Chapter 39

Jamie

"Jamie!"

My name was called as soon as I walked into my sister-in-law's kitchen, but not by who I expected. Nadia was my brother Frankie's fiancé, and everyone in the family agreed that he was punching above his weight. She was one of those rare people who was beautiful inside and out, and she opened her arms wide and then enfolded me in a hug.

"Hey there, bride-to-be!" I said when we pulled back. "How's the engagement party prep going?"

"Oh god," she sighed, wilting against the kitchen counter. "You know how it is."

"No, she doesn't," Mum said tightly from the sink where she was washing lettuce.

"Soo much work to do. I suggested to Frankie maybe we should just elope." Nadia was joking. As one of four daughters, her whole family had mobilised like a well-organised machine to prepare for her wedding, but that didn't stop Mum from stiffening. "But the wailing from my family would be heard from space, so instead, I'm spending a lot of time looking at various shades of white and making it seem like I can see a difference. How about you?" She nudged me with her hip. "I hear you walked in here with a male model?"

"Ah, yeah, Hayden." I smiled weakly. "We're dating, so?—"

"I don't know how you do it," Amber said, looking up from the coleslaw she was adding mayonnaise to. She was Steve's wife and just as blunt as her husband. "Walking around with a guy that's prettier than you are."

"Amber!" Frannie, Dave's wife, came out of the pantry and then smiled when she saw me. "Hey girl, let me get you a rum and Coke."

"Jamie can take over making the garden salad," Mum said, flicking her hands and then walking away from the sink.

I shot the other ladies a look, smirking as I turned to do as I was told. Each one of them knew exactly what kind of holy terror Mum was. I'm not sure any of their marriages would've survived if she still lived in our city.

"Some things are more important than looks, Amber," Mum said and all of us sighed.

"Right, I just—" my sister-in-law spluttered.

"Reliability, security, having a partner you can depend on."

"Sure and?—"

"Rather than being preoccupied by superficial things." Mum's gaze was so piercing I could feel it burrowing into the back of my neck, but I didn't turn around. Instead, I spun the lettuce in the little plastic dryer thing and then tossed it into a large bowl along with some dressing. There was a pile of vegetables sitting by the chopping board, so I picked up a knife and went to work. "I've got a headache. I think I'm going to sit down in the shade for a bit."

I'm not sure if anyone took a full breath until Mum left the kitchen, but when we did, I grabbed the salad stuff and placed it on the kitchen island.

"So everyone's heard my news," I said. "What's up with you guys?"

"Oh my god, tripe?"

Nadia was telling us a story about Frankie going around to her grandma's house for dinner.

"I told Nana not to make it, but she insisted it's her signature dish and everyone loves it." Her hand slapped down on her belly. "No one's ever been brave enough to say anything to her about it."

"Tripe's sheep stomach, isn't it?" Frannie asked faintly. "Well, now you know Frankie really loves you."

"He does." She paused for a second, and it felt like every ray of light was soaked up by my soon-to-be sister-in-law right then, but she quickly realised she was having a moment and blushed before adding more chopped green onions to the potato salad. "I'd given him a few tips as to how to get it down. Chew as little as possible, then swallow. He did that a little too enthusiastically and nearly choked, which had Nana in a flap. Got him out of eating more tripe, though, and he passed the final test before the engagement party. Now the planning is in full swing."

She shot us all an apologetic look.

"My family is in overdrive. This party is going to be bigger than Ben Hur. I'm the last daughter to get married, so they're pulling out all the stops, but hey, open bar and my parents are paying, so hopefully everyone will have fun."

"It'll be amazing, Nadia," Frannie assured her. "And even if there's some teething issues, a few beers in and no one will remember."

"That reminds me, I need to book a babysitter," Amber said. "Open bar? Mama's getting her drink on."

"The kids are welcome to come," Nadia said, then looked out the window. By the sounds of their squeals, my niblings were on a rampage.

"We'll be bringing our tribe." Frannie said. "Hopefully they can behave for one night."

"Knock back a break from the crotch goblins?" Amber shook her head. "No, I'm taking advantage of an opportunity to kick up my heels a bit. But what about you, Jamie?" Her sly smile told me I wasn't going to like this shift in conversation one bit. "Who're you bringing? You've got this whole ‘torn between two lovers' thing going on."

"Three." The word was dragged out of me, and when I looked up, each woman stared. "Three guys, but it's all just casual, so I'll probably just take myself."

"Oh no, bring them," Nadia said. "God, bring all of them. It won't matter. My parents hired this huge hall because the guest list just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I mean, if you want to. Do they all know about each other?"

"They'd have to," I said, forcing myself to smile. "They're brothers."

Of course that just provoked more questions, so I quickly concocted a story that was close enough to the truth to pass inspection.

"Brothers?" Amber frowned. "Seems weird that they'd be prepared to share you like that."

"Jesus, Amber…" Frannie said, shooting her a dark look.

"Can you imagine your brothers being happy to date the same woman?" Amber asked me, completely undeterred.

"I try very hard not to think about my brothers' love lives at all," I replied with a grin. "I mean, I wish you all marital bliss, but y'know, just spare me the details." Her gaze didn't waver as she obviously expected me to expand on my answer. "But yeah, it is a little awkward at times, though right now, it's all staying civil. If it gets hairy, then we've all agreed we'll walk away from the situation."

"Well, that seems smart," Frannie said, pushing the rice salad away before getting a mound of freshly baked bread rolls from the oven. "Nothing's worth tearing a family apart."

"So how did you meet these guys, anyway?" Amber asked. "Did you crash some family's barbecue and every single male in the family turned your way and asked you on a date?"

"No." I slid all the carrots I'd sliced into the bowl of salad, then grabbed a tomato. "They're my best friend's brothers. We've known each other for ages."

"Ohh…" Amber looked triumphant, finally going back to her own meal prep. "So that's what it is."

"What is what?" Nadia asked in confusion.

"I couldn't work out how you were walking in on the arm of that hottie, but it makes sense now."

"What makes sense?" Frannie asked Amber, her eyes narrowing.

"Did he do this as a favour to your best friend?" Amber didn't let me answer, because she was on a roll. "She asked her male-model brother to do you a solid and be your date to the engagement party?"

"Why would Jamie need to do that?" Nadia looked at me then Amber. "She has no problems finding boyfriends."

"Who everyone hates," Amber replied. "Sorry girl, but it's true. That last one tried to hit me up when I went inside to check on the kids."

"I know." I ground that out. "That's why we broke up. I didn't realise he was such a sleaze."

"Didn't you?" She looked me over slowly. "Your brother and I did. He was never serious boyfriend material, but… none of them are."

"Amber…" Frannie stepped between me and my other sister-in-law. "Don't listen to her, Jamie. She's just being a bitch."

"If being honest is bitchy, then sure, I'll wear that label with pride. You can't blame me for being suss. We've barely met the guys you've dated before, Jamie, and now you expect us to believe you've got three on the go, who just happen to be brothers and freaking hot?"

"Thanks, I guess."

I could count on one hand the amount of times I'd seen Hayden pissed, but this was definitely one of them. He was dripping water, that crisp white shirt he'd been wearing now plastered to his chest, making sure everyone saw every muscle popping. A hand raked itself through his hair, flicking the water on the slate outside before he stepped inside. His eyes were like blue ice, taking in Amber's discomfort then flustered splutters as he crossed the floor to reach for me. Hands on my cheek, in my hair, he tugged me closer and then pressed his forehead to mine. Dimly I was aware the wet of his clothes were seeping into mine, but I didn't care.

"I think I survived the gauntlet," he rasped, "just. The kids tricked me into ‘fixing the hose.'"

"That old trick?" I rasped that out, conscious we had the attention of everyone here. "I should've warned you."

"No need. I think I made the right impression with your nieces and nephews." His smile was brilliant as his eyes met mine. "Just not your mum."

"Frannie, do you have any towels?"

Mum barked this out with all of the authority of a drill sergeant, her hands flicking water everywhere, because apparently Hayden wasn't the kids only victim. She was holding her shirt out from her body, the saturated fabric sticking to her skin.

"What? Oh." Frannie's lips twitched but she refused to allow herself to smile, instead disappearing down the hall and returning with a pile of beach towels. "Here you go, Marjorie."

Mum took it with little grace, softening this with a thank you before turning a baleful eye on Hayden.

"We'll need a new tablecloth and fresh plates and glasses. Everything's a mess," Mum said, but she didn't have our focus. Hayden took his towel with a smile and a thank you, before his fingers moved to undo his buttons.

I knew exactly what every woman was thinking. Well, except for Mum. They watched all that golden-brown skin be revealed inch by inch. The way the fabric stuck to him? I understood why. If I was wrapped around Hayden, I'd have clung to him right now too. Instead, he towelled himself dry with a series of brisk strokes before wrapping the towel around his waist.

"Did you want me to find you a spare pair of shorts?" Frannie asked. "I can see what Dave's got that might fit you."

"Yes." Amber just blurted that out, then shook her head, as if breaking a spell. "I mean, you wouldn't want to catch a cold."

"On a thirty-five degree day?" Mum drawled.

Everyone sucked in a breath, ready to debate this, when Dad stuck his head in the door.

"Meat's ready! C'mon, kids, let's have something to eat."

"But we're not done!" Mum twittered. "We need to reset the table and?—"

"Dave tossed the tablecloth in the washing machine," Dad informed her, "and found some paper plates. A slap-up lunch will be fine. C'mon, before the flies get to it."

Mum stared after Dad as he walked back to the boys, the lot of them wrapping the kids up in towels, already starting to dish up meat for the kids.

"Guess we better get the salads out," Frannie said with a tiny smile. "Otherwise the kids will fill up on sausages."

"Uh oh…" I looked up to see Hayden smiling. "I'm guessing I didn't make the best impression?"

"On Mum?" His grin was infectious, so I couldn't hold back my own. "Maybe not, but…" I leaned in closer, dimly aware that Amber was watching the entire time. "She was never the one you needed to impress."

"So it's all about the kids?" His voice was low and husky as he stepped closer. "I think they accept me. Apparently I'm pretty cool for a grown up."

"You are pretty cool."

His arms went around me to pull me close, the knot of his towel pressing into me, and I never expected to feel this. The laugh bubbling up inside me, wanting to get out, brought my mood with it, wiping away worry and stress and replacing it with this.

I hadn't intended to kiss him, but right now I couldn't bear to do anything else but. A question rose in his eyes for a split second before I answered it. I'd meant this to be a simple, sweet kiss, a show of gratitude for what he'd done, but as soon as his mouth touched mine, it became clear that would never be enough. He devoured me, parting my lips, searching for my tongue. My hands went around his back, clinging for dear life as he kissed me senseless, it taking seconds for me to realise he'd pulled away, and then I saw my sister's-in-law reactions.

Nadia looked like she was about to search for some popcorn and sit back and watch the show, and Frannie was clasping her hands to her chest. Amber? Her gaze had turned flat, but she didn't look away.

"Jamie's boyfriends didn't deserve her," he told them, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I'm not sure if we do either, but I know this: I'm determined to do whatever it takes to prove I'm worthy of her consideration, and if you need more proof of that, I'm happy to provide it."

"Are you lot coming to eat or what?" Dad called out. "C'mon, the meat's getting cold!"

I barely felt the salad bowl I carried outside, couldn't have told you what was in it if you put a gun to my head. All I could focus on was Hayden. His hand on the small of my back as he carried another salad out, taking both bowls before ushering me over to a seat. Him grabbing me a plate and filling it with exactly the kind of food I liked to eat. A small tendril of fear rose at that, but I smothered it quickly. The kids were all grinning, stuffing their faces with food, having spent the afternoon rampaging through the backyard, and right now I wanted to enjoy this too.

And so I did.

When I let a breath out and released the tension in my body, I could take in Frankie's dishevelled appearance and Mum's glower, Dad's evident pride in his barbecuing skills, and even Steve and Dave's stupid banter. Like every other family in Australia, we could just be together as a family.

Of course I couldn't be allowed to enjoy that for long.

"That's a boy that wants kids," Frannie said sometime later as we women all collected the salads and emptied cups. She was stacking the dishwasher and staring out through the window as my dad, my brothers, and Hayden all mucked around with the kids, spinning them around and throwing them up in the air.

"Might have your own screaming the house down," Amber said, sticking a finger in her ear and wiggling it with a wince. "Though could you imagine the babies Hayden would father?" She eyed me the way a farmer might a horse at market. "You just know they'd be beautiful."

"Not with him." Mum paused midway through scooping salad into a Tupperware cover. "Not someone that looks like him." She fixed me with a scowl. "You'd never know if that one would come home at night, all the offers he'd be getting. You're pretty enough when you put the effort in, Jamie, but not enough to keep a man like that."

"Ah…"

All that warm, fuzzy feeling of the afternoon was washed away abruptly, leaving me standing there, the focus of everyone's attention. I needed to say something, anything, Nadia's look of concern demanding it. But right before I could think of something, the sliding door opened.

"No, Uncle Hayden!" Cindy said, her and Hannah wrapping their arms around his legs. "More! More!"

"I need to get your aunty home," he said, gently prising them free. "She turns into a pumpkin if she's out too late at night."

"A pumpkin?" Both girls stared at me wide eyed.

"A scary one!" This was familiar territory, so I threw my hands up, forming claws and then went stomping after them. The girls screamed, running up to the rest of my niblings, getting them all stirred up. I chased them, but when I caught each one I gave them a hug, squishing their little bodies before setting them down. "And we've got to go."

"Noo…" the kids all groaned, grabbing at my hands.

"We'll come and see you soon," I promised.

"With one of their new uncles?"

Steve couldn't resist one last pot shot as I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"Maybe all three," I retorted.

"So we survived," Hayden said once we got inside his van. He shot me a wary look. "Are you OK?"

"There's a place just down the road," I replied. "Take a right, then a left, and then drive up the dirt track at the end of it."

"What—?"

"Just do it."

My fingers drummed on my thighs because there was a strange kind of energy throbbing through me right now. It was how I imagined someone who walked away from a car crash without a scratch on them felt.

"So—"

Hayden pulled up at the end of the dirt track and looked at me quizzically, and that's when I launched myself at him. My fingers craved the slight rasp of his stubble along his chin, my mouth needed his. The kiss was long and messy, one bleeding into the other as he took over, undoing his seat belt to lean over, but that was never going to do.

"Get in the back," I growled, seeing the question in his eyes. "Now."

He shook his head, wanting to demand answers, but when he did as he was told, I answered him by sinking to my knees.