Six Naughty Nights: Love in Reverse, Book 2 (12 page)

He stared out across the Waitangi Forest. “Other things on my mind,” he said.

Had a girl broken his heart? The jealousy that surged through her at that thought surprised her. Just because he was Charlie’s father didn’t mean he belonged to her. He’d probably slept with a dozen girls since Fiji, maybe more. Still, she couldn’t stop her fists clenching at the thought of him touching them as he’d just touched her, pleasuring them, loving them. Had he been in love? Her chest tightened uncomfortably. She couldn’t think about it—it was going to make her cry. Damn baby hormones still hanging around.

When she looked up, he was watching her. Why did he always make her feel as if he could see right through her, into her very thoughts?

“Nobody’s matched up to you, Esther,” he said.

He
had
read her mind. “Bullshit.”

He chuckled. “It’s the truth, but I know you’ll never believe me. Okay. So it’s a date? What time does Charlie go to bed?”

“I usually put him down around six thirty.”

“Okay, shall we meet in town at, say, seven thirty—give you time to settle him?”

“Sure.” She was glad he’d been considerate enough to think of Charlie’s needs. “Whereabouts?”

“At the Five Palms.”

“Where’s that?”

“I’ll ask Faith to take you.”

“You’ll do no such thing.”

He put the lid on the box and handed her the card. “You can show her this. She’ll help you get ready for tonight.”

“Toby!”

He sighed. “She’s nice, honey. She won’t laugh—at least not at you, at me maybe. Open up a little. It might be nice not to have to do things on your own for once.”

She said nothing, but his words played on her mind as they woke Charlie and got ready to go back to Faith and Rusty’s place. She was an only child, and although she’d tried over the years to open up and share herself with people, it had always backfired on her. Eventually she’d given up, tired of being hurt, and now she kept distant and withdrawn, hiding behind a protective shell. But for once, it might be nice to talk to a woman her own age, to have a friend. Even if she was only going to be there for a week.

Toby drove them back and came in with them. They walked around the house, onto the decking and through the sliding doors to the living room.

“Hey, you two.” Faith got up from the dining table at the far end of the room where she’d been sitting surrounded by a pile of papers. Rusty remained sitting there, also surrounded by papers, but he lifted a hand in welcome.

“Hey.” Toby helped Charlie up the step and followed him in. “What are you guys up to?”

“Essays,” Rusty grunted, pulling another paper toward him. “What exciting lives we lead.”

“I’ll brighten up your day then,” Toby said. “We’d like to take you up on your offer of babysitting tonight if that’s okay.”

Faith’s eyebrows rose, but she merely said, “Of course, that’s why I asked. I popped around to a few friends today and picked up some bits and pieces, including a couple of boxes of toys for Charlie.”

“That was…very kind.” Esther spoke awkwardly, unused to people helping her out. Charlie had already found one of the boxes Faith had left in the living room for him, and he ran over with a squeal at the sight of the wooden trains.

“You’ve made a friend for life,” Toby said wryly. He turned to Esther. “I’ll see you at seven thirty.” He bent and kissed her on the cheek.

“You two have a lot to talk about?” Faith’s question sounded innocent, but her eyes sparkled with interest.

“Yeah,” Toby said. “Lots to talk about.” He winked at Esther, and her cheeks grew warm.

He walked over to Charlie and dropped to his haunches beside him. “Hey, buddy.”

“Look, Daddy.” Charlie showed him how two of the trains connected.
 

“I know—wasn’t that nice of Faith to get those for you? Look, I’m going to pop home now. You and Mummy are staying here with Faith, okay?”

Charlie nodded without looking up.

“I’d like to take Mummy out for dinner later,” Toby told him. “Once you’ve gone to bed. Faith and Rusty will still be here to look after you. Is that okay?”

Charlie looked up at Esther, suddenly wary, unused to being apart from her.
 

Faith sat on the floor next to him, however, and started putting together a train track for him. “Of course we’ll be okay, won’t we Charlie?” She winked at him. “I’ve got a special present for you.”

He stared at her. “What is it?”

“It’s a big red box full of Thomas Tank stories. I thought we could read them in bed.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “
A Cow on the Line
?”

“I think so,” Faith said. “All the stories are there. The one with the balloon, the one where he gets stuck in a tunnel.”
 

“Like a conbom,” Charlie said.

“Pardon?”

Toby cleared his throat. “That’s my cue to leave.” He ruffled Charlie’s hair, then came over to kiss Esther on the cheek, grinning at her glare. “See you later.” He waved goodbye to Faith and Rusty and made a quick exit.

Esther shook her head at Faith’s questioning look. “Don’t ask.”
 

Chapter Fourteen

Trying not to think about what Toby was teaching her son, Esther indicated the toys on the floor. “Thank you so much for going to the effort of getting these.”

“Oh, you’re welcome—people are happy to clear out their playrooms, I think.” Faith finished connecting the train tracks to make a loop and got to her feet. “Want a coffee?”

“Please.”

Faith led her into the kitchen, and Esther perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “I certainly don’t think Rusty and I will be short of clothes or toys when the time comes,” Faith said as she poured water into the kettle.

“That’s good. It’s such an expensive business, and kids grow out of their clothes so quickly.” Esther watched the other woman bustle about putting coffee into cups. Faith positively glowed with happiness. Had she herself had that tell-tale glow when she was pregnant? She doubted it somehow. She’d been too worried about money and how she was going to cope to really enjoy her pregnancy, and then of course her father had died. The usual sadness filled her at the thought of her father dying, but she pushed the emotion away and smiled as the other woman hummed to herself. “How are you feeling?”

“Better now.” Faith leaned on the breakfast bar. “I felt very queasy the first three months, but I wasn’t actually sick. I think I’m coming out of it now.”

“That’s great. I threw up every morning for the first twenty weeks.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

Faith smiled and leaned her chin on her hand. “So… You and Toby. Got a lot to talk about tonight?”

Heat crept into Esther’s cheeks. Both girls started laughing. “You got me,” Esther admitted. “We’re going to do some research for you.”

“The Naughty Nights game? Excellent!” Faith grinned. “Which scenario are you going for?” Esther glanced over her shoulder at Rusty, who still sat at the dining-room table, working. She felt too embarrassed to say with him listening. Faith waved a hand. “Don’t mind him—he’s used to this sort of thing.”

“I remember,” Esther said. “Handcuffs, wasn’t it?”

Rusty gave them both an exasperated look and returned to his papers as they giggled.

“He loves being teased about it really,” Faith said. “This is all an act.” She walked over, stood behind him and put her arms around his neck. “Isn’t it, honey?”

“I can tell by the scowl,” Esther said.
 

“I’m not listening.” He continued to grade his papers as Faith kissed his jaw. “La-la-la-la.”

She said something in his ear, and he laughed and reached up to capture her for a kiss. Esther looked away. She couldn’t help but envy their relaxed and loving relationship. She’d never had that sort of intimacy—hadn’t even lived with anyone before.
 

“You’re embarrassing Esther,” he scolded her when he finally let her go. “Go make me a drink, wife.”

She stuck her tongue out at him before returning to the kitchen to make the coffee. “See what happens? Give them an inch, they take a mile.”

Esther smiled. “And you love it.”

Faith grinned. “Maybe.”

She made the coffee and delivered Rusty his, then gestured for Esther to follow her past Charlie and out onto the deck. They put up the large umbrella over the table and sat out of the scorching February sun.

“Come on then,” Faith said when they were both settled. “Spill the beans. What scenario?”

Esther sighed, pulled the card out of her pocket and passed it to her.

Faith read it. “Ooh.”

“Yeah.”

“So you’re meeting him in town?”

“Yep.”

“What are you going to wear?”

“No idea. I only have the clothes I bought last week—two pairs of jeans, half a dozen T-shirts and some undies.”

Faith eyed her thoughtfully. “We’re a similar size, I think. You’re only a bit shorter than I am. But I’m sure I’ll have something you can wear.”

“You have clothing put aside in case you need to dress like a prostitute?”

“You never know when you might need it.”

They laughed and sipped their coffee. Esther glanced over her shoulder. Charlie played happily with the trains, driving the engine and its carriage around and around.

“Toby adores him,” Faith said.

Esther met her gaze. Faith smiled, and Esther smiled back. “I always feared he’d be angry, but he wasn’t, not a bit.”

“Toby doesn’t do angry.”

“I’m beginning to understand that.” Esther nibbled her bottom lip as she studied the other girl thoughtfully. Should she ask Faith about Toby? The part of her she kept locked away from other people didn’t want to open up and admit she was curious. But Faith was one of Toby’s oldest friends, and she seemed a genuinely nice person. She gave in. “He told you about me then?”

Faith laughed. “God, yes.”

“What did he say?”

“Well, first of all you have to understand what Toby’s other girls have been like.”

Jealousy flickered through Esther, but she clamped it down. “I’m guessing there have been plenty.”

“The usual amount, I suppose. The majority with a bra size bigger than their IQ.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Toby’s never been known for his subtlety. Big boobs, a pretty face…nothing else seemed to matter. I don’t think he ever thought there
was
anything else.”

Esther frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. You’re hardly a bimbo, and I’m assuming Eve isn’t either.”

“I meant that he wouldn’t have thought smart women would find him attractive
.
You know what Toby’s like—he has a very low opinion of himself.”

Which his friends and family haven’t helped.
She thought it, but she didn’t say it. Faith obviously loved him, but from what he’d told Esther about everyone who knew him, their teasing hadn’t helped his self-image over the years.

“And then he met you,” Faith said, and smiled.

Esther’s heart thumped hard. “What did he say about me?”

“Not an awful lot to begin with. He was oddly quiet when he came back from Fiji. He was supposed to go with Dan, my brother, but at the last minute Dan had something on at work and he couldn’t go, so Toby went alone. We all presumed he hadn’t enjoyed himself much because, well, you know what he’s like—if he’s got something to say, he doesn’t normally keep it to himself.”

“I suppose.”

“But then one night when we were all having a drink, he suddenly announced he’d met this girl. We waited for him to joke about her chest size and how many times they’d had sex and that sort of thing, but when we pressed him for details, you know what he said? ‘She was special.’”

Esther’s cheeks burned. “Oh.”

“Yeah. That made us all sit up. I’d never heard Toby say anything like that about a girl before.”

“He’s never been in love?”

Faith shrugged. “Not that I know of. We tried to get him to tell us more, but for the first time there were no gory details. In fact, in the end he walked off, wouldn’t say anything. We knew this girl had got to him in some way, but we never found out what happened.” Faith studied her curiously. “What
did
happen?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know why he acted like that. We had a great fortnight. Barely got out of bed.” She smiled wryly. “At the end, we went to the airport together, and I asked whether we could stay in touch, but he said there was no point. He walked off and didn’t look back. I assumed he’d never given me another thought.”

“Well, I can’t say for certain what went through his head, but you definitely were
not
just another girl,” Faith said firmly.

“What about since then?” She couldn’t help asking. “Have there been lots of girlfriends?”

“Nobody for about six months after the holiday. He was very quiet, not himself at all. Then finally he seemed to move on, and went on a few dates with a few different girls. Nothing serious. But after Rusty and I got together, he changed again. I think he’s only been out with two girls over the past year, both of them fleetingly. He decided he wanted to go to university and then he travelled a bit, working to make himself some money. We all felt that maybe he’d finally grown up.”