Short Soup

by Coleen Kwan

  Short Soup

  www.escapepublishing.com.au

  Short Soup

  Coleen Kwan

  A story about best friends, childhood dreams, and the healing power of Chinese food…

  Toni Lau and Dion Chan were connected from birth — first via their parents’ jointly-owned restaurant, then via their bone-deep friendship. But children grow up, and Toni leaves their sleepy hometown looking for more than it can offer.

  Now Toni is back, raw with the knowledge that not all childhood dreams come true. Dion is on the brink of realising that both his own ambitions and his childhood friend have the power to derail all of his hard work. But loving Toni — and winning her love in return — has always been on his wish list. Can Dion really put her on the back burner while frying up his chef dreams? Or is it possible that together they can come up with a recipe for happiness?

  Dedication

  Mum and Dad, this one’s for you. I may not always take your advice, but I know it always comes from the heart.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to Margot and Alan for all the trips to Port Stephens which inspired the setting for this story.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  About the Author

  Excerpt from No Strings Attached

  Excerpt from Summer Fling

  Excerpt from New Year’s Kisses

  Chapter 1

  “You’re listening to Port Stephens FM, coming to you from Piper Bay, where it’s a balmy twenty-seven degrees and looking great for the weekend…”

  Toni Lau eased her foot off the accelerator as she reached the crest of the last hill before the long descent into her home town. The radio announcer was right about it looking great. The air was warm, the waters of the bay shimmering. A large white vessel edged out of the marina, laden with tourists on a dolphin-watching cruise. On this early summer day the blue water paradise looked picture perfect, but the sigh escaping her lips was heavy rather than carefree.

  This wasn’t the trip home she’d envisaged during her years abroad. Half a world away in foggy London, wrapped up in scarves and spreadsheets, she’d dreamed of the warm sea, the clear Australian light, the small town quiet. One day, she’d hoped, she and Nick would take a break from their busy careers and fly back for a visit. Well, she was back all right, but without Nick, her wedding ring, or her job.

  “Coming up on the drive show,” the radio announcer warbled, “we ask – is it ever okay to spy on your partner? Can it be justified, or is it a breach of trust?”

  Huh. Well, she knew the answer to that. If you got to the point of spying on your partner, then the relationship was already doomed even before you discovered the smutty text messages and photos on your husband’s mobile phone.

  A spasm twisted her belly. Damn. Even though she’d been looking forward to seeing her parents again, right now she wasn’t ready to face their well-meaning inquisitiveness. Especially from her mum. She wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d picked over every bone of Toni’s failed marriage.

  Her knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. At the next intersection, instead of turning left towards her parents’ home, she hooked right and drove away from the town centre, past the marina and the main beaches, heading east until she pulled up at Fly Point, a small promontory near the lighthouse. She got out and took the steep wooden stairs leading down the cliff face to the beach. Fly Point was rocky, inaccessible, and often deserted, which was why she and Dion had spent so much time here in their teens.

  From the last step she jumped down onto the beach. The tide was out, revealing an expanse of smooth sand and weathered grey rock. The heat of the sun soaked into her shoulders. The sunlight was dazzling. Shading a hand over her eyes, she squinted out to sea and saw a man sitting on a rock a short distance to her right, looking out at the horizon. As if he could sense her eyes on him, he turned towards her, rising to his feet at the same time. Against the afternoon glare he was a dark silhouette, his features shadowed, but there was no mistaking who he was.

  For a moment the man tensed as he caught sight of her, and then he came bounding towards her, his broad, bare feet kicking up sand.

  “Hey, chuckle berry.”

  Only one person in the world would call her “chuckle berry”. She peered up at him, a weird constriction crimping her lungs. “Dion?”

  He spread his arms wide. “You don’t recognise me?”

  Dion Chan. Her childhood buddy. His parents and hers co-owned the Happy Palace, a Chinese restaurant in town, and she’d known him all her life.

  She gave a laugh. “Sure I do. Who else would greet me with ‘Hey, chuckle berry’ after all this time?”

  Oh boy. She couldn’t stop staring at him. Dion had changed. He used to be elongated and lanky, his jet-black hair all long and shaggy, his body spare and loose-limbed. Now he was broader, more muscular, which seemed to add inches to his height. His shoulders and chest had filled out. His hair was cut short and no-nonsense, revealing a more angular face, all greenness gone, like an image brought into sharp focus. He wore black board shorts and white T-shirt, the thin material clinging to his solid upper body. Toni sucked in another breath. Jeez, why was she nervous about running into Dion again?

  He smiled, his whiskey-brown eyes flicking over her, making her aware that the years had changed her too. A lot. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”

  “I’m trying to remember how long ago since I last saw you. Were you here when I came up just before leaving for London? No, I don’t think you were.” She was babbling, but she couldn’t seem to stop.

  He shook his head, his smile fading. “No, I wasn’t here.”

  Now she remembered. The last time she’d seen Dion had been five years ago at her wedding. She had a vague memory of him hanging in the background looking moody, but at the time she’d been too stupid in love with Nick to care about anything else.

  “Oh. Right.” Bugger. Since when did she get tongue-tied in front of Dion?

  “Welcome back, Toni.” A husky note lurked in his voice. An awkward pause developed before he moved forward and wrapped his arms loosely around her. “It’s good to see you again.”

  As their bodies met, she found herself tensing. Over the years she’d received hundreds of hugs from Dion. But this one felt different. Now she was hyper-conscious of his physicality. His biceps were rock-hard, his chin rough stubbled, the mound of his shoulder disturbingly smooth. He smelt of sea and masculinity. Unfamiliar. This wasn’t the Dion she used to know. She pulled away, perplexed.

  “Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I probably need a shower.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s just–” She broke off, unable to explain why she felt so off kilter. “I’m not exactly myself today. That’s why I stopped here for a breather when I arrived.”

  He nodded in sympathy. “Not ready to show up at your folks’ place, huh?”

  “I’ve been looking forward to seeing them so much, but now I kind of have to gather my thoughts first.”

  He pushed sand around with his foot. “Your mum’s been worried about you. Your dad too, though he doesn’t say as much.” He pressed his sole down on the sand hill he’d created. “I know I’ve told you before, but I’m sorry about you and Nick.”

  The words sounded flat, rehearsed. She couldn’t decide whether he meant it or not. Dion barely knew her ex-husband. She’d met Nick at Sydney University where they’d both been studying commerce. Nick’s busy social calendar meant he’d only accompanied her to Piper Bay a handful of fleeting occasions. Soon after gra
duation, she and Nick had married and migrated to London, both of them landing jobs at the same investment bank. They were going to work and travel all over the world, forging their careers, then when they tired of globetrotting they would return to Sydney, buy a house together and start a family. So much for their dreams.

  Toni drew in a deep breath. “Thanks,” she replied. “So am I.”

  “You’re better off without him.”

  “That’s what I keep telling myself.” But it didn’t always help.

  He shot her a sharp glance, his eyes not soft any more. He looked like he was about to say something, but at the last moment he changed his mind and shook his head. What? she wanted to challenge him. What were you going to say about Nick and me? I need to know. But he turned away to pick up his beach towel, leaving her to stare after him in disappointment.

  “How long are you staying?” He was all politeness now. Unusually polite. In her company Dion had never pulled his punches. She could remember him calling a boy she had a crush on a douche bag – several times – until she told him to nick off. So why was he biting his lip now? Maybe her mum had said something to him, maybe told him of the last time she’d burst into tears on the phone. Ugh, she didn’t want to remember that.

  “Just a few days.” She mimicked his casual tone. “I have a job interview in Sydney middle of next week. I need to get back for that.”

  Using the towel he wiped some specks of sand from his upper arms. The sun gleamed on his tanned skin. He was summer-dark, sleek and fit, shimmering with vitality.

  “Still doing that bean-counting stuff, huh?” The corner of his mouth twitched.

  Her back stiffened. “I’m a qualified CPA now,” she couldn’t help saying.

  “A qualified bean counter, then.” He lifted his eyebrows. She opened her mouth to shoot back at him before the grin stretching across his face halted her. “Still so easy to tease. Glad you haven’t changed that much.”

  She let out her breath. “I’ve changed?”

  “Yeah, you’re all …” He waved towards her. “I dunno, all citified and cosmopolitan now. Before, you’d be wearing a singlet and shorts and rubber thongs, and your hair would be in pigtails. Now you’re … all that.”

  She glanced uncertainly at herself. Boutique cotton and linen dress. Flat leather Italian sandals. Toe nails varnished pearly pink. Turquoise and silver medallion. Slimline wristwatch. Hair loose and long down her back. Altogether far more fashion-conscious than she used to be. What did she look like to Dion? High maintenance? Precious? She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m still me,” she said defensively. Wanting to deflect attention, she added, “What about you? I hear you’re practically running the restaurant on your own these days. How’s that working out for you?”

  “The jury’s still out. We’ll see once the relaunch happens. Either it’ll succeed or both our parents will come down on me like a ton of bricks.”

  For thirty years the Laus and the Chans had been turning out unpretentious Cantonese meals; the husbands manning the woks while the wives took care of everything else, but recently there had been a radical change. According to her mother, the two couples were moving into semi-retirement and leaving most of the operations to Dion.

  “You’re braver than me,” she said. “They’ve been running the place the same way for so long, I don’t know how you convinced them to hand over the reins to you.”

  “It’s conditional, didn’t you know? If I don’t make a good fist of it and very soon, my dad will step in.”

  That was no idle threat. The relationship between Dion and his dad had often been testy. “I’m sure it won’t come down to that,” she said.

  He shrugged, still cagey. “Tomorrow, we’ll see.”

  Tomorrow night was when the Happy Palace would be relaunched after several weeks of renovation. A party would be held, with lots of influential people invited. Toni had heard all the details via her mother and been none too subtly urged to come up to Piper Bay for the event. Toni had been meaning to visit her parents anyway, and she was curious about the changes Dion would make. Plus, it was her birthday in three days’ time. She’d be turning twenty-seven. Damn – not even thirty and already divorced. Not a record she’d envisaged in her teens.

  “I’m sure you’ll manage,” she said. “You always do.”

  For as long as she’d known him Dion had coasted through life, reluctant to break out in a sweat over anything. She was the one who’d stressed out over her marks, her friends, her future. Dion didn’t care about grades. He had more friends than he could handle. Even ex-girlfriends couldn’t stay mad with him. And he never worried about the future.

  Except right now he didn’t look all that carefree. There was a frown between his eyes and his shoulders were tense. Could he be nervous about taking on the responsibility of the restaurant? No, he’d been helping out there since he was twelve. His dad had taught him how to cook, and he’d worked overseas in Hong Kong and Beijing for three years. Was there something else then? She chewed on her lower lip, conscious of the distance between them. Five years was a long time. In the years they’d been apart they’d exchanged emails and Facebook updates, but cyberspace was no substitute for personal communication. They’d grown apart, and the gap couldn’t be bridged with a few minutes of casual conversation.

  “Dion?” she asked hesitantly. “Is everything okay? With you, I mean.”

  A strange expression flitted over his face, one she couldn’t interpret.

  “I’m great.” He sucked in a breath, his T-shirt stretching tight across his chest. “I’ve just got a lot of things on my mind.” He slung the towel over his shoulder. “I need a shower. You coming?”

  For a split second she had a powerful visual of Dion in the shower, water cascading over his tanned, naked body. She blushed furiously. Jeez, how inappropriate could she get? Dion was practically her cousin, and you didn’t mentally undress your cousin. It was too … bizarre.

  Hurriedly she spun away, hiding her hot face behind a curtain of hair. “Yes, I should get going or my mum will start ringing.” She began to walk back to the stairs, Dion following close behind. “Um, I’ll see you soon.”

  “Tonight, to be precise.”

  “Oh?” She swung round. She hadn’t realised how close he was. He bumped into her, the solidness of his chest surprising her.

  He hissed out a breath, took a quick step back. “Yup, your, er, mum invited us over for dinner.”

  The front of her torso was still tingling from the brief contact with his body. What was the matter with her? Low blood sugar? PMS? Post-divorce craziness? She had to get out of here before she made a complete fool of herself.

  “Right, right. Okay. See you tonight.”

  Glaring sunshine poured over her as she scrambled up the wooden stairs. The back of her neck was sticky, but somehow she didn’t think that was entirely due to the air temperature.

  Dion stared after Toni as she hurried up the stairs to her car. His gaze was glued to the tantalising sight of her thighs flashing beneath the short hem of her dress. Damn, she had sexy legs. And a luscious bottom. Did she know what an eyeful she was giving him from this angle? Probably not. Toni had never been a flirt.

  Sunlight glinted off her blue-black hair. Her hair was like a midnight waterfall, shiny and immaculate. Probably cost a fortune to maintain. She looked a million dollars, despite her divorce … or maybe because of it. Her figure had rounded out, become more attractive, if that was possible. He stared after her until his eyeballs hurt. Eventually she disappeared from sight, and a few moments later he heard a car pulling off. Only then did he realise he’d been holding his breath. He exhaled, rubbing the dull ache in the centre of his chest.

  Well, that could have gone better. How could he be so dumbstruck in front of such an old friend? This was Toni, for chrissakes. They’d shared baths when they were toddlers, discussed pimple creams when they were teenagers, argued over music and TV, seen each other almost every day for the first
eighteen years of their lives. But everything was different now. He was different. For the first time in his life he was nervous around a woman.

  Scowling, he tramped up the wooden stairs, his bare soles slapping on the rough boards. His SUV was parked a short distance up the road. He got in and pulled off in a flurry of gravel.

  Trouble was, he didn’t know how to act around Toni any more. Until the end of high school he’d taken her for granted. She was just a part of his life, always there, like his right arm. Then she’d left. With her drive and academic smarts it was a given she’d go to university. Everyone expected her to succeed, including him. While she went off to Sydney uni, he’d stayed behind in Piper Bay, doing what he did best which was not to take life too seriously.

  When had he come to realise what a gaping hole she’d left in his life? Was it before or after his big blow up with his dad? He couldn’t even label the emotion he’d felt every time he thought of her. Even now he couldn’t. Those few minutes with her on the beach had been all kinds of things – terrific, terrifying, and miserable all at the same time. When her face had clouded over at the mention of her ex, he’d felt so furious and hamstrung. Furious that someone had hurt her so badly; hamstrung because he couldn’t act on his instincts – which were to pull her into his arms, stroke her hair, and tell her everything was going to be all right. Nick had screwed her over, but at least the bastard was out of the picture now. Maybe now Toni would finally begin to notice him, not as a platonic friend, but as a man.

  He definitely wanted more than friendship. He wanted to hold her close and smell her hair. Wanted to slide his hands over those tasty legs of hers, pull off that dress and get down and dirty with her. Wanted it more than ever after bumping into her near the stairs. The memory of her breasts squishing against his chest brought the heat seething through his body.

  He pulled up in his driveway and jumped out the car. What was wrong with him? Five minutes with his childhood buddy and his brain was a mess. Where was his cool? Sure, he’d carried a yen for Toni for too long, but that was no excuse to lose it with her. She was here for a few days only. She’d split with her husband. And this was the worst time for him to become distracted. The relaunch of the restaurant was his golden opportunity to finally prove himself to his dad. No time to fool around with a woman, especially one in a vulnerable state like Toni. He’d just have to bring his balls into line. Keep things light between himself and Toni. Be the easy-going guy she’d always known.