A Risk Worth Taking

He leaned against the bike as she asked, “How come you went to see the play at that age? Were you studying it at school?”

A gust of wind lifted her hair like a dark cloud around her. The impatient way she tucked it behind her ear suggested she had no idea how sexy it looked.

“My mom’s an English teacher. She dragged me to every Shakespeare performance within a hundred miles of where we lived.”

“Tell me about it! My dad’s an actor. My little sister’s first words were—” she put on a baby’s lisp “—’Ith thith a dagger I thee before me?’”

He laughed and she joined in. Not that her performance had been that funny, but a weird energy fizzed between them and laughter was a way to express it or release it. Or something. Hell, must be jet lag heightening his senses and jumbling his thoughts this way.

“So where did the bike come from?”

“A rental. I picked it up at the airport once I found out no plane or bus would get me here in time.”

She was only about five foot four, but she gave the impression of being taller. She had a nice body—compact, curvy and toned.

“Hey, Adam!” Hearing his name shouted, he glanced away to find his brother-in-law gesticulating from the beach. Adam waved, then turned back to her. “Sorry, Cressa, gotta go. Time for photos. It was real nice meeting you.”

She raised a hand in farewell. “See you later, cuzzie bro.”

He’d begun to leave, but he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “‘Cuzzie bro’?”

She smiled. “It’s a term we use in New Zealand for a loose family connection. You’re one of us now.”

As he walked away, Adam didn’t know whether that warmed or alarmed him.

CHAPTER TWO

OVER THE NEXT HOUR, Sass and Jake introduced Adam to all their guests and he became quite giddy, repeating the same conversations again and again. Yeah, a great flight. Yeah, a little jet-lagged. No, finding the place had been easy—the bike had a GPS. Yeah, the New Zealand roads were pretty different from the long straight Texas roads, but he’d had a great ride up. The country sure was pretty. He’d be here a month. No, he didn’t see himself getting bored stuck out in Aroha Bay—what a beautiful spot.

The Kiwis were all very friendly, but he couldn’t find Cressa, and tiredness was kicking in fast. He hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep on the flight, squeezed into economy, with his legs folded up around his ears. The continual glasses of champagne now being pressed into his hand weren’t helping, either, as the reality of what he’d committed himself to began to sink in. Galahad instincts had kept him buoyed on the flight over, but here, standing on the beach at the end of a dead-end road, he was beginning to realize it would be just him and Mom for four weeks. For nine years everyone in the Walker family had led their own, very dissimilar lives. What the hell would living under the same roof again be like?

Even worse, what if Mom wanted to “talk”? Such an awful lot had gone unsaid over the years that, in his opinion, would be best left unsaid. The past was a place he didn’t like to visit, even as a tourist. Unfortunately, one of the big drawbacks with women was they usually insisted on talking things out. Mom used to cope by using denial and drink, but now that she was sober….

The one quality all the Walkers had perfected over the years, however, was the art of making everything seem fine, so Adam put his doubts aside as he laughed and chatted and took photos and gave his mom and sis hugs, and everyone smiled to meet such a happy family.

At one point, Sass pulled him behind a big tree where no one could see them.

“Oh, Adam, I can’t tell you what this means to me.”

He was alarmed to notice tears well. “Hey, don’t cry about it. I’m happy to hang out here and make sure Mom is okay. How’s she doing?”

Sass smiled. “She’s been great these past couple of months. Staying with us in New Zealand has helped. All her old routines are broken, and as you can tell—” she motioned toward the waters of the bay, which were turning silver-blue in the late-afternoon sun “—there aren’t any stores around to buy alcohol.”

“Great. Well, I’ll hold fort for the next month. I know you’ll be away for five weeks, but I gotta be back by then. Mom’ll just have to go it alone for a few days.”

Sass hugged him. “She’ll be fine. I’m so sorry I twisted your arm into flying over, but when the cottage came up in Australia—”

“Yeah, I know. Right on the most perfect surf beach where the boys can learn to surf bigger waves. You’ve already explained several times. Although why the hell you’re taking Jake’s bad boys with you—but hey, it’s your honeymoon.”

She laughed. “What can I say? Surfers are crazy and I simply couldn’t disappoint them all.”

“No worries. I’m here now. It’ll be fine.”

He sounded confident, but Sass, damn it, was on to him in a flash. “What is it?” she asked.

“Nothing. Jeez, Sass, nothing. Well, nothing major. I just sorta wonder what Mom and I will find to talk about, that’s all.”

Sass gazed at him for a second. Her voice was gentle as she said, “It’s different now that she’s sober. She’s the mom I remember from when I was a little girl. You were probably too young to recall.”

“Yeah?” Adam considered this. At least, he tried to. Jet lag and champagne were not conducive to thinking much at all. “Well, good.” Sass was eyeing him thoughtfully, which worried him. “Look, we’ll be just fine. I wasn’t thinking straight for a minute. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay,” she said in that tone he knew meant she was already sorting out solutions. He’d been on the receiving end of her solutions too often in the past.

“I mean it, Sass. Leave it.”

She gave him that smile he recognized all too well. Talk on. I’m not listening. But before he could make a stronger protest, Sass squeezed his arm. “I’d better get back to my guests.”

As they stepped around the tree and Sass disappeared to socialize, luck shone down on him. There was Cressa, standing in a group of people, her back to him. Even though no one else had yet noticed him, something made Cressa turn slowly around, and their eyes met.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.” She had the most amazing smile. “Come over and meet my family.”

She made a space for him beside her and he could smell her perfume. Light, pretty and a bit spicy.

“This is my mum, Deirdre.” She gestured to a tall, dignified woman in a cream suit.

“Nice to meet you, Deirdre.”

She smiled, but her eyes x-rayed him in a single glance. “Adam. I hadn’t realized you two had already met.”

“Yeah, over by my bike.”

“Ah, of course.”

Again that laser stare. Adam fought the urge to check if his fly was undone.

“And this is George, my dad,” Cressa said.

Her dad was tall, with strong features, and Adam figured he must have Maori ancestry. That would explain Cressa’s sensational hair.

“An actor, I believe,” said Adam.

George feigned astonishment. “You’ve heard of me in Houston?” He placed a hand across his heart and bowed his head. “I’m honored.”

“Oh, Dad, stop kidding around. And these are my sisters, Juliet, Katherine, Portia and Desdemona.”

Adam blinked. They were as overwhelming in looks as in names. Juliet, Portia and Desdemona were all fair like their mother. He tried to sort them out. Juliet, sleek bob. Desdemona, long curls. Portia, pixie cut. Katherine and Cressa were dark like their father, but Katherine’s hair was short and curly. Their eyes and skin tones were also different. The only thing they all shared was the same strong nose. Adam found it rather cute, but he bet they hated it.

He must have appeared stunned, because George laughed. “The Curtis women en masse are glorious but overwhelming, I know. Stupidly, we forgot to bring a camera today, and I’d love a shot of all my daughters together, especially looking so beautiful.” He pointed to the camera in Adam’s hand. “Would you take one of us all?”

“Gladly,” Adam said, and raised the camera. “Smile.”

Cries of “Cheese” and “Whiskey” arose from the sisters as they squeezed together, and Cressa laughed, her face full of affection as she regarded her siblings.

“Hang on,” said Adam. “I’ll shoot a few more to make sure.” He fiddled with the zoom, clicked a couple more times. “Perfect.”

“What about you?” Cressa asked Adam. “Do you come from a big family?”

“Nope. Just one sister, one brother, one mother.”

Had he just sounded wistful? Man, he must be jet-lagged.

“Lucky you,” sighed Desdemona. “More time in the bathroom.”

“As if you needed it, Des. You always used to hog it,” said Juliet.

“And what do you do, Adam?” Deirdre asked.

He felt as if he was just about to fail an exam. “This and that. Mostly I’m involved in construction.”

“Oh.”

Amazing how much one small word could convey.

“You’re like Cressa,” Des interjected. “She doesn’t stay in any job for long, either. She’s a flibbertigibbet.”

“I’m not,” said Cressa. “I’m versatile.”

That set her sisters off.

“Very versatile,” Juliet agreed. “Last month you were a youth hostel manager down in Hokitika.”

“And before that you were working in a ski shop in Queenstown,” said Portia.

“Don’t forget the bar in Wellington and the stint as a tourist guide in Rotorua,” Des added.

George chuckled and said to Adam, “To think she very nearly qualified as an accountant, and look at her now.”

She looked pretty good to him. Deirdre, however, didn’t seem nearly so amused, especially when Cressa turned to Adam and commented, “They just don’t understand that people like us don’t enjoy being trapped in the same old, same old, do we? We thrive on change, aye?”

It wasn’t quite like that for Adam, but this was so not the time to put her right, especially since, with her mother watching, she was seeking support. “Sure. So what are you doing now?”

“I’m a stuntwoman. Dad got me a job on a TV pilot, The Valkyries. It’s got motorbike chases and broadsword battles between characters in leather gear. All quite mad but loads of fun.”

“No kidding. I used to do motorcycle stunts, too.” The words just slipped out.

Cressa’s incredible eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah, but years ago,” he said, playing down the experience, “and mainly as a touring show. Very different.”

This caused another clamor as all the sisters began asking questions and Deirdre’s smile became more and more taut. To his relief, he caught sight of his mother chatting to another group of people across the lawn, and he held up a hand with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, but I’ve barely spoken to my mom, and need to say hi to her properly. Nice meeting you all.”

BY THE TIME EVENING FELL and the dancing started, Adam was feeling seriously spaced out. He found he had to concentrate to catch what people were saying. Kiwis spoke so damn fast that keeping up was difficult. His body was craving sleep and he was too befuddled now to calculate what time it was back in Texas. Yesterday morning or some such. How great, therefore, when Cressa appeared at his elbow. It was colder now and she was wearing a bright red jacket. Bold with strong lines, it suited her.

“Will you dance with me?”

“With pleasure.”

He put his camera down on one of the tables and swept her into his arms. The band was playing “Moon River,” probably because of the full moon now laying a silver track across the harbor. Adam was glad the number was a slow one. Drifting like this on the grass, under the trees and stars, a pliant woman pressed against him, it felt good. He hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Cressa again before now. He’d only seen her from afar, chatting animatedly in different groups, seeming to know everyone. At one stage he’d spotted her in deep conversation with Jake and Sass. They’d glanced several times in his direction and he’d wondered what they were talking about. Nothing bad, clearly, for here she was, in his arms.

Adam closed his eyes, letting his tired mind relax and his senses take over. He liked her perfume and the softness of her hair. Dreamily, he wound it around and between his fingers. He loved the contrast of the cold night air and the warmth of her body, and his hand slipped up under the hem of her jacket to stroke the sensuous lines of her back. It would be so sweet to melt into the shadows with her and make out. Slow and easy. Almost trancelike, he danced her to the edge of the crowd, toward the sheltering darkness of trees. He’d been so serious for so long, and Cressa reminded him of what he used to be like.

Tonight he was in a foreign land, among strangers. Tomorrow she’d be gone and he would refocus, get back to his studies. Hell, there was absolutely nothing else to do in Aroha Bay. No distractions, just him and Mom. He’d probably ace the exam, given the empty weeks stretching ahead.

The thought made him smile as he leaned down to rub his cheek, then his lips, on the top of her head. That felt good, too. She raised her face to his, but just as he was about to let his mouth sink onto her beautiful lips, he saw Deirdre only a few feet away, observing the dancers. The way Cressa’s mother wasn’t looking at them as she sipped her wine let him know she knew exactly what was going on. He swung around with the music so that his back was to her, but already she had knocked some of that delicious, drugged dreaminess out of him.

Cressa smiled up at him. She appeared so full of mischief and wicked promise that he couldn’t help smiling back. One night with her would be amazing.

“I’ve a surprise for you.”

“Yeah?” He could hear the husky, lustful hope in his voice and wondered if she did.

“I hope you won’t mind. Sass said you’d be delighted. Your mum knows about it and she says that it’ll be wonderful.”

Suspicion replaced lust. “Really?” His instincts had spotted danger, but his mind couldn’t seem to keep up. “What?”

“I told Jake and Sass I’m up here on location for the next few weeks, and Sass invited me to stay. Now I’ll be around to show you the country. Won’t that be fun?”

With alarm bells going off in his head, Adam jerked backward, tripped over the root of a tree and stumbled, knocking the glass of red wine out of Deirdre’s hand and all down her cream suit.

CHAOS ENSUED as people immediately crowded around, making helpful comments while trying to wipe down the suit. Cressa saw Adam looking wretched as he apologized over and over. She was relieved when Jake carried him off, ostensibly to give a hand bringing out the cake. Adam’s mum, Alicia, whisked Deirdre off to the sleep-out to find her a change of clothes. Then came speeches, more champagne and the cutting of the cake.

Through it all, Adam never once glanced her way. Cressa couldn’t understand it. When they were dancing, she’d been so sure he was as attracted to her as she was to him. He couldn’t have missed the magnetism between them. Or had she really misread the signals so badly?

Over and over again in her mind she replayed the shock on his face when she’d told him she’d be staying. Saw again the panic in his eyes. What the hell? She had to find Sass, tell her staying here was off. But it wasn’t easy. The bride and groom were constantly surrounded by people.

Cressa wandered among the tables now showing the wreckage of carousing. Canapes had dried up; empty glasses littered surfaces. Used plates and napkins lay strewn across the tables and some had fallen onto the grass. The dregs of champagne sat flat in the bottles. The celebration was over and her sour feelings about weddings had only been reinforced. For a while she must have been carried away by a misdirected, false sense of romanticism. What a fool. She glanced over to Adam, now standing on the far edge of the lawn. He looked gorgeous and unobtainable. What a waste.

How had she read him so wrong?

Then, to crown her sense of dislocation, she watched as Sass mounted the deck of the sleep-out and lifted her bouquet. Laughing and jostling, all the women gathered below. Des, Portia and Katherine were right in front. Typical. Cressa wouldn’t be caught dead in that silly gaggle. Someone started a countdown. “Ten. Nine…”

She spotted Adam’s camera lying on the table where he’d left it when they went to dance. She turned it on and flicked through the photos he’d taken of her family. In the darkness of the night, they glowed in bright colors, surprisingly good. Despite her current mood, Cressa smiled. They would all want copies.

“Six. Five…”

She continued clicking on the photos and froze. This one was of her. He’d zoomed in for a close-up of her face. She’d been glancing sideways, laughing at her sisters. The wind had caught her hair, lifting it behind her.

“Two… One!”

And the bouquet, caught by a gust, sailed over all the guests to smack Cressa squarely in the back of her head.

CHAPTER THREE

THE NEXT DAY began chaotically. The Curtis family overslept, after having talked and laughed into the small hours of the morning. The rushed start meant hasty cups of tea and battles for the bathroom. Cressa’s sisters tripped over one another as they crammed clothes into bags before realizing they’d picked up the wrong bras, hair straighteners and phone chargers. This led to frantic repacking, which was followed by an uproarious brunch at the marina.

Cressa leaned back, cradling her coffee, letting the words wash around her. The sun was warm on her back and shone on the dark and tawny heads of her family. Their faces were animated, hands gesturing to emphasize words. With a teacher mother and an actor father, they’d all learned to make their points forcibly. She smiled, her world complete.

One sister, one brother, one mother.

He’d looked wistful, which was at odds with his bad-boy persona. So many contradictions. She was, she had to admit, intrigued. Images of Adam, memories of his arms around her, his lips in her hair, kept coming back to her and filling her with anticipation. Then she’d recall his look of horror.

“How is Brian?” Her mother’s question pulled her back to the present.

Far from playing the jilted groom, Brian had stayed frustratingly faithful and friendly.

“Oh, he’s fine. Working mad hours as always.” She was careful to sound blasé.

“I thought he must be,” said Deirdre. “We haven’t spoken to him for a few weeks now, have we, George?”

“Not since he dropped by with that particularly good bottle of wine.” Her dad smiled, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the wine or the pleasure of seeing Brian. Cressa might not have gone through with the wedding, but Brian had somehow remained a fixture in her family.

“I caught up with him last Friday,” Juliet interjected. “Mike brought him home for dinner. He’s looking great but tired. Did you know he’s presenting at the conference Mike’s gone to this weekend?” She eyed Cressa with a touch of accusation. “He mentioned he hasn’t seen much of you, Cressa.”

What could she say?

“Filming’s busy,” she replied.

But Des was already leaning forward, arms crossed on the table. “Why should she? They’re not an item anymore.”

“He still loves her, despite everything,” Katherine said. “Cressa’s mad not to see how lucky she is.”

“But if she doesn’t love him—” Des countered.

“What’s not to love?” Juliet said. “He’s the most eligible bachelor around.”

“It’s none of our business,” said Mum, as she always did just before going on to deliver her opinion. “However, Cressa, you do need someone steady—if not Brian, then someone like him. Not some wild tearaway, here today, gone tomorrow.”

Cressa glanced at her sharply, but Deirdre’s sunglasses rendered her face impassive.

Looking mischievous, George covered his wife’s hand with his. “Isn’t that what your parents said when an impecunious actor strolled into your life?”

They all laughed, then Portia ended the discussion. “We should all butt out. Cressa can lead her life any way she likes after what she’s been through.”

The uncomfortable silence was broken when their father stood. “I’ll get the bill. Then we should hit the road.”

Cressa felt squeezed to death by the time her whole family had hugged her before climbing into the van and taking off, hands waving out all the windows. She laughed, waving back with both arms till the vehicle rounded the corner, then she picked up her helmet and made her way to her motorbike. As she switched on the engine, she was aware of a tingle of excitement.

How well her mother knew her. A wild tearaway, here today and gone tomorrow, was exactly what she wanted. She just had to convince him it was what he wanted, too. First, however, she had a phone call to make, and then she was going to drop in on her cousin and his wife. Rob and Moana had gotten to know Sass extremely well, and Cressa wanted as much information about the Walkers as possible. As a Valkyrie, she’d learned never to go into battle without being fully armed.

THE SUN WAS SETTING when Adam opened the door in answer to her knock, mop in one hand, bucket in the other. Cressa suppressed a smile. With his dangerous looks, he should be toting a weapon, not a mop. His hair, as black and glossy as the feathers of an eagle, fell thick and straight down each side of his face. He was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt that made his olive skin appear more tanned than ever. Moana had said his father was Cherokee. Cressa liked that. It made him somehow even more exotic and exciting.

“Hey, good to see you,” he said, stepping back to let her enter. “Just finished getting the house in order.”

So that’s how he intended to play it. His manner was impeccably pitched at the “polite acquaintance” level. As if he had never run his hands up and down her back, causing her to shiver with anticipation. Okay, she could play along—for now.

“Hi.” She stepped inside the kitchen. The smell of roast chicken filled the air, and pots were boiling on the stove, though no one seemed to be attending to them. “You didn’t have to clean up for me, you know.”

He smiled, and his teeth were very white. American dentistry, no doubt. His slanted cheekbones gave his smile a wicked edge.

“I didn’t.” He sounded apologetic. “I did it because Mom ordered me to.”

Cressa laughed. The warrior still taming to his mother’s orders. She liked that, too.

“Was there a lot to do? You guys should have taken us up on our offer to help.”

Adam dismissed the idea with a wave of one lean hand. “It was no trouble. Rob and Moana came over in the morning, and with the boys here, too, we got most of it done in no time. Sass was commander in chief. Bossy but efficient. To be honest, when they all left at lunchtime, it was a relief.”

“Sounds like Juliet. Being the eldest, she thinks of herself more as mother than sister. So, where am I sleeping?”

“Mom’s been living in the sleep-out these past couple of months—Sass put her there to give her some privacy. So you’ll be in the house with me. You’ve got a choice, but I expect you’d like Sass and Jake’s room. It’s the biggest and has a double bed. The twins’ room is another option, but it has bunk beds and is a mess.”

He pushed open the door. “Here you are.”

But the sight of the double bed, the almost tangible sense of intimacy, had her backing out.

“You know, I’ll take the boys’ room.”

“Sure,” said Adam in his easy Texan way, but she’d seen his curious glance. She covered up with an explanation.

“That’s where I always used to be. I haven’t slept in the bunks for years. Now I won’t have to fight sisters for the top one.”

“You’ve been here before?” Adam was surprised.

“Yeah, we used to have family holidays here when I was a kid. That was how Jake got to rent it now, and why he and Sass invited me to stay. Jake thought I might like to enjoy the place one last time before the resort goes in.”

She felt sad at the thought of the house being taken away so the eco-resort could be built, but as Jake had said with a wry expression, it was time for other people to share the beauty of Aroha Bay. To have this final opportunity to experience the serenity of the bay was wonderful, and she’d have leaped at the chance, anyway. Adam just happened to be a bonus.