Just Good Friends (29 page)

“Communal. Nothing special, but you’re right. And what, you
grew up in a shed? Or a refugee camp?”

“Nope. Vacationed in a tent, though. Every single year. About
as far from this as you can imagine. My dad’s idea of a good time was to camp
out for a week and fish for trout. I’m not very fond of camping to this day. Dirt.
Mosquitoes. Outhouses,” she finished with a shudder.

“Outhouses?”

“Outdoor toilets. Privies. You know, no flush.”

“Ah,” he smiled. “Long drops.”

“You’re kidding. That’s disgusting. Just about as disgusting
as the actual thing.”

“So can you fish?” he asked interestedly. “If I’d known you
were keen, we could’ve gone to Taupo. Major trout fishing around there.”

“No thanks,” she told him firmly. “I fished for a while,
with my parents. Then when I was eight or nine, my dad said I was old enough to
kill my own fish, and clean it. That was the end of my fishing career right
there.”

“What, do you think the meat in the shops grew on a tree?
Somebody had to kill that animal.”

“Of course I know it didn’t,” she answered crossly. “That
doesn’t mean I want to be the one to bash the cow over the head and butcher
it.”

“Steer,” he corrected.

“Whatever.”

“Weren’t you lonely, then, with no brothers and sisters?” he
asked after a bit. “I can’t imagine it, a holiday on my own like that. Even if
I hadn’t had all those sisters, I have so many cousins, I’ve never been alone
that way.”

“No. I only have a few cousins, myself. And they’re far
away. But I suppose I didn’t know any better. There were benefits, too. I’m
good at keeping myself company. Which has come in handy, being over here by
myself. Some of my weekends have been a little bit like a camping trip, come to
think of it. Better bathrooms, but just as much reading. But I’m also good at
making friends. No alternative, with no siblings to play with.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed that. Your astonishing talent for
friendship. Must be your easygoing nature.”

“Hey. Your first female friend, remember? I’d say that’s a
major accomplishment.”    

“It is. Especially as men don’t really have female friends.”

She looked down at him and frowned. “Of course they do. That
was the whole point, remember?”

“I remember. And I’m sorry to disappoint you. But no man—no
straight man—is friends with a woman he isn’t interested in hooking up with. Or
at least wouldn’t mind.”

“That’s not true,” she objected. “Look at us. You didn’t
even like me.”

“Doesn’t matter. That didn’t mean I didn’t fancy you. That I
wasn’t thinking about it. Just like every other male friend you’ve ever had.”

“I’m choosing not to believe that,” she decided. “Because
that would be so awkward. Maybe you’re just oversexed, have you thought of
that?”

He laughed. “Probably true. But I’m still right.”

“Anyway,” he sighed, settling himself in more comfortably,
“sounds like your family wasn’t much more flash than mine.”

“Hah. Not hardly. My dad works for the post office, and my
mom works in an insurance office. There you go. They have a house. It’s paid
off, too,” she told him proudly. “But they’re still frugal. That’s probably
where my accountant tendencies come from. You can bet there were no gorgeous
suites on the ocean when I was growing up. And it’s not like I’ve been able to
afford them since then, either. I draw the line at camping, as you may have
noticed. But I’ve never done anything close to this. You must be used to it by
now, though.”

“Yeh. Still quite nice, though. All the travel gets a bit
wearing, tell you the truth. It helps to have a comfortable spot to go back to
at night, even if it isn’t home.”

“It seems to me that you have a much different life, at home
or on the road, than the one you knew growing up,” she suggested. “Unlike me.”

“True. It’s a bit disorienting, actually. Out of the usual
order of things, isn’t it. Normally, you start out skint, don’t you. Struggling
to pay the bills on your pitiful wage when you’re young. Then you work up over
the years, maybe get a mortgage. Hoping to be comfortable when you’re older. In
this business, though, it’s all backwards. You’re just a young fella, and suddenly
you can buy a flash car, even a house. Especially if you can do the adverts as
well. It’s easy to forget you’re in a career that’ll only last ten, twelve
years, if you’re lucky. That’s one thing I like about being here. In New
Zealand, I mean, not Oz. Close to my family and my mates. The money’s not nearly
as good. But everybody’s quick to remind you of your roots. To tell you you’re
not as special as you may think.”

“But I am pretty special, all the same.” He sat up and
pulled her off the bed. “Because I booked you in for a massage at the spa
downstairs. I thought it would feel good after all that surfing. And it’s about
time to go.”

“Wow,” she told him that evening, stepping out of the shower
to find him buttoning his shirt in front of the mirror. “You look way too
handsome. I don’t think I should risk taking you out in public.”

“What?” He looked down at his self-striped charcoal shirt
and black slacks, both cut close to his body in the European style so popular
Down Under. “Nothing flash about these.”

“No?” She reached up to kiss his cheek. “It must be how you
look in them, then. If we’re going someplace nice, and you’re going to look
that spectacular, you need to give me some privacy so I can work on getting
beautiful myself. Because it’s going to take a serious effort for me to match
that.”

“How long do you need? Our booking’s for eight.”

“I’ll be on time,” she assured him.

“Right, then,” he decided. “I’ll meet you in the lobby, when
you’re ready.”

“Bloody hell.”

Koti looked up from checking his messages at the exclamation
from the man next to him. He stood, hardly knowing what he was doing, and
watched Kate walk across the lobby towards them. He’d always loved the way she
looked, but he’d never seen her like this. Her shiny hair was tousled around
her face in a careless style that managed to look both elegant and sexy. A bronze-colored
dress in some kind of rich, shiny material ended well above the knee, its tiny
straps clinging to her shoulders. Her legs in their high heels looked endless
in the short skirt, and her golden skin glowed in the reflection of the rich
color.    

As she caught sight of him, her brilliant smile spread
across her face, and his heart gave a funny little twist. Her outsized life
force, the amount of energy that somehow managed to emanate from such a small
body, always took him by surprise. But tonight she seemed to make the very air
around her vibrate.

She came to a stop in front of him, that blazing smile still
lighting up her face. He took her hand, bent down to kiss her cheek. “You’re
gorgeous. You made my heart stop when I saw you.”

He was aware of male heads turning to watch her as they made
their way across the elegant lobby, his hand still wrapped firmly around hers,
the marble floor echoing the tap of her heels. She didn’t want to know when he
was feeling possessive. Right, then. He wouldn’t tell her. But he wasn’t going
to let go of her tonight either.

“This is great,” Kate told him when they were seated in the
intimate little restaurant, looking out on the parade of visiting humanity, all
out to sample Broadbeach’s vibrant nightlife. “I know I tease a lot. But I want
you to know something. Even though it’s only been a few days, this is the best
vacation—holiday—I’ve ever had. And not just because it’s been way beyond my
pay grade. Everything about it has been wonderful. So . . .” She shrugged and
smiled. “So, thanks.”

“I should be thanking you, though,” he said. “You’re the one
who’s made it special. Having you all to myself. That’s been the treat.” He
reached out and took her hand across the table. “Thanks for coming with me.
Wish we could stay longer. Be nice to run away together for a bit, wouldn’t
it?”

“It would,” she agreed. “But we both have to get back to
work. And you have something important to go back to, don’t forget. You’ve
earned this break first, though. And you deserve it. You should be so proud of
yourself, Koti. At everything you’ve accomplished these past months.”

“So should you. You’ve done more than I ever could. After
everything you’ve been through, you’ve built a whole new life for yourself.
I’ve never known anyone braver.”

“I had some help, though,” she pointed out, squeezing his
hand in gratitude. “First Hannah and Drew. And then you. I would have survived
without you. I might even have been able to enjoy my life again. But never this
much. Never like this, the way it’s been.”

“Oh, shoot.” She reached for her napkin. “I’m going to cry
now. I told you, it’s dangerous for me when you’re this wonderful. I lose all
my defenses.”

“You don’t need your defenses tonight,” he promised. “Because
tonight is just for us.”

“Do you realize,” Koti asked the next morning during the
short drive to the tiny Gold Coast Airport, “that we’ve been together almost
five days now without an argument?”

“A record,” Kate agreed. “You’re going to get bored. Unless
you count that little skirmish over my driving back there.”

He scowled. “Still don’t see why you insisted. I’m used to
driving on the left, after all. And I’ve been here before. You haven’t.”

“Yup. You’re taking your life in your hands right now. You
might want to leap out while you’re still in one piece. See if you can
hitchhike the rest of the way.”

“I need to practice, Koti,” she went on seriously. “It’s a
little scary to drive in a new country like this, even if I’m used to staying
on the left now. And that’s how I know I need to do it. When you’ve been a
victim, when that fear’s been running your life, it’s hard to get out of that
mindset. It’s so easy to give in to it, even when it’s over. And before you
know it, you’re limiting what you do, bit by bit. First you won’t drive at
night. Then you don’t want to go anyplace new. You end up putting yourself into
smaller and smaller boxes. Until you’re afraid to leave the house.”

“You don’t seem to have done that, though,” he objected.

“I sure wanted to. When I came here, I was a wreck. Scared
of my own shadow. Don’t you remember how it was when I saw you on the beach
those first couple times? When I’d find you standing over me? You terrified me.
It took professional help to get to this point, to know what I need to do.
Which basically boils down to, if something’s hard, I need to do it. Because
it’ll be easier the next time. And I’m expanding my boundaries instead of
constricting them.”

He looked at her, fresh understanding and respect dawning. “I
didn’t know that. Or that you were scared of me. You don’t seem scared of me
now.”

“Yeah. Well. It didn’t seem like a good idea to actually scream
and run, you know. Though I came pretty close. And now . . .” She stopped to
think about it. “Kind of amazing that I’m not, isn’t it? As big and bad as you
can be at times. But I do feel safe with you.”

“Glad to hear that. Because you are. As big and bad as I
am.” He gave her his best wicked grin. “Pity you didn’t tell me all this back
at the hotel, though. Instead of grabbing the keys and announcing, ‘My turn to
drive.’”

She laughed. “I guess my diplomacy skills aren’t quite as
good as my self-knowledge. Thanks for giving me the chance to explain myself.”

He nodded. “And now I need to share. I need to go see my mum
when we get back. She texted me this morning. Wants me to come for Sunday tea,
now that the season’s over.”

“All right,” she said agreeably. “I can take the bus from
the airport. That’s no problem. Because otherwise, you’ll be tacking on a lot of
extra driving.”

“I thought you might want to come with me,” he suggested.
“My sisters will be there, with their families of course. You’ve met two of
them already. That should lessen the shock and pain.”

Kate frowned. “That’d be weird, though, wouldn’t it? Taking
me to dinner at your mom’s house?”

“No, why?” he objected. “Give me company on the drive, too.
I won’t stay over. Just a few hours. It’ll be good fun. You’ll get to meet the
kids and all.”

“I hope it’s all right that I drive this time,” he said
sarcastically, pulling the keys from his pocket as they walked through the
Auckland Airport carpark. “Seeing as it’s my car, and we’re going to my mum’s
house. The location of which, I’ll point out here, you do not know.”

 Two hours later, they pulled up in front of a modest house
in a middle-class neighborhood, with a crowd of children playing outside.

“Koti, love.” The older woman hurried from the house and
reached to engulf her son in a hug. “Did you have an injury you didn’t tell me
about? Or hurt yourself surfing?”

“Nah, Mum,” he replied, confused. “Why?”

“Just wondered why you weren’t driving,” she said. Then
turned to Kate with a warm smile. “But I’m being rude. Introduce me, darling.”

“Mum, this is Kate Lamonica. Kate, my mum, Amiria James.”

Amiria reached for Kate’s hand, gave her a kiss on the
cheek. “Haere mai, Kate. I’m glad you’re here. And that you drove, if Koti’s
hurt himself.”

He sighed. “I’m not injured, Mum. And it’s a long story.
Something to do with overcoming fear. And being hard for me to resist, I reckon.
Kate and I had an argument, and I lost. Again. That’s why she drove. But I’m
fine.”

“Thank goodness. I can’t help worrying. Oh, and call me
Amiria, please, Kate. I’m so glad you can join us for tea. I’ve heard all about
you from Grace and Hope, of course, but what a treat to get to meet you myself.
Come into the house, now.”

“She’s just adorable, isn’t she?” she told her son with
delight as she ushered them inside, pulling Kate to her and giving her a
squeeze.