Mr Right Now Read online

  ‘Look, I wasn’t in a great place, I’d drunk too much that night … it was all just …’ Humiliating. Embarrassing. Mortifying. The list could go on forever.

  ‘The thing is,’ he said, ignoring her attempt to brush it all off, ‘the more I thought about it later, the more I wanted to ask you about it’—he looked down at the floor—‘to ask if it was just the drink talking or if that’s how you really felt.’ He looked up then and steadily held her startled gaze.

  Olivia’s heart was racing and she felt light-headed. She had a horrible feeling she was actually hyperventilating. ‘I …’ she started, but faltered. What was she going to say? She’d never stopped loving him? That deep down she knew they should have stayed together? What was that going to prove? They could hardly pick up where they left off all those years ago. ‘I was really drunk,’ she finished quickly.

  His gaze wavered slightly, but then he turned towards her so that his hip was resting against the counter. ‘The thing is, Liv,’ he said, tilting his head as though trying to study her, ‘I’ve known you too long.’

  She shifted warily, wondering where this was going.

  ‘I could always tell when you were lying, which is why you sucked so bad at poker,’ he shrugged.

  ‘Maybe I’ve changed. Maybe I’m nothing like the girl you used to know.’

  He gave a lopsided smile that made her belly flip. ‘You have changed in some ways. You dress in fancy clothes and you have a big important job,’ he agreed. ‘But deep down you’re still the girl who knows me better than anyone else.’

  Olivia’s breath stuck in her chest. She watched as he put his cup down and reached over to take hers from suddenly shaking fingers. He placed the cup on the bench and stepped closer to her.

  ‘Why haven’t you found anyone to settle down with yet, Liv?’ he asked softly, his expression earnest, as though something important hinged on her answer.

  She opened her mouth to give him her well-thought-out, practical answer, but nothing came out. Come on, what are you waiting for? Say what you always say, an impatient little voice insisted. I’ve been too busy climbing the ladder of success at work … ‘I haven’t found anything …’

  He waited patiently for her to finish.

  Olivia swallowed. ‘I haven’t found anyone,’ she tried again, ‘who knows me better than I know myself,’ she finished softly. His slow smile warmed something long forgotten inside her, before reason stepped in and she cleared her throat. ‘Not that I’ve been looking for anyone.’

  ‘You know what I’ve discovered?’ He didn’t wait for her to answer. ‘What we had back then doesn’t happen for everyone. It was pretty special.’

  ‘We were just kids,’ she said. ‘It was a long time ago.’

  ‘And yet even back then we knew it was special.’

  Olivia licked her lips nervously. He shouldn’t be throwing all this sentimental nostalgia at her like this. He was standing close enough that she could feel the warmth from his body. She could smell a mix of freshly cut grass, hay and some kind of musky men’s deodorant. Her eyes settled on his wide chest and she froze as she watched him lift one hand to gently touch her hair. An involuntary shiver ran through her as his fingers made contact with the sensitive skin along her neck.

  ‘Liv, are you there?’

  The radio on the counter nearby burst into life, making Olivia jump. Ollie, the voice of reason, brought her back to earth abruptly. She stepped around Griff and reached for the handset.

  ‘I’m here, Ollie.’

  ‘I just saw Griff’s ute. What’s he want?’

  Olivia glanced across at Griff, who was watching her steadily, but his slightly clenched fist indicated he wasn’t impressed by the interruption. ‘I don’t know what he wants,’ she said quietly. She saw his eyes darken and his expression soften. ‘I’ll put him on,’ she said, handing him the handset before quickly leaving the kitchen to lock herself in the bathroom like a frightened rabbit.

  She splashed her face with cold water, hoping that would somehow bring her back to her senses. When she came back into the kitchen, Griffin was standing at the doorway, legs braced and arms folded across his chest.

  ‘Griff wants me to pick up a part for him in town,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to go.’

  ‘I can go and get it if you’re busy.’

  ‘Nah, it’s easier if I do it. I know which part he’s talking about.’

  ‘Okay then. Thanks.’

  He watched her silently for a few moments before letting out a long sigh. ‘I’ll see you later.’

  ‘Sure.’ Yeah, that’d be awesome. She was so not looking forward to dealing with whatever that was just now.

  He pushed open the door and walked outside without a backward glance, and only then did Olivia let out a slow breath as she sank into a nearby kitchen chair. What was he doing?

  What the hell was he doing? Griff stormed to his ute and reefed the door open, getting in and thumping the steering wheel. Sure, he’d come over to get to the bottom of that night, but he hadn’t been sure what he’d do with the knowledge once he had it. All he’d known was that not knowing had been quietly sending him mad.

  He hadn’t expected his feelings to take over like that. He hadn’t expected that the way she smiled or her habit of licking her lips when she was nervous would bring back emotions he hadn’t had in years. He hadn’t expected to feel as though they’d never broken up. But what he really hadn’t expected was to realise he was still in love with Olivia Dawson.

  He gave a rough chuckle as he ran a hand across his face. Trust Ollie to stuff up the moment. Damn it. He turned on the ignition and shoved the car into gear, holding himself back from taking off in a cloud of dust. He was frustrated, but he was also kind of satisfied at the same time. He’d seen the truth in Liv’s eyes. She still cared about him and he hadn’t been imagining the attraction between them. He’d caught her sharp intake of breath when he’d touched her. He’d seen her eyes darken and her breathing quicken.

  It hadn’t been a total disaster then. But if he thought he’d been going quietly crazy before, now the woman was going to send him certifiably insane.

  Twelve

  Olivia spent the rest of the morning in a cleaning frenzy, and when the floors sparkled and all the beds had been stripped and remade, she started on her mother’s garden. She’d noticed weeds were starting to poke their heads up in between the rows of herbs in her mother’s immaculate raised garden bed. Besides, she needed to keep busy and stop her mind from replaying Griffin’s visit.

  Thank goodness Ollie had interrupted, otherwise … what? She shook her head impatiently. No. Don’t even go there. Despite her best intentions, an image of what could have happened flashed though her mind. Damn it. This was what she’d wanted. She had to acknowledge that. Though, in her defence, it had been her drunk self who had decided to inform Griffin of her undying love that night. She hadn’t actually got the memo beforehand that she was going to do that.

  She looked at her watch and realised it was past lunchtime and she felt like an overripe tomato. The pool beckoned invitingly and she didn’t even have to think twice before stripping down to her underwear and jumping in. The beauty of living a thousand miles from anywhere was that there was no one within cooee, no religious groups dropping in unexpectedly or couriers in search of a signature. The water felt divine. With only the briefest of hesitations she reached behind her and unclasped her bra, tossing it up onto the side of the pool and giving a small moan of delight at the sudden sense of freedom the action brought. That was so. Much. Better.

  She floated around blissfully, revelling in the cool and quiet. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been in the pool when she suddenly caught the sound of gravel crunching under tyres and she shot upright. She’d just reached the edge and was about to hoist herself out of the water when she looked up and found two dusty work boots planted firmly in front of her.

  ‘Griffin!’ she shrieked, scrambling back under the water and covering her breast
s with her hands as best as she could. Reluctantly she lifted her gaze and found herself reflected in a pair of sunglasses. Yep, she looked as mortified as she was feeling. Just great.

  ‘What is it with you and getting naked all the time?’ Griff asked, hands on his hips as he stared down at her.

  ‘I’m not naked,’ she said with as much dignity as she could summon. ‘And what is it with you showing up twice in one day?’

  ‘I had to drop back Ollie’s part.’ He slid his sunglasses off and hooked them in the front of his shirt, showing no intention of moving.

  ‘Do you mind?’ she said pointedly.

  ‘What?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘Can you … look away or something?’

  ‘Why? I’ve seen you in swimmers before.’

  ‘I’m not in swimmers though, am I?’ she replied through clenched teeth. ‘Would you just pass me the damn towel?’

  He bent down but instead of grabbing the nearby towel, he picked up her sodden bra and held it up. ‘I’ve seen you in less,’ he added cheerfully.

  ‘Griff, if you don’t turn around …’

  ‘What?’ he asked, seemingly enjoying himself.

  ‘I’ll tell your mother next time I see her,’ she said, narrowing her eyes.

  That wiped the smirk from his face and he rolled his eyes dramatically. ‘Fine.’ He leaned down and snagged the towel. ‘Here.’

  She sent him an exasperated glare. ‘Turn around.’ When she was sure his back was turned, she pushed herself up and out of the pool and wrapped the towel around herself quickly. ‘Thank you,’ she said as he turned back to face her.

  He grinned as though to make another smart-arse comment, but she saw the grin fade as he stared down at her. The moment lengthened between them and she started to feel her nervousness rise. ‘Remember all the summer days we spent in this pool?’ he said.

  Remember? How could she forget? The smell of sunscreen to this day instantly sent her back in time to long hot days by the pool. She could still picture tiny beads of water on wide shoulders and dark eyelashes. It had been rare to have the pool to themselves between all their siblings, but there had been the odd occasion when they’d managed to jag it.

  Griff followed the water that rolled down her bare arms and across her chest, until it disappeared beneath the top of her towel. She swore she could feel the heat of his gaze as though he’d been touching her with his hand.

  ‘I should go in and get changed,’ she said, making to move around him. He moved at the exact same time, causing them both to weave the opposite way. Olivia fell off balance and grabbed Griff’s arm to steady herself. But he was off balance too and Olivia felt the world turn sideways as they both tumbled into the pool.

  There was a moment, as the chill of the water touched her warm skin and bubbles filled her ears as she thrashed around underwater, that her towel clung to her and began to drag her down. But then two strong arms reached around her, and within moments she was pulled to the surface, gasping.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Griff’s dark eyes were fastened on her. His arms still held her tightly, despite the fact she could now touch the bottom. Her hips burned where he touched her. A shiver went through her body but it wasn’t from the cold. Instinctively his grip tightened, moments before he lowered his head and kissed her.

  His lips were cool but his mouth was hot. It was no shy, test-the-waters kind of kiss; it skipped all the formal introductions and went straight to where they’d left off all those years ago.

  Olivia groaned—it was pulled from somewhere deep inside her—and Griff gave a harsh grunt in response, deepening the kiss. It was madness and yet it was so … right. Her leg moved along Griffin’s thigh tentatively, before his hand grasped her leg firmly, moving it high on his hip as he pushed against her. Oh. Dear. Lord. Maybe it was true—maybe she had been too long without a man. Clearly this was what happened when sexual tension had been bottled up for too long. You jumped the first guy you fell into a pool with! But there was no time for rational thought now; she was too busy giving herself up to the mind-blowing sensations Griffin was creating to let a simple thing like respectability get in the way.

  The wall of the pool was rough against her back but she didn’t care. All that mattered right now was Griffin and her need for him to satisfy this sudden, insatiable hunger.

  Griffin dropped his head onto Olivia’s shoulder as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn’t quite believe they’d ended up in the pool, but he wasn’t dumb enough to question good fortune when it quite literally fell into his arms. Part of him wanted to lean back and make sure he was really here, holding Olivia in his arms, but another part told him to just hold her tight and let the fantasy linger a little while longer.

  However, right at this minute his denim jeans were glued to his skin in a rather painful manner and he had no way of taking them off without a great deal of contortion. Why hadn’t he been wearing board shorts? If he’d known he’d find a half-naked Olivia in the pool waiting for him, he’d have rethought his wardrobe.

  He gave a sigh of regret. ‘As much as I’d like to take things further, I don’t think I can with work boots and wet jeans on.’

  He hated seeing the mix of embarrassment and shyness replace the lustful abandon he’d witnessed only a few moments before. She quickly slid from his arms and climbed from the pool, wrapping the drenched towel around her. ‘I’ll go and find some dry towels,’ she murmured, disappearing inside and leaving him to heave his sodden self out of the pool, streaming water onto the hot tiles. In no time she was back, handing him a towel before turning away quickly.

  He watched her silently, her stiff shoulders and jerky movements indicating she was more than a little regretful about what had just happened. When she risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that he had removed his shirt and was currently drying his chest, she turned to face him somewhat shyly. ‘Come on inside and I’ll get you some of Ollie’s clothes to wear home.’

  He managed a half-hearted grin at that. ‘The last time I wore Ollies clothes, I’m pretty sure I was seven years old and they were his pyjamas.’

  ‘Oh well, at least you know what to expect with his fashion sense.’

  He removed his wet boots and socks, and dried up most of the water from his pants before following her back inside the house and down the corridor where she stopped outside the bathroom. ‘You can have a shower to warm up if you like. I’ll drop the clothes by the door.’

  She turned away without waiting for a reply and he frowned at her departure. When she returned, he saw she was surprised to see him leaning against the door jamb with the towel wrapped around his now naked waist, having finally discarded his jeans. ‘What’s the matter? Couldn’t you get the tap to work?’ she asked, squeezing past him and heading for the shower stall. ‘Sometimes it’s a bit temperamental,’ she said, then gasped as he came up behind her and pulled her against his bare chest.

  ‘I’d really like to finish what we started out there,’ he said softly against her ear, moving his lips to the side of her neck and feeling the silky smoothness of her skin.

  ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’

  ‘I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in ages,’ he smiled against her neck and she gave a little grunt in reply. ‘I don’t know about you, but back there felt pretty damn right to me and I’d really like to try it again.’

  He felt her shiver and slowly tilt her head to grant him better access to the rest of her neck.

  He dropped his towel and helped her undo hers, encouraged when she didn’t protest. The truth was that he wasn’t sure of anything really, he only knew that their earlier make-out session hadn’t been anywhere near enough to satisfy his sudden need for Olivia Dawson. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him, he was very relieved that, apparently, she hadn’t had enough of him either.

  Olivia inspected her hands and was surprised they weren’t wrinkled and water-logged after the amount of time she’d spent
in the pool today. Beside her on the bed, Griffin was also inspecting her hands, although she had no idea what he was looking for.

  ‘Won’t your father be wondering where you are?’ she asked.

  ‘Is that a subtle way to get me to leave?’

  ‘No,’ she hedged. ‘I just thought maybe you needed to be doing something other than … me,’ she said dryly.

  His slow grin made her toes curl. ‘I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.’

  ‘You know this is crazy, right?’ she said after reluctantly dragging her gaze from his.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, I don’t know. It’s been years since we were together. Won’t it seem weird?’

  ‘You seriously haven’t been picking up on the fact everyone’s been trying to push us back together lately?’

  ‘Well yeah, but …’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘You think they’ll be fine with us casually doing … well, this?’

  ‘Casually?’

  ‘As in, for the few weeks I’m back home?’

  He dropped his gaze to her hands once more and gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘We’re adults, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business what we do.’

  She gave a snort at that, and when he looked up at her she shook her head. ‘Everything is everyone’s business out here.’

  ‘The only thing that’s important is whether you’re okay with it,’ he said, rolling onto his side to face her.

  She was surprised momentarily to discover she was more than okay with it. ‘Hmm … I’m not sure,’ she started with mock concern.

  ‘You want me to give you another sample, just to see?’

  ‘That might be a good idea,’ she said, gasping as he proceeded to do exactly that.

  Thirteen

  ‘Where have you been all damn day?’ Bob Callahan grunted as Griff walked into the kitchen later that afternoon.

  ‘Next door,’ he said. He didn’t feel like explaining himself right now—he was in such a good mood, he didn’t want anything to spoil it.