by Raquel Lyon
“I thought he was right.”
“But he dumped you when he was a podgy spec-face, and he couldn’t do any better than you. Now he’s fucking hotter than the midday sand, and he could probably get any girl he wanted.”
“He is hot, isn’t he?”
“Amazingly so.”
Nessie smacked her sister’s arm playfully. “Hey, don’t be getting any ideas.”
Amy laughed. “I have my perfect man, thank you.”
“Matt says he wants me.”
“Then let him prove it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Matt spent a frantic few minutes straightening the bed covers and checking the floor for dirty underwear. If Nessie decided to come, he couldn’t risk her hightailing it back out the door repulsed by a pair of skanky skivvies. She might never talk to him again. Satisfied that everything passed inspection, he plumped the pillow one more time and imagined her head resting against it with her naked body awaiting his touch.
It was a lunch invitation, Matt. Lunch. Stick with the programme.
A knock on the door dragged him from his thoughts. Shit. So much for the big crisis. She was here already.
“Hey, Matt,” Johnny called. “You awake, dude?”
It wasn’t her. Fuck.
Matt opened the door, leaving it swinging on its hinges as Johnny strode into the room. “Awake and buzzing, man.”
“Cool. You up for that karting later?”
Matt closed the door. “Can’t say. Might be busy.”
“Doing what? Picking the fluff from your toes?” Johnny jumped onto the bed, lay back with his legs crossed, and stuck his hands behind his head. “Cora’s folks are arriving today. We’re doing lunch.” He spun the last two words out with an affected toned. “So I’ll need my best man to supply me with an excuse to leave after the appropriate amount of getting-to-know-you time. I’ve already checked the track’s available, so what do you say… meet outside at two? Your toes should be clean by then.”
“Sure. Whatever.” Two o’clock would leave him plenty of time to have lunch with Nessie.
“Great. I’ll round up the boys.” Johnny shunted to the edge of the bed and pushed to standing.
Matt looked down at the wrinkled sheets and sighed. “Are we done?”
Johnny followed his line of sight and laughed. “Why? Are you expecting somebody?”
The “no” that shot out of Matt’s mouth was accompanied by a light tapping on the door.
Johnny’s brows rose. “Really.” They both reached for the handle, and Johnny won. “Nessie.” He smirked. “Surprise, surprise.” He turned to Matt and raised a brow. “Enjoy.”
***
Nessie scowled at Johnny—who had clearly got the wrong idea about her and Matt—as he left. Men had such one-track minds.
“You came,” Matt said, beckoning her inside.
She entered warily. “Only to say I can’t have lunch with you.”
Disappointment spread over Matt’s face. “Why?”
“Mum’s commandeered me.”
He cracked a small smile. “Johnny’s just done the same to me.”
“For lunch?”
“All afternoon.”
“Doing what?”
“Go-karting.”
“Garrett enjoys karting,” Nessie said.
A muscle twitched in Matt’s cheek. “He’s probably being invited as we speak.”
“I hope so.” Nessie kicked herself as soon as she’d said the words, but it was too late. Matt’s lip had curled into a knowing smile.
“You’re trying to get rid of him, aren’t you?”
How was she supposed to answer without lying? “No.” Liar.
“I think you are. First, you slink off to the beach—I’m guessing while he was still in dreamland—and then you want him to spend the afternoon with the boys.”
“I merely said he enjoys karting. I-I want him to have some fun.” So he forgets about me.
“Without you?”
Yes, without me. “Why not? Not all men want to be attached to their girlfriends twenty-four-seven, you know.”
“If you were my girlfriend, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.” He took a step closer, and his eyes bore down on her, doing nothing to help her weakened legs hold her upright. “If he thinks differently, he’s crazy, but I’m guessing you’re not giving him much of a choice. Or am I wildly off-base?”
Attempting to keep her legs under control, Nessie walked to the window to escape both Matt’s gaze and his probing questions. What was she doing in his room? She’d intended to let him know lunch was a no-go and leave. She really should go. It was far too dangerous to stay. And yet, something was holding her here—something familiar, something safe.
“That tree must be fascinating,” she heard Matt say.
A huge tree stood only metres away from the window and prevented seeing anything but the white lines on the car park below, but she wasn’t looking at the tree; she was looking at Matt’s reflection in the glass. “Your view is crap.”
“Looks pretty good from over here.” Lemons wafted in the air. Nessie breathed them in and let them invade her senses as Matt came to stand behind her, close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his chest. “Nessie, talk to me.”
“I thought I was doing.”
“I mean talk to me. Tell me something real. Tell me how you can stay with someone you don’t love when they treat you like shit. You don’t need that in your life.”
“How do you know what I need? You think you know Garrett and all my personal shit? Well, you don’t.”
His head crept over her shoulder. Warm breath tickled her ear and sent a shimmer of sensations down her body. “I know more than you think. I saw the way he grabbed you, yesterday, like you were his property, and I see a lot more in your eyes. I wasn’t on the force for nothing, you know. I learnt a few things, like how to put two and two together.”
Nessie rotated her head, jerking her neck back when they almost bumped noses. “You have no idea what’s going on.”
“Then tell me, because it’s my guess that it’s not him who doesn’t want to be attached to you; it’s you who doesn’t want to be attached to him. Am I right?” As he spoke, his eyes roamed over every contour of her face before landing on her lips.
Jeez, the room was stuffy. Where had all the air gone? Why couldn’t she seem to get enough of it into her lungs? “Stop psychoanalysing me.” And staring at my mouth like you want to devour it.
“That’s all I can do without the facts.”
“The fact is it has nothing to do with you.” Nessie pushed past him and headed for the door, but he was too quick and reached it before she did, blocking her exit.
He folded his arms and leaned against the woodwork. “Why do you let him treat you like that? Is it the money?”
“Oh, so now I’m shallow as well as a doormat?”
“I’ve known you since seventh grade. I haven’t forgotten your dreams of having a big, white house with pillars at the front. He could give you that.”
“I haven’t forgotten it either, but I’ll be buying it with my own money.”
“When you become a famous fashion designer?”
“That’s right. Now, if you don’t mind. I need to get changed before lunch.” She reached for the handle next to his waist.
He moved so fast she hardly had time to blink, and in a second, their positions had reversed, with the painted panel cold against her shoulders and Matt looming over her with one arm flat against the wood above her head and the fingertips of his other pressed to the door, caging her in.
“I can’t let you leave when you’re cross with me.” He ran the back of his fingers down her arm. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. It just makes me so angry to think you’re unhappy.”
Nessie tried to ignore the tingling trail on her arm and the unconscious tightening of her lower stomach. “It didn’t seem to bother you four years ago when I was crying myself to sleep.”
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“I didn’t know you were,” the fingers crept back upwards, and her stomach gave a final twist, “or I would have tried to make it up to you, but you acted as if you hated me.”
“I was upset. When I’m miserable I get angry.”
His fingers reached her neck and stopped moving. “You’re miserable now, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine,” she said, feeling far from it. Lack of food combined with stuffy air had made her light-headed, and her heartbeat pulsed so hard in her throat, it threatened to cut off her air supply entirely. “Or I will be in a couple of days, when this is all over.”
“When what’s over?”
Shit. She had to go and open her big mouth again, didn’t she? Where had her willpower gone? It was as if Matt held her under some sort of spell, forcing the truth from her and turning her mind and body to mush. She felt as if she’d downed half a dozen shots in a row. Her head was swimming, and her legs were about to give way. If she didn’t get out of there, she was going to faint.
Taking a deep breath and finding the strength to push him away and open the door, she said, “Garrett and me.”
Chapter Fourteen
As much as it killed him to, Matt let her leave and stared blankly at the emergency evacuation notice stuck to the back of the door, trying to make sense of what she’d said. Her words had stunned and excited him at the same time—not that he’d been surprised to hear there was trouble in paradise. After meeting Garrett, the only surprise was that they were a couple at all. The guy was a douche. No wonder she wanted out. She’d given more than a hint that she’d soon be a free woman, and that time couldn’t come soon enough as far as he was concerned. But what he couldn’t figure out was what she was waiting for. Why would a girl stay with a man she clearly didn’t love? Why invite him on holiday and sleep in the same bed? Fuck. That thought seriously made him retch. There had to be more to the story. If only he could figure out what the hold-up was.
As soon as Johnny had mentioned the week-long wedding plan, a seed had planted in Matt’s brain. Back home, he’d often called to see his best mate in the hope that Nessie would be home, but if she wasn’t away at university, she was spending her holidays in Ireland, and it had frustrated the hell out of him. A full week in the same hotel was the break he’d been looking for, and he had a plan: apologise repeatedly until she accepted, befriend her again, and ease into winning her back. Sure, he only had a week to do it all, and the boyfriend still being in the picture did complicate things, but he’d never been one to back out of a challenge, even a seemingly impossible one.
Thankfully, it seemed luck was on his side, and Nessie was doing half the job for him. Even through her indignant exterior, he detected a flicker of interest. All he needed was the boyfriend off the scene. So what was the deal?
A couple of days, she’d said. Why a couple of days? He couldn’t wait a couple of days. She’d been out of his life far too long already. He wanted her now. He needed to know she belonged to him and only him. He should have been prepared for how strong his reaction would be to seeing her again, but being alone with her, and not being able to hold her in his arms, was the worst kind of madness, and he’d had to fight the urge to whisk her onto the bed, run his hands over every curve of her body—the way he should have done all those years ago—and kiss her senseless.
Nessie had taken Matt’s appetite with her, but she’d left him with a raging hard-on, which refused to go away. He needed to cool down and decided a cold shower was his best option. As he stood under the icy spray, he felt pleased with his progress, but he needed to speed things up. Whatever was going on in Nessie’s head, he would figure it out, and when the time was right, he would be there to pick up the pieces.
***
Nessie had no idea how she made it up to her room without keeling over. Her meeting with Matt had left her all kinds of messed up.
“Where the hell have you been?” Garrett was lying on the bed, wearing only a towel around his waist, watching television.
Nessie dumped her bag on the floor and checked her face for sunburn, satisfied she wasn’t in the least bit pink. “I went to the beach.”
“Who with?”
“On my own, but then Amy called, and I had to go and help her out with Mum.”
Garrett flashed her a suspicious glare. “Strange how I just saw her come back from town with an armful of shopping bags.”
“You didn’t let me finish. After that, I went for a walk.”
“You went for a walk?” He laughed.
“Is there something funny about that?”
“The only walking you do is around the shopping centre.”
“Maybe I’ve changed.”
“I doubt it.”
His continued sniggering grated on her as she pulled off her dress and searched for some lingerie to replace her bikini. Why couldn’t she find the right kind? She should have brought more. Perhaps she should hit the shops too.
“I was hoping you’d gone to the hairdressers.”
Nessie ran a hand over her hair. “I’ve decided to keep it.”
“I don’t like it.”
“But I do. Have you seen Johnny?” she asked, her attention returning to the drawer. Garrett’s insistence that her shit be kept out of sight had resulted in all her possessions becoming one big jumble sale, and she desperately needed her deodorant.
“How did you know?”
“I-I bumped into him earlier. He mentioned something about karting.” Where was it? Ah.
Garrett swung his legs from the mattress and approached her. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ll bother.”
“Why not?” Nessie struggled to hide the panic in her voice.
An arm crept around her waist and her bikini top pinged open. “Because I can think of better things I’d rather be doing with my girl.”
Nessie clutched her top to her chest, unhooked herself from his grasp, and pushed him away. “I haven’t got time. Mum’s expecting me downstairs in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes is more than enough.”
“I have to get changed.” She opened the wardrobe and considered what to wear. Her jeans called to her, desperate to get a holiday outing, but the thought of them wet with sweat and sticking to her ass made her pull out yet another dress instead. Besides, Matt had always liked her wearing blue.
“Come here, first.” Garrett let his towel drop to the floor. “He’s ready. Look.”
“No. I’m not your property to order around. Nor am I a toy you can pick up and play with when the mood takes you and throw back in the box when you’re bored. I’m going to lunch with my mother,” Nessie said, averting her eyes and escaping to the bathroom. When she emerged a few minutes later, she was relieved to see the towel back in place.
“That dress looked better on the hanger,” Garrett said, scanning her body. “Mind you, a roll in the sheets would burn a few calories.”
“Are you calling me fat?”
“You have to admit you’ve let yourself go.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah. Pity none of it has gone on your tits.”
“You’ve always said you loved my boobs.”
“I did. Look, sweetheart, I’m prepared to forgive you for your little outburst. Come here and be nice to me, and if you promise to lose a few pounds, I’ll get you a boob job as a reward. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“You mean you’d like that.”
“I just want you to feel good about yourself.”
“Sure you do. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the way you always eye up my sister, could it?”
“She has a great set of tits. What man wouldn’t look?”
“You like them so much,” she said, slipping on her sandals, “go sleep with her.”
“Now you’re just being stupid. She’s dating my best mate.”
“I bet if she weren’t, you’d be all over her.”
“Of course not, sweetcheeks, I’m with you.”
Not for much
longer.
Chapter Fifteen
After a lunch consisting of sparse green salad, scattered with pieces of undercooked chicken too dodgy to risk eating, Nessie declined the offer of dessert.
“Why don’t you push me into the lounge, dear?” her grandmother said. “We can have a chat over a nice cup of tea, whilst the others finish their meal.”
“I’d like that, Grandma.”
Nessie hadn’t seen her grandmother for more than a decade. When she and Amy were little girls, there had been the occasional family trip to visit their Grandma and Grandad in their south coast home, but at that age, Nessie had been more interested in playing in the sand than talking to her wheelchair-bound grandmother. A fact she now regretted. Then, when her father made Partner at his firm, family holidays became nothing more than tagging along on his business trips.
Grandma Bishop had been confined to her chair since before Nessie was born, and Nessie had been brought up never to ask questions as to why. But despite her disability, the old lady didn’t wallow in self-pity. She always had a smile on her perfectly painted face. Her clothes were of obvious quality, and her almost white hair was styled into a neat chignon. Nessie stared at it, trying to remember whether her grandmother used to have the trademark blond hair, all the women in her family seemed to possess, as she positioned the chair and clicked down the brake.
“Is here okay for you, Grandma? I like the view of the sea from this window.”
“If you like it, I like it, dear.”
Nessie ordered the tea and sat tapping her fingers on the chair arm as she stared out over the gardens.
“Are you okay, dear?” her grandmother asked.
“Yes, I’m fine, Grandma. Just hungry.”
“Then why didn’t you eat more?”
“I’m trying to lose a few pounds.”
“Whatever for? You have a lovely figure. It reminds me of my own before I got stuck in this damn chair.”
