The doorbell rang just as Em put the potatoes on to boil. She wiped her hands on a towel and went to answer it. After inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, Em painted a wide smile on her face, then flung open the door.
“Hey, babes,” she said, giving Tally an enormous hug. When they broke apart, Tally rubbed her hands together.
“It’s freezing, and not even November yet.”
“Emmalee,” Cash said. He pecked her on the cheek and handed over a bottle of red wine. “Hope this goes with what you’re cooking.”
Em grinned, determined her friends wouldn’t see her inner turmoil, not tonight at least. “You know me, Cash. If it’s wine, it goes.”
He chuckled and closed the door behind him. “You locked David in the kitchen again?”
She gave him the middle finger as she walked away. Cash’s laughter followed her down the hallway. She’d had a difficult journey with her best friend’s husband, swaying between hating his guts and just about tolerating him, yet over the past eleven years they’d become close, almost sibling like, if their mutual teasing was anything to go by. Em had finally admitted Cash wasn’t all bad. After spending an inordinate amount of time around a couple so in love, it was impossible for her to loathe half of the whole.
Cash and David began talking football, which resulted in Tally and Em leaving them to it and escaping into the living room. She poured them both a glass of wine from the bottle Cash had given her.
“How are my beautiful godchildren?” Em asked, trying her best to suppress a painful wince. It wasn’t Tally’s fault Em would never be able to have children of her own.
Tally groaned. “Growing up too fast. Darcey asked me to buy her a mobile phone the other day. She’s nine for Christ’s sake. Nine.”
“It’s not like in our day, babes,” Em said. “The kids of today are different.”
“You can say that again,” Tally grumbled. “I had hoped to keep her as my baby for a little while longer though.”
“Are you going to get her a phone?” Em said with a frown.
“Good God, no,” Tally said. “I wasn’t exactly keen, but Cash was adamant that it was a big, fat no. If it was up to him, he’d keep her locked up until she was thirty. Suffice to say, we’ve had the silent treatment for two days now.” Her head fell against the back of the sofa. “I’ve ended up with a nine-year-old teenager.”
Em laughed. “Is that a grey hair I see?”
Tally tugged at her long, chestnut locks. “Hairs, more like. As in plural. By the time she’s a teenager, I’ll be completely white.”
Em stared out of the window. It had begun to rain, and she watched as huge drops splattered against the window pane. I’d take the white hair in exchange for a uterus that wasn’t fucking worthless.
“You look tired. Something else, too. Sad or sombre, maybe. Is everything okay?”
Em looked over at Tally and blinked. That girl could read Em as easily as a book in size sixteen font. She pasted on a bright smile and rolled her eyes. “Don’t be daft. I’m busy at work, that’s all. You know what this time of year is like. We barely get Halloween out of the way and then the Christmas party madness starts.”
“You work too hard.”
Em barked out a laugh. “Says the woman who juggles her time between being an award-winning author, writing a regular column for The Times, and a mother to two demanding kids. Not to mention having to deal with Cash, who’d drain anyone’s energy.”
“I heard that,” Cash said, sauntering into the living room carrying a plate of carrot and celery sticks and a hummus dip. He placed the snacks in the centre of the table and folded his tall frame in the seat next to Tally. Not yet forty, Cash could easily pass for thirty. He still had a potency about him, an “I own the room” vibe, not to mention the stunning good looks that had captivated Tally in the very beginning. In other words, the man had aged irritatingly well.
“You and I both know your wife deserves a fucking medal for putting up with you for all these years,” Em said.
Cash curved a hand around the back of Tally’s neck, the action loving and possessive at the same time. His thumb brushed just beneath her earlobe. “Aren’t you going to defend me, sweetness?”
“I think you can defend yourself just fine.” Tally’s body automatically curved towards Cash’s, like he was a magnet she was powerless to resist—and wouldn’t want to even if she could.
David walked in, swinging an empty wine glass. “I see you ran off with the alcohol,” he said, grinning in Em’s direction.
Em picked up the bottle and poured the remains into his glass. “I think we need another bottle.”
David perched on the arm of the chair. “Good thing I’ve already opened one then. Dinner in five, okay?”
Em looked across at Tally. “Thank fuck I married a man who could cook, hey, babes,” she said, jerking her head in David’s direction.
“If I left the cooking up to you, my sweet girl, we’d be ordering take out right about now.”
Em grinned. “Very true.”
David’s hand touched the back of her head, and he stroked her hair, the affectionate touch meant to soothe. A burning sensation pricked at the back of Em’s eyes. She scrambled to her feet. If a great fat tear accidentally appeared, Tally would definitely know something was up.
“Right, I’ll warm up the plates.”
David followed her into the kitchen, but when he opened his mouth, she shook her head. “Not now,” she murmured under her breath. “Tally’s already suspicious. Let’s just get through tonight, please.”
Saying nothing, David squeezed her arm. He always had known how to read her, and she loved him for it.
Chapter 3
“Something’s wrong,” Natalia said, clipping in her seatbelt and waving to Em and David through the car window. Their friends waved back, then went inside and closed the door.
Isaac—their driver and bodyguard—drove away from the kerb, the purr of the engine barely making a sound.
“What do you mean?” Cash asked.
“With Em. She hid it, of course, but I know her. She wasn’t herself tonight, Cash.”
He shrugged. “She seemed fine to me. Her usual snarky wit was on full display.”
Natalia shook her head vehemently. “Didn’t you notice how tired she looked? The slight downturn to her mouth, the shadows beneath her eyes. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
Cash raised his eyebrows. “Easy, Miss Marple,” he said, earning a punch on the arm for his troubles. Despite the easy grin she shot his way, whatever she’d seen in Em that Cash hadn’t, it had her worried—and if his wife was worried, then so was he.
And that’s why he did the only thing he could think of to chase away her concern, at least for a few minutes. He unclipped her seatbelt and pulled her onto his lap, his lips going straight to her neck.
“You’re breaking the law,” she murmured, her body ignoring the caution in her words, as she leaned into him and burrowed her fingers in his hair, her nails scraping his scalp, just the way he liked.
“The fine and the smug lecture from the traffic cop will be worth it,” he said, his mouth moving over her jaw, nipping, sucking, tasting. Tally’s groan sent a rumble through his chest. After eleven years, he still couldn’t get enough of her. He felt around for the privacy screen button, and when the familiar whirring sounded, Natalia relaxed. Isaac was a very discreet man but, Natalia preferred it when the thick sheet of tinted glass separated the front and back of the car.
“My mother had better have worked her magic by the time we get home. If those kids aren’t fast asleep, there will be hell to pay.”
Natalia giggled, a sound he craved more and more as time passed. “Why’s that, ace?”
“Because you, sweetness, need distracting. And I know just how to divert your attention.”
She wriggled in his lap. Instantly, he grew hard. “Jesus, it’s going to be a long ride home.”
Natalia’s tongue swept over her top lip and her
navy-blue eyes glinted with mischief. “Oh, ace. I hope so.”
An hour later, they spilled out of the car, Natalia’s hair a wild tumble that she desperately tried to tame by repeatedly smoothing it with her hands, and Cash had lost a button from his shirt. He dug his fingers into his lower back and chuckled.
“I’m not sure my body can handle car sex anymore.”
Natalia linked her arm through his as they walked across the gravel driveway. “Sounds like someone needs a massage when we get to bed,” she murmured in that low, sexy tone that went straight to his dick.
Cash groaned. “Fuck’s sake, sweetness. I don’t need a hard-on in front of my mother.”
When they reached the living room, his mum was fast asleep on the couch, lying on her side with her knees curled up and a cashmere throw wrapped around her shoulders. Why she hadn’t gone to bed was beyond him. He gave her a gentle shake.
“Oh, Cash, Tally,” she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “I must have nodded off.”
“No shit,” Cash answered, grinning. “There’s a perfectly good bed upstairs, Mother. Several, in fact.”
Rachael gave him one of “those” looks. “Thank you for pointing that out, darling. I was watching a sitcom after putting the children to bed. I don’t even remember my eyes closing.”
“Everything okay?” Natalia flopped onto a chair and tugged off her heels, dropping them with a thud beside her.
“Yes, no problems. They’re good kids. Went to bed without a murmur. How was your night?”
“Interesting,” Cash said, smirking in Natalia’s direction. “Especially the journey home.”
Natalia blushed, a trait she’d always had, and he’d always adored. “Ignore your son, Rachael,” she said when his mum raised a questioning eyebrow. “Although interesting is probably a good description of our evening. There was a definite undercurrent. Something was very off with Em.”
“Off how?”
Natalia kneaded the soles of her feet with her thumbs. “I’m not sure, but something was definitely bothering her. She didn’t want to talk about it which, again, isn’t Em’s style. She’s not one for keeping secrets.”
“Well, maybe you should pop across one day this week. Have a chat, woman to woman.”
“Yeah, good idea.”
His mum stretched and yawned. “Right, darlings. I’m off to bed. See you in the morning.”
“Night, Mum.” Cash kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for staying over to look after the kids. I’ll drop you back home tomorrow, unless you’ve changed your mind about moving in?” Cash asked his mother this question at least once a month. Her response was always the same.
“Good try, darling. You know I like my own space.” She squeezed Natalia’s shoulder. “Try not to worry, Tally. Em’s tough as old leather. Whatever is bothering her, she’ll tell you eventually.”
Natalia flashed her a fleeting smile, but as soon as Rachael turned her back, it fell. Cash tugged her to her feet, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Looks like someone needs distracting again,” he murmured against the shell of her ear. She trembled.
“Only if my old man’s back is up to it.” He felt her smile against his neck.
“I think he’ll cope.” Leading her upstairs, after a quick detour to the kids’ rooms where both were fast asleep, Cash walked down the hallway to their room, closing the door with a quiet click behind them.
* * *
Cash kicked at the covers where they’d twisted around his legs while he’d slept. He must have had a restless night, although after making love to his wife, he couldn’t remember a thing.
A squeal of excitement drifted up from the garden, and Cian shouted, “Pass it to me!” He must be playing football with his mates, his second favourite thing to do after tennis. Cash had worried at first that neither of his kids would take up his beloved sport, but during the last couple of years, Cian had shown an interest, as well as a real gift. Darcey, on the other hand, wasn’t remotely interested, preferring ballet as her chosen creative activity.
He turned his head to see if the noise had woken Natalia, but her eyes were clenched shut, her chestnut hair cascading over her crisp white cotton pillow. God, he loved her more now than he had when they’d first got together. Then, he’d needed her like an addict craving their next fix, and it had been desperate, possessive, at times painful. Now, after nine years of marriage and two kids, his love for her was deeper, more meaningful. He lived for her.
He’d die for her.
She frowned in her sleep, and worry turned down her mouth at the corners. She murmured a few unintelligible words under her breath. Last night had really got to her, yet he hadn’t noticed a thing out of place. Natalia had always been the more perceptive of the two of them, and given she and Emmalee had been best friends for over thirty years, it was hardly surprising they were attuned to each other’s moods.
Cash eased out of bed and pulled on a T-shirt and jeans. After using the bathroom, he wandered downstairs. When he walked into the kitchen, he could see that Mum had been up for a while. She was standing in front of the kitchen window sipping a cup of coffee, having already laid the table for breakfast, and turned on the washing machine.
“Darcey not around?” he asked, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and sticking it under the fancy coffee machine Natalia had bought. He still couldn’t figure out how to use it properly. “I heard Cian in the garden.”
“Yeah, he’s playing football with Mikey and Robert, but I haven’t seen Darcey so far. Do you want me to go check on her?”
“No, leave her. She’s probably still sulking over the mobile phone debacle,” Cash said, pressing several buttons on the coffeemaker. Nothing happened. “Christ”, he grumbled, “whatever happened to instant?”
Mum came over and nudged him out of the way. He could have sworn she pressed the same buttons he had, but regardless, the damned thing started churning out coffee.
“Is Tally still sleeping?” she asked, passing him the steaming mug.
Cash nodded. “I don’t think she got much rest last night.”
“Em?”
“I think so.”
“Did you notice anything amiss?”
Cash snorted. “Me?”
Mum rolled her eyes. “Of course. How stupid of me.”
Cash ignored her not-so-subtle dig. “I wanted to float an idea past you that should give us all something to look forward to.”
She cocked a hip against the kitchen counter and took a sip of her own coffee. “What’s that, darling?”
“I was thinking of going away for Christmas. Not just us three and the kids, but Natalia’s mum, Em, David, Rupe, Jayne. Somewhere warm. It’d do us all good I think.”
“So do I,” came Natalia’s voice from behind him.
Cash turned around. “Sweetness, I was going to make you a coffee and bring it up.”
His mum coughed delicately.
“Okay, Mum was going to make the coffee. I still can’t work the bloody machine.”
Natalia slipped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek, then plucked his mug out of his hand and took a sip. “Where were you thinking?”
“Barbados.”
Her lips stretched into a grin. “That sounds like heaven.”
“Good, because I’ve already picked out a place.”
Natalia glanced over at Mum and raised her eyes heavenward. “Of course you have.”
He playfully tugged her hair. “Shall I book it then?”
Natalia nodded. “Although I’m not sure I’ll be able to persuade Em to come. Christmas is her busiest time of year.”
Cash huffed. “If she’s that worried, tell her I’ll hire her for the week. She can play fucking beautician to you lot.”
“Dad!”
Cian had appeared out of nowhere, a muddy football stuffed under his arm, and a tear in the sleeve of his Manchester United football shirt. He was flanked by his two friends whose mouths hung so far open, Cash guessed their par
ents weren’t as foul mouthed as he. He’d curbed his love of the word “fuck” considerably over the last few years – and he was still very much in mourning.
“What the hell happened to you?” Cash said, figuring hell was a perfectly acceptable alternative. Nope. Mouths opened even further. Dammit. He guessed a phone call from irate parents was due some time later today. A problem he would definitely hand over to Natalia to deal with. She was better at all that shit than him anyway.
Cian poked a finger in the hole and tugged, tearing the material further. “Dunno. Can I have another one?”
“No, you bloody can’t.”
“Cash!” Natalia remonstrated as yet another curse word slipped from his lips.
“Jesus,” he muttered—probably another transgression. “I’ll go and call Rupe about Barbados from the study.”
“Barbados?” Cian asked, a cheeky grin making his white teeth stand out in his muddy face. “Can my friends come?”
“No!” Cash and Natalia said in unison.
“Okay, keep your hair on,” Cian said.
Cash’s lips twitched, until he caught Natalia’s subtle frown in his direction. He straightened his face, although it was fucking difficult. She had a strict rule about not showing the kids he was amused when they were being rude, in case they took his humour as accepting of their naughtiness. The problem, though, was that Cash thought Cian was hilarious.
“That’s enough from you, young man,” Natalia said. “Carry on like that and you won’t be coming to Barbados. Now sit down and eat your breakfast.” She turned to his two friends. “Mikey, Robert, are you going or staying?”
“Staying,” they responded eagerly.
Cash left them to it. He was in awe of how Natalia managed to remember all the names of their kids’ friends. The older Darcey and Cian became, the more friends they collected, and the more he struggled to keep up.
He closed the study door behind him, and the noise diminished. Cash sank into his leather chair and opened his laptop. He’d been toying with the idea of Barbados for a while. After last night, and Natalia’s insistence that all was not right with Emmalee, extending the invite list seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, he didn’t see nearly enough of Rupe these days, especially since he and Jayne had got married and Rupe had decided he’d rather drink from her pussy than drink whiskey with Cash.
Break Point: A Winning Ace Novella Page 2
