She sang along at the top of her lungs, her feet having touched every inch of the makeshift wooden dance floor, and attempted to drag Summer back into the crowd when her friend admitted defeat.
‘There’s only fifteen minutes to go until New Year,’ Stella shouted into Summer’s ear above the music.
‘I have a blister and I’m completely sober.’
‘Now who’s the nanna?’ Stella laughed and spun around and around, letting her skirt fly up with a swish. She closed her eyes, loving the giddy, half-drunk feeling in her head that finally dissolved everything else she’d been thinking lately. About her shop. About her past. About Morelli Constructions.
When she stopped and slowly opened her eyes with a laugh into the night sky, Summer had disappeared. Instead, Stella was face to face with Duncan.
‘Oh, shit. I mean, hello, Duncan.’ Stella involuntarily reached out a hand to grasp his forearm, since the spinning and the night air and the champagne had left her a little woozy. Duncan’s gaze immediately dropped to the spot where her fingers were clenched tightly around his arm, and judging by the quick smile on his face, he seemed to take her touch as some sort of sign. Stella tried to focus. Duncan had left the suit at home and was instead wearing dark jeans and a casual shirt, which made him look less like a management consultant and more like a scruffy guy who’d wandered in from the front bar. He looked pleasantly handsome. And he still did absolutely nothing for her.
He covered her hand with his and leant in close. ‘Hello, Stella. Can I get you a drink?’
‘Sure. Why not? Champagne, please.’
When Duncan returned, Stella followed him to a table. Her feet had finally given in and she had no idea where Summer was. She scanned the crowd but couldn’t see her friend. As soon as the clock did the midnight thing, she wanted to be on her way home. She had to work in the morning. And this would be her final glass, or she would have a sore head when she had to open the shop.
‘So.’ Duncan moved close. Checked out her red dress. ‘You look lovely tonight.’
‘Thank you.’
‘How have things been? I haven’t see you in a while.’
‘Everything’s good. Business is crazy for me at this time of year, that goes without saying.’ Stella sipped her bubbles. ‘And what about you? How’s your business?’
Duncan chuckled. ‘You still have no idea what I do, do you?’
‘No.’ She smiled and clinked glasses with him.
‘I’ve been travelling a bit. Melbourne, Sydney. I only got back today.’
‘This time of year? Isn’t everyone except me on holidays?’
‘I’m setting up some consulting for next year. This is a good time to get people.’
Stella felt weird and uncomfortable making small talk with Duncan. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him as a person. She did. He was good company and they’d had some fun times together. But now, all she could think about when she looked at him was another man altogether. She’d always known that she would never have that zing with Duncan.
That zing she’d had with Luca the minute he’d stepped into her shop.
‘It’s nearly midnight,’ Duncan said as he glanced at his watch.
‘Yes,’ Stella said, hoping he didn’t mean anything by the observation. ‘I wonder where Summer is?’
Luca followed the sound of the party down the small lane at the side of the pub, and made a beeline for the bar. He checked his watch. Five minutes to midnight. Two hours before, he’d been enjoying a fantastic Thai meal in Adelaide’s Gouger Street with some guys he played soccer with, and their wives and girlfriends. He’d been flying solo. By choice. The food was great. The beer was ice cold. But it wasn’t where he wanted to be.
He wanted to be back in Stella’s bed. The past week had gone by in a blur, every night harder and harder to be without her. He’d made a start on his own renovation, half-heartedly filling a skip with the junk the previous owners had left in the small backyard, and he’d spent nights at his desk, trying to distract himself with planning out ideas for Anna and Joe’s renovation. He hadn’t wanted company, had made a lame excuse not to go to his parents’ house for Wednesday night dinner, even though he knew Nonna would give him the double evil eye the next time he saw her. He couldn’t be with his family when he was spending every spare minute thinking about having sex with Stella. Yeah, he’d been thinking about getting her naked and having sex. Okay, he was a guy. It wasn’t complicated and it wasn’t hearts and flowers and romantic bullshit. It was all about the sex. Wasn’t it? They hadn’t spoken in the past week. His texts had gone unanswered and he’d got the hint she wanted some space. So he’d given it to her, but he was about to boil over with frustration.
That’s why he didn’t want to hang around in Adelaide when he knew Stella was down on the south coast. Anna had mentioned to him in passing that there was going to be a big New Year’s Eve party at the pub and that she and Joe would be there, just in case he happened to want to call. So, he’d left the city at ten thirty and headed south.
‘Mate. What the hell are you doing here?’ Joe slapped him on the back and Luca turned to see the bloke who still wasn’t his brother-in-law in good spirits.
They shook hands warmly. ‘Thought I’d do the beach party thing this year. Where’s Anna?’
‘She’s over there with Julia and Lizzie.’
Luca looked across the party and found the three women deep in conversation. When Anna looked up and across at him, she turned white and waved a feeble hand.
‘Bloody hell. Luca’s here.’ Anna whipped her hand back to her lap. ‘Where the hell was he two and a half hours ago? I accidently on purpose mentioned that the party started at nine.’
‘And Duncan’s moved in on Stella for the big New Year’s Eve smoocherama,’ Lizzie added. ‘She’s smiling at him. God, she’s holding his arm!’
‘This isn’t going to plan,’ Julia whispered with a sorry shake of her head.
Summer arrived and bent down to join the conversation. ‘I got her here, practically had to drag her out of her house. What’s the latest?’
All three women looked up at Summer with grim faces.
A rumble in the crowd turned to cheering. Someone had turned on a radio and Stella could hear the announcer’s booming voice counting down to midnight.
Oh, no.
Stella got to her feet and Duncan followed her.
‘Ten, nine, eight …’
She was cornered. Duncan was going to go for the kiss at midnight. Where the hell was Summer?
‘Seven, six, five …’ Luca craned his neck. Across the dance floor, he spotted a red dress hugging the curves he knew so well. He picked up his pace when he saw The Suit.
‘Four, three, two …’ Stella emptied her glass. When her eyes drifted back to the dance floor, she saw Luca striding across to her, fierce determination all over his face and in his clenched fists. She gulped and sprang to her feet.
‘One. Happy New Year!’
‘Stella.’
The battle between head and heart raged inside her and her heart won a temporary reprieve.
There was only one man she wanted to kiss at midnight.
And he was standing right in front of her.
CHAPTER
27
‘Stella.’
No one ever said her name the way he said it. It was a murmur against her lips and then Luca put his mouth on hers for a quick but fierce kiss. She savoured the feel of the arms around her, and she drank in his scent. He was bending her backwards in his enthusiasm and she reached for his shoulders to steady herself.
Thank god he’d come. Kissing Duncan to see in the New Year would have put a serious dampener on the twelve months to come. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to see it the same way and he unwisely tried to get in the middle of Stella and Luca.
‘Stella?’
Stella opened her eyes. Luca pulled back but didn’t break his gaze and the hot smile in his eyes sent her synapses flaring in delig
ht and desire.
Stella took a deep breath. It was time to be honest. ‘Duncan. I’m not going to have a drink with you or catch up later. I’m sorry.’ She reached out and pressed her palm firmly against him. ‘You might want to head over to the bar.’
He gave her a final glance before turning on his heel and walking back into the crowd.
Luca was here. She didn’t want to want him but oh, how she wanted him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, whispering in her ear, ‘Hi, bella.’
‘Hi,’ she replied, and threw her arms around his neck and hung on for dear life. Suddenly, she didn’t care that she was in the middle of a party; she didn’t give a hoot that she’d probably upset Duncan; and she didn’t give two shits that all her friends were watching them.
Because she was slightly drunk.
Because it was New Year’s Eve.
Because he’d come.
There was cheering all around from the New Year’s Eve countdown, but the buzzing in her ears was all from Luca. She reached up and kissed him, and then his tongue was in her mouth and her breasts were crushed up against him so hard they hurt, in a delicious, make-you-feel-alive kind of way.
When she was about to hyperventilate, she slowly pulled her lips back from his and took another look at his beautiful face. There was a look there she couldn’t pick. Serious: his eyes wide and his mouth unsmiling.
There was a joke on her lips, but it stopped on the tip of her tongue. Luca’s eyes travelled from her eyes to her mouth and back again. Slowly, he pulled her upright and Stella found her footing. Those knees of hers had gone again. Maybe all the champagne had pooled there and turned them into jelly. She couldn’t seem to let go of him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she managed to ask.
He dropped his forehead on hers. ‘I heard there was a party and I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun.’
Stella whispered in his ear, sucked in a deep breath to take his scent into her lungs. ‘Thank you for saving me from The Suit.’
‘So you wanted to be saved?’ His look was serious once again.
‘Damn right I did. It was getting a little desperate. He was my only option for a New Year’s snog until you turned up.’ She smirked and it seemed to work on him, his serious expression transforming into a dazzling smile.
‘Glad I did.’ He slipped an arm around her waist and guided her to a quiet part of The Market. As they walked, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, and Stella wasn’t sure but maybe people were staring. At the rear of the area, there was a wooden fence, a tree staked tightly so it would grow upright in the buffeting ocean winds, and the two of them. It was relatively quiet and protected where they were standing. In this distance, Stella could hear the crash of the waves below on Middle Point beach, but the evening breeze swirled around and away from the pub.
When he stopped, Luca turned to her, took her hand.
Across the party, escaping everyone else’s happiness and New Year kisses, Summer sat alone at a table under a market umbrella festooned with party lights, wondering once again why she remained kiss-less on New Year’s Eve. Kiss-less. Man-less. Just her and her soda water. She’d had such high hopes that the turning of the year might be better than the last, but it had been as wretchedly disappointing as all the others.
When she looked up from her pity party, Duncan was striding towards her.
‘Hey, Duncan.’
‘Hi, Summer,’ he said, sounding downcast. ‘Mind if I join you?’
‘Sure. Pull up a pew.’ She slid along the bench seat and made room for him. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
Duncan took a long swig of his beer. Rubbed his hand through his hair and looked over to the party. ‘Women, that’s what’s wrong with me.’
Summer rolled her eyes. ‘Stella, right?’
Duncan looked startled. ‘How did you know?’
‘Oh for pity’s sake, Duncan, everyone in Port Elliot knows.’
‘She’s involved with that guy who worked on her shop,’ he said, as if he didn’t quite believe it himself.
Summer looked across to Stella and Luca, sitting close on the other side of The Market. Almost in the dark, on their own. ‘Yes she is. And she seems quite happy. If you’re her friend, you should be happy for her, too. And here’s another thing. You should stop thinking you’ll end up with her, because you won’t. Sorry to be blunt. The sooner you know that, the better. As they say in the movies, she’s just not that into you.’
Summer gulped. When she dared a glance at Duncan, he was chuckling.
‘Did I say something funny?’
‘Yes, as a matter of fact. I like this brutally honest streak of yours. To be honest, I always thought you were a bit of a flake. All that crystals and angels and horoscopes stuff. I didn’t think you’d do brutal honesty.’
‘Yeah, well. Welcome to the real world. It’s a harsh mistress, my friend.’ Summer dropped her chin into her upturned hand. ‘I’ve got some more brutal truth for you.’ She upended her glass. ‘I am a qualified massage therapist and I have magic fingers. Ask anyone. However,’ she sighed, ‘Summer is not actually my real name. I don’t believe in crystals or angels or astrology. I don’t believe in luck or serendipity or anything good ever happening to me.’
Duncan regarded her with a curious look. ‘Since it’s confession time, here’s mine. Duncan is my real name and I have a job no one understands. Neither do I, now that I think about it.’
Summer looked at him, really looked at him for the first time. ‘It’s a nice name. Duncan McNamee. Strong. Scottish.’
‘Before you ask, I don’t wear a kilt.’
Summer shrugged. ‘There goes that joke about what you wear under it.’
Duncan let out a belly laugh and she joined in.
He leaned in closer, lowered his eyes. ‘So, if Summer isn’t your real name, what is it?’
‘Sally. Not very beachy, is it?’
Duncan held out a hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Sally. You want to dance?’
Stella wrapped her fingers around Luca’s. ‘I can’t believe you drove all this way.’
He chuckled and looked down at her with a smile. ‘And here I was, thinking you were so smart.’
‘What do you mean?’
Luca shook his head. ‘You don’t understand men at all, do you?’
‘It’s just that … the way I acted last week …’
‘Sshhh,’ he said softly. ‘You don’t have to apologise. Your bad memories freaked you out, huh?’
Stella stilled. ‘Something like that.’ She sat looking at this beautiful, caring man. He hadn’t pushed her. He hadn’t run, except towards her.
‘I’ve got a confession to make,’ Luca said with a smile as he watched their fingers tangle. ‘I didn’t come all this way for the party. I came all this way for you, Stella.’
She squeezed his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing his fingers. ‘You know what people will say when we leave together tonight?’
‘Yeah. They’ll be saying, “Who’s that hot guy with Stella Ryan?”‘
Stella laughed. ‘Your sister and Joe, and Ry and Julia, and Dan and Lizzie and Summer and everyone else will be talking about why you stormed in here like a crazy Italian and kissed me.’
He grinned. ‘Crazy Italian?’
‘Yeah. You know, all passionate and wild and hot-blooded.’
‘That’s me, bella.’ Luca’s look softened. He stroked her cheek and the soft touch of his fingers was like silk against her skin.
‘You want to sneak out the back way?’ she whispered, with a look around to see if anyone was watching them. Stop thinking so much, she chided herself. Take this moment. Go with what you feel, right here, right now. Think with your heart and not your head.
‘Whichever way gets you naked the fastest.’
Stella pulled his hand. ‘This way.’
‘Turn here. Left.’ Two minutes’ drive away from the pub and the party, Stella grazed her outstretched arm agai
nst Luca’s chest. He leant down to nip at her bare arm. Damn, she tasted good.
‘Left? But you’re pointing to the right, bella. Which way is it?’
‘Shit. Sorry, it’s left. This way.’
Luca slowed down and turned onto a dirt track. There were no streetlights so he flicked his headlights to high beam, trying to navigate the track and wondering in the back of his mind if there were kangaroos in that part of the world. ‘Are you sure you know where we’re going?’
‘Yeah. Now here, just there, pull over.’
Luca did as he was told, bringing his HiLux to a shuddering stop.
‘I want you, Luca Morelli. I want to get in your lap and ride you.’ She reached across and pushed her palm onto his cock and he got real hard, real fast.
‘Holy fuck,’ he whispered.
‘But there’s no way I’m going to fit in between you and the steering wheel.’
When she bit her lip, he almost came. ‘Back seat.’
He’d never moved so fast. He opened his door and got into the back seat, undoing his belt and his zip, and he watched as Stella did the same, kicking off her undies before sliding in next to him. And before he could say a word, she was on his lap, her knees on either side of his hips, her dress crumpled in layers between them. The fabric didn’t stop him from finding her sweet spot—a guard dog couldn’t have kept him away from her—and as he stroked her core, he could smell and feel how wet she was.
‘Jesus,’ he said, struggling to get a breath out, much less a word.
When Stella opened up wider and took in his full and hard length in a wet slide, he pushed his hips into her. In the moonlight through the side window, he watched her face as she rode him, teased him, kissed him and nipped at his neck. She was on fire and so was he, lit by her flame, melting and shaping into someone new. She was in control and he got off on it. Her hands were on his shoulders, pressing him back into the car seat, and he loved how strong she was, how unafraid. He watched her face, how her eyes clenched shut, how she panted and moaned and struggled for breath, and then when he felt his climax begin, he grabbed her hips, pulled her tight to him, and as he shuddered and came, so did she and he watched her lips and her cheeks flush and her eyes widen.
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