Someone Like You (16 page)

Standing out there in the hot sun, in his jeans and T-shirt, he looked like one of them. Something physically changed in Dan too. His shoulders lifted and the smile on his face had broadened.

Lizzie let their laughter float over her as she surveyed the work site. Every square metre of extra paving completed meant they were one step closer to bringing her idea to life. She fluttered her eyes closed, luxuriated in the heat of the sun, and let her mind wander to imagine what the space would look like when it was complete. She’d been bombarded with interest from stallholders and she’d lined up a myriad of different items to be sold. Homemade jam and marmalade. Wooden toys, crafted lovingly by the old blokes who went to the local Men’s Shed, would be sold to raise money for prostate cancer research. Fresh vegetables from the local school garden, all profits going towards new library books. A pre-loved books stall, filled with the action and romance novels people on holidays loved to read. In the cool under the shade sails, tables and chairs would be groaning with people devouring bacon and eggs while sipping on strong coffee. And Lizzie could smell it as sure as if she were working the barbecue herself – that peculiarly Australian smell of a good old-fashioned sausage sizzle, the tang of vinegary tomato sauce mixing it up with the smell of frying onions.

When she blinked her eyes open, Dan was standing two feet from her, casting a tall shadow.

‘They reckon they’ll be finished by the weekend.’ He moved closer.

‘Wow. That’s sooner than I thought,’ Lizzie replied. ‘I can’t wait to see it filled with life and energy and community spirit.’ She laughed, rolling her eyes. ‘Holy crap, I sound like an American cheerleader.’

Dan ran his fingers up her arm, from wrist to elbow, then urged her closer. There was a charge in the air between them, so strong she could feel it in her ears.

‘Elizabeth. You’re not gossip to me.’

With his other hand, Dan reached up to gently touch her hair, tuck a few strands behind her ear. There wasn’t much to play with, being so short, but when his fingers caressed the sensitive skin there, such a soft and intimate gesture, Lizzie trembled. She tried to remember why she’d been so angry with him.

Oh yeah, that’s right.

‘Ry’s my boss and you telling him the way you did made me look ridiculously unprofessional. That’s why I was pissed off. I’ve only been manager here a few months and I do
not
want to blow it.’

‘You didn’t blow it, Elizabeth.’

She let out a big sigh and all her pent-up anger disappeared. ‘You may not have noticed but there aren’t too many other pubs in Middle Point. And by that I mean, there aren’t
any
other pubs in Middle Point.’

Dan snaked his arms around her waist and Lizzie put her hands on his chest, trying to stop him getting any closer.

She eyed him up and all the way down. ‘I mean what next? Are you going to totally humiliate me and tell him that you broke my man drought?’

His eyebrows raised in a sexy smirk. ‘I may have mentioned something about you being a champion at the horizontal folk-dancing.’

Lizzie’s mouth opened in shock but before she could admonish him, he took his chance and kissed her. There was nothing gentle about it this time. He slammed against her, claimed her with his lips and tongue the way he always managed to do with her eyes. This kiss, this out-in-the-open, this who-gives-a-damn-who’s-watching kiss, flicked a switch in her and she was on fire. She forced her arms up high and around his neck, tangling in the hair touching his collar. Somewhere vaguely in the back of her brain she heard two young guys wolf-whistling and cheering and the toot of a car horn. When Dan tried to pull his mouth away from her, she bit his lip hungrily, wanting more of him.

When he succeeded in putting space between them, he took her face in his hands, so strong yet so gentle, and looked deep into her eyes. ‘I don’t want to hide the fact that we spent the night together. I’ve got nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. We’re two consenting adults, aren’t we? And I figure it’s almost impossible to keep a secret in this town anyway.’

‘You’re telling me.’ Lizzie pushed him away with a half-hearted shove. ‘In about…’ she looked down to check her watch, ‘…three minutes, everyone in the front bar is going to know that we’ve out here in the car park pashing like two lovesick teenagers.’

Dan’s eyebrows shot up and a grin settled on his lips. He moved closer to her again.

‘Oh, you know what I mean.’ Lizzie turned away from him in embarrassment.

‘So, shall we really give them something to talk about?’ Dan grabbed her hand and led her back inside the pub, down the narrow corridor past her office and right into the front bar, where he pushed her onto a stool and sat beside her.

‘Can I buy you a drink, Elizabeth?’

‘I’m still working. A soda and lime will do.’

‘A beer for me, thanks,’ he told the young waitress behind the bar who had an alarming streak of neon pink hair over her eyes. Lizzie looked around. It was quiet. A few regulars nodded in her direction and she smiled in return. She couldn’t believe Dan was doing this.

He met her gaze again. ‘When’s your next day off?’

‘Next Monday.’

‘I’d like to take you out for lunch. Let’s get out of Middle Point. Why don’t we drive to McLaren Vale and eat at one of the wineries. Sound good to you?’

Lizzie tried to judge where all this was coming from. ‘Dan, you don’t have to do this, you know.’

‘Do what?’

‘I totally get that the other night was a…one off.’ And lines one through to twenty-three raced through her head. She chose number fourteen. ‘You don’t owe me anything.’

He leaned towards her, held her hand. ‘Owe you? I just want to have more sex with you.’

‘Oh.’ Lizzie’s pulse thrummed under his fingers and she felt her heart beat faster and stronger.

And then the strangest thing happened. There was a weird voice in her head, shouting his name.

When Dan startled, she realised he’d heard it too.

His name. Someone was shouting it from across the room and it echoed on the wooden floorboards and the empty tables, bouncing around the stone walls and the wooden bar until it landed right in the space between Lizzie and Dan. Like a stone.

‘Daniel? Is that you?’ It was a woman’s voice. Lizzie saw a flicker of recognition in Dan’s face and then he turned, let go of her hand. Stood up. Found its owner.

His face lit up. ‘Shit. Anna?’

The floor began to vibrate as footsteps became a jog. Lizzie recognised the familiar clickety-click of stiletto heels. And when she looked towards the sound, she saw a pair of pins that were wrapped in skinny jeans, a generous chest encased in a black halter neck top and two enormous gold hoop earrings. They jangled and danced on either side of the face of an olive-skinned pocket rocket with, Lizzie decided, possibly the most luxurious mane of shining black hair she’d ever seen. Lizzie had to stop herself from reaching out to touch it.

‘Danny? Oh my gawd. I can’t believe it’s you!’

Dan stood up, threw his arms around the woman and lifted her off her feet.

As he spun her around, Lizzie’s heart lurched at the flood of happiness she saw in his face.

Up close, Anna was even more beautiful. Honeyed skin, dark brown eyes, eyelashes as long as a puppy’s and plump, full lips set off with deep red lipstick. Lizzie wanted to hate her immediately.

When Dan finally released Anna from the long bear hug, he held her at arms’ length and looked down into her face, a beaming smile creasing his eyes.

‘Anna! What the hell are you doing in downtown Middle Point?’ There was a tone in his voice that Lizzie hadn’t ever heard before. He didn’t just sound happy. He sounded over-the-moon thrilled to be seeing this woman again.

Anna reached up one perfectly manicured hand and playfully slapped him on the cheek.

‘Let go of me, you big giant. What am I doing here? I was going to ask you the same thing.’ Anna rearranged the soft leather handbag on her shoulder. It was nearly as big as she was and, while Lizzie didn’t know much about handbags, it reeked of designer.

‘I’ve got a place down here, a few minutes away.’ Dan sat back down on the bar stool, glanced quickly at Lizzie, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. ‘What’s your excuse?’

Anna waved a hand dismissively. ‘I need to escape from my crazy family this Christmas, so I thought I’d check out a place to rent for the holidays.’ She looked from Dan to Lizzie and back, then flashed a huge smile at Lizzie, held out her hand warmly. ‘Hi, I’m Anna.’

Lizzie took her hand and Anna gave her a firm handshake. ‘I’m Lizzie.’

Damn it
. She gave good handshake. Not a barely there limp-wristed excuse for a welcome, but a strong, determined, direct contact. Lizzie instantly knew this was a woman she could like.

God, look at her. Who wouldn’t?

Dan slapped a hand on his thighs. ‘Oh shit. Sorry. Anna, this is Elizabeth. She’s…’ And he stopped, glancing hesitantly from one woman to the other. Lizzie met his shining green eyes with a wry grin and could see the cogs spinning in his head. She crossed her arms, extremely interested in hearing what his answer was going to be, given his romantic speech just a few minutes before about not wanting to hide the fact that they’d spent the night together.

He was about to be put to the test.

What exactly were they to each other? Lizzie decided to give him a break. She didn’t know either.

‘…she’s a friend of mine who manages this place for Ry. Elizabeth, this is Anna.’

Anna propped her hands on her hips and looked all around the pub, taking in the rusted-on front bar punters in their boardshorts and thongs, T-shirts and baseball caps. Past them, through the big windows, she took in the million dollar coastal views.

‘You’re kidding me.’ Anna’s eyebrows shot up. ‘This is Ryan’s place?’

‘For about six months now.’

‘What the…’ Anna looked around dramatically. ‘Did someone put a magic spell on you guys? How come you’re all suddenly moving to Middle Point?’ Anna’s earrings bounced enthusiastically as she tipped her head.

Dan took a deep breath, grinned. ‘We’ve got a big housing project about to start. Windswept. Maybe you saw the huge billboard back on the main road?’

‘That’s you guys? Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do.’ Anna looked at them both, and Lizzie had the feeling Anna was scrutinising every move, trying to figure out what was going on between her and Dan.

Join the club
.

At that signal, Lizzie hopped to her feet, smoothed her skirt down on her thighs. ‘I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ve really got to get back to work.’

‘Elizabeth—’ Dan turned to her. He looked like a bloke who thought he was about to get his arse kicked, no matter what he did. Lizzie didn’t want or need him to apologise. They weren’t tied to each other with an invisible piece of string just because they’d slept together once. And as she’d told him, he didn’t owe her anything. She reached over, rested a hand on his arm and gave it a little squeeze. She hoped it looked like nothing more than a reassuring gesture between two acquaintances. Acquaintances who’d seen each other naked.

‘I’ve got a stack of things to do. You two have a drink. On the house.’ She turned to Anna, who was regarding her with curious eyes. ‘It was really nice to meet you, Anna. I hope we see more of you during your holiday. Come and have dinner one night. I’m sure Dan will vouch for the fact that our chef is amazing.’

Dan shot her a look, an expression in his face she couldn’t pick. Surprise maybe. And then to Lizzie’s amazement, Anna tottered forward and threw her arms around her. It took a second for Lizzie to realise she was being hugged by a woman she’d barely met.

‘Thanks, Lizzie. I’ll be back, don’t you worry. This place is gorgeous.’

As Lizzie headed back to her office, she looked over her shoulder and flashed them both a big smile before disappearing into the corridor.

Her killer smile. Dan watched every step until Lizzie was out of sight, trying to figure out what had just happened. She was confusing the hell out of him. One minute they’re locking lips in the car park and making plans for her day off, the next she leaves him in the company of another woman, one who looks like she’s been sewn into her tight jeans and halter neck top, with acres of skin on display. The women he knew would have gone all territorial and scared anyone else off with a possessive arm about his shoulder, a hair flick and some kind of bitchy remark that women understood but flew completely over men’s heads.

He didn’t have to be looking at Anna to know that she was studying him. He swivelled around, an exasperated sigh on his lips. All around them, the front bar had become mysteriously quiet. The only sound was the bar fridge opening and closing. He realised every single person in the place was staring at Anna. Some open-mouthed. She’d always had that effect on people.

‘So.’ She hopped up on the vacant bar stool, taking Lizzie’s place next to him, her fingers thrumming a rhythm on the bar. ‘Danny. There’s a story there and you’re going to tell me every little detail, my friend.’

He glanced around at the patrons. A laugh curved his lips. ‘Not here.’ He stood, grabbing her hand. ‘Let’s go. I’ll show you my fancy beach house.’

‘Ooh. Got any room for visitors?’ Anna flicked her hair from her face and it cascaded down her back in silky waves. Every pair of eyes in the place watched it move.

‘It might not be your style.’ Dan looked down at her shoes. Sky-high, black patent leather sandals. ‘You gonna walk in those things or shall we drive?’

Anna fished for her keys. They were attached to a giant red plastic heart. ‘Wait ’til you see my new car.’

Dan held out an arm, indicating Anna should go first but before taking a step, he hesitated, couldn’t help himself from glancing back down the hallway to Lizzie’s office. He wondered if there was anything he needed to say.

Anna slapped his arm, rolled her eyes. ‘Go say goodbye to your girl, you big dope. I’ll wait.’

His girl
. What? He didn’t know what Lizzie was to him yet but he didn’t want her to think…shit. This time, he didn’t wait to knock before pushing open the door to Lizzie’s office.