Chapter Eight
The next day – New Year’s Eve
Luke
“Here you go.” Marcus holds out a beer to me. “Can’t believe you’re not drinking on New Year’s Eve, but I appreciate the sacrifice.”
“Thanks.” Today I’m taking the late shift, and I’ll be driving Aurelia home at the end of the evening.
We’re on Waiheke Island, near Auckland, at a private engagement party the Ashfords are holding in a vineyard.
It’s late, with less than an hour to go until the clock strikes midnight.
The summer evening is still warm, although the sky outside is clear and filled with stars.
I tap the bottle against his glass of wine. “Congratulations!”
He grins. “Thanks.” He glances across the room at his fiancée. “Didn’t think I’d ever get this far.”
“Me either.” Ten years ago, at a beach party, he told me he was going to ask Wren Carter out.
At the time, I was convinced he didn’t stand a chance.
Twenty-three-year-old girls didn’t go out with eighteen-year-old boys.
Sure enough, she turned him down, and I thought he’d blown it.
But now they’re engaged and getting married in just over two weeks. Maybe miracles do happen.
“How did you talk her into that?” I tease. “Hypnosis?”
He grins, his eyes following her as she crosses the floor to speak to someone. Then, eventually, his gaze comes back to me. “Honestly?” He studies his shoes for a moment, then says, “On the night of the ball, she asked Caesar if he’d donate sperm for her because she wanted a baby.”
My eyes widen. “Shit. Really?” I didn’t expect that.
I’ve watched the rise of the Ashfords with admiration and quiet envy.
Ten years ago, Marcus’s father, Edward, was still in the process of developing his pasture management project, and Marcus had only just started university.
Shortly after that, the technology took off in a crazy way.
The revolutionary system made the family a fortune and led to their meteoric rise.
By that point I was in the army, and didn’t get to see him much. We kept in touch, though, and when we met up a few months ago, he was quick to offer me a role in their security team.
We’ve both changed a lot in the last ten years, and haven’t yet returned to the close friendship we had back in the day. However, as he looks at the woman he fell for all that time ago, a touch of nostalgia has apparently prompted his confession.
He clears his throat. “Yeah. She went to a fertility clinic, but they told her single women have to wait years for a donor and suggested she approach a friend. She and Caesar had kept in touch, and she saw him as a good friend who’d help her out.
He hesitated, and so I took the opportunity to step in. ”
“And she said yes! That’s so cool.”
He winces and scratches the back of his neck. “I told her I wasn’t going to donate and wanted to get her pregnant the old-fashioned way.”
That makes me chuckle. “You’re still as resourceful as you always were, I see.”
“She wasn’t happy about it. She’s determined to keep her distance. But I’ll talk her around.”
His quiet determination warms me through. “You old romantic.”
“I do my best.”
Smiling, I glance across to check on Aurelia, then look back at him. His smile has faded.
“She still doesn’t know about the photo?” he asks.
I shake my head. “It won’t come from me.”
“Fucking bastard,” he says, glowering.
“The stalker? Or Dom?”
“Both. I can’t believe he kept photos of her on his phone.”
“He swore he didn’t know they were still on there.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I’m choosing not to, because it makes it easier to explain how much I hate him.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.” He smirks. “I hear you nearly punched his lights out.”
“I showed amazing restraint.”
“Shame.”
I blow out a breath. “It wasn’t easy.”
“She doesn’t know you went to his office, though?”
“No.” I look across at where she’s sitting at a table in the center of the room, chatting to a youngish, good-looking guy with dark-blond hair. She’s been talking to him for about forty-five minutes. The music and conversation is loud, and they’re leaning close together and look intimate.
“How close are you to strangling her?” Marcus teases.
I analyze my feelings and discover that I’m not annoyed, I’m jealous, but I can’t admit that to him. I hold up my forefinger and thumb a fraction apart, and he laughs. “I told you it’d be a tough mission. I’m amazed you’ve lasted three days.”
“It’s not been easy.” I watch her reach out and pick a hair off his jacket, and I frown.
“Ivan Harrison works for Equalicity,” Marcus says.
“I know. I investigated every guest on the list you gave me. But I don’t trust anyone who shows interest in her. Especially when their eyes are too close together.”
He gives a short laugh. “You might have to give him a pass. He’s a friend of the family. And I overheard him asking her on a date.”
I frown again. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
I look the guy up and down. “I’m surprised she’s interested. He barely looks old enough to drink.”
“I know what you mean. Look at the bum fluff on his chin.”
“And his trousers are too tight.”
“I know. Seriously, I hate the current fashion.”
“We’re getting old,” I reply, a little gloomily.
He sighs. Then he says, “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
“No. Don’t have the time.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I knew what the job would involve.”
“Shouldn’t last forever,” he says. “Once the situation’s sorted, things can go back to normal.”
“I hope so. If it stays like this, I honestly think Aurelia’s going to strangle me at some point.”
“She’s all talk,” he says. “She loves the attention really.”
We both sip our drinks as we watch Aurelia laugh at something Ivan says. I’m unable to avoid noticing her stunning red curls, her beautiful features, her slender figure, and her generous breasts. “She deserves every bit of it,” I murmur.
Then I realize I spoke out loud, and I look back at Marcus. He lifts a brow.
“I’m just saying, it’s understandable that she attracts attention,” I say.
“Yeah.” He keeps his gaze on me. “How’s Penny?” he asks.
The mention of my ex immediately sours my mood. “Still bitter,” I reply.
“Dude… I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “Some would say it was justified.”
“Jesus, not me. If anyone should have been supportive, it’s her.”
“She put up with a lot.”
“She was your girlfriend! That’s what your partner does. Or is supposed to do, anyway.”
“I’m not going to blame her for walking out. I was impossible to live with. She deserved better.” My words come out clipped and flat, like stones skimming across the surface of the sea.
“Are you still having nightmares?” he asks softly.
I have another mouthful of beer and look away. I don’t want to talk about the soaked sheets and cries in the dark. And I certainly don’t want to talk about what caused them.
“Sorry,” he says eventually. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay. I’d better do a lap.” I force my lips to curve up. “Congratulations on the engagement. I’m thrilled for you.”
“Thanks, man.” He holds his arms out for a bearhug. I return it, touched, and then leave him to find his girl. I hand over my principal to Kai, who’s also on duty, then start a walk around the premises.
The Ashfords have a full security team, and several members are stationed on the perimeter of the vineyard.
I walk between them and talk to each of them, even though we have walkie talkies, making sure none of them have spotted anything unusual.
I sweep my flashlight through the vines and circle the wine cellar.
Then I follow the road down to the beach.
I stand there for a while, letting the gentle wash of the ocean up the sand soothe me, trying not to think about Afghanistan, or Penny, or my parents’ divorce, or the fact that my brothers don’t talk to each other anymore.
It’s impossible, though. All my memories feel jumbled up like snooker balls in a bag, and I don’t know which color I’m going to pull out at any one moment.
I feel as if I have so few nice memories, but that’s ridiculous, because I enjoyed my time in the army.
I had some good times with Penny. I have great memories of my parents, and I still get on with both my brothers.
Why is it that bad memories are so much more vivid than good ones? Why do they dominate more?
I saw a therapist for a while, when I first came out of the army. He said part of the reason I’m struggling is because I haven’t yet made new memories to take the place of those giving me trouble. I guess he’s right, but it feels impossible to move on all the time I’m haunted like this.
Well, it won’t get any better out here, on my own.
He also told me I need to be around people and not dwell on my own so much, so I make my way slowly back to the vineyard.
It’s close to midnight now, and I stand outside in the courtyard, listening to everyone inside starting to get to their feet and refilling their drinks ready for the big moment.
Wow, it’s a clear night. The Milky Way is clearly visible as a splash of stars across the sky. I look up and watch a shooting star sear through the darkness, its life as brief as a mayfly’s.
“Brought you a boring beer,” a voice says from beside me.
I glance across and see Aurelia holding out a non-alcoholic beer for me. “Thank you.” I take it from her.
“It’s a lovely evening.” She’s wearing a black off-the-shoulder top tonight, and as she looks up at the stars, she reveals the creamy-white skin of her neck and shoulders, lightly covered in freckles.
I imagine touching my lips to each of those freckles, joining the dots across her collarbone and up her neck.
She glances at me, catching me looking at her, and I clear my throat. “You should go in. It’s nearly midnight, and Mr. Bum Fluff is going to expect his New Year’s kiss.”
Although I tried initially to stay professional, her constant teasing has gradually eroded away at my decorum. We’ve lapsed into an easy banter when we’re alone that, I have to say, I rather enjoy.