Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) (27 page)

I put Rachel out of my mind, and the frustration I’d felt down on the beach this morning seemed to fade away too. Things would be just fine. Everything would work out—somehow.

Claire interrupted my thoughts with a gentle nudge when I didn’t reply to her. ‘Hey, you heard what I said, right? They’ll be here … at mid-day …?’

~~***~~

At quarter to twelve Claire banged on the bathroom door to say Tom had just rung—they were downstairs. I looked at myself in the mirror, shaking my head. What was I thinking when I’d agreed to buy this new black bathing suit? This body hadn’t seen sun for, like, ever.

‘Well, I’m ready. You?’ Claire said, smiling as I opened the door.

She looked gorgeous. She had on a floral bikini and a long, sheer white shirt over the top of it—just sheer enough that the bright colours of her bikini showed through. And her legs were beautifully tanned and smooth. Her look was complete with delicate white sandals that made her feet look tiny.

Then I looked down at my own feet beneath my running shorts and t-shirt; they looked huge in a pair of rubber thongs. I shook my head and gritted my teeth, then grabbed my keys, phone and a couple of towels.

‘As ready as I can be I guess. Let’s do this,’ I said, feeling like I was jumping out of that airplane again.

We met them at the foyer, and then walked along the shady path to the swimming pool. Luckily there was no-one else there. We grabbed a couple of the lounge chairs and pulled them up to a table with a big umbrella and dropped all our gear onto the table.

Claire smiled and slowly pulled off her shirt, making a real display of brushing her hair back out of her face as she closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sun. She stepped out of her sandals and walked over to the pool, putting one foot in to test the water.

‘It’s not too bad,’ she said. Then she took a couple of steps back and ran up to the edge and jumped in, barely making the surface of the water move.

‘Wow, eh?’ said Tom, winking at Sam. ‘That’s my girl!’

Tom stripped off his shirt and shorts to reveal what had to be about the most perfect male body I’d ever seen. He was all muscles—his body no less stunning than his perfect face. I couldn’t help but stare as he ran over to the pool where Claire had gone in, and did a similar dive to hers. I blushed when I realized that Sam was watching me as I watched Tom.

‘They’re well suited, aren’t they?’ he asked, smiling.

‘Hmm… yes, they are perfect, aren’t they? Disgustingly perfect, if you ask me.’

We both laughed, and I could only assume he felt the same as I did—it was impossible not to admire them, and impossible not to like them as well.

‘Shall we?’ he asked.

I suddenly felt sick with nerves, but it was too late to do anything about it. I looked at Sam and mumbled something about it being winter and not having thought about swimming …

He smiled and took my hands in his and brought them up to his lips, gently kissing my fingers.

‘You are not Claire, and never will be. But you, my dearest, are perfect to me in every way possible.’

I was pretty sure that my heart stopped. I know it missed at least one beat. I felt faint, and wondered if he could feel me starting to slip into unconsciousness. But as soon as I remembered to breathe, I felt fine. I pulled the t-shirt off over my head, and slipped off my shorts. As I looked down at my legs I thought maybe they weren’t quite as shockingly white as I’d imagined, even though they didn’t stand a chance compared to Claire’s. But Sam didn’t seem to notice. He smiled as he stripped down to his board shorts. He looked so wonderful, and normal. Then he took my hand.

He must have been reading my thoughts or something, because rather than heading over to the deep end, where Claire and Tom had gone, he led me over to the stairs at the shallow end of the pool. There we eased into the water, one step at a time, getting accustomed to what was not actually a very warm pool at all.

‘Claire, I thought you said the water was warm?’

‘Did I? No, I think what I said was that it wasn’t too bad,’ she laughed, as Tom grabbed her around the waist and threw her up out of the water.

We had the best two hours with them. No one else turned up at the pool, so we had it all to ourselves. This was probably a really good thing because as careful as the two men were, every now and then I couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t cast a shadow. The fact that the sun was directly overhead helped, but if Claire had been paying attention, she might have noticed. But both Sam and Tom spent most of the time either in the water, or sitting under the umbrella at the table. They were obviously experienced at avoiding discovery.

The time passed far too quickly as we told stories of stupid things we’d done at swimming parties when we were young—near misses, diving feats (well,
some
of us had stories of perfect dives, not
all
of us), sunburn and lost bathers were the main events. We laughed and had the best time. My concerns about my white legs turned out to be a non-event, and it seemed that while Claire was stunningly beautiful, Sam still only had eyes for me. It was the best two hours I’d spent in a long time.

But then Sam said they needed to get moving. They had a flight to catch.

‘I’m glad you came. I mean … it was such a nice surprise,’ I said, suddenly feeling all shy again as we said our goodbyes.

‘Yeah, I’m glad too,’ Sam said, as he reached up and brushed the hair away from my eyes.

‘So, I guess I’ll see you next week?’ I asked, awkwardly.

‘Of course. Give me a call when you get home.’

I looked over at Tom and Claire who were saying their goodbyes under a shady tree near the car.

‘Do you think Tom will invite Claire to the party?’

‘Hmmm … I don’t know. She doesn’t know anything, and it would be best if we kept it that way. When she leaves for university she may very well put this little fling behind her. There’s no need to involve her too deeply in any of this.’

I thought about what he said for a moment.

‘So, when I go back to California, will you put this little fling of ours behind you?’ I don’t know where the words came from. I felt nearly as shocked by my words as he looked to be.

‘Is that what you think this is? A
little fling?’

‘No. No, I don’t think that … not at all. I was just wondering if you … well, you know, if … if you thought this was just something that would be over in a few weeks …’

The change in him made me regret having opened my mouth. His beautiful blue eyes went black, and the sullen look returned—the one I’d seen when I first met him. I wished I could take it all back.

‘This really is a dilemma … and I’ve been mulling over for weeks, Lili. You’re not a fling. But our worlds are just so different. These past few weeks have been some of the best times I’ve ever had … and it’s been like we’ve always known each other. But I can’t see how we can continue this.’

So, maybe it was as hard for him as it was for me. Maybe, when I thought he was angry with me, it was that he was just as frustrated by the impossibility of our situation as I was. Maybe he really did love me.

I reached up and pulled his head down to mine, and kissed him.

‘If you love me, Sam, then there will be a way,’ I whispered, hoping to bring back a smile to his face.

‘I do love you. Always remember that, no matter what happens.’ He looked a little less sullen as he said the words, but the joy was gone from his eyes.

He kissed me again, then walked over to Tom and punched him in the arm. ‘Gotta go, mate,’ he said loudly, then ruffled Claire’s hair and said, ‘sorry’, as he dragged Tom into the car.

As they pulled away into the traffic, both Claire and I sighed. She smiled, or maybe I should say beamed, while I fought back tears. But we were both sad to see them leave.

‘Now,’ she said firmly, ‘I promised Ian some cocktails when they get back from golf, and I saw a bottle shop on the corner. How about we go buy a bottle of rum? Do they drink rum? I can get some wine too maybe, and how about some nuts or something? We can sit out on the balcony and watch the sunset.’

‘Whatever you think, Claire. I suppose I could use a drink right about now.’

~~***~~

The following days were quite busy. Ian had organised to borrow a boat from a friend so we sailed, swam and snorkelled for five days. After that we took a long drive up into what Debs called the hinterland, and then the following day we hired horses and went for an all-day ride that took us into some beautiful bushland. Then when Debs and Ian decided to go golfing again, Claire insisted she and I should visit a theme park. I chose the one where we got to walk with a tiger, and have our photos taken with her. It was awesome.

But even though we were keeping busy and we were doing fun things, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sam. I was torn between being grateful to Debs and Ian for taking me on this trip, and resenting them for taking me away from Sam. I wanted to call him, to hear that he missed me as much as I missed him. But I couldn’t make my fingers pick up the phone. So instead, I replayed our last conversation over and over again in my mind. And as each day passed, I began to wonder if he’d actually said that he loved me, or if I’d only imagined it because it was what I’d wanted to hear.

~ C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-
THREE
~

When the buzzer rang I felt my heart skip a beat. I’d already changed my outfit three times … was there time to change again? Was the little black dress I’d borrowed from Debs too much? I felt awkward—not sure what to do with my hands.

Moments later I opened the door, and gasped softly. Dressed in black pants and a silk shirt that was nearly the same colour as his eyes, Sam looked far too good to be real. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and a subtle hint of fragrance that reminded me of summer teased my nostrils. I tried to speak, but when a sensual smile touched his lips, I nearly choked—no sound came out of my mouth. He looked, and smelled, better than any man I’d ever seen.

Debs and Ian were behind me now, inviting Sam to come in. I was grateful when they stood there catching up, as it took the focus off me, allowing me time to come to grips with my sudden case of nerves.

‘They make such a lovely couple,’ Debs was saying as she gently pushed me over to stand closer to Sam. ‘Don’t you agree, Ian? Their looks complement each other so nicely. Grab the camera, will you? I’d like a photo of them together like this … all dressed up.’

I felt my cheeks burn as I blushed, but Sam just reached across and took my hand in his cool one, and squeezed it gently. I looked up at him, and when our eyes met, my nervousness seemed to melt away. I sighed, deciding that maybe I didn’t have to solve everything this minute. Maybe I could just enjoy what would no doubt be a wonderful evening. I could think about everything else tomorrow.

The drive to the gardens took just a few minutes. As we walked up to the top of the hill, Sam took my hand. I wasn’t sure if it was his vampire charms, or the beautiful sight ahead of us, but my nerves settled and all thoughts about leaving Australia pushed to the back of my mind for processing later.

Fairy lights were everywhere—in the trees, and all around the edges of the small marquee that had been placed just near Sam’s tree. In the middle of the marquee stood a table covered with a golden cloth. Upon the table was a large punch bowl filled with a pink mixture, and a tiered cake that looked a bit like a wedding cake, only without the bride and groom on top. Long stemmed glasses, cake plates and tiny forks finished off the table.

Soft classical music played from a stereo at the back of the marquee, and Michael and Crystal were already out on the makeshift dance floor. They moved as one, Crystal stunning in a golden sari, her long black hair floating gently behind her whenever Michael spun her around. And Michael—well, I’d never seen him look so handsome. He sure ‘scrubbed up well’ as the Aussies would say.

Tom stood at the edge of the marquee, watching them, his arm draped casually around Claire’s shoulders. I smiled as I met Claire’s eyes, thrilled that Tom had invited her. Her dress, which was no doubt by some top designer, completely brought out the blue of her eyes. She looked gorgeous, as did Tom.

Erranase stood on Tom’s opposite side, and just past them stood Henry and Elizabeth. I could only assume that Claire couldn’t see Henry and Elizabeth, and hoped that Erranase knew that too.

As we walked up, Erranase nodded briefly and then leaned across Tom to ask Claire to dance. I was nearly as impressed by the way she accepted as I was in her ability to dance. She’d obviously had classical dance lessons, for she waltzed lightly in his arms, not once missing a step. Tom looked mesmerized as he watched them.

‘I’m so glad you invited Claire,’ I said to Tom as we walked up.

‘Yeah—I figured it would be okay, so long as Henry and Elizabeth behave themselves,’ he laughed.

‘They will,’ said Sam, turning me to face him as he spoke. ‘Come, dance with me.’

My heart did a couple of back flips, but I managed to smile as I said, ‘I’m sorry, but really, I can’t dance like that.’

‘We don’t have to dance like that. You’ll be fine,’ he said, a smile once more lighting up his handsome face.

He took my hand and I followed. I was stiff at first, but relaxed as we just held onto each other; barely moving our feet we swayed to the music.

I could see that Henry and Elizabeth were having a go at dancing too, although Elizabeth really just flittered around in her usual dancing style, while Henry did his own version of a solo waltz.

Erranase reluctantly gave way when Tom cut in, and then went over to the marquee to stand at the table. After we danced through a few songs, we walked over to join him, and after a few moments Crystal appeared. She looked at Erranase and although I didn’t hear her speak, I think she must have said something to him as he excused himself politely.

‘You two looked so lovely together just then,’ she said, her eyes sparkling. ‘It’s like you were made for each other. You know that, don’t you?’

I think Sam would have blushed if he were capable of it. I know I did.