Reaching the top, his knuckles whitened from the force of his grip as he caught sight of Izzy. She sat on the floor opposite the doorway, her knees pulled into her chest with her arms tightly wrapped around her legs. Gone was the hideous dress and in place of the pink monstrosity were a pair of flannel pajama bottoms with what appeared to be bunny faces over them and a pale blue vest top. To combat the late afternoon chill a fluffy pink blanket surrounded her frame, offering the comfort he should have been giving.
He frowned at the opened bottle of wine at her feet. As though his scrutiny had uneased her, she picked up the bottle and drew it to her lips. After taking a thankfully small sip, she set it down and hugged her legs again.
With her hair now free from its confines it tumbled over her shoulders, making him wince at the unnatural brightness he had encouraged. It wasn’t her. She was Izzy, honest and open, and deserved to be that way. She didn’t need to step from Ellie’s shadows as a pretender. She deserved her own spotlight.
Without a word, he took up the familiar position at her side. He drew his legs up, his feet planted apart, his arms stretched out and resting on his knees. She didn’t acknowledge his presence. Her eyes remained downcast, heavy from the burden of hurt. He glanced around the wooden walls, drawing in the scent of the rich wood and the leaves from the supporting trees. If anyone were to ask him where his childhood home was, he would say it were here.
Who would have known they could sustain such an unlikely friendship. He remembered when Izzy and her family first moved in. His parents scowled at the beat-up van holding their belongings as the new neighbors moved into a house that was ‘obviously beyond their means’ as his mother had said. They might not have unloaded their wealth that day but they wore their smiles with pride. When those two small girls had ‘accidentally’ thrown their ball into his garden, exactly where he was sitting sullenly watching his parents play with his younger brother, it was the first time attention had been lavished in his direction. And yes, he’d fought it at first, but with Ellie’s determination and Izzy’s pleading eyes they’d struck up a friendship that had seen them through more turbulent times than he could have imagined.
With an indrawn breath he stifled the band threatening to tighten in his chest at the influx of memories. The walls were still covered with the posters of the girls’ teen crushes and a photograph of the three of them together. He reached out his hand to trace the carving, courtesy of his penknife, of their three names. A wistful smile stole over his lips in recognition as his gaze was drawn to the empty bottle in the darkness of the corner. The Truth or Dare bottle.
Izzy’s soft sigh penetrated the air. “I’m sorry,” she said softly as she leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder.
How many shades of bastard did he feel now?
He took her hand in his, stroking the delicate skin, ignoring the tingle of interest skimming his senses. He frowned as he noticed her work damaged fingers. Her nails were chipped and her knuckles bore grazes. “You have nothing to apologize for. Damn it, I’m the one who should be sorry. I asked...no...demanded, that you do this for me. It was too much to ask of you.”
“No, it wasn’t. You were a rock for us when Mum died. I let my jealousy overtake our friendship. If I hadn’t been so hung up that you kept in touch with Ellie and not me I would have been welcoming you with a happy smile instead of a faceful of snark. I would have been incensed on your behalf for the way Ellie treated you and should have tried to help. I ended up putting you in a worse situation than she did. God, if the press were to get a hold of my incident at the club your plan would be history.”
Jack sighed. Instead of pointing out he was the reason she was in the club he decided to put that conversation on hold. He wound his free arm around her shoulders as his thumb continued to lazily stroke the delicacy of her hands.
They sat in silence until the sky became a smudge of darkness warring with the reddened streak of the sun’s fading light. Izzy had turned into him, her breaths relaxed and easy. For a moment he wondered if she’d fallen asleep until her silky voice enveloped him. “I miss this, Jack.”
God, so did he. He was a loner, safe in the knowledge that if no one penetrated his walls then he would never have to face the heavy blade of rejection. Only here did he ever drop his guard.
“Yeah,” he responded, removing his arm from around her to use the matches at the side of Izzy to light the candles on the shelving above their heads. Satisfied by the glow caressing Izzy’s face, he eased back to her side.
He turned to look at her, taking his time to admire her delicate features and the golden flecks of fire reflected in that chocolate darkness of her eyes. He couldn’t remember ever thinking of her this way. She dropped her gaze to hide the tinge of pink blossoming on her cheeks. He noticed the tremble in her fingers as she reached out to smooth back her hair, exposing her high cheekbones. She grabbed hold of the bottle and took a deep drink this time before handing it to him.
“I miss my hair too.” A wry smile crept over her lips.
Just about to put the bottle to his mouth, Jack grinned. “We’ll fix it.” He took a drink and handed it back.
“Now this really does bring back memories.”
“Yeah. We had some good times.”
“And bad,” she reminded him softly as a frown creased her brow.
“Some naughty times too,” he said with a grin.
“I was just the lookout,” she said as she tilted her head to give him a pointed stare. “You and Ellie were the ones sneaking cigarettes and stolen booze in here,” she chided as she peered up at him with those warm brown eyes.
“You weren’t always just the lookout.” He cocked his head in the direction of the bottle in the corner. “You resisted the cigarettes and the drink...but never truth or dare.” He felt rather than saw the heat of her blush as her cheek pressed against his bicep.
“Well,” she muttered. “You shouldn’t have called me chicken.”
He chuckled. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yep. And I proved I grew a bigger pair than you.”
“Wow, take a shot at my manhood, why don’t you? And from truth or dare I know you didn’t grow a pair.”
She sat up then, giving him a playful nudge in his arm. For some reason her bright smile clenched at his heart. Do I deserve her smile?
“No, I hardly ever did the dares. I answered all of the truths. It was your job to take on the dare forfeits, Mr. Scaredy Cat.”
He shrugged. “Dares were more fun. You dared me to give you your first kiss, remember?”
“I had my first date coming up. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Plus, I knew you wouldn’t turn me down for risk of answering a truth.”
Had he always been so obvious? It had turned into a habit he supposed, after those ‘what did you do to upset your parents?’ ‘Why don’t you like your brother?’ and ‘Which one of us do you like the best?’ questions. He also remembered her first date. The day after he pinned that guy up against the wall after hearing the rumors he’d spread about Izzy.
“I was happy to oblige. If you need to learn you should have the best teacher,” he said with a grin.
Izzy fidgeted beneath her blanket. “You kissed me because you were a chicken.”
“Did you really just call me chicken?”
“Oops, guess I did,” she said with a teasing smile.
He thought for a moment as he weighed the wisdom of what he was about to do. This was either going to work to his advantage and he would gain some important knowledge, or he was about to take that fall on his arse in a figurative sense.
He took another drink from the bottle. “Then let’s do it.”
“What?” She blinked at him in confusion.
“Bring on the bottle. Truth or dare.”
* * * *
Izzy swallowed so hard it made her wince. Her mouth felt like a piece of toast with nothing on it.
Oh God, this was one of those scenes from her teen dr
eams. It involved nakedness and a whole lot of touching. But she knew that wasn’t on offer. Instead he was offering her answers. Answers that in the past had resulted in dares as forfeits. He’d stolen washing from neighbors’ gardens and, her personal favorite, streaked naked through those same gardens. A sight to behold in the glow of security lights. Her not-so-favorite ones were the ones when Ellie had told him to ask one of his ‘groupie’ classmates out on dates. He had many admirers, even though he barely acknowledged that fact, and Izzy felt for them, knowing the sense of false hope only too well.
Unlike in the past games of Truth or Dare, Jack’s face was devoid of any teasing. The soft glow of candlelight hugged his profile, accentuating the slant of his cheekbones and his perfect angular jaw. The photographer in her marveled at the symmetry of his face. Perfect from every angle. And his perfection didn’t stop at his face, she noticed as her gaze dropped lower. The splash of light rested upon the breadth of his shoulders to almost fall like the cascade of a waterfall upon every sculpted muscle.
The tree house was of generous size, in fact she knew Jack used to sleep out there at times and they’d taken to leaving a blanket and a sleeping bag for if he ever needed them. Then, of course, during winter times he would climb the drain pipe into Ellie’s room. They’d never questioned him why, but knew to offer him the security he sought. But once more in late summer here they were again, but this time the tree house seemed filled with his presence even though his long legs were now comfortably stretched out in front of him. Yes, he had grown larger but it was her mind that was invaded with his presence.
“Truth or dare? Think you’re brave enough to take me on?”
His eyes flashed with silver. “Brave and stupid enough.” He grabbed the old bottle, blew the covering of dust away, and placed it in the middle of them as he moved to sit opposite her. Her breath caught at the sight of him, his intense gaze now in full view. She could see him in full masculine entirety. The way his long-sleeved black top hugged the strength, almost enveloping him in the shadows, the power contain in muscular thighs as he sat on his knees.
She wasn’t feeling brave but most definitely stupid.
“Ladies first,” he invited.
Her breath hitched as she grasped the middle of the glass bottle and flicked her wrist to spin it. With satisfaction, she released that breath as the neck of the bottle rested at his knee. With a bit of luck his explosion of manly muscles were going to be his downfall. To his credit, the rise and fall of his shoulders remained regular, his face a mask.
She had to make this truth count.
“Do you find me unattractive, is that why you won’t kiss me? Truth or dare?”
She heard his indrawn breath. “Asking two questions is cheating,” he replied calmly.
She frowned as she mulled over her options. Which would be the least painful answer?
“Okay, why won’t you kiss me?”
A muscle flickered in his cheek. “Truth. I promised your father.” He hesitated as if considering his answer. “He caught me once climbing back down the drainpipe and rather than being angry he invited me into the kitchen and talked.” A measured breath. “We came to an understanding. He knew Ellie was going into self-destruct after your mother’s death and then the climb of her success.”
Her mother’s death. The catalyst for Ellie’s change in behavior. Her rebellion had largely gone ignored because of this. That was the reason they all covered for her and dug her out of any holes she’d dived into. Izzy missed her mother dearly, but Ellie? She had good reason to feel the greater impact of her loss. Not that they’d ever talked about it...
“Your father also knew I had my reasons for needing my hideouts. He asked for my help. I would carry on as normal. He knew I’d been sneaking out with Ellie and making sure she was safe, but in return for my safe haven I was to let him know what our plans were and also...I was to be strictly ‘friends only’ with his daughters.”
“He knew,” she said incredulously. “All the times you slept in here and in Ellie’s room, he knew?”
He nodded. “Yes to in here. Not exactly Ellie’s room though. Being good took some practice. He trusted me though. That was why the Truth or Dare and Strip Poker stopped. I respected your father too much to breach his trust.”
“So he knew about Ellie’s partying?”
“Yes. He knew the harder he put his foot down the more she would stamp back, so I went with her under the pretence of rule breaking—”
“But really you were her unofficial bodyguard,” she finished for him. She narrowed her eyes, thinking. That might be the case but she was sure he had breached her dad’s trust with Ellie on a more than friend’s level.
Conversation over. Jack clutched the bottle with his long fingers and spun it to dizzying speed. It stopped at her toe.
“Why did you run today? Truth or dare?”
“Truth. It felt wrong. All of it. I get why you want me to help you, but wearing that dress and this awful hair, I couldn’t even pretend it was my special day. It was so far from it. And then...then you couldn’t bring yourself to kiss me...” She spun the bottle. It landed at her other toe. Crap.
He gave a satisfied smile. “Why is marriage so important to you? Truth or dare?”
“Truth. Dad always said Mum’s personality was split between Ellie and me. Ellie got her singing talent and fun nature, and I got her romantic, dreamy side.”
“You and Ellie always were opposites.”
Izzy returned his smile. “When Mum became ill she nurtured Ellie’s talent, and I think when she died, Ellie wanted to show her singing talent for Mum’s benefit. To make her proud, you know? Although she never said it, we knew she gave up her music career for us.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “Me, I was different. I would never want the limelight Ellie coveted. I guess I built on the stories Mum shared. She would always show me the family albums and let me play dress-up with her clothes. I loved looking at their wedding album. They looked so happy. Seeing Mum and Dad, how perfect that day was for them...” Her gaze directed him to the bottle and they both fixed intently on the spinning blur.
He cursed.
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” he muttered. “Wait, you didn’t ask the question first.”
“Too late,” she said, allowing a smug smile to curl her lips. “Why did you leave so suddenly that night?”
His drawn-out pause seemed to still the air.
“The night before Peter decided to show his disapproval with his fists. It was one time to many. There was a heated argument, and for the first time I wanted to give back some of the anger he had given me. I looked down at my clenched fist and knew I didn’t want to become the person he was. The night after, I decided it would be better for everyone if I left.”
Izzy held a breath as he spoke in a measured tone. He never spoke of family life, although his hurt was often palpable, and she thought it strange that he now called his father Peter. The thought of that man hurting Jack churned her insides. He always seemed like a cold, distant man. Nothing Jack ever did was right or earned his pride, so eventually Jack stopped trying. Yet Michael, his brother, was the golden boy. She wondered what the argument was about. She knew there was so much more of that story to tell but wouldn’t press him on it. Already she wanted to hold him tightly until her arms ached almost as much as her heart.
With her gaze fixed on Jack’s face, she twirled the bottle.
“Do you find me attractive? Truth or dare?
“Truth,” he answered evenly. “Yes.”
Izzy masked her flush of pleasure—and relief. Relief until Jack rested his large hand on the bottle again, his gaze fixed on her as he flicked his wrist.
Oh crap!
He didn’t smile with satisfaction this time; instead he rested his hands on his thighs and focused on Izzy until the sweep of her tongue over her dry mouth betrayed her nerves.
“Did you have feelings for me? Truth or dare?”
“Truth.
Yes,” she said quickly. He said ‘did’ making her answer easy even though a slight wobble crept into her voice. He took his turn with the bottle. It turned a full circle. Was he cheating?
“Do you have feelings for me now?” he asked with a husky tone that heated her belly.
She never could lie. “Sexual ones, yes.” Because it could only be attraction she felt, couldn’t it?
Dropping her gaze from the intensity of his, she grabbed the bottle, putting her anxiety in her spin. As it circled around and around, her belly seemed to coil with it, increasing her awareness of the man sitting just an arm stretch away.
It stopped. Pointing straight in the direction of her need. She put the wine to her lips.
“What’s the importance of this property you need? Truth or dare.” And just like that the light behind his gray eyes seemed to switch off. The silvery shields snapped up almost like shutters. Impenetrable.
His huge shoulders rose with his sucked in breath. “Dare.”
His vehemence startled her. She wanted to know what secrets he hid, but more than that she wanted to see that light behind his eyes again. She wanted those shutters down. Right the way down.
Contemplating her bravery she rose to settle on her haunches. “Kiss me,” she demanded.
Those eyes sparkled to life. “What?”
“Kiss me. Kiss me like you promised—like a man.”
“Izzy—”
“I’m daring—no—I’m asking you to kiss me like a man.”
Her pulse thundered as she waited for what seemed like an agonizingly long time. Until finally the sound of a bottle clattering along the floor reached her ears just a second before his mouth took hers. He gave her exactly what she’d asked for, and more than she could ever have imagined. His lips were soft yet demanding as he captured her face in his hands, exploring her lips with precision and skill before sweeping inside her mouth, meeting her tongue as he tasted and unleashed her fervor.
Best Fake Day Page 6
