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‘Four
years,’ I update him. 

‘How
long since you saw him before that?’ He continues.

‘You
guys need drinks?’ Ellie appears, interrupting our conversation.  I order
a diet Pepsi and Nate water.

I
gaze out at the outside world for a while before continuing, ‘never, in answer
to your question.’  He didn’t respond. I glanced back to witness him
regarding me closely, his eyes alert.  I go on, ‘my father sent me to
London when I was born. Mum never made it; I was dumped with my
grandparents.  That’s the complicated.’ I refer to our conversation of
yesterday.

‘I’m
sorry,’ he murmurs softly. 

Our
eyes connect and hold, my body tingling at the attraction that has been evident
since our first meeting, yesterday.  Was it only yesterday?

‘Here
we go guys, food will be up shortly,’ Ellie places our drinks on the table,
Nate holds my stare, but I drag mine away from him and up to his sister.

‘Thanks,’
I smile.

‘You
doing okay, honey?’ She soothes, gently.

‘Yeah,’
I nod. 

‘Tonight,
dress up.  My girls wanna meet you.  Thursday night, dresses and
heels night,’ she announces. 

‘I’m
not sure, Ellie,’ I begin, ‘I’m not really in the mood.’

‘Sophie
Parker, you promised, and a deals a deal,’ she reprimands me.  ‘Throw out
all of that worry and upset from within your head and allow yourself some down
time.’ She demands.  ‘Pick it all back up in the morning, trust me it will
still be there,’ she instructs.  ‘Seven!’

‘I’ll
pop by,’ I sigh, she wasn’t going to let it go, and she was the only friend I
currently had, so it was best not to get on the bad side of her.

She
grins, ‘pop by, what the fuck does that mean?’ She giggles, as she returns to
the counter.

I
smile, despite myself and chance a glance at Nate, whose shoulders are shaking
with silent laughter. 

‘You
don’t use, pop by?’ I ask him.

‘Fuck
no, what the hell is pop other than a drink kids drink?’ he smiles at full
beam, which exposes his dimple to its full effect and I receive a hard slam
deep in my gut that instantly deprives my lungs of oxygen.  The man is
fucking perfection.

I
roll my eyes at him and lecture myself again that I am vulnerable and my
emotions heightened, which would explain my uncharacteristic craving to have
this man close to me.  Maybe because I’m so far away from home, maybe I am
unsettled in such an unfamiliar environment, but something draws me to him.

When the plate arrived, it was
mammoth.  Thinly sliced hot turkey was served on, what Nate informs me was
Texas toast with mashed potatoes, topped with homemade turkey gravy.

‘Jesus!’ I gasp, looking up in despair at
Ellie.  ‘I can’t eat all this Ellie!’

‘Eat what you can, you’ve eaten half of a
meal since arriving two days ago,’ she comments. 

‘How do you know that?’ I scoff.

‘I thought we had been over the whole,
Krystal knows everything about everyone,’ she teases as she flicks her hair.

‘Your sister’s bossy,’ I announce to
Nate, who is observing the altercation with some amusement.

‘Babe, that isn’t something I’m alien to,
believe me, now dig in,’ he points his fork to the pile of food, ‘she tells Ma
you not eating, you’re fucked!’

I manage half of my food before I sit
back and rub my flat stomach, ‘how do you keep your physique so trim eating
like this?’ I glance at Nate’s empty plate.

‘You think I’m trim, London,’ he purrs,
arrogantly. ‘I’m flattered.’

‘Why are you always looking for a
compliment from me?’ I joke.

‘Because you don’t offer them up
willingly,’ he proclaims.  ‘It’s a bruise to my ego that you look through
me,’ he continues with a tilt of his lips.

‘Somehow I don’t think you have a problem
with ego,’ I laugh, sarcastically.

He grins, ‘that’s a good sound, London,’
I immediately cease laughing and observe the sensation of his mouth curving
against his even teeth. 

After a heated debate about paying the
bill, Nate wins claiming that he would put it on expenses through the force.

‘I can pay,’ I argue, ‘as a thank you for
accompanying me today.’

‘I’m paid to do a job, I am doing it,’ he
declares. 

I feel suddenly stupid for thinking that
Nate was here for any other reason that he wanted to be.  Of course, this
is what he is paid to do.  He is from the Denver Homicide unit; they are
employing him to be here and gather as much information as possible to,
hopefully, solve the mystery of Oliver’s murder.

I lower my gaze, ‘Oh, of course. 
I’m sorry I took up so much of your time, Detective Austin.  You could
have just dropped me back to the hotel.’ I notify him, tersely.  ‘I am
quite capable of feeding myself.’

‘Sophie!’ he calls, I clear my face of
emotion and lift an eyebrow in question.  ‘Remember that talk we had about
people only doing what they wanted to do?’

I nod.

‘That goes double for me, I only ever do
what I want to do, you hear?’ His voice is sharp.

I nod.

‘I’ll drop you off at the hotel,’ he
stands and waits patiently while I gather my handbag.

‘Delicious, El’s,’ Nate calls to his sister.

‘Later, Sophie!’ She calls from the
kitchen.

‘Later!’ I call as we leave the diner.

‘Actually, Detective,’ I begin.

‘Jesus Fuck!’ he growls.  ‘Nate!’ he
calls, ‘the name is Nate!’

‘Okay, bloody hell, you need to calm
down!’ I growl back. He grins.  ‘You are like Jekyll and Hyde!’ I gasp,
‘what are you grinning at now?’

‘Say that again,’ he steps forward and
gazes down with a smile set on his lips.

‘Say what again?’ I have no idea what on
earth he is talking about, what I do know he is too close for comfort. My body
is purring at his proximity, as his alluring scent surrounds me.

‘What you just said,’ he prompts me,
quietly.

‘You need to calm down bit?’ I question,
lightly. ‘Nate,’ I sigh, ‘I haven’t the foggiest idea what you are chatting
about?’ I put my hand on my hip and scowl at him.

‘At last,’ he rolls his eyes to the heavens,
‘she calls me by my name.’

‘You are weird,’ I turn away, ‘I was just
about to say, before I was rudely interrupted, that I don’t need a ride back to
Marnie’s.  I am going to have a wander around.  I can walk back.’

‘You know how far it is? How about I drop
you to pick up your Jeep?’ He suggests.

I wave him away, ‘no, I need to walk off
all this food,’ I put a hand to my stomach.

‘Look fit enough to me,’ he purrs,
suggestively.

‘Thank you for your escort, Detective
Austin,’ I ignore the heat in his eyes and turn in the direction of Ollie’s.

********

Nate was right; the walk back was long
and all uphill. I would class myself as incredibly fit taking yoga sessions
twice a week as well as usually running four times a week.  I struggled
and had to stop at various points along the way to recharge my batteries and
take in the breath-taking views.  I did remember to grab a bottle of water
on the way, thankfully, but I was exhausted by the time I finally reached the
hotel. 

I had wandered around the pretty streets,
familiarizing myself with the layout of the many shops.  A couple of
people stopped me and conveyed their condolences on the loss of Oliver, which
had a healing effect, and somehow made me feel a little closer to my brother.
Speaking to the people that he conversed with on a daily basis, made me feel as
if I knew him a little better. 

A few of those people asked after Simon,
but did it with a shake of their head, as if they knew something rather
unsavoury about his character.  But, no one would elaborate.  I made
a mental note to ask Nate about it the next time I saw him.

Moving directly to my room, I kick off my
shoes and flop tiredly on the bed. 

A banging sound wakes me.  I sit
bolt upright, confused by my surroundings, blinking confusedly around me,
totally disorientated.

‘I know you are in there, Sophie!’ That
sounded like Ellie.

‘Just a minute!’ I sit on the edge of the
bed for a moment to gather my wits, before standing to open the door.

‘I knew if I didn’t personally come and
fetch you, you would bail,’ she marches in, dolled up to the nines, balancing
on heels almost the length of her feet.

Even in my state of grogginess, I could
see how stunning Ellie Austin truly was, her dark hair was puffed out huge, her
make-up immaculate, her figure, tiny!  All wrapped up in a sky-blue shift
dress that barely covered the essentials. 

‘Wow!’ I blink over at her, my hand still
on the door. ‘You look hot!’

‘Eyes off, honey, I’m taken, not that I
couldn’t be swayed by you if I was that way inclined.’ Her eyes move around my
hotel room, ‘where’s the wardrobe?’

I point, and she makes a mad dash to open
it and inspect its content.

‘Shower!’ she points to the bathroom.

‘I didn’t pack to socialise, Ellie,’ I
stand, immobile as she pushes the hangers one way then the other.

‘You have some fine clothes, girl,’ she
states, ‘but none of this is going to suffice.’ She lifts her phone and calls
into it.  ‘Need something appropriate for my girl who’s got legs that go
all the way up to heaven, tits that every man desires.’

‘No, Ellie,’ I call.  She puts a
finger up to halt me.  Unusually for me, I comply.

‘Bring a couple. I’m at Ma’s, Room
seventeen,’ she dips her head to the bottom of the wardrobe where my shoes are
kept, ‘no, she’s good on the shoe front.’  Disconnecting the call, she
glances over at me, ‘Sophie, shower girl!’

‘Jesus Fuck!’ I curse, as I enter the
bathroom.

‘You sound like Nate,’ I hear her giggle.

Walking into the bar almost an hour
later, I have to say I feel exhilarated.  I had promised to do as Ellie
suggested, and push all my grief and anxieties to the back of my mind for one
night only. I dress in one of Beth’s, who’s Ellie’s best friend, little black
dresses that fit where it touches.  It is similar to the one hanging in my
wardrobe at home, except shorter.  Whether it’s the size differences in
the U.S or whether she has had it altered as such, it leaves very little to the
imagination.  My legs are good, without sounding egotistical, I know
this.  I am told this by every guy I have dated, plus the ones that want
to.  I put it down to the fact I am on my legs all day long in the salon.
My legs are strong, shapely and long.

I had styled my hair so that the long
front section quaffed at my forehead, before applying my
going
out
make
-
up,
which involved a lot of liquid liner plus a layer of red
lipstick. 

When I confided to the girls that I was a
hairdresser and beautician by trade, they had squealed their delight before
begging me to fix their already impeccable make-up.  They then made me
promise I would style their hair at a later date, preferably at a time when
they weren’t in a hurry to get to the bar before all the tables went.

The bar was surprisingly trendy for a
small town, wooden floors with tall, black gloss café-type round tables next to
round stools, which sat tucked beneath. Everyone appeared to have dressed for
the occasion of it being a Thursday night, the women in short skirts or
dresses, the men in collared shirts teamed with their customary denim
jeans.  Thursday nights in Krystal are evidently a time to party.

As soon as we entered, it seemed the
entire room turned to observe us. Feeling slightly self-conscious my eyes were
immediately drawn to a group of girls, who were busy waving and screeching to us
from across the floor.

Ignoring the open glances of the
residence of Krystal, I follow Ellie as she weaved her way through the length
of the bar until we face four exquisitely pampered, extremely beautiful women. 

Ellie introduces me to her friends, who
all appear to be friendly and welcoming towards me, despite the fact I am a
virtual stranger.  After a small while, I permit myself to relax and
quickly join in the various girlie discussions, with the aid of the alcohol
that seems to be flowing freely.  Someone orders a bottle of Tequila and
the fun and the Karaoke begins. 

It isn’t until nine o’clock that I notice
the dirty blonde, plus Nate enter the noisy bar. Both of the men hold an aura
about them, the kind that alerts you to their presence the moment they hit a
room.  Women turn their heads in admiration and men chin lift in greeting
as they head straight to the bar to order their drinks, seemingly oblivious to
the turmoil around them. My eyes automatically move to Nate to absorb his
swagger. He has a way of moving that suggests total body confidence. Mind you
he has every right to be comfortable in his body; it’s stunning. 

‘Is that your boyfriend?’ I ask Ellie as
my gaze moves to Nate’s companion.

‘Yeah,’ she grins proudly, ‘that’s my
Eli, isn’t he adorable?’ She catches his eye and finger waves over to
him.  He provides her a wink, and I watch her almost melt.  ‘He’s
Nate’s ex-partner, before he moved to Denver,’ she elaborates, ‘we had murders
when we first got together, had to keep it from Nate, for a while.’ She turns
and rolls her eyes to the ceiling.  ‘He can be overpowering with those he
loves,’ she confesses. 

‘Was he mad?’ I query.

She nods vigorously, as if
mad
doesn’t cover what he was, ‘but, as soon as he got we were serious about each
other, things calmed down some. Nearly wrecked their friendship though,’ she
smiles, regretfully.

I nod in understanding as I return my
gaze to the two men that emitted an air of authority as they stood to lean on
the long bar as they assess the room.

Nate’s eyes finally hit mine, and I watch
as he frowns his eyes stroking lazily down the length of my body, leaving me
sucking in a calming breath.

‘He seems to have a soft spot for you,’
Ellie confides, humour in her tone.

‘No,’ I scoff. ‘I am just a job to him,
apparently,’ I wave her suggestions away and ignore the clenching of my gut at
the possibility.

‘Nate does what Nate wants,’ Ellie
smiles, ‘always has, and I think Nate wants a piece of you,’ she whispers. 

I watch as a small, blonde woman with big
hair and wide blue eyes stops in front of Nate and places her hand possessively
on his chest.  She gazes up flirtingly as she converses with him.  He
smiles down towards her, flashing her his dimple, in reply.  Jealousy
consumes me, they are evident familiar with each other, close even.  A
fist clenches in my gut and I force myself to look away.

‘She doesn’t mean anything to him,’ Ellie
murmurs, quietly, her eyes following my gaze.

I shrug, ‘It's nothing to do with me,’
but she provides me an amused glare, her head tilted to one side, that suggests
she thinks otherwise. I can’t stop myself from asking, ‘he seeing her?’

‘On and off,’ she confides.  ‘Nate
doesn’t do serious relationships,’ she continues, ‘Chelle knows the score, she
would rather a particle of my brother than nothing.  He’s up front with
the women in his life,’ Ellie insists. ‘No one has sole ownership of him,’ this
information doesn’t please Ellie, who evidently thinks the world of her brother.

So, it seems there are a lot of women in
his life. Nate Austin is a player, no surprises there. 

As if he senses my appraisal, he glances
up from the blonde and his eyes lock with mine.  I immediately avert my gaze
and turn my back on the bar area.  I’m certainly not willing to become one
of his conquests.

Ellie and I are standing on the edge of
the stage, sometime later, as we wait for Beth and Louise to begin their
version of Adele’s,
Someone Like You
, when I sense him.  Turning to
the awareness, I look directly into his frown.

‘Hi!’ I smile, hesitantly.

‘Jesus fuck, London.  Where’s the
rest of your clothes?’ He growls low in his throat.

‘What?’ I laugh, with the incredulity of
his statement, ‘what are you, my keeper?’ I scoff.

His gaze holds mine for a beat longer
before it moves accusingly to Ellie.  ‘What the hell you doing, El,
playing dress up?’ He interrogates his sister.

‘Actually, I think Sophie looks
stunning,’ she grins, not in the least affected by her brother’s obvious
irritation, ‘don’t you think she looks amazing, Nate?’ She grins, he fails to
respond.

The dirty blonde appears at his side,
distracting the conversation.  His eyes move directly to Ellie.

‘Hey beautiful,’ he pulls her in and
places a long, hard kiss on her mouth.

‘Hey baby,’ she purrs up.  ‘Hey,
meet Sophie,’ she turns and waves a hand between us. ‘This is my Eli,’ she
grins, goofily.

I hold out my hand, and Eli grasps it
firmly.  ‘Hey Sophie, I’ve heard a lot about you,’ but his telling gaze
wanders not to Ellie, but to Nate, who continues to stare me down.  ‘I’m
sorry about your brother,’ he adds, respectfully.

‘Thank you, Eli,’ I tilt my head and
smile gently before returning my eyes to Nate, ‘that look doesn’t intimidate
me, detective.  It wouldn’t scare a bee,’ I repeat his words of earlier
today.  I watch as the ice melts and his eyes soften with humour. 

‘You’re a fucking nut!’ he exhales a held
breath.

‘Yeah well, you’re a weirdo,’ I turn away
as the music starts and the girls prepare for their big tune.

‘This should be fun,’ Ellie giggles, ‘you
ever heard anyone that can take on Adele?’

‘Absolutely not!’ I agree, ‘I saw her at
Wembley, she was bloody great!’

The evening is a complete success. For the
duration of my five-hour stay, I completely push the recent dramas of the past
weeks behind me and drown, along with the other girls, in Tequila and
beer.  I point blank refused to join in the Karaoke, not being a Karaoke
kind of girl, but enjoyed watching it, immensely.  Eli and Nate naturally joined
the group, and no one seemed to take any notice.  I took this as
confirmation that it was a regular occurrence. 

I observed as one of Ellie’s friends, a
girl called Sara, tried to gain Nate’s attention, but he politely shut down her
continual efforts to engage him in conversation.  He wasn’t rude, but it
was plain, as a woman, he wasn’t interested.  I ignored the fluttering in
my abdomen at this information; I am not having a fling with Nathan Austin, I
remind myself.

When I visit the bathroom, or restroom as
it’s called in America, I am stopped by a good-looking guy sat at the
bar.  He was blonde and blue-eyed, not Nate blue-eyed, but blue-eyed and
stocky built as if he lifted weights on a regular basis.  As it
transpired, he, in fact, owned the local gym, and his name was Steve
Goodman.  He invited me for a drink at the bar, but I politely declined
expressing I was with a crowd and should return to them.  I shook his hand,
which he grasped a little longer than necessary, as he passed on his sympathies
for my loss. 

When I turn to return to the group,
Nate’s eyes followed me across the length of the floor.  Again, they lacked
the warmth that he usually provided me with his stare.

Walking directly over to him, I stop and
scowl up, ‘what is your problem, mister?’ I push my finger into his chest,
lightly. ‘I can feel your attitude from across the room,’ alcohol has evidently
eliminated any filters I may have previously used when addressing him.

He looks visibly surprised by my brashness,
although it immediately clears the frost from his gaze.  He grasps my
finger at his chest and brings it down to his side, which urges me forward, and
I topple against him.  My other hand lands on his hard chest, and I have
to refrain from pushing myself provocatively against him.

‘Oopsy-daisy,’ I purr up, playfully.

He grins down, his eyes dancing, ‘you are
absolutely fucking adorable,’ he hums, as his free hand grips my hip and
encourages me up flush against his toned form. All playfulness leaves my body
as desire courses through me.  As if he senses it, his hand moves to the
top of my backside and his eyes darken. My eyes drop to his lips, wistfully.