Twenty-six

‘Cash,’ Griff called as she finally headed down the front steps towards her car. She bit back a frustrated sigh and smiled as she turned to face him. ‘You’re going home already?’

‘I’m so full and I’m really tired after last night. I think I’ll head home for a sleep.’

‘Oh. I was kind of hoping we could … talk.’

Cash bit the inside of her cheek. Part of her hated dashing whatever hopes he seemed to have about the two of them, but another, smaller part was angry that he was making her do this again. She didn’t want to upset him, but as far as she knew, she hadn’t given him any signals that her feelings for him had changed. ‘Griff …’

‘Look, I know you said you didn’t feel that way about me,’ he cut her off quickly, ‘but when you’re stuck in a cab, driving back and forth harvesting all day, you have a lot of time to think. The thing is,’ he said, holding her gaze levelly, ‘I don’t think that was the best I could do.’

‘The best …’ she murmured, feeling a little confused until she saw him lean closer and realised, too late, that he was referring to their kiss. This time the kiss wasn’t gentle and hesitant, and for the briefest of moments Cash, stunned into surprised reaction, kissed him back. As soon as she realised, she pulled away, but not before she caught the triumphant light in Griff’s eyes as he stared down at her expectantly.

‘Griff, no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I’m sorry. I just can’t.’

As soon as the words were out she saw the satisfaction fade from his face.

‘You kissed me back,’ he said harshly.

‘I … Griff.’

‘I don’t get it,’ he said angrily.

Cash was still shocked by the sudden kiss. It had been the very last thing she’d expected and all she could do was shake her head as coherent words refused to come out of her mouth. ‘I’m … I have … There’s someone else, Griff. I’m sorry. I thought you understood last time.’

‘Someone else? Who?’ he demanded, and his temper was not something Cash had ever witnessed before.

Cash shook her head and turned away to open her car door. ‘Just leave it, Griff. Please.’

He pushed the door shut and Cash snapped her gaze upwards in alarm.

‘I want to know who it is,’ he said in a low, angry tone.

Hurt feelings were one thing, but men who demanded were an entirely different kettle of fish. Linc’s brother or not, she was not putting up with this crap from anyone. ‘It’s none of your business,’ Cash said tightly. ‘And what’s more, I don’t owe you an explanation for anything I do. I’m sorry things between us can’t work out, but I have done nothing to make you think that they could. I tried to break it to you gently but you’re the one who overstepped the mark, buddy, not me.’

She reefed open the car door and saw his shoulders slump in defeat as he stepped away. If this was how Christmases ended, she was glad she’d stayed away from them for so long.

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Linc saw Cash saying goodbye to everyone and tried to catch her before she left, jogging down the front staircase and coming to a halt at the sight that greeted him: the woman he loved kissing his brother. What the fuck. His first instinct was to run across and drag Griff off her. Rage pumped through his veins and his fists clutched by his side, but then the red fog cleared slightly as Cash pulled away. Everything inside him screamed for him to get over there and demand answers, but somehow through all the testosterone and wounded ego, a small voice of reason held him back.

He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he could see from Griff’s body language that he wasn’t happy with whatever Cash was telling him. He wondered briefly if she’d told him the truth, but in the next instant he saw Cash turn on his brother and slam the door shut before revving the engine and driving away.

There wasn’t time to leave before Griff saw him, not that he seemed inclined to stop and talk, so clearly she hadn’t told him then. He opened his mouth to speak as Griff approached, but all he got was a snarl from his brother as he pushed past and headed back towards his own house.

Linc took the keys out of his pocket and climbed into his car. A mixture of delayed shock, anger and the need to track down Cash to find out what the hell had just happened propelled him into action.

Pulling up in front of her house, he took a moment to compose himself before climbing out of his car. He knocked on the front door and waited, listening for her footsteps up the hallway and frowning when none came. Linc turned and walked around the house, opening the side gate that led to the salon, and found her sitting on the bench beside a small water feature, staring into the water as flashes of orange and gold carp swam just below the surface.

‘You left in a hurry,’ he said, coming to a stop beside her.

She didn’t immediately look up at him, but when she did he saw her eyes were clouded with emotion. ‘I need to tell you something,’ she said quietly.

‘You made out with my brother,’ he said dryly.

He would have laughed at the speed with which her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open had the situation not been so damn serious. The image of her kissing Griff was still too raw to laugh at just yet.

‘I did not make out with your brother.’

‘Kinda looked like you were into it a little bit,’ he said, striving for a casualness he was far from feeling.

‘He caught me off guard. I had no idea he was going to kiss me.’

‘He still has a thing for you,’ Linc said after a moment of silence.

‘Apparently,’ Cash confirmed, sounding bitter. ‘However, I think he has a clearer understanding of how things stand now, though.’

‘Did you tell him? About us?’ He was fairly sure he wouldn’t still have his head attached to his shoulders if she had.

‘I told him there was someone else. He wanted to know who. I told him it was none of his business.’

‘I see.’

‘Do you, Linc?’ she snapped, sending him a narrowed glare.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘What’s going on with you? You’ve been avoiding me all day.’

‘You were the one who insisted on keeping us a secret.’

‘This was different. You knew something was up with Griff today, didn’t you?’ she demanded.

He made a small grunt deep in his throat but couldn’t very well deny it. ‘I tried to feel him out on how he’d handle you and I getting together and he told me he wanted to try with you again.’

‘And you just stepped aside and let him?’ she asked, sounding horrified.

‘What was I supposed to do? You didn’t want me to tell him before the wedding, remember?’

‘So you were okay with allowing your brother to make a move on me? I can’t believe you.’

‘I didn’t allow him to make a move on you,’ he growled. ‘How was I supposed to know he’d kiss you … or that you’d let him,’ he added, then regretted it the moment he saw the wounded on her face. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, rubbing his eyes briskly. ‘Forget it.’

‘Did you even mean what you said last night?’

‘What?’ He dropped his hands and stared at her. ‘Of course I meant it.’

‘You stepped aside for your brother,’ she pointed out in a tone that held a note of betrayal.

‘I didn’t step aside … I …’ He sure as hell hadn’t spoken up and said anything either. He felt like a bastard caught in the middle of a hopeless situation. ‘What did you want me to do exactly, Cash?’

He saw her shoulders lose some of their stiffness as she eased back against the bench and let out a long, frustrated sigh. ‘I guess we should have told him.’

‘Yeah, well, maybe in hindsight earlier would have been better. I don’t think we can though, not this close to the wedding. It’s not about us now,’ he said. And it wasn’t—it was about Hadley and making sure her wedding wasn’t ruined by her two brothers glaring at each other all day.

The gentle trickle of the water fountain and hum of insects hung in the air around them. ‘Hey,’ he said, holding out a hand to her. He saw her look up at him before taking it. ‘Let’s put today behind us. It’s Christmas and we still have some celebrating to do.’

He tugged her upwards and into his arms and suddenly all the negativity that had hung over him through the day was gone. She felt so good in his arms, pressed up tightly against him, her head resting perfectly against his chest. Everything he’d felt last night flooded back through him. That was all that mattered. He would never stand back and allow anyone to come between them again.

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Cash closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the man whose chest felt so solid and safe beneath her cheek. Her arms tightened around his waist as a wave of longing and love washed over her. She’d been hurt by Lincoln’s refusal to step in earlier, and yet, standing here like this, it no longer mattered.

‘I think we should go inside and open our presents,’ she said, pulling away slightly to look up at him.

‘I can think of a present I’d like to unwrap,’ he told her with a wiggle of his eyebrows that made her laugh.

‘Come on, I was so good not unwrapping it this morning.’

‘Fine. Let’s go unwrap presents then,’ he said, trying to sound hard done by, but allowing her to pull him along the garden path towards the house. She couldn’t wait till he unwrapped his. She’d had to arrange for one of the clients to pick it up and bring it out for her only the day before and had been worried it might not turn up on time.

Kneeling in front of the tree that she secretly loved, despite its delicate pine needles that drove her batty each day as she swept them up, Cash waited impatiently for Linc to hand her the wrapped gift. Buying your own presents wasn’t the same as someone else buying them for you. Almost reverently she began unwrapping the delicate tissue paper until she came to a flat, square box inside. She opened it slowly and her breath caught as she stared at the shimmer of gold that lay in the centre of the satin-lined box. ‘Linc,’ she breathed, unable to drag her eyes from the beautiful bracelet.

‘I was thinking more of sexy lingerie, but Hadley reckoned jewellery was the way to go.’

‘Linc, this is … too much. It must have cost a fortune.’ The diamond-set belcher bracelet twinkled up at her in all its golden glory.

‘I can swap it for a skimpy nurse costume,’ he offered.

‘Hmm, let me think … slutty nurse outfit or classy gold bracelet?’

‘Whatever. Your loss,’ he shrugged, although he looked rather pleased with himself.

‘What if I only wear the bracelet?’ she offered.

‘That could work.’ His eyes darkened and Cash shook her head helplessly at him, before reaching across to hand him his gift.

‘If this isn’t a skimpy pool boy costume, I’m gonna be really disappointed,’ he warned.

‘I don’t have a pool,’ she shrugged.

‘And apparently I don’t have a pool boy costume,’ he said, tearing open the wrapping paper.

She watched him take out the photo frame and stare at it silently. Cash bit her lip. He hated it. ‘It was probably a dumb idea,’ she said feeling awkward.

‘No, it’s …’ He looked up at her with an almost stunned expression. ‘It’s perfect. Thank you,’ he said softly, his voice sounding huskier than usual.

Cash breathed a small sigh of relief. She’d been trying to think of something special to get him and had almost given up until she remembered him telling her that driving through the front gates of Stringybark always made him realise he was home, and how he’d sometimes dreamed of it when he’d been away on deployment. Early one morning she’d driven over to Stringybark and taken a photo of the front gates and had it blown up and framed so he could always have it with him always.

‘Thank you,’ he said, reaching out to slide a hand around the back of her head as he kissed her gently. ‘And now for your real Christmas present,’ he said, turning towards the bedroom.

‘There’s more?’ she said, opening her eyes wide in mock surprise.

‘I’ve saved the best for last,’ he promised confidently.

‘I don’t know, Callahan,’ she said, holding her wrist up to admire her bracelet, ‘it’s gonna have to be pretty impressive to outdo this.’

‘Oh, it’s impressive,’ he assured her as he kicked the door shut behind them.