Page 13 of The Story of Us
The giggles intensified, and damn if it didn’t make his chest pull tight when Nate saw the sweet smile Eloise tried to hide by ducking her head. This was how it could be if things were different. Easy laughs—guaranteed to be at his expense if his brothers were around—and the pure contentment that came from just being near her.
But that wasn’t real life, so there was no point pretending.
Nate turned to Teddy and was about to suggest they split the kids into groups when a woman called out.
“Hey, Mustang.” Bianca sauntered onto the middle of the oval in the tiniest pair of workout shorts he’d ever seen. She was going to freeze her … nope, not going there. Nate purposely kept his eyes on her face.
“Who is that?” Teddy whispered. “I mean, other than potentially the future Mrs Teddy James?”
“Since when are you interested in getting married?” Nate asked Teddy.
“I’m not. Not any time soon at least. I’m having too much fun being young which is something that you surely remember quite fondly.” Teddy winked, a big smile on his face. “But with the right woman …”
“Sorry I’m late.” Bianca said.
“For?” Nate raised his eyebrows.
Her hair was tied back, glossy stuff smeared across her lips, her white Lycra outfit highlighting her assets. If Teddy didn’t shut his mouth, he was going to trip over his tongue. So was the blond teenager with unruly curls near the back of the group.
“Charlie said this was an open training session. I’d love to get some local colour for my article, you know, to highlight how special this place really is. Besides, you gotta keep grinding, even on vacation. You like to grind, don’t you, Nate?”
“Have I mentioned how happy I am to be here?” Teddy snickered while Eloise’s mouth flattened into a straight line, and she moved closer to Nate.
“This session is for children,” she hissed.
Bianca didn’t miss a beat. “I love kids; besides, it looks like you could use the help.”
It sounded an awful lot like Teddy had just muttered that he might need help with some stretches. Nate spun around and sent his brother a warning look. Bianca was relentless, but he wouldn’t tolerate talk like that and, also, there were kids present. But what could he do? Send her away and cause a scene? “You can do some catching drills after the warm-up.”
“Oh, I’m warm already. And getting drilled is my favourite.”
Christ. Could she hear herself? Everything that came out of her mouth was a double entendre.
She sashayed over to Teddy, ignoring Eloise.
“Great.” Nate grimaced. “We’ll start by splitting everyone into groups and then we’ll take turns doing some different games. If we have time at the end, we can practise some shots on goal, too.”
“I love shots!” Bianca purred because, of course, she fucking did.
5
Eloise yanked her beanie off and winged it through her open bedroom door as she stomped down the hall towards the kitchen.
Bloody Bianca.
If Eloise had a dollar for every time Bianca had said something inappropriate or flirted with Nate and Teddy, she wouldn’t be able to use her lack of funds as an excuse as to why she couldn’t do the exchange.
Her parents and Joanie were sitting at the dining table with plates of lasagne and salad in front of them. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Just catching up on a few little jobs around the place,” Michael said.
A wave of guilt washed away Eloise’s frustration. She’d been promising to clear out the gutters for ages, but with all her extra hours, she hadn’t got to it. One glance at her dad’s dirty overalls confirmed he’d picked up her slack again. She still hadn’t called the arborist about the big gum trees in the backyard either. Tomorrow. She’d do it then. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.” Michael waved her apology away. “You’re busy, and we needed the distraction.”
That’s right. Her parents had met with Charlie, Sera and her folks this morning to finalise the seating plan. Why it needed to be a six-person job was a mystery to Eloise, especially when Charlie’s share of the guests wasn’t even a fifth of the list.
“You sit. I’ll get your dinner,” Joanie said. “You’re home later than normal.”
