“Now don’t look at me like that,” he chastised. “You umpired the game. You know full well I beat him fair and square. You even laughed out loud when I did my victory dance.”
Laughed out loud? No, she’d groaned in mock horror as he’d strutted his stuff around the court. In true sports-hero style, he’d ripped off his shirt, fallen to his knees at the foot of her chair, held his hands up in triumph and howled as he leaned back until his head touched the ground.
Her groan had quickly changed to one of stifled desire as his chest glistened in the sunlight, the six-pack above his stomach displayed in sheer male arrogance. It was all she could do not to jump him then and there.
She’d waited a couple of hours until Steve had gone to sleep.
“Wait a minute. You nailed the babe in the black bikini?” Katie turned to stare at her fiancé.
He shrugged, unabashed. “Now don’t look at me like that. I had to celebrate my win somehow.”
“You slept with her?” she asked in disbelief.
“Jealous, babe?” Steve gave her an innocent smile.
She chuckled. They’d only been engaged for two months now. About something that happened two years ago? “Hardly. It’s just that all this time I thought you’d gone to bed early.” At the time, she’d thanked God he’d turned in early. It had given her the privacy she’d craved with Tyler.
The look he shot her was devilish. “I did go to bed early. Just not to sleep.”
Katie gave an empathetic nod. Of course he hadn’t gone to sleep.
The woman in the bikini had simply been another in Steve’s long line of conquests. Another attempt at celebrating the newfound freedom he’d never wanted but had been forced to accept.
A lot had changed in two years. A hell of a lot. Perhaps, now, with her, Steve was more at peace, more accepting of Penelope’s decision to leave. She thought he was. He certainly seemed happier and more content.
Tyler’s laughter rumbled through her. “You still haven’t cleared it up, Katie. Tell the man who won.”
“Obviously Steve, since he landed up with the black bikini.” There.
Let him chew on that for a minute.
“Yeah, but I landed up with first prize,” Tyler answered.
Good God! Was nothing sacred?
She lay with her head resting on his chest. His hand trailed over her back in delicious, feathery-light touches.
“Ty.” She stretched languidly. “That was that was incredible.”
“Katie, my sweet,” he breathed. “I feel like I’ve run a marathon and won first prize.”
“You won the match,” she pointed out, refusing to let her squeal of indignation out. “There was no first prize.”
“Sure there was,” Ty cajoled, then lowered his voice a notch. “And a second and third prize.”
She ran her fingers up his thigh. “If you play your cards right, you get to have the second and third prize too.”
This time she knew her cheeks flamed as she gawked at him in horror. He hadn’t been home an hour, and already he’d zoned straight in on their past. A past Steve had never been privy to because Tyler had asked her to keep it secret. What the hell was he up to?
“Beer, Katie,” Ty supplied with a smug look. “You treated the winner, loser and yourself to a beer.”
So she had. Still, that didn’t explain what kind of game Tyler was playing.
Where was he going with all this witty banter? Would Steve see it as the innocent laughter of two friends reconnecting after time apart?
Or would her blazing cheeks and shaky hands belie her efforts to remain calm? Tyler’s effortless teasing forced her to confront issues she believed she’d laid to rest and she didn’t like it one little bit.
His arm was still around her, still cocooning her in their shared knowledge.
Her legs almost bowed beneath the load. It was not his arm that weighed heavily, it was the memory of their secret liaison. Their few weeks of passion. Steamy, sensual, spicy passion. Her belly tumbled at the recalled ardor. At the fire he’d lit within her. Not before, and not since, had she experienced the total physical contentment Ty had given her.
Not even with Steve.
Never mind fantasies of times gone by. This was the here and now.
Whatever had transpired between herself and Tyler was over. History.
She was with Steve now. She’d built a new and a good life for herself.
A life where she could continue to build her dreams with her friend and her future husband.
It didn’t matter that Tyler was back. It only mattered that he’d left. Now she was engaged. She wouldn’t let a couple of flippant comments drag her back into her past no matter how determined Ty seemed to be to take her there.
He could barely believe he was in Sydney, in Katie’s little semidetached house. For almost two years he’d tried to refuse himself the luxury of thinking about her. Now he sat at her table eating breakfast with her and Steve, just like old times. Except nothing was the same.
He stared down at his plate, at the overdone eggs shriveled on the side.
Well, almost nothing was the same. Evidently, Katie still couldn’t cook. He took a hearty mouthful of egg, savoring every bite.
“So, Ty, how long are you staying?” She couldn’t quite meet his eyes. He watched her push a piece of sausage around her plate.
Another indication things had changed. Before, she would have expressed delight at having him back, then badgered him into staying for good.
“For a year,” he answered, gauging her reaction. “Maybe longer.” It all depended on her. And Steve.
“What?” she spluttered, then tried to cover her shock with a laugh.
“I thought you were just here on holiday.”
“Nope. A little longer than that.”
Katie shifted in her seat, reminding Tyler of a time when he’d sat beneath her on that very seat, when her reasons for shifting and squirming had stemmed from neither awkwardness nor discomfort.
“You okay with me staying here until I find a place of my own?”
Christ, he’d give his eyeteeth to resume the position now.
Her gaze skittered around the dining room before settling on his face. It makes sense. “There’s no place in Steve’s unit for two of you, and I have a spare bedroom. Consider it home for as long as you need it.”
“Thank you, sweet Katie.” He smiled as tension radiated from her in waves. “I appreciate that.”
“What are you going to do about work?” Steve asked between mouthfuls. “I know how happy you were at your company in London.”
“I still am. Work’s one of the reasons I’m back.” The other reason sat across the table from him, desperately trying to look relaxed when she was anything but. Who’d ever have thought Katie would be awkward around him? “We spent the last year raising a new venture capital fund one developed specifically for investment in Australian businesses.” He shrugged. “Moving back here suited all of us. They get someone to manage the fund in Australia, and I get to come home for a while.”
“What’s the other reason?” Katie asked hesitantly.
“You are,” he said evenly. He’d come home to scope out the situation, to assess Katie and Steve’s relationship. He’d come to see if there was any chance they’d made a mistake, or too hasty a decision at any rate.
Her fork dropped on her plate with a clatter. “M-me?” she stuttered.
She was uncomfortable. Her hazel-colored eyes darted between him and Steve.
“Yeah. You and Steve. Or to be more specific, your wedding.” A wedding that he prayed would never take place.
“You want to be more specific there, mate?” Steve tipped his fork in Ty’s direction. “The wedding’s in six months time.”
Tyler turned to his oldest, closest friend. They’d been mates ever since Tyler had moved with his mother and his sister from Melbourne to the Eastern suburbs in Sydney, almost twenty years ago. As kids they’d fallen easily into friendship, learned to enjoy each other’s company and respect each other’s privacy. As adults they’d maintained their closeness.
If only Ty had been able to share his secrets with Steve, they’d never have turned into ticking bombs.
Under normal circumstances his closest friend would have been the best person to confide in, but Tyler’s secrets were not his alone to share. They involved someone else, someone other than Katie and himself. Telling Steve would have had far-reaching consequences, consequences that went beyond Tyler’s ability to control. As much as he knew Steve deserved the truth, there was no way he could tell him.
On the other hand, confiding in Steve would have meant subjecting him to Tyler’s god-awful reality. Involving him in it. If Steve had known the truth, the real reason Tyler had gone to London when he had, he would have felt compelled to stand by him. To support him. Steve would have laid his hand on his shoulder and helped him each step of the way.
Tyler couldn’t face that. He couldn’t accept the inherent humiliation of his friend coming to terms with the truth. He was a proud man, and if Steve had been there to watch his horrifying reality unfold, it would have taken away what little pride he had left.
As disrespectful as it had been to Steve, he’d seen his silence as the only way to save his dignity. And at the time, he’d believed his dignity was about all he had to hold on to.
He shrugged, turning his attention back to the conversation at hand. “I’m speaking figuratively. I’m not back for your wedding. I’m back because I want what you’ve got.”
Out of the corner of his eye he caught Katie’s grimace. Her lips tightened in outrage and in fear, perhaps?
“Mate, you’re talking in riddles.” Steve laughed, but his gaze took in Katie’s discomfort.
He’d picked up on the undercurrents already. The man wasn’t a fool.
Katie was on edge, and Steve had noticed. “A future, Steve. I’m looking for a future.”
Something he’d never had before. Something he’d never allowed himself the privilege of looking for.
Steve swung his attention back to Tyler. “With a woman?”
Tyler looked at Katie and smiled. “Not just any woman.”
“Damn, are you telling me you’re ready to settle down?” Steve asked.
“It happens to the best of us.”
“Aren’t you the guy whose motto is life’s too short to waste it on commitment?”
His grin faded a touch. “I was that guy.”
When I thought I didn’t have a choice. When life was too short.
“But you’re not anymore.” This time it was Katie who spoke, her voice a whisper.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Couldn’t get enough of staring at her.
“No, sweet Katie. Not anymore.”
Not now that I have a future. A future I never thought possible.
Her mouth pursed. Blind fury flared across her face. Tyler got the distinct impression that had they been alone she would have decked him.
Fair enough. As far as she was concerned it was warranted. He’d left her without an adequate explanation. Like Steve, she’d deserved one undoubtedly but at the time he’d been reluctant to give it to her.
Reluctant to give up the last shred of pride he had.
Part of the reason he’d moved to London was so Katie could find a man with whom she could build her dreams. A man who had a future to offer her unlike Tyler. He’d never told her that. Some things he’d believed were better kept to himself. No matter how much the silence hurt the people he loved and God knew he’d hurt Katie with his silence the truth would have been worse.
She gave him her deadliest smile. “And you couldn’t find one single English woman to commit to?”
“My heart is in Australia.” His tone was light, his thoughts were not.
“Course it is,” Steve agreed. “Once an Aussie, always an Aussie.”
“I’m going to make some coffee.” Katie stood abruptly. “Anyone like some?”
“Not for me, babe,” Steve said.
Tyler hated the casual endearment. Steve and Katie were supposed to be friends, not lovers. He knew he didn’t have the right to resent their intimacy. He’d left so Katie could find intimacy with another man.
But why Steve? Of everyone she could have chosen, why did it have to be his best friend?
Jesus, he needed to get some air. Needed to get away from them and sort his head out. He stood too. “Know what I’d like? A shower. I’ve been traveling for a full day and could sure do with standing under a hot spray of water.”
Again Katie blushed, and he knew why.
“C’mon in, Katie. The water’s hot.” The warm spray beat down on his back.
“There’s not enough space in my shower for two people.” She looked rather dubious. Naked and beautiful and dubious.
He smiled. “We’ll stand real close together.” No further encouragement was necessary. Pulling open the door, she stepped into his waiting arms.
Shit. Now he needed air more than ever. A budding erection was not a good thing to have in front of his best friend.
Katie cleared her throat. “Go right ahead, Ty.”
She squared her shoulders and looked at him with a determination he hadn’t seen earlier. Her eyes flashed. Then she stomped on his nostalgia and effectively killed his hard-on by inviting another person into the shower with them. “Steve can get you a towel. He knows where I keep them now.”
“Where’s your fiancé?” Tyler walked back into the lounge feeling substantially fresher than he had thirty minutes ago. He was pretty sure he smelled better too.
Steve lay on one of the couches reading the newspaper. “Gone to work.”
Tyler nodded. Of course she’d gone to work. She’d gone to find some routine in the chaos he’d deliberately introduced into her life and into her home.
“She said to tell you goodbye, and that you should make yourself comfortable.”
He did just that, stretching himself out on the other couch like he used to when he visited Katie before. Comfort, however, was almost impossible to achieve. How could he relax in a situation like this?
He was here to see if there was any possibility that Katie and Steve had made a mistake. If they weren’t as happy as they seemed to be. Katie would never marry a man she didn’t love heart and soul. If, after spending time with Tyler, she was still intent on going through with her nuptials, he’d step aside and let them be. He’d even give them his blessing.
If, on the other hand, she had any second thoughts, he wouldn’t.