Love Simmers (4 page)

“
Leave it.
We’ll release a statement on our website.” He pulled away from me
to step back. His hands cupping my face, he brushed the hair away
that covered my eyes.

“
Dinner
tonight?” He offered but his tone made it sound like a statement. I
liked that about him.

I smiled and agreed with a nod.
Reaching up onto my tiptoes I kissed him firmly, his lips softer
than I remembered. Stepping away before things could get too heated
I made a quick getaway, my lips tingling from the brief kiss.

I ended up at Maddie’s house in
dire need of a friend and a glass of wine. It had been a bit of an
exhausting day till Nate’s kiss had given me a burst of energy.

“
Ollie will get
over it,” Maddie comforted me as she poured our drinks. We sat on
her back deck, enjoying the late afternoon warmth and gentle
breeze. Her house was peaceful, a refuge that was always calm and
clean. I envied her for the haven she had created.

“
I know but I
still wish I hadn’t said anything. They’re really stressed right
now. I should have been alleviating their stress not adding to it.”
I took a sip of wine and closed my eyes. The sun on my face was a
beautiful sensation.

“
It was an
innocent mistake,” Maddie said, her voice lacking its usual warmth.
I opened my eyes and looked over at her, taking in her pale
complexion and tired eyes.

“
Everything
okay?” I asked in concern, kicking myself for not noticing when I
walked in. I could add self-centred to the list of my
flaws.

“
Things have
been difficult with Charlie lately but its really escalated in
these last few days. He’s been spending a couple nights a week in
the city lately. He never answers my calls now when he’s gone.
We’ve started arguing about things that were never a problem
before. Apparently, he no longer likes my cooking or even the way I
make the bed.” She shook her head in confusion, her boyfriend’s
actions not making any sense in the least. “It’s like a flip has
been switched in him and nothing I do now is good enough. He’s
pulling away and I really am at a loss for what to do about
it.”

“
He doesn’t
like the way you make the bed?” I repeated. They had been together
years and years. It seemed like a strange thing for him to all of a
sudden start complaining about. Her cooking I understood a little
more. No one but Charlie had ever eaten Maddie’s cooking. She’d
once made us cookies in High School that we’d used later as hockey
putts. Charlie had been the only one who had eaten one and
complimented her. I’d tossed mine at Nate’s head. I never heard
Charlie criticize her cooking though. I wondered why he’d finally
snapped.

“
That’s all you
took from my outburst? The bit about the bed.” Maddie said. I
quickly ran over all the other things she’d told me, trying
desperately to grasp hold of something else I could comment on for
her.

“
Do you think
he’s struggling at work or something?” I asked, afraid to suggest
the obvious alternative as to why a man usually started pulling
away. They were too happy a couple for Charlie to be wanting out.
Maddie was the best woman Charlie could ever hope of landing. She
was way out of his league. He’d only caught her because he’d reeled
her in when she was young and didn’t know better.

“
No,” she said
softly.

“
What do you
think is going on with him then?”

“
I think I
better ask him before I start guessing. Cause hopefully the truth
won’t be worse then what I’m thinking right now.”

“
I hope so
too.” I continued, “you know if anything happens and you want to
get away for a little while you are always welcome to come and stay
with me in Toronto.”

She smiled sadly at me.

“
I know, Logan.
You’re a good friend.”

“
You’re my best
friend.” I gave her a comforting hug.

I left her place a couple hours
later to make it home in time for dinner with Nate. I only hoped he
had picked another recipe from my book, it was so flattering.

“
Smells good,”
I called as I walked through the door, taking off my coat and
heading towards the kitchen. Nate was busy chopping vegetables, his
eyes teary as he diced onion.

“
Overcome with
emotion to see me?” I teased and grabbed a glass of water. I took a
seat at the kitchen counter to watch him cook. Why was a handsome
man cooking so sexy? Then again, Nate doing most things was sexy.
Even dicing onions with tears in his eyes. There was something
wrong with me. According to Ollie, there were several things wrong
with me.

“
How’s Maddie?”
He asked curiously, he saw more of her than me these
days.

“
Why do you
ask?” I replied suspiciously, his face more impassive than
usual.

“
Charlie came
by today,” his voice was tight, his eyes focused intently on the
veggies he was dicing.

“
He’s being
difficult lately I hear,” I said, a sinking feeling in my gut
taking form as I realised where Nate was going. He was about to
tell something I wasn’t going to like.

“
He’s leaving
her.” Nate finally looked up at me. I put my head in my hands and
took a few deep breaths. It was like hearing your mother and father
were divorcing. Maddie and Charlie had been together so long for a
couple their age. Before this trip, I barely remembered them having
fights or even arguments. A week ago even, as far as I knew I would
have said they appeared to be in a perfect relationship. I had no
idea what had happened to push them to the point of breaking up.
From what I gathered today talking to Maddie, she was as clueless
as me.

“
Why?” I had no
idea whether to call Maddie and give her a heads up or stay out of
this. It was none of my business to a degree but as a friend I
wanted to protect Maddie. I wanted her to have a chance to prepare
for Charlie’s words so that, just maybe, they wouldn’t hurt as
much. I thought of her face today outside in the sun, whether I
warned her or not she would be hurt badly. I wished I could spare
her the pain.

“
He’s met
someone new.” Nate’s anger was evident from the stiffness in his
shoulders, the way his jaw clenched. Maddie had been our friend
before Charlie. We’d gone to primary school with her. Charlie
hadn’t come along until junior high so as far as I was concerned he
was still the new guy in our group. I had never been sold on him
but I had put in an effort to like him for Maddie’s
sake.

“
I’ll kill him.
I’m good with a knife!” I stood up and started pacing. Maddie’s
smiling face stuck in my mind. It would be a long time before I saw
her smile again.

“
He’s an ass.
He should have the decency to break up with her before he starts up
with someone new.”

Nate stopped dicing to walk
over to where I was pacing. He put his hands on my shoulders to
stop me from moving.

“
We’ll look
after her when you go.” He promised me so earnestly that I wrapped
my arms around him in appreciation. He was a nice guy. Not soft or
weak, just kind. He was the type of man that a smart woman never
let slip away. Obviously, I wasn’t as smart as I always
thought.

“
I know. She’s
your friend as well.”

He looked down at me in his
arms, his eyes burning with a raw need as he lowered his lips to
mine and kissed me. It wasn’t a slow kiss, it was hard and fast and
explosive. It was years of pent up passion and frustration coming
to the surface. My legs wrapped around his waist as his hands
gripped my ass, my hands tugging his gorgeous soft hair as I pulled
him closer. Cold air hit my stomach as he pulled my shirt open and
unhooked my bra. My nipples hardened as his hand messaged my right
breast, my moan filling the quiet room.

I pulled away from him long
enough to tug his shirt over his head, throwing it away as I
pressed my bare chest into his. His skin was hot, flushed with
arousal. I pushed into his erection, the friction from the seam of
my jeans rubbing my sensitive folds making me press harder as I
desperately sought relief.

His phone ringing was a buzzing
noise in the background that neither of us deemed sufficient enough
reason to stop what we were doing. It felt to good, to right to let
go.

The ringing began again and
Nate pulled away to cast a tortured look over to where his phone
sat on the kitchen counter.

I slipped a hand down the front
of his pants and returned his focus back to me, his indecisiveness
clearly gone.

The house phone
rang and he groaned in pain. I pulled my hand away and stood back
in surrender. Whatever it was it had better be important on an epic
level.
Maddie.
I
remembered and I immediately put on my shirt and checked my
phone.

“
What!” Nate
practically roared into the phone, his voice harsh and angry. I
started to worry, that tone never meant anything good.

“
What?” He
repeated in shock and he slammed down the receiver, slipping on his
shirt.

“
What?” I said,
seeing no messages on my phone. This wasn’t about
Maddie.

“
The
restaurant’s been trashed. Ollie chased off three people smashing
the place to pieces.” Nate grabbed his keys and I ran after him to
the car. My heart pounding in my chest as we drove to Sails. He
didn’t say a word as we raced through town.

We walked into the restaurant.
I stopped in shock when I saw the broken glass, furniture and red
spray paint on the walls. The letters read ‘MURDERER’ and ‘EAT
BLAKE STEW NOT BUNNY STEW’. I sat down on one of the few unbroken
chairs and put my head in my hands. I knew almost instantly what
this was about and that it was my fault.

“
This is your
fault?” Ollie looked at me in confusion, desperately trying to
process the situation.

I turned to Nate who refused to
even look at me. He stared at the letters on the wall in
despair.

“
I did an earth
to plate special a few weeks ago,” my voice was thick with tears. I
wanted to cry from seeing their beautiful restaurant vandalised.
Before I’d arrived the place had been almost perfect. Now, it place
was in pieces. I really didn’t like myself right now.

“
A hunter
caught a rabbit on her show and then she cooked it. An animal
cruelty group was disgusted. They’ve been targeting her ever since,
protesting her show’s treatment of animals,” Nate explained as he
picked up half a broken bottle of red wine carefully, “$300 a
bottle.”

“
I’m so sorry.
I never thought for a second it would escalate to this level.” I
tried to apologize but the look of anger on Ollie’s face made it
clear he wasn’t ready to accept my words.

“
This is why we
didn’t want your name connected to Sails,” Nate looked at me
disappointedly. All the warmth and passion I’d seen in his eyes
earlier completely hidden.

“
I’m sorry,” I
whispered, wincing as Ollie kicked a piece of broken chair across
the room in rage.

“
Get out!”
Ollie shouted at me, storming over to the door and yanking it open.
The hinges creaked under the pressure. “You knew how much this
meant to us. If you being here put our business in danger you
shouldn’t have come home!”

“
Nate, I’ll pay
for all this damage since waiting for the insurance payout will
mean you miss the opening date. I know Ollie won’t accept it but I
hope you do.” I left without saying another word, cringing as the
door slammed shut behind me.

I walked home with tears in my
eyes. I was feeling pretty broken. I’d screwed up and now two
people I loved were suffering.

I was half way home when I
heard a car slow down beside me. I made the mistake of making eye
contact with the driver.

“
Logan Blake?”
The driver said in shock.

The three men jumped out of the
Ute, pulling rabbit masks over their heads. It was starting to dawn
on me who these guys most likely were. Talk about being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. I was beginning to think that the
universe was out to get me. This was karma for killing the
rabbit.

I broke out in a cold sweat,
adrenaline pumping through my body as I faced the three men alone
on a deserted street in the dark. Nothing good could come from
this. I doubted they wanted an autograph or picture.

“
Je ne parle
pas anglais,” I said as I took off in a dead sprint. I ran daily
and had been on the track team in High School. Running was a much
better plan than fighting. I could feel one of them hot on my
heels, obviously a decent runner himself as he was rapidly gaining
on me. I screamed out for help into the still night as he got
closer and closer. My lungs and legs burning as I pushed myself to
go faster in a desperate last effort to escape him.

He lunged at me and I hit the
ground. On impact I felt my Ulna snap and my head bounce on the
concrete. I screamed out in pain.

The other two attackers came to
a stop beside us panting heavily. The guy that had tackled me stood
up. I clutched my broken arm tightly to my chest. Blood running
down my face made me realise I had a gash on my forehead. I started
to feel woozy but forced myself to remain alert. I needed to get
away and I needed a hospital, pronto.

“
Shit man, you
broke her arm,” the one shouted at the other, clearly having never
intended for it to go this far.
Then you
shouldn’t have chased me,
I thought
bitterly. I wondered if not assault, then what was their intention
when they pulled up beside me?