And he didn’t need to be quite so nice to Nicholas. The guys all seemed to like him, which was annoying.
Her gaze drifted from the game to the back of Nicholas’s pants. His luscious butt led into his really long legs. He had to be at least a foot taller than her, but if she wore heels when they went out it wouldn’t be a problem.
Not that she planned to go out with him.
Her gaze moved to his hands. He cupped the silver bocce ball gently and caressed it absentmindedly with his thumb. He had lovely fingers. Would he caress her skin as gently?
She squeezed her thighs together.
Something about him made her libido go crazy.
Lincoln’s shout of glee broke through her musings. She blinked. Lincoln had knocked Nicholas’s ball out of contention.
She yawned, her eyes heavy and magnetised by the curve of Nicholas’s butt. Jamie said something to him and he laughed, the joyful sound reaching her and making her smile. His laugh was nice.
She lay back on the grass, her head too heavy to keep upright. Maybe she would close her eyes for a moment and rest them. She’d had a long day.
By midnight Nicholas had a pleasant tipsy buzzing in his head. It had been a long time since he’d got anywhere near drunk, but Lincoln had convinced him to camp overnight, so he didn’t need to worry about driving. He’d decided to be as friendly as possible, make contacts who could help him if Mai chose to be difficult, and found himself having fun. An unfamiliar sensation, particularly in the last few months. His chest squeezed making it hard for him to breathe. He couldn’t think about that now, not here. He couldn’t change what had happened.
Gulping his beer, he choked as his throat closed up.
“You all right, mate?” Jamie asked, slapping him on the back.
He nodded, coughing and gasping for breath until the air flowed again. The others were looking at him. “Beer went down the wrong hole.”
“Well you’re up.” Jamie motioned for him to step up to the line.
The game. Of course. He could do this.
He and Jamie won the game, much to Lincoln’s disgust. He scanned the yard for Mai and found her lying on the grass fast asleep. His heart tugged. She looked young and sweet with her hands tucked under her head and her hair falling partially across her face.
No, he couldn’t afford to get involved, to get emotional. If he got soft, he’d make the same bad decisions that had led to him being down here, the decisions that had almost ruined Shadbolt.
“Should someone wake her?” he asked Jamie.
Jamie chuckled. “She must be tuckered out to sleep through this racket.”
He wanted to know more about Mai. “Does she always start early?”
“Yeah. Normally she takes a nap before coming out at night.” Jamie crouched down next to Mai and brushed her hair off her face. “Mayday, it’s time to wake up.”
Part of him wanted to pull Jamie away, stop him from touching her. Not good. His interest in Mai was strictly business. But he would have to be a moron not to notice her beauty.
Mai opened her eyes. “Did I drift off?” She sat up and stretched, her breasts rising a little further out of her dress. He hardened.
“You sure did.” Jamie stood back up.
“Your game must have been particularly boring.” Mai grinned at him and then caught sight of Nicholas. She stared at him for a long moment.
“We won.” Though it went against everything his brain yelled at him, Nicholas offered her a hand and she took it, her small hand in his. With only the smallest tug, she was on her feet, swaying a little. He steadied her, his hands against her soft icy skin. She had to be freezing. He pulled her closer, rubbing her arms, trying to get some warmth into her. His nose filled with her citrusy scent.
“What the hell?” She shoved him hard and he let go.
What had he just done? He didn’t touch people without their permission and here he was practically fondling her. He stepped back. “Sorry. You were cold.”
“Here, Mai, take my jacket,” Jamie said, handing it to her.
Nicholas needed to get out of there. He’d obviously had too much to drink. His fingers still tingled from the softness of her skin. “I’m going to get some water.”
Inside the much warmer kitchen, he found a glass in one of the wall cupboards and filled it with water. He skulled it and then closed his eyes.
He shouldn’t have come.
Being here connected him to the community, forming relationships like he had with Lincoln and his mates. Not a good thing. They’d turn on him if he hurt Mai’s business and it would all end badly, he knew that. He’d failed his best friend in Perth because he’d trusted him too much. He couldn’t make the same mistake again.
A woman on crutches came into the room, wobbling slightly as she came to a stop. She scowled. “You’re Nicholas Shadbolt.”
He nodded. She had to be one of Mai’s friends.
As she reached into a high cupboard to get a glass, one of her crutches slipped with a crash to the floor and the woman wobbled.
“Need a hand?” he asked, holding her arm to steady her.
She hesitated. “Please.” She handed him the glass.
“I broke my leg in primary school,” he said as he turned on the tap. “It was cool for about a week getting people to sign the cast and then I couldn’t wait to get it off.”
The woman nodded. “Tell me about it. It’s driving me crazy.” She took a sip. “I’m Hannah.”
“Ryan’s girlfriend.”
Hannah beamed and blushed. “Yeah.”
At that moment the man himself walked in. “There you are.” Ryan drew Hannah into his arms and kissed her.
That was his cue to leave. Nicholas wandered back outside onto the verandah.
Around him people started the countdown. “Ten, nine, eight…”
Thank God the year was over. The new year couldn’t possibly be as bad as the past one.
He shook his head. He needed to be positive. He would successfully complete the development in Blackbridge and prove his capability to his father.
“Happy New Year!” The shout went up all around the yard.
People were hugging and kissing, wishing each other a happy new year. Someone bumped into him and he found himself looking down at Mai.
His breath caught as her espresso brown eyes captured him.
“I don’t like you,” she stated, “but happy new year anyway.” Before he could prepare himself, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the mouth. It wasn’t more than a second-long kiss, with a hint of strawberry, but desire shot straight through him. Mai took a hasty step back, her eyes wide with shock. “Crap.” She turned and walked away.
He couldn’t agree more, but he took a step after her before he managed to catch himself. That would not end well. Mai was upset he’d bought her building. Taking advantage of the situation would not help.
No matter how much he wanted to stop her, draw her into his arms and kiss her senseless, it wasn’t going to happen.
Business and pleasure didn’t mix.
Ever.
Chapter 3
The dull throb in Mai’s head woke her the next morning. With a groan she cracked open one eye and sunlight stabbed her. She squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t drunk that much last night, however a large glass of water and a couple of painkillers would go down a treat right about now.
In the bed next to hers, Fleur snored quietly. Mai would have preferred to be sound asleep as well.
A glance at her phone told her it was nine o’clock. Not as late as she’d hoped, but later than she’d slept in ages. Her tight bladder added to her discomfort and she crept out of bed. She stopped in the bathroom, doing her best to keep quiet. The house was fairly silent, but somewhere voices were murmuring softly.
Next stop water and some painkillers.
Walking past Kit’s bedroom, she nearly bumped into Jamie coming out. She gasped. He shouldn’t be in there.
He grinned. “It’s not what you think.”
“And what’s that?”
“That Kit and I slept together.”
They walked through the living area where Lincoln was curled up asleep on one of the sofas and into the kitchen. “Aren’t you still dating Sandra?”
“Yeah.”
Mai put the kettle on. “Then there’s no way.” Neither Jamie nor Kit were like that.
“You’re right – we shared a bed. So what about you?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?” She raided Kit’s first aid kit for some painkillers and swallowed two.
“You kissed Nicholas.”
She froze at the memory. Midnight, wishing everyone a happy new year. Feeling so happy she kissed everyone, including Nicholas. Though it couldn’t really be called a kiss – more like an electric shock of desire. “I don’t like him. I was caught up in the celebration.”
Except that wasn’t a hundred percent correct. She wouldn’t start the new year by lying to herself. She’d kissed Nicholas because she’d wanted to get it out of her system and she’d figured being tipsy gave her a fall back excuse. That had backfired. If anything she wanted to kiss him again.
Jamie raised his eyebrows. She ignored him. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
There was a knock at the kitchen door and speak of the devil, Nicholas stuck his head in. “Did someone say coffee?”
He wore what he’d worn last night, but his clothes weren’t rumpled like he’d slept in them. He looked put together and fresh, sexy with that hint of stubble. Why was he still here?
“Yeah, Mai’s making. Come in, mate.” Jamie gestured him in.
“There’s only instant coffee.”
“Fine by me,” Nicholas replied. “As long as it’s strong and black, it’ll work.”
Mai dumped three spoons of instant coffee into his cup and poured in the hot water. “Here you go.”
Nicholas took a sip and his eyebrows raised, but he swallowed. “Lovely. Thank you.” He smiled as if amused.
What was it about him that made her act like she was in kindergarten? She prided herself on being calm in every situation and she realised things didn’t always work out the way she planned.
But him buying the building had really thrown her, had tossed up all her fears in her face and made her feel like she was scrabbling to keep a hold. She hated it, wanted to hate him. But she couldn’t. Maybe it was the way Jamie and the others had welcomed him into the fold that made him seem trustworthy.
She took her coffee and her phone and went out the back onto the verandah.
The paddock to the right of her contained a sea of swags and tents. Dozens of people had chosen to camp overnight. Some were already up and cooking bacon on the barbecues, the smell carrying in the air, making Mai’s stomach rumble. Felix ran around with a friend, and Joe begged for Hannah to sling him a piece of meat by the barbecue. Mai wandered over.
“I hope we didn’t wake you,” Hannah said.
“You didn’t.” Mai stole a piece of bacon from the plate where Hannah piled it.
“Good. Felix woke up at the crack of dawn. Kit took him to milk the cows and let us sleep for a bit longer.”
Of course Kit had been up early, despite the late night. The cows waited for no one. “She must be shattered.”
“She said something about going back to bed afterwards,” Hannah said.
Lincoln came outside with a backpack slung over his shoulder, and trotted down the steps, his face grim. “Can I get some bacon to go?”
Mai’s phone beeped and she read the message. Her heart raced. Not what she needed on her one day off.
“What is it?” Hannah asked.
“Fire call out.” She didn’t have a car to get back to town and as second-in-command she needed to be there.
As Hannah handed Lincoln a bacon butty, Mai asked, “You heading back to town?”
“Yeah. Got a call about some vandalism. Thought I’d see to it straight away so I could enjoy the rest of the day.” His eyes were sad.
“Can I get a lift?”
“Sure.”
“Give me a minute.” She dashed inside to grab her bag. Nicholas was no longer in the kitchen with Jamie – not that she cared.
In the car, she called to get details of the fire. Not many of her team were likely to be sober enough to deal with a fire this morning. She’d stopped drinking as soon as she’d kissed Nicholas. It was enough to make anyone sober.
When she hung up Lincoln asked, “What’s the call?”
“Smoke was spotted out near Greenfish Bay. Some idiot probably had a campfire last night.” Another brigade was mobilising but it was a slow start all around.
“You take care of yourself.”
“Always do.” Lincoln knew more about what she did as a volunteer fire-fighter than the others. As the local emergency coordinator he understood the dangers.
He dropped her at the fire station, where only Lawrence’s car was parked. Not a good start.
The fire captain had the fast attack vehicle primed and ready to go, as she headed for her spare gear. “Is it just you and me?”
“No, we’ve got a new recruit.” Lawrence ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair. He seemed weary today. “Which is just as well because I got no other responses. I’m going to call around now.”
Mai dressed quickly and returned to Lawrence as Nicholas entered the fire station.
Mai frowned as her pulse sped up. “What are you doing here?”
Nicholas stopped walking. “Mai.”
Lawrence smiled. “Have you met Nicholas? He’s transferred down from a city branch.”
He had to be kidding. Mai didn’t move while Lawrence showed Nicholas the gear. She didn’t want to be stuck in a car with this man for the next hour or so. Not after she’d been stupid enough to kiss him.
And what did a city boy know about a bush fire? If this was more than smoke, she had to know what skills the person fighting next to her had.
She slid behind the wheel of the fast attack. No way was he driving.
As Nicholas got in, Mai told Lawrence, “I’ll radio when we get there.”
“We’ll follow when I can get more volunteers, but the other brigade is mobilising too.”
She nodded and was silent as she drove out of town, lights flashing, siren on. Nicholas’s presence pervaded the cab, the bulk of his yellow fire-fighting gear taking up a lot of space, making her aware of how masculine and sexy he was. She shouldn’t have kissed him last night. But she didn’t have time to think about it now. She needed to find out if he knew what he was doing. “How long have you been a volunteer?”
“Six months.”
Great, he was green. “Been to many fires?”
“This will be my first non-drill.”
Crap. “Have you done the full training?” Please let him have done that at least.
“Yeah.”
That was something, but a real fire was a whole other ball game to the drills. “OK. When we get out there, I’m in charge. You do what I say, when I say it – got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He was entirely too agreeable. She didn’t trust it. The male fire-fighters generally didn’t like to be told what to do by a woman – at least not at first. Not until they realised she could save their arses.
Nicholas stared straight ahead, tugging on his earlobe, his foot tapping a rapid beat.
Was he nervous?
She remembered how scared she’d been on her first call out. “It’s probably just a campfire smoking,” she said. “People forget there’s a total fire ban in summer on nights like New Year’s Eve.”
“Have you been doing this long?” Nicholas asked.
“Six years.”
His eyes widened. “You must have been young when you started.”
“I was twenty. That summer there’d been quite a few bush fires and the bakery I worked at provided food for the volunteers. I wanted to help.”
“Have you lived in Blackbridge your whole life?”
“Since I was twelve.” Maybe some generic conversation would keep his mind off where they were going. “What about you? Why did you become a volunteer?”
He was silent for a moment. “There was a fire in the hills last summer. My brother lost his house and afterwards he joined the volunteer brigade and convinced me to as well.” He glanced out of the window.
She’d seen the devastation first hand, knew how horrified people were to have lost everything. Most people focused on rebuilding, not helping others. It made Mai warm to him a little more. “So how long are you staying in the area?” It was odd for him to transfer if he was only staying a week or two.
“I’m working down here for the next six months until the development is completed. I figured since it’s fire season it made sense to transfer.”
The development that would destroy her business, her career and her home. Mai scowled. She slowed to turn onto the gravel road leading out to Greenfish Bay. Smoke rose above the low coastal scrub, a long thin white cloud. It hadn’t taken hold yet. She pointed it out to Nicholas. “It’s good there’s no wind this morning.”
“How far away are we?”
“Another five minutes.” She hadn’t been out here in years, not since Fleur’s father had taken them both fishing. It wasn’t a pleasant memory. She’d discovered her aversion to blood when Fleur’s father had sliced open his finger when he was filleting a fish. She shuddered. There had been blood everywhere and she had been sure he would bleed to death out here in the middle of nowhere.
The bay wasn’t popular amongst families, which probably explained the abysmal state of the road. She slowed as the corrugated ruts jarred the vehicle and her teeth. A dark blue sedan slid around the corner in front of them, fish-tailing as it did so, a cloud of dust in its wake as it headed straight towards them.
Heart in her throat, she slammed down the horn and took her foot off the accelerator, as the car corrected itself and narrowly missed the fast attack vehicle. Mai caught a glimpse of the driver – Gordon.
Had he come out here after last night? Had he lit the fire?
Nothing to Gain Page 4
