Lean on Me (The Mackay Sisters) (8 page)

“That doesn’t mean I’m going out
with him.”  Straightening, she leaned on the broom handle.  “That’s a really
odd thing to say.”

Matt shrugged. “I thought, maybe,
you know, a lover’s tiff.”

She stared at him.  “Lover’s
tiff?  Me and Tommy?”

“It’s not so hard to imagine.” 
His gaze slid over her.

“Really?”  She couldn’t help but
laugh.  “Me and
Tommy
?”

He raised his eyebrows.  “There’s
someone else?”

That stopped the laugh.  “There’s
no-one else.”

His smile was sudden, big, curving
his lips and making his dark eyes crinkle at the corners.  “Good.”

Surprised, she could only say,
“Okay,” and look away, a little flustered, unsure of exactly what he could
mean.

In a romance novel, he’d now
declare his undying love for her.

In reality, he was probably just
being - well, who knew?  She sure as heck didn’t.  Right now she had not a clue
what men were thinking, not Tommy with his weird anger, nor Matt with his weird
replies.  Men should definitely come with an operating manual.

A floorboard on the veranda
squeaked and then his warmth was beside her, his arm brushing against hers, his
clean, uniquely male scent playing havoc with her senses.  She actually jumped,
her head whipping around to see him looking down at her, his head inclined
forward, his dark eyes fastened on her.

“Lori,” he said quietly, “I asked
if you’re seeing anyone because-”

“Hellloooooo, kids!”

Whatever Matt had been about to
tell her was lost in his groan as he looked away from her towards the street. 
Lori followed his gaze to see Mrs Hubble standing by her gate, a rolled-up
newspaper in her hand and a beaming smile on her red lip-sticked mouth.

“Seriously?” he muttered.  “Now? 
Again?
”

Wondering what Matt had been about
to ask, Lori gave Mrs Hubble a half-hearted wave.  “Hi, Mrs Hubble.”

“Don’t you two look adorable
together.”  Mrs Hubble beamed even brighter.

Embarrassment swept right through
Lori.  Oh crap.  About to take an automatic step away from Matt, she found herself
unable to move, mainly because his hand had hooked into the back of her shirt,
holding her in place beside him.

Unfortunately, it pulled the
t-shirt she wore tight against her rounded belly.  No, it wasn’t flat like
Matt’s, it was
round
.  Not sexy.  She cringed inwardly and muttered from
the side of her mouth, “Let go.”

“Not likely,” he muttered back,
right before he raised his voice.  “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

“The view is getting better by the
minute,” Mrs Hubble replied.  “Been over there long?’

Oh shit, she was fishing for
information.  “No,” Lori said hurriedly.  “Matt just got here.”

“I see.  Two gentleman visitors?” 
Mrs Hubble winked.

“Two?”

“I saw Tommy here.”  Holding one
hand coyly up to her mouth, Mrs Hubble simpered.  “Oh, wasn’t I supposed to see
that?”

“Tommy?”  This was getting out of
control.  “He just stopped by to - to -”

“Yes, dear?” Mrs Hubble
encouraged.

“Yes?” Matt added, looking down at
her.

Damned if his mouth wasn’t
twitching with humour.

“Oh, you didn’t know.”  Mrs Hubble
said it with a gasp of unbridled delight.  “I saw you, though, you naughty
boy.”  She waggled her finger at Matt.

“Oh?”

“Now you’re for it,” Lori muttered
almost gleefully.  “And serve you right for encouraging her.”

His fingers simply twisted in the
back of her t-shirt so that his knuckles ended up resting against her bare
back.

Holy cow that had her blinking. 
His skin was so warm, her back so sensitive.  Or maybe she was just that
starved for a touch after her wild fantasies that she got excited about pretty
much anything Matt did to her.

“Mrs Hubble,” he said, all innocence,
“whatever do you mean?”

“I saw you jump the fence as soon
as you saw another man at our Lori’s place.”  The wagging finger switched to
Lori.  “You saucy girl, you.”

“Yeah,” said Matt.  “You saucy
girl.”

“Mrs Hubble, I assure you it was
nothing.”  Lori didn’t know whether to be horrified that her elderly neighbour
was indulging her romantic notions by hinting at anything being between her and
Tommy, or laugh.  Or die of embarrassment.

“I know how you modern girls
think.”  Mrs Hubble winked again.  “Ménage a trios, isn’t that what they call
it?”

Lori’s mouth dropped open.

“Having that handsome café owner
and
our handsome paramedic.”

Now she was horrified.  “Mrs
Hubble!  No!”

“Absolutely not,” Matt agreed. 
“Lori wouldn’t be involved in a ménage a trios.”

Thank God, that would put a stop
to any gossip.  Lori almost sagged with relief.  It had been threatening to get
out of hand and-

“And I don’t share my woman.”

“Really?” Mrs Hubble’s expression
was like a hungry vulture circling helpless prey.

“Really.”

“So, Lori, if you’re not going out
with Tommy, you’re going out with-”

“No-one!”  Lori shook her head. 
“I’m not going out with-”

“Tommy,” Matt said helpfully. 
“She’s not going out with Tommy, Mrs Hubble.  Now, I must go.”  He gave Lori a
big grin, released her t-shirt, smoothed it down with a sweep of his hand that
she felt all the way down to her toes, and stepped down off the veranda.  “I’ll
see you later, love.  This wilderness of a garden is calling to me.  Bye, Mrs
Hubble.”

“’Bye, dear.”  Her gaze followed
him all the way to the fence, watching with eagle eyes as he easily hauled
himself back over it.  She certainly didn’t miss the grin he aimed at Lori
right before he went out of sight into the backyard, the side gate clicking
shut behind him.

Those eagle eyes flashed back to
Lori, but she was already halfway in her door.  “Gotta go, Mrs Hubble!  Have a
nice day!”  Before her neighbour could pry anymore, Lori yanked the door shut.

Standing in the hallway, she
closed her eyes.

One, she could still feel Matt’s
knuckles resting against her skin.  Wow.

Two, Matt in a teasing mood was
both infuriating, surprising, and downright…hot.  She’d wanted to both smack
him and hug him.  Smack him for stirring up the gossip - Mrs Hubble was going to
have a field day - and hug him for standing beside her.

Except he hadn’t really helped
her.  Had he?  Well of course he had, he’d told Mrs Hubble that Lori wasn’t
going out with Tommy.  Or out with him.  He’d said that, hadn’t he?

Hadn’t he?

Staring unseeingly at the small,
oval mirror on the wall, Lori ran her tongue over her lips.  Hadn’t he?  Then
again, he hadn’t said they were going out together, which they weren’t, so…

After several seconds she shook her
head, throwing back her shoulders and turning around to limp down the hallway
towards the kitchen.  Matt had just been teasing, there was nothing behind it.

Sticking the kettle under the tap,
she stared at his house through the kitchen window.  He’d seen Tommy, heard his
tone and come to her rescue, that was one certainty.  While she preferred to
fight her own battles, she had to admit to a small fissure of warmth at the
memory of him coming over to ensure she was okay.  He had that way of making
her feel safe.

He’d just been Matt, though, Matt the
paramedic, Matt the neighbour, Matt the friend, Matt the man who cared about others. 
He’d been keeping an eye on her, the sister of his friend’s fiancée.  Yeah,
that was it.

The thought was a downer, though
she tried to ignore it.

Pouring the hot water into a cup,
she dipped the tea bag up and down several times.  Now that she thought back,
she had a feeling Tommy had been going on about her seeing him leave that house
the other morning.  He certainly hadn’t been happy leaving it, he hadn’t been
happy seeing her, in fact, Tommy wasn’t a happy man full stop.

An unhappy, angry man.

Maybe she should just go to the
café and see what was wrong, ask him what had him tied up in knots and why he
was so angry with her.  One thing she hated was being caught in the middle of something
of which she had no knowledge.

After adding a small amount of
milk to the tea, she wandered over to the back door, opening it to step out
onto the veranda.  No sooner had she done so than she heard music coming from
the yard next door.

Being on the veranda gave her an
advantage point, and she looked across to see Matt in his backyard, the radio
on the wooden table switched on, and Matt standing with his back to her, his
head tipped back as he lifted a bottle of water to his mouth to drink.

His shirt was gone.  Lori’s mouth
went dry, her eyes widening then narrowing in appreciation.  From his low-slung
shorts upwards, Matt Winters was naked, the muscles bunching in his back,
stretching, flexing as he moved.  His head tilted forward, the muscles in his
arms moving under the smooth, tanned skin as he lowered the bottle and recapped
it.  His waist was lean, his stomach flat, his muscles…oh God, he made her
mouth water.

It also made the forgotten cup in
her hand tip, the hot tea splashing over to land on her hand.

In a matter of seconds she swore
out loud, realised Matt would hear and swing around to see her gawking at him,
and she leaped back into the kitchen, the door swinging shut in front of her. 
Staring at the screen door, the tea now splashed across the lino, she sighed
dispiritedly, feeling strangely let down.

If only…if only…

But there was no ‘if only’. 
Fantasy was one thing, real life the other.  Reality was that she was imagining
a lot of things. Reality was that she had things to do, an aching ankle
bandaged by a nice neighbour, and other nosey neighbours who loved a good
gossip.  Oh yes, and one angry man she decided she had to face before he
decided to come around to her house again.  The last thing she wanted to
happen, not when Mrs Hubble was peering out of her windows hoping to catch the
latest happenings.

No, she had to see Tommy and clear
up the problem, whatever it was.  Tomorrow she’d do it.  She had the day off,
her ankle would be better and she could drive into town.

~*~

Grinning, Matt tilted his head
back and took a long drink of water.  The look on Mrs Hubble’s face had been
priceless, he had no doubt her curiosity was burning out of control.  Mind you,
the thought of Lori in a ménage a trios, those soft curves pressed between two
hard bodies, two men caressing her, touching her-

The plastic bottle in his hand
split, the cold water spilling over his hand and onto his chest making him
jump.  Scowling, he shook his hand.  Okay, the thought of other men touching
Lori Mackay had him, well, shitty.  Yep, definitely shitty.  Lori was meant for
only one man, one lucky man, and he had every intention of-

Of what?  He gazed down at the
plastic bottle.  Marching over there and telling her that she was never to go
out with any other man?  That he was going all caveman and claiming her? 
Somehow he knew that wouldn’t be met favourably.

In fact, he wasn’t sure how she
would react and that was the thing.  He wasn’t even sure why he was acting all
territorial.  All he knew was that every time he felt her warmth next to him,
smelled her scent, looked into her green eyes and touched that silky skin, he
wanted to throw her on the floor and have his lustful way with her, mark her
like a tomcat so every other man in the vicinity would know to whom she
belonged.

Shaking his head, he crossed to
the wheelie bin at the corner of the house and tossed the split bottle inside
before looking at the house next door.  No one moved past the kitchen window,
all was quiet.

He’d never been a man to jump feet
first into a relationship.  He’d dated and enjoyed the women he’d kept company
with, no doubt about that, but not one woman had ever meant anything special to
him.  Not one of them had ever invaded his dreams.  Not one of them had ever
stayed in the back of his mind no matter where he was or what he did, and
certainly none of them had ever had him staring at their house.

Lori Mackay, however, had him
doing all those things.  Why?  Because the voluptuous, shy mouse with the
deeper undercurrents intrigued him, pulled at him, made him want to claim her
as his woman.  While the thought scared him, it also …well, shit, scared him. 
But the thought of her going to anyone else scared him more.

Rubbing his hair impatiently, he
scowled.  Damn it, he was never undecided.  He’d always known what he wanted
and gone for it.  It wasn’t even that he was undecided, he knew he wanted to go
out with Lori, knew he wanted to hold her, laugh with her, kiss her and yes, do
a hell of a lot more. A
lot
more.  Just the thought had him readjusting
his shorts around the beginnings of a stiffening shaft. 
Whoa, not here.
Shirley might see you staring at Lori’s house and sporting a stiffy.  So get
your hands off the front of your shorts before she rings the cops to report a
pervert.

The cordless phone on the table
rang and he walked across to it.  Maybe he was overthinking things.  He’d been
going to ask Lori out before they were interrupted and that hadn’t changed.  He
was still going to ask her out, in fact, he’d pop across after the phone call
and see her.  Nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Okay, there was the
chance of her saying no but he wouldn’t give up, so no loss.  Mrs Winters
hadn’t raised a quitter.  When Matt wanted something, he went for it.

He wanted Lori Mackay, he just had
to find the right way to get her.

Clicking the phone on, he squinted
up at the sun.  “Hello?”

“Matt?”

“Yeah.  That you, Adam?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s up?”

“Day off, loose end.”  There was
silence for a few seconds.  “Want a beer?”