Promises (21 page)

She glared at him.

“Fine.”  He took out the bacon, slipped a new lot in to fry, and returned his attention to her.  “You came on hot last night - don’t blush, I enjoyed the hell out of it.”

She couldn’t help the blush, it was burning up her face.

His smile gentled, but was still amused.  “Then this morning you came down all shy and embarrassed-”

“Wasn’t.”  Okay, that didn’t sound grown-up at all.

His eyes twinkled, giving his tough handsomeness a startlingly boyish glow.  “Was.”

“You are such a child,” she sniffed.

“But an honest one.”

“Huh.”

“Anyway, little Izzy, you were blushing like you are now, and even though you burned up the sheets with me last night there was no doubting that you weren’t
that
experienced.”

Her mouth fell open.  “I was that bad?”

Leaning forward, he chucked her under the chin.  “Baby, you were the best I ever had.”  At her disbelieving expression, he winced.  “That didn’t come out quite right.”

“Try again.”

“I meant, sex with you is so much more than just sex.”

She almost went weak at the knees with the sincerity.  Almost.  Sternly, she pointed at him.  “You better be a better cook than you are at words.  You make it sound like you shagged half the country.”

His teasing faded, his gaze steady.  “Regrettably, I had a lot of sex when I was younger.  I won’t lie.”

That took the wind out of her sails.

“Just as I won’t lie when I say the sex was meaningless.  It was fun when I was a teenager, a way for me to forget and indulge my hormones, became normal for me when I was older, but it was also sometimes degrading, sometimes automatic, always without much feeling and usually leaving me wanting, and not in a good way.”  Gravely, he rubbed her chin with his thumb.  “It’s been awhile for me.  Since coming to the city, I’ve hooked up with only a couple of girls on a casual basis, but not for about a year now.  Sex for the sake of sex just didn’t do it for me anymore.”

She probably should be mortified, but instead she was grateful that he was being honest with her, so she nodded.

“And then there was you.”  He smiled, his eyes warm.  “It’s not sex with you, it’s something so much more.”  And with that, he turned back to the bacon.

Leaving her staring at him.  So much more?  Damn, she really wanted to ask him, really wanted to demand he finish that a bit better.  Didn’t want to ask, hell no.

So she frowned at him.

Catching the frown, he chuckled before blowing her a kiss.  “You’re the icing on the cake, Izzy.”

“After that effort, you
really
better be a good cook.”

He winked at her.

~*~

“I don’t believe it!” Standing beside her car, Mikki stared.

“What?”  Carrying Arnie, Izzy raised her eyebrows.

“You’re doing the walk of shame!  From
Jason’s
house!”

Trust her friend to guess straight away.

“So?” Izzy asked nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

It was a
huge
deal, in fact.  For her, at least.  Jason?  She’d have to take his word on that.  His words were pretty persuasive, especially when accompanied by a lot of tongue and roaming hands. Her nipples pebbled at the memory, making her thankful that holding Arnie to her chest hid the evidence.

Mikki followed her up the steps.  “You and Jason are serious already?”

“It kind of happened quickly.” Her cheeks flushed.  Curse her fair skin.  Pink was starting to become her new colour.

She unlocked the door, Mikki following her inside the house.

“Feels unslept in,” Mikki commented.

“Are you done?”

“Are you kidding me?  I have enough fodder here to last weeks.”  Mikki paused.  “How long did he last?”

Oh boy.  “Why are you here?”

“Whoa. Touchy.”  Mikki studied her nails.  “Was Jason touchy?”

“How do you want your arse-kicking?  Hard or harder?”

“How hard was -” Her words were muffled by the bathroom door shutting in her face.

Leaving her friend to entertain herself, Izzy showered, luxuriating in the hot water and fragrant soap, finally allowing a dreamy smile to cross her face as she thought back to the previous night, followed by a surprisingly happy and easy breakfast.  No awkwardness at all - well, after that first initial entrance.  But hey, what was life without a bit of uncertainty?

Wishing she could linger longer and soak away some of the delicious aches, but aware that Mikki was waiting for her, she finished quickly, dried, wrapped the towel around her and walked into the bedroom.

“Want a hot drink?” Mikki yelled from the kitchen.

“Thanks, but no,” she called back.  “I’ve already drunk and eaten.”

“How much did you
eat
?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of eating Mikki was referring too.

“Did you have sausage for breakfast?” Mikki called out happily.

“You keep that up and I won’t tell you about a night spent in a haunted house.”

Mikki immediately jumped on the subject.  Sticking her head around the bedroom door, she demanded, “You saw a ghost?”

“No.”  At her friend’s frown she added, “But I might have heard the rattle of chains.”

“You lying cow.”  Mikki disappeared from view again.  “Hurry up, Aunt Elspeth is waiting for us.”

“For what?”  Izzy surveyed herself in the mirror.

Slacks, long-sleeved t-shirt, cardigan.  Sufficient.

“We’re taking her to that horror movie, remember?”

The light bulb went on.  “Of course I remember.”

“Liar.  Jason shagged it right out of your head.”

Returning to the bathroom to do her hair, Izzy grinned.

Life was looking good right now.  A slightly eccentric friend, her even more eccentric aunt, and a boyfriend who loved - liked - her for who she was, curves and all. It promised to be a great day.

Aunt Elspeth was a sprightly, thin lady in her fifties.  A rich widow, she ignored what everyone else thought and indulged her eccentricities, or at least, Mikki’s family called them eccentricities, Aunt Elspeth called them hobbies.  Mikki was right in there with her because her Aunt was fun and they had a lot in common - they also had a lot of differences, but that was part of the fun.  Izzy loved them both, and Aunt Elspeth had adopted her like another niece.

Going out to horror movies at the cinema was one of Aunt Elspeth’s passions.  As far as she was concerned horror couldn’t be appreciated unless it was on the big screen in large, bloody, nail-gnawing visual.

Sitting in the cinema, having slid halfway down her seat in unconscious shrinking from the horror on the screen, Izzy had to admit Aunt Elspeth was correct.  Horror wasn’t horror unless seen on the big screen.

Mikki jumped at one point, sending the popcorn they were all sharing flying into the air to come pattering down around them like rain.

“Well, there goes that,” Aunt Elspeth commented.  “Never mind, I brought back-up.”  From her big handbag she drew out a bag of lollies she’d unashamedly smuggled into the cinema.

“We’ll just have to pick up the popcorn when the lights go on,” Mikki whispered.

Wasn’t the first time, wouldn’t be the last.

When the movie finished they went to a coffee shop for drinks and cake, another comfortable routine.  Movie, coffee, cake and a chat.

“Before I forget.”  Picking up the handbag with its seemingly unfathomable depths, Aunt Elspeth fished around inside it and came out with an envelope.  “This was in my letterbox.  It’s got your name on it, Izzy.”

Taking it, Izzy had a sinking feeling that was only confirmed by the familiar writing on the envelope.

“No idea why it was in my letterbox,” Aunt Elspeth continued.  “I live a couple of miles away from you.”

Mikki looked curiously at the envelope.

“Nothing important.” Smiling weakly, Izzy slipped it into her shoulder bag.

“But dear, who is it from?” Aunt Elspeth broke off a large bite of cake with a dainty fork.

“No one important.”

Mikki refrained from pointing out the obvious, but Izzy didn’t miss the look she and her Aunt exchanged.

With the envelope burning a hole in the bag, Izzy pretended outwardly that all was fine, smiling and chatting.  Inside, she was in turmoil.

That afternoon when she should have been vacuuming she instead sat on the sofa with the envelope clutched in her hands.

Damn Moira and Jarrod. 
Damn them
.  She knew what they were up to.  Planting the letters at her friend’s houses was a silent threat that if she didn’t meet them, talk to them, they’d do what she was avoiding, dragging her friends into the unpleasantness.  It wouldn’t destroy friendships, her friends didn’t think like Moira and Jarrod, but it would be embarrassing.  She was a private person, disliked people knowing her business, and they were playing on that.  Plus she’d put them behind her.  Now they were in her face.

There was only one thing for it.  She had to talk to them and put a stop to it.  They’d win that round, but she was determined as hell they wouldn’t win anything else from her.  They’d shattered her ideas and expected future several years ago, they weren’t going to destroy what she had now.

Ripping open the envelope, she shook her head as an exact copy of the previous letter came out.  They couldn’t even be bothered writing a new letter, just photocopied the previous one.

‘Izzy, please don’t ignore this plea for help.  Think of your nieces if no one else.  They are part of you, too, and a part of Mum.  She wouldn’t want you to be like this.  Please, Izzy, we just need some help.  Please meet us, let us explain.  It’s all we ask.  We’re family, don’t turn your back on us again.  Your loving sister, Moira.’

Anger boiled up inside her. 
Again?
  She’d had every right to turn her back on them the first time.  This time would be no different.  After all they’d done, all they’d taken, Moira and Jarrod would dare to ask for more?

Grabbing the phone, she dialled the number.  When Moira answered Izzy said tersely, “Whatever you want, the answer is no.”

“Izzy!  I’m so glad you called-”

“I want you to leave me alone.  I don’t want you calling me or leaving threatening letters in my friend’s letterboxes.”

“Threatening? Oh no, Izzy, it wasn’t a threat.  It was the only way to get you to call us,” Moira replied.  “I’m so grateful you finally did call us.  I’ve missed you so.”

“I’m not interested in what you want, think or feel.”

“You’ve become cold.”

“I wonder how that happened?”

“Come on, Izzy.  We’re sisters, that has to mean something.”

“I thought it meant something back then but boy, was I surprised.”

Before Moira could do more than protest, Jarrod came on the line.  “Izzy, you can either speak to us face-to-face or we can converse through your friends.”

Izzy’s teeth clenched.  “So, you are attempting to threaten me.”

“Just laying down the rules.”

“You’re good at that, aren’t you?  What if I call the Police?”

“Police?  What are you going to say to them?  That you don’t want us contacting you, that you’re happy to leave your nieces in the lurch?  That you’re not interested in family?”

“I could get a restraining order.”

He barked out a laugh.  “Really?  You think this calls for a restraining order?”

“If I have to.”

“Imagine how that will go down with your friends.”

“You know what, Jarrod?  I don’t care.  It’s not like I have anything to be ashamed of.”

“A restraining order isn’t going to sort out the problem.”

Moira came back on line.  “Just meet us, talk to us.  That’s all I ask.”

God, this was never going to go away until she faced them down.  Gripping the phone tightly, knuckles white, Izzy said coldly, “This is the last time.  Ever.”

“I swear.”

“I mean it.”

“Of course, I-”

“Tell me where and when.”  Izzy jotted down the details before hanging up abruptly.

Screwing up Moira’s letter, she threw it onto the floor.  Immediately Arnie appeared out of nowhere to bounce on it in delight, grappling the ball of paper and kicking it with his hind feet.

“Feel free,” Izzy said dispiritedly.

Sitting with her head in her hands, she drew in a deep breath.  Family.  Some people were lucky.  She’d thought she was, too, until their true colours had shown.  Believing she’d left them behind, it turned out she was mistaken.

But this time they wouldn’t win.  Whatever they wanted she wasn’t prepared to give.  They’d taken enough already.

Locking the house, she went back outside.  The drive to the unwelcome destination was surprisingly short.  A duplex, definitely not in an area that would meet Jarrod’s expectations.  The man had expensive tastes which Moira had quickly picked up.