Chapter Three

She’s wearing it after all.

Matt grinned to himself at the sight of Gabby in her bikini. She hadn’t owned one in years. He didn’t understand why she’d been so reluctant about buying it. She wasn’t old or anything, and looked all right.

He walked out through the French doors near the kitchen, laughing at a stupid joke Taka had told him.

Matt made a beeline for the pool, hopping a little on the hot pavers and wishing he’d thrown on his flip-flops. Gabby splashed out of the beach entry of the pool, pushing her long hair back out of her eyes. The water made it look rich brown, rather than the fiery auburn it was, and dragged her curls almost straight.

She needs to get out more, instead of hanging around here.

His dad had been gone for over two years now, so it was time she met someone. She was staring down at the water and hadn’t noticed them heading for her.

Taka stopped abruptly. Matt turned his head. The guy had been acting weird lately. If he didn’t know better, he’d think his best friend was hung up on a girl.

An expression of both pain and yearning tightened Taka’s face. Matt stared at him, then back at his mother. Realization hit him deep in his gut, sucking his lungs flat.

No. It couldn’t be.

He grabbed Taka’s arm and hauled him back inside before they were noticed.

Taka yanked his arm out of his grasp, surprised at the harsh handling. “What’s wrong? Why did you do that?”

Matt stared at him, astonished. “It’s Gabby, isn’t it? You’re hot for my mother!”

The blood drained from Taka’s face making his golden skin ashen. “What are you talking about?”

“You! You’ve been acting strange for weeks. I just knew you had the hots for some chick, but I didn’t think…”

Taka shoved him into the room closest to them, looking over his shoulder.

“Shh! Shut up, all right? She’ll hear you. You’re talking crazy!” He dragged his hand through his hair. His face betrayed his feelings as clearly as his mouth denied them.

“I’m right! Oh, man.” He couldn’t get his head around it. When the hell had this happened? How? Why?

“No, you’re—”

“How long have you felt like this?” he interrupted, shaking his head.

“Listen to me! It’s not her. I-it’s some girl you don’t know. I wouldn’t do that.” Desperation shone in Taka’s eyes. He grabbed at Matt’s arm.

Matt shook him off. “Don’t make it worse by lying to me. You can’t lie to save your life, so don’t try.” His head spun at a million miles a minute. It all made sense now.

Taka and…Gabby?

“This is just too weird. I mean, come on!”

Takeshi’s eyes flashed, fire sparking in their depths. “Well, if it’s so damned weird, why bring it up? You could have just shut your mouth and left well enough alone.”

“Don’t get your shorts in a twist! I wasn’t being… It’s just not what I expected. When I thought you liked someone, I didn’t think… I mean, for pity’s sake, Taka, it’s my mother! It’s…give me some time to think about this. You can’t lay something like that on me and expect no reaction. It’s kind of a big thing, you know?”

Taka crossed his arms and looked down at his feet. “I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ve always liked her a lot. You know that. I never wanted to feel this way. I would never hurt you by… I wasn’t going to let you know. Ever.”

That brought Matt’s spinning thoughts to a halt. “Why not?”

Taka lifted his burning black gaze. “Because it’s not normal. I’ve tried so hard not to feel this way, but I can’t help it. The best I can do is ignore it and hope it goes away. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to look at me like you’re looking at me now.” His eyes softened in resignation. “How do you tell your best friend you’re in love with his mother?”

Matt swallowed hard and held Taka’s gaze tight. “I think you just did.”

Taka held his hands up. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

“It’s okay. Maybe. Just shut up for a minute and let me think,” Matt snapped, scraping a hand through his curly hair and shaking his head.

Wow.

“Really? You’re not going to hit me?” Taka’s expression proved he was only half joking. He crumpled and sank down on the sofa in the lounge room and rubbed his hands over his drawn face.

“No. Not yet, anyway.” Matt hunkered down in front of his friend. His heart was slowing its mad sprint, returning some blood to his brain and allowing him to think. “I really do need some time to get my head around this. Are you sure?”

Taka shook his head in exasperation.

“Am I sure? I tell you something like that, and you ask me a stupid question. I’m nineteen. She doesn’t even notice I’m here half the time. I’m part of the furniture. I could walk around naked and do the hula, and she wouldn’t even see me. I don’t expect her to. She’s far too respectable for something like that. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Matt grinned at him, his normal good humor stirring deep in his bones, rising through the shock.

“You and your Japanese manners. Screw appropriate. Why not tell her how you feel? All she does is work and then travel for work. Then she’s home again, working. You could give her something different to think about.”

Taka’s eyes widened at his suggestion. “What the hell would I say? I’ve kept it from her this long, and that’s not going to change. I’m not telling her anything. Neither are you.” Taka stood. “I’m going for a swim. Are you coming?”

He turned and stalked from the room without waiting for an answer.

 

 

Matt glanced up from the water as Gabby walked past the open doors to the pool and into the kitchen, her silhouette moving behind the windows in the breezeway.

He glanced over to the other side of the pool. Taka floated on his back on an air mattress, fast asleep in the sun.

“Time for some fun,” he murmured as he pulled himself up out of the water.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Taka’s little bomb. The more he thought about it, the more Taka’s recent behavior made sense. The crazy thing was, it didn’t bother him all that much once the initial shock had faded. Not as much as he thought it would. As much as it should have.

If he were honest with himself, he’d much rather her be with Taka than some jerk. It was funny, really. If one of their other friends had admitted the same thing, he would’ve made them back off, no question about it. But this was Taka. And Taka was, well, different. He’d always seemed so much older than the rest of them, even though in reality it was only by one year. He thought things through, never made rash decisions. It drove Matt nuts at times. Also, Gabby had one heck of a soft spot for him. Although, if she knew about this, she’d be knocked on her butt. She’d never dated anyone younger than herself before. That could be a problem.

Padding into the kitchen he came up behind his mother. He threw a damp arm around her shoulder. Water dripped all over her. He grinned to himself. He knew that would annoy the heck out of her.

“Hey, Gabby.”

“Hey, yourself. Want one?” Gabby extricated herself from his embrace and indicated the hot drink she’d prepared. She threw him an exasperated look as she wiped at the wet patches on her dry swimsuit.

“Nah. Might have your sandwich, though.”

Matt reached around her, grabbed half of it and sat on the bench. Water dripped down his legs to puddle on the slate floor.

Gabby glared at him, the look at odds with her indulgent smile. “Get out of my food, thief, or I’ll be forced to hurt you!”

Matt laughed and looked down at her. “Not likely, little lady. I’ve hit six foot, if you haven’t noticed. I outgrew you four years ago.”

Gabby pointed the teaspoon at him and waggled it. “I could still put you over my knee, boy. What about Yoshi? At least he likes my tea.”

Matt smiled absently at his mother’s use of her pet name for his friend. She’d called Taka that since the day he’d been a scrawny new exchange student who had followed Matt home from school five years ago. Taka’s parents had been so impressed with Australia during his twelve-month stay they’d moved the whole family there during the Christmas holidays of that year.

The mouthful of salami made answering hard. He poked an errant slice into the side of his mouth, sucking the grease from his finger. “Nope. He’s asleep. Late night last night.”

Gabby looked out the expansive kitchen windows, frowning at Taka’s prone form on the water. The late afternoon sunlight bathed him in its unrelenting heat.

“He’ll get sunburned if you leave him there like that. You guys go to a party?”

Matt swallowed. “Movie marathon at the Pink Palace. Sci-fi. You know he’s obsessed. It didn’t finish ‘til about three. We took his bike. You didn’t hear us come in?”

Taka’s motorbike was a source of contention with his own parents, but Matt was lucky that his mother didn’t have a problem with him riding double on it.

Gabby leaned back against the island bench, her mug held between both hands. She shook her head. “No. I was working out a new proposal for Matheson’s until about midnight, then called it quits. Was it good? If I’d known I would’ve come, too. That is, if you could handle having your mother with you at the pictures. Not so good for your hot guy image!” She grinned up at him, humor warming her eyes.

Matt finished off the last of the sandwich. Matheson’s? Oh, the law firm in the city. Her new merger acquisitions position. His mother’s job had its advantages, like the free travel and the amazing salary, but the drawback was that she worked her butt off for all the perks. This last year, she’d had to be away one week out of every three. He was lucky his grandparents lived so close.

“You should’ve said, you know everyone likes you. ‘Sides, you don’t look that old.”

“Thanks.” Gabby laughed, then frowned. “I think.”

Matt glanced slyly at his mother. “You probably wouldn’t have enjoyed coming with us, though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Stef made a bit of a scene. She was all over Taka, like a rash. Again. He ended up getting really annoyed and moved over to the other side of me and Sean. That girl won’t leave him alone.”

Gabby shook her head. “Maybe she would have behaved herself if I was there. She has to learn when no means no. I could’ve sat between them.” She sighed. “Poor Taka. He must get so frustrated. It’s a pity she’s become such a pain. You three have been friends for so long. Not that I can blame her, though.”

Matt blinked in surprise. “Why’s that?”

Gabby shrugged a shoulder. “Well, you have to admit he is rather nice-looking. He was always so cute. He was so little and shy when he first came here, but he’s grown up so much in the last three years. He’d have to be almost the same height as you, though he’s still too skinny. He’s turned into an extremely good-looking young man. Exotic. The girls at school must have been drooling over him before you finished. I’d hate to think how many he’s got dangling.” She leaned back and sipped her tea.

Matt’s grin froze. His mind was working at top speed at her admission. Reading between her words the truth struck him hard, nearly wiping the smile from his face.

My God. She thinks Taka’s hot! That was going to spin Taka right out. If he told him.

“Actually, none.”

Gabby raised her eyebrows, her skepticism obvious. Matt felt pressured to expand on his statement just from the look on her face. She always had that effect on him, and it caused him no end of embarrassment at times. He’d been caught out far too often for his liking.

“True, not one. You know what he’s like. The guy’s weird when it comes to girls. He’s not into casual flings. So, you think he’s—what did you say? I can’t believe you called him cute,” Matt said, shaking his head.

“He’s not weird. He’s…selective. Not everyone is as big a flirt as you.” A blush crept up Gabby’s neck. “I have eyes… And, as you’re so keen to point out, I’m only thirty-two. He wanders around here half naked, of course I’m going to notice.”

Matt choked on the water he’d picked up off the bench top. He hopped down off the bench and grabbed the other half of her sandwich before she could stop him. He shot her a smug glance as he walked toward the hall. “He’s sleeping out there. Go notice all you like.”

Matt laughed as she threw the tea towel at his retreating back.

 

 

Gabby stopped at the water’s edge. Taka still lay on the mattress in the sun, floating in the middle of the calm pool. The sunlight glinted off the water. It sparkled all around him and made his bronzed skin seem to glow. His long hair fell forward, sideways across his face and over his dark sunglasses, obscuring his eyes. Although she had told Matt he was too skinny, he’d filled out so much in the last six months that he looked far older than his nineteen years. He looked edible.

Gabby chuckled to herself. She knew what Matty would say to that. She could understand why Stef was so determined to get her hands on him. Taka looked so peaceful, she was loath to wake him up.

Oh, well. He’ll thank me later.

Untying the sarong from her waist she walked into the water from the shallow beach entry and waded toward him. Gabby lifted her wet hand and touched his arm where it hung into the water, the drops from her fingers falling onto his hot skin.

“Hey, Yoshi. Wake up. It’s too hot out here. You’ll get burnt.”

Takeshi stirred. His bare chest rose with his slow, deep breath. A steamy, sexy smile curved his full lips. “You could always rub me down with some lotion, babe.”

Babe?

Gabby’s hand froze on his arm. He called his girlfriends that. She glanced at his face but couldn’t tell if his eyes were open.

“Ta—,” she coughed, trying to clear her suddenly dry throat. “What did you say?”

 

Her voice penetrated Taka’s languid daze. His eyes flew open as the words slowly untangled themselves in his brain, and he realized he must have spoken aloud. He bolted upright, nearly losing his balance on the air mattress, and shoved his sunglasses to the top of his head. His heart thundered against his chest as his head grasped what he’d said.

“Oh, no! I didn’t… I mean I—”

Gabby slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes giving away her amusement.

“Oh, Yoshi. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle with you!”

He blinked, then an answering smile surfaced on his mouth. Taka shook his head and scraped a hand through his thick hair.

“I think I was dreaming,” he said. He glanced at her arms where they crossed beneath her breasts, the water lapping at her ribcage, then away again before she noticed the direction of his wandering gaze.

Damn, she looks good in that bikini.

“Apparently.” Gabby held out a hand. “You want to come inside now? I was worried you’d get burnt out here.”

Taka took her hand and slid off the air mattress. “Only if you can forgive my…whatever that was,” he said.

She pretended to think about it for a moment.

“I think I can do that. Come on, let’s get some food. I’m hungry. Matt stole mine.”

Taka followed her out of the pool and into the house. She’d dropped his hand back in the pool, but his fingers still tingled where she’d held them.

Following her like this, he had a perfect view of her barely covered behind. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her. The way she walked was hypnotic: All swaying hips and sensual rhythm. She had no idea how much he wanted to touch her smooth skin. All he had to do was reach out a hand, and he could.

The phone shrilled to his right, startling him.

Gabby spun toward it so abruptly he plowed straight into her. She grabbed at his shoulders. His arms went around her waist, and he pulled her tight against his body to try and regain some balance so they both didn’t go flying. Her breasts shoved up hard against his bare chest, their damp, hot skin colliding, only the thin scrap of her bikini and his board shorts separating their bodies.

His stomach screwed into a hard, tight knot at the sensual contact. Chills fired up his spine when her hand grabbed the back of his wet neck and curled into his hair. It didn’t take much imagination to think of another reason she might have her hands tight in his hair. The imprint of her body on him made it impossible to breathe—afraid that if he did, he might explode. Taka’s mouth was inches from hers as they stood motionless. Gabby’s parted lips looked so inviting. If he just dipped his head the tiniest bit, he could taste them.

He moved his head slightly, and she blinked. Color rose on her cheeks, and she pushed at his shoulders to get herself upright. He forced his uncooperative fingers to release her.

“I’m sorry.”

She looked everywhere but at him. He was damned if he could tell what she was thinking.

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who ran into you. Are you okay?”

Her eyes flicked back to his, to his mouth, then away. She was acting weird, weirder than him.

The grandfather clock behind her struck the hour. Six o’clock. Gabby drew a deep breath and turned a brilliant smile on him. The effect was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his knees.

“Listen, you help yourself to something to eat. You know where everything is. I have to go and get ready.”

“You’re going out?” He couldn’t concentrate when she smiled like that. She was already backing away from him, taking that amazing warmth from his reach.

“Yeah. A business dinner.” She threw him a glance when she reached the staircase that led to the bedrooms. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

She didn’t wait for his answer and sprinted up the stairs. Taka watched her go, then turned and walked to the kitchen, furious with himself.

“You stupid idiot,” he muttered. “Shit!”

He slammed the base of his palm against the doorjamb and dropped his head to his hand. He could only hope she didn’t know he’d been ready to kiss her. His traitorous body still burned from feeling the whole length of her pressed against him. The remembered feel of her wet breasts against his chest was going to keep him awake at night for weeks.

Thank Christ she hadn’t noticed anything else.