“You look amazing,” he’d breathed. Heat immediately rose to my cheeks. Bless my granny for passing on her caramel skin tone.
An unfamiliar tightening started up in my stomach. My nerves were having a rave party, and it made me feel sick. I smoothed my hands across my waist to settle the discomfort. My reactions to this man’s scrutiny were foreign to me. He looked amazing himself, in jeans and a fitted T-shirt.
I’d landed in the danger zone. I wanted to put up some steel reinforcing on all my protective barriers. But Brad had found the keyhole, and he had his eye firmly glued to it, trying to see what was inside.
I knew the questions would come. Work was a safe topic. I could deal with questions about work. What I couldn’t deal with was the heat shearing off Brad’s body. It wrapped around mine when he sidled up beside me to put the plates together. Even the way he shaped the risotto and topped it with garnish was artistic. My eyes followed every movement of his deft fingers, taking so much care to reach his idea of perfection. Having one arm out of action didn’t slow him down. I thought I loved cooking. He adored it. Watching him was mesmerizing. My mouth watered. For the food, of course. I hadn’t eaten this well in … well, since I lived with Granny in her old house, and had access to a proper kitchen.
He’d just finished plating up when there was a knock at the door.
“Do you mind letting them in?” he asked me without taking his eyes off his creations.
“Sure thing.” I tried to sound cool, even though the idea of spending the evening with strangers made me want to scratch my eyes out.
Drying my hands, I made my way to the front door, opening it to reveal a tall, brawny man with black hair, and striking blue eyes. He had a six-pack of beer in one hand, and his other arm around a short, curvy blonde. They both grinned at me. The blonde ducked out from under Hercules’s arm, and wrapped her arms around me.
“Hi, I’m Andrea. You’re Veronica. We’ve heard lots about you. Welcome to the family.” She stretched up as far as she could go, kissing me on the cheek. Who was this woman and what had she heard about me? She released me and gestured to the brawn. “This is Ben.”
He tipped up his chin. “Glad you finally moved in and put him out of his misery.”
Um. A frown marred my brow; an external sign of my internal confusion. Hercules laughed at my discomfort. Thankfully, he made no move to hug me.
“Erm … It’s Ronnie, and good to meet you both. I don’t know anything about Brad’s misery, but now I’m wondering what he’s been saying about me.”
I led them through the house, finding Brad in the kitchen rubbing the back of his head. The meals were set on the table outside.
“I guess dinner is served,” I announced, and moved to sit in one of the chairs.
Moths buzzed around the fluorescent light above the table. The light breeze carried the scent of a nearby Frangipani to mix with the aromas of the food. The others joined me around the table, exchanging looks as they sat. I thought our guests might be in trouble. Andrea snickered under her breath, mouthing, “busted,” at Ben. Ben bared his teeth at Brad, unthreatened.
Okay, let’s move on and pretend that didn’t just happen. “Bon appetite.” I picked up my fork and dug in.
“I like this one,” Ben added, as he reached for a piece of bread.
“Ignore them.” Andrea rolled her eyes, putting me at ease.
“Oh, I will, don’t worry.” I inspected Andrea more closely. It occurred to me that she’d given me a hug, and yet I hadn’t felt infused with bad medicine.
Her expression was openly curious. I wasn’t getting any bad vibes from either of them. That was unexpected and new for me.
Growing up, I had a reputation that preceded me. Being seen with me was social suicide, unless they were using me for entertainment value. Any potential friendships were quashed because the risk to the other person was too great. The reason why I’d finished school ahead of everyone else, wasn’t because I was smarter. It was because I wanted to get the fuck out of there as fast as I could. I studied constantly. There was nothing special about me, academically. I learned to keep my head down and stick to myself. Whatever got me through.
This was the first dinner I’d been invited to. I guess I wasn’t really invited. I dropped my eyes as the warm, fuzzy feeling I was enjoying dispersed with that revelation. Still, the ember of hope glowed brightly. I had finally been given the chance to get to know people.
When I raised my head, everyone had their eyes on the new girl. I wracked my brain for something to say, only finding tumbleweed between my ears. Brad jumped in to rescue the situation.
“Ben and I met in pre-school. He was sprouting some rubbish about rugby league being a thug’s game, and rugby union being for educated gentlemen. He must have heard that from his dad. I told him the Broncos could smash the Queensland Reds any day. Typical tough-boy talk. We got into a scuffle and were sent to the Principal’s office. The Principal made us sit down and talk about things we both liked. We had a lot in common. Favourite food, favourite colour, favourite toy, our hobbies. We became instant friends and agreed to disagree on the rugby debate.”
“Sensible actions from a Principal well-versed in young boys’ disputes.”
He smiled and bobbed his head. “Luckily, we
