Perfection Is Just an Illusion (Swimming Upstream #1) (12 page)

Chapter 9

Along the sandy shores of the beach in the small coastal town hidden between the mountains and the forest, James and Anna acted like love struck teenagers. As the clouds rolled in with the afternoon storm, a thick blanket of mist consumed the horizon. Refusing to let the weather ruin her euphoric buzz, Anna swallowed. The little girl inside of her always associated a storm rolling in with the change that it would inevitably bring.

Wrapping her arms even tighter around James’s shoulders, Anna buried her head in his neck. She was perched precariously on his back, her legs wrapped around his waist as he piggy backed her down the beach. The wind whipped the sea water into a fine spray, coating them both, but neither noticed. They were so caught up in just being together.

Up ahead they could see a young family playing cricket on the water’s edge. Small children filled the rock pools searching for crabs, starfish and pretty shells. James laughed merrily as a young girl with strawberry blonde hair called to her mother, “Mum, Mum! Guess what I’ve found? I got a starfish. Quick, Mum! Come look.” James could see the giddy excitement in the child’s face as her mother rushed over to see.

James looked at Anna, whose eyes were fixed on a small boy and his father building a sandcastle. The small freckle-faced boy was running up and down the beach carrying buckets of water. As they got closer to the sandcastle, the boy stopped and stared straight at them. His face changed in an instant, almost as if he had seen a ghost. Then, without another thought he dropped the bucket and pointed at James. “You’re James Thompson!” he stated, looking up at James, waiting for confirmation.

The young boy had recognised James walking the beach. He couldn’t have been be any more than six or seven years old yet he still knew who James was. “That’s me,” James confirmed with a wide grin. “What’s your name?”

The boy’s father saw his son shaking hands with a tall stranger and rushed over to intercept. It was an in-built reflex, like he half expected James to hurt his son. He ran across the beach and grabbed his son’s arms, yanking him out of James’s grasp, without even pausing to glance at James.

“I thought I told you to never talk to strangers,” he began, already lecturing his son.

“But Dad…” he was pleading, his eyes wide.

“Don’t ‘but Dad’ me. You know better.”

“Dad, I do know him. He’s James Thompson.” At that moment the boy’s father dropped his son’s hand, spun around, and stared straight into James’s face.

His face fell with embarrassment. “Sorry, mate, I didn’t realise,” he confessed as he stole a look at Anna.

James shook it off without hesitation or grudge. Extending his hand, James just offered him a casual smile. “It’s cool. I’m James and this is my fiancée, Anna.” Anna had gotten used to being introduced as his fiancée and still, after hearing it a thousand times, found it amusing and slightly odd.

“Hi. I’m Paul. And I guess you’ve met my son, Jarred.” After a few minutes of talking and laughing, James and Anna continued their walk, although their mood had been lightened.

There on the beach Anna had seen what families do. Build sandcastles, scour rock pools and run and laugh like nothing else mattered but that moment. This was the life that Anna never thought she would be able to have with James. As much as she loved him their lives had been so hectic right from the start that Anna had given up the notion that she and James would one day have a family of their own. But in that brief moment on the beach, Anna saw James’s eyes light up as he talked to that young boy. Anna knew it was the life that James never imagined he could have, but suddenly it seemed possible. And without even discussing it, she knew it was something they both wanted.

“You were so great with that little boy and his father. Even if the father did look like he wanted to kill you.” Anna laughed.

“I was, wasn’t I?” James murmured, wrapping his arm around Anna’s shoulders. “You know what was weird about that whole thing?”

Anna just looked up at James with a puzzled look. “What?”

“I actually understood how that father felt. I mean, think about it. All he saw was his son talking to a stranger and he lost it. I mean, with the way that things are these days, you never quite know what anyone is going to do. His first instinct was to protect his family. So that’s exactly what he did. Protect first, ask questions later. I admire him for that,” James explained thoughtfully.

“Don’t tell me you’ve gone all clucky on me?” Anna teased, giving him a hug. “Let’s go home,” she nudged, leading him over the sand dunes.

But before they left they paused on the dunes and looked back the way they’d come. The white waves were still crashing on the shore. The sun was disappearing on the horizon. The sky was turning red, then pink, then a cool and tranquil deep purple. As the day faded into twilight, the sea gulls fell silent and the night sounds took over. It was a magical time of the day, one both James and Anna enjoyed no matter where they were. The cool smooth silver of a dolphin’s dorsal fin cut through the water like a knife through butter. James and Anna watched as the dolphins begin to dance and leap out of the water, landing with a splat. Their playful antics continued as James and Anna disappeared through the shrubs and headed for home.

Opening the front door of Anna’s parents’ place, they were ambushed by Kelley and Kate. Before they could take another step the two young girls had them blindfolded. With a mischievous cackle, they marched them through the house into the lounge and sat them down, leaving them with very strict instructions not to move or touch their blindfolds. Kelley was the look out. If they attempted to move or take off their blindfolds their lives would end, she threatened weakly.

After five minutes Anna and James were blindfolded and bored. Anna dropped her head into James’s lap. “Hey Missy! Careful with the goods,” he scolded.

“Sorry,” Anna cooed back, reaching her hand up behind his head and pulling it towards hers.

When they broke apart breathless moments later, Kelley coughed dramatically. “Excuse me, I’m still in the room!” she reminded them. Anna could just picture her sister trying to maintain her exasperation. Kelley would have her arms folded across her chest and her eyes would have rolled back in her head. It was the same pose that Kelley had every time she didn’t get her way.

Embarrassed, Anna dropped her head back into James’s lap. Almost instantly his fingers were running though her hair. It was a small gesture but one that never failed to soothe her or make her sleepy. Unable to swallow her yawn, Anna snuggled further against James’s warm body.

“Sleepy, Princess?” James asked, pushing a stray curl from her forehead.

When Anna only managed a murmur reply, Kelley couldn’t stomach their PDA session anymore. “Get a room!” she muttered jealously.

With one hand twisted through Anna’s hair, James began tracing lazy circles along her arm, leaving a trail of goose pimples behind him. Anna sighed but said nothing. The subtle changes in her body were unnoticeable to anyone but James.

“Seriously, Kelley, how much longer?” James breathed huskily.

Anna wiggled in his arms. She was in hell. All her thoughts were quickly becoming R-rated and not only was she stuck in a room with her sister, but it was in her parents’ house.

“Not long. Why?” Kelley asked, exasperated. Without missing a beat, James laughed. “’Cause I can think of much better ways to spend the afternoon with Anna, and trust me, I have absolutely no objections to keeping her blindfolded.” With a smirk James bent down and placed a chaste kiss on Anna’s neck before whispering, “Play along,” into her ear.

Anna felt a blush consume her whole body. This is what this man did to her. He turned her to mush. James’s fingers skirted their way along the edge of Anna’s shirt before ducking under the hem. Anna’s breath hitched. With a wicked smile, James continued tracing patterns on her skin.

“Oh my god!” Kelley exclaimed. “You two make me want to vomit.” James heard Kelley stomp across the room but managed to restrain his laughter until he heard the door slam.

As Anna cracked up she managed to scold him, “That was so mean!”

“To who?” James breathed against the back of Anna’s hand before dotting it with light kisses. “To Kelley…” another kiss, “or you?”

Frustrated with her inability to form actual words, Anna growled. James chuckled with satisfaction. Anna knew James was enjoying driving her nuts. He loved getting under her skin. But Anna knew she wasn’t the only one that was affected. With James’s perfect body so close to hers, even if he didn’t want to admit it, Anna knew that he too was being tortured.

James shifted awkwardly in his seat and Anna couldn’t refrain from exacting her revenge. “Feels like someone isn’t as immune as he would like to think he is!” She giggled, unable to contain the cute snort that followed.

“You suck!” James snarled.

“You wish!” Anna baited him. With a painful moan, James moved quickly, and before Anna had a chance to react, James was straddling her hips.

“Get off!” she protested pathetically.

“Hell no!” James retorted, grabbing both her wrists in one hand and pinning them above her head. Dropping a wet kiss on her neck, James ran his free hand down her side and began to tickle her ribs mercilessly. “You ready to say sorry yet?” he taunted.

“What for?” Anna panted as she continued to squirm beneath him.

“What for? Being mean to me,” James sniggered.

“Or for pointing out the obvious?” Anna asked with a smirk, deliberately bumping his erection that was pressing into her stomach.

With a snarl that emanated from the back of his throat, James relented, letting go of her arms and flattening his body on top of hers. “You really do hate me, woman!”

Squashed beneath James, blindfolded, and aroused more than ever before, Anna wrapped her arms around James’s neck and pulled his face to hers. “I’m sorry I make things so hard for you,” she exhaled breathlessly before another fit of giggles consumed her.

“Bitch!” James scolded, unable to stop himself from joining the laughter.

They were so caught up in their own world that they didn’t hear the door open and someone walk in. “You guys are gross!” Kelley whined, snapping them back to attention. “You ready for your surprise or would you prefer to get a room?”

“That’s an option?” Anna asked, shocking both her sister and fiancée.

As James crawled off Anna, trying to conceal his obvious arousal, Kelley took them both by the hand. “Come on.” The boredom was evident in her tone as she pulled them to their feet.

***

James

Kelley led Anna and James to their chairs and told them to sit. They still couldn’t see what was happening but they could hear people moving about. James easily picked out the voices of his parents, Kate, Kelley, Lachlan, Kathryn, and Brandon, yet there were two voices he couldn’t place. That was everybody that was staying there and he was wondering who the other voices belonged to. One was a male voice, deep and husky, while the other was a soft, sensual feminine voice. The only question was who did they belong to?

A minute later Kate and Kelley removed their blindfolds. Brandon and Kathryn’s backyard had been transformed into a romantic, magical paradise. The pergola had been covered in hundreds of tiny fairy lights, while the clothesline was covered in silver and turquoise balloons and streamers. The trees in the backyard had also been filled with the petite fairy lights. The table had been moved under the pergola and wrapped up in a turquoise tablecloth with silver napkins in napkin rings. The transformation was miraculous. The backyard normally looked like the typical Aussie backyard: a green square of grass in the middle, a gum tree standing proudly against the fence, with the clothesline in one corner and the barbecue in the other, but right now it could never be dismissed as simply a normal backyard.

James’s eyes darted around, searching for the two unknown and mysterious voices. Then there they were, standing quietly in the corner of the yard. It was James’s sister Renee and her husband Ryan. Both families were complete and together. And this time it wasn’t tragedy that had brought them together. This time it was something special. It was a love that had united their two families.

They sat and ate an incredible meal. Anna couldn’t work out how her mother had managed to pull this off. Kathryn had truly out done herself. It was a baked dinner with all the trimmings. Anna’s eyes darted about sweeping over dishes of baked potatoes, pumpkin, honey roasted carrots, beans, cauliflower drenched in creamy white sauce, and Anna’s favourite, sweet potato. Then as amazing as the vegetables smelt, the roast pork caught her attention. Anna was overwhelmed by the massive quantity of food spread before them, yet she was more surprised at the speed at which it vanished.

Dinner was accompanied by normal dinner chatter and arguments. Anna and James’s parents sat discussing the weather and debating the advantages of living in a quiet coastal retreat in the middle of nowhere.

“Diana, why can’t we live in a paradise like this?” Michael pouted.