All of You

by Jasmine Stevens

  Emma leaned over and poured Zoe’s milkshake into a sipper cup and gave it to Zoe, who practically snatched it out of her hands and thrust it into her mouth. ‘Tracey seems like a bit of a character.’

  ‘Yeah, she is, and everyone loves her for it.’ Did she detect an air of protectiveness in his voice?

  She flipped her hand, nonchalantly. ‘I meant nothing horrible.’

  ‘I’m glad ‘cause she’s the type of lady who would give you her last dollar.’ He watched her take a sip of her latte. ‘What did you do to your shoulder?’

  Emma’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Pardon?’ She placed her cup on the table so abruptly the brown liquid spilled over the sides. She grabbed a napkin wiping up the spill and hoping this topic of conversation would go away. But as she looked back up to meet his eyes, she knew he wasn’t going to let the matter rest.

  ‘Your shoulder.’ Ben reached up and massaged his left shoulder. ‘You winced like it was painful when Trace patted you there.’

  ‘Did I?’ Emma inwardly groaned. The last thing she felt like doing was telling this man her horror story.

  ‘You did.’

  Biding herself time to think of a plausible excuse, Emma took a sip of her latte. ‘Oh, I must have slept on it wrong.’

  ‘Yeah. That happens to me sometimes. I wake up as stiff as a board.’

  Emma raised her eyebrows, trying not to grin. She was pretty sure he’d said he woke up stiff sometimes. Trying to contain her mirth made it worst. Emma looked up from the table and began to giggle. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘I mean my neck is stiff, and I can barely move my head from one side to the other.’ Ben laughed. ‘Sorry, that came out all wrong. I’m not making much of an impression here, am I?’ he confessed as he scratched the back of his neck. ‘I can’t believe I said stiff and morning in the same sentence to a beautiful woman I’ve only just met.’

  Emma laughed. ‘Twice now.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’ve mentioned being stiff in the morning twice now.’

  ‘Oh shit, I did, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this, I promise.’

  Zoe paused in the conversation to announce a new word to her vocabulary, ‘hit.’

  Both adults looked over to Zoe. ‘Did she say what I thought she said?’ Ben asked.

  Emma nodded, ‘I think so.’ Emma covered her mouth, trying to stop the laughter from bubbling out. The look on Ben’s face was priceless. He looked terrified and panicked all at the same time.

  ‘Shit. I’m sorry. It slipped out.’

  ‘Hit.’ Zoe yelled the word out, proud of the new addition to her vocabulary.

  Emma couldn’t contain her amusement any longer, and her body shook with laughter. Meanwhile, Ben looked gutted.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Stop apologising. It’s okay. I know it wasn’t intentional. Don’t feel bad about it.’

  ‘Are you sure? I can leave.’ Ben went to stand, and Emma leaned across the table and placed her hand on his arm, stopping him. ‘Stay, please. I’m enjoying your company, and so is Zoe.’

  ‘Well, obviously, she is. I’ve taught her, her first swear word.’

  ‘Come on. Admit it. It’s a little funny.’ Emma began laughing again.

  ‘Okay, I can see the funny side of it if you can.’ Ben started to laugh too followed by Zoe, although she had no idea why they were laughing. ‘I’m sorry, Emma. That’s one way of making a lasting impression, I guess.’

  Emma nodded. ‘It is. I won’t be forgetting this conversation in a hurry. That’s for sure.’

  ‘Let’s move to a safer topic.’ Ben rubbed his chin in thought. ‘Mmm. I know this has been bugging me since the other day. What made you move to Holbrook?’

  Emma bit her bottom lip. Here we go. ‘I wanted a change. My partner and I broke up, and I wanted a simpler life for Zoe and me.’ Emma’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, ‘Hold on. How did you know I had moved here? I could be visiting. I could be a tourist.’

  ‘I heard along the grapevine you’re working at The Cheese Emporium, and you moved here from Melbourne.’

  ‘News travels fast.’ Emma pondered how much more information the residents knew about her and Zoe. They only had to Google Emma’s name to find out about the shooting. Her name was plastered all over the papers only months ago.

  ‘You have a lot to learn about small towns. Everybody knows everyone’s business. There’s no escaping it.’

  ‘It seems that way.’ Emma watched as Zoe took another sip of her milkshake. ‘So, what am I likely to hear on the grapevine about you, Ben?’

  Ben leaned back on his chair, placing his hands behind his head. ‘Mmm, good question. Let’s see. If you spoke to the young women of the town, you would probably hear I’m a heartbreaker. The love em’ and leave em’ kind of bloke.’ He cringed at his admission. ‘If you spoke to the older ladies, they’d probably tell you I’m a flirt, I’m cheeky and need a nice woman to settle down with. My mum, by the way, probably agrees with that. The men, on the other hand, I think they would say I’m a hard worker, I’m a decent bloke who will shout his mates a beer and will help them out, no questions asked.’

  Emma scrutinized the man sitting across from her. ‘That was a pretty honest assessment, I think.’

  Leaning in towards Emma from across the table, Ben challenged with a raised brow. ‘What would your assessment of me be, then?’

  Emma linked her fingers together and leaned in across the table towards him. ‘Well, it’s a little unfair seeing as I’ve only met you briefly, but I’ll have a crack at it.’ She leaned back again as his eyes fell onto her lips. She could sense him caressing the lines and curves of her mouth. She bit down to squash the rush of endorphins jolting through her. ‘Okay here goes… you’re active, you work outside and aren’t afraid of getting dirty. You’re a hard worker, and you like to keep in shape. You wear your heart on your sleeve, so you love them and leave them as you so eloquently put it, before they can get to know you, before they could fall in love with you and you can fall in love with them. You’re not ready to settle down yet. It scares you. I don’t know why, though. You’re a good friend, a loyal mate. You’re good with kids but aren’t ready for commitment either. I don’t know why? Maybe you think once you settle down, that’s it for you. The fun all ends, and you’re a lot of fun. You enjoy the chase, but once they’re yours, they don’t hold the earlier appeal.’

  Emma observed the tightening of Ben’s lips, and he nodded. ‘Wow. You could see all that in the twenty minutes we’ve known each other. I don’t know whether to be impressed or offended.’ He crossed his arms. ‘I don’t know if I like your assumptions of me. I beg to differ on some of your views, but I somehow think you won’t give me the chance to change your mind.’

  Emma nodded. ‘You’re probably right.’

  They were interrupted when Tracey brought their meals to the table and ate in companionable silence for a while until Ben broke through the quiet. ‘You said earlier you and your partner went your separate ways. With you moving all this way, that’s going to make it difficult for him to see Zoe.’

  Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘He won’t be visiting us.’ She stabbed some lettuce with a fork and made herself busy eating to avoid any further discussion on the matter.

  ‘I think this might have to be a to-be-continued conversation.’ He nodded towards Zoe. ‘When we’re alone.’

  Emma caught on to what Ben was saying immediately. ‘You’re right, now’s not the time or place, really.’

  They both went back to eating. Ben swallowed his mouthful of hamburger. ‘Do you get called Em for short? Can I call you Em?’

  ‘Sure, you can. Everyone calls me Em, except for my mum. I’ll always be Emma to her.’

  ‘So, Em,’ he accentuated her name, and it sounded sexy the way her name rolled off his tongue. ‘Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?’

  Emma blew out a puff of air which lifted her fringe off her forehea
d. ‘Ben, you’re the love ‘em and leave ‘em type of guy. You even said so yourself, and I have a little girl to consider. Being dumped when you’d had enough wouldn’t be good for her or me. Not to mention, I recently broke up from a long-term relationship. I’m not exactly sure I’m ready to jump back into the dating circus again. Zoe and I are finding our feet in a new town where we know nobody.’ For the past three years, Emma had been known as Ryan’s girlfriend, and if she were completely honest, she no longer knew who she really was. So many things had changed in her life, and now she was single, she wanted to find herself again. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, hell, she wasn’t even looking for a date. She was happy with her life as it was. Just her and Zoe for the time being.

  Ben swallowed another mouthful of burger. ‘So, I take it, that’s a no.’

  ‘Yeah, sorry, that’s a firm no.’

  ‘Friends then?’

  Emma’s mouth was dry. She was so attracted to Ben, she wasn’t sure how friendship with him would go, but he was a nice guy, so she was willing to give it a go. Maybe as she got to know him more, he’d become like a brother to her, and the attraction would dissipate. ‘Okay. I definitely could do friends. You seem like a nice guy. I enjoy your company so far.’

  ‘So far? That doesn’t sound promising. It sounds like you’re expecting me to fail somehow, and eventually you’ll begin not to enjoy my company?’

  Emma shrugged. ‘Put it this way, my experience with men so far hasn’t exactly left me with much confidence.’

  ‘Damn. I was hoping I’d made a better impression than that. I’m pretty sure you’ll still enjoy my company in years to come.’ There was his easy smile again.

  ‘You’re that confident,’ she said, lifting her eyebrows.

  ‘Yep, that confident. I can deal with being friends. I could deal with being friends with benefits, too. Just putting the idea out there.’ He grinned a mischievous smile making Emma’s insides quiver in anticipation. ‘Just kidding. But seriously if that ever changes, let me know.’ His smile spread across his entire face, and he had a playful twinkle in his eyes.

  Emma felt herself blush. Who wouldn’t love this guy? Emma looked away, gathering her composure before turning back to him. ‘I’ll be sure to let you know.’ My goodness, it was getting warm sitting outside in the sun. Emma could feel the temperature rising, and it had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the man sitting across from her who enticed her with his sexiness.

  Ben looked over towards Zoe, who was happily munching on a vegemite sandwich. ‘Thank goodness she’s too young to understand what we’re talking about.’

  Emma laughed. ‘You’re right there. I’m going to have to start being very careful what I say. She’s like a sponge, she soaks up everything I say.’

  A lorikeet swooped down, landing on Emma’s plate, startling her. ‘Oh, my goodness.’ She held a hand to her beating heart. ‘Where did that come from?’

  Ben held out a chip towards the colourful bird, and it took it in its foot and lifted it to its beak munching down on it. ‘This is a bit of a drawcard for the tourists to the café. Let me introduce you to Harry.’ As he spoke, another lorikeet landed on the table next to them, and the elderly ladies immediately withdrew their phones to take a photo. Ben pointed to the bird. ‘And that’s Sally. You know the movie When Harry Met Sally?’

  Emma nodded. ‘Cute.’ Emma looked over at Zoe, who was mesmerized by the bird perched on Emma’s plate. Zoe threw a piece of her sandwich at the bird, and it quickly snatched it up in its beak before flying away.

  ‘Well, that’s something you don’t see every day,’ Emma declared.

  ‘Holbrook is full of surprises,’ Ben countered. He stood up then. ‘Well, I best be heading back. I have a few things to do before the cows come in for milking.’

  ‘You’re a farmer?’ Emma asked.

  ‘You sound surprised. You picked up I worked outdoors. I figured you guessed I’m a farmer.’

  ‘The tan gave away the fact you work outdoors actually, and your hands. They’re not smooth like someone who works in an office. They’re hands of a man who’s used to hard work.’

  Ben leaned on the back of the chair. ‘You’re very observant. You see things other people don’t. It’s intriguing. It’s what I like about you.’ Ben reached over and ruffled Zoe’s hair. ‘See you ‘round, possum.’ He placed enough money for Emma and Zoe’s lunch on the table and walked around to Emma. ‘See you ‘round, Em.’

  Emma swivelled in her chair to watch him leave. His jeans fit snugly and damn if he didn’t have the best butt she’d ever seen. Emma tried to swallow the lump which was lodged in her throat as she watched him walk down the street. Suddenly, he turned and looked back at her. His smile lit up his face, and he had caught her yet again checking him out. He waved, turned back around, and continued his journey down the cobbled path. Emma downed a full glass of water and poured herself another. She was in trouble.

  Ben watched his best mate, Jamie, lift a weight above his head as he spotted for him. ‘Earth to Ben.’ Jamie placed the weights into their holder and glanced over at Ben.

  ‘Huh?’ Ben shook his head clear. ‘Sorry, what’d you say?’

  ‘I said it’s great news about Will and Lottie.’ Jamie reached for a towel and patted his neck and face dry. ‘Have you been listening to me at all?’

  Ben took the now-vacant bench press, making himself comfortable and psyching himself up to lift the heavy weights. ‘Fuck, I’m sorry, mate. I’m a bit distracted. It’s great news about Lottie and Will having a baby, though. Mum’s beside herself with excitement. She’s already planning a shopping trip to Newcastle to buy baby things.’

  Will, Ben’s younger brother, had married his childhood best friend, Lottie, a little over a year ago, and now they were expecting their first child.

  ‘How did Lucy take the news?’ Jamie asked.

  Ben smiled as he recalled his sister’s whoops of joy when his brother, Will, and sister-in-law, Lottie, had Skyped her at Sunday lunch. ‘She can’t wait to be an aunty. The baby is due in November, but she’ll have to wait until Uni finishes before she can come and visit.’

  Jamie’s face beamed. ‘The Beckett clan all back together.’

  ‘Yeah, Lucy thinks she’ll be able to stay for about eight weeks.’ Lucy was studying marine biology in Queensland. She came home whenever she could get time away, but visits were few and far between with her study schedule. His brother, Will, sister, Lucy, and he were very close. Sure, they’d had their fair share of fights growing up as kids, but both Ben and Will were fiercely protective of their baby sister. Ben hated she lived so far away, but he was happy for her, knowing she was studying to do something she loved. She had always had a love of animals, and he was so proud of the fact by the end of the year, she’d be a qualified marine biologist.

  Ben also couldn’t have been happier for Will and Lottie. They were ecstatic about their baby news, and he thought he was concealing his anguish and jealousy exceptionally well. Nobody knew how much he actually yearned to settle down, get married, and start a family. It was his little secret. He chose to let everyone believe he wanted to remain a bachelor, led them to think he was even happy with his lifestyle choice. He wasn’t oblivious to the gossip about his decision to remain single, but it was better than the alternative. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone finding out his secret, and everyone gossiping and pitying him. Nope, remaining unattached was the easiest option.

  ‘So, what are you thinking about?’ Jamie asked.

  Ben grunted as he lifted the weights. ‘Huh?’

  ‘Come on, man, you’re distracted. What’s got you wound up?’ Jamie assisted Ben, placing the bars onto the holder.

  Ignoring Jamie, Ben got up from the bench and walked over to the rowing machine and adjusted the seating. He looked over at his bemused friend. ‘Alright. There’s this woman.’

  Jamie smirked, ‘There’s always a woman. What’s different about this o
ne?’ Jamie picked up a set of dumbbells and began pumping his arms alternately.

  Ben began rowing. ‘She’s hot, for one thing. Not just hot, but I’m talking smokin’ hot.’ Ben remembered how turned on he had been when he set eyes on her as he had walked out of the café the other day. Her hair had been tied back in a braid and had caught the midday sun, showcasing an array of different hues of reds and oranges. Her hair reminded him of the sun at dawn as it rose slightly above the horizon, beautiful and crimson. His favourite time of the day now reminded him of a beautiful woman.

  ‘So, what’s the problem? Is she married?’ Jamie scowled.

  ‘No!’ Ben snapped back defensively. ‘You know I wouldn’t go there if she were married. She hasn’t got a boyfriend either, but she nicely told me thanks but no thanks.’ The memory of her rejection hit him in the gut like a punch. He hadn’t been prepared for that scenario. Yes, she had a kid, but that hadn’t stopped him in the past. He liked the chase of seducing women and enjoyed dating them. What he didn’t like was committing to a woman. He never made any promises as to where the relationship would lead. He wasn’t interested in settling down. He was only interested in having a good time and enjoying a woman’s company, never allowing himself the luxury to develop feelings. He didn’t want the kind of hurt that would come from falling in love. Sometimes women thought they could change his rogue ways and became bitter and upset when he ended things after a few weeks. Other times, the women were content and relieved by the arrangement. They realised he wasn’t the one for them and were happy to remain friends after the affair had taken its course.

  ‘Ouch.’ Jamie broke through Ben’s thoughts. ‘You’re not used to being told no. All the women are normally falling over themselves to score a date with you.’

  ‘Yeah, well not this woman,’ Ben grimaced.

  ‘I thought the chase was what you liked. What’s stopping you?’

  Ben’s heart rate accelerated, and he puffed from the exertion of pumping his arms and legs on the rowing machine. ‘She has a kid.’