Fly with Me (14 page)

“You? It’s
always about you, isn’t it?” her mother snapped. “After all we’ve
sacrificed for you, everything we’ve done. You have talent and I’m
not about to let you throw it away. Nor is Calum. He’s worked hard
to get you this booking. We’re all counting on you now to do your
part.”

It was always
the same. Always the Goddamn same. The blood pounded in her
temples, her hand starting to shake. Everyone always wanting a
Goddamn piece of her. They’d taken their Goddamn pieces, too, and
she was done with it. She’d come here to escape it, to find
herself, to-

“You owe us,
Elissa.” Her mother’s hard words cut into her churning thoughts.
“How many times do you have to be reminded of that? The money we’ve
poured into your career, the places we’ve shifted to, the voice
coaches we’ve sacrificed our own comforts for to get your raw
talent trained. Dragging Moz from pillar to post to get you-”

“You got your
money from me, Mum, don’t forget that. And it wasn’t exactly all
above board, was it? Do I need to remind you of that? Have you
forgotten what I found out?”

“I only did
what was best for you. I gave my life up for you and this is how
you repay me? Repay us? Your own parents?”

Her knuckles
whitened on the phone.
Stop. Please stop
.

“Calum is
furious and I’m not far behind him.”

Just bloody
stop
.

“Your father
is going to be so disappointed in you. The family knows you’re
singing there, some of them are coming to listen.”

I don’t
want this, I don’t want this
. Hands shaking, she bit her lip
hard, drew in a shuddering breath.

Peace
cracking, composure shattering.

“Get your head
on straight, Elissa, and get back here. I’ll phone Calum, tell him
you’re coming, smooth things over between you.” Her voice hardened,
a hint of mockery in it. “As usual. God knows you cause a lot of
problems, Elissa. The older you get, the worse you get.”

“Shut up,”
Elissa mumbled.

“I beg your
pardon?”

“Shut up. Just
shut up
!” Furious, tears burning in her throat, Elissa
hurled the phone out the window.

It bounced on
the ground, slid and plopped into a deep puddle.

Good. Good
bloody riddance.

Great. Act
like a kid. Look like a jerk. Couldn’t even act like an adult.

Breasts rising
and falling with every harsh breath she sucked in, Elissa gripped
the steering wheel and glared out the front windscreen.

Rain misted
it, blurring her sight.

Oh, wait.
Maybe that wasn’t rain. Maybe that was… She sniffed. Yeah.
Goddamn.

A sob welled
up from deep inside her, pushed up her throat, forced itself out.
One sob.

It was the
only one to escape. She clenched her teeth, forced the burn back.
I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry
. Heart thumping
hard, hands shaking, even her teeth felt like they were going to
start chattering.

“Elissa?”

The deep voice
had her jerking her head around, her gaze meeting a pair of calm,
non-threatening hazel eyes peering in at her through the open
driver’s side window. Thick, rich, red hair flopped over a strong
brow.

Simon was bent
over, looking in at her. In his hand he held her mobile, dripping
wet and definitely unwelcome.

Great. Total
humiliation. Why the hell not?

“I think you
lost this.” His expression was pleasant. Not curious, not
demanding, not shocked.

“I didn’t lose
it.” Her voice sounded thick even to her own ears.

“So it didn’t
slip out of your hand, huh?”

“Did it look
like it slipped?” Shit, was a touch of hysteria going to grab her?
Now?

“I think it
flew.” Simon regarded the dripping, muddy mobile. “I saw it arc
through the air.”

What could she
say to that? Elissa looked mutely out at him.

Slowly, he
turned his head to study her. Really study her. His gaze leisurely
skimmed over her face, looking deeply into her eyes, sliding down
to her mouth - no doubt noticing her biting her bottom lip hard -
before sliding back up to meet her gaze once more. His voice was
deep, gentle. “Everything all right?”

No. No,
everything wasn’t all right. Everything was shitty, so damned
shitty and nasty and - “Sure.” Shame it came out thickly. She
swallowed past the burning lump in her throat.

He still held
her mobile.

She refused to
reach for it.

“Do you want
to talk about it?” he asked gently.

“No.” She
eased her grip on the steering wheel, trying to ignore the flush
burning up into her cheeks. Christ, was this going to be the norm?
Him meeting her when she was falling apart? “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay.” He
weighed the mobile in his hand but didn’t remove his gaze from
her.

Unable to meet
that steady, sure regard, she turned back to the front to look out
the windscreen. “I’m fine.” Bloody hell, why did that bloody tear
have to choose now to escape?

Gritting her
teeth, she reached up to wipe it away, only to be startled when her
fingers touched a broad, calloused hand cupping her chin gently
while a big, calloused thumb scraped the tear from her cheek with a
softness that was so at odds with the strength she felt coming from
him.

“Fine, huh?”
he asked quietly.

His hand still
cupped her chin.

The desire to
cuddle her cheek into that big, warm palm was almost overwhelming,
but she steeled her emotions, cursing inwardly for making a fool of
herself once again.

Pulling back,
she took a deep breath, ignoring the waver of it. “Yes. Fine.”

Withdrawing
his hand, Simon laid it on the door frame, the muscles in his arms
flexing as he moved, the big biceps bunching as he put weight on
it, leaning on the door frame as he continued to study her.

Huh, he didn’t
have a jacket on either, she noted vaguely, nor goose bumps. In
fact, she could feel the warmth from his skin as though it were
flush against her.

Both a little
disturbed by that thought and a whole lot embarrassed by his
finding her in such an obvious emotional state, she reached for the
key, opening her mouth to tell him good bye - she just had to get
the hell out of there - when thunder rumbled, the heavens suddenly
opened up and rain came down in a torrent.

That had Simon
moving all right. His arm disappeared. Through the windscreen she
saw a vague, blurred outline, then the passenger door swung open
and Simon dived in, the small car rocking under his weight as he
slammed the door shut behind him.

“Hoo boy.” He
shoved his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face.
“Man, that is coming down.”

Mouth open,
she could only stare at him. Now what?

Steam started
to film on the inside of the car windscreen, and for the first time
she noticed that he held two plastic bags from which steam curled.
The smell of hot takeaway filled the car.

He turned to
face her, in the small car seeming even bigger, taller, those broad
shoulders filling her view, those long legs definitely cramped in
the small foot space. His scent slid by her, clean, male,
masculine, a faint hint of aftershave. The warmth of his body
seemed to radiate out, curl languidly through her, draw her to
him.

Settling back
against the corner of the seat, he spread his arm out along the
closed window sill as much as he could, which meant he still had to
bend it, his pose lazy.

Man, he was
handsome. Upset as she was, startled at his seeking shelter in her
car - well, Ash’s car - she couldn’t help but notice those good
looks. That classically handsome face was relaxed, his expression
pleasant, those firm lips in a small smile. Matched with his lazy
pose, he looked like he could almost fall asleep right then and
there. Even his eyelids were partially down in an indolent way.

But the
knowing gleam in those hazel eyes belied that easy-going façade.
There was nothing lazy about Simon, nothing indolent. He was
watching her with unnerving keenness.

Clearing her
throat, seeking to divert him, she moistened her lips. “Need a lift
back to the fire station?”

“Hmmm?” His
gaze lingered on her lips.

Oh boy. She
swallowed, her hands tightening on the steering wheel as a whole
other emotion slid through her. Expectation?
Don’t be
ridiculous.
“Did you walk from work?”

“Oh. Yeah.”
His smile widened a little, his gaze lifting to look her right in
the eyes.

She glanced
away. “I can drop you off. Save you from getting wet.”

“Cheers,
that’d be nice. But wait.”

She stopped in
the act of turning the key. “Why?”

“Because it’s
teeming down and there isn’t a clear view of the road.”

“Oh.” Feeling
stupid, she eased back against the seat, allowing her hands to slip
from the wheel to clasp in her lap.

“Sure fire way
to get arse-ended.” He opened a bag, checked the contents. “Want a
bite to eat?”

“Ah…no. I
was…” She glanced at where he sat. “I was getting some bread.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re
sitting on it.”

“Oh, shit.”
Hoiking up one lean hip, he felt around, pulled forth a very
squashed bag of bread. Holding it up, he quirked a brow.
“Oops.”

She couldn’t
help it, a small laugh escaping her. Taking it from his hand, she
tossed it into the back seat. “It’s okay. Robby had a couple more
loaves inside. I’ll get another loaf before we go.”

“I’ll pay.” Up
went those lean hips again as he worked his hand into his back
pocket.

Holy heck, the
movement had his dark blue pants straining against his muscular
thighs, the muscles in his arms bunching and flexing as he worked
his position.

Her mouth went
dry. “It’s okay. No problem.”

He flashed her
a grin that charmingly popped his dimple into view as he dropped
that mighty fine arse back into the seat, setting the car rocking
gently. “Got it.”

“Really,
Simon, it’s fine. It’s just a loaf of bread.”

“Sweetheart,
I’m very serious about my food. It’s never
just
a loaf. It’s
a
loaf.” Fishing out a five dollar note from his wallet, he
reached out, caught her wrist and raised it. “Here.” He placed the
money in her open palm.

But he didn’t
release her. Instead, his big palm slid from her wrist to cup her
hand, long fingers curling over hers to shift her hand from open to
closed. His hold was warm, gentle, and when he let her go she felt
the loss keenly.

In an attempt
to recover her pose, she held up the five dollar note. “This is too
much.”

“Keep the
change. It’ll be a little something towards giving me shelter.”

“The shelter
comes free.”

His eyes
crinkled at the corners. “Then you can put the change in a charity
box.”

It’d be silly
to argue over a few dollars. “Okay. Thanks.”

“No worries.”
He watched as she tucked the money into the cup holder below the CD
player.

When she
straightened and looked at him, it took her aback to find his
expression serious. It took her even more aback when he suddenly
swung the steaming bags of hot food between the seats to place in
the footrest space behind his seat.

It totally
unnerved her when he straightened to face her and asked bluntly,
“What’s wrong?”

“I -
nothing.”

“You threw the
mobile out the window. That’s not ‘nothing’.”

“I have anger
issues.” Lame excuse.

His expression
said he echoed that thought.

“It was a
stupid thing to do.” She looked at his hands. “Where is it?”

“In my
pocket.”

She looked at
that broad chest. Nothing small and rectangular bulged out of his
shirt pockets. So it had to be in his pants pockets. Her gaze
dropped, searched, got caught on his crotch.

Was that
a…a…?

Face flushing
a little, she looked back up at him.

Nope, no
tell-tale hunger in his eyes for her - as if, anyway - and no
sheepishness. So that bulge was maybe him normally. Maybe he was a
large man down there as well. Long, thick… She forced her mind from
the gutter and met his gaze head-on.

Okay, that
might not be so wise. His eyes were steady, sharp, nothing evident
of the lazy, easy-going man she’d known for a short time. Cripes,
he was the laid-back one, she remembered Ash telling her.

There was
nothing laid-back now about the man seeming to fill the cabin of
the small car. He might be reclining back against the corner made
by the door and the seat, but there was nothing lazy in that
suddenly piercing gaze.

“What
happened?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing I
can’t take care of.” She retreated, feeling the door handle digging
into her back. “Aren’t you due back at work?”

“I’m on my
dinner break, picking up our dinner. The boys won’t expect me back
until this rain clears.”

“Won’t they
come for you?”

“Once the rain
lightens up, but then…” His hand dipped into his hip pocket,
withdrew a mobile phone, flipped it open. Pressing a button, he
waited a few seconds, watching her the whole time. “Hey, Scott. I’m
stuck here at the servo. I’ll be back as soon as the rain eases.
Don’t worry about picking me up, Elissa is here, she’s going to
give me a lift back. Yeah.” His gaze pinned her to the seat. “I
won’t eat everything.” Those hazel eyes dipped to her lips. “Maybe
nibble a little.”

She had to be
imagining it. There was no way that had a double meaning, not for
her. She tensed a little. What was he thinking? Wanting? Apart from
answers?

His gaze
lifted as he laughed suddenly, teeth a white flash in his tanned
face. “I’ll be sure to leave something for you all, don’t worry.
Okay, ‘bye.” Flipped the phone shut, slid it into his top pocket
this time, long fingers sure.