“Is there anyone else waiting to see me?” She hoped not. She was anxious to get home and be with Tyler again. To laugh and chat with her old friend.
After all, long before they were lovers, they’d been friends. They’d shared good times. They’d had picnics in parks and conversations over dinner. They’d watched videos on cold winter nights and taken midnight swims on hot summer ones. If she’d needed a shoulder, Ty always offered her one. “No date for a function?” Tyler stepped in.
The first flicker of attraction might have flared the night they’d met, but so had a bond of friendship as strong as any she’d ever known.
The only person she’d been as close to as Tyler was Steve. Steve and Ty. Her best mates. Of course she couldn’t wait to get home and spend some quality time with them.
Damn. Who was she kidding? She was frigging petrified of going home.
Petrified of spending time with the man who’d broken her heart so wholly.
Tina shook her head. “Mrs. Burny was your last patient. You asked me not to book anyone after four p.m.” She checked her watch. It’s already five.
“Steve’s patients and the few walkins put you off schedule.”
“Let’s call it a day,” Kate suggested. “Go on home. I’ll lock up.”
Tina nodded. “Okay. Oh, your mum phoned while you were with Mrs.
Burny.”
“Thanks, Tina. I’ll ring back now.”
While Katie dialed, Tina collected her things and left.
The minute she answered the phone, Brenda Rosewood launched into a detailed description of the navy designer suit she’d spotted earlier that day. “Katie, honey, it’s perfect for the wedding. It’s probably a little too expensive but I think you’ll love it. Not one to brag, I have to say, it looks beautiful on me.”
Katie smiled and let her talk. There was a time when her mum wouldn’t have been able to afford it. A time when money had been scarce, and any extra she had she’d spent on Katie not on designer dresses. After her father died twenty years ago, the Rosewoods had struggled financially. Her mother had no marketable skills, and the only work she could find had barely covered basic costs.
That was the reason Katie had always been so determined to make a success out of her life. She’d worked her butt off to get through medical school. Opening the practice with Steve had been a dream come true. She finally had a financially viable job that she loved with a partner she adored.
It was all good. She had enough money to support her mother and herself and she could afford a beautiful new home. After the miserable apartments and council housing she’d grown up in, her semi seemed like a veritable palace.
Her mother’s unit was pretty cool too.
“Now, has Joyce picked out her outfit yet?” her mum asked about Steve’s mother. “I know you’re not worried about us being color coordinated, but still, I’d like to discuss it with her.”
“She mentioned something about seeing a dressmaker next month,”
Katie said.
“Hmm, wise choice. She can have something tailor-made. Okay, I’ll give her a call. Now what about you?”
“Mum, I’ve told you. I’m not ready to find a dress yet. The wedding’s months away.”
“Nonsense, hon. Time will fly and before you know it you’ll be walking down the aisle. What do you say you and I go look at some bridal boutiques this weekend?”
Katie grinned. She was going to have to give in sooner or later. Her mother was determined. “I can’t this weekend.”
“You have plans.”
“Yep. Guess who came home today?” It had all happened so fast, Katie hadn’t told her mother yet. Tyler had given them no warning. He’d simply called from Heathrow to say he was boarding the next flight.
“Who?”
“Tyler.”
Her announcement was greeted with silence.
“Mum?”
“I’m here.”
“Well, say something.”
“Sorry, hon. I’m just shocked, that’s all.”
“You’re shocked?”
“Katie, he broke your heart.”
“Two years ago. I’m over that now. I’m marrying someone else.” Was she really over Tyler? Or did she think that by repeatedly telling herself she was, she’d believe it? Would it be possible that in time Tyler would become her best friend again and not just the man who made her knees weak and her heart beat unsteadily?
Her mother sighed. “Is he staying with Steve?”
“Uh, no, me actually. There’s no room at Steve’s place.” Sweet Lord, why had she ever agreed to that? Tyler had invaded her perfect home.
How could she possibly expect to get a decent night’s sleep, knowing a wall was all that separated her from the man who had once been her nightly wet dream?
She should have insisted he stay with Steve. It didn’t matter that he’d converted his second bedroom into an office. Ty would have been perfectly comfortable on the lumpy old mattress on the floor of the lounge room even if there were no blinds on the windows.
Nonsense. It would be like old times. Late-night coffees around her kitchen table. A last laugh and then sleepy goodnights before calling it a day.
“Have you told Steve about you and Tyler yet?”
“Uh…” Again she stumbled. “No.”
“Katie-”
“I promised Tyler, Mum.”
“I don’t like this, sweetheart. You’re going to get hurt again.”
“I’ll be fine,” she reassured her mother, but she didn’t really believe it herself.
“Well, how was it seeing him again?”
“It was nice.” Nice? Christ, it was pure agony. It had taken Tyler all of an hour to tear her life in two. To rip asunder everything she held so tightly together. He’d made it perfectly clear he hadn’t forgotten a single second of their time together, and he’d reminded her of the highly intimate moments they’d spent in Noosa.
“So, why did he come home?”
“For work. And to find a wife.”
“Are you sure about that?” Her mother sounded dubious.
“What else would he have come back for?”
Brenda didn’t answer.
“Me?” She sighed. “You think he came back for me?” Then why hadn’t he come back months, even years, ago? Hell, he would never have gone in the first place. If Tyler wanted to be with her, he would have stayed in Sydney all along, but he hadn’t. He’d made his choice back then. He’d chosen London.
“Katie, you loved each other once. It’s quite possible he still loves you.”
“I’m not even going there, Mum. Tyler’s back for business, and I’m getting married. It doesn’t matter what we were. We aren’t anymore.”
It still stung to acknowledge, but no they weren’t anymore. The only thing in store for her and Tyler was the renewal of their old friendship. Period.
Her mother tut-tutted on the other side of the line. “Look, whatever happens, you just be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt again” she paused. “I don’t want Steve getting hurt either. You’ve both endured enough heartbreak.”
“I’ll be fine, I promise. We both will.” Of course they would. They had each other now. It didn’t matter that Tyler was back.
Her mother harrumphed.
“How about two weeks from Saturday we shop for a dress?” Katie asked, placating her mother and changing the subject at the same time.
Brenda perked up immediately. “White or cream? Have you decided yet?”
They spoke a couple more minutes before saying goodbye. After she hung up, Katie sat in silent contemplation. Her past and her present had chosen today to collide, and she needed a few minutes to try to make sense of it all.
Her whole life she’d dreamed of three things: A solid career, a happy family and a secure home a place to call her own. Steve and Tyler were the answer to all her prayers. In Steve she found a friend and colleague. A partner with whom she could build a successful medical practice. In Tyler she found a friend and a lover. A partner with whom she hoped she could build her family home.
She loved them equally, but very differently. She adored Steve and their easy, happy relationship, but she burned for Tyler. Always had.
Their short-lived romance had been the culmination of five years of longing, and of waiting, for both of them. After being his friend for so long and getting to know him so intimately, she’d had no doubt he was the one for her.
He’d given her four weeks to lay the foundation for her dream family before he’d ripped it all out from under her.
Thank God Steve had been there to pick up the pieces and put them slowly back together. He offered her the security of their practice and the safety of their friendship, and when her heart had finally begun to mend, he’d offered her the rest of her dreams. He’d proposed.
It didn’t matter that Tyler was back home, or that he still made her heart beat out of time. It didn’t matter that he still fired her imagination and her libido. When it had mattered, he’d left.
Now Steve was making all of her dreams come true.
Katie straightened the mess in her office, switched off the lights and locked up. There was no use procrastinating. She couldn’t avoid Tyler any longer even though every instinct told her she should.
Stopping first to pick up some dinner, she went home.
The house was silent. Steve’s car was gone. Katie packed the food away with a sigh, both disappointed and relieved to find herself alone.
She kicked off her shoes and padded barefoot through her house.
When she walked into the living room, she froze.
Her heart plunged into her belly.
Passed out on the same couch that he’d helped her buy three years ago was the cause of all her grief. He lay on his back with his jean-clad legs stretched out before him. One muscled arm rested across his stomach, the other was sprawled behind his head. A white T-shirt, stretched taut across his chest, accentuated his tanned biceps and wide shoulders. Wide? Hell, they were so broad, they virtually eclipsed the couch beneath them.
God help her, but he looked for all the world as though he belonged there. As though being asleep in her living room was the most natural thing on earth.
In repose, his face had relaxed and the stiff lines of his shoulders had eased. Not for the first time, she wondered what he thought about her and Steve. How did he feel, returning home, to face his best friend and his ex-lover’s forthcoming marriage?
The soft leather of the cushions sagged slightly beneath his weight, cradling his butt, and Katie found herself envious of an inanimate object. Against her better judgment, she wished it was her unclothed body he pressed against. Her pelvis molded to his behind.
“You need a couch you can sink into. A couch that demands you close your eyes and put your head back. This, my sweet Katie, is the perfect couch.”
She laughed out loud at his audacity. In the middle of the furniture store, in broad daylight, he’d stretched himself out, laid his head on the armrest, and looked at her from beneath half-lowered eyelids.
“This is the kind of couch you have to share. He raised a hand to her.”
“C’mon over here.”
“She swatted at his hand. You’re nuts if you think I’m going to lie next to you, on that couch, in front of all these people.”
“You won’t know how comfy it is unless you try it.” Before she had time to move her hand away, he grabbed it.
“Ty,” she yelped as he gave a little tug, propelling her forward. She giggled and landed on his chest with a thud. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Go on. Admit it feels great.”
“Of course it felt great.” Her breasts were squashed against the powerful wall of his chest, and her stomach rested atop his washboard abs. She seriously doubted anything in life felt better than this.
“Comfortable, huh?” he said. “A couch made for two.”
“Let me up, you idiot.” She laughed. “Everyone’s staring.”
“Sure they are. They’re thinking the couch looks fantastic. The store owner’s going to want to give us commission after this.”
He didn’t have a clue what he did to her. Didn’t realize that her heart crashed into her ribs and air stuck in her lungs, nor that the couch was the last thing on her mind. Her thoughts were fixed solely on the points where their bodies met. On the heat that crept straight from his chest through the silk of her shirt to permeate every pore of her skin.
She looked down at him. Stared into his eyes. Her breath caught as the urge to kiss him forced its way into conscious thought. The urge to press her mouth against his and taste the hot promise he hid behind his lips.
“Go on, my sweet,” he whispered, as blood drummed through her veins, roaring in her ears. “Do it.”
It was too much, his invitation too tempting. Her lips parted and her hands quivered. She closed her eyes.
“Buy the couch.”
She’d bought two. Shaken from their close encounter, she’d allowed him to talk her into it. At that point if he’d encouraged her to jump off the Harbour Bridge, she would have.
Now, three years later, he was sound asleep on the very couch she’d almost jumped him on at the shop. The very couch, that a year after purchasing, they’d made love on repeatedly. He still looked just as good on it. The need to lower her head and brush his lips with hers, to meld her mouth to his, was just as potent now as it had been then.
Katie turned and ran out of the living room.
The voices woke him. Low sounds coming from the other side of the house. Soft feminine laughter and a deeper chuckle. He sat up, rubbed a hand over his eyes and took a minute to orient himself. Where was he? The bed was unfamiliar. The room foreign.
Then he remembered. He wasn’t on a bed at all. He was in Sydney, in Katie’s lounge room to be specific. A room he hadn’t been in for over two years. How long had he slept? The clock on the DVD told him it was seven-thirty. In the night or the morning?
Night. It was dark outside. He must have passed out and slept for about three hours. Damn. He’d intended to see out the day in a sluggish haze and get a good night’s rest. Combat the jet lag immediately. Not going to happen.
Great, now he could anticipate yet another sleepless night.
He followed the sound of the laughter to the kitchen and immediately wished he hadn’t. Steve was there, leaning against the countertop. Katie was there too, leaning into Steve. His arms were wrapped around her waist, her hands were hooked around his neck.