Chapter 6

“Is that a vibrator?” Alice hissed in Eloise’s ear as they stepped into the private dining room at Amore Giocattoli, the trendy Italian restaurant in the city Sybella and Bianca had chosen to host Sera’s bridal dinner. Not to be confused with a bridal shower or hen’s night. This was different, apparently.

The long table in front of them was covered in a deep red cloth with a winding vine of crimson roses trailing from one end to the other. Gold plates sat atop gauzy, glittery black placemats, with black cutlery wrapped in red serviettes. Fairy lights stretched across the ceiling, giving the room a soft glow, and instrumental music played quietly in the background.

Eloise had expected the elaborate floral centrepieces and bottles of fancy bubbly.

But not the bunnies sitting on top of each place setting.

And they weren’t the kind that frolicked in fields or handed out chocolates at Easter.

“Why’d you stop, sweetie?” Mary asked.

“Are there topless waiters?” Joanie pushed forward, a cloud of her gardenia-scented perfume surrounding Eloise. “Are we crafting? What’s in the boxes?”

Eloise sighed.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Alice chuckled, slipping her hand into Eloise’s and tugging her forward.

“Is it a money box?” Joanie asked as she and Mary sidestepped Eloise and Alice, walking along the table. Eloise watched the penny drop. Her mother stopped, her simple gold wedding band shining as her hand hovered in front of a box with a big red ribbon on the top.

Joanie’s hoot filled the room before she—mercifully—lowered her voice. “It’s not a money box, but it is for a box. That’s another word for vagina, Mary. Did you know that?”

Eloise took a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter and downed it in a long swallow. Letting her grandmother read her collection of spicy romance novels had been a mistake.

“Atta girl.” Alice giggled. “Tonight’s going to be so fun.”

“Laugh it up,” Eloise mumbled. “Your future mother-in-law just walked in.”

Some of the mirth in Alice’s eyes disappeared as Lulu blew them a kiss from across the room. She and Joanie would be getting up to mischief tonight.

Sera hustled over from the other side of the room, all old Hollywood glamour in a deep red one-shouldered dress that hugged her body. An oversized headband covered in roses held her blonde hair away from her face. Thank God Eloise had got ready at Alice’s. Otherwise, she’d be standing here in a den of supermodels wearing tinted moisturiser and lip gloss. Instead, Alice had taught her the secret to perfect winged eyeliner and how multipurpose bronzer really was.

“I swear, they just told me to wear red. I didn’t know about the rest of it. Is your mum going to be okay? I didn’t think they’d do this here. Maybe at the hen’s night but Mum’s trying to relive her youth vicariously and Bianca … well, she’s just Bianca.” Sera clasped her hands together.

Eloise snagged another glass of champagne from a passing waiter, chasing a sip with a tiny sundried tomato and brie tartlet from another tray. Bubbles fizzed on her tongue, and the combination of cheese and carbohydrates soothed some of her nerves. “It’ll be fine.” She patted Sera’s arm as Bianca climbed onto a chair, a champagne flute raised in one hand, and said something about girls just wanting to have fun.

Mary offered her a weak smile across the room, and Eloise told herself to get over it. She was uncomfortable, yes, but it was nothing compared to what her mother was surely feeling right now. Bunnies or no bunnies, this dinner oozed expense and opulence. It was nothing like the garden party Mary had worked so hard on. Right in front of them was a reminder of the chasm between the Fletchers and Hamiltons. Eloise wound her way around the table, stopping to say hello to Lulu and the other women she knew, smiling politely at the ones she didn’t. Even more of Sera’s friends and family had arrived, even though the wedding was still five weeks away. When Charlie had first told Eloise that the Fletchers were planning on hosting a few short, all-expenses-paid getaways for their guests in the lead-up to the wedding, her jaw had hit the floor but at least it explained why so many had made the trip to Australia already.

“This is pretty,” Mary said when Eloise stopped next to her. “The roses are lovely.”

She should really try to be more like her mother. Mary never failed to see the good in everyone. “The champagne is … bubbly.”

She’d work on it, okay?

“I bet we have to roll Joanie and Lulu out of here,” Mary whispered. “But do you know what I can’t stop wondering?”

Eloise shook her head.

“What a group of rabbits is called?” her mother asked. “I want to make sure I accurately describe this to your dad later.” Mary pulled out her phone and started tapping at the screen before pressing a hand to her mouth. “It’s even better than I hoped. It’s a herd or—wait for it—a fluffle.”

“A fluffle?” Eloise snickered.

“What are you talking about?” Alice joined them, a small plate of stuffed mushrooms and fancy cheeses and cured meats in each hand. She offered one to Mary and Eloise.

Mary picked up a bit of salami. “I have to text Michael and warn him that Mum and Lulu will be smuggling a fluffle of sex toys out of here later. These party favours will be a big hit with their crew.”

“Mum!” Eloise giggled. God, her mother was the best.

“I better go say hello to Sybella.” Mary patted Eloise’s arm and pointed to the tray of drinks in the corner of the room. “The secret to success tonight is over there, girls. You two focus on having fun, and I’ll make sure Mum and Lulu behave.”

Eloise wrapped her hand around her mother’s arm, stopping her from leaving. “We’ll sit with you.”

“Oh no. Save yourselves. Go have fun.” With a wink, Mary disappeared.

“Damn. Your mum’s amazing.” Alice nudged the glass of champagne in Eloise’s hand.

“She really, really is.”

* * *

“Holy shit,”Nate breathed as he picked up a discarded spiky high heel. Charlie pulled up beside him, his jaw dropping. Nate’s gaze swept the room, over the long line of empty champagne bottles on the bar, past the weary looks on the waiters’ faces.

The afterparty to winning a Super Bowl had nothing on this.

What the hell had happened here?

“I thought you said this was a fancy dinner,” he said.

Charlie raised his hands. “That’s what Sera said.”

His buddy had called Nate two hours ago and explained one of the Hummer limousines had broken down and couldn’t drive Sera and her friends back to where they were all staying at the Wattle Valley Winery. Nate hadn’t hesitated to offer his help as a last-minute chauffeur. It was the perfect excuse to escape from adding and then deleting everything he’d written to his manuscript all day. Between Charlie’s 4WD and Nate’s seven-seater Pajero, they could just squeeze the ladies in and get them home safely.

“There’s my baaaaaaaaaaaaaby!” Sera called from the second row of a cheerleading pyramid. She was seconds away from a wardrobe malfunction. Most of the women were, actually.

“Fuck, is that nipple? Can everyone see my fiancée’s breasts right now?” Charlie groaned.

Nate spun on his heel, averting his eyes and ran smack-bang into Owen’s girlfriend.

Alice giggled and pulled him into a warm hug. “Nate! Do you want to know a secret?” She grabbed the neck of his navy T-shirt and yanked him close. “I’m going to do very naughty things to your brother when I get home.”

Well, that was information he didn’t need to hear. As gently as he could, Nate twisted out of Alice’s grasp.

“How many drinks have you ladies had?” he asked.

“Not that many.” Alice fluffed her red hair before wandering away when a waiter walked past with a tray of fancy-looking desserts.

“There’s my favourite guy,” Bianca drawled as she wrapped herself around him.

Nate prised her hands off his neck, but every time he untangled one, it would land somewhere else. She was like an octopus.

“You gonna give me a ride tonight? I’ll make you a cowboy. Or maybe you want to give me your brother’s number. Unless that’s something you both might be into?”

“Charlie!” Nate barked.

His only stipulation for helping had been to make Charlie promise Bianca wasn’t going home in his car. Every day she messaged him about the profile she wanted to do or if he’d give her a private tour of Wattle Junction. Obviously, his radio silence approach to responding hadn’t worked.

He stepped back, the wall pressing into his shoulders.

“You like to be chased, huh? Gonna make me work for it?” She pushed herself into his space even further, alcohol heavy on her breath. One of her false eyelashes had come unstuck and dangled off her eyelid like a spider. “I know all about your reputation.”

Fantastic. Regret over his behaviour from his rookie season resurfaced. It’d been years, but he was still paying the price for how he’d reacted to everything that had happened with his college girlfriend. “Whatever you’ve heard isn’t correct. Not anymore.”

“You need to back up,” a husky voice said in his peripheral vision. Nate caught the toss of long, dark curls. He turned his head and swallowed.

Maybe it was the pale yellow dress made of floaty fabric that clung to her breasts, one strap listing to the side, exposing way too much smooth, tanned skin.

Or the dark eyes filled with fire.

Nope, it was definitely the way Eloise’s tongue darted out and how she dragged it across her full, plump lips.

“Hi,” Nate said like an idiot. But what was he supposed to say when Eloise was looking at him like she was going to kiss him?

“This one’s mine,” she said.

Hers? Wait. What?

Her hand reached up, cradling his cheek while the other pushed Bianca’s face away. If Nate’s brain could understand what was happening, he would’ve laughed at the shocked expression on Bianca’s face.

But he didn’t have time to unscramble his thoughts before Eloise dragged him into the corner of the room behind the makeshift bar. It was dark and shadowy and deserted.

“El—” he started, but he didn’t get a chance to finish speaking before she pushed up onto her toes and pressed her lips against his.

And then … vanilla. A hint of mint and berries. The warmth of her body against his.

It was everything he’d ever imagined and more.

Eloise ran her tongue across his lips, silently asking him to open, and the rest of the world melted away. All Nate could focus on was the way her fingers curled in his hair, how she sucked on his bottom lip, her fingers twisting, pulling him closer. She kissed him like she’d been doing it forever. Like they didn’t have secrets and this wasn’t forbidden. Like they could be happy together.

“Oy! What’s going on over there, you two?” Charlie yelled, his voice cutting through the noise in the room.

Startled, Nate pulled away, blinking until everything came back into focus. The heavy red and gold accents to the décor. Long tables covered in those small envelope handbags women took to more formal functions, open boxes and empty glasses. The hard set of Charlie’s jaw. The flat line of his mouth, his shoulders.

“What are you doing, Eloise?” Charlie hissed, helping a stumbling Sera across the room.

Eloise’s mouth dropped open, her lips extra swollen and glossy from their kiss and several super fucking unhelpful thoughts hijacked Nate’s brain. “He looked like he needed rescuing.”

“Baby, my tummy hurts,” Sera groaned. She was all sweaty and pallid. “I think it was the beef tartare.”

“Wait here,” Charlie said to Nate and Eloise.

“I liked the beef.” Eloise’s eyelids drooped, her thumb hitching itself through one of the belt loops on Nate’s jeans as she snuggled into his side.

Shit. He never should have let this happen.

“How much have you had to drink?” he asked her.

“Enough to give me the courage to do what I’ve always wanted to. Not enough that you need to worry about taking advantage. Relax.”

Those were dangerous words; so was the lust flaring in her eyes.

“Where’s your mum?” Nate asked, changing the subject. Eloise ducked her head.

“Left hours ago,” Charlie said, reappearing. “Just spoke to Dad. Joanie wasn’t feeling well, so Mum and Lulu took her home.” His words were still heavy with suspicion.

“Maybe it was the rabbit.” Eloise tucked her head under Nate’s chin sleepily like she’d done it a thousand times before.

“Rabbit?”

“Long story,” she murmured, her breath seeping through his T-shirt, warming his chest.

When he looked up, Charlie was frowning. “You planning on telling me about this any time soon?”

Nate scrubbed a hand down his face. What a total clusterfuck. “Mate, it’s not what you think.”

“Mind your own business, big brother,” Eloise murmured.

“Baby?” Sera moaned as she slumped onto one of the bar stools opposite them. “I need to …”

Charlie darted to her side. “Okay. Time to go, ladies. Get your shit. Can you keep your hands to yourself long enough to get my sister and her friends home safely?”

So, just for future reference, Charlie was really, really not on board with Nate lusting after Eloise.

“Mate, I didn’t … this isn’t…”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, but I thought my best man would’ve had the balls to be honest with me.”

Nate lifted a hand to rub his face, but Eloise tightened her grip on him.

“Baby …” Sera yanked Charlie’s arm, and he dropped to his knee, listening to his fiancée, Nate and Eloise momentarily forgotten.

“Guess what?” Eloise slipped her hand underneath the back of his shirt, and Nate sucked in a breath.

“What?”

“Bianca’s not all bad.”

He snorted. “We’ll have to agree to disagree.”

Eloise laughed, a soft, tinkly sound and rubbed her eyes, smearing the dark make-up around them. Rumpled and tired Eloise was more dangerous than he’d expected.

“She gave us all presents. Boom, boom presents.”

“Boom, boom presents?” His voice sounded like he’d been in the desert for days.

“You know, presents that make you go …”

A red flush bloomed above her cleavage, the hint of lace between her breasts taunting him.

“… boom, boom?” he finished for her.

“Take me home, Nate,” Eloise whispered.

If only he could.