Angel of Mine (12 page)

“We’re all out back, I’ll show you through.” He places his hand on my lower back and guides me to the rest of his family.

There are family photos all around. The fireplace, along with the warm earthy tones of browns, reds, oranges, and creams help to decorate the room we walk through making the place feel cozy, even though the space itself is large.

We walk through double glass sliding doors and onto a large wooden deck. Theo stops whatever he was saying midsentence and starts glaring daggers our way. Not the hello I was expecting from him.

My stomach is suddenly in knots. It feels as though someone has shoved their fist in there and is twisting it tighter by the second. My eyebrows furrow in hurt and confusion. He practically slams the tongs he is holding down on the side of the barbecue and storms towards us.

“Alex, you should have told me Ally was here,” he seethes. He reaches around and forcefully removes Alex’s hand from behind me. I’d forgotten it was even there. “I’ll take it from here.” He pulls me flush against him and plants a possessive kiss right on my lips, for all his family to see. He pulls back slightly and stares his brother down with a smug look on his face.

His parents seem to be highly entertained by the whole scene and try to choke back their laughter.
Ahh I see.
Theo is jealous of his brother’s hand being on me.
What a way to make an entrance and meet the parents, Ally
. Strings of curse words release themselves in my head. Nestling my face into Theo’s broad shoulder, I hope to hide the blush I know is creeping up on my face. He smells clean and fresh like soap and fabric softener, and I have to resist the urge to keep nuzzling my nose further into him.

“I missed you this week Ally,” he whispers in my ear. “I love having you here in my house, in my arms,” pausing briefly he kisses the side of my face, “but especially, in my life.” Afraid my legs might give way after that little speech, I cling on to him for dear life.

“Come meet my parents,” he requests. When I pull back, I realize everyone is staring at us. My bravado from earlier is gone, and I cannot think of what to say. All I can manage is a weak smile. Leaning heavily on Theo for the support I so desperately need, I go with him over to the barbecue where his parents stand.

“Mum, Dad, this is Ally. Ally, these are my parents, Rachel and Joe.”

His mum startles me by wrapping me up in a big hug. “Oh Theo, she’s perfect for you, and so beautiful. I’m so happy. I always wanted a daughter.”
Wow. She’s a little enthusiastic.
I’m glad I passed the test, and she seems to like me though.

“Give the poor girl some breathing room,” Joe chuckles while prying her off me. “You’ll scare her off.”

Her eyes are all misty when she explains, “Sorry dear. It’s just it was so emotional to see my boy all passionate just a minute ago. It’s so good to see him happy, and you bring that to him.” My stunned expression has her backing up a step. “Sorry, I’ll back off now, I promise,” she smiles.

Joe holds his hand out to me, and I shake it. It feels so formal compared to his wife’s greeting, but at the same time, I don’t think I could handle a hug from a man I just met. “Nice to meet you Ally.” The timbre of his voice is distinguished, and he is still quite handsome for his age. I can’t help but wonder if Theo will age this well as he gets older. He certainly takes after his dad now. They have the same dark hair and kind green eyes. Joe’s hair, however, is slightly grey at the temples and he has laugh lines that help give him a distinct character. Rachel is the complete opposite. Her hair is coloured blonde, and she has warm brown eyes that seem open and honest.

“Grub’s up,” Joe says. My stomach grumbles at the mention of food and the smell of the teriyaki chicken skewers and some type of gourmet burger patty hits me. It smells delicious and I’m suddenly ravenous.

We go over to a large round wooden table with a turnstile in the middle, and Theo pulls out a chair for me. He helps seat me, then pushes me in before taking my plate and putting a little bit of everything on it for me.

His parents are smirking and giving each other knowing looks over the other side of the table. Theo is oblivious to the reactions around him until his brother brings it to his attention, “Whipped already? You’ve got it bad.”

Theo playfully punches him in the shoulder, and half-heartedly retorts, “Cut it out Alex.” He is smirking hugely as he says it, and I realize he must really love showing his family how much I mean to him.

He pours me a glass of champagne, and I wonder if I should tell him that I have never had anything alcoholic to drink. I decide to leave it alone. It can’t hurt to sip at it, right? Getting himself a beer and his own plate of food, he sits down to enjoy it.

The tomato sauce is in front of him, and I excuse myself and lean over to get it. As I stretch across him, I can actually hear him smelling me, and I pull back, distracted. The bottle slips out of my grasp by accident and lands on his hand.

Within moments, a small bruise starts to form. Reaching for his hand, I exclaim, “I’m so sorry,” but he pulls it away from me and continues to stare at the bruise in horror. Jeez, I didn’t mean it. It was an accident. All movement at the table has now stopped, and everyone else is sharing a look that I don’t quite understand.

I don’t get it. I said sorry. What’s the big deal? Are they really that disgusted in me just because I dropped a bottle of sauce? It wasn’t on purpose. I’m starting to freak out. I can hear my heartbeat thumping in my chest it’s so quiet.

To think I wasn’t worried about what they all thought of me before I came. They seemed to love me a second ago. I wish I knew what they were thinking now.

Cautiously, I lift my gaze and eye all my family members. I’m aware they will all be concerned over how that bruise appeared after only a little bump, but they know better than to mention anything in front of Ally. We’ve had numerous chats this morning about how I don’t want Ally to have any knowledge of my past troubles.

My family looks tense. They seem frozen in place, not even blinking or flinching. Mum even holds a serving spoon full of potato salad midway to her plate without moving. It’s all seems quite unnatural, and Ally must be wondering what on earth is going on.

Thoughts of what the quick forming bruise mean get put to the side as I try to laugh it off. “Whoops. Looks like you aren’t supposed to have tomato sauce. It’s a sign that you were meant to go with sweet and sour. Mum whipped it up herself.” The words sound forced even to my own ears though.

The sweet and sour concoction is in a small white bowl in front of her. The champagne must seem like a better option. As she sits down, she ignores the sauce and gulps a large portion of her drink. Immediately she coughs a little. “Easy tiger, you okay?” Alex asks her.

“Yeah I’m fine. It was just too many bubbles at once on the tongue,” she replies.

“Yuck, I’ll stick to my beer any day.” He lifts up the bottle, and I grab mine and tap it against his.

“Amen to that brother,” I concur. I’m glad I can always count on him to lighten the mood.

He starts chugging his beer until Dad’s voice booms, “Hey, not too fast Alex and you’re only getting the one of those.”

“Yes Sir,” Alex salutes with a cheeky grin, causing Dad to shake his head and laugh. Mum finally puts the serving spoon back and excuses herself to go to the bathroom. I can tell how shaken she is, and I give Dad a pointed look.

“I might go grab my own beer. I’ll be back soon.” He gets up and follows Mum, even though there is an Esky full of beer right beside him. I guess Ally doesn’t know that, so she might not clue in that something strange is going on. Well at least I hope she won’t.

The conversation starts to flow again as we put the sauce incident behind us. It seems that Ally is more comfortable because she is talking more and more, and her voice is louder and more confident. It’s not until I see the flush on her cheeks and she starts to giggle at everything that I realize she may be a little tipsy. I remember only now that she is still a couple of weeks from turning eighteen and wonder if she has had much to drink in the past. Oh well, it’s too late to change anything now, so the best I can do is change the sweet fizzy drink over for some water.

Mum and Dad come back out and Ally is too tipsy to notice that Mum is still a little quiet. I’m glad, but still feel guilty that I helped alter her state of mind like that. I hope that the water works quickly.

“This food is delicious Rachel.” Maybe she did notice that Mum was a little quiet, and is trying to bring her into the conversation. It does the trick and Mum starts to talk about her love of all things food. Ally starts to ramble something about baking cupcakes and dress shopping together and that they will be the best of friends, so I top her water back up and place it in front of her.

When she sobers back up, she will probably be slightly embarrassed about being so forward with my mum, even though I love the idea of them getting along so well. Mum must love the idea too, because she nudges my leg under the table and gives me a wink and a smile. Her spirits have lifted again and I can tell she adores Ally.

They are still talking nonstop long after we have finished lunch and I’m thrilled. Dad stares at Mum lovingly and I know he is glad that her mind is elsewhere. He rubs her back to get her attention. “I’ll just go get the dessert. Be back in a minute.”

Alex sneaks another beer while Dad is gone, and Mum is otherwise occupied. I snatch it out of his hands. “Thanks man, I needed another one of those.” He swipes his hand out to get it back, but I hold it out of his reach.

“Oiy! That was mine,” he complains. He gets over it quickly, reaches down to grab another one, and holds it my way with a cheeky grin. “Cheers.”

Dad comes out with chocolate covered strawberries and mini caramel tarts. Ally’s eyes light up as she takes a strawberry and rubs it across her lips. That sight alone has me transfixed. Then her tongue darting out to lick off the chocolate before she bites into it has me holding the edge of my chair in a death grip so I won’t jump on her. She makes the sexiest sounds while she eats, and I think I must be going straight to hell with the sinful thoughts running through my mind right now.

“Good dessert Ally?” Alex teases, and then smirks at me. If he wanted to get a rise out of me, he got one.

My hand goes up on its own accord and slaps him over the head. “Cut it out moron.” My mood fizzles out quickly though when I hear laughter from the two women next to me.

“Come on Alex, you can help your father and me clear the table.” Mum stands and passes him the left over salad bowl to get him started. Ally rises to her feet, and I stand up to tell her to relax while we get it cleaned up but Mum beats me to it. “Dear, it’s fine. We’ve got this. After sneaking an extra beer, Alex needs a punishment.” She turns towards Alex and jokes, “Don’t think I didn’t see that young man. I may be getting older, but I still have my eyesight and I’m not an imbecile.”

They all take something off the table and head back into the kitchen, leaving Ally and I alone. I’ve been dying to touch her since she started that first chocolate strawberry. Finally able to, I wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss her neck. She turns around in my arms and licks her lips. I can’t help but lean in and press my mouth to hers. She opens for me, and the sweet taste of caramel mixed with strawberries and chocolate explodes across my taste buds.

“Good dessert Theo?”
Damn it Alex, that’s not funny,
although it is a really good dessert.

“Hardy har. You are a regular comedian.” As much as I love my family and wanted Ally to meet them, and them to meet her, it would be good to have some privacy now. “Come sit on the porch swing with me and watch the sunset?”

She looks back and forth a few times between Alex and me as though she is a bit unsure but replies, “I’d love to.”

The loveseat hangs from the ceiling by four large ropes. It’s spacious and comfortable with lots of different patterned cushions all over it. Somehow, blue and brown stripes against green and brown floral designs work. Ally lets out a little squeal when she sees it and drops my hand to run and sprawl across it. Ally is tipsy, laid out on a love seat so big it may as well be a bed and looking up at me with big innocent eyes while waiting for me to join her. Oh crap, how am I going to keep my hands to myself? This is going to be sweet, sweet torture.