It felt damned good. She’d feel even better when they went back home to Gully’s Fall in a week’s time.
Moving to the window, she glanced out into the street. Simon and Moz still hadn’t returned, but they should be back soon with food.
Cripes, how Simon could possibly maintain such a hot physique when he ate like a horse was beyond her. He even out-did Moz, and that said a lot. He’d chowed down Moz’s stew last night, topped it off with Moz’s homemade bread and cheesecake, and had homemade scotch shortbread for supper. He polished off the rest of the cheesecake right before bed.
Good thing he and Moz got along like a house on fire. Moz loved to cook, Simon loved to eat, it was a match made in Heaven. Elissa was pretty sure if Moz had been a girl, Simon just might have got engaged to him instead of Elissa.
Feeling thirsty, she walked into the empty kitchen and picked up the bottle of water, taking several mouthfuls. Packing up the flat had taken several days. After flying over to NSW, she and Simon had stayed with Moz while going through the flat. The furniture had all been sold, things she wanted boxed and freighted back to Gully’s Fall, everything else given to charity.
Looking around, she thought how empty the flat had been even when all her things had been in it. It had never really felt like home, never felt like a sanctuary. Not like Gully’s Fall, and not like Simon’s home which was now hers as well. They might have only been together for six months but it felt like forever. A very good forever. They fit so well, like perfect pieces of a puzzle.
This was the final loose thread of her old life, neatly snipped. She’d waited long enough, a friend of Moz’s sub-letting it until Simon and she had holidays and could travel across the country to finalise details.
It was done.
“You’re really doing it.”
Startled, she whirled around to see her parents standing in the doorway. Well, they’d finally turned up. Inconsiderate as always.
“Mum?” Feeling a little awkward as she’d always done in her presence, she moved across to hug her, feeling the stiffness in her mother’s returned embrace.
Her father was friendlier, giving her a hug. “Hi, pumpkin.”
Shifting back, she watched them look around before they looked back at her.
“You didn’t show at the restaurant last night,” she said. “We had a date. You were going to meet Simon.”
“We were busy with Lisa’s show. Lisa, my new client.” Her mother flicked a piece of lint off her expensive trousers before she sighed. “Really, Elissa? You’re really going to do this?”
Oh great. Elissa mentally steeled herself. “Mum, we’ve had this conversation before. Yes, I-”
“I mean, for God’s sake, burying yourself in the backwoods of a scrubby little town?” Her mother flung out her hands in exasperation. “After living the highlife, you’re really going to do it?”
“We only want what’s best for you, pumpkin,” her father said soothingly, stepping forward to put his arm around her shoulders. “Maybe you haven’t thought this through enough. It’s still a novelty for you, still-”
“Dad,” Elissa said firmly, pulling away from him to stand and face them both. “Stop it.”
“Okay, okay.” Holding up his hands in a parody of placating her, her father stepped back.
Leaving the floor for her mother, just as he always did, only this time Elissa just raised one eyebrow. “Really, Dad? Really?”
“What?” He blinked innocently.
“You’re not going to take a stand?”
“Now, dear, I think your Mum understands these things much better.”
“You mean you’ll leave it up to her to browbeat me.” She cut her gaze to her mother. “Or try to.”
Mrs Baylon’s face grew colder. “You need to stop fooling yourself and get back in the circuit, Elissa. You need to live your life.”
Oh boy. Where once the words would have battered her down, Elissa now leaned back against the counter, crossing her ankles indolently as she studied her parents.
Her mother was done up in an expensive trouser suit, hair sleek, jewellery glittering. Her shoulder bag alone probably cost more than Elissa’s weekly wage. Her eyes were cold, calculating as she took in Elissa’s dusty slacks, the open blouse over a t-shirt, blue sneakers, and her hair up in a jaunty ponytail.
“I’m a mess because I’ve just finished cleaning the flat,” Elissa stated easily. “I dress neat for work, casual for home, and I’m happy.”
“You’re wasting your life.”
“No, Mum, in fact, I’m living my life. I’m doing what I want, enjoying it, being free.”
“Freedom is for no-hopers.”
“There are definitions of no-hopers. My definition is great.”
Mrs Baylon’s gaze dropped to the engagement ring on Elissa’s finger, her sneer meant to hurt. “Is that your engagement ring?”
Elissa held her hand up to admire the small diamond flanked by two equally small emeralds. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Beautiful?” Mrs Baylon’s lip curled. “Couldn’t your fiancée afford a decent sized ring?”
“My fiancée, Mum, knew exactly what I wanted. In fact, he always knows what I want because he listens to me, he sees me. He knows way more about me than you will ever know.” Elissa shrugged. “And he cares way more about me than you and Dad ever did.”
“Oh, now, pumpkin,” Mr Baylon protested. “We care about you. We only want what’s best for you.”
“For you two, you mean.” Taking a leisurely sip of water, Elissa eyed them both.
Her father smoothed his hand down the front of his expensive jumper, his hair neatly trimmed, slacks pressed to within an inch of their lives and his Italian loafers. “We gave up everything for you-”
“No, Dad, you didn’t. You forced me to live for you. You and Mum wanted money and fame, and because you couldn’t get it yourselves, you got it through me. Well, the money part, anyway, because fame by-passed me, and hence you two as well.”
“You could have gone far,” Mrs Baylon snapped. “And now you’re throwing it all away, everything we did for you gone!”
“Actually, Mum, I did it myself, too. I sang, I had the voice, I went on stage. You tied me down with guilt, you nearly crushed the very breath from me.” Screwing the cap onto the bottle, she placed it down on the bench. “Now here’s what’s happening, Mum and Dad. I met a wonderful man who set me free.” She ignored her mother’s snort. “He encourages me to be myself, to do what I want, and what I want is a life with him, a sharing, caring life of love and laughter. Sure, there’ll be bad times, hard times, that’s a part of life, but Simon will be there with me every step of the way. We’ll laugh together, cry together, get mad together. We’ll work at jobs we love to live the life we love, and we’re both free in ways you two will never be or know. We have great friends, live in a sweet little town, have a cranky cat and a dodgy house that we’re fixing up together. I have Moz. And you know what?”
Mrs Baylon sighed heavily. “What?”
“I’ve never been happier in my life. Because I’ve found my life, I’ve found me, and most importantly, I’ve found Simon. So.” She smiled brightly. “Coming to Gully’s Fall for the wedding?”
Her mother visibly shuddered.
“Actually,” Mr Baylon said carefully. “We’re kind of busy.”
Surprise, surprise. “You don’t say.”
“Your Mum’s managing a new client. Lisa’s a fantastic singer, she’ll go a long way.”
“And take you both with her, no doubt.”
“It could have been you,” Mrs Baylon pointed out.
“But it’s not.”
Her mother paused, picked at the strap of her bag. “If you come back, Calum said he’d consider taking you on again. We could be a family again, be a-”
“Family?” Elissa snorted. “Mum, we were never truly a family. Moz was the only one who really cared about me. You only cared about my singing and ability to make money. Dad on
ly cared about keeping you happy and reaping the rewards.”
Mrs Baylon’s lips tightened. “Is that your last word, then? It’s final?”
“Now, honey-” Mr Baylon began.
“Now nothing,” she snapped. “Elissa? Is that it?”
“I do believe it is,” Elissa drawled.
“Fine.” She glared at Elissa. “Don’t expect me at the wedding, don’t expect me anywhere near that backwoods town. I’ll be too busy helping a singer who appreciates her natural talents.”
“Mum?” Elissa unscrewed the cap off the water bottle.
“Yes?”
“Please, do let the door hit you on the arse on the way out.”
With an outraged gasp, Mrs Baylon swung on her heel and stalked out. “Come on, Howard!”
Mr Baylon looked from Elissa to his wife’s departing back and back to Elissa.
Steadily, Elissa watched him, waiting for him to make a move.
“Well...” He looked helplessly at her.
“Howard!” Mrs Baylon almost screamed.
“Yes, honey! Coming!” Mr Baylon leaped forward, gave Elissa a quick hug. “Now, pumpkin, you look after yourself, okay?”
“Howard! Come on!” her mother called furiously.
Mr Baylon gave Elissa quick peck on the cheek and left. Fast.
Leaning back against the kitchen bench, Elissa listened to the front door slam as she took another mouthful of water.
Well, there they went, the two people who should love her the most, off to make another woman’s life miserable. Or maybe happy, maybe they’d finally found a woman who matched their ambitions.
She should be crying, be upset, but all she felt was contentment. Okay, there was hurt, they were her parents after all, but she didn’t feel the ties that bound, those very cold, uncaring, guilt-laden ties. She was truly free. Simon had set her free with his love and caring, and it was he who mattered to her the most. Because she mattered to him.
Lifting her head suddenly, she listened. From outside she heard voices rising and falling in tone, her mother’s shrill tone, her father’s slightly deeper one, and then a definite deep, familiar tone. That deeper tone sounded furious. Simon. He was talking to her parents and he didn’t sound happy. Oh boy. Then came the slam of a car door. Huh.
A few minutes later Simon walked into the kitchen.
She smiled up at him. “Hi.”
He strode over to her, leaning down to brace his hands each side of her on the kitchen bench. He didn’t return her smile.
Her own faltered. “Is something wrong?”
“Sweetheart,” he replied softly, and leaning forward, he kissed her gently, light as a feather before pulling back enough to look down at her.
He might not have been smiling, but his eyes were tender.
Reaching up, she pushed a thick hank of red hair off his forehead. “You heard.”
“I had just come in the door. I hovered in the lounge.”
“You heard all of it?”
“Every last, horrible word.” He grimaced. “I was going to come in and start reaming your parent’s new arseholes, but I knew you wanted to deal with meeting them again yourself. You warned me about that last night before we went to the restaurant.”
“Had to,” she corrected. “I needed to do it myself.”
“That, too. But I was waiting.”
“And listening.”
“I respected your wish to deal with them yourself, but I wasn’t going to leave you here alone with them. If you needed help I was right there. One little sound of distress from you and nothing would have saved them.”
“You followed them outside, though, and had your say, didn’t you?”
He didn’t flinch. “Hell, yeah.”
“You ripped them a new one each, didn’t you?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, his gaze didn’t waver. “Hell, yeah.”
“Anything else you want to tell me?”
“You’re my fiancée, the love of my life, and I’m sorry if you don’t want me ripping your parents, but it felt damned good and was bloody long overdue.” He paused. “There’s just no way to put that any more eloquently.”
The man just made her heart swell. His love and protectiveness, well, it just did it for her. “You’re my hero.”
“Never mind that.” He moved forward, his warmth seeping into her as his body brushed hers. “Lis, are you all right?”
There was no hiding anything from him. He could look at her, know when something was wrong, and he cared. Really cared. She loved him so much, way too much to hide her feelings from him, her thoughts. Because she knew he’d understand.
“They’re my parents,” she said soberly. “It hurts that they don’t love me the way I need them to.”
“I’m sorry.” He leaned his forehead against hers, his warm eyes gazing down into hers with such love and kindness.
Such a Simon look.
“But I have something better,” she said softly.
He didn’t say a word, just watched her patiently.
Also a Simon trait.
“I have you.” Her hand slipped around his nape. “I have you, I have my life, and you make my whole world. So I got the better deal.”
He didn’t have to move much to kiss her with soul-searing gentleness.
As soon as he lifted his lips, she whispered, “I love you so much, Simon.”
Lifting her hand, he kissed her knuckle below the engagement ring. “I love you right back, Lis. With all my heart.”
He kissed her again, deeper, longer, his hands slipping from the bench to curl around her hips.
Elissa gasped as her skin stung beneath his left thumb.
Startled, he lifted his hands and stepped back, his gaze sweeping over her. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Did I hurt you?”
“It’s all right.” She grabbed his arm. “Actually, I kind of caused it myself.”
“Huh?”
“I was going to wait until later to show you, you know, when we’re in bed.” She waggled her eyebrows.
His own shot up in query.
“I got it this morning.” Grabbing hold of the hem of the t-shirt in one hand, she slid her thumb into the waistband of her slacks and slid them down over one hip.
Simon’s eyes went a little hot. “Oh yeah, baby, show me more.” Then he saw the white gauze taped over a small part of her hip at the front. Heat was replaced with concern. “What happened?”
“Just wait.” Eager to show him, she yanked the gauze off. “Holy crap! That stung.”
Simon’s mouth fell open. Then he dropped to his knees, carefully curled his hand around her waist and looked closely at the little tattoo.
Elissa looked down as well. Man, that tattoo was sweet. Two butterflies facing each other, wings out in flight. Simon and her names at the top, ‘flying free’ in scroll work below the butterflies.
“Jesus.” Simon swallowed.
“It’s a little sore still, but it’ll get better,” she assured him.
He looked up at her. His eyes had gone hot all over again. “You put my name on your body.”
Amused, she grinned. “By Jove, old bean, I am wearing your brand.”
Careful not to brush against her hip, he pushed to his feet to capture her face between his big hands and kiss her sweetly. Then a little deeper. Then a whole lot hotter.
By the time he shifted back a little, they were both breathing raggedly.
“So,” she almost croaked, “you like it?’
“Sweetheart, I love it.” His eyes danced with wicked heat. “I’m going to love tonguing that tat any time I want to.”
“Mmm.” She approved.
“Even better, I’m going to love knowing that you’re branded with my name.”
“Simon,” she murmured, swaying into his arms, “I wear it with pride.”
“You know you’re still free.” He nibbled kisses along her jaw line. “Still with me, always with me, but free.”
“I know.” She
arched her head, giving him greater access to her throat. “We’re free. Together.”
“Together,” he agreed. “Flying free, side by side. Always.”
####
BIO
Angela Verdenius lives in Australia where she is ruled by her cats, adores reading, and thinks a perfect day is writing and drinking Diet Coke, followed by reading or a good horror movie.
To date, she has written numerous novels in sci-fi romance series and BBW contemporary romances, 2 novellas, and several short stories, one of which is a zombie story she had great fun writing. Her books have won many reviewers’ awards, as well as having been on the Fictionwise best-seller list and winning the Golden Rose Award.
For more information about Angela’s books, visit:
Visit her website at http://www.angelaverdenius.com/
The lighter side of life on her blog http://angelaverdenius.blogspot.com/
and at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/angelaverdenius
Keep reading for a list of all available books in both ebook and print.
Other Books by this Author
BBW Romances
Big Girls Lovin’ trilogy: Doctor’s Delight
Cop’s Passion
Vet’s Desire
The Lawson Boys duet - The Lawson Boys: Alex
The Lawson Boys: Marty
The Virgin Sex Queen
The Mackay Sisters duet: Call on Me
Lean on Me
Seducing Sam
Adam’s Thorn
The Goodbye Girl
The Gully’s Fall series: Burn for You
Fall for You
Lie to Me
Fly with Me
Heart & Soul sci-fi romance series
Heart of an Outlaw
Soul of a Mercenary
Heart of the Betrayed
Love’s Sweet Assassin
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