Sympathy for the Devil (International Bad Boys Book 4) (9 page)

“Sounds about right to me.”

“I spend a little time with him and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I try and take a little bite of him and all I want to do is gorge.” She saw her father’s pained expression. “Too much information?”

“Borderline for a father. But as a physician I can safely say that regular intimacy is good for a relationship. Tell your partner what you want. Communicate and explore. You may well receive permission to gorge.”

“I’d cut out my heart before I hurt him again.”

“That one right there.” Her father smiled a little sadly. “That one’s love.”

Bree digested that one in silence as her father picked up his coffee and sipped. He looked out over the tidy old garden with its bird bath and its lemon tree and she could almost see him thinking about what it would be like to let go of the ones he loved most. His beloved wife, and the daughter he didn’t see enough of.

“Did I mention that Ed asked me about doing the photography and layout for a new brochure for the caravan park the other day?” she said, wanting to make the wistfulness go away.

“You did not.”

“Or that Amelia Bishop from the local paper rang up and asked me if I had any shots of the bay that the paper might be able to use in their lifestyle section?”

“That’s news too.”

“And then there’s Zoey Jackson’s costumes and her need for a photographer.”

Her father smiled.

“There’s work here.” Bree was making up her mind as she spoke. “But there’s also a lot of unfinished work back in Sydney. More than I can handle. Maybe it’s time I took on an associate and gave myself a little more leeway to come and go from here as I please.”

“You know I’d love that. Your mother would too. We’d get to see more of you. And you’d get to see more of Caleb Jackson.”

“No, I—” Bree closed her eyes and remembered the sweetness in Caleb, and the devil in him too. “Yes. All those things are drawcards.”

Her father eyed her speculatively. “There’s a place down by the river for sale. Northeast facing. All the light in the world. Sloping lawn all the way down to the river bank. Shall we take a look?”

“Woah! Moving very fast here, Dad.”

“Will your decision to base yourself here more often depend on how things turn out with Caleb?”

It would hurt her father’s feelings, for sure, if she said yes. “How about I just say that if this thing doesn’t work out with Caleb, I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to run.”

“Is that what you did all those years ago? Were you so scared of your feelings for the boy that you ran?”

“I had big dreams back then. Ambitions. I was angry with you and mum for not supporting them. And I was mixed up with the wrong brother. The timing was all wrong.”

“What did you feel for him, Breanna?”

“I felt . . . ” Honest answer. “I felt that if I let him, he would become my whole world.”

“And now?”

“It’s a big world. I’ve carved my place in it. I’m hoping that this time I won’t get swallowed whole.” Breanna shrugged awkwardly and looked away from the concern in her father’s eyes. “Thanks for the chat.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I should check on the cake.”

“Breanna—do tell the older boy that you’ve accepted a date with Caleb. As a courtesy.”

Bree nodded. “Do you think I should take the Zoey Jackson job?”

“It’s one job, and you’re good at it. It doesn’t tie you to Zoey Jackson forever. I don’t see why not.”

*     *     *

Breanna parked her
car outside Jackson’s boat building complex some two hours later. The place had changed plenty in the ten years since she’d last visited. They’d expanded the boatshed itself and it was twice as long as it had once been. They’d lengthened the boardwalk on the seaward side to match the length of the building, and widened it at the end. Three wooden walkways now jutted out into the water and boats lined either side of them. Pleasure craft and fishing trawlers, a dive boat tucked in close to the big shed doors—that would be Caleb’s. There was a lot of money gently bobbing on the serene blue waters of the Sinclair River. It was the closest marina to the estuary where river mouth met the sea. Five to ten minutes with a capable captain at the helm and a boat could be out at sea.

There wasn’t a soul to be seen in the tiny little side office—okay, some things hadn’t changed, so she picked her way around to the boardwalk and headed for the big set of double doors about three quarters of the way along.

It wasn’t yet noon, more like half-eleven and she would have been here sooner except that she’d spent so much time getting ready. It had taken her two hours to choose the plain white T-shirt and lightweight jacket that went over it. Two hours to choose casual jeans, sandals and sunglasses and summon the nerve. She had her laptop in one hand and a small bag crammed with camera gear slung over her shoulder, just in case. And when she reached the big sliding doors and looked in and Eli Jackson and Zoey looked up at her from a bench in the middle of the room, she summoned a smile.

She could do this.

No problem.

Today, Zoey Jackson wore a lime green bikini, a multi-colored wrap-around skirt, heavy on the cool reds, and a coronet made of twigs. The explosion of that which was Zoey against Eli’s plain grey T-shirt and calm grey eyes definitely made smiling easier. She was going to enjoy getting those two in front of the camera, not a doubt in the world about that.

*     *     *

She was looking
forward to capturing the love so evident in every glance.

“I’ve had a change of heart,” she offered into the silence. Not venturing into the shed, not yet, unless invited. “I heard someone around here was looking for a photographer and it turns out my services are now available. And then, I need to have a little word with Cutter about coming here for drinks later. As Caleb’s date.”

There. She’d done it. Everything out in the open. Okay,
most
things out in the open. Maybe it would be enough.

“You want to take photos for me?” said Zoey.

“If you’ll have me.”

“And the cost?”

“We can figure something out. There’s leeway in my price structure if it’s a job I really want.”

“You’re going to want it. I will
make
you want it. And a gown. I’ll make you one of those as well. Two gowns! And a frock. Or something in leather—I just got the most beautiful shipment of leather in. I’m thinking warrior princess.”

“Okay,” Bree offered cautiously. “I’m thinking
what
?”

“Caution is good,” Eli offered with the hint of a smile. “She lures you in with the steampunk and the leather and before you know it there’s Lycra.”

And then Cutter appeared in the huge opening that led down to a boat ramp and the water, wiping his hands on an oily rag that looked substantially cleaner than his clothes.

“Bree!” He smiled warm and wide. “What brings you here?”

“Work. And I was hoping to have a quick word with you later.”

“Sure. Forgive the no hug.”

Not a problem. The man was up to his elbows in grease.

“What do you need?” Eli asked him.

“The seal’s gone in that engine and we don’t have another one in stock. Is Caleb still in Byron?”

“He’s on his way back.”

“He’s back,” said a voice from behind her and Bree hastily made way for Caleb and the giant box in his arms.

“You get me any o-rings for the 380 engine?” Cutter asked him.

“Was it on the list?”

“You knew I was planning on taking it apart. Didn’t need to be on the list.”

“I ordered them two weeks ago,” Eli offered placatingly. “’Cause I’m psychic.”

Caleb dumped the boxes on an already crowded counter and reached for a cutting knife amidst the clutter. He opened the box and rummaged around with his back to them all. Good shoulders. Great butt. Good thing Bree had her sunglasses on so that the direction of her gaze wasn’t all that noticeable.

Or maybe it was.

She turned away, pushed her sunglasses atop her head and caught Zoey’s eye. “Gang’s all here.”

Yay.

“Testosterone central,” said Zoey cheerfully. “You want to come upstairs to
my
office? Of course, it’s also Eli’s apartment, well, our apartment now. The good news is that there’s coffee up there. And costumes galore that I can show you. And a deck.”

“Sounds good.” She could start with Zoey and maybe catch Cutter alone on the way out.

As for Caleb . . . suddenly she felt very, very self-conscious about being here in his space.

Uninvited.

Because . . . how serious was he about her anyway? Afternoon drinks at the marina were just an excuse to bring a bunch of people together to celebrate the end of a working week. It probably wasn’t even a date.

Definitely wasn’t even a date.

She had this all wrong.

“I’m just here to chat with Zoey about photography,” she offered awkwardly.

“And me after that,” said Cutter.

“About what?” Caleb had turned around, his very fine rear end now resting on the counter, both hands resting on the edge of it. He looked about as relaxed as a crouching panther and twice as intent.

“Old times. And new.”

His eyes narrowed. “You want to grab dinner with me later this evening? After drinks here?”

“I, uh, yes?”

“Was that a question or an answer?”

“It was an answer. Answer’s yes.” And that . . . that was a date.

“Good.” Caleb strode towards her, his eyes never leaving her face, and then he wrapped one big hand around her neck and his lips came down on hers, cool and firm.

She should have pulled back.

Instead, she put a hand to his chest to steady herself and felt a tremor rip straight through him. His nipple pebbled beneath his shirt, beneath her palm and just like that they were back in the exact same place they’d been all those years ago.

Lost.

He opened for her with a groan, demanding more and getting it as she lost herself in the taste of him and the fierce intensity of a famished man.

He pulled it together before she did.

He gentled the kiss and stepped back and waited for her to remember where they were.

Both his brothers and sister-in-law were watching them, all of them stunned. Okay, maybe Eli didn’t look so much stunned as resigned.

Zoey recovered first. “Okay, so, Bree, you’re going to come upstairs and repair your . . . composure,” she murmured, and took Bree’s computer from her nerveless fingers and then wove warm fingers through Bree’s hand. “It’s this way.”

Bree eyed the stairs nervously. She was all for strategic retreat, but she knew where those stairs led. “Is that still the only way up and down?”

“There’s a deck. And we have fabric up there. We can make a knot ladder if you need another way out.”

“Pretty sure I’m going to need another way out.”

“I’ve always wanted to make one,” said Zoey.

“Should I look back?”

Zoey looked back for her. “No. I wholly recommend that you move on. And up. Do you like chocolate? I have chocolate. I also have questions but I guess they can wait.”

“I’m not answering any questions. Caleb can answer questions. It’s his circus.”

Zoey’s smile put Bree in mind of a woodland imp who delighted in mischief. “I love this family. Never a dull moment. It’s a gift. C’mon. Let’s leave them to it.”

*     *     *