TWENTY TWO
Luke
The minute we get to the outskirts of Sydney, I’m reminded why I hate the place. Mia and I agreed to drive separately, since she doesn’t know when she’ll be coming back to Kraken Cove. As much as I hate it, I’ve got to admit it makes sense. A client could call with a last-minute emergency, and I have a job I’m supposed to start next week up at the Lewellyn place.
I’m driving behind Mia’s little Audi on the M5 when a guy in a lowered sports car cuts me off and slides between us, probably without even glancing in his rear-view mirror. When I give him the finger, he responds by slamming his foot on the brake so I have to do the same. Then he speeds up so quickly he almost ends up right up Mia’s arse when traffic gets heavier.
I grit my teeth and ignore him, refusing to do anything else to set him off. I’m supposed to be making Mia’s life easier coming to Sydney with her, not getting her into an accident.
Of course, there’s no parking near Tegan’s apartment, so I spend twenty minutes driving up and down the same block trying to find something. When I do, it takes a hell of an effort to get my Hilux into a tiny spot made for something more the size of a toy car. I don’t let Mia see me struggling, though. Bad enough she’s already going to be thinking of me as the monster who doesn’t fit in.
By the time I hop out, she’s standing on the curb with a busty blonde I assume must be Tegan. They give me cheerful waves that I try to return. “Hey, that was nice work getting that beast in there,” Tegan says.
I only smile. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
I take Mia’s bag and hold my spare hand out to Tegan. She just blinks at it for a moment. Then her eyes widen and she leans in to kiss me on the cheek. “Handshake. Old school! Nice to meet you, hot tradie. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Tegan!” Mia flushes, but she’s grinning, and that wins a lot of points in my books. “Come on,” she says. “I can’t wait for you two to get to know each other.”
We head up the stairs to the third floor apartment Tegan rents. It’s small, but cute. I instantly like her more when I see a big canvas I recognise as Mia’s work displayed in pride of place above her sofa.
“That’s a good one.” I gesture with a jerk of my head at the painting, since my hands are full of our bags .
Mia smiles. “You like it? I made that one as a housewarming gift when Tegan moved in here.”
“It’s beautiful.”
Tegan appears from the kitchen with three wine glasses and a bottle of red wine, grinning from ear to ear. “You two are adorable! Go put your bags down, and then let's drink. I’m going to order some pizza. Are you hungry?”
Over the next few hours, I become a big fan of Tegan. She’s funny, she’s crude, and she can drink! Best of all, she’s definitely not a fan of Oliver.
When we’re finishing the second bottle of wine and the third pizza, she holds up her glass. “Cheers, everyone. To blowing off that dick, Oliver in favour of...well... blowing off dick!”
Mia just manages to stop herself from spitting her wine back into the glass. “Oh, my God. Please tell me he didn’t.”
Tegan shrugs with an angelic little smile. She’s not fooling anyone. “I can neither confirm nor deny, but I will say that a particular story did the rounds.”
Mia covers her face, peeping through her hands. “I can’t believe he walked in on us like that and then spread it around.”
Tegan quirks a brow at her. “Can’t you? I can. You know what else, though? Some rather unfortunate images of his tiny dick somehow got leaked all over the internet, so don’t feel too bad.” She reaches over and squeezes my bicep. “I can tell you right now, Mia, you’ve totally upgraded.” She shifts to a dramatic stage whisper that I can hear clearly. “And you’ll have to confirm the rumors about supes. Is it true they’re all hung? Because I’m ready to give up on human men.”
“Tegan!” Mia turns bright red .
Tegan just laughs. “Can’t say the same for Oliver. That mole he was fucking is downgrade from you.”
Mia grimaces. “I’m sure she’s not. And it doesn’t even matter. I just want everyone to be happy. I just wish Oliver wouldn’t have come to Kraken Cove at all.”
I can’t keep the scowl off my face. She’s being too kind again. Tegan catches me, though, and lifts her glass. “Yeah, I’m with Luke. You are, and always have been, too good for him.”
I lift my glass with a grin. “I’ll drink to that.”
Mia rolls her eyes, but eventually lifts her glass and we all drink. Tegan goes to pour us more wine, but only a few drops come out into Mia’s glass before the bottle is empty. “Don’t worry!” She gets to her feet. “I’ve got more!”
Mia waves her off. “No, no. No more. I have to see my parents and talk to Oliver tomorrow. I can’t do that with a hangover.”
“Luke?” Tegan waggles her eyebrows at me, but I shake my head.
“No, thank you. I know when to take her lead.”
Tegan rushes forward and pinches both my cheeks like I’m five years old. “Aaaawww. He’s a keeper!”
I pretend to be annoyed, but really I’m beaming. I can only hope meeting Mia’s parents tomorrow goes so well.
Yeah. Should have rolled over and kept dreaming.
When I do roll over the next morning, my day starts well. Tegan’s spare bed is actually a sofa bed with not enough room for my large frame and certainly not enough for me and Mia together. That only means when I roll over, she’s right there, and I get to pull her against me and snuggle into her sweetness. I stubbornly ignore how tight and sore my skin feels just for a few more moments with her in my arms. God, that’s a good feeling. Nor sure I’ll ever get tired of it.
“Mmpf. What time is it?” She pulls the covers over her head.
I grin. Grumpy Mia is possibly even more adorable than regular Mia.
I glance at my phone on the floor. “Seven.”
She groans again. “Why did I let Tegan talk me into drinking last night?”
I chuckle against her neck. “Want me to go get you a tea?”
“Tegan is a strictly coffee only kind of girl. If I want a tea, I’ll have to walk down the road to Urban Brew.”
I’m already sliding my feet out of bed, searching for my sweatpants. “I’ll go.”
She pushes off the covers and rolls towards me. “Ugh. I’m coming. I’m coming.”
I reach over her and squeeze her arse. “Doesn’t look like it to me, baby. Want me to fix that?”
She halfheartedly throws a pillow at me in retaliation for my terrible innuendo. It bounces off my shoulder. “Not with Tegan around. The last thing I need is her telling everybody what crazy sounds I make when I have an orgasm, and Tegan is the worst at keeping that sort of thing to herself.”
I lean in close. “Don’t worry. You don’t make any crazy sounds. You’re usually too busy holding your breath. ”
I give her a wink and dodge the next pillow before pulling up my pants. I’ve escaped down the hall to the bathroom before she’s dragged herself out of bed to come for me.
I’m in such a good mood I’m whistling in the shower and still singing to myself when I get back to the spare room. Mia is sitting on the bed scowling at her phone in her hands when I close the door behind me. “What happened?”
She sighs. “Mum wants to do brunch.”
“And that’s bad?”
“It’s just, public might not be the best place for Mum’s dramatics.”
I try not to be hurt by that. It’s reasonable to think her parents might need time to adjust, after all. “Do you want me to come?”
She looks up at me and she must see some of my feelings in my expression. Tossing aside her phone, she climbs across the bed and jumps into my arms. I’m lucky I catch her in time since I’ve shifted back and I only have two arms to catch her with.
Her legs wrap around my waist, and she kisses my cheek. “Of course, I want you to come. I just hope she’s not awful to you. Mum has a way of being cold even when she likes someone. Heaven help you if she actually dislikes you!”
“Well, now I’m scared,” I joke.
She pulls back to look at me. “It’s no laughing matter! Your family was so lovely to me when I met them. I wish you were going to have the same experience.”
I snort. “Yeah. Noah was real lovely.”
She laughs. “OK, well he took a while to warm up, but you know what I mean. ”
“Yeah. I know what you mean. But I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
She kisses my nose in a ridiculous gesture I find adorable. “Thank you. You always know just what to say.”
I’m not sure she’s got that right. I usually say the wrong thing, particularly around new people. I figure I’ll just keep my mouth shut around her mother, and smile and agree with everyone. Hopefully I can’t cause too much trouble.
“Listen, Mia. We don’t have to mention the whole sea monster thing if you think that will be too much for them this time. Maybe slowly slowly is the best approach.”
“Are you kidding? Of course I’m telling them. I’m not ashamed of you. I’m proud.”
She squeezes me tight and I try to let her enthusiasm reassure me. Truth is, though, I’ve lived with the stigma of human responses all my life and I know all too well it’s rare for people to be as open minded as Mia. Somehow I get the impression she doesn’t take after her parents in that regard.