the tall blonde responded. “How are you, Luke? I thought you might’ve called?” I stepped back a little so I could observe their interaction.
“I’m good, Mel. Thanks for coming, b
ut I don’t think we really have any more to discuss, do you?”
Ah, so this was Mel. Dicklan must’ve thought I was looking at her when he warned me off. I knew there was something about her I didn’t like.
“Ol’ Luke here is now an international, jet-setting businessman, he doesn’t have time for the likes of us anymore,” Dicklan told Mel. She looked him up and down before ignoring his remark and turning her attention back to Luke.
“I think we have plenty to discuss, especially after last week and especially about work. Did you read the email I sent you?” She asked him.
“Not here, all right? Just go, dance, drink, have a good time. I’ll talk to you next week.”
She nodded before turning and walking away.
“Especially after last week? Please tell me you didn’t?” Sarah stared up at her brother.
Her blue eyes shone in the lights of the club, and I felt gutted at the thought of her looking like she was about to cry.
“Mind your own business, Sunshine. This has fuck all to do with you,” Luke told her, and I actually jerked towards him.
“Mate, don’t talk—” I started, but he cut me off.
“Stay out of it, Del.”
Great, our new business wasn’t even off the ground, and I already wanted to knock my colleague the fuck out.
There was an awkward silence amongst the six of us. Madonna’s “Sorry” was aptly being played as I took a few deep breaths.
I’d grown to love Luke like a brother over the previous two years and would trust him with my life, wife, and last dollar, but right then, I wanted to smack him right on the end of his nose for the way he had just spoken to his sister.
“Fuck all to do with her? If it’s got fuck all to do with her, why were you ringing our place at three in the morning, crying in your beer to your little sister over what that slut had done?” All eyes turned to Sasha.
“Yeah, I heard the calls and listened to the answerphone messages. She was so worried that I had to literally sit on your sister to stop her from flying all the way out to you. So, how the fuck dare you tell her it’s got fuck all to do with her. She was quite prepared to put her life on hold and fly thousands of miles to hold your big fat pussy hand until you got your big fat pussy shit together.”
“Sash—” Sarah tried to interrupt her mate but this girl was on a roll, and she wasn’t finished yet.
“No, it needs to be said. That girl’s never been anything but a bitch to you, even when they were together. You warned him about the rumours, we both did. We also told him she’d play up as soon as his back was turned, but he wouldn’t listen. Then when it all came on top, he had the cheek to phone at stupid o’clock, pissed out of his head, and expected you to make it all better.”
She turned her wrath back to Luke. “I love you, Luke Carter, but sometimes you’re a selfish prick, and all of the time, Melanie Thompson is a spiteful, deceitful whore. You need to wake up to both of those facts.” She took a deep breath before turning to Sarah and adding, “A drink is in order I think?”
“I think you’re right,” Sarah replied as Sasha grabbed her hand and steered them both towards the bar.
“Fuck me, is it wrong that she just gave me a hard-on?” All eyes turned to Dicklan.
“Deck, walk away while you still can. Walk far, far away,” Will told him without taking his eyes from Sarah’s arse as she made her way to the bar.
Chapter 4
I was drunk. Drinking and swearing were two things I wasn’t good at. I swore in my head, but when I said it aloud, it just didn’t seem to sound right.
Luckily, the alcohol didn’t affect my dance moves. I loved to dance, and after the disappointment I’d felt at my brother’s words earlier, I’d spent the rest of the night drinking, dancing, and swearing in my head a lot more than I usually would. If I were being honest, it wasn’t just my brother that had me all in a spin, it was Liam Delaney too.
I threw my head back and raised my hands in the air as the Scissor Sisters “Filthy/Gorgeous” began to play.
I was twenty-two years old, and I had managed to get to this stage of my life without ever having a man make me feel that way. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or disappointed by that fact. It was intense, and it made me feel both scared and euphoric at the same time.
I wasn’t naïve or stupid when it came to men, but I most definitely had very limited experience, which was entirely through choice. With just a stare, he’d had me feeling a little out of control, and I didn’t like it. Or perhaps I did. I actually had no clue. I wasn’t a virgin, it was two thousand and six, not eighteen twenty-eight after all, but neither Sasha or I had ever slept around. Sasha had a little bit more experience than I did, but that wasn’t really hard. I’d had sex, with actual men, exactly twice in my life. Twice, two times. Each time had been with a different person, but since both times were terrible, I gave up. I went out on dates, sometimes with the same person more than once, we kissed, and there may even have even been a little bit of boob rubbing and squeezing, but that was exactly where I made sure things ended.
I wasn’t a prude, and I most certainly wasn’t frigid, my rabbit was more than rampant, and the batteries were replaced monthly, I’d just decided after my second awful encounter of the sexual kind to stay away until I met someone I actually wanted a relationship with.
One look. We’d shared just one look, and my whore of a little heart was offering herself up on a platter for him to devour. I was under no illusions that he would consume her whole.
Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” started to play, and Sasha slid her front up my back before she whispered in my ear, “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you for the last three songs.”
I turned around and faced her, held on to her shoulder with one hand, slid my knee between both of hers, arched my back, and ground my hips forward. When I straightened I asked, “Who?”
She slid her hands down over my waist and hips, bending her knees, and lowering herself to the floor as she did. We were putting on quite a show, and we both knew it. We were good girls, Sasha and I, off the dance floor that was.
“The hot as fuck Aussie,” Sasha said into my ear.
“What?” I asked. She stopped dancing and took a step back. Frowning, she looked all over my face.
“Are you pissed?” She sounded almost astonished.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe a lil, lil bit,” I told her with a smile.
“Good girl. Let’s get another drink.”
“Na, na, na, na. The hot Aussie, what were you saying about him?”
“He’s not taken his eyes off you for a while. He’s still watching you now, so make sure to brush past him on our way to the bar.”
My stomach churned. That man had me feeling all kinds of weird. He was most definitely as hot as fuck, but it wasn’t only that. It was the way he looked at me. When he did, I wasn’t just Sarah or Sunshine, I was more than that. He saw more than that. Each time it was as if he’d seen right through who I was to everyone else and just seemed to see me. I felt his stare touch me, like a gentle stroke or caress, each glance from him was how I imagined his lips might feel brushing across my skin.
I needed to stop drinking. My brain was talking shit to my whorey heart and giving her ideas.
I swallowed hard as I felt myself blush. Sasha, who was still holding my hand, didn’t notice as we manoeuvred ourselves off the dance floor and towards the bar.
“How ya goin’, ladies? Vodka tonic and a G and T. Both with ice and a slice. Figured you’d need those after the little performance you put on out there.”
Fuck me, that accent just made me, yeah, squeeze everything tight.
Luckily, I was already hot from dancing, hopefully the glow that had spread across my skin could be attributed to that too.
“Thank you,” I said quietly as Liam passed me my drink.
“Cheers, mate,” Sasha replied with a terrible Australian accent as she accepted her drink. “I’m just gonna get more ice f
or this,” she added, thankfully losing the accent, before turning and heading towards the bar.
I’d been full of confidence when I’d spoken to him earlier, I would have thought now that I was three sheets to the wind, I’d be even more so. We were in a crowd then, but now it was just me and him. My mouth felt dry, and my tongue felt fat, possibly due to the vodka I’d consumed and the tequila shots we’d necked earlier.
“So you live nearby? I know Luke said he stayed with you for a while when he first came home.”
I heard every word he said. My brain just didn’t seem to want to process their meaning.
“Hmm?” It was all I could manage in response, and then our eyes met and stayed met.
“You have the most amazing skin.” He shook his head as soon as the words were out but never took his eyes from mine. “I … that’s not a pick-up line or anything. I never say things like that to women … or blokes for that matter.” He laughed nervously. “No one in fact, not ever . . . but you do. Have amazing skin.”
I loved the way he fumbled over his words. I loved his accent. I especially loved the way he hadn’t taken his eyes from mine.
My heart beat loud and strong in my chest. Painful but so fucking good. For so long I’d thought I’d never feel this. I knew it was out there, I was aware that it happened, but it had never happened for me, to me. Until now. Until Liam Delaney.
“Dance with me?” He held out his hand. “Please?”
I took it.
As he laced the fingers of his left hand through those of my right, we both finished our drinks and put our empty glasses on the bar. Then he slid his free hand across my hip, resting it on my lower back. I skimmed my fingers up his arm before settling my hand on his shoulder.
“They’re Aussies ya know?” he said into my ear. The sensation of his hot breath combined with the earthy smell of his aftershave caused goose bumps to erupt across my skin.
