Just Good Friends (26 page)

Kate couldn’t help being relieved when Drew and Hannah
returned fifteen minutes later to the sight of Koti giving a bottle to a clean
and contented baby. She was glad they were back. She was even happier that she
hadn’t had to do this alone. Somehow, she didn’t think the picture greeting
them would have been nearly so peaceful.

Hannah barely acknowledged them, just went straight to Koti
and took the baby from his arms.

“I need to feed him,” she told Kate once she had Jack safely
back. “Come with me and tell me how things went.”

“Fidgeted all the way home,” Drew smiled as Hannah bore the
baby off to their bedroom. “I’d say that was the limit. It was good to get out
for a bit, though, just the two of us. Cheers for that.”

“No worries,” Koti assured him. 

“How’d you go?” Drew asked.

“I had to use some of my baby-wrangling skills. Carrying the
ball, eh. He had a bad moment there, but we got him settled again.”

“Hope this makes Hannah feel better about leaving him for a
bit from time to time,” Drew said. “I reckon the first time’s the hardest. And
those first few weeks, we had to wake him up, make sure he ate. Turns out they
can be too sleepy when they’re born early like that. That’s made her hover a
bit more.”

“But,” he cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about
something else, now that I have the chance. Seems ungrateful of me, after
everything you’ve done. The night he was born, and tonight. But Hannah’s
worried about Kate.”  

Koti frowned. “What? I haven’t done anything to hurt Kate. I
wouldn’t.”

“That’s the point. Your love life isn’t my business, I know.
But you have a bit of a reputation. Kate isn’t a party girl. And she’s been
through a rough time. Be honest with her. Don’t let her think it means
something if it doesn’t.”

“I don’t know what it means yet,” Koti objected. “Haven’t
had time to find out.”

Drew nodded. “Fair enough. Like I said, not really my
business. Except that I feel a bit responsible for her, since we helped her get
settled here. And I don’t like to see Hannah unhappy.”

Which, Koti knew, was the bottom line. He looked at the
other man pityingly. The most powerful sportsman in New Zealand, reduced to
putty in his wife’s hands. It was a bit pathetic, really.

He stood with relief to greet Kate, coming down the stairs
again. “Everything sorted?”

She nodded. “Time to go. Thanks for letting me babysit him,
Drew. He’s such a sweetie. But I have to tell you in all honesty, Koti did most
of the work. Turns out he knows a lot more about newborns than I do.”

Drew looked at Koti with speculation. “Got a soft side, have
you?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Koti said, a
hint of challenge in his eyes. “I’m not such a bad bloke. Kind to children and
small animals.”

“Sometimes even to women,” Kate agreed, taking him by the
arm. “Goodnight, Drew.”

Drew leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for the help
tonight. You too, mate,” he told Koti. “See you tomorrow. Heaps of work to do.”

“Kate. You’re in. Come talk to me.” Kate arrived at the
office the next morning to find Brenda with that day’s
New Zealand Herald
spread
out on her desk. “What do you know about this?”

Kate looked over the other woman’s shoulder. “What?”

Brenda pointed to the tiny item in the paper’s gossip
column.

Who was the petite brunette doing a bit of shopping—and
having words, we hear—with Koti James in the Takapuna New World on Sunday? Details,
please!

Kate shrugged, attempting to sound casual. “Huh,” was all
she could manage.

Corinne joined them. “I heard something myself,” she said
with a sidelong look at Kate. “Brendan told me you picked Koti up at the
airport last weekend, Kate. Said he was pretty, ah, friendly about it, too.”

Kate flushed. “Well, I told you we were friends,” she
faltered. “And, well . . .” she capitulated, “Yeah. More than that now.”

“What?” she protested, as the women traded glances. “You
were the ones who told me to go for it, have an adventure. Now you’ve decided
to hate me after all?”

“Nah,” Brenda sighed. “Just have to be a bit jealous. Give
me a moment with my disappointed heart here.” 

Kate settled herself at her desk with a sigh of her own.
Pulled out her mobile phone and texted Koti.

Secrets out oh dear.

She wasn’t completely surprised to see him sauntering into
the office that afternoon, hoodie and 100-watt grin in place. She plopped her
elbows on her desk, rested her chin in her hands, and watched his progress
across the room.

“Nice performance,” she complimented him when he finally
came to a stop. “Very casual.”

He laughed. “Just popped by for a chat on my way home.”

“Yeah, right. Give it up. I’m on to you.”

“Are you planning to cook dinner with me tonight?” he asked.
“We didn’t say, last night.”

“And you had to ask me that in person, huh? But yeah. I’d
like that. Come over and we can fix that steak you wanted so badly. And I can
help you prepare for the quarterfinals. Give you the right mental attitude.”

“Yeh. That’s it. Help me prepare. I’ll look forward to that.
I have a few training ideas in mind.”

Kate knew she had a goofy grin on her own face that was
evident to everyone in the office, but she couldn’t help it.

“Walk me out,” he coaxed, and she didn’t find it the least
bit difficult to agree.

“I shouldn’t be kissing you in the carpark,” she protested
weakly as she did just that. “It’s very unprofessional.”

“Very,” he agreed. “No doubt you’ll be struck off the
register, or whatever it is they do to accountants.”   

“Yeah,” she decided, reaching up to hold his face in her
hands and pull it down for another kiss. “But what a way to go.”

“Brilliant. You’re wearing the sheep pajamas,” he complained
as she opened the door to him that evening.

“What?” She looked down at herself. “I went to the gym after
work and got wet and cold on the way home. These are comfy. And you’re not
exactly dressed up yourself.” She eyed his sweats critically.

“I’m the boy, though. I don’t have to be pretty.”

“Too bad for you that I didn’t get the memo,” she agreed. “Are
we still making dinner, or did you want to go out and look for a more glamorous
girlfriend? Dena’s still out there somewhere. You can bet she’s dressed the way
you like.”

“Reckon I’ll make do with you,” he sighed as they moved into
her tiny kitchen. “I can always take them off later.”

“Good plan. Because I’m actually wearing really nice
underwear. Want to see?” she teased, pulling down one side of her pajama
bottoms to show him a ribbon-trimmed pair of green panties. “They have a little
bow in front too. But I’m saving that.”

“I’m staying, then,” he decided. “Besides,” he added
practically, “I’m starved.”

“It does sound good.” She pulled the steaks out of the
refrigerator as he turned the fire on under the grill pan. “Just let me shut
down here.” She began to clear files from the tiny kitchen table.

“What were you working on?” He glanced from the stove to the
spreadsheet still open on her laptop. “Putting in some overtime?”

“Nope. Just my household budget, going through my weekly
expenses. I like to keep current with it.”

“You have a spreadsheet for that?” he asked in surprise.
“You track everything?”

“Why? Don’t you? How do you handle your finances?”

He laughed. “Not that closely, I’m afraid. I have an
accountant for the important stuff, of course. Otherwise, I don’t stress about
it much.”

“I have an accountant too. Me,” she pointed out as she shut
down the computer and moved it out of the way. “And here among the little
people where I live, it’s all important stuff. Besides, I like staying on top
of it. Of what’s going in and out. It’s satisfying.”

“Mmm.” He reached out to pull her into his arms. “I know you
like to stay on top of what’s going in and out. And I’ll do my best to make
sure it’s satisfying.”

“What are you, fifteen?” She attempted to scowl at him even
as he lifted her for a kiss. “That’s really juvenile.” She gasped as his lips
moved over her throat and over the sensitive spot beneath her jawline, before
his mouth finally settled over hers.

“Immature,” he agreed, reaching a hand under an innocent
sheep to feel the soft skin beneath. “Go on, now. Tell me what else is wrong
with me. Meanwhile I’ll be down here, looking for that bow.”

“I thought you were hungry,” she protested.

“Starved,” he told her. “See what you can do about that.”
Then concentrated on kissing her.

A sudden piercing shriek had them jumping apart from each
other. “Shit.” Koti lunged for the grill pan, swore again as he burned his
fingers. Grabbed for a tea towel and pulled the smoking pan of meat off the
burner, wrenching the knob to the
off
position.

Kate flew to the kitchen window as the smoke alarm continued
its insistent shrieking.  “Why is it still so bad?” she wailed, grabbing the
tea towel from him and trying to fan the smoke out the open window. “You turned
it off.”

Koti opened the oven. One look, and he was reaching for the
tea towel again. “Could be this,” he told her as he set a roasting pan full of
charred shapes on the stovetop and turned off the oven.

“Oh, no.” She dropped into a kitchen chair and clutched her
head in her hands. “My vegetables. I was so proud of myself. I started them
early and everything, so they’d be ready.”

He started to laugh. “We’re rubbish at cooking. Time to face
it. This must be that epic fail.”

She looked at the blackened mess and had to laugh herself.
“Well, we’ve established that you don’t want me for my date wardrobe or my
culinary skills, anyway. I guess the only thing left is sex. We still need
dinner, though.”

“We do,” he agreed. “And then sex. What d’you reckon? Thai
takeaway?”

“Sounds good to me. Let somebody cook who knows how. I’ll
call, and you can go pick it up.”

“Why do I have to pick it up?” he complained. “Why aren’t
you coming with me?”

“Because I have to clean up this mess,” she pointed out.
“Want to trade?”

“Nah. Now that you put it that way.”

 “Huh. I thought so.”

“So,” he said when they were settled at the table at last
with their perfectly prepared Thai food. “You actually like what you do.
Accounting.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Of course I do. Why do you
think I chose it?”

“Dunno,” he shrugged. I thought maybe your dad did it or
something. Can’t imagine why anyone would choose that. Isn’t it a bit boring?”

“Nope. I like it. The analytical part, solving problems.
Figuring things out. It can be almost like a mystery, sometimes. Numbers are a
lot easier to work with than people, anyway. Numbers make sense.”

“I can see that.”

She leaned against the wall and lifted her legs across his
lap, snuggling down to get more comfortable. “What do you think you’d be doing
if you weren’t playing rugby right now? Not modeling, I’m guessing.”

“I don’t think I’d ever have chosen that,” he said, closing
his hand over a slender ankle. “You’ll laugh, though.”

“Why would I laugh?” she objected. “What? You wanted to be a
firefighter?”

“Oh. Wow.” She sat up straighter. “You would’ve totally been
on one of those firefighter calendars. The hose over the shoulder, the
suspenders against the bare chest . . . I can see it now. What a lost
opportunity.”

“Be quiet,” he scowled. “I thought you wanted to hear this.”

“I did. I do,” she said, chastened. “Go on. I’m being
serious now. Not imagining you as Mr. January. Hardly at all.”

“No, really,” she urged as he shot her another glare. “Tell
me.”

“I was thinking I’d work with kids,” he muttered. “That’s
all.”

“Really? Like coaching?”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “I thought I’d be a teacher. I was
working on a History degree, when I was at Uni. Was thinking I might teach
that, in high school.”

“Wow. You’re right, that is a surprise. I don’t know why it
should be, though. You know a lot about it. I’ve always been impressed.”

“Really?” He looked cheered.

“Sure I have. And you don’t just know facts. You think about
what it all means. So I can completely see you doing that. You’re good with
kids, too. At least I’ve heard you are. I’ve only actually seen you with
babies. But I can vouch for that much.”

“I like kids,” he confirmed. “I always enjoy the visits we
do to the schools. Talking to the kids, playing a little footy with them. And we
need more Maori teachers. Especially men. Role models and that.”

“All the girls would fall in love with you, though,” she
mused. “If it were high school. Unless you got fat and bald, I suppose.”

He laughed, oddly relieved that she hadn’t dismissed the
idea as ridiculous. “Maybe they wouldn’t skive off school, then. As long as I
wasn’t fat and bald, that is.”

“One thing’s for sure, your sisters would be thrilled. Although
to make them really happy,” she teased, “you’d have to teach in Hamilton. And
live next door.”

He groaned. “Let’s not take this to extremes.”

“I have to say,” Kate sighed a week later, “this is the
upside of you being gone so much. Getting to say hello again.”

“You said it so nicely, too.” Koti pulled her up against
him. “That was almost as good as the win. But we should make a plan, you’re
right. It’s been a bit of a struggle, having to fit in our fights between
games. Why don’t you ask for a couple days off once the season’s over? We could
go somewhere. Do some surfing, maybe.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said. “I feel like I’ve hardly been
anywhere. I come to live in scenic New Zealand, and all I see is my office, the
beach, and a bunch of rugby games. None of which I’m complaining about, actually.
Could be worse. But I’d like to go someplace. When would it be?”