Fly with Me (28 page)

Sweet. And
man, he did like the fact that even though the horror wasn’t real,
she was unconsciously clinging to him. Made all that possessive,
protective shit just well up inside him.

When one
particular scene had everyone in the room jumping, Tilly got off in
a huff and stalked over to Scott, flopping down on her back beside
him to demand a tummy rub, which he obligingly did without taking
his gaze from the TV screen.

Roused from
the movie by the cat getting off his lap, Simon felt Elissa press
back against the sofa. Instinctively he leaned forward, resting his
forearms on her shoulders. It surprised the shit out of him when
she leaned her cheek against his arm, her gaze riveted to the TV.
Inside he chuckled. The woman wasn’t even aware of what she’d just
done.

Bending down,
he whispered into her ear, “All right?”

“Yeah.” She
didn’t remove her gaze from the TV.

More than
content to let her snuggle back into him, Simon watched the
reminder of the movie without moving.

When it
finally finished, Kirk got up and flicked on the light, everyone
blinking at the sudden brightness. Kirk looked at Simon, his gaze
flicked down to where Elissa was just starting to straighten up,
and his eyes crinkled at the corners in amusement.

Almost at the
same time, Elissa seemed to remember where she was, jerking away
from him sharply.

Damn, he
missed the warmth of her against him already, the feel of her hand
gripping his jeans.

Everyone
started getting up, Dee yawning. “Geez, I need my bed.”

Ryder
leered.

“To
sleep.”

He just leered
more.

“I’m not
forgetting you owe me money.”

“I’ll work it
off in bed.”

“I want cold,
hard cash.”

“Never going
to happen, babe.” Pushing upright, he caught her hand and pulled
her up against him. “But that’s not going to interfere in
bedtime.”

“You
think?”

He pinched her
bottom, making her squeal then curse. “I know.”

While everyone
was watching the byplay between Ryder and Dee, Elissa started to
get to her feet. Hampered by the coffee table, she got to her knees
and reached out to brace herself, one hand landing on the table,
the other on Simon’s thigh.

She froze
before glancing at him, her hand lifting slightly.

Taking pity on
her, Simon pushed lithely to his feet, snagging her hand and
yanking her up with him.

Off balance,
she fell against him, her hands braced on his chest.

Holy crap, he
felt the heat from that small palm burn right through his t-shirt
into his skin. Being burned never felt so good.

Elissa refused
to look at him, just muttered ‘Thanks’ and pushed away, turning to
grab the plastic bag.

By unspoken
agreement everyone started tossing in the empty drink tins and
plastic cups, Scott taking it from Elissa and tying the bag
off.

“I love doing
the dishes on movie night.” He grinned. “I even volunteer for
it.”

“So
chivalrous.” Del stretched and scratched her belly under the
long-sleeved t-shirt she wore.

“I know. Ash
is so lucky to have me.” Scott dropped a kiss on Ash’s head,
ruffled her hair.

Molly made a
move. “Much as I’d love to sit and chat, I have an early morning
coming up.”

“Not for much
longer.” Coming up behind her, Kirk reached out to rest his hands
on her belly. “Kitten and the bump start maternity leave next
week.”

“About time,”
Simon said. “I had visions of Molly giving birth behind the bread
rack.”

Molly grinned.
“I’d much prefer the cupcake rack.”

“Oohh, are
cupcakes the craving of the day?”

“Oddly enough,
no. Its raw carrots. My palms were starting to turn orange so I had
to squash that craving down.”

“I was
starting to think I’d come home to a carrot.” Kirk kissed the top
of her head before resting his chin on it. “She’s onto lettuce
cravings now.”

“Healthy
cravings?” Del rolled her eyes. “That’s just sick, Molly.
Sick.”

Molly started
to reply, only to yawn loudly, her hand in front of her mouth.
Sheepishly, she blinked at her friends. “Sorry. I really need to
find my bed.”

That was the
trigger to start everyone moving.

Elissa took
the bag from Scott. “I’ll drop this in the bin, you see everyone
off.” When he started to object, she added, “Its paper and plastic,
Scott. I swear I will not break under the load.” Before he could
say anything more, she darted from the room.

Oh yeah.

Seeing his
opportunity, Simon moved past Scott. “I’ll go.”

“Go where?”
Scott began, right before his eyes widened a little. “Oh. Yeah.” A
familiar gleam entered the dark grey eyes. “Oh
yeah
.”

Already at the
entry to the hall, Simon pointed at Scott. “Don’t start.” Then he
crossed into the kitchen, ignoring the murmur of voices behind
him.

Nope, his
friend weren’t stupid, they knew by now that something was going on
between him and Elissa, he just had to convince her that there
was…right after he sorted out a few things.

Chapter 8

Avoiding Simon
just wasn’t easy. She was mad at him, uneasy, and she could swear
she felt the imprint of his legs against her upper arms. Not to
mention his forearms resting on her shoulders and - oh geez, had
she really leaned her cheek against his arm? How pathetic was
she?

Lying in bed,
she stared at the ceiling. Okay, so she was avoiding him. She’d
taken one peek at his face and known he’d come looking for her, and
damn it, she’d bolted like a rabbit. Thrown the rubbish bag in the
bin then hightailed it around the house to meet everyone on the
front veranda. Seen them all off - including Simon, who just looked
so steadily at her that her toes curled in the pink socks he’d
professed to like.

Standing
beside Ash, she’d felt grateful for her friend’s hand that had come
to rest on her back, knew without looking that she was silently
supporting her.

Simon had
climbed into his panel van after bidding everyone a goodnight,
taken another long look at her and left.

That look
hadn’t been good. In fact, it had seared itself into her mind. He
wasn’t finished with her, that much she knew. On one hand, it gave
her a sick, erotic thrill, but on the other hand…well, he wasn’t
happy with her so maybe he’d give up.

Give up what?
Damn it.

Rolling onto
her side, she stared at the window, the moonlight filtering through
the curtains to cast dappled light through the dim room.

There was
nothing to give up.

Now, if anyone
had a bone to pick it was her. How dare he do what he’d done in the
lounge, making sure her good manners dictated she accept him behind
her, get his food? Suffer his nearness.

Yeah, like his
nearness was suffering. His warmth, his clean, masculine scent,
that big, strong body. Yeah, real suffering. Made her burn a little
inside, and not in a bad way. In a good way. In a very decadent,
good
- good grief!

Restless, she
tossed onto her other side.

Exhausted with
her thoughts chasing through her mind, she actually overslept the
next morning, staggering into the kitchen to find Scott reading the
paper with a slice of toast in one hand and Tilly sitting on his
lap.

Ash looked up
from where she was writing a list of some kind. “You slept well.”
She took a closer look at Elissa’s face. “Or not.”

Tucking the
strands of loose, messy hair behind her ear, Elissa shuffled to the
sink, placing a glass under the tap and filling it with water which
she chugged down. Placing it back on the sink, she gazed blearily
out into the backyard. “Not.”

Immediately
Ash was beside her, hand on her back, concern on her face. “What’s
wrong?”

“What?” She
blinked. “Nothing. Honestly.” Turning, she saw Scott watching her
with equal concern.

Tilly didn’t
even look. The cat didn’t give a rat’s arse how she felt. You had
to love that attitude. She needed some of that attitude. Maybe she
could take lessons from Tilly.

“I’m fine.”
Folding her arms over the silky dressing gown she wore, she managed
a smile. “So, what’s on the plan today for you two?”

Taking the
hint, Scott placed the paper on the table. “Ash and I are going
downtown to run a few errands, then off to Mum who’s making
chocolate cake, so we’re having morning tea with her at the same
time. Then we’re going over some things she wants me to bring back
here from my old room.” His gaze turned to Ash. “You know she
doesn’t mind that old stuff staying there, right?”

“Scott, its
stuff from when you were a kid. This is your home. You bring it
here or you get rid of it. You can’t use your old bedroom as a
dumping ground for all those things you don’t want to part with
from your childhood.” Moving up beside him, she dropped a kiss on
top of his head before sitting on the other side of the table with
a cup of hot tea. “I bet you don’t even know what you’ve got in all
those boxes.”

Elissa caught
Scott’s look. “Hey, don’t give me the poignant look. I just do what
I’m told.”

“No help from
you, then.”

“That’s about
it.”

“Huh.” He took
a bite of toast. “Coming with us?”

Looking at the
two of them together, the list Ash had of errands they had to run
together, the job Scott had in front of him, Elissa thought it
sounded pretty much like it would be a couple’s time, emphasis on
the ‘couple’. They mightn’t mind but she’d feel like a third wheel
just tagging along. Besides, she wasn’t so sure she’d be good
company right then, being so tired and lethargic from almost no
sleep the night before. She definitely didn’t want to have Ash
worrying about her when she should be focussed on other things.

“If you don’t
mind, I’ll beg off this morning. I think my insomnia is catching me
up.”

“You can nap
at Mum’s, she won’t mind.” Scott tickled Tilly under the chin.

“Good grief.
Won’t that look good? ‘Mum, this is Elissa. Can she borrow your
bed?’”

“She’ll tuck
you in.”

Elissa
laughed. “Thanks, but no. Anyway, I have a few things I need to
sort out back in the city so I might borrow the phone, is that
okay? My mobile isn’t working.”

“No
worries.”

“I’ll pay you
back when the bill arrives, I promise.”

“Like that’s
going to worry me.”

“It’ll worry
me.”

“Then you’re
the only one.” Scott leisurely stretched, careful to keep his arm
around Tilly who meowed, disgruntled. “Poor baby. Daddy’s sorry to
disturb you.”

Good grief.
Grinning, Elissa switched her attention to Ash to find her friend
watching her in concern.

“Is everything
okay back at your home?”

“Fine. Just
fine.” Elissa hesitated. “Well, I quit.”

“Quit?” Ash’s
eyes widened. “You quit what?”

“Working with
Calum and my parents. I did it a little while ago, in fact, before
I came here.”

“
What?
When? How?”

“Long story,
I’ll tell you later. So I guess I’m kind of going to have to look
for a job at some stage.”

“Look for a-”
Ash’s face brightened. “You can look for a job here!”

“I doubt
there’s much here,” Elissa replied, amused.

“You’d be
surprised. You’re here for a month, anything can pop up. There is
Molly’s maternity leave position at the bakery. They’ll be looking
for someone.”

Scott looked
at Ash. “Really? Working in a bakery after singing?”

“What’s wrong
with that?”

“Well,
nothing. It’s a good job.” Scott switched his gaze to Elissa. “It
is. It’s a good job. All that cake.”

“Cake is
good,” Elissa agreed. “And I’ve done other jobs apart from singing.
But first we have to get this wedding done.”

“Doesn’t mean
you can’t look meanwhile,” Ash insisted.

“I think she
wants you to stay.” Scott popped the last of the toast into his
mouth. “Gully’s Fall isn’t a bad place. Maybe you should think
about it.”

“New
beginnings,” Ash reminded her. “Friends. You’ve already made
friends. You just need a job and home, but you can stay here until
you get a place. Right, Scott?”

“Absolutely.”

“Cripes,
you’ll be newlyweds. I won’t be staying here when you get back from
your honeymoon.” Elissa rubbed the bridge of her nose. “And
besides, I haven’t got a job yet.”

Picking up the
newspaper, Ash stood, crossed to her and slapped it against her
stomach. “You better get busy then.”

Elissa looked
around her shoulder at Scott. “I bet you haven’t seen this side of
her before.”

“I’ve seen a
lot of sides of my fiancée.” His grin was wide, his eyes sparkled.
“You’d be surprised.”

Ash blushed,
laughed and turned back to Elissa. “Just think about it, okay?”

“Sure. Why
not.”

“And later,
we’re talking.” Sober once more, Ash studied her. “Really
talking.”

“About the
wedding?”

“About
you.”

“I’m
boring.”

“Later.”

That one word
suddenly reminded her of what Simon had said the previous night,
which made a flood of sudden warmth hit low in her belly, not to
mention her heart skip a beat.

Determinedly
pushing the hot firie from her mind, Elissa folded the newspaper.
“Right. By the way, when are we doing this wedding rehearsal?”

Scott groaned.
“Oh, man.”

Ash looked at
him. “You’ll be fine, honey.”

“I think we
should elope.”

“Your mother
will kill you.”

“What if I
stuff up the words?”

“You won’t.”
Ash looked back at Elissa. “Four o’clock this afternoon we’re
meeting the minister, do a quick run-through just so we know where
we’re standing, when to do things.”