Her Festive Flirtation

It was a natural reaction to being around a beautiful woman, he’d told himself on the way to the deli. He hadn’t dated in so long he couldn’t remember. His body had just been reminding him that he had needs; his mind just responding as any person who had needs would.

But when he returned and saw Ava sitting on his balcony, staring out over the mountains visible to most residents of Somerset West, he faltered. Had she looked this forlorn before? This defenceless?

Now she seemed nothing like the spitfire who had tried to save her cat from a blaze and everything like that little girl he’d once saved from being bullied. And when his heart turned in his chest and his arms ached to pull her into his arms, Noah worried that his reaction to her earlier hadn’t just been natural. That it had been...more.

It didn’t help that when her eyes met his—brown and steady—he instinctively knew she wasn’t that little girl who’d needed saving. Her gaze wasn’t as innocent, as trusting, as that little girl’s had been. It was weary, cautious—as if she were ready to defend herself at any moment.

‘This place is just as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside,’ she said into the silence.

Grateful for the distraction—his thoughts bothered him more than he’d thought they should—he nodded. ‘This particular view sealed the deal for me.’

‘I can imagine.’ She pushed out from the table she’d been sitting at. ‘I’d love to enjoy it some more, but I’m hungry. Like, really hungry. What do you have in there?’

He swung the deli bags out of her reach when she tried to peek inside them, and thought about how similar this was to how they’d been before he’d left. How similar it was to how she’d been before. And how it didn’t make him feel like he needed to protect her.

‘You’ll find out when I serve it.’

‘Spoilsport.’ She followed him to the kitchen. ‘Can I help?’

‘No.’

‘Excuse me?’

He smiled at the disbelief in her voice, and then took his time removing the takeaway dishes from the plastic bag and placing them on the kitchen counter.

When he saw her hovering, he said, ‘Have a seat.’

‘You’re really refusing my help?’

‘Yes.’ He opened his fridge, showing her different drinks one by one until she eventually nodded at the fruit juice he took out. ‘I didn’t ask you here so you could help me cook, Ava.’

‘I think you’re using the word cook wrong,’ she commented dryly, and then took the glass he offered her and went to the couch.

He could almost see her body sag into its softness. He was glad he’d refused her help.

‘You know, the last time I was at your house—and this was when you still lived with your father—you didn’t know what “cook” meant then either. I think you gave me and Jaden leftovers from the night before.’

‘How do you know I didn’t cook the night before?’

‘Because it was delicious.’ She smiled brightly at the look he gave her. ‘And because your father’s made me a few more of those pasta dishes since you left and it was definitely not your cooking.’

His hands paused. ‘You’ve seen my father since I’ve been away?’

He saw her cheeks pinken. ‘Yeah... I mean, occasionally...’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been helping him with some stuff. We’re...friends.’

The pink turned into a deep red, and if Noah hadn’t been so perplexed by the whole thing—if his heart hadn’t been racing in his chest—he’d have found it charming.

‘So, just to check that I’ve heard you correctly,’ he said slowly, when his brain refused to process what she’d told him, ‘you say you’re friends with my father?’

‘Don’t make it sound so outlandish, Noah,’ she said with a roll of her eyes. Her embarrassment seemed to have worn off. ‘Your father is incredibly interesting. And he’s young for his age. I can barely tell he’s in his sixties.’ She sipped her juice. ‘And, while we’re at it, I might as well tell you that by “occasionally” I actually mean at least every two weeks. More often if my schedule—and his—can manage it.’ She lifted her shoulders at the look on his face. ‘We enjoy each other’s company, Noah. There’s nothing wrong with that.’

All the blood seemed to drain from his body.

‘Ava,’ he said, his voice strangled. ‘Are you trying... Are you trying to tell me that you’re in a relationship with my father?’

CHAPTER FIVE

AVA STARED AT him for what felt like for ever. And then she choked back a laugh and used the opportunity.

‘I’m sorry, Noah,’ she said solemnly. ‘We didn’t want you to find out this way.’

His jaw dropped, and it took every bit of her self-control not to show her enjoyment.

‘But...but...how? Why?’

‘I don’t think I have to explain how,’ she said matter-of-factly. Man, she was really getting to use her acting skills today. ‘I mean, I know for a fact that you know how to kiss. And, sure, there’s some other stuff which I’d be happy to—’

‘Ava.’

His voice had taken on a quality Ava had never heard before.

‘Please do not allude to your sex life with my father.’

She bit her lip so hard she was afraid she’d draw blood. ‘We’re all adults, Noah.’

‘No, we’re not. You’re still a kid.’

He was angry now, and Ava tried not to let him thinking of her as a kid bother her.

‘You’ve been gone for a long time, Noah. I’m not a kid any more.’

‘My father,’ he repeated in a daze. ‘My father.’

‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘You asked me why earlier. I’ve already told you some of it. He’s interesting. And kind. And he’s got such a sweet heart. And an impressive—’

‘Do not finish that sentence.’

‘Why not?’ she asked innocently. ‘I was only going to say he has an impressive...’ she dragged out the pause for as long as she could ‘...personality.’

He stared at her. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

She contemplated whether she should just say yes, she was kidding him. But there was one more thing she wanted to say first...

‘You know, Noah, you not being at home has been really hard on your father. And, as your possible stepmother, I wanted—’

‘Ava!’ he barked, his expression stricken.

And, because she’d done what she wanted to, she grinned at him. ‘You are such a sucker, Giles.’

There was a long silence before his features relaxed. Only slightly though, she noted.

‘You were joking.’

‘I was.’

Another stretch of silence. ‘What made you think that joke would be funny?’

She laughed. ‘The entire time I kept it going?’

She laughed harder when he threw the empty juice bottle at her, and she caught it triumphantly.

‘You’re going to have to try better than that.’

‘Yeah, well, let me first get over the heart attack I’ve just had.’

She chuckled to herself as he prepared their food, still muttering, but when he brought over her plate—chicken, a portion of lasagne, potato salad, coleslaw—she gaped.

‘Who do you think you’re feeding? The South African army?’

‘You said you were hungry.’

‘Yeah, but I meant for a normal human-sized person.’ She dug into the meal anyway, almost hearing the food echo as it dropped into her empty stomach. ‘Thank you,’ she said gratefully.

‘Yeah, no problem.’

A companionable silence fell over them as they ate, and for the first time Ava realised how tired—and hungry—Noah must be. She saw the dark tint under his eyes, the slight creases around them.

‘You should go to bed,’ she said softly. ‘You look exhausted.’

‘Thanks.’

He gave her a small smile that had her heart flipping over.

‘You don’t look too great yourself.’

‘Ah, I’ve missed this insult-for-insult thing we’ve always had.’

‘Hmm...’ he said, non-committal, and took another bite of lasagne, watching her all the time.

She refused to shift in her seat. Refused to look away. Even though she desperately wanted to do both. Tension ticked up.

‘You didn’t say it before,’ he said after he’d swallowed.

‘What?’

‘That you missed me.’

‘What do you mean?’ Now she did shift. ‘It’s not just something you say when you see someone after a long time.’

‘It’s exactly the kind of thing you say when you see someone after a long time.’

‘Yes, well...’

She left it at that, unsure of what else to say. The conversation was wading into dangerous waters and she, for one, had no interest in swimming. She just wanted to stand safely in the sand and frolic on the beach. She just wanted to feel the sun on her skin and maybe put her toes in the water.

But swimming held no appeal to her.

‘Is it because—’

‘Noah,’ she interrupted with a half-smile. ‘We’ve been through enough today. I think we should probably leave this conversation for another time.’

He studied her, and again she refused to let him see how uncomfortable it made her.

‘Sure,’ he said, and then he nodded at her plate. ‘Are you done with that?’

Noah woke to a house that was significantly less festive than the one he’d gone to sleep in. But, he thought, as he took in the tinsel that now hung only over his fireplace—along with the stockings and the lights—and the significantly fewer Christmas-related items around the house, it was perfect.

He didn’t know what to say when he found Ava by his Christmas tree. She had tinsel over each shoulder, draped around her neck, too, and was taking some of the ornaments off the ridiculously overdone tree.

Just as he had the night before, he watched her. She was muttering to herself, occasionally bopping her head as if she were listening to music only she could hear. It was so homely it was almost enticing, and he had to step back, out of her range of view, to deal with how that made him feel.

He wasn’t interested in homely. He’d thought he’d once had homely—until he’d been old enough to realise the man he’d seen in his parents’ bedroom when he was younger hadn’t been his mother’s friend. It hadn’t been his father either. But by the time he’d been old enough to realise that his mother had passed away and his anger had seemed pointless.

Not that that had stopped the anger from finding a home, he thought, as he remembered the women who had come in and out of his life—of his father’s life—after his mother’s death. The women who’d never stayed long but had always left his father with that sad look on his face.

The same look his father had had when he’d confirmed that Noah’s mother had cheated on him the one time they’d spoken about it.

If that hadn’t put Noah off homely, his own attempt at it had taught him a lesson. A lesson his heart and his mind still hadn’t forgiven him for.

So what was wrong with him now? Why did he feel drawn to the image Ava was creating by that Christmas tree?

He’d been back all of two weeks. He’d been reunited with her all of twenty-four hours. Barely that. Maybe that was why he felt as if something were wrong. Because it was. There was no possible way he could want something he’d never wanted before after only two weeks. There was no possible way he could want it with a woman he’d only been back in touch with for barely twenty-four hours after seven years.

What about the eighteen years before that? And what about that kiss?

His spine stiffened. Ava had told him last night that she didn’t want to talk about the kiss. Not explicitly, but he’d got the picture. And he couldn’t blame her. The only reason he’d even brought it up was because he’d thought she’d want to talk about it.

But, no. It seemed they were going to pretend it hadn’t happened.

He took a moment to compose himself—it took longer than he would have liked—and then strolled into the living room.

‘Mrs Claus?’ He forced a cheer he didn’t feel into his voice. ‘Is that you?’

‘Why, yes, little elf, it is.’

She turned to him, eyes twinkling, and he was immediately drawn back into the memory he’d just tried to suppress...

‘Jaden is taking for ever.’

‘His speciality,’ Noah replied. ‘He and Monica are probably making out somewhere.’

Ava’s face twisted in disgust. ‘Why would you put that image in my head? I’m perfectly happy thinking about my brother as a monk.’

Noah snorted. ‘Jaden is not a monk.’

‘Stop it.’

‘You’re an adult now, Ava,’ he said with a smirk. ‘At least, almost.’

‘I’m eighteen.’

‘Like I said—almost an adult.’

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Just because I don’t want to hear about my brother’s sex habits doesn’t mean I’m not an adult.’

‘You’re eighteen.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, and you were such a kid when you were eighteen.’

He had been, he thought. He’d made all kinds of stupid decisions between the age of eighteen and now. Most notably falling hard and fast for a woman who had no intention of committing to him. Worse yet, a woman who had shown him he was at risk of following in his father’s footsteps.

‘We should probably head to the pools without him,’ Noah said after a few more minutes. ‘We don’t want to get there and have them turn us away.’

Ava nodded and walked ahead of him along the path to the pools. It was going to be thirty-eight degrees Celsius that day, and they’d decided—Noah, Jaden, Monica and Ava—to survive the heat by going to the natural rock pools near Noah’s house.

They weren’t private pools, but because they were situated in an ecologically sensitive area that the government only allowed twelve people access to per day. There were already four of them, so they’d got up extra early to take the short hike to the rock pools.

Or at least that had been the plan before Jaden hadn’t shown up.

‘You’d have thought he’d have told you he’d be late,’ Noah commented.

‘He doesn’t do things just because we think he should,’ Ava said with a sigh. ‘He told me last night that he’d meet us at the starting point. His excuse then was that he needed to fetch Monica.’

‘Why didn’t you go with him?’

‘Because he was meant to be spending the night at your house.’ She gave him a look. ‘Even though my brother is two years older than me, he still isn’t an adult.’

‘That lie was more for your parents,’ Noah said, automatically defending his friend, even though Jaden was the reason Ava had taken that jibe at him.

‘Yeah, well, he could have at least had the decency to pitch up on time.’

They didn’t speak for the rest of the trip. In fact the only communication they had with one another was when Ava missed a step on an incline and called out, and he pushed forward to help steady her.

His hands rested on her hips, just above her butt, and long after he’d let go his fingers could still feel the softness—the plumpness—of her there. It made him want her—which was ridiculous. She was Jaden’s sister. And he’d just dodged a massive bullet with Tiff. The last thing on his mind was wanting anyone—let alone the girl he’d once seen smell her armpits to test whether she needed to start wearing deodorant.

It was ridiculous, he thought again. Except his eyes dipped to the rounded curve of her butt in her cotton shorts. To her thighs, which were thick and strong and made him think things he shouldn’t be thinking about his best friend’s little sister.

It put him in a mood, which kept him silent until they reached the entrance of the pools and were told they were the first there.

‘Yes!’

They high-fived each other, and then Ava turned to the guard. ‘Is it okay for us to keep places for my brother and his girlfriend? They’re slower than us, so we went ahead to could get spots for all of us.’

She smiled widely at the man, and Noah watched as he blinked and then nodded. Sympathy pooled in his stomach. He didn’t think he’d be able to resist that smile either. It was the kind that could make anyone feel blinded. Combined with Ava’s naturally husky voice, its effect was potent.

But he had resisted that smile, he told himself. And he still did. All the time. In fact he barely noticed that it made her eyes crinkle. Or that it softened her features, making her look like some kind of mythical creature.

Man, what had Tiff done to him?

‘Noah?’

He blinked, his gaze zooming in on her.

‘You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?’

‘Er...yeah, of course I did.’

‘Liar.’

His lips curved. ‘You want to know whether this is a good spot to sit in.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘That’s a logical deduction. It’s not because you were listening to me.’ She tossed her head back. ‘So, is it?’

His smile widened. ‘It’s perfect.’

They set up the blankets and umbrellas they’d brought, but by the time they were done Jaden and Monica still hadn’t arrived. Neither had anyone else.

‘Screw this,’ Ava said after a moment. ‘I’m hot, I’ve walked further than I generally do most days, and I deserve a swim.’

She was pulling off her top and wriggling off her shorts before he could say anything to stop her. And by the time he could he found that his voice was gone. Stolen by how beautiful her body was.

She’s off-limits...she’s off-limits...she’s off-limits.

He repeated the words inside his head, over and over again, hoping it would drown out the other voice in his head pointing out how beautiful the brown skin of her body was against the white of her bikini. How the rounding of her breasts, her hips, was the stuff of fantasies. How they would be the stuff of his fantasies in the future.

She’s off-limits...she’s off-limits...she’s-off limits.

She gave him a smile he didn’t understand, and then she threw her clothes at him. The pile landed against his chest, his hands barely lifting in time to keep everything from falling to the ground. And then she turned and his heart hammered, his body tightening as he got a better view of the butt he’d been admiring earlier.

With one sly look over her shoulder, Ava ran and dived into the water.

It took all the time she was under the water for him to realise that she’d been trying to seduce him. But his mind rejected that explanation even as it pointed out all the ways her actions had been an attempt at seduction.

Before he knew it he was pulling off his T-shirt and following her into the water. When he emerged, he found himself a short distance from her.

‘Cooler now?’ he asked, surprised at how steady his voice was.

‘Never been cooler.’

Her eyes were twinkling, her expression teasing, but there was a seriousness there, too, somehow, and he wondered if that could be more seduction.

‘This isn’t in my head, is it?’ she asked him softly.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

She gave him a small smile. ‘So maybe we should keep it like that, then. We’ll pretend like you aren’t looking at me the way you are now. That I didn’t say anything about it—about us—at all.’ She paused. ‘We can pretend it didn’t happen—just like after the first time we kissed.’

‘You asked me—’

‘You could have said no,’ she interrupted him. ‘In fact, you should have said no. I’m your best friend’s sister. You had no business kissing me.’

‘I know.’ Somehow he found himself even closer to her.

‘Why would you want to be my first kiss, Noah?’

‘You asked me to be.’

‘And now I’ll always have the story of how my brother’s best friend kissed me for the first time.’

‘You were sixteen. Too old not to have been kissed.’

She laughed—low, husky—and it vibrated through his body. ‘Is there a timeline for that I don’t know about?’

‘Yes.’

‘Like the rules about who your first kiss should be with?’

‘Honestly, I don’t care.’ And in that moment Noah thought he’d lost his mind. ‘I don’t care about the rules and the ages.’

‘Because you wanted to kiss me.’

‘Yes.’

‘Just like you do now.’

He didn’t answer her. Only slid a hand around her waist and pulled her against him as their lips met.

CHAPTER SIX

‘WHAT?’ AVA ASKED, when the silence extended much too long for her liking. When the expression on Noah’s face went from easy to tight and the emotion rippling across his features made her stomach tremble.

‘Nothing.’ His voice was hoarse.

‘Are you okay?’ She dropped the ornament she held in her hands to the couch and moved forward. ‘Should I take you to the doctor? Back to the hospital?’

‘No.’ His voice was stronger now. ‘No,’ he said again. ‘I’m fine. I just got a little...distracted.’

The air moved more easily into her lungs. ‘By what? I thought you were about to have a heart attack.’

‘Sorry,’ he said. Still, she heard the strain. ‘This looks great, by the way. You didn’t have to do it.’

‘I know,’ she said, and picked up the ornament she’d dropped, putting it with the others. ‘But it was the least I could do after you took such great care of me and Zorro yesterday.’

He studied her, and as the seconds ticked by Ava tried not to wriggle under his gaze.

‘You couldn’t sleep, huh?’

She laughed, but the words jolted her. How had he known? ‘I slept fine.’

He arched a brow.

She hissed out a breath. ‘Fine. I slept okay for the first bit, and then I woke up and my mind started thinking about everything that happened and everything that’s going to happen and I couldn’t go back to sleep.’ She forced a smile. ‘At least it’s the weekend.’

‘Hell of a time to have to think about your house burning down.’

She shrugged, though sadness wove through her. ‘I haven’t had the heart to check.’

‘I’ll call the station.’

Ava continued removing the ornaments from the Christmas tree while he went outside to make the call. As she did so, she wondered why she hadn’t told him that her house had been at the bottom of the list of things she was worried about. At the top of the list was whether Noah was okay and whether Zorro was.

Because early that morning she’d realised again how much danger she’d put him in by having him go back for Zorro. The smoke could have had a worse effect than she’d imagined. Because, of course, as that thought had occurred to her she’d done an internet search on smoke inhalation and found out the most horrific things. Things even that TV show hadn’t prepared her for.

Which had got her thinking about Zorro. And how, though she hated it that she’d put Noah in danger, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. She’d thought about all the times she’d cried and Zorro had curled up near her. Not anywhere close to her body—he was still a cat—but close enough that she’d understood he was offering her as much comfort as a cat could.

She’d thought about how he’d helped her stave off loneliness when it had threatened to overwhelm her. When thoughts of how much she needed to change had kept her up at night. When the hopelessness that she wouldn’t be able to change had done the same. As had the fear that no one would ever love her. Zorro had kept her calm through it all.

And then, of course, she’d thought about the wedding. And the fact that she was being forced to participate in it when it was the last thing—the very last thing—in the entire world she wanted to do.

She was fully aware of the resentment that had come along with that thought. Fully aware that it had spilled over too many times during the planning of Leela’s bachelorette party, which—thankfully—was now behind her. She had worried that during these last two weeks her resentment would spill over in ways she wouldn’t know how to clean up.

‘Well, the fire is still ongoing,’ Noah said as he walked back into the room. ‘But the wind’s shifted, which means the direction of the fire has changed.’