Her Kind of Trouble

Even though Vivian had been in Melbourne for over two months now, she hadn’t caught up with her sister nearly enough to make up for the ten years Vivian had spent in the U.S.—something Vivian intended to change now that she was home for good. Hence today’s lunch date.

“It was no big deal. This place is pretty amazing.”

Vivian looked around, trying to see her new workplace through her sister’s eyes. Once a factory, the building had been converted into studios and offices in the seventies. She and Robin had managed to snag the penthouse studio, a cavernous space with age-stained floorboards, rough brick walls that had been painted white and a vast wall of metal-framed windows that flooded the room with natural light, which was one of the many reasons she and Robin had gone gaga over it when they’d found it five weeks ago.

“It’s working out really well.”

Robin had been a friend and occasional work collaborator in L.A., but she’d still had her doubts when he proposed they join forces when he heard she, too, was planning to head home to Australia. All reservations had been blown away the first time they’d sat down to truly hammer out the details of their partnership, however, and from that day she’d been pinching herself that she’d gotten so lucky.

“So you’re settled, then?” Jodie asked.

There was an odd intensity to her gaze as she waited for Vivian’s answer.

“I’m well and truly, officially home,” Vivian said. “No way could I face another transPacific move. Besides, I missed you guys too much.”

Jodie’s two boys, Sam and Max, were nearly four and five, her mum and dad were getting older... It had been time to return, and Vivian didn’t regret it for a second, even if she did miss some aspects of her life in L.A. Her friends, the opportunities. Her very cool apartment in Los Feliz.

“Good. Because I like being able to do this instead of making do with Skype,” Jodie said.

Vivian checked her watch. “You hungry yet? Robin doesn’t need me until after lunch, so we can raid the buffet and go sit on the roof if you like?”

“That sounds suitably inner-city groovy and exciting for a mum of two from Balwyn.” Jodie rubbed her hands together in comic anticipation.

“I might have a couple of scarves and handbags to throw your way, too,” Vivian stage-whispered as they headed for a trestle table laden with food.

“Oh, goodie.”

Vivian had been keeping her sister supplied with a steady stream of fashion and accessories for years. When she was in L.A., Vivian had packed up her finds every month and shipped them to Australia, causing Jodie to joke she was “dressed by Vivian.”

“My God. How are you not the size of a house?” Jodie asked as she considered the array of food.

Sandwiches, subs, doughnuts, cake, lasagna warming in a bain-marie, three different types of salads. Vivian handed her sister a plate.

“I don’t eat dinner most of the time. And usually this sucker has been gutted by the time I get here and I get a sandwich with someone else’s fingerprints on it, and the slushy salad from the bottom of the bowl.”

“Ew. Even I would lose weight in that case.” Jodie patted her well-padded hips self-consciously.

“Jodie, if I ever have children, I will pray to the gods that I look half as good as you do,” Vivian said. “Now, dig in before these vultures break for lunch.”

They both loaded up their plates, then Vivian led her sister upstairs to the rooftop, an inhospitable concrete expanse she and Robin were attempting to humanize with a few deck chairs and potted plants.

They grabbed a chair each and chatted easily while eating—Jodie catching up Vivian on Max and Sam’s latest exploits, Vivian filling in her sister on the challenges of launching a fashion styling and photography business.

“So who is the shoot for today, then?” Jodie asked as she finished the last of her carrot cake.

“Fairbank and Rose,” Vivian said, naming one of Australia’s most prominent and exclusive department store chains.

Jodie’s eyes widened. “Is that an ongoing thing?”

“It’s an audition. We’ve got a proposal in with them, and this catalogue shoot is the first stage. I guess you could say we’re dating, but no one is ready to commit yet.”

“They’ll be down on one knee, begging you to marry them in a matter of days,” Jodie predicted.

“I should record that and play it back while I sleep,” Vivian joked. “On to more important matters. What would Sam love for his birthday?”

Her youngest nephew was turning four on the weekend, and Vivian wanted to get him something memorable and fun.

“Anything that references monkeys in any way will go over a treat,” Jodie said. “Also, anything related to pirates. If you can find a pirate monkey, you’ll have hit pay dirt.”

“Pirates and monkeys. That should be enough to get me started.”

Jodie set her plate on the ground and dusted off her skirt. She’d given up her work as an accountant when Max was born, and usually she spent the day in jeans and sweaters, but today she’d clearly gone to a bit of trouble, pairing a short-sleeved cashmere turtleneck with an Asian-print skirt Vivian had sent her.

“I wanted to ask you something important, Viv.”

She looked so serious that sudden dread clutched at Vivian’s stomach. “Okay. Should I be sitting down for this?”

“You’re already sitting down.”

“Good point. Then do I need a box of tissues?”

Jodie smiled. “I really hope not.”

Then Vivian twigged. “Oh, my God, you’re pregnant again!”

Another niece or nephew. Fantastic. And this time she would be here to share the whole experience. She leaned forward to hug her sister but Jodie fended her off with a laugh.

“Will you calm down and let me get a word in sideways? I’m not pregnant. But you’re kind of on the right track. Jason and I have been talking lately, and we realized that now that we have Max and Sam we need to stop living like kids and plan for the future.”

Vivian blinked. She couldn’t think of a single couple who were more grounded, sensible and grown-up than Jodie and Jason. They were both accountants, for Pete’s sake, they managed their finances down to the cent, they had two children, a mortgage, a dog and a family wagon. How much more adult could a person get?

“Sweetie, if you and Jason consider yourselves kids, then I am officially an embryo. No, less than that, I’m the hopeful, horny glint in someone’s eye.”

“It might look like that from the outside, but we don’t have life or disability insurance.... And we haven’t thought about who we’d like to look after the boys if something happened to us.”

Vivian stared at her sister, wondering if she was misinterpreting the hopeful expression on Jodie’s face. Surely she wasn’t asking if Vivian would be willing to step in if Max and Sam needed her to...?

“Jason and I had a big talk about it, and as much as we both love our parents, we think the boys would be better off with someone younger. Dad’s slowing down a lot now, and Jason’s mum adores the kids, but she has a bit of a short fuse when they’re being rowdy. So we wondered how you would feel about being named as guardian to Max and Sam. In case anything, you know, happened.”

Wow. Just...wow.

Vivian blinked away the hot rush of tears. She couldn’t believe this. That her sister—and Jason—trusted her so much. Sure, she knew she’d done a lot to rehabilitate her reputation as the crazy, flighty sister over the years, but for Jodie to trust her with her beloved children...

“Are those happy tears or oh-my-God-get-me-out-of-here-I’m-so-freaked-out tears?” Jodie asked.

“These are happy tears. And the answer is yes. Times a bazillion. I would crawl over broken glass for those boys, and I would be honored to be their guardian,” Vivian said earnestly.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

She was having trouble choking back a wellspring of emotion. “Jodie...I want you to know this means a lot to me. I will not let you down. I will do whatever it takes to make sure Sam and Max are happy and healthy, that they never want for anything.”

“Should anything happen to me and Jason,” Jodie amended with a twinkle in her eye.

“Right. Of course,” Vivian added hastily. “Of course.”

Jodie laughed outright. “Wait till I tell Jason you were ready to drive over and pick the kids up straight away.”

Vivian smiled sheepishly. “An enthusiastic guardian is a good guardian, right?”

“Absolutely. I hope Seth is as happy as you are. I’ll feel so much better having this all settled.”

Vivian frowned. “Seth?”

“Sorry, I should probably explain that, shouldn’t I? We want the two of you to be there for the boys. A male and female influence.”

“Right. Good plan,” Vivian said, even though she was privately boggled at her sister’s choice. Being based overseas, she’d seen Seth only a handful of times in the past ten years, but the family grapevine had kept her up-to-date on the headlines in his life. She knew, for example, that he’d given up on the band seven years ago and had been bumming around in various jobs in the nightclub and bar scene ever since. She knew that he was still a total pants man, showing up with a new girlfriend every six months, without fail. She also knew from the few times they’d been in the same room that he was still charming and cocky and sexy—but none of those characteristics were what she would have chosen for the man who would be guardian to her children.

But they weren’t her children, they were Jodie and Jason’s, and even though it almost killed her to bite her tongue, Vivian did. If they thought he would make a good role model and parental stand-in, then she would bow to their superior judgment. After all, they knew him much better than she did.

“How did he, um, react?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. Jason’s seeing him tonight after work. He loves the kids, though, so I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. Which is probably just as well, since he’s going to be a father himself, soon.”

Vivian nearly fell off her chair. “What?”

When did this happen? And how come she hadn’t heard about it earlier? Surely if Seth had settled down with one woman long enough to get her pregnant, her sister would have considered it gossip-worthy?

A strange feeling gripped her. A little like vertigo, but not. In her secret heart of hearts, she’d kept a casual eye on Seth, ensuring she knew enough, but not too much about his life. Not because she was interested in him romantically, God forbid, but because he was the male approximation of her on Jason’s side of the family—the younger sibling, a bit of a screwup, never one to color within the lines. In a strange way, he’d become the benchmark for her own success—or not—over the years. As long as he was still single, it was okay that things hadn’t worked out with Franco and she was alone again. As long as Seth was still floating around, trying to find “his” thing, it was okay for her to be doing the same—although that hadn’t been an issue for her for a while now.

But now he was in a relationship, having a kid...? Suddenly she felt left behind. She’d been so sure she’d be the first one to settle down and start a family.

“We found out about it just last week. Personally, I think it’s because he worked out that if he’s going to be hitting me up for babysitting duties, he should probably let me know there’s a niece or nephew on the way.”

Vivian chose her words carefully. “So, have you met his girlfriend?”

“Oh, she’s not his girlfriend. This is Seth, remember? I think they were friends with benefits for a while and she got pregnant, yada, yada.”

“How’s he coping with that?” She honestly couldn’t imagine Seth getting up to do a late-night feed or changing a diaper.

“You know, pretty well.” Jodie nodded thoughtfully. “As Jason said, he’s manning up. He’s been to Lola’s doctors’ appointments and he’s doing all he can to make sure she’s got what she needs.”

“Well. Good for him.” Although, really, it was the bare minimum that should be expected of a man who had gone halves in a baby. Even accidentally. Mind, there were plenty of baby daddies who ran for the hills, so Vivian figured Seth deserved a couple of elephant stamps for effort.

“So, have you met Lola?” She was starting to feel like Mrs. Crab Apple, the gossipy neighbor, but she couldn’t deny her curiosity.

“Yeah. She’s a nice kid.” Jodie kept her face absolutely straight, but Vivian didn’t miss the implication.

“How old is she, exactly?” she asked, not sure whether to be amused or exasperated. Honestly, Seth was practically a caricature of himself.

“Twenty-four. Give or take.”

Vivian blinked.

“It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure,” Jodie said, almost but not quite smothering a smile.

Vivian didn’t bother trying. “Hoo yeah.”

“You can tease him about it at Sam’s birthday this weekend. He will love that.”

“I bet he will.” She grinned, thinking about how much fun it would be needling him. “So, do you have any paperwork I need to sign to get my hands on these kids of yours or what?”

“Not yet. We’ll talk to our lawyer next week, though, so I’ll let you know.”

Vivian caught her sister’s hand, the easy smile fading from her lips. She wanted—needed—her sister to know that this was a big deal for her.

“Thanks for trusting me, Jodie. I won’t let you guys down.”

“I know, sweetie. That’s why I’m asking you.”

They hugged, and the warmth of her sister’s arms was the best thing Vivian had felt in a long time.

Yep, it was damned good to be home.

* * *

SETH PACED IN front of the clinic, checking his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Lola was late again.

Even though she hadn’t responded to any of the other messages he’d left, he dialed her number, rubbing his temples. He stopped in his tracks when she actually picked up. Hallelujah.

“Hi, Seth. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier but I was at the checkout and there was such a huge queue behind me, I didn’t want to hold everyone up by talking,” Lola said, her Yorkshire accent more evident over the phone.

Checkout? Queue? She was shopping, instead of turning up for her thirty-six-week checkup?

Unbelievable.

Although, considering it was Lola, only too believable. To his eternal frustration.

“Lola. I’m at Dr. Mancini’s. Where are you?” He did his best to keep the impatience out of his voice, but wasn’t certain he pulled it off. They’d learned a few weeks ago that their baby was in the breech position, and this scan had been scheduled to see if the baby had corrected his or her position.

In other words, it was bloody important.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot. I heard about this amazing warehouse sale for baby furniture, and... Well, I forgot. Can we reschedule?”

Seth gave a silent sigh. In any other woman, he’d blame Lola’s lapse of memory on pregnancy hormones, but the truth was that she’d always been a bit flaky. Forgetful, more inclined to rub a crystal to get rid of a headache than take a painkiller, and absolutely hopeless with money. She also wasn’t great at thinking through the repercussions of her actions, or planning ahead.

“I’ll see if they can reschedule us and call you back with the time.”

“Oh, you’re waiting for me? I’m so sorry.”

Of course he was waiting for her. He came to all her appointments. Where did she think he was?

He bit back his irritation. There was no point getting frustrated with Lola. Her feelings would be hurt, and then he’d get the silent treatment for days.

“I’ll call you in five.” He hung up and went to talk to the receptionist. She was very understanding, managing to find a spot for Lola the following day, then he called Lola and passed on the details.

“Why don’t you set up a reminder on your phone for tomorrow morning?” he suggested.

“I’m not stupid, Seth. There’s no need to talk to me as though I’m a child.”

Dear God, not the don’t-treat-me-like-a-child argument again.

“I was just making a suggestion. If you don’t think it has any merit, feel free to ignore it,” he said, attempting to defuse the situation.

Too late, Lola was off and running. For the next ten minutes he listened as she enumerated her achievements—leaving her home in the United Kingdom to come here on her own two years ago, being promoted to shift leader at the call center where she used to work after only three months on the job, having to ask her parents for money only twice since she’d left home, while the girl she was living with practically had her rent paid by her father.

At times like these, he was reminded only too well of how young she was. At twenty-four, he’d been messier, less organized and a whole hell of a lot more irresponsible than her. Just as well one of his guys hadn’t slipped through back then. Twenty-four-year-old him and twenty-four-year-old Lola would have been a disaster of epic proportions. As it was, it would be a line-call as to whether thirty-four-year-old him and Lola could pull this thing off between them.

Although it wasn’t as though they had a choice.

Somehow he managed to assure her that he hadn’t been taking a shot at her, agreeing that he’d meet her at the clinic again tomorrow before ending the call. He needed to get to the bar to make his six o’clock appointment with his brother, so he jumped into his Audi and wasted five minutes trying to get it to start before the engine finally caught and he could hit the road. He made a mental note to talk to the mechanic to get the ignition fixed. One of many things he needed to take care of in the run-up to Lola’s due date. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck with a car that wouldn’t start when she was in labor.

He was tired and hungry by the time he parked in the reserved spot behind the bar, not a great sign when his day wouldn’t be over until at least midnight. Scrubbing his face, he let himself in the back door and hollered out a hello to the guys in the kitchen before heading upstairs to his shoe-box-size office.

He sat at his paper-strewn desk and stared bleakly at the scuffed wall. There was no getting around it—he was deeply, profoundly worried about how Lola would cope with being a mother. Not because she was a bad person, but because she simply didn’t handle difficult situations well. Her default reaction to any stressful situation was to retreat to bed and stay there eating junk food for as long as she could get away with it. Yes, she could be fun—a lot of fun—when she was in the right frame of mind, but she could also be impatient, temperamental and self-centered.

Right, and you’re a freaking saint. Perfect daddy material.

He wasn’t. He was the first to admit that. He’d lived selfishly his entire life. About the only thing he’d ever fully committed to was the bar—and, perhaps, to being a decent uncle to his brother’s kids. But he was fairly certain he understood many of the challenges that lay ahead. He knew there were going to be late nights and not a lot of sleep and periods of intense frustration and worry. He knew that no matter what else was happening for him or Lola, the baby needed them to put him or her first. Every time.

He wasn’t one hundred percent certain Lola had the same take on parenting, however. He wasn’t sure that she’d given much thought to the way things would work between them, in fact. She preferred to “take things as they come” and not get “bogged down in all the details”—both phrases she’d used to fob him off last week when he’d tried to discuss a care schedule for when the baby was born. He’d wanted her to know that he would be there to support her in any way she needed him to be, but she’d shied away from the discussion. As though by avoiding the conversation she could pretend for a little bit longer that she wasn’t about to become a parent.

Which boded really bloody well for the future.

The phone on his desk buzzed, signaling a call from downstairs.

“Hey, boss. You’re brother’s here,” Syrie said when he picked up. “You want us to send him up?”

“Thanks. And send up a couple of beers and a large fries, too, okay?”

“I’ll put it on your tab.”

“Funny.”

He took a second to check his emails—nothing urgent—before the sound of steps on the stairs announced his brother’s arrival.

“Good to see you,” Seth said when Jason entered the office. “Grab a seat. I’ve got some beers coming our way in five.”

“I knew I liked coming here for a reason,” Jason said as he loosened his tie and set down his briefcase.

Seth tried not to smile. He could count on the fingers of one hand the times Jason had dropped by Night Howls for a drink. Usually he was either working late or had some commitment with his family—which was the way it should be when you had two kids under five.

“What did you have to do to get out of jail early?” he asked.

Jason touched his briefcase with the side of his shoe. “There’s a reason why that bastard weighs a ton. Lots of stuff to go through when I get home.”

“Man, I don’t know how you do it,” Seth said, shaking his head.

He’d long since given up the hard partying days of his youth, but the thought of showing up at an office in the city at eight every morning and sitting under fluorescent lights all day and not checking out again till it was dark outside made him want to launch himself from the top of the nearest building.

Jason shrugged easily. “Horses for courses, mate. No way could I stand working the hours you do, either. I’m comatose once it hits nine.”

“That’s because you’re up at sparrow’s fart. I don’t start the day till ten, minimum.”

“That is so going to change when the baby comes along.” Jason’s laugh held more than a hint of schadenfreude. “How many weeks is it now?”

“Four.”

“It’ll be so much fun watching you do this.”

“This is an ugly side of you, just so you know.”

“Consider it payback for all the years you gave me shit for not coming out to play because I had to be home with Jodie and the kids. I’m allowed to savor the irony a little.”

Seth shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, I was a dick. You’re a good dad, and you have awesome cute kids. If they were mine, I’d want to be home with them, too, instead of out with a douche like me.”

“Funny you should mention that.” Jason yanked at his tie, loosening it further.

Seth braced himself. When his brother had called to ask if they could catch up tonight, he’d been a little surprised, given they mostly saw each other on Jason’s turf. It had only taken him a few minutes’ thought to work out what his brother wanted to see him about, however. Seth had dropped the big news about Lola and the baby on Jason and Jodie only last week, and he figured his brother was here to offer him some guidance, man-to-man. Which, frankly, he was more than happy to take. He figured he and Lola needed all the help they could get.

Syrie arrived and Jason held fire on whatever it was he was about to say while she distributed the drinks and fries. Once she was gone, Jason took a big mouthful of his beer before eyeing Seth.

“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment, so this is probably going to seem as though it’s coming out of left field, but Jodie and I talked about it and we decided that we’d leave the decision up to you. If it’s too much, we totally understand, given what you’re taking on. But you’re at the top of our list and we wanted to give you the option.”

Seth was genuinely baffled about where this conversation was going. “You want to tell me what this list is for?”

Jason nodded, smoothing his hands down his thighs, and Seth realized he was nervous. Which made him nervous.

“Okay,” Jason said. “You’ve always been really good with Max and Sam. The best uncle ever, is the way Max puts it. And Jodie and I have started putting things in place for the future in the past few weeks, just in case. Insurance, wills, that kind of thing.”

“Cheery stuff. What brought this on?”

He shrugged. “Jodie saw some movie with her girlfriends a few weeks ago—I don’t know the details, but she’s been freaking out about making sure the boys are looked after if something happens to us. Which is where you come in.”