BLOODY HELL.
Bloody, bleeding, blimey hell.
I quickly swipe over my cheeks and realise that my face is drenched with tears.
That’s Hayden Clarke.
The Hayden Clarke who is Theo’s brother.
The Hayden Clarke whom I’ve been fantasising about ever since I ran into him two weeks ago. How the bloody hell did I not know anything about his backstory? Leslie never mentioned a thing about what happened to him. She did mention them becoming closer over the last year, but I thought that seemed normal since she is engaged to his brother. I had no idea what was going on in their family.
Why the hell didn’t I ask what the event was raising money for? Not that it would have changed anything. I was desperate to see Hayden again to know if that initial spark I felt before was real or a figment of my imagination. I never would have suspected that he—Lord, I can’t even finish the thought.
“Did you know any of that?” Benji leans over and hiccups loudly. The scent of alcohol permeates heavily from his breath.
I look away and murmur, “Not a drop.”
Benji better cool it on the booze. The night is still young.
“Blimey,” he slurs and looks back attentively toward the announcer who’s resumed her post. She informs everyone there will be a small break before the auction portion of the evening begins.
I look around the table where we’re seated. The dim chandeliers cast a warm glow, doing a proper job of concealing everyone’s emotional distress. Regardless, it’s obvious the entire ballroom is visibly shaken by Hayden’s speech. Reyna suddenly stands up from our table and turns for the exit, her body moving lithely past the occupied seats. Her fiancé, Liam, watches her with a sad look in his eyes.
“I’ll be back,” Liam says, looking a bit morose and follows in her wake.
Frank gets up next—his large fluff of bright red hair makes him impossible not to notice. I’ve met Frank several times with Leslie and have always got on well with him. He’s got an uncanny way of making me feel fabulous in my own skin.
“Right then. If ever there was a time for a bloody drink.” He buttons his denim blazer and straightens his bowtie, then turns to his date. “I think this party needs a bit of Ginger Sparkle. Lionel? Join me, love.”
Lionel nods woodenly and the two men saunter off toward the bar. Leslie’s friend Finley shifts in her seat next to me and grabs her cloth napkin off the table to dab around her eyes. Her husband, Brody, embraces her, then looks over at me. “You okay, Vi? Glad you came?” he asks, catching my anxious expression. Finley turns her vibrant blue eyes to me.
“Oh yes. I’m, erm, fine,” I stammer, nervously tugging up on the bust of my white gown.
The truth is Finley and Brody kind of intimidate me. They’re both American and I’ve met them a couple of times before, but it never gets easier. She’s tall, brunette, and drop-dead gorgeous. He’s even more of a conundrum on my verbal skills. He’s got to be at least six-two, and his mussed, curly, dark hair makes him look sexy in that “I didn’t even try” type of way. They look like a celebrity couple.
Finley and Brody moved here sometime last year and live with Frank. From what little Leslie has told me, I believe Finley and Liam had a fling at one point. But it must have been rather minor for them all to be sitting at a table together tonight.
Mustering a shred of my confidence, I ask, “Did you guys know all of that about Hayden?”
“Most of it, yeah. You didn’t?” Finley asks, her eyes looking sympathetic.
I shake my head. “No, Leslie’s never said a thing. Baby Marisa…Is she—”
“Named after Theo and Hayden’s sister? Yeah,” Finley finishes for me.
“Wow. When did she—”
“She died—” Finley begins to answer, but Brody interrupts her.
“I’m not sure it’s our place to say, Fin. Sorry, Vi. Nothing personal, but maybe Leslie would be better to tell you. Or, better yet, Theo or Hayden,” he adds sympathetically.
Nerves over seeing Hayden up close again take flight in my belly. He could be coming out any minute. Excusing myself to go freshen up, I make my way to the loo in an attempt to collect my thoughts. Once inside, I wait for a couple of older ladies to exit before bracing my hands on the counter and staring at myself in the mirror.
“Bloody hell, Vi. That’s him, all right,” I whisper under my breath. Preparing myself for our inevitable encounter, I stand up straight and smooth down my shimmery gown. I grab a tissue and dab the slightly smudged makeup beneath my eyes as I recall the first time we met.
Two weeks ago, I had just returned from a work trip to China when Leslie rang to invite me to the soft opening of a pub called The White Swan. Reyna and Liam are the new owners and had implemented several changes, so they wanted to do a dry run with some close friends. I hadn’t seen Leslie since she had the baby, but I’d been away from Bruce for too long and couldn’t bear to leave him alone my first night back. When she said I could bring him along, I sort of lost my excuse to say no.
On my way there, I happened to be rounding the corner at the same time as Hayden, and we slammed into each other like two freight trains. Bruce’s lead went flying, and the three of us twisted together like a fishing lure around a tree branch. It was a mess. I certainly did not inherit my brothers’ athletic agility. Bruce was lapping all over Hayden’s face. I didn’t even get a proper look at him until Reyna came outside and found us all tangled up.
As soon as we broke apart, we locked eyes and…it was weird.
Like, mega weird.
Like I knew him from somewhere kind of weird.
Hayden is tall and fit without being overly muscled. He has coppery blonde hair that is cut with a bit of length left on the top, which was stylishly gelled every which way. The angles on his face are chiselled and masculine; the tautness of his jaw is very stern; and his eyes…Bloody hell, his eyes. They are an intense grey that make him look both mysterious and dangerous.
He looked like he could see right through my clothes…and he liked what he saw.
When he introduced himself as Hayden, it didn’t ring any bells at first. It wasn’t until later when I was inside the pub that Frank told me Hayden was Theo’s younger brother. Then it all clicked. Of course he was Theo’s brother. They both have the same intimidating, brooding way about them. Aside from their eye colour—and Hayden being a bit taller and leaner—they really do look a lot alike.
The rest of the night, our gazes kept finding each other like magnets. And every time we locked eyes, he looked almost angry. I swear he even scoffed once, like he was annoyed by how often I kept looking at him. Me! The cheek of him considering he was molesting me with his eyes as well! I felt like a young girl on a playground who got sand thrown on her by a mean boy, only making her want to play with him more. I think the fact that we were communicating all this angry, sexual tension without uttering a word to each other was what made it so thrilling. It was like a silent, sexy game of cat and mouse. But I wasn’t sure it was two-sided. Watching him with everyone there, I could tell he was uncomfortable, like he was dying to leave.
Later, we both happened to be leaving the pub at the exact same time…
…Okay, I’m full of shit. I saw him getting ready to leave and I wanted to talk to him, so I decided to say my goodbyes then as well. What can I say? I’m glutton for punishment and the bugger was drawing me in with his sexy, half-mast, grey eyes. We stepped outside and I was just mustering up the courage to ask him if he wanted to grab a drink. Suddenly, Bruce stopped dead in his tracks right in front of me and off I went. Hayden caught me mid-fall in a close embrace, and I blurted out my awkward invitation. His bemused eyes turned icy cold. He quickly let me go and stuffed his hands in his pockets, muttering some unintelligible excuse. Without another word, he turned on his heel and took off, leaving me standing there like an absolute prat with my cock-blocking animal, Bruce.
The past couple of weeks, I sort of wrote him off. I assumed I was mental and had manufactured the odd chemistry between us. Now, after hearing him speak tonight, I realise I hardly knew a thing about him. He’s obviously got a lot on his plate, so I’m sure he’s not at all interested. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
But, bloody hell, he’s still hot as sin and the darkness of him only adds to the mysterious attraction. I shake my head confidently at myself in the mirror. “Just a normal night, Vi. Let’s get on with it.”
I stride out of the ladies’ room with my head held high, and Leslie bustles past me in the dark hallway with a large tote thrown over her shoulder.
“What are you doing, Leslie? What’s that?”
“Oh, jeez. This is my freaking breast pump. My boobs are engorged to the point of blowing up right now! Look at them. Theo calls them my porn star tits.”
The corners of my mouth turn down as I glance at her cleavage that is spilling out the top of her red corset dress. “Wow, you aren’t joking. They’re massive!” I have to prevent myself from reaching out and poking the luscious mounds.
“Freaking nuts, isn’t it? I produce more milk than a Holstein. Anyway, are you having a nice time?” she asks, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Erm, yes, I suppose. Leslie, I feel a bit odd. You never mentioned any of what happened to Theo’s family. I’m feeling like a bad friend.”
“Oh, Vi, don’t ever think that. When Theo and I got together, there was so much drama right off the bat. And just when things settled down for us, I got pregnant. I hardly even had time to confide in Finley.”
I nod solemnly knowing that Finley and Leslie have been best friends since childhood, so things must have been tense for her. “Okay, well, if you ever need anything, I’m always here for you. And I’m coming over to meet Marisa tomorrow. I won’t take no for an answer.”
Leslie grins at me with a weird panic around her eyes.
“What is it?” My smile drops at the peculiar look on her face.
“I can feel my milk coming down,” she whispers in a choked tone.
My eyes drop down to her breasts in confusion. “Coming down where? What the bugger does that mean?”
“It means that I love you, Vi, but get the hell out of my way before I spray milk all over your pretty dress!”
I quickly step aside as she clambers into the loo. Just as I begin to walk away, the door pops back open. “Benji is at the bar. You might want to check on him. Oh, and remind me when I come back to work that I want to talk to Roger about us designing a fashionable breast pump tote, okay? I’m serious! Boob juice machines need to look fierce as well!”