making an effort to welcome the newcomers.
So what if Nash had Cutter’s face and Cutter wanted Mia naked beneath him.
He was dealing.
“This is my brother, Nash, and his sister, Mia,” became his go-to phrase when he introduced them. “He’s ours, she’s his, and you should hang around and get to know them.”
To a man and woman, his friends did as he bid.
There was fish on the BBQ, salad dishes provided by all and sundry, there was bread and music and beer. Jacksons knew how to do this. And then Zoey found the Christmas lanterns, and it was the first week in December, so those had to go up and there were plenty of hands ready and willing to help.
He could stand back, nurse the one beer he’d been nursing all night, and watch from afar as a certain redhead fielded all sorts of interest in her delectable person.
She wasn’t shy. She held her own with the guys and had no problem fitting in with the girls. Zoey liked her. Mind you, Zoey would have given Jaws a second chance. Bree, Caleb’s wife, seemed a little more inclined towards quiet observation, but then she always had.
“What do you think of them?” he asked Bree as he pulled a batch of plump king prawns from a pot of boiling water and shook them onto a platter.
“I think he’s not as like you as I first thought, and she’s got a face a camera would love.”
“He’s not like me?”
“He’s warier than you are. More introverted.”
“He’s amongst strangers, Bree. Makes sense to play wait and see.”
“That’s the other thing. Play.”
“Play?”
“He doesn’t.”
Yeah, well. Maybe Cutter had noticed that too. “She plays enough for both of them.”
“Vivacious girl.” Bree sounded amused. “Confident.”
Cutter grunted.
“The white business shirt looks good with the red hair and the cutoffs,” Bree added.
So it did.
“I hear the tattoo underneath is spectacular.”
It was.
“Wonder why she’s not displaying it?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want the sun on it.”
“So, nothing to do with you chewing her out for having a tattoo in the first place and her trying her best to fit in around here for her brother’s sake?”
“Nothing at all.”
Bree smiled wryly. “She’s been tracking you all afternoon. Not too obviously, but still. She knows where you are, what you’re doing. What are you doing?”
“Cooking prawns.”
Bree gave him one of those looks and he stonewalled it.
“You’ve hardly exchanged two words with either of them. Zoey and I have a theory.”
Now there was a sentence to make a man shudder. “Whatever it is, it’s wrong .”
“Nah, we’re pretty sure we’re right, so here’s the deal. We’re going to lure Mia upstairs on the pretext of showing her Zoey’s costumes, at which point you are going to sit down with Nash and make him feel welcome. No Mia to complicate things.”
“She doesn’t.”
“In that case, why don’t I take these prawns over to them?” She picked up the platter and turned to stare back at him when he didn’t move. “You’re coming too, right?”
Sighing, he signaled for Paulie to come and turn another kilo of raw prawns into cooked ones, before dumping a heap of lemons, mayo and seafood sauce on to a plate. A roll of newspaper to spread out on the table so they could drop the shells and heads where they fell and he was set. Jackson hospitality at its best.
He didn’t much like the chances of Mia’s white shirt surviving the onslaught, but that was her problem, not his.
Bree was already at the table when he got there, along with Caleb, Nash, Mia and his grandfather.
“Where’s Gran?” he asked as he slid in next to his grandfather and put the condiments in the middle of the table.
“Zoey’s got her upstairs. Something about a shipment of Indian silk.”
“And Eli?”
“On the phone to the client from hell about yet another hull design modification.”
“Eli needs to cut that one loose. We don’t need the hassle.”
“Feel free to tell
So what if Nash had Cutter’s face and Cutter wanted Mia naked beneath him.
He was dealing.
“This is my brother, Nash, and his sister, Mia,” became his go-to phrase when he introduced them. “He’s ours, she’s his, and you should hang around and get to know them.”
To a man and woman, his friends did as he bid.
There was fish on the BBQ, salad dishes provided by all and sundry, there was bread and music and beer. Jacksons knew how to do this. And then Zoey found the Christmas lanterns, and it was the first week in December, so those had to go up and there were plenty of hands ready and willing to help.
He could stand back, nurse the one beer he’d been nursing all night, and watch from afar as a certain redhead fielded all sorts of interest in her delectable person.
She wasn’t shy. She held her own with the guys and had no problem fitting in with the girls. Zoey liked her. Mind you, Zoey would have given Jaws a second chance. Bree, Caleb’s wife, seemed a little more inclined towards quiet observation, but then she always had.
“What do you think of them?” he asked Bree as he pulled a batch of plump king prawns from a pot of boiling water and shook them onto a platter.
“I think he’s not as like you as I first thought, and she’s got a face a camera would love.”
“He’s not like me?”
“He’s warier than you are. More introverted.”
“He’s amongst strangers, Bree. Makes sense to play wait and see.”
“That’s the other thing. Play.”
“Play?”
“He doesn’t.”
Yeah, well. Maybe Cutter had noticed that too. “She plays enough for both of them.”
“Vivacious girl.” Bree sounded amused. “Confident.”
Cutter grunted.
“The white business shirt looks good with the red hair and the cutoffs,” Bree added.
So it did.
“I hear the tattoo underneath is spectacular.”
It was.
“Wonder why she’s not displaying it?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want the sun on it.”
“So, nothing to do with you chewing her out for having a tattoo in the first place and her trying her best to fit in around here for her brother’s sake?”
“Nothing at all.”
Bree smiled wryly. “She’s been tracking you all afternoon. Not too obviously, but still. She knows where you are, what you’re doing. What are you doing?”
“Cooking prawns.”
Bree gave him one of those looks and he stonewalled it.
“You’ve hardly exchanged two words with either of them. Zoey and I have a theory.”
Now there was a sentence to make a man shudder. “Whatever it is, it’s wrong .”
“Nah, we’re pretty sure we’re right, so here’s the deal. We’re going to lure Mia upstairs on the pretext of showing her Zoey’s costumes, at which point you are going to sit down with Nash and make him feel welcome. No Mia to complicate things.”
“She doesn’t.”
“In that case, why don’t I take these prawns over to them?” She picked up the platter and turned to stare back at him when he didn’t move. “You’re coming too, right?”
Sighing, he signaled for Paulie to come and turn another kilo of raw prawns into cooked ones, before dumping a heap of lemons, mayo and seafood sauce on to a plate. A roll of newspaper to spread out on the table so they could drop the shells and heads where they fell and he was set. Jackson hospitality at its best.
He didn’t much like the chances of Mia’s white shirt surviving the onslaught, but that was her problem, not his.
Bree was already at the table when he got there, along with Caleb, Nash, Mia and his grandfather.
“Where’s Gran?” he asked as he slid in next to his grandfather and put the condiments in the middle of the table.
“Zoey’s got her upstairs. Something about a shipment of Indian silk.”
“And Eli?”
“On the phone to the client from hell about yet another hull design modification.”
“Eli needs to cut that one loose. We don’t need the hassle.”
“Feel free to tell
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