Cuts Like An Angel (21 page)

“In two days,” he finished.

“Right. Tight schedule,” she repeated.

“Yes.
Very
tight.”

She nodded and shoved off the counter, not able to meet the heated gaze accompanying his grin. He was bold, wasn’t he? Bolder than her. Boldly going where no man had dare to go before. The Rosie frontier.

Nobody snap or pinch her. She never wanted to wake up.

But somebody did snap and pinch her. William did. Right inside her chest.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Josh

Rosie skipped outside ahead of Josh. Shit. He could watch her do that all day, the way she bounced with each step. She’d hop skip and jump right out of here if she knew the truth, though. His hand went absently to the gash on his arm. That was a close one … too close. Fucking William leaving marks and causing his shit, again.

The sunshine coming down was a gentle warmth against Josh’s face. He savoured it, inhaling deeply. It tinged with the sweet scent of Rosie. She was ahead of him, spinning with her arms out, head back, and a lightness in her step as she did.

“Having fun?” he smiled. He couldn’t help it. She brought that out in him, even though the darkness clung onto his heart with lecherous claws set to destroy him … with Rosie, he could unpick them, and perhaps one day, heal the wounds in his bleeding heart … maybe.

She danced between the weeds and the tall grass. He’d given a lot of it a good whacking while she was at home packing, but this garden was going to take some time and hard work until it would resemble anything close to liveable; let alone be acceptable hosting grounds for the American royal family.

Rosie plucked one of the dandelion heads from the grass, and held it in front of her face. “My mother used to tell me off for doing this,” she said. “Said it would ruin her lawn. You’re supposed to make a wish on them. Do you believe that?” She offered the dandelion to Josh and rather than taking it, he cupped his hand around hers.

“Maybe we can make a wish together,” he offered. He didn’t believe so much in superstitious rubbish. He’d never blown dandelions to make wishes either, but he had kicked them. Knocking their seeds into the breeze. “What would you wish for?”

“To be happy,” she said lifting her eyes to his. God when she did that, he found it hard to fight the protective side of him that just wanted to scoop her up. “What would you wish for?”

“I have it already,” he said winking at her. “This pretend girlfriend I have.” He laughed at her when she looked up at him with such innocence and bewilderment in her gaze. God she was so perfect. “Maybe I’d wish she was really mine.”

Rosie’s cheeks flushed instantly. “Make a wish,” she said. “A real one.”

“That was a real one …”

When her gaze turned to fake annoyance he couldn’t help but laugh at her again. “Fine, fine.” He let go of her hand and plucked his own dandelion. “You first,” he said.

“Okay.” She closed her eyes and brought the seedling head just in front of her lips … soft, perfect warm lips … Then she opened her eyes and blew.

“You didn’t wish,” he said.

“I did. I did it in my head.”

Josh frowned. “Then, how can your wish come true?”

Rosie pushed Josh’s hand to his face with his own dandelion. “You’re not meant to say the wish out loud. It won’t come true.”

Josh leaned in, leaned right in so that his mouth was near her ear. “How can I make your wishes come true, if I don’t know what they are,” he whispered as close as he could get to her ear without actually touching her.

She let out a soft gasp that warmed Josh inside with victory. “Make your wish,” she said her voice breathier than before.

“Please, please Mr Dandelion …”

Rosie couldn’t help herself as she burst out laughing at him. “Mr Dandelion?”

“Of course. Do you know that dandelion means dent o lion or something like that? French for lion’s tooth.”

“Really?”

Josh nodded. “It also means piss-a-bed too.”

She smacked him on the arm, her eyes alight with laughter. “It does not.”

He laughed hard, rubbing his arm mockingly where she had hit him. “It does too. If you cook the roots you can make tea, and then it makes you pee.”

“Just make your wish Mr Know It All,” she said sternly. Though her expression was betraying the telling off she was trying to give him.

Josh raised the dandelion in front of his mouth and closed his eyes. “I wish ….” He opened one eye, looking down to Rosie and smirking. “Please Mr Dandelion make sure this crazy American doesn’t snore. Doesn’t steal all the blankets, and that she brings me fresh coffee in the morning.”

“Josh,” she exclaimed, smacking him again.

“Oh and please remove the violent streak that she has so been graced with.” He dodged out of the way before she could hit him again.

“I bet you want breakfast with that coffee, huh?”

“If you’re offering.” He blew hard against the dandelion and they both quietened for a moment as they watched the fairy like seeds float into the air. A sense of wonder—a life in them as they spread themselves out and carried their wishes to faraway places. Maybe one day Rosie would find her wishes, but Josh was sure that he had found his. The thought of it made his stomach clench. She would leave one day … she would leave William. That’s why he had to get rid of him. “You know if you keep hitting me, I’m going to end up covered in bruises.”

“If you didn’t keep teasing me, I wouldn’t have to hit you.” She pursed her lips, hands on her hips. It just made him laugh more at her.

“You're real cute you know, when you try to be mad.” His phone vibrated in his pocket at that moment, making them both jump. For a second Josh stared like he wasn’t sure what it was as the sound played louder. “Give me a second,” he said.

He pulled his phone from his jeans pocket. His heart sinking when he saw Maria’s name across the screen. Rosie was watching him. He thought about shutting the call off, but that wouldn’t work. The last time he had done that, she’d wound herself up so much that he’d had to go there and waste more time than she was worth.

“Give me a moment,” he said. “I just need to take this.”

“You didn’t come,” the voice on the other end of the phone shrilled at him, not giving him the chance to even say hello. “You said you were coming and you didn’t. I needed you. You didn’t come.”

Josh paced quickly away from Rosie, trying to put himself out of earshot from her. She’d be able to hear Maria’s screeching cries a mile away.  “I came, but you were sleeping,” he lied. “You were sitting in your chair. I came in, but you didn’t wake up.”

“Did you?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember? You asked me what time it was.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. He hadn't gone to see her. But she wouldn’t remember that. She didn’t know the difference between shit and chocolate if they came in the same wrapper.

“Oh”, she simply said at the end of a very long minute. “Will you come today? Please. I’m lonely.”

“I’m busy. I’m trying to do the garden.”

“You’ve got a woman there haven’t you? I knew it. What kind of little bitch is she?”

“Stop it.”

“I bet she is, isn’t she? You know what they are William. Some slut who’ll open her legs to you and then fuck off the moment your back’s turned.”

“She’s not like that.”

“There is a girl then,” Maria said victoriously. Shit. He’d bloody fallen for it again. She always did that. Baited him until he dropped himself in it. Rosie wasn’t a slut. She wasn’t that kind of girl, no matter what Maria thought. He was standing in the kitchen now. He could see Rosie from the window. She was picking up bits of wood that had tangled with the weeds where they had grown around broken bits of furniture, old bike parts. All the scraps of his life that he had thrown there. He watched her as she lifted something up, maybe it had been the door of something at one point. She held it at arm’s length and then she dropped it suddenly, running backwards and screaming at it. Spider perhaps. “William,” Maria yelled down the phone dragging him back to his misery. He realised that she had been calling him and he had been so tied in Rosie that he hadn't noticed.

“Sorry.”

“She’s there now isn’t she? Have you fucked her yet?”

“I have to go,” he said, turning his back to the window so that he didn’t defile the image of Rosie as Maria spoke her sick words to him.

“William … Don’t leave me. She doesn’t want you. You know she doesn’t. I want you.”

Josh hung his head, his shoulders sinking with every moment he stayed on the phone with Maria. She was his darkness and Rosie was his light, yet Maria kept pulling him back, no matter how much he fought. She pulled William up like a rotting corpse that she couldn’t let lie.

“You know I am the one who is always here,” she crooned. “You know I will never leave you. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said weakly, giving up for a moment. Maybe she was right.

“Come and see me William. I miss you.”

“I’ll come by later. I’m working on the garden.”

“Bring me some ice cream. You know the one I like. I …” she paused. He could hear her breathing down the line so he knew she was still there. “The special one.”

“Okay. I’ve got to go,” he said and then he hung up on her. She’d be pissed at that maybe, but she could console herself that he would go there later … much later. Maybe Rosie had work. He hadn't really asked her when her next shift was.

He turned back so that he could see her through the window. She was looking at him as he did. She wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and when she caught his eye, she smiled and waved at him. He smiled back, but it wasn’t like before. His smile had been spoiled by Maria, her words germinating in his mind the way she always managed to get them. Under his skin … all the goddamn time.

He let himself stand for a moment, just watching as Rosie went back to work. She had defeated whatever it was that had made her jump back. She had made a neat pile of debris on the path. He took a deep breath and went back outside, slipping the Josh mask on as best he could, but fucking William, he was there, worming his way in, again.

“Everything okay?” Rosie asked when he came closer. She had dirt and mud across her face and he couldn’t help himself. He needed to touch her, just a moment.

“You’ve got dirt here,” he said lifting his hand, but she dodged him and went to wipe her cheek, missing. “Let me,” he said. He ran a thumb across the smear of muck. Touching her, sending electricity up his hand. He snatched his hand back. He wanted to cup her face, bring her to him, but Maria’s words echoed in his mind.
Slut. She’d leave …
“I have to go out later,” he said. “Do you work tonight?”

“I … erm.” She moved away from his hand. He’d upset her. He was always screwing this shit up. “I called in work and took a couple of days.” She shrugged. “It’s mostly volunteer work. You want me to go out or something?”

“What? No.” he nodded to the house. “I just didn’t want you sitting in by yourself and bored to tears that’s all.”

“Will you be long?”

God, that was the question wasn’t it? With Maria it would always be long, unless of course she was in one of her drink induced comas then he could sneak out. She’d probably not know he was there anyway. “I’ll try not to be.

Rosie turned away, going back to the wood she had lifted. Nice one William … come along and ruin it for Josh.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Rosie

God, just who was that bitch that always called and ruined everything? … wrecked Rosie’s confidence in everything. Herself and Josh. She wasn’t sure if Josh noticed the dent it put in her spirit. Guessing he didn’t since he seemed so
dented
himself.

What bothered her the most was the power this person had over him. Maybe she was a toxic psycho ex, he didn’t know how to break it off with.

She threw her worry into working that garden and in a matter of four hours, they had it cleared. For the first time that day, since that stupid call, Josh appeared pleased for real. The look on his face as he looked around at their job tugged so hard in her chest. What memories was he seeing that put that pain in his eyes? Longing? Was it reminding him of what used to be? Or what never was but he wished?

There was so much she didn’t know about him. And that cut on his arm had started to niggle at her brain. Something about his attitude with it. Indifferent. No, not just indifferent there was something else. Anger? Pain? But why? Toward who?

Was it that girl?

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Rosie pushed Josh out of the front door. “I’m
fine!
Go and take care of … your business. I’ll have supper ready.” She winked and gave the biggest smile she could fake. “I might even feed you.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach when he gave her another one of those sincere smiles. “I might bite you.”

The soft promise made her giggle and she shooed him with another push. “Ha! You’ll kiss my fanny, first.”

His eyes popped. “Pardon me?”

“Gooooo,” she said. “I’m shutting the door now.” But she didn’t. She stared at him, her heart clobbering her chest from the sheer effort to appear unaffected by the fact that he was on his way to see another woman and she couldn’t prove it other than the burning hole in her gut.

She had visual sex with him as she watched him get ready to climb his bike. Her dirty, desperate mind imagined him climbing on her.  He started the bike and sat there with a hand on his thigh and she tensed. Was he going to change his mind? He reached in the pocket of the black leather jacket and looked at his phone then put it back in. Was it her? That bitch?

She chewed on her lower lip, watching his hips wiggle a little in the seat. She felt it between her legs as though he were … there. Adjusting himself on her. In her.

He suddenly drove off at a speed that shocked her. She gasped as fear and visions of him hitting a tree shot her to her phone. She texted him
SLOW DOWN!!!!

She hung up, and her eyes landed on William’s number, making her stomach flip. She wanted to call him but things had gotten really complicated with him. She liked Josh. She needed to tell William. She needed to tell him that she didn’t feel right going beyond friendship boundaries while she had these feelings for Josh.

She hurried to the kitchen and put her phone on the counter, staring at it. She’d cook and maybe Josh will be back. Or at least have texted her.

She pulled up her music app on her phone and put on some groovy American eighties tunes while digging for something to cook. She found all the makings for her greatest chef skill. Spaghetti.

Once she got everything on, she picked up her phone and checked messages. None. It had only been twenty minutes. He’d probably not even arrived yet.

Maybe she should at least check on William.

She set the phone down. No. Not yet. She was supposed to call him tonight. She paced around the kitchen, debating. Maybe she could call and say she wouldn’t be able to call tonight. Because … she’d be with Josh. Maybe if she just showed William that her interests were more toward Josh, he’d get it.

The knot in her stomach turned into a fireball of dread and fear. What if this hurt William too much? God, why did she let this get so far with him? How could she? She knew he was vulnerable. She
knew
that! And she did it anyway. She may as well have pushed him off the ledge that night. Or put a bullet in his head.

Maybe she could fix it still. Maybe she could try to lead him in another direction.

She made it through a whole hour before she looked at the phone again. Still no message! Not from Josh or William.

She looked in the freezer for a suitable dessert to make. After thinking, she figured out a reason to text him.
Hey, on your way back, can you please pick up some home-made vanilla ice-cream? I hope you’re not driving like a maniac. Supper is done and I’m going take a long bath. See you soon.