Nick gasped and pressed a hand to his chest. The gesture was so similar to what Trent had done before they left the house that she had to laugh. “Excuse me,” he said, “but Vegemite is a national delicacy.”
Maddy wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure I’d call it a delicacy.”
“What is it made out of?” Cora watched as Nick unscrewed the lid off the jar.
“Yeast.”
Cora blinked. “Yeast?”
“Yep, yeast.” Nick proceeded to get a piece of bread and smooth a generous layer across the surface, which caused an argument to erupt. Apparently, there was indecision about the correct way to consume the spread—with butter or without, how much to put on, whether you toast the bread or not, cheese or no cheese.
Unable to help laughing, Cora watched the friendly yet spirited argument spread to more and more people, who came to see what the commotion was about. There were definite camps, Team Toast and Team Cheese and Team Butter Is For Quitters. Cora felt like she was getting a lifetime’s worth of Aussie education in one hit, and she couldn’t remember ever having a birthday party that made her feel so happy and so included before.
As Dean tried to wrestle the Vegemite jar out of Nick’s hands, Cora’s gaze slid across the yard to where Trent stood, watching her. The corner of his lip twitched in amusement at the scene before him, and he looked so incredibly loving and indulgent that Cora knew this was exactly what he’d hoped for.
She mouthed a quick thank you, her cheeks already hurting from smiling so wide. And when he blew her a kiss, Cora pinched herself. He was too good to be true. Way too good to be true.
So good, she knew she couldn’t believe it.
…
A few hours into the party, the mood had mellowed out perfectly. People were chilling around the yard, some sitting on the grass while others had dragged the outdoor chairs into a big cluster around one end of the table where all the food was.
Cora was full, everywhere. Full heart. Full belly. She nursed a plastic cup with the remains of one of the cocktails, the ice creating condensation on the glass that was pleasantly cooling to her hands. Skye and Maddy sat with her.
“You have a…” Skye leaned forward and brushed something from Cora’s cheek. “There we go. You had sprinkles on your face.”
“Thanks.”
“So, are you missing back home?” Maddy asked.
“I’m enjoying having a break from the real world,” Cora replied, although in the back of her mind, the answer was a resounding no with multiple exclamation points. The knowledge of that sat unevenly in her stomach, but she brushed it to one side. Who wanted to return home from a vacation? Nobody. That was totally normal. “It’s nice to take some time away.”
“I hear you.” Skye leaned back and rested on her elbows, her face tipped up to the sun. Her blond hair hung in two long braids down her back. “I’m well overdue for a holiday. But damn that overtime is too good to pass up.”
“Skye’s a workaholic,” Maddy added. “To her detriment, I might add.”
“Nah, I’m just being fiscally responsible.” She grinned and put her sunglasses on as the sun shifted out from behind a cloud. “Besides, I got a little one to take care of. That mouth isn’t going to feed itself.”
Cora blinked. “You’re a mom?”
“Yeah, I got a little girl named Annemarie.” A dark expression filtered over Skye’s face. “I’m lucky to have family help me out, because it’s not like her dad stuck around to give a shit about her.”
In moments where Cora was trying to find the good in her situation, she was thankful that Alex broke things off before they got married and had a baby like she was planning. Things were always so much more complicated when children got involved.
“I’m so sorry,” Cora said.
“Don’t be.” Skye shrugged. “I don’t need a man to complete my life. My family is all I need. Without them…I have no idea what I’d do. But it makes me sad that my baby girl won’t get to know her dad.”
For some reason, that comment made her think of Trent—he’d never know his real mother. Did he even know what he was missing? Or had his parents kept it a secret for that specific reason? Hard to miss someone if you didn’t know you’d had them in the first place.
She couldn’t let go of the memory of that photo. It was stuck in her head, like a slide image that refused to budge. A puzzle with a piece missing. A mystery with no conclusion.
It’s none of your business. Maybe they all talked about it and everything is fine. Just because your family is all kinds of messed up doesn’t mean everyone else’s is.
“Anyway,” Skye said. “This isn’t good birthday party chatter. We need something more positive.”
“Maybe Cora can tell us how the romance novels are going,” Maddy said. “Like the one Trent bought her for her birthday.”
Skye’s eyebrows shot up so fast that Cora was surprised they didn’t launch right off her head. About an hour into the party, Trent had pulled her inside the house to give her the present he’d bought her—a romance novel by a local author that had been signed in sparkly pink pen. He’d kissed her cheek so sweetly and told her he wanted to know as soon as she read it, in case there was any “inspiration” to be found inside.
“Excuse me, what?” Skye shook her head. “Maybe I’m not hearing right. Trent purchased a book? Like one of those things with a front cover and a back cover and pages full of words in between?”
Maddy grinned. “Yep, one of those exactly.”
“Trent Walters, the man who once petitioned to get out of English class because quote, ‘nobody cares what some dead dude thinks about life.’ Spoiler alert, that dead dude was Shakespeare.”
“Oh God, I remember that. Mr. Langly was pissed.” Maddy slapped her thigh, laughing. “Typical Trent. He’d say anything to get a rise out of a teacher.”
Cora cringed but couldn’t help laughing, imagining Trent doing exactly that. It was so him. “I imagine Shakespeare is turning over in his grave at being called a dude.”
“Well, I’m impressed.” Skye sat up and brushed an ant off her leg. “He must be even more smitten than I first thought.”
“Than you first thought?” The question popped out before she had adequate time to consider the consequences of encouraging this conversation.
“Skye called it that first week, when Trent brought you to cricket,” Maddy said.
“I sure did. I said I hadn’t seen Trent taken by a woman like that in quite some time. Probably not since…” She made a noise of disgust. “Rochelle.”
“His ex?” Even thinking about his ex—about the photo that was like looking into a mirror—made her stomach churn.
“Yeah. I never liked her, to be honest. Even Maddy wasn’t a fan, and this little marshmallow likes everyone.”
Maddy made an indignant squeak. “I do not like everyone. I have discerning taste, thank you very much.”
Cora stifled a laugh. Despite Maddy’s uber-cool appearance, she totally was a marshmallow. Which was exactly what Cora liked about her.
“Oh yeah?” Skye teased. “Who don’t you like?”
“Well…I had a rude customer the other day. I didn’t like him very much.” Maddy wrinkled her nose, and her piercing winked in the sun. “But he did seem like he was having a rough day, so maybe he’s not normally like that. Oh, and I never liked that dog that Greg used to have. He growled at me once.”
“Now you’re reaching.” Skye caught Cora’s eye and shook her head. “100 percent marshmallow.”
Maddy made a hmph sound. “Excuse me for being nice.”
“Anyway, I would like to state for the record that I was correct. Trent does have a crush on Cora.” Skye grinned. “Clearly he has a type. You look exactly like his ex, you know.”
Maddy swiped at Skye and rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable.�
��
“What?” She shrugged. “It’s true.”
“Please excuse my friend, Cora. She’s got a big mouth.” Maddy rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “And you’re nothing like Rochelle, so it doesn’t mean a thing.”
“I saw a photo of her,” Cora admitted. “It was a little weird, but he said that had nothing to do with…”
Shit. Two pairs of hawk eyes were trained intently on her. Now she’d done it. Cora and Trent hadn’t even set any boundaries about what they were going to tell people, if anything. Likely he’d want to keep it a secret…at least she thought he would. And she wanted to keep it a secret…didn’t she?
She knew one thing for certain—she didn’t want it to get back to Liv without Cora being the one to tell her.
“Go on,” Skye said.
“Nothing to do with…” Dammit. Her brain was like a spinning top, going round and round and round without any signs of stopping. “Uh…”
“Oh my God, you’re fucking him.”
“Skye! Bloody hell, you’re so blunt.” Maddy snorted. “And can you not say stuff like that with his family around? Geez.”
Skye chuckled. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Cora. The gossip gods demand their sacrifice.”
“You don’t have to tell us anything,” Maddy said to Cora, then she turned to Skye. “And you, you’re as subtle as a sledgehammer and nosier than my grandmother.”
“I like to think of myself more as a pickaxe, thank you very much. Precise and lethal.” Skye sniffed. “And don’t you dare say a word against your grandmother—that woman is a national treasure.”
The friendly, affectionate banter tugged on something deep in Cora’s chest. How was this town so perfect? People seemed to thrive here, to build lasting relationships and show genuine care toward one another. They were relaxed and happy and able to enjoy the time they had on this earth.
You’re romanticizing this place, like how people romanticize Manhattan.
It was true. Outsiders thought her city was a wonderland, a magical place of New Year’s wishes and Christmas miracles and meet-cutes on every corner. But she knew the city to be a cold, silver landscape of shiny, beautiful things and locked doors. Of secrets and betrayals.
But what could Cora do about that? Manhattan was her home. Her family was there. Even if she’d had enough of her mother’s drama, she still loved her father and wanted a relationship with him. She wanted to cling to her belief that she could have that perfect family if only she kept trying…
You’ve tried so damned hard already.
But anything worth having was worth fighting for, right? Just like with her novel. Sure, writing challenged her and hearing her father’s rejection was difficult…but she wasn’t about to give up. She wasn’t going to quit. Which meant she would be heading home to New York once her vacation was over, and she would keep trying to impress her dad with her dedication and hard work.
“So?” Skye prompted.
“It’s…” Cora sighed. “It’s a vacation romance, nothing more.”
Every word felt like a burning lie. Her connection with Trent was like nothing she’d ever experienced, but letting herself revel in a fantasy about them falling love and making a life in this cute little town would do nothing but end up with her getting hurt. Even if he wanted her to stay—which she highly doubted—she wasn’t about to give up on her family.
She had to go home.
“He seems to really like you,” Maddy said quietly.
“I like him too; he’s a great guy. But I’m not looking for anything,” Cora said firmly. “I have a life in New York that I need to get back to.”
Neither Maddy nor Skye said anything in return, but they exchanged a look that Cora couldn’t quite decipher. Maybe they didn’t believe her. It didn’t matter, one way or the other. She couldn’t let herself get caught up in this place, no matter how much the warm sun and friendly people and sexy men had gotten under her skin.
Sexy man. Singular.
Trent was a great guy and an amazing lover—but that’s where she would have to leave it. Her life plans didn’t include uprooting herself for a relationship.
Which meant her sexy Aussie fling would have to stay exactly where it was.
Chapter Nineteen
Trent hung back and let Cora enjoy herself for a good portion of the party. Not that he could have gotten close if he’d tried; she was holding court—laughing and tossing her sun-bleached hair and generally sparkling like the brightest star in the universe. His mother had come past to say what a “delightful young woman” she was, which filled Trent with a burst of pride. Seeing Cora come into her own in the last two weeks had been like watching a flower open to the sun.
It was a stark turnaround from the opinion his mother had about Trent’s ex.
Melanie Walters might seem like the dictionary definition of the caring, tough but kind mama bear, but she had a bullshit radar like nobody else. Though the rest of his family bought the story about him growing tired of Rochelle, his mother had said a quiet “you’re better off without her” when he’d announced the split. She knew him better than anyone. Knew when he was lying or hiding something, knew when he was trying to pull a fast one.
He shouldn’t really care what his family thought of Cora, but he did.
Only there was bringing a girl home and bringing a girl home. He wasn’t sure which of those two things was happening right now.
Just as Trent was trying to sift through his thoughts, Adam wandered over. “Looks like the party is going well,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
Cora was having a ball with Jace and Angie’s little black fluff balls. She was sitting on the ground while the tiny beasts yipped and pawed at her, and Cora’s laugh carried across the backyard.
“Aimee did an awesome job setting this up,” Trent said. “Seriously, she put in all the hard yakka.”
“So you’re working on scrapbooks together and throwing her birthday parties. That’s very familiar for a temporary visitor.” Adam’s tone said he wasn’t about to buy any bullshit Trent might consider peddling.
“I’m nothing if not familiar,” he replied with a wink.
“I overheard her telling Nick you’d showed her your block. Even I haven’t seen it.”
Trent raised an eyebrow. Adam might be the typical overprotective older brother always keeping watch on his siblings, but he was generally a pretty open and trusting person. It wasn’t like him to be wary of someone without reason.
“So?”
“I don’t know, seems a little intimate. You’ve been cagey as hell about letting anyone see it and then suddenly you’re taking some woman there.” Adam took another swig of his beer. Something was under his big brother’s skin, that was for damn sure. “Bringing her home to meet everyone…”
Trent nailed his brother with a stare. “If you want to say something, then say it.”
“I don’t want to see you getting hurt by some high-flying chick.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Trent wasn’t sure he was going to like what was about to come out of Adam’s mouth. “You think she’s too good for me?”
“She’s a big-city person, like Rochelle was. They don’t want the kind of life we have here. And I know you keep telling everyone that you called it off, but the second you broke up, she hauled her stiletto-wearing ass to Melbourne with that guy.”
Okay, so maybe his story about losing interest hadn’t stuck as much as he’d hoped.
He folded his arms over his chest. “Why does everyone around here feel the need to keep telling me to watch my back? One minute I’m the town charmer and the next minute I’m supposedly putting myself in the firing line? Sounds like a load of bullshit to me.”
Adam frowned. His big brother had that expression that foreshadowed him dishing out advice. Trent felt
himself tense up in anticipation. Not that Adam didn’t have useful things to say, but Trent had always felt like everyone assumed they knew what was best for him. That they knew what he needed.
Fact was, they knew nothing.
Not his friends, not his brothers and sister, at times not even his parents. Nobody knew who Trent was deep down. And that wasn’t an accident. Trent played his cards close to his chest because he knew that the second you loved someone, you gave them the power to hurt you.
He knew that everyone had the capacity to lie.
“She made it clear you were just fooling around and that it wasn’t anything serious for her,” he said. “She was chatting with Maddy and Skye before and I overheard her.”
The words were like a fist to his solar plexus. “She said those exact words?”
Damn, simply by asking that question, he’d given something away.
“Close enough. This isn’t anything serious to her.” Adam looked genuinely worried. “Now, you know I don’t like to stick my nose into other people’s business—”
“Which is exactly what you’re doing,” Trent pointed out.
“But when I see one of my brothers headed straight for a repeat mistake, how can I not say something? I’ve got nothing against her, truly. But I can tell you’re treating this like more than…the physical.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “How’d you figure that out? Crystal ball?”
“Uh, what about all this?” Adam waved his hand around to indicate the birthday party.
Trent’s gaze landed on Cora, who was chatting animatedly with Angie while playing with the puppies. The two American women appeared to be hitting it off, and Cora was giggling as one of the black fluff balls jumped up and tried to lick her face. If he was being totally honest with himself, he could see this being his future—Cora, a dog, driving back to the fantasy house overlooking the ocean.
You’re in too deep.
“Since when is it a crime to throw someone a birthday party?” He rolled his eyes, frustrated more by himself than by his brother’s observation. He didn’t want to feel anything for Cora, but the fact was…he did. And that was a problem. Still, in his opinion a private problem was better than a public problem. “Maybe you wouldn’t worry so much if you minded your own bloody business.”
Her Aussie Holiday Page 20
