Just This Once (19 page)

Drew reached to shake Matt’s hand. Matt was clearly taken
aback by his size. He wasn’t small himself, but Drew dwarfed him, and Hannah
could see that it made her brother uncomfortable and a little defensive.

She rushed to fill the breach. “Matt’s really interested in
adventure sports,” she told Drew. “You can tell him about bungy jumping, and
Zorbing, and all those things I don’t know anything about.”

She sighed with relief as Drew engaged her brother in easy
conversation, his steadiness seeming to calm Matt’s near-hostility.

When Kristen arrived, late as always, Hannah couldn’t help
stealing a look at Drew. He greeted Kristen politely, but didn’t seem overly
struck by her looks. At least he hadn’t rushed over to monopolize her—and stare
down her cleavage. Maybe it would be all right.

When they were all eating Hannah’s beef stew and cornbread,
she was dismayed to find Matt beginning to question Drew in a way she’d never
seen from him before.

“So you met Hannah in New Zealand, huh? How did that
happen?”

“I met her on the beach,” Drew returned affably. “And we
went to breakfast.”

Hannah decided not to correct his account. Her siblings
didn’t need to hear about her embarrassing near-drowning.

“You must have got to know her pretty well, that you’re visiting
her all this time later,” Matt continued.

“Matt,” Hannah protested.

Drew put his hand on hers. “It’s all right,” he assured her.
Turning to Matt, he answered, “You’re right, we did get to know each other
pretty well. And now I’m visiting her, as you say. What else do you want to
know?”

“Well, what do you do, for a start?” Matt continued, as
Hannah cringed with embarrassment. “How is it that you’re traveling over here?
Are you here on business?”

“I’m a rugby player,” Drew replied equably. “The season
hasn’t started yet, so I have some free time.”

“Oh.” Matt was obviously taken by surprise, and Kristen took
up the conversation.

“What is rugby? It’s a sport, right?”

“Yeh,” Drew smiled. “It’s a sport. A bit like your
football.”

“Kristen,” Matt scolded. “Did you even
go
to school?
Lots of countries play rugby. A whole lot more than play American football. I’ll
admit, though, I don’t know that much about it myself.”

“I didn’t know much either,” Hannah put in, eager to turn
the conversation to a more neutral topic that the men could discuss. “But there
are lots of different kinds of rugby, even. League and Union, right?” she asked
Drew. “And Sevens?”

“Right. Good to know you remember.”

“You’re a professional player, though?” Matt pressed on. “I
mean, that’s all you do?”

“That’s all I do,” he said easily. “Keeps me pretty busy,
all the same.”

“What team do you play for?” 

“Why are you asking Drew all these questions, Matt?” Hannah
broke in. “Do you not believe he’s really a rugby player? Is he supposed to be
a con man or something? Trust me, he’s a rugby player.”

“It’s all right, Hannah,” Drew said again. “He’s checking me
out, that’s all.”

“I play for the Auckland Blues,” he told Matt. “You can look
it up online, if you like.”

Matt nodded, satisfied, as Kristen broke in impatiently. “Of
course he’s a rugby player, Matt. Hannah isn’t stupid.”

Hannah smiled at her gratefully. To her relief, the
conversation slowly turned to more neutral subjects.

When she finally shut the door on her brother and sister,
Hannah sank onto the couch and groaned. “I’m so sorry, Drew. I had no idea it
would go that way. Well, I had some idea,” she corrected herself. “Matt was
kind of weird when I invited him over to meet you. He’s not usually like that.
He’s normally a lot of fun. I didn’t even know he had that streak.”

“No worries. It was good,” Drew assured her. “He may not
have grown up with a dad, but your brother’s all right. Maybe he should have
thought more about taking care of his sister when he left you alone at
Christmas, but I reckon he’s figuring things out now.”

“So that was all right with you?” she asked, surprised.
“Having him grill you like that? He was almost hostile. I was so embarrassed.”

He laughed. “Because you didn’t have a dad either. That’s
what dads and brothers do. It’s a man thing.”

“I guess I’ll take your word for it. I’m glad you weren’t
offended. What did you think of Kristen?” she probed, looking at him anxiously.

“She’s a nice girl,” he answered, pulling her close to him
on the couch. “Pretty too. You don’t mind if I like you better, though, do
you?”

“Really?” she asked him doubtfully. “But she’s so beautiful.
Didn’t you think so?”

“Yeh,” he agreed. “She’s a beautiful girl. But, and please
don’t be offended, you’re ten times the woman she is. I’m not interested. Is
that all right with you?”

Hannah let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she was
holding. “Kristen’s great. You just don’t know her well enough yet. But yes,
please. Please do like me better, OK? Even though you’re blind.”

Drew laughed and pulled her into his arms. “Actually, I have
perfect eyesight. And excellent taste.”

Hannah was startled to be awakened by her telephone at seven
the next morning. This had better not be Felix, she thought irritably. She was
entitled to this day off.

It was Matt. “Hannah,” he began excitedly. “Do you know who
that guy
is?”

“Of course I know who he is, Matt. And so do you. You met
him last night. Why are you calling me so early?”

“Hannah, he’s the captain of the All Blacks! He’s the most
famous rugby player in the
world,
that’s all. Why didn’t you tell me? Oh
man, he’s probably so pissed at me for talking to him like that last night. Did
you even know who he was?” he asked again.

“Matt. I can’t talk about this right now.” Drew was lying
with his arms crossed under his head, listening, and Hannah flushed.

“Why? Is he there?” Matt realized. “Are you
sleeping
with him?”

“Of course I’m sleeping with him,” she answered,
exasperated. “What, do you think I’m a nun?” She heard Drew’s bark of laughter
and turned to glare at him. Still laughing, he got up to disappear into the
bathroom, giving her privacy for her conversation.

“Oh man, that is too much information,” Matt groaned.

“Stop it. You’re being ridiculous. Why are you calling me at
seven o’clock in the morning to inform me of the job status of the man I’m
dating? Which I
already knew.”

 “Because I was so excited, of course. Do you think he can
get me tickets, if I visit? That would be so cool. Do you think he’s upset that
I was kind of nasty last night? ”

“No. He wasn’t upset. He said you did the right thing, in
fact. You impressed him. And please don’t ask him for tickets.
If
you go
to New Zealand, you can buy your own ticket and go see a game. They’re not some
kind of invitation-only affairs. The public is allowed to attend.”

She finally got Matt off the phone as Drew came out of the
bathroom, showered and shaved. She put her head in her hands and groaned.

“Do I look like a nun? Or a virgin?” she demanded.

“Not to me. But then, you’re in bed, naked, and I have a
pretty good memory of what we did last night,” he said reasonably. “So I may
not be the best judge.”

“Don’t let him ask you for tickets if you see him again,”
she ordered. “I can’t decide which is more embarrassing, having him attack you
like you’re some kind of stalker, or being your Biggest Fan.”

Drew laughed. “The second thing I’m used to. I can deal with
it. And the first—I already told you how I felt about that.”

“What are we going to do about this, then?” he asked as they
sat over an after-breakfast coffee an hour later.

“About what?” She was confused.

“How’s it been, since you came back home? Is it going to
work for you, being this far apart?”

“I’m not sure what to say,” she faltered. “Are you breaking
up with me? I guess that’s stupid,” she corrected herself, flushing. “It’s not
like we’re together, I mean.”

He groaned and took her hand. “Hannah,” he began again. “No.
I’m not breaking up with you. I’m asking you if you want us to be together
more. How we can do that. Because I’d like to find a way. The phone and email
are better than nothing, but it’s not the same, is it? And practice starts next
week. Super 15, then the Rugby Championship and the World Cup with the All
Blacks. It’ll be a long season for me this year. I’m not going to be able to
come back to visit. And as we already know, you get bugger all in the way of
holidays.”

She felt a rush of relief, followed by more confusion. “What
way is there, though? You have to be there. And I live here.”

“This isn’t the only place you could work, though. Would you
think about moving to New Zealand for a bit, see how we go?”

“Moving?” She was stunned. “But . . . I never thought about
it. What about my job?”

“I know it’s important to you. But as a Kiwi, I have to tell
you, seems to me you work too much. How many hours a week do you spend at the
office?”

“I hate to add them up,” she admitted. “But probably, I
don’t know. Sixty? Sixty-five? Maybe more, when it’s busy?”

“And you get three weeks’ holiday a year. That’s too much of
your life working, don’t you think? What are you working for, if that’s all you
do?”

“But that’s what work is like, if you have any kind of a
responsible job,” she objected.

“In the States, maybe. Not in the rest of the world. Well,
maybe in Japan,” he conceded. “But not in New Zealand. There, you’d work all
day, and then you’d go home. You might even go for lunch or a coffee. How often
do you work on the weekend?”

“Most weeks,” she admitted.

“See there. We don’t do that either. Well, I do,” he
qualified. “But that’s different. We spend the weekends with our families. Go
to the bach. Have a barbecue with the neighbors. You can have a real job, a
good job, without working yourself to death. Why not try it for a bit? You can
get a work visa for a year or two, you know.”

“But, Drew. What if it doesn’t work? Then there I’d be,
stuck in New Zealand. Without a job here.”

He looked at her levelly. “What if it does work? Seems to me
you’ve jumped to the worst possible conclusion. What if this is the right thing?
What will we have missed if we don’t try? And maybe there’s a better job out
there for you too. I know the conditions would be better, at least.”

He pressed a bit more. He’d have a go, anyway. “Didn’t you
tell me you were thinking of moving to another job in a year or two? Would a
new job be here, in this area? Seems to me you may have to move anyway to get
the job you want. If this doesn’t work, yeh, you’d have to move back, get
another job. But you’d have international experience. Wouldn’t that help you
move up, if that’s what you wanted to do?”

“I don’t know,” she said, putting her hands up to her cheeks
in confusion. “I never thought about it. It’s really scary. And my family. Matt
and Kristen.”

“I’m not too impressed by that, I have to say,” he
countered. “You spent Christmas alone. What kind of family life is that?”

“I know,” she faltered. “But they count on me, you know. To
be there if they do need me.”

“And that’s going to be your life. Waiting close by, just in
case. Even parents cut the cord at some point. It doesn’t mean you abandon
them,” he said, overriding her objection. “It means you get to have your own
life. Get to do something that’s for you, not for them. Do you notice where I
am, now?”

“What?” she asked, confused.

“I live in New Zealand, don’t I. But here I am, sitting with
you in California. And if your brother or sister needed you, if it were
something serious, you could be back here with them. Matt wants to come to En
Zed anyway. You may have a better chance of seeing him if you live there, from
what I’ve seen.”

“What about Kristen, though?”

“What about her? You can still talk to her, can’t you? She
can come out for a visit too. But here’s the real question. What about you?
Doesn’t it matter that you’ll be far away from me? That we won’t be together?
And all right, then, what about me? I want you to be with me too.”

She sat, overwhelmed. “I don’t know,” she finally answered
helplessly. “It’s so much to think about. I’m just not sure, that’s all.
Moving.”

“I know it scares you,” he went on more gently. “But I’d be
there too, you know. You wouldn’t be going someplace new by yourself. And you’d
like living in Auckland, I’m sure of it.”

“I’d love it. You know I’d love to live there. It’s so
beautiful. And I want to be with you. I miss you. It’s just . . . it’s putting
all my eggs in one basket. Quitting my job. Leaving my friends. Can you say
you’d do that, after three weeks with somebody? Wouldn’t that be stupid?”

“I think it would be taking a chance,” he replied seriously.
“Maybe you’re not ready to take a chance.”

“I’ll think about it, OK?” she said. “That’s all I can say right
now. I just need to think.”

“Ring me,” Drew insisted as he said goodbye at the airport
that afternoon. “Let me know what you decide.”

“I will,” she promised. “If . . . if I don’t come, though,
then what?”

He sighed. “We’ll have to see. Maybe you could come out in
May or June for a week or two. I’d still be playing. But at least we’d have
some time. But, Hannah. Think about it. Promise me. Don’t give up before you
even try.”

She kissed him fiercely, not wanting to let go. “I’ll think
about it. I’ll try. I promise.”

That evening, after trying unsuccessfully to calm her
troubled mind, she broke down and called Susannah for advice.

“But that’s great,” her friend responded, after Hannah had outlined
Drew’s suggestion. “How exciting for you. But you don’t sound excited. What’s
the matter?”