Chapter 21
The restaurant they ended up going to for their final dinner in Waterloo Bay was a lively little Italian place that Stella had recommended. There was bright lighting and cheerful music and, thank goodness, wine. Now that they’d come to the end of their stay, Vidya realised that she was very tired.
The conversation that evening had been stilted.
Leo was still being awkward. It didn’t escape her notice that he’d made sure that he had kept a healthy distance from her when they’d walked to the restaurant that evening.
He’d barely made eye contact with her. She had told him she didn’t mind what had happened, so why was he being so weird about it?
Had he taken all the stern warnings from HR about appropriate behaviour in the office to heart?
Speaking of which, she needed to carefully broach the subject of tattoos to see if she could find out for sure whether Caleb had a dragon on his left pectoral.
‘I’m thinking of getting a tattoo,’ she said.
Both men looked at her wide eyed.
Leo, predictably, recovered first. He picked up his wine glass. ‘Well, that seems very unlike you, but … that’s nice.’
She kept her eyes on Caleb. ‘Do you have any tattoos?’ she asked him.
‘Me?’ Caleb shrugged. ‘Sure. I have a few.’
‘Where?’ Okay that was too direct. ‘I mean, they’re not visible.’
‘Um … various places. My back, calf, chest. Most of them are small, even the ones I had done when I was drunk.’ He glanced at Leo, who raised his eyebrows and nodded.
She was committed to this line of questioning now. No backing out. ‘Chest? That’s an unusual place. What did you have done on your chest?’
‘I don’t think that’s an unusual place for a tattoo.’ Caleb looked at Leo. ‘Is it?’
Leo took another sip of his drink. ‘I don’t think so, no.’
Dammit. She’d made the classic mistake of giving him something to get distracted by. Again. She leaned forward and smiled, hoping that would make this less weird. ‘So, what did you have done on your chest?’
Caleb and Leo exchanged another glance. Something seemed to pass between them. Caleb looked sad. Leo’s face was completely blank. He drank more wine.
‘I’m a little uncomfortable with this line of questioning,’ Caleb said, without his usual bonhomie.
Shit. Okay. Her mind wheeled. This was still a work setting. ‘I … I’m sorry,’ she said. She looked down at her wine. ‘I guess I’m more of a lightweight than I thought. I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s fine.’ Caleb’s smile crept back. ‘Why are you so invested? If you don’t mind me asking.’
The politeness felt like a punch in the guts.
She had come to think of these guys as her friends and Caleb was the friendliest and most laid-back person she’d ever met.
His retreat to formality hurt. Leo still wasn’t looking directly at her, but there was a small crease between his brows. This evening had suddenly gone wrong.
She needed an answer to his question. One that didn’t involve Caleb’s one-night stand with her sister and an unexpected pregnancy. ‘I was thinking of getting something tattooed on my shoulder,’ she said. This was her one chance to be direct, so she added, ‘Mythical creature, maybe. Like a dragon.’
There was a weird silence. Vidya held her breath.
Then Leo said, ‘Good luck with that. Word of advice, don’t get it done when you’re drunk.’
Caleb shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe that guy did it. He should have taken one look at us and sent us away. We were clearly too drunk. The risk.’ He shuddered.
Vidya turned to Leo. ‘You were with him and you let him get a tattoo while drunk?’ she said. ‘I find that hard to believe.’
Leo shrugged. ‘Alcohol has a lot to answer for,’ he said, darkly.
The rest of the meal passed relatively quietly. She had single-handedly ruined the atmosphere and she still didn’t know if Caleb had a dragon tattoo on his chest. But now she knew that he had something tattooed on his chest. The chances of him being the father rather than Piotr had just gone up.
Caleb tried to keep the conversation going, wittering gently about work. Leo had withdrawn completely and was only giving the blandest comments. Vidya just wanted to cry.
When the meal was finally over, they unanimously agreed that they would go back to the hotel.
While she waited for Leo to pay the bill, Vidya checked her phone. A message had arrived from Angie: Finally spoke to Piotr. It isn’t him. He doesn’t have any tattoos and he only stayed for an hour at the anniversary party. Looks like Caleb’s our guy!
Vidya looked up at Caleb and felt a mixture of warmth and sadness. On the one hand, she liked Caleb. She couldn’t think of a nicer person to be the father of Udeni’s child. On the other hand, it made life so awkward.
After tomorrow, everything would change.
Once they went back to work, she wouldn’t be able to hang out with them again.
If Udeni decided to tell Caleb about the baby, then everything would change again.
Leo was already being awkward around her.
How much worse would it be once he knew about Udeni and the baby?
They were walking along in moody silence when a gull swooped down and pooped. Vidya gave a shriek and leapt backwards. Her knee twinged.
‘Goddammit, Charlie!’ Caleb shouted.
‘Did it get you?’ Leo asked.
She checked herself. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Just missed. Thank goodness. I don’t want more clothes ruined.’
Caleb grinned. ‘The first time we met you, Charlie had just pooed on you.’
‘Right. I suppose he thinks that he should try and get me on my last day too.’ She glared at the birds in the sky. ‘I am definitely not going to miss those damn birds.’
Caleb laughed. ‘No. I can’t say I blame you.’
‘I will miss you guys though,’ she said.
They both nodded but neither replied.
‘I’m sorry I made things weird,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know you guys at all, and it’s been really great getting to know you.’
‘Yeah, we get that a lot,’ said Caleb. ‘Actually, I don’t. Leo does.’
‘Thanks,’ Leo said, dryly. ‘And the feeling is mutual, Vidya. It has been good to work with you.’
‘You should have seen how pissed off he was when he heard Sarah wasn’t coming and they were sending us someone else,’ Caleb said.
‘I rate Sarah’s competence highly,’ said Leo. ‘I’m glad that you were just as competent.’
‘Coming from you, that’s quite a compliment,’ Vidya said, hoping for a smile. He didn’t smile, but somehow the atmosphere between them felt a little lighter.
They went up the hill to the hotel entrance and crossed the foyer without anyone mistaking Leo for a member of staff. At the lifts, Leo pressed the call button.
‘Actually,’ Caleb said. ‘You guys go ahead. I think I’m going to get a bit more sea air while I still have the chance and check in on Mum.’
She couldn’t see Leo’s face but saw Caleb grin and clap him on the shoulder before he left.
Well, at least she had a chance to talk to him now. She opened her mouth to apologise again for ruining the evening.
‘I’ll take the stairs,’ Leo said. ‘It’s only a couple of flights for me, so it’s just as quick. I’ll see you tomorrow, Vidya.’ He made for the entrance to the stairs, which was next to the lifts.
Wait. No. If he was avoiding her now, he would avoid her tomorrow morning and then she’d have to find him at work if she wanted to talk to him and that would be difficult. ‘Leo.’ She ran after him. ‘Leo, wait.’
He stopped with one foot on the stairs and turned around. ‘Yes.’ Everything about him screamed wariness and it hurt to see that directed at her.
‘Why are you avoiding me?’
‘I’m clearly not avoiding you,’ he said. ‘We’ve just been out to a restaurant together and now we’re standing in the same stairwell.’
‘You know what I mean. You’re taking the stairs so that you don’t have to be alone with me.’ She took a step forward and saw him flinch and lean slightly towards the stairs. When it was clear she wasn’t coming any closer, he seemed to relax.
‘I thought,’ he said, carefully. ‘That, given what happened earlier … it would be best if you and I weren’t alone together.’
Vidya put her hands on her hips. ‘Why? Are you worried that I might have thought you were inappropriate?’
He pinched the bridge of his nose and murmured something that sounded like, ‘It’s not you I’m worried about.’
‘That’s not it.’ He sighed. ‘I’m not given to losing control, okay? And for me to touch you like that was … unforgivable.’
‘I gave you permission.’
‘To wipe sugar off your face. Not fondle you.’ He sounded disgusted with himself.
‘I said it was fine.’
He took his foot off the stair and turned to face her. ‘But it’s not fine, is it, Vidya? Yes. I like you. That’s my problem, not yours. That’s no excuse for me to take advantage of your trusting nature like that. Especially when I know you’re interested in Caleb!’
There was so much clamouring for attention there that Vidya only stared. ‘Wait,’ she said, latching on to the last thing he said. ‘I’m not interested in Caleb.’
‘Aren’t you?’ Leo drew his eyebrows up. His body language said angry, but his eyes were full of pain. ‘You can’t stop staring at him.’ He counted off his fingers. ‘You’re always asking him questions or asking me questions about him. You use any excuse you can to find out more about him.’
Leo had noticed. Of course he had. He was clever. She obviously wasn’t. ‘No. No.’
‘What other explanation is there?’ he said.
She couldn’t answer that. What could she say without letting on about her sister?
Leo took her silence to be an admission. ‘See.’ He lowered his hands. ‘It’s okay. Caleb is … handsome and friendly and … socially functional. It’s only natural that you should want—’
Vidya shook her head. Frustration pressed against her eyes. She didn’t want to cry now. ‘You’re wrong.’ She was almost shouting. ‘I don’t want Caleb.’
Leo looked exasperated. ‘Then what do you want?’
‘I want you!’ It came out before she could censor it.
It was out now. She waited for his reaction, her heart in her throat.
He seemed frozen to the spot, eyes wide and dark, lips parted. She noticed that his chest was moving like he was breathing hard too. When she looked into his eyes, she could see his pupils dilate.
‘Say something …’ she said.
Muscles in his forehead twitched. He stepped closer to her. Slowly raising his hand, he placed it on her cheek. Not just his fingertips like before, but his whole palm.
Vidya felt tension drain away from her shoulders. She leaned her face against his hand.
‘Yeah?’ His voice was lighter now, his eyes alive with need.
She smiled. ‘Yeah.’
Slowly, almost unbearably slowly, he stroked his thumb across her lip. Sensation zipped through her, earthing itself in her belly. She reached forward and grabbed the lapels of his coat.
He kissed her, one hand still caressing her face.
His kiss was gentle and restrained, just like he was.
She thought of the ferocious concentration of him on the dance machine.
There had to be more than that. She let go of his lapels and slid her arms inside his coat, so that she could feel the warmth of his body.
He wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her closer.
The kiss intensified until all she could think about was the feel of his mouth against hers, the movement of the muscles in his back against her hands, his fingers in her hair.
She lost all sense of time or rational thought.
All she could think was more. More. More!
She dug her fingertips into his back and he made an extremely un-Leo-like sound deep in his throat.
He moved his mouth away from hers and kissed the side of her neck. She closed her eyes and groaned, tipping her head to the side.
The door to the stairwell opened and through her lust-filled haze, she heard a woman exclaim, ‘Oh! Oh my!’
‘See,’ said another voice. ‘I told you. You owe me a cake.’
The voices disappeared as the door shut behind them with a soft thump.
‘I think we should go to my room,’ Vidya whispered.
‘Mine’s closer.’ His lips were just by her ear.
‘Okay.’
He moved back and she shivered with the loss of contact. He kissed her and gave her a brilliant smile. ‘Come on.’ He tugged her hand.
They ran up the stairs and down the short stretch of corridor to his room. He unlocked it and ushered her in. She shrugged off her coat as she waited for him to lock the door. She barely registered anything about her surroundings apart from him.
‘Are you sure?’ He was shrugging off his big coat too.
‘Yes,’ she practically yelled.
Because he was still Leo, he hung his coat up. Because she knew him, Vidya handed hers to be hung up as well. He said, ‘It’s a terrible idea.’
‘That too.’ She reached up and pulled his mouth to hers.
They kissed, with her back pressed against the wall until the need for more was overwhelming. She fumbled at his jumper and he tried to remove hers. It was clumsy work.
She pushed him back a bit. ‘I’ll do mine. You do yours.’
She saw the flash of approval in his eyes and felt a wave of affection.
Giving him another kiss, she sat on the bed and pulled her jumper off over her head.
Leo did the same with his, but instead of dropping it on the ground like she did, he flung it onto the chair.
Watching this man, who was normally so fastidious, slowly lose his control made her feel amazing.
Powerful. She bent her head to undo the buttons on her blouse.
When she looked up, he was peeling off his shirt. He had turned aside to throw it onto the chair, so she admired his lean body. He turned back to her with a smile.
The sight hit her like a bucket of ice.
There, on his chest, just under the collarbone, was the tattoo of a dragon taking flight.