39. New South Wales
39
NEW SOUTH WALES
Springtime was Tayla’s favorite season, and as she waited for Ruby’s flight to land in Sydney, a pang of nostalgia for the city she’d once called home surfaced.
That aside, and despite the traffic, every day in Bondi Beach was a good day. Except, she missed Mitch. Although they talked most evenings, that unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach never went away.
Their last day together had gone well, but as they’d driven to Clifton Falls Airport, Mitch fidgeting beside her, doubt had cast its shadow. Tayla hadn’t asked him about his lunch date. Oh how she’d wanted to. But as she’d snuggled in his arms in the early hours of the morning, she hadn’t had the courage to deal with that uncertainty before she left.
And when he’d held her and kissed her without restraint in the middle of a terminal full of travelers, she’d barely kept it together.
Shifting in her chair under the harsh lights of the arrivals hall, Tayla mused over the value of independence. Mitch was right. Before her return to Sydney, it had been months since she’d spent time alone. The realities of their marriage and relocating her parents had kept her busy and focused, but now the time had come for Tayla to regroup, decide her next move, her new path.
She stood as Ruby rushed toward her, a smile from ear to ear. They hugged tightly until Ruby pulled back. “You do realize they’re forecasting a hot day? You told me it was pleasant.”
“It is. Come on.” Tayla took Ruby’s case and wheeled it out of the terminal and across the parking lot to her waiting van.
As Tayla unlocked the door, Ruby chuckled. “What on earth are you driving?”
“I borrowed it from my neighbor. I couldn’t pick you up on my scooter, now could I?”
“It looks like Postman Pat’s mail van, but the flower model.”
“They use it for their florist business. Just jump in before we get stuck in rush hour traffic.”
All the way back to Bondi Beach, Tayla struggled with the stick shift while Ruby talked nonstop. By the time they pulled up outside her place, Ruby had given Tayla a rundown on the whole family and many of her friends as well.
Ruby stepped from the van and stretched her legs, her sight on the two-story apartment block in front of them. “Don’t you get lonely on your own?”
Every day. “The owners are just next door if I need them. And there’s always the noise of the surf to keep me company.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
“Yes, except…I’d forgotten what it was like, not having someone to share my life with. I miss him.”
“I’m sure he feels the same way.” Ruby followed Tayla inside. “I might have a quick shower to wash off the travel dust. I didn’t sleep well last night. I was worried about being away from Noah and the girls for the weekend.”
“Go right ahead. Then we’ll hit the market.”
Sydney’s sky flushed with a brazen hue as the sisters walked toward their table in a bustling café on Campbell Parade. Tayla had been there with Hayden several times, and as she stepped through the door, the sound of the other diners humming around them, she’d paused to suck in a breath.
Their wine and food ordered, Ruby started the conversation. “Has Mitch mentioned coming for a visit?”
“No. He knew you were over for the weekend, so… Anyway, I’m sure he thinks I’ve come to see Hayden, so he’s probably pleased to be rid of me.”
“Does that worry you?”
Tayla shrugged. It did, but she was determined not to dwell on it.
“Have you talked to him about you and Hayden?” Ruby asked.
Tayla paused as the waiter served their wine. After thanking him, she continued, “Not a lot. Communication isn’t a strong point for us. Especially when he’s busy with the orchard.”
“Well, he doesn’t have that on his own. Noah hardly talks when he’s bogged down at work. When he’s really stressed, he’s not even interested in baby-making practice.”
“You said you weren’t having any more kids.”
“We’re not,” Ruby replied with a wide grin. “But we’ve never stopped refining the process.”
“I see you still take your job as Ruby Tuesday’s communications officer way too seriously.”
“Only with you, Tayla Tilly.” Ruby giggled.
Tayla sipped her wine. It was fruity and a little tart, just the way she liked it. “Mitch is so different from Hayden in that respect. We used to talk everything out.”
“Except that one time when he didn’t mention the baby business before your wedding day.”
“Yes.” It wasn’t funny, but Tayla suddenly found the whole situation amusing. The limo, the chapel, the celebrant’s expression as she’d hurried Tayla out the back door. She giggled. “Except that.”
Tayla paused as a hot waiter, sporting a man bun and a twinkle in his eye, served their mains. Ruby kicked her under the table, and as he walked away, the giggles started again.
“Anyway”—Ruby stopped to compose herself—“returning to the subject at hand, what are you afraid of? That Mitch doesn’t love you? Because if he doesn’t, tough titty.”
“Tough titty? Who says that?”
“Excuse me.” Ruby cut into her chicken. “I’m trying to impart words of wisdom here.”
Stabbing a potato with her fork, Tayla smiled. “Go ahead.”
“But if he does, and you’re timid and unsure, that doesn’t make for an equal partnership. And equilibrium is the key to a successful relationship, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, but?—”
Ruby pointed her knife at her sister. “Stop right there. Do you want to be a ‘yes but’ girl all your life? Let’s break it down. What’s your main concern?”
Taking a calming breath, Tayla sat up straighter. “I can’t stop thinking about him…you know, in that way. Being apart makes it worse. I even dream about him sometimes.”
Ruby leaned across the table and whispered, “Sex is your main concern?”
“It’s okay for you. You started young. I had no idea what I was missing. Now it’s as if we have a connection that I can’t explain or comprehend.”
“Excuse me. I was a perfectly respectable eighteen when I started,” Ruby said, her lips twitching at the corners. “So, I take it he’s good in bed?”
Heat crept up Tayla’s neck and face. She had no comparisons to draw from, but even so… No man made love to a woman the way Mitch did without knowing a thing or two. “Don’t be nosy. ”
Ruby laughed. “He’s good. In fact, by the look of that blush on your cute little cheeks, I’d say he’s exceptionally good.”
“We’ve only been intimate for a short time, but it’s like I’m a different person. Guys never noticed me before, but since I’ve…well, I can feel it—that interest from men. Weird, don’t you think?”
Ruby lifted her glass toward her lips but stopped halfway. “Doesn’t that make you curious?”
“About what? Sleeping with someone else?”
Her sister shrugged.
“No, I couldn’t think of anything worse.”
“Yeah, I’m the same. Imagine showing your bits to another man.” Ruby raised her wine glass in a toast. “Congratulations.”
“For what?”
“You, my baby sister, have finally fallen in lusty love.”
Tayla clinked her glass against Ruby’s, unsure of how to respond. All this time, she’d convinced herself she wasn’t falling in love with Mitch. But lust? Tayla was definitely in lust with her husband. Maybe ‘lusty love’ was just another term for sexual chemistry. “I have, haven’t I? That’s crazy!”
Tayla climbed off her scooter and removed her helmet before strolling down the path and up the steps to her front door. A pair of running shoes to the left of the mat puzzled her. Her sister had left two days before, and anyway, they were much too large to be Ruby’s. Once inside, she checked out the tiny living area, then tiptoed to her bedroom and peeked around the doorjamb.
Mitch lay naked on the bed, a sheet draped across his lower back, a paperback face down on the pillow next to him, and his rounded butt on full display. He stirred and rolled over, the filtered glow through the shutters casting ribbons of sunlight across his chest. Her eyes widened at the sight of his erection tenting the cotton sheet. She stared as he flashed his lazy smile.
“You’re home.” He sat up and propped the pillow behind his head, seemingly without a care in the world.
Tayla stayed glued to the spot. “What are you doing here?”
He laughed. “Visiting my beautiful wife.”
She stepped forward. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Everything’s almost packed, the fridge is bare, and I need a shower.” She paused for a breath. “And how did you get in?”
He held out his hand. “Hey. Come here.”
She sat beside him, bursting into tears as relief washed over her. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
Cradling her face in his hands, he kissed her with care. “I missed you. Your landlady thought me turning up on your doorstep unannounced was so romantic that she didn’t hesitate in letting me in.”
“Mavis has always been too trusting. You could have been anyone.”
“I showed her a picture from our wedding. She ended up scrolling through the lot. Anyway, I thought you might need a hand.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I should go shower.”
Mitch shook his head. “That can wait.” He reached for the top button of her blouse, his eyes never leaving hers as he set each button free. “It’s hot, let’s get you naked. I’m so horny, I can’t think straight.”
She wanted to crawl onto his lap, take him in her hand and guide him inside her without foreplay or words or restraint. But instead, she stayed still while he undressed her, his hands warm against her skin, and his pupils dark as he watched her.
They lay on their sides, the need to reconnect fierce between them. Although Mitch had undressed her gently, that’s where his hesitation ceased. He took her mouth with his, and she moaned, the salt of her tears drying on her cheeks .
He was there, and she’d never imagined how totally absorbing reunion sex could be. “I don’t want you to sixty-nine me.”
His head fell back, and he laughed. “Tayla Whitman, I’ve missed you so much. No sixty-nine. Got it.”
She giggled. “It’s been a long day. And I need you inside of me. Now.”
Two fingers slipped into place. “I love it when you boss me around.”
She rocked against him, desperate for release. Watched him. Smiled. Tensed.
“Let go.” He tugged hard on her nipple, and that, coupled with the sensation of his fingers curling inside her, had her arching toward him. “Have you missed me?”
“Mitch…please.”
He stilled. “I asked you a question.”
“More than missed…” She paused on a shaky breath as he entered her. “Oh, you feel amazing. So. Amazing.”
They stayed in bed for a long time afterward, the fan above them ineffectual against the humidity, and the ever-present rhythm of the waves three short blocks over barely audible.
“Are you still mad at me?” she asked. “For coming here?”
“I wasn’t mad about you coming to Sydney.” Mitch brought her hand to his lips and kissed the center of her palm. “But I admit, I was jealous and pissed off about Hayden. There’s nothing I can do about it if you still have feelings for him, but…”
“I don’t. But even though I struggle with what he did to me, I still care about him. Does that make sense?”
“Sure. That doesn’t mean I trust the guy.”
“But you trust me?”
“I trust you to be up front with me. I think the intimacy of our relationship warrants that, don’t you?” He squeezed her hand. “Have you seen him? ”
Tayla shook her head. “He doesn’t know I’m here.” Her mind flashed back to Fig Leaf. She’d almost managed to put the sight of Mitch and his companion out of her mind, to see it as an innocent lunch between platonic friends. But sometimes, in those pre-dawn moments when insecurities crept across her mind, she wasn’t so sure. “And are you always up front with me?”
Mitch sat up and rested against the headboard, a frown tracking across his forehead as he rubbed his jaw. “I try to be, but some things might slip my mind.”
She pulled the sheet over her naked breasts. Was now the right time to bring up the woman in the pumpkin-spice linen pants? “Like what?”
“I’m sorry I’ve been preoccupied lately, but someone’s stirring crap back home, and I’m not sure who.”
Maybe not. “Do you mean with the audit thing? You said it was sorting itself out.”
“Yeah, it is, but we still had to dump most of last month’s exports on the local market, which meant a sharp drop in revenue. But the orchard’s almost debt-free, so we’ll cope. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“But I want to support you.” Tayla snuggled into his chest, sincere in her concern.
“You do support me. More than you know. It’s been lonely at home without you.”
She nodded. It had been lonely in Sydney without him too, especially after Ruby left. “Sometimes, I feel like we’re on borrowed time…that I’m living someone else’s life.”
“We have the here and now.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his fingers tracing up and down her arm. “That’s all we can be sure of.”
He was right. Life could change with a conscious thought, in an unplanned moment, or because of a choice made by another. She knew that, but contentment sometimes nudged that thought sideways .
“Mitch?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you ever think this would happen, you know, before we were married?”
He pulled her closer. “I knew our growing attraction could complicate things, for sure. That first kiss in my office stayed in my head for weeks.”
“It really was an amazing kiss. But you said you weren’t looking for a connection.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never been one to hold back if a shift in focus is warranted. I love the connection we have.”
“Me too. I’m sorry I misjudged you in the beginning. I thought you were ruthless and a player. But actually, you’re a big softy. Romantic too.”
He pulled back to look at her, his eyes bright with amusement. “Are you falling in love with me, Mrs. Harrington?”
She reached up and kissed him. “Maybe…just a tiny bit.”
“I’m falling in love with you too, and more than a tiny bit.”
Tayla closed her eyes, his chest smooth under her cheek. She’d once thought people put too much emphasis on the L word, but his declaration warmed her inside more than she’d ever expected it would. “Doesn’t it worry you, how we came together?”
“Not one bit. The journey may have been unconventional, but the destination suits us both, and I’d like to settle here for a while. See how it goes.”
“Me too.”
“Great. Now, we need to get up, before that hand you’re rubbing over my abs moves closer to another round.” Mitch let her go and pushed himself off the bed. As he stood naked before her, she tried to maintain eye contact, but she couldn’t resist a little peek at his pecs, his abs, his…
“You hungry?” he asked with a grin as he followed her line of sight.
She shot him a cheeky smile. “Starving. ”
He headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “Great, because after that emotional workout, I could murder a huge steak and fries, followed by a dainty crème br?lée, and washed down with a glass of cold beer.”
“I know just the place. I love dainty crème br?lée. And it’s my shout.”