Page 58 of Even Ground

And those hips.

The only problem’s going to be that every time I see that damn smile of his—it might just break my heart.

* * *

After sleeping for a chunk of the flight, I wake reluctantly in time to land in Auckland. The familiar sight of home makes me ache. As we fly over Manukau, I try in vain to look for my little flat, but there’s no way I can see it among all the houses. And when the wheels touch the tarmac, I close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief for being home.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to clear customs and get my bags, and despite sitting on my arse for hours, my feet feel like lead by the time I get out of the plane and into the airport.

“Pania.”

I look up to see my cousin Wiremu waiting for me. Eternally in a pair of trackpants and a singlet—at most a T-shirt, he’s taken the time to dress up for once, and is wearing a collared shirt.

That has to be my mother’s influence.

I pull my luggage trolley to a stop when I reach him and fling my arms around his neck.

“Are you okay?” He plants a kiss in my hair.

“Just really tired and glad to be home.”

He chuckles. “Your chariot awaits. She’s running like a dream.”

I’m not looking forward to a drive to Whakatane, but I made a promise to my mother before I left that I’d see her first before coming back to Auckland. She worries about me flying too.

Wiremu has been doing some maintenance work on my car while I’ve been gone. At least he knows how to do an oil change and all those other little things I’ve never wrapped my head around.

I let him go, and his eyes roam my face.

“You look like shit.”

“Hey!” I slap his arm. “What the fuck? You’re not supposed to say stuff like that to me.”

He shrugs. “It’s true. I thought you would have slept on the plane. Instead, you look like you haven’t slept in a week.”

That’s exactly how I feel.

“I just need to get home and get some rest.”

He grins.

I love my cousin. Apart from Delaney, he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t have siblings, but I have Wiremu and Delaney. That he’s driven all the way from Whakatane to pick me up means a lot to me.

I’m not so sure I love his attitude, though.

“Yeah, you tell yourself that, cuz. I think you look like shit anyway.” He nudges my arm, and that grin makes me smile. It’s infectious, and for the millionth time, I wonder about just who we can set him up with. He needs someone to pull him into line.

Just like Reece does.

Reece.

Wiremu grabs my trolley and leads me out of the airport and into the car park. I’m relieved when we reach my good old Honda Accord. She might have a couple of hundred thousand kilometres on the clock, and be a bit worse for wear, but she’s never let me down.

“I’ll put all this in the boot. You get in the car,” Wiremu says, pressing the key fob and unlocking it.

I’m happy to plonk myself in the passenger seat.

After the luggage is stowed, Wiremu laughs as he opens the driver’s door.

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