Shiver Sweet (12 page)

“Steph will spread this through town faster than wildfire.”

Oh, Jesus.  Once again I’d be the centre of a scandal.  “We’ll have to tell Sarah and your mum before your sister does.  And you need to end your relationship with Claire
properly
before word gets out... unless.”  I met his eyes.  “Persuade your sister to keep it zipped.  Buy us some time.”

Steph’s car revved and roared into the distance. 

He nodded.  “I’ll chase after her.”

CHAPTER 15

CHRISTA

I stretched my arms overhead, threw the covers back off the bed in Brian’s spare room, and slipped into his bathroom to shower.  Brian must have carried me to bed last night because beyond dozing on the couch, I could only vaguely remember being lifted, Brian stroking my hair and telling me everything was sorted.  I’d have to quiz him about Steph in detail and speak to Sarah... but... hold on.  The spare room?  Oh, what a gentleman!  He hadn’t even attempted to get me into his bed.  I felt kind of disappointed.

In yesterday’s crumpled clothes, I strolled down the hall while trying to phone Nicola – I didn’t want her to worry about me.  Yet again, I sighed, unable to get through to her on either the landline or her mobile. 

I entered the kitchen to find Sarah sitting at the table - looking all innocent and ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt’ in her dressing gown decorated with cute little animals - while Brian attended to a sizzling pan at the stove.  I kissed the top of her head and pulled a chair out.  “Morning, sweetheart.  Sleep well?”  I’d be nice first, then have words.

“Happy birthday, mum.”  She sunk her spoon into a bowl of cereal and kept her gaze low.

“Happy birthday, Christa.  Coffee?” Brian asked, grinning.  “Eggs?”

“Both, thanks.”  I took a seat next to Sarah at the kitchen table.  "You should have woken me.  What time is it?"

“Half past nine,” Brian replied, fiddling with something on the worktop.  “Oh, I explained to Sarah about last night.”

I gulped.  “Y-you did?”

“Yes.  How you helped me rescue Claire, and
that’s
why you stayed the night.”

“In the spare room,” I added, keeping emotion out of my voice, relieved he hadn’t yet told her about our being together.  Although I'd have rather waited a bit, I had to tell her before someone else got in there first.

“I’ve had a word with Sarah about her sneaking out last night.  She won’t do it again anytime soon.”

I gave her the eye.  “I’m not impressed.  You’re grounded for a week and have to do twice the chores.”

“Mum!  What about my friends?”

“Tough.  You should have thought about that before sneaking out.  Don’t you know that I worry about you?”

She shovelled cereal into her mouth, her gaze on her breakfast bowl.

“Just cereal?” I asked.

“I’ve already had some bacon.  I’m hungry.”

“Oh, and I phoned the school,” Brian said.  “Still closed.  Snowed off again.  Some of the teachers can’t make it in.”

I faced Sarah.  “Another day off.  Lucky you.”

She looked at me and beamed.  “What shall we do?  I mean, I know I’m grounded, but it’s your birthday so we should still do something special.  Together.”

“Hmmm...”  I smoothed Sarah’s brown hair behind her ears, and smiled to hide my worry.  I wanted to whisk her far beyond the reach of John and find some time to think through my options, but if I did take her out somewhere, her grounding would have turned into a treat.  “How about we watch a movie at home?  Get all cosy in the snug.”

Excitement faded from her eyes.  “Okay.  Boring.”

“Well, would you prefer to make a start on tidying your room?”

She said nothing.

“Didn’t think so.  And I need to talk to you about something this afternoon.” 
About giving up our house.
  Oh, God.  I dreaded it.  The deadline was here and I had no choice but to sign on the painful dotted line.  My mobile beeped several times - a welcome distraction.  I scrolled through a succession of text messages wishing me a happy birthday.  “Ahr.  That’s a nice one from Brad.” 

“Your cousin?” Brian asked.

“Yep.  He’s been really lovely recently, over the divorce and then worrying about the break-in.”  I scrolled through the messages to the last one from my parents.  They wished me a happy day, and also asked what time I’d visit them today.  I sent a quick reply telling them I’d let them know my plans later.  Then I looked up.  “Whoa!”

Brian set my plate on the table.  In the centre of scrambled eggs and bacon, was a sausage with a lit candle sticking out of it.  “I’ll give you your
gift
later on.”  He winked and returned to the worktop with his eyes still alight. 

A wicked thought? 

This proved he didn’t regret our kissing last night.  Thank goodness.  “Well,” I began, aware of heat flooding my cheeks.  “This is a lovely breakfast.”

“Make a wish, mum.”  Sarah frowned.  “You okay?  Why is your face red?”

I winced.  “Is it?”

Brian flashed me an ‘oops’ look and I swore his cheeks had also pinked-up a touch. 

Glad it isn’t just me.

Deep, cooling breath.  “So, anyway... a wish.  Great idea.”  I closed my eyes and wished that I could reach my rainbow; the nightmare of my divorce would end today, and I could keep my house so that Sarah and I could move on in life.  Be happy.  With Brian, and whatever wickedness was in that mind of his.

I blew the candle out.

Brian sat opposite me and dug into his fried breakfast.  “I phoned the insurance people first thing.  They’re giving me a courtesy car to use until mine’s repaired.”

“That’s quick.”

He winked.  “It pays to have a friend on the inside.  I did some work for them last year.”

“This is nice,” Sarah said, smiling and glancing between us.

I covered my mouth with my hand and spoke around a mouthful of eggs.  “Yes.  Delicious.”

“No,” Sarah said.  “I meant us, here.  The three of us around the table.”

“Yes.  Very nice.”  I swallowed and kissed her cheek.  “Actually... I’m glad you said that.”  I looked across to Brian and mouthed, ‘should we tell her now?’  I wasn’t sure what was happening with Steph, but I couldn’t let Sarah hear the news second hand.

Chewing on his food, he nodded.

“The thing is Sarah...  You know what great friends Brian and I are..."  I paused.  "You know that John and I are not getting back together, right?”

She nodded while wiping a dribble of milk off her chin.  “I know it’s over, and I knew you would split up.”

I frowned.  “What do you mean?  How did you know?”

She shrugged.  “Dunno.  I just did.”

“And Claire and I are no longer together,” Brian slipped in.

“Since when?” Sarah asked.

“Things haven’t been good between us for quite some time.”

“Well,” I continued.  “I’m ready to start dating again, and... how would you feel if Brian and I were to...” I paused to gulp. 
Christ, how will she react?  Brian is her uncle.

Brian set his folk down on his plate.  “What your mum is trying to say is that... we...”  He reached across the table for my hand and kissed my fingertips.

Sarah stared at our clasped hands, and then at our faces.

“We’re together,” he finished.

“Well, seeing each other... dating,” I clarified.  I chewed my lip and brushed her glossy curtain of hair behind her shoulder.  “How do you feel about that, sweetheart?”

Sarah set her spoon down.  Her lips twitched on the crossroad between a smile and a frown.  We waited through her silence until she said, “Cool.” 

“Really?” I asked, taken aback.  I didn’t need her permission, I just wanted her to be okay with it.

She glanced at both of us again.  “It’s a bit weird but... Will Brian still be my uncle or my–“

“Yes.  Uncle.”

“Can I still come here on weekends to see my friends?”

I gave a little laugh.  “Of course.  Brian will still live here.  We’re only dating, not moving in together.” 

"Well... if you two want to go out on dates,” Sarah said, scooping the last of her cereal onto a spoon, acting more animated.  “Then it's fine.  Don't worry about me.  I can stay in on my own."

I laughed.  "Yeah, bet you would.  Nice try though."  I spread my arms and pulled her into a hug.  “You’re the most important person in the world to me, to both of us, okay?  That will never change, no matter who we date.”

"I'll get dressed."  Sarah raced around the table to hug Brian who playfully returned her mock fighting moves.  She giggled when he started tickling her, then bounded out of the room.

"Have you been teaching her to fight?" I asked.

"It's self-defence.  She's got one hell of a stomp on that right foot of hers.  Grinds my toes right down to Australia."  Brian leaned into the table.  “See, you were worrying about nothing.  She's happy for us.”

“Hmmm... I’m not sure happy is the word but at least she didn’t
hate
the idea.  The thought of my mum being with my uncle makes me feel all... weird.  It kinda blurs the lines of people’s relationships.  But I guess I'm alone in my thinking.  I’ll talk to her again about it later.”  I glanced over my shoulder to check she wasn’t about to return.  “What happened with your sister last night?  Did she phone Claire?”

“It was tricky, but I managed to persuade her to keep quiet.”  He paused, stroked my leg under the table and lowered his voice.  “It took all of my will power to tuck you into that spare bed last night instead of into mine.”

A tingle fired straight to my heart.  Smiling, I gazed down at my plate.  “Back to Steph.  How did you persuade her to keep quiet?”

“I simply told her that if she really cared about her friend, she’d let me break up with her as nicely as I could and not upset her further by telling her about our... umm... kiss.”

Yep, and some kiss it was.
  I frowned.  “And that’s it?”

He shrugged and chewed some bacon.  “Pretty much.  If you want my honest opinion, even though Steph’s angry with us, I don’t think she wants Claire to get hurt.  After the way my sister reacted when I caught up with her last night, I’m starting to think she has a
thing
for Claire.”

“A thing?  As in...”

He nodded.

“But I thought Steph was dating someone a while back?  A man.”

He wrinkled his nose. 
How cute;
I almost melted.  “It’s just a hunch,” he said.

This struck me as strange because then surely Steph would be pleased about Brian breaking up with Claire.  “And what about Claire?”

He shook his head.  “Men only... well, as far as I know.”

“But I thought you accused Steph of making Claire believe you were going to ask her to move in with you.  If she likes Claire in
that
way, surely she’d try to split you apart not force you closer.”

“Claire only came into Steph’s life through me.  Perhaps Steph’s worried that our break-up will mean they’ll drift apart.”  He shrugged.  “It happens.  But, who knows?  I never quite have understood my sister.  She always seems to be guarded.”

I squashed some eggs onto my fork.  “If you're right, however much I don't see eye to eye with your sister, I hope she doesn’t get her heart broken.”

"I could be wrong."

"And here's me worrying about mums getting it on with uncles when your sister might want to hop into bed with your ex."

Brian let out a demented chuckle then grimaced at the ceiling.  "Er... yeah.  It would feel weird.  I guess I now see your point."

I ate my breakfast and washed it down with coffee.  “I haven’t seen Steph in years.  She was so great during my pregnancy.  And then one day... boom.  It was like as soon as Sarah took her first baby steps she turned cold on me.  If she blamed me for her brother, she’d have cut me off straight away, not a year or so down the line.”

“Whenever I asked her about it, she stormed off, but then we’ve never really gotten on.”

“Yes.  She always favoured your brother.”

Brian sipped his coffee.  "I'll drive you home as soon as the car arrives."  He paused to wince at me.  "Then I need to have a chat with Claire, and drop in on my parents before I get ready for the meeting at my office.  I want us to be together properly, not sneak around."

"Like Sarah does?"

"Exactly."

I gave him a sympathetic smile.  "I hope Claire doesn’t go nuts at you."

"She'd have to be blind to not know what's coming.  But I do need to end things properly.  She might have been a pain in the backside lately, but we have had some good times so I owe her that much."

"Your entire family loathes me.  They're only polite for Sarah's sake."

He reached for my hand across the table and slotted his fingers between mine.  "They'll just have to suck it up."

Hopefully they wouldn’t make life miserable for us.  “We’ll see.  Finished eating?”  I moved over to the sink to wash our dishes.  "I'm going to phone John again when I get home.  But I think I've made up my mind."  I stared at him over my shoulder.  "I'm going to sign the divorce papers.  Give him the house and get it over with.  It'll sting, but it's a small price to pay for him to keep his mouth shut and protect Sarah’s sanity.  I'll just have to find a smaller place to live and somehow cram my office into it."

"No, wait... I," Brian's voice throbbed with concern.  He scraped his chair back across the tiles and came up behind me. He dumped his mug in the sink, gently slid his arms around my waist and locked his fingers above the waistband of my jeans, sending tingles through me.  "What if you could
keep
the house?"

"I'm ready."  Sarah skipped into the kitchen in black leggings and a long glittery jumper, then jerked to a stop.  "Oh... er... Let's go home to open your presents, mum."

I smiled at Sarah, frowned at Brian.  "I don't see how that's possible."

"Later."  He planted a quick kiss on my neck while Sarah grabbed a juice from the fridge before heading into the hall.  "Just don't sign anything yet.  I need a little time.  There's always a way around, if not through a problem."