I Think I Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 3) (8 page)

Rachel let out a long breath before she said, “Yup, so am I.”

They filled up their glasses again.

“How about this chicken?”

Rachel snorted. “The one in the kitchen or the one who beat me up?”

Sarah smiled. “That’s what Oliver always said.
Men who beat women are nothing more than scared chickens.
”

“Cowards.”

“That too.”

“No, he always said, men beating women are f-ing cowards.”

An hour later, Sarah lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling. Dizzy from all the alcohol, but also overwhelmed from all the things Rachel had told her. So many things she hadn’t known about.

She grabbed her phone and dialled Markus’ number. When she heard the line was connected, she didn’t give him a chance to answer, but said, “And for the record, you’d be lucky to have someone like me.”

Then hung up.

***

Markus stared at the phone, not certain what to make of Sarah’s phone call. So he called her.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said.

“Are you drunk?”

There was a pause, and he was sure he heard a little groan. “No. Maybe. A little.”

Markus cursed. “Babe. What happened?”

“Wow, that’s like déjà vu.” She giggled. “Nah, it should be…Marky, what’s the French word for—” A big sigh came through the phone. “I swear there was more wine than usual in this bottle.”

“Sarah?”

“Hmm?”

“Baby, I thought you swore off wine at Ty’s party?”

“Hmm?”

“Babe, talk to me. Are you alone?”

But all he could hear was the sound of a gentle snore. Smiling, he disconnected the call and sat on his bed. Resting his arms on his legs, he stared at his feet and thought about her comment:
You would’ve been lucky to have me
. He shoved a hand through his hair to the back of his neck and kept it there.

“Are you all right, Marco?”

He looked up at his sister and nodded.

“Wanna join me on the front veranda?”

With one quick move, he stood. “Sounds like a good idea.”

They headed to the front, through the kitchen where he grabbed a can of coke from the fridge.

They sat down and stayed silent for a long while. Markus assumed his sister was enjoying the evening stillness as well. The sun had set and it was only two small candles on the table in front of them providing a bit of light. The continuous sound of the waves coming in and crashing against the beach was only broken by the noise of the cicadas and the occasional chirps of the crickets. Markus leaned back into his chair and enjoyed the cool breeze off the water.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asked quietly.

He looked at Annie. Her eyes were weary, and he assumed it was more out of sisterly obligation that she asked. He’d heard the kids before and knew she’d had a hard time getting them to sleep. Making a mental note to take the kids to the beach tomorrow to wear them out, he took a sip from his drink before he replied, “All good.”

She chuckled. “You’ve always been a lousy liar.”

He narrowed his eyes.

With a shrug, she turned to him. “Sarah?”

“How about you tell me about Miles and then I tell you about Saz?”

“Miles? He’s studying,” she said with a questioning look.

“Piccola, it’s never happened before that he stayed home because of studying. I do believe it’s important, but I do remember holidays when you almost pulled your hair out because he was sitting here with all his books.”

“He’s studying at home, Marco. Leave it at that.”

“Annie?”

“Leave it.”

Markus cupped her cheek with his hand. “Only if you promise me to talk to me once you’re ready.”

“It’s fine.”

“Che dolce bugia.”

“I don’t lie.” She turned and stared towards the water. There was a long moment of silence before she whispered so quietly, he nearly missed it. “He’s received an offer from a firm in Sydney.”

Markus didn’t say anything, but waited until she was ready to tell him more.

Annie shrugged. “We had a fight because I don’t want to go to Sydney. He argued it’s the chance of a lifetime
blah blah blah
and accused me of being selfish.”

Not really sure how to respond to that, Markus still remained silent. She took his hand and entwined her fingers around his. “Thing is, I know I am, but I’m not sure whether I’d survive without Mum and Dad, you and Maria. My friends. Is that really selfish?”

“It takes two to tango,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Miles has a great opportunity to take his career further. You’ve always known he was ambitious.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I suppose it was so unexpected.”

“Really?”

“From Sydney, yes.”

“Talk to him again before the exams, so he doesn’t go into this with a fight over his head. It’s the last thing he needs.”

Annie let out a long breath and leaned back. “I will. Promise me, though, that you’ll talk to Sarah.”

“I did.”

She turned her head towards him. “And?”

“Drunk as a skunk.”

Laughing, she nearly spilled her drink. “I thought she gave up on that?”

A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered Sarah’s words that she’d never drink again. “Yup, that’s what I thought, too.” He sighed as his gaze wandered across the sea. “And there’s only one person in this world who gets her to drink to that extent.”

“Timmy?”

He nodded.

“Did you get a bit of sense out of her?”

“Well, she said, and I quote,
You’d be lucky to have someone like me.
”

“I still believe the whole thing is a misunderstanding. You two need to sit down face-to-face and talk to each other.”

He chugged down the rest of his drink before he stood. “She made it crystal clear it was a one-off.” Then he tossed up the can and kicked it over the railing into the yard. “What pisses me off is how she begged me to sleep with her.”

When his sister didn’t reply, he looked at her. Her glare told him everything. “I’ll get it and put it into the bin.”

With ease, he jumped over the railing and went in search of the can.

“Begged to have sex with you?” he heard his sister say.

He found the can, picked it up, and headed back. Annie sported a big grin on her face, and he simply flipped her the finger.

“Talk to her,” she said again.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me a break, will ya. I’ve tried. As I said, it takes two to tango. Applies to this situation as well.”

He pulled himself up on the railing and climbed over. “Heading to bed,” was all he said as he gave his sister a kiss on her cheek.

Annie nodded. Markus assumed their conversations hadn’t ended the way she’d hoped and he was glad for a bit of
me
time.

Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sarah’s face.
You’d be lucky to have someone like me.
Her voice had sounded sad and fragile, even though she’d been drunk. The thought made him want to punch Timmy, which made him even angrier as he wasn’t one to choose violence to settle a problem. Markus tossed and turned and when dawn finally came, he went for a run along the beach. He needed to get rid of some pent-up frustration. Even in the early hours of the day, the water looked stunning with its very light blue colour. Markus had missed the Australian beach while living in England. He’d joined his friends a couple of times for a day out to Brighton, but although fun and a great place to be, it wasn’t the same. The beaches in Portugal had impressed him, but he’d spent the week with his then-girlfriend and was probably seeing pink clouds as well.

Small waves crashed onto the beach and the rhythmic sound of it relaxed him. Filling his lungs with cool morning sea air, he ran over the hard wet sand for a couple of kilometres until the sweat poured off his body. Until his muscles burnt and his breath was short. But it felt good. Damn good.

He finished with a few push-ups before heading over to the café to get some breakfast for Annie and the kids. The jog had cleared his mind somewhat, but Sarah was still in his thoughts.

Chapter Six

Sarah and Rachel fell into a routine for the next couple of days. Sarah went to work, while Rachel helped in the house, cleaning up and preparing dinner. Sarah loved the idea of coming home to a homemade dinner.

“I had no idea you could cook.”

Rachel shrugged. “I had some issues with my tummy a few years back and the doctor made me see a dietician. Can’t say I like it, but it has its good moments. Whipping mashed potatoes can be really good to get rid of some frustration.”

Sarah looked behind her sister. “Is that why we’re having mashed potatoes for the third evening in a row?”

Her sister turned and stared at the pot. Very quietly, she said, “I honestly hadn’t noticed.”

“Want to tell me?”

Rachel looked down, her voice still hardly audible. “Mum rang today. I just wasn’t able to answer. I wanted to, but—”

She didn’t have to finish the sentence, Sarah knew what she trying to say.

“Let’s sit down and have something to eat first.”

Nodding, her sister agreed.

They set the table in silence. Rachel held up another bottle of red, but Sarah shook her head. “I really need a clear head tomorrow.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt me to give it a break as well.” Instead, she grabbed a soft drink out of the fridge.

“Mum wanted to know whether you had heard from me, yet. I haven’t deleted the message,” Rachel finally said.

Sarah didn’t know what to reply. Their mother was good at apologising, but it was never genuine.

“I will go back if you are sick of me.”

Pain mixed with anger rushed through Sarah and initially she was too stunned to reply so she simply stared at her sister.

“You do, right? I mean, I suppose I’m in the way. It wouldn’t surprise me if Markus is just waiting for me to get out, so he can finally—”

Sarah held up her hand. “Stop it right there, missy.” She placed her fork next to the plate before she crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair. “First of all, we agreed, we’re going to work on the part where luck is supposed to come your way. It won’t happen with you running back to Mum, back into a hostile situation. I haven’t brought it up, yet, because I honestly have no idea how to handle this, but hey, my idea was for you to stay here, find a job, and get your life into order.”

Rachel stared back at her. “That might be a long time.”

Sarah shrugged. “Long is a relative term. A year in a lifetime is only a fraction—”

Her sister laughed, then stopped. “It’s not really that funny.” She took a sip of her drink and then said, “I hope it’s not a year. I mean, a year…”

“Oh for God’s sake, Rachel. Give it a rest. I told you, you can stay as long as it takes you to get wherever you need to get. We’ll make it happen.”

“It’s just—”

“No, it’s not
just
. All I’ve been listening to the last couple of days is how spoilt I’ve been by Markus, Ty, and Oliver. Lucky me, Markus this, Oliver that,
blah blah blah
. If you can hand it out, you need to take it in as well. It’s settled, okay? You can stay here until you’ve found your two feet on the ground.”

Rachel nodded, the expression on her face telling Sarah, she was too stunned to reply.

She was about to pick up her fork when Rachel asked, “And second?”

“Second what?”

“You said,
first of all
. So I assumed there’s a second.”

“Never mind about second,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“Still not able to talk about Markus?”

She placed the fork and knife onto the plate, stood, and took it over to the sink. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oliver rang,” Rachel suddenly said. “Damn. I’m sorry. He’s left a message.”

Sarah shot around. “When?”

“I didn’t mean to, honestly. I’m sorry for not telling you earlier.”

She stepped out of the kitchen and walked down the hall to the phone.
Sweetcakes, I’m back in Victoria. Hope you can come over Saturday for a barbeque. I’d say a little celebration is in order. Big event when Tamara’s here in a few weeks. This will be just us.

Us?

Leaning her head back, she stared at the ceiling. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“You’ve got to go.”

Sarah shot around and met her sister’s gaze. “I know,” she finally said.

Placing her arm around Sarah’s shoulder, Rachel said, “How about we’ll be working on some luck for both of us?”

They stayed like that for a long minute. Sarah assumed that Rachel was waiting for a response, which way ever, but she simply enjoyed the moment of closeness to her sister. She still wasn’t able to talk about Markus, because it was as simple as that she still didn’t know what had happened, what went wrong, or what she actually wanted.

“I think I’ve fallen in love with him,” she whispered in the end.

Rachel placed a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “That’s not true. You’ve always loved him. You’re simply admitting it. Finally, that is.”

Sarah looked up. Surprised.

“Damn, I still remember when you came back from England. It was
Markus this
and
Markus that
. Irritating.”

“I didn’t—”

“Oh, for God’s sake. Of course you did and still do.”

Sarah chuckled. “Rachel?”

“Hmm?”

“I like having you here.”

Rachel choked back a laugh. “A bunch of women we are.” She met her sister’s gaze and said, “About time we’re being sisters.”

They went back into the kitchen. After a moment’s silence, Sarah said barely above a whisper, “I’d like to call Mum and tell her you’re here.”

Her sister’s facial expression changed instantly. “Why?”

With a shrug, she replied, “I know it’s been hard. More so on you than on me, but she’s our mum and deserves to know that you’re okay.”

Leaning back, Rachel started chewing on her fingernails. “She’s not coming here.”

Sarah cursed herself for bringing up the subject, but felt it was the right thing to do to let her mother know that her daughter was doing okay. And again, she was reminded how much easier her life had been knowing the guys, and how much Rachel must’ve suffered from being left behind by both Sarah and her mother.

“No, she won’t be coming here, but I would like her to know.”

“As if she’d care.”

Point taken, but Sarah assumed, or at least hoped her mother wasn’t all that bad. “She does. I’m sure she does. It’s been hard for her as well and without defending her, and only knowing half the story between you two, it couldn’t have been easy for her either.” Letting out a long breath, she continued, “It would’ve been nice if she’d taken on more responsibility for her mistakes, but when sitting next to you in hospital, I realised, she’d never talked about her parents. Has she ever mentioned Grandma and Grandpa to you?”

“I thought they died.”

“They did. But Mum’s never talked about them.”

They both seemed to consider that and finished their dinner in silence.

Sarah was the first to speak as she took her dishes to the sink. “I don’t even know their names.”

Rachel followed her with her plate and glass. “Okay, let’s do it. You call her and let her know. I want to listen, though.”

Sarah turned to her sister with a smile. “Don’t trust me?”

She sighed. “Let me think.”

Giving her sister a slap on her arm, she said, “C’mon then, before we change our minds.”

They headed into the lounge room with the phone, put it on speaker, and dialled the familiar number.

“I can’t believe I’ve got sweaty hands,” Rachel said quietly.

“I’m a bit nervous as well.”

Her mother answered the phone, and Sarah was taken aback by her mother’s voice. It was obvious even over the phone how strained her voice sounded, fearful and hopeful at the same time.

“Mum, it’s me.”

“Sarah, darling. Have you heard from Rachel? Please tell me she’s okay.”

She looked over to her sister and noticed Rachel’s eyes tearing up. “Yes, Mum, she’s with me. She’s okay.”

Lisa started to cry. The sisters waited, and Sarah’s heart squeezed in her chest, despite the anger she still felt towards her mother.

“Thank you, God,” they heard their mother say over and over.

“I’m fine, Mum,” Rachel said quietly. Sarah took her sister’s hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Oh, darling. I’m so sorry. I’m—”

Sarah saw that Rachel was struggling with a reply, but whispered, “You have no reason to apologise either.”

Rachel gave a slow nod as she wiped the tears with the back of her hand.

“Are you okay, Rachel? Do you need anything?” her mother asked.

“I’m fine. Sarah’s offered me to stay with her for a while.”

They heard the sound of her mother blowing her nose, and it put a small smile on the sisters’ faces.

“I didn’t mean it, darling. Please come home.”

Rachel shook her head, and Sarah replied, “Give her some time to heal, Mum.”

They heard her mother’s long, deep sigh.

“I’m sick of fighting with you, Mum. I can’t walk back into your house as if nothing had happened.”

“My house?” Lisa whispered.

“It is now.”

“It’s our home.”

Rachel wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “No. It’s a house we grew up in. It’s never been a home. Please, Mum, understand, I need some space, some sorting of my life.” She looked at her sister. “And some bonding with Sarah.”

There was a long moment of silence before Lisa finally replied, “Okay. It’s okay. I’ll try to understand.”

“I think a bit of distance between you two will be good,” Sarah said quietly.

“I…” Another sob. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Give her a couple of days to settle, to adjust, and why not come over for afternoon tea one day?”

Rachel looked away, closing her eyes, but her small squeeze of Sarah’s hand told her that she agreed.

“I’d love that.”

“Mum?” Rachel asked as she finally met Sarah’s gaze.

“Yes, darling.”

“Tell us about Grandma and Grandpa,” she blurted out.

Sarah’s eyes widened, not expecting her sister to ask the question over the phone. She looked at her sister with a frown as to ask,
What are you doing?

Silence hung heavy in the room until Lisa replied, “But you know that they died before you were born. I told you about the car accident.”

Sarah thought to hear some hesitation in her mother’s voice. As she suspected, it didn’t seem something she liked talking about.

“When you were young. Tell us about them when you were young.”

They heard a long sigh at the other end. “Darling, how about we leave that for one of the visits? It’s not something I’d like to tell you about over the phone.” She paused. “I’m not sure why you’re asking, although I have a feeling why.”

“What were their names?”

“Oh my,” Lisa said. “I really have to do some catching up here. Dad’s name was Joseph, Mum’s name was Barbara.”

“Do you miss them?” Rachel asked.

There was the sound of tissues being pulled out of the box, and Sarah made a sign to Rachel to keep it easy.

“Darling. I know we agreed on giving you space, but how about I’ll bring over a stew tomorrow for a trip into the past?”

Sarah nodded to Rachel, who responded with a nod in return.

“Yes, Mum,” Sarah said. “We look forward to it.”

They hung up and sat for a long moment in silence. A thousand thoughts ran through her head. The obvious relief in her mother’s voice when she heard news about Rachel. The pain in her apology. Last but not least the surprise when asked about her parents and the hesitation to talk about them.

Joseph and Barbara.
Nice finally knowing your names,
she thought.

Rachel hauled her back from her thoughts. “Will we be all right tomorrow?”

Sarah lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a good conversation.”

***

Markus spent the next few days on the beach with Annie and the kids. He tried his best to give her some time alone here and there, to think about Miles’ job offer, but a couple of hours at the beach was even too much for him. Ellie and Henry were energy bundles with no stop-button.

“Miles is going to Sydney on Friday,” Annie said one afternoon. “And I’m going to join him.”

He stared at her, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “That’s my girl.”