Anticipation (11 page)

“No, no. Don’t start thinking about it.” Eddie’s hand landed on her shoulder, encouraging her to head toward the business end of the building. “We just got to a happy place where you were going to play nice.”

“You are so pushing your luck right now. Just so you know that,” she said, concentrating on maneuvering through the doorway into the corridor.

“As always, I’m terrified.”

She could tell he was laughing at her, even though he was behind her and she couldn’t see his face. Hans and Steffi probably were, too. Apparently her feeble attempts to retain a little self-respect and independence were hilarious.

“One day —”

“I know. One day I’ll be in your power, and then you’ll show me,” Eddie said, brushing past her to open the door to the workroom she’d been assigned. “We’ve had this conversation before, remember?”

She saw that her tattoo machines were set up on the workbench, along with a good selection of different colored inks and a bag of ink cups and other supplies. To save her a trip to the supply room, she presumed.

“I stripped your machines down and cleaned them, since they’ve been out of commission for a while. They should be good to go,” Eddie said.

She stared at him. It would have taken him the better part of an afternoon to give the tools of her trade such a thorough going over.

“Eddie.” She stopped, unable to find the words.

“I know, you’re eternally grateful, you’ll never say another harsh word to me, and the next time I mess up you’ll remember this moment and bite your tongue because you know that deep down inside I’m an amazing person with a very evolved soul.” To his credit, he managed to maintain a poker face, despite the absurdity of his words.

“It is so sweet that you still believe in fairy tales,” she said, reaching out to pat him on the cheek in the most patronizing way possible.

He caught her hand before she could withdraw it, wrapping his fingers around hers and giving them a gentle squeeze.

“How about you repay me by letting us look after you, okay? I know you somehow manage to pack six feet of pride into that five foot body of yours, but it’s not going to kill you to let us make life a little easier for you.”

She wanted to pull her hand free — needed to, because heat was traveling straight up her arm and going to places it had no business being — but somehow she let her hand remain lax and soft within his.

“I
can
actually get around on my magic crutch, you know,” she said. “And I’m supposed to be weight bearing. It helps the bone heal.”

“I know. But I also know you’re going to get tired and that this first week back will be hard. So don’t be a dick and let your friends help you.”

“Wow. Words to live by. I’m going to put that on a T-shirt,” she said, finally allowing herself to pull her hand free. She curled her fingers around the lingering warmth from his touch, unable to stop herself from treasuring the small contact even though she knew how self-destructive it was.

“Remember what Steffi said about me making you suck stuff up.”

The look she gave him made him hold up his hands and edge toward the door.

“I’ll be back with coffee in ten. Double shot latte, yeah?”

“Eddie, stop it. It’s too much —”

Before she could finish her objection, he was gone. She stared at the space where he’d been, aware of a slow, sweet ache growing in her chest. It was perverse and twisted as all hell, but she liked that he cared enough to be so solicitous and considerate. She liked that he’d gone out of his way to think about her and what she might need.

It made her feel special. It made her feel pampered and valued and loved. And Eddie did love her. She didn’t doubt that for a second. He loved her like a sister. Like a dear, dear friend.

And that was what she needed from him. That was what she wanted, what she was so desperate to hang on to.

The walkie-talkie crackled to life in her hand, making her jump.

“Yo, Blue. Your first client is here. Give me a shout when you want me to bring him in.”

Blue pushed the button on the side of the handset. “Thanks, Steffi. Give me five, then bring him through.”

She turned to the workbench, resolutely pushing Eddie from her mind.

For now, anyway.

Chapter Eight

Eddie was heading for the staff room on Friday when Rafel caught him in the corridor.

“Can I have a word?” he asked.

Eddie lifted the brown paper bag in his hand, heavy with burgers and fries. “As long as it’s fast.”

Blue was waiting for him in the staff room, no doubt gnawing on the furniture while she waited for sustenance.

Rafel gestured with his chin toward an empty workroom, and Eddie reluctantly followed him inside.

“What’s up?” he asked as Rafel turned to shut the door.

“I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just going to spit it out,” Rafel said. “You need to back off on Blue, man.”

“What?” Eddie blinked at his brother, blindsided by the unexpected comment.

“I know you’re freaked out that she almost died, but you need to get out of her face, give her some air,” Rafel said.

“Where the hell is this coming from?”

“From ten years of knowing Blue and a week of watching you smother her. Driving her to and from work, getting her coffees, bringing her lunch… You need to throttle it back, man.”

Eddie bristled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, she’s recovering from a major fucking car accident, and this is her first week back at work.”

“That doesn’t mean she needs you waiting on her hand and foot. Give her some breathing room. This is Blue we’re talking about, remember? Sometimes she just wants to be left alone.”

Eddie glared at his brother. “I know what she’s like.” No one knew Blue better than him. No one.

“So why are you all over her like a freaking puppy then?”

Eddie flinched, insulted by his brother’s analogy. “You’re full of shit.” He reached for the door handle.

“That’s a Huxtaburger bag, isn’t it?” Raf said shrewdly. “You drove all the way into Fitzroy to get her favorite burger for lunch, didn’t you?”

“This could be my lunch for all you know, smart-ass,” Eddie said, even though he could feel the tips of his ears turning red.

“Eddie, come on. I get that you’re happy she’s back. I get that you’re worried about her —”

“We’re all worried about her. Steffi, Yuri, Renarto. Everyone’s worried about Blue.” Eddie could hear how defensive he sounded and it only made him angrier. He didn’t have to submit his feelings to Raf for approval. It was none of his brother’s goddamned business how Eddie felt about Blue or what he did for her.

Raf held his hands out to the sides and took a step backward. “Fine. Have at it. Forget I said anything.”

“You don’t know everything, you know,” Eddie snapped.

He and Blue had always been closer than Blue and Raf. They understood each other.

“Like I said, have at it. I just thought you’d want to know if your fly was undone.”

Eddie stared at his brother. To have your fly undone in the Oliveira household meant you were losing your shit and everyone could tell — a phenomenon named after their Uncle Fernando, who had once spent a whole day wandering around with his tighty-whities on display.

“My fly is not undone,” Eddie said tightly.

“I thought you might want to rein it in. But suit yourself.”

Rafel exited to the corridor. Eddie swallowed a four-letter word, marveling at his brother’s skill at pissing him off, then headed for the staff room.

“Blame Raf if your fries are cold,” Eddie said as he entered.

“I don’t care if they’re cold. I just want them,” Blue said, shifting eagerly to the edge of the armchair and making grabby hands at him to encourage him to hand over her food.

Renarto and Yuri had commandeered the couch, the two of them wolfing down sushi from the place across the road, and they looked up as Eddie sank into the other armchair.

“The crap you two eat,” Renarto said, shaking his head.

Yuri paused with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth as Eddie handed Blue her burger and fries.

“Is that a Huxtaburger?” Yuri asked

“That’s right,” Eddie said coolly.

Yuri and Renarto exchanged significant looks and Eddie suddenly felt very exposed.

Just thought you’d want to know if your fly was undone.

Raf’s words echoed in Eddie’s head as he unwrapped his burger and he had to fight the urge to justify his actions to the two men. It was none of their business if he’d chosen to eschew the perfectly good burger place around the corner in favor of making a twenty-minute round trip to bring Blue her favorite burger in all of Melbourne. If he wanted to spoil her a little, he was perfectly within his rights to do so, and the rest of them could all taking a flying leap.

Beside him, Blue made pleased noises as she chowed down on her burger. “God, yes. So good,” she groaned, licking burger juices off her thumb.

Eddie got caught for a moment as she closed her eyes, savoring the flavors, her expression rapturous. She was such a little hedonist, absolutely unashamed of her animal appetites. He’d never met another woman who was as honest about what she wanted and needed, be it sex, food, money, or anything else.

“All right, all right. We get the message. Greasy burger trumps virtuous sushi,” Renarto said with a very Italian wave of his hand.

“Every time,” Blue said, stuffing a handful of fries into her face. “Suckers.”

Renarto laughed before scrunching up his take-out container and lobbing it toward the trash can. Yuri followed suit then the two of them drifted outside to play some one-on-one in the parking lot.

“You want a Coke?” Eddie asked.

Blue made an affirmative noise around the last of her burger and he got up to snag two cans from the fridge. He was about to pull the tab on her drink for her when he stopped himself. He could practically hear Raf’s sarcastic voice in his head, asking if Blue’s injured leg prevented her from popping the top on a can of Coke. Slipping his finger free of the tab, he set the drink down in front of her, feeling as though he’d made a major concession.

“Man, that was awesome,” Blue said, leaning forward and popping her can open with a well-practiced move. “Thank you. I feel like my whole body needed that. It was almost a religious experience.”

She tilted her head back and chugged and he watched her throat work, marveling that she could be so damned earthy and indelicate yet somehow so compelling and sexy at the same time.

Because Blue
was
sexy. Always had been, always would be.

It was an irrelevant thought, and he buried it, the way he always did, before gathering up their lunch debris and ferrying it to the trash.

Blue was checking something on her phone when he finished, and he watched her for a moment, noting the changes the accident had wrought — the paleness of her face, the tiredness around her eyes.

She glanced at him, catching him staring, and the words came out before he could stop them.

“Am I crowding you too much? Getting in your face?” he asked.

Her eyebrows lifted as she considered him for a beat before answering. “Why would you ask that?”

“Raf told me I was smothering you.”

“Huh.”

He noticed she hadn’t answered his question.

“So am I?”

“A little.” She shrugged. “But I don’t mind.”

Fuck.

“It’s all right, Eddie. I get it. You want to make sure I’m okay.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll back off.”

“You don’t have to. I mean, it’s kind of nice, having you hovering. As long as you don’t spit on a hanky and wipe my face, I can deal.”

Jesus. She’d made Raf’s puppy analogy look flattering, something he’d considered impossible until a few seconds ago.

“Never going to happen,” he said, very firmly.

Blue’s mouth was twitching at the corners. It didn’t take long for her to lose the battle and start laughing.

“Fine. Laugh at me,” he said.

“I’m not laughing at you.”

He gave her a look.

“Okay, I’m laughing at you. But only because you looked so appalled that I might think you actually carry a hanky.”

She pushed herself to her feet, and he had to lock his legs in place to stop himself from rushing to her aid. When she leaned to snag her crutch from where she’d left it against the wall, his hands twitched at his side.

She was too fragile. He’d seen her thrown through the air, heard her body smash into the ground. He wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and ensure that she never suffered pain or hurt ever again.

“I’m okay, you know,” she said. “Getting better every day. A few more weeks, I won’t even need this thing.” She indicated her crutch.

“I know. I just…I never want to go through that again,” he said quietly.

“I’ve already made a deal with Maggie that I’ll only cross at the lights from now on.”