Free-Falling (16 page)

‘Yes, you have.' Belinda began to soften just a little. ‘But then again, I get it – why you found it hard to be around me. Plus I have been pretty hormonal lately, so I tend to overreact to things at times.'

‘Can we start over then? I'd really love to hang out with you again. Though I take it we won't be having any big nights out at the pub anytime soon?'

Belinda shook her head and then smiled. ‘Remember the night Andy first introduced us?
That
ended up being a big one.'

‘So this is the chick that took my little bro off the market, eh?'

‘Hey, Belle, why don't you look after the table while we grab the drinks?'

‘Hang on, Andy, did I just hear James say ”little bro”? Excuse me, but aren't you guys twins – therefore the same age?'

‘Apparently being born first makes him the “older and wiser” big brother. We'll be right back – Frangelico and lime, right?'

‘Sure, thanks.'

Belinda narrowed her eyes at James. ‘Did you know that I overheard the two of you at the bar that night, when you guys were grabbing the first round? I was supposed to be guarding the table, but I needed to head to the bathroom and when I realised you guys were talking about me, I kind of couldn't help listening in.'

‘Christ, are you kidding me? I was being such an arsehole that night.'

‘To start with? Yes,' said Belinda with a laugh. ‘But you improved, so I forgave you.'

‘
Best behaviour
,
remember, James?'

‘What's your problem, man? What have I done this time?'

‘I could see the way you were looking at Belle. You're not even going to give her a chance, are you? Look, she's a great chick and I'd appreciate it if you could try and get along with her. I
really
like this girl.'

‘Jeez, I wouldn't have guessed you “really liked” her by the size of that fucking rock on her finger. How much did that chunk
of metal set you back anyway?'

‘Not the point here.'

‘Whatever. But, man, where do you get off proposing without even flicking me an email or something first?'

‘Is that what this is about? You're mad cause I didn't consult you before getting engaged?'

‘Whatever. It doesn't matter; I couldn't care less about the whole thing.'

‘Look, I don't know why I didn't contact you first. I guess I was just nervous and therefore worried you might try and talk me out of it. And ever since you stayed overseas and I came home, it's not as if we've been that close. But I really do care about your opinion, so can you please just try and get to know her. It's going to be a crap wedding if the best man doesn't get along with the bride.'

‘Best man?'

‘Are you kidding? Who else would it be?'

‘All right, I'll give her a chance if you swear you'll never talk to me about your feelings again.'

‘How did we end up having so much fun that night?' James asked, frowning.

‘Shots,' Belinda responded matter-of-factly.

‘Ah, yes. And finding out that you could give as good as you got. I remember I tried to have a go at you for losing our table, but you weren't going to take any shit from me. I was impressed.'

‘Plus don't forget Andy was the designated driver that night and so the drunker we got, the more annoyed he became and the
more we made fun of him.'

‘Man, I was a shocking brother.'

‘Don't beat yourself up, that's what brothers do. If I remember correctly, Andy was just happy the next day that we were getting along. All he wanted was for us to be friends.'

They both started to relax now that everything had been aired. Conversation turned to lighter topics and they found they had plenty to catch up on. Belinda told James all about her embarrassing fall at the gym, to which he responded with the appropriate mix of amusement and concern, and he told her about his school break-in and near night in gaol. She was shocked to hear that his mother had stood up for him. She had always thought Evelyn to be more in the ‘throw 'em to the lions' school of parenting. After James's heartfelt story, Belinda felt herself opening up even more and she let him in on the recently revealed family secret.

‘I can't say I would have picked your family as having a
Jerry Springer
style scandal,' was his initial response.

‘Hey! It isn't that bad,' she laughed, whacking him with a cushion.

‘Okay, okay, truce!' he yelled as he shielded off her blows.

They fell silent for a moment and he glanced at his watch. ‘Didn't realise it was getting so late. Should probably get out of your hair and let you have your dinner and what-not,' he said, starting to gather up his phone, keys and wallet.

‘“Dinner and what-not”,' she murmured quietly to herself. ‘Andy used to say that too. He was always finishing his sentences with “and what-not”.'

James let his shoulders slump a little. ‘Sorry, I didn't mean to—'

‘No, no!' she interrupted. ‘I didn't mean anything by it – it was
just nice, actually, to hear it again.' She paused, then added, ‘Why don't you stay for dinner? It's been nice catching up with you.'

He dropped all the bits and pieces he'd been gathering onto the table and fell back into the couch immediately. ‘Great, thanks! It's horrible and wet and windy out there anyway.'

She glanced towards the windows. ‘Huh. I hadn't even noticed that storm building up.' She looked at James, all comfortable on the lounge, and added firmly, ‘If you're staying for dinner, don't expect to just sit on your butt and wait for it to appear. Get your arse in the kitchen, boy.'

She found they cooked well together – James doing all the prep work with the veggies while she marinated and cooked up the chicken in balsamic and red wine. And he did just the right thing when she asked him to pour them both a glass of the wine to have with dinner. He didn't question whether she should really be having alcohol in her condition, just poured her a nice, small glass and slid it across the counter to her. Her friends had been driving her mad lately: on the one hand, she had Stacey snatching everything from liqueur chocolates to weak cappuccinos from her in case she put her babies in harm's way, and then on the other, there was Jules, offering her tequila cocktails and looking confused when she turned them down.

James and Belinda's conversation continued smoothly through dinner and eventually they found themselves back on the couch again, listening to her favourite Jack Johnson CD, sharing a block of dark orange chocolate and enjoying being curled up inside while the summer storm that had been brewing earlier raged outside.

‘This has been nice,' Belinda said, snuggling herself further into the deep, soft couch. ‘Oh, hello there!' She shifted and patted her stomach. ‘Guess who's awake? You want to feel them kicking?'

‘You can do that?' James asked doubtfully.

‘Yes, of course you can, you dork.' She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her stomach gently. ‘Just hold it there for a sec,' she instructed.

He waited a moment or two, then jumped as one of the babies obliged, giving his hand a forceful kick. ‘Holy shit, that kid's got a mean right hook.'

‘I think that was its foot actually. I'd say “Twin A's” foot, to be precise.'

‘Really? How do you know which one is which?'

‘To be honest, I don't know for sure. At the last ultrasound, Twin A was on the left and Twin B the right, but they could have swapped sides.'

‘Already getting them mixed up, eh? Good luck when they're born then. You know Mum got us mixed up once? We were about three weeks old. Dad was back at work and Mum was trying to figure out how she was supposed to change two screaming kids' nappies at the same time. Anyway, she'd been telling us apart with different coloured socks, right? So she lays us both on the floor, pulls off our suits, including the socks, chucks them to the side, changes both nappies and then, as she's redressing us, she realises she's forgotten which baby was wearing which coloured socks. To this day, we'll never know if she put the right socks back onto the right babies. After that, she reckons it started to get easier to tell us apart – subtle differences, apparently.'

Belinda cracked up laughing and James joined in. He leant forward and touched his finger to her cheek. ‘Tiny bit of chocolate,' he explained – but his hand lingered and she found herself staring into his eyes much longer than was appropriate for someone who had almost been her brother-in-law.

‘So I guess, technically, I could actually be Andy,' he said,
intending to break the tension.

It backfired, though: Belinda found herself feeling all the more strained and her skin prickled as she began to think,
I could have him back, I could have Andy back, right here, right now.
She must have been mere moments away from leaning in and kissing him . . .
What the hell was I thinking?

So what if this guy, sitting here on the couch in front of her, might have been the ‘original' Andy? So what if he looked so much like his brother that gazing at his face gave her a severe case of vertigo? That didn't make him the same guy who had proposed to her. It didn't make him the guy she had shared holidays and movie dates and countless amazing nights in bed with. So maybe the guy she'd been engaged to had actually been born first and originally named James – that didn't matter – the day his mother had mixed them up, he became Andy and
he
was the one she loved.

She pulled back from James abruptly and he realised his mistake. ‘I'm so sorry, that was such a stupid, stupid thing to say.'

‘It's fine, it's okay,' she said, staring determinedly down at her hands. ‘Probably time we called it a night, hey?' The strain in her voice was apparent.