Common Ground

by Wendy Smith

  “While we make all the other bits and pieces to go with it.”

  She smiles. “This is why we make such a good team, Delaney.”

  “We sure do. And your cousin. Do you think he would help us?”

  Pania nods. “He’s the one who knows all about how to prepare a hangi. I’ll talk to him, and I’m sure he’d do it for a few dollars.”

  I grin. He’s been staying with her these past few weeks while he works out what to do with his life. Young and keen to work, I’m sure he’ll be glad for the work, even if it is just for a day. “Whatever works. We’ll need everyone onboard for it, but I’m sure Trina and Jo will love to hang out on the film set.”

  “We could light a bonfire on that tiny bit of beach he has. We don’t need a permit this time of year. It’d be nice to have an outdoor meal.”

  Forget it being a job. It’s beginning to sound like a nice night out with my friends.

  Will Josh be there?

  I’m jolted out of my thoughts by Pania’s hand landing on mine. “You know Josh will be there, right?”

  I laugh. “I literally just had that thought.”

  “Maybe you should screw him and get it out of your system.”

  Shaking my head, I save my spreadsheet to look at later and close the laptop. “I’m not sure I could ever do that.”

  “What? Screw him, or get him out of your system?”

  I shrug, but the reality is that Josh will never be out of my system.

  I’ve known that the whole time.

  Fourteen

  Delaney

  At least George has given us more time for this meal. And Pania’s idea has made the evening a lot easier.

  My mouth waters as the food is taken out of the ground. Pania and Wiremu make a show of it as there are a lot of people here who haven’t had hangi before.

  I can already taste the smoky-flavoured food.

  “That smells so good.” Melly squeezes my hand. Against my better judgment, she’s here because I don’t have a babysitter. Keeping her away from Josh is proving to be difficult. Not that I’ve seen any sign of him. He’s filming, but no doubt will be here at some point to eat.

  “We’ll have some very soon.” There’s a ton of food, and there’ll be leftovers too, but they’re filming into the night so I’m sure it’ll be all gone by the morning.

  Once the cast and crew have eaten, I grab two paper plates and get a little bit of everything for Melly and me before we sit down on the stone beach by the fire.

  “This was such a good idea,” Pania says.

  “Really good. At least it’s not too cold tonight too. It’s like the weather knew what we were up to.”

  I sense the moment Josh and Jessie arrive for their dinner. The chatter behind us increases and people greet them as they walk to the tables.

  My stomach churns seeing them walking together, but it’s not like they’re holding hands or anything.

  I’m not even sure if Josh sees me as he sits with some of the crew, talking with them while they dig into the food.

  Melly cleans her plate and then leans back. “I’m so full.”

  I laugh. “It was good then?”

  “It was so yummy.”

  I finish my food and get up, then walk to the nearest bin and throw the plates in. Josh catches my eye as I turn and the look he gives me is so intense, I shiver.

  Dropping my gaze, I head back to my seat.

  “Come for a walk, Amelia?” Trina says.

  Melly looks at me, and I nod. “Go on.”

  “We won’t go far.”

  “It’s okay.” I give Melly a kiss, and she skips away with Trina, hand in hand.

  “Delaney.”

  I swallow hard as Josh walks toward me. There’s that arrogant swagger in his step that wasn’t there when I first met him, and I hate it, but I love it too. He exudes confidence he didn’t have six years ago.

  “Hey,” I reply. “Josh, this is Pania. Pania, Josh.”

  “Hi.” My traitorous best friend shoots him a flirtatious wave before standing. “I think I might go and join the others.”

  I narrow my eyes. “Fine.”

  She disappears down the beach as Josh sits on the log beside me. “That dinner was amazing.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit everyone’s tastes, but I didn’t have to.”

  He leans back a little—enough that in the firelight, I can see the golden flecks in his irises. They’re the same as Melly’s, and cause my heart to skip a beat.

  “It was great. I liked how you did the spit roast too as I can see how hangi might be an acquired taste.” The way he pronounces it makes me smile, and of course he doesn’t miss a thing. “Did I say something funny?”

  I shake my head. “It’s not what you said. It’s the way you said it.”

  He grins. “I seem to remember you teasing me about that once before.”

  That’s a punch to the gut. I remember that too, but it was when we would laugh and joke with each other. Before the night he broke my heart.

  “Some things don’t change.”

  He seems to study my expression. “And some things do. A lot. What happened to you, Delaney? What happened to Dee? She was so carefree and just having fun. You’re still the same deep down, I can tell by the way you give me shit, but something happened.”

  I drop my gaze. “Life happened.”

  He nods toward Melly. She’s playing on the beach with Trina and Jo. There’ll be no problems getting her to sleep tonight—she hasn’t stopped since we got here. The fresh air and exercise will knock her out. “She looks just like you.”

  This conversation is getting a little too close to home.

  “That’s what people tell me. I should probably get her home to bed.”

  I stand, but Josh grabs my hand. “I looked for you. As hard as I could. I didn’t get very far because I didn’t know Dee was Delaney.”

  Tugging my hand from his, I take a moment. “I was going through a phase.”

  He nods. “I guessed as much. I always wished you were with me when I got my big break. That role changed my life.” His brows knit. “Sometimes, I wish we could go back.”

  Anger ripples through me. “Stop it. I fell for your lines last time, and I’m not falling for them again.”

  “What are you talking about?” The gold flecks seem to disappear. It’s stupid but I miss them the instant they’re gone.

  “Just forget it, Josh.” I turn and walk away. Melly sees me and runs, her face lit up with so much joy it makes me want to cry. God, how I love this kid. Nothing and no one is going to take her from me. I’ll fight until my last breath if I have to.

  I’m not telling Josh the truth. Not when he can’t give me the same courtesy.

  She leaps into my arms, and I laugh with her.

  “We’re going home now, baby.”

  “Do we have to?” She leans her head on my shoulder, and her body flops—ready for sleep.

  “It’s time.”

  “Here comes Josh,” she whispers.

  I turn. Josh is approaching, his gaze fixed on Melly. His brows are knitted, like he’s focusing on something.

  “Come on. Time to go.”

  Setting off at a brisk pace, I manoeuvre around the bonfire and head toward the car park. I’m grateful that for once I’m not cleaning up because I can just get out of here.

  When we reach the car, I buckle Melly into her seat.

  Josh isn’t far behind me, and I climb into the driver’s seat and start the engine.

  “Delaney, we need to talk,” he calls.

  “I’ve got to get home. Talk to you later.” I drive off, leaving him behind. It’s not until I’m at the end of the road that I realise just how much I’m shaking.

  He can’t have worked it out. Can he?

  Fifteen

  Josh

  What the hell was that?

  It was a moment, a fleeting moment when I looked into that little girl’s eyes
and saw myself. Would Delaney keep something like that from me?

  Maybe I saw things in the firelight that weren’t there.

  “Josh.”

  I sigh at the sound of Jessie’s voice. “What?”

  “Is everything okay?”

  There’s an emotion in her eyes that I can’t quite place. I’m used to her looking at me like a piece of meat, but there’s some actual feeling behind that look.

  “Yeah, it’s fine.”

  “She’s not interested.”

  I narrow my eyes. “What would you know?”

  “If she was, you wouldn’t be chasing after her. She’s not worth it. She’ll only hurt you again.”

  “You don’t know anything about us.” Turning, I walk back toward the lake.

  She runs after me, grabbing my arm. “I know enough to know she broke you when she ran out on you the first time. I’m not sure what hold she has over you, but—”

  I shake her off. “There is no hold. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, I do. You cut all of us off except for Reece. We were friends, Josh, and you just threw it away because that bitch decided she didn’t want you anymore.”

  Coming to a complete stop, I turn to look at her. “Don’t you ever call her that again.”

  She flaps her arms. “And now you’re defending her. Do you know who’s always been there for you? Me. I thought maybe you’d get over her last time and see what we could have, but instead you mooned around and then ignored me.” Tears well in her eyes. “I thought this was my chance for us.”

  “I’m sorry if you had that impression, Jessie. I only ever wanted your friendship. Nothing else.”

  She won’t look at me now, and I do feel sorry for her. But not enough to give her what she wants.

  “I thought …” She sniffs.

  “If anything was going to happen between us, it would have happened a long time ago,” I say as gently as I can. “Delaney and I have a connection that I can’t explain. We did back then, and …” I sigh. “It’s still there. For me, anyway. And I’m almost certain it’s there for her too.”

  Jessie sucks on her bottom lip, still not meeting my eyes and looking like she wants to cry. “So, there’s no chance?”

  “No. I’m sorry, but no.”

  The bright production lights shine behind us, and all I can see now are the tears falling on Jessie’s face.

  “Jessie, I …” I stop myself before I inadvertently give her hope.

  She wipes her cheeks with the palms of her hands, smearing her makeup. And then she runs back toward where we’ve been filming, and all I can do is watch her leave.

  I feel like shit, but at the same time I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to do.

  I looked forward to coming to New Zealand. But I never expected to find Delaney and still feel that pull toward her.

  And Amelia. How did I never see that before? I’ve sat in that diner right beside her, and all I saw was her mother.

  Could she really be mine?

  Sixteen

  Josh

  There’s no filming for me the following day, and I’m glad of it as I nurse my hangover from the night before.

  I spent all night working out the math of Amelia being mine, which is ridiculous because I have no idea exactly how old she is. Delaney needs to tell me the truth.

  Pania’s standing at the counter when I walk into the diner. And that little cockroach, Damon, sits on a stool in front of her. Seriously, the guy must spend all his time here.

  “Hey, Pania. I was looking for Delaney.”

  She straightens up. “She’s not here. It’s my Saturday.”

  I nod. “Can I get her address?”

  “No.”

  Pania stares me down, and I give in and blink first.

  “Please? I need to talk to her.”

  “Then you come back when she’s here. I’m not giving you her address.” She narrows her eyes.

  “If she hasn’t given you her number or address, she’s not going to do it now.” Damon actually has the nerve to smirk at me.

  “You know you can butt out any time you like. This isn’t really any of your business.”

  He stands up, which is laughable because I have a good foot and a half over him. “I’m trying to look after my friend.”

  It’s my turn to smirk. “No, you’re just trying to piss out your territory and it’s a pretty small circle from where I’m standing.”

  “Ahem.”

  We both turn to look at Pania.

  “Both of you need to leave because I am not having this place turn into Testosterone City.” She looks at me, then at him.

  “You can’t kick me out,” Damon says.

  “Just watch me.” She gives him what I can only describe as a death stare, and he visibly shrinks in front of her.

  “Oh, you’re good.” I grin.

  Damon glares at me, and all I do is shrug.

  “Delaney’s not going to waste her time with you. She’s too good for that,” he says.

  Pania rolls her eyes. “Don’t you start that shit again. Get out of here.” She turns to me. “You too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Her lips twitch, but she doesn’t budge an inch. “Don’t you pile on the charm, actor boy. Get out of here.”

  “I will. Could you please let Delaney know I’m looking for her?”

  She nods. “Of course.”

  I make the first move, but I know Damon’s right behind me. He grumbles all the way out. Something about arrogant Americans.

  Reaching the door, I hold it open. “After you.”

  He glares at me while I wave him through, but thankfully he heads in a different direction to where my car’s parked.

  I let out a sigh, walking down the street toward the car.

  “Josh Carter.”

  It’s an older voice that says my name, and I turn to see a woman approaching me.

  She smiles. “I thought that was you. I’m Maureen Randell.”

  I nod. “It’s nice to meet you.” For a moment, I hesitate, but it’s not going to hurt to ask. “Can I ask you something? Do you know where Delaney lives?”

  Her smile grows. “I do. But I’d really like a favour from you first.”

  One of my eyebrows inches up. “What kind of favour?”

  “My niece Hannah. She loves Reece Evans, and I understand you’re friends with him.”

  I chuckle. “I am. He’s one of my best friends.”

  “I was wondering if you could get him to send her a message? Just to say hello. She would love that.”

  “Sure thing.” I pull my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll call him now.”

  Her eyes widen. “Really?”

  “It’s no problem.”

  I dial Reece and smile when he answers, his southern drawl coming down the line. “Josh. What’s up? It’s two in the morning.”

  “Where are you?”

  “London.”

  I laugh. “Sorry, I thought you were in New York.”

  “Filming shifted a few days ago.”

  “Thanks for answering. I really need a favour.”

  He sighs. “What is it now? Who do I have to kill?”

  I laugh again. We’ve been tight for seven years, and he’s one of the few people who I know really has my back. That’s why I know he’ll do this for me.

  “If I give you a phone number, can you call this woman and just say hello to her? In exchange her aunt is giving me Dee’s address.”

  He gasps. “Dee? You found her?” Of all my friends, Reece was the one who never met Delaney when we were together. He has the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to women, and at nineteen he was never around because he was either auditioning or getting laid.

  “I did, and I’ve spoken to her, but now I need to go visit.”

  “That sounds stalkerish.”

  “Dude.”

  He sighs. “Fine. Just text me the number and I’ll do it right away. I’
ll chat to her for a bit and then try and get back to sleep. You’re lucky I’m still feeling like shit from the jetlag and not working in the morning.”

  “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  “You owe me now, Joshua. I want nudes if this woman is everything you made her out to be.”

  “Not a chance. Please just make this call.”

  “Have I ever let you down?”

  I pause, but can’t find anything in my memory to suggest he has. “No. Which is why I looove you.”

  “Oh, stop it and go get your woman.”

  Mrs Randell’s face is lit up with anticipation as I hang up the call. “If you give me her number, I’ll text it to Reece and he’ll call her now.”

  She grins. “Oh, thank you. Delaney lives in the next street over, directly behind the diner. I’m not sure of the number, but the street is Tui Street and hers is the last house.”

  She hands over her phone with the number showing, and I tap out a text to Reece.

  “All done. I’m sure she’ll let you know when it’s happened.”

  “I’m sure she will. Thank you so, so much.”

  “Thank you.”

  I jump back into the car, bring up the town on Google Maps and trace a path around the block to what looks like Delaney’s place. I guess I’ll know it when I see it. Maybe.

  It’s a small house, with brick cladding, and although the lawn looks freshly mown, the garden’s a little overgrown. Delaney’s blue Suzuki Swift sits in the driveway.

  That’s the place.

  I pull up outside and just look at the house. What if Amelia is my daughter? What happens to us then? Is there a chance we could be a family, or am I reading way too much into the easy interactions I’ve had with Delaney? And how do I protect them both from the media attention they’d get just by being associated with me?

  I’ve got to try.

  Jumping out of the car, I head to the front door and before I can second-guess myself, I knock.

  “Just a minute.” Her voice comes from inside.

  The door opens.

  I catch my breath.

  She’s dressed in a pair of figure-hugging jeans, and a tight white shirt. Holy shit. It’s like she’s been poured into her clothing, and she looks incredible.