Chapter 2

“Ithink it’s time for a toast, don’t you?” Mary murmured from her seat beside Eloise. Her long velvet sleeves brushed against Eloise’s arm.

Joanie reached for her glass, her chair scraping against the outdoor decking as she pushed back from the table. Her pink hair was even brighter than normal, thanks to a visit to the salon that morning.

“From Michael,” Mary said, reaching across Eloise’s body to pluck Joanie’s glass out of her hand. Eloise didn’t blame her. So far, her grandmother had managed to bring up TheKama Sutra three times and make two inappropriate jokes about the size of Australian sausages.

“Just a few words from me.” Michael raised his wineglass, cheeks ruddy with nerves. Eloise and Charlie had both inherited their father’s height and his dark hair and eyes. “Speeches aren’t really my thing, but I wanted to say on behalf of my family that we’re so pleased to have you all here as we get ready to celebrate Charlie and Sera’s wedding.”

Eloise clamped her lips together when Sybella Fletcher mouthed the word ‘Seraphina’. Her chunky diamond necklace glittered, matching the sparkly headband she was also wearing. Dinner hadn’t been a total washout, but it hadn’t been a success either. Although that wasn’t totally the Fletchers’ fault.

Sera’s maid of honour, Bianca—a gorgeous woman with a shiny black bob and dark red lips—was flirting with Nate like it was an Olympic sport and he was the gold medal she was determined to take home. Eloise’s grip on her wineglass tightened when Bianca’s hand disappeared under the table. Again.

“We’ve loved getting to know Sera and are looking forward to celebrating her and Charlie next month. Having you all here for an extended stay is going to be … just great, too.”

No one had expected some of Sera’s friends and family to supersize their holidays and visit for almost two months. Wasn’t it supposed to be hard to get vacation time or something? But Eloise guessed that if you had enough money to buy small islands on a whim, that wasn’t such a big concern of theirs. Trying to find ways to entertain them all had been a very stressful addition to Eloise’s already overflowing to-do list.

She twisted in her seat, her meal sitting heavily in her stomach or maybe it was the weight of the stare directed at her from across the table. For so long, she’d wanted to believe that the way Nate looked at her meant something.

I’m such a fool.

That’s when it registered that her father had sat down and Dalton Fletcher now had the floor. He lifted his glass and—were those diamond cuff links?—Dalton’s voice boomed out around the small outdoor space, already more crowded with people, food and decorations than she’d ever seen it before. For her small, private family, this had been a huge undertaking.

“Sybella and I have been so looking forward to meeting all y’all and seeing where our sweet Seraphina is living now. There’s nowhere as good as Texas but this place of yours sure is special.”

The fairy lights Mary had strung along the pergola cast a soft, romantic glow and instrumental music—a Spanish guitar album Nate had suggested—played softly in the background. Even the big punchbowls she’d filled with floating peonies had turned out nicely. Thank goodness there had been a massive pack of tea lights in the pantry. Flickering candlelight was the perfect finishing touch.

“Now, we won’t lie; this isn’t the future we ever envisaged for our girl,” Dalton said.

Eloise tensed. God, her poor parents. They’d worked so hard to make this night special, from meticulously planning a menu that catered to everything from gluten free to dairy free to vegan to meat only. The hours her mother had spent decorating so everything was exactly right. And here was this … this man who was probably surrounded by yes people who only breathed rarefied air and drank whisky that probably cost more than her entire tertiary education, and Nate had said they owned a blimp, and she’d assumed he’d been joking but … Eloise sucked in a deep breath. No one was going to come to her parents’ house and say these things. Charlie might get swept up in all the glitz of the Fletchers’ world but she wouldn’t. She’d always been more at home covered in paint and getting messy anyway.

Eloise opened her mouth, the glossy, soft pink lipstick Alice had chosen catching strands of her long hair.

“But Seraphina’s happiness is impossible to ignore. We can’t thank y’all enough for loving on her so well.” Dalton puffed his chest out, the buttons of his waistcoat straining against his large stomach as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, dabbing at his eyes.

Eloise slumped backwards and released a long breath, pasting her brightest smile on her face.

I need to calm down.

“You’ve welcomed her into your family so beautifully, and we promise to always do the same for Charles.” Dalton raised his whisky into the air, and everyone around the table followed his lead. “To Seraphina and Charles and the joining of two great families. Cheers, y’all.”

“Cheers,” she mumbled. Eloise’s serviette fell to the ground, and she bent down to retrieve it, her gaze drifting to the other side of the table before she could stop it.

A hand with perfectly manicured black nails crept along the armrest, settling on Nate’s thigh, dangerously close to his …

Nate’s hand appeared, his sports watch peeking out from underneath his jacket cuff, and he moved Bianca’s hand out of sight.

“You digging for gold down there or something, darling?” Joanie whispered, and Eloise jolted upwards, smacking her head on the underside of the table. She stumbled, knocking her chair backwards as she fell forwards. Eloise grabbed the first thing she saw to steady herself: the tablecloth.

When she told the story later, she’d swear it happened in slow motion.

As she scrambled back to her feet, slipping in the monster heels she wasn’t used to wearing, several glasses of wine toppled, and more chairs crashed to the floor as people jumped up to help. Somehow in the furore, several open bottles of the vodka and whisky Dalton had brought to share with everyone were tipped over, the alcohol igniting when it hit the groups of scattered tea lights. Of course, she’d used the whole pack of one hundred. A river of fire snaked down the table.

Someone said something about the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, but Eloise couldn’t look away as all her parents’ hard work went up in flames.

Literally.

* * *

As someonewho had played sport his whole life, including on one of the world’s biggest stages, Nate was used to formidable opponents. But it had been a while since he’d had to be on his game so much. He’d missed Bianca’s last name when Charlie introduced them, but it must’ve been ‘Handsy-McHandserson’ or ‘Gets-What-She-Wants-erton’. Because, shit, apex predators would fear this woman.

And, seriously, more power to her. Women who went after what they wanted were a special kind of sexy. Show him a man who didn’t want to be bossed around a little bit and he’d show you five who did.

But other things Nate found hot?

Listening. Consent. Call him old fashioned, but when someone has gently … politely … removed your hand from their thigh seventy-five times, maybe read the room.

Clearly, Bianca wasn’t a big reader.

“Are you cold?” Eloise asked, and Nate tilted his gaze down to where she stood next to him wearing his coat.

He’d insisted she put it on when he’d noticed her shivering after the chaos of the fire had died down.

And now he was busy not thinking about how good she looked in his jacket. How it swallowed her body and what that meant for how well she’d fit in his arms. “You keep it.”

Movement across the pergola caught his eye, and Bianca stalked towards him. With her slicked-back short hair and tight, sparkly minidress, she reminded him of a panther.

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“She’s very pretty,” Eloise murmured.

“Hmmm.” A noncommittal sound was all Nate could manage.

“Can’t blame the girl for going after what she wants.”

Nate’s head whipped towards Eloise so quickly that his neck muscles spasmed. “What?”

Eloise fiddled with the cuffs of his jacket. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”

“You did. You said?—”

The sound of someone clapping pulled his attention away from her.

“Right, let’s go and see the stars from Charlie and Eloise’s old lookout while we reset for dessert.” Michael brushed an errant glob of fire extinguisher foam from his sleeve. “Might even see a koala or two. Lazy things are most active at night. Then Mary’s whipped up a real Aussie treat for dessert: pavlova.”

When Nate turned back around, Eloise had shifted away and was whispering to her mother. “You guys go,” he heard her say. “It’s my mess.”

He clocked movement in his peripheral vision, and Bianca sidled up next to him, her talon-like nails sinking into his forearm. “I know who I want to have for dessert,” she purred in a strange accent that was a mixture of American and Australian courtesy of—as she’d explained—her time spent bouncing between the two countries as a child.

That line might’ve worked on him in college before he met Cobie. It definitely would’ve worked on him in high school, but now? Hard. Pass.

The soft ‘ew’ that slipped from Eloise’s lips made Nate smile.

Bianca beamed, perhaps assuming his sudden grin was for her. Well, this was awkward. They’d be seeing plenty of each other over the next six weeks at all the various functions leading up to the wedding, so he needed to tread carefully, make sure he didn’t do anything to cause offence. Or worse, end up in the article she was writing about the wedding for Celebrity magazine.

“I’m going to stay and help Eloise.”

“Who?”

Eloise waved, and Nate wanted to tip his head back, laugh at this ludicrous situation and pull her close but he kept his hands to himself. Like he always did. Eloise’s arm flopped back to her side under the weight of Bianca’s glare.

“I’ve got it under control.” Eloise’s smile was the politest one he’d ever seen on her face. He hated how she looked nothing like herself. How her hands were clasped together so tightly her knuckles were white.

Stepping away from Bianca, Nate reached for the empty fire extinguisher on the table. “I’m going to help.”

“My editor wants to do a profile on what your life’s like now. I thought we could discuss it under the stars, maybe lose the group. I like to get up close and personal with all my interview subjects …” Bianca raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“Everyone ready?” Michael held up a small wicker basket full of torches.

“Another time, perhaps,” Nate said, holding the fire extinguisher up like a shield.

“Come on, Bee,” Sera called.

Bianca trudged after the rest of the group, her spiky heels sinking into the soft ground.

“You didn’t have to stay,” Eloise said.

Nate put the fire extinguisher down and breathed deeply. “I needed a break.”

Eloise snorted. “What you need is a bodyguard.” Beams of light from the torches bounced across the big field behind her parents’ home. Michael’s workshop was a shadowy giant in the distance.

“I don’t need a bodyguard; I need a date for this wedding who hasn’t had two hip replacements.” He’d promised to keep an eye on Joanie at the wedding.

Their eyes met across the table. If things were different, Nate wouldn’t have hesitated to ask her. Say the words: ‘How about it, Eloise? You want to come with me?’

But what could he offer her? Or any woman?

He’d never be enough for so many different reasons.

Eloise lifted one of her mother’s charred serving bowls. “Can’t imagine finding a date’s a big problem for you.”

It was when there was only one woman he wanted.

And she was the only one he’d never ever be good enough for.