The Next Season (novella) (14 page)

‘Not sneaking out tonight, then?'

Zoe had been so lost in a trance, staring at the TV, that she startled and spilled some Diet Coke down her top. ‘What?' she asked, wiping the wet spot and utterly failing in her attempt at sounding like she didn't know what Sandee meant. ‘No, I was just watching…' She stopped, realising she had no clue what eighties American sitcom she was sitting in front of.

The other woman crossed the room and sat down beside her. ‘You may be older now but I can still read you like a book, sweetheart.' She scooped up Zoe's hand and squeezed it. ‘I'm guessing Shaun Elliot is the reason for your recent late night rendezvous—and why you didn't even bother coming home last night?'

Zoe swallowed as tears she'd thought dried out came rushing back. ‘Maybe.'

‘And would it be logical to assume he's the reason you're drinking caffeine near midnight, scoffing junk food and watching…' Sandee screwed her eyes up and scrutinised the television screen. ‘What
are
you watching?'

Zoe picked up the remote, switched off the show and sniffled. ‘I'm in love with him. Again. Or still. I dunno.'

In reply, Sandee pulled Zoe into her arms and stroked her hair. ‘Oh, sweetheart.'

‘I didn't mean it to happen,' Zoe sobbed. ‘I thought we could have a bit of fun together. It was just supposed to be a rebound fling, but I don't want him just for now, I want him forever.'

‘And Shaun doesn't feel the same way?'

‘I don't think so.' She spilled her guts about what had happened the night before, about how everything had seemed to be going so perfectly and then about today, the performance he'd put on for Melissa's benefit and how she'd almost felt her heart crack down the middle at the realisation.

Sandee listened and made sympathetic noises in all the right places, but when Zoe's words finally dried up, she said, ‘Now, don't jump down my throat for saying this, but it seems to me you're jumping to an awful lot of conclusions. Maybe Shaun didn't even
see
Melissa.'

Zoe snorted. ‘She was standing so close she could have thrown a stone at the ute and broken a window.'

‘But he was busy kissing you.'

The breath whooshed from Zoe's lungs at the thought of
that
kiss.

‘At what point did you see her?' Sandee continued.

Zoe rubbed her lips together and considered this. ‘Not until he'd driven off,' she admitted. Truth was she'd been so consumed in the taste of him, she likely wouldn't have noticed if aliens had landed and beamed them both up to space. ‘But…'

Sandee placed her finger on Zoe's lips, halting her words. ‘Don't look for problems where there are none. Before you scoff another bag of calories, be sure you've got something to be so woeful about.'

With those sage words, Sandee popped a kiss on Zoe's forehead and padded off to bed. Zoe sat there for all of ten seconds before getting up and rushing off to put on her shoes.

She'd walked away from Shaun once before. And she would never forgive herself if she went again without putting up a fight.

Eleven

Shaun had only just fallen asleep when Eeyore rose from the dead at his feet and charged out of his room, barking as if someone was trying to break and enter. He climbed out of bed, tugged on yesterday's jeans and hurried after the dog, switching on lights as he went. By the time he recognised Zoe's silhouette through the frosted glass, Eeyore's bark had lost its growl, replaced by a high-pitched whining and a furiously wagging behind.

Shaun's heart lifted as he went to unlock the door. He wasn't the only one happy to see her. The moment he opened the door, Eeyore launched himself at Zoe, but Shaun was prepared. He snatched hold of his collar and pulled him aside to allow her to walk in.

‘Hey,' he said, beaming, before noticing the look on her face. ‘You still not feeling well?' He lifted the hand not restraining Eeyore and brushed it across her forehead. ‘You feel hot.'

She swiped his hand away. ‘I didn't have a headache, Shaun.'

‘But…?' And then he realised. Her words may as well have been rusty needles stabbing his heart. If it wasn't a headache, she'd been making an excuse not to see him. ‘I see,' he said. ‘Let me give Eeyore a bone and we'll talk, okay?'

She nodded, hugging her arms around her body, despite the evening air being warm.

Knowing what was coming and already feeling bereft, Shaun dragged Eeyore into the kitchen, pulled a treat from the cupboard and tossed it onto his bed. Easily distracted, the dog climbed up and started gnawing. Shaun glanced back at the fridge, contemplating offering Zoe a beer, but then decided he might need them when she'd left. He wouldn't beg again. As much as he loved her, he wanted a woman who wanted to be with him. He wouldn't try and convince her to stay if that wasn't what she wanted.

He shut the kitchen door behind him and went into the lounge room, where he found her pacing back and forth in front of the TV. She halted when she saw him, and he stopped too. They stood a few metres from each other like enemies facing off in a war.

‘So why the headache charade?' he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets, not bothering to hide his distaste. There was nothing he hated more than lies.

‘I can't do this anymore.'

‘Do what?'

‘I saw Melissa this morning.'

Huh?
Okay, so maybe he hadn't known exactly what was coming. Tension fisted his hands. ‘What did she say to you?'

Zoe's brow furrowed. ‘I didn't talk to her. But the first time you kiss me in public and she's watching? That doesn't seem like a coincidence to me, Shaun. I don't appreciate being used.'

‘What the hell?' Now he was cranky. One, he wasn't a hundred percent certain what she was going on about and two, ‘I didn't even see Melissa. Hell, she hasn't even crossed my mind since you waltzed back into town.'

He made a decision. If they were gonna end, he may as well tell her the truth. He wouldn't beg her to have him, but he wouldn't hide the facts either. ‘I kissed you in public because things have changed for me, Zo-Zo. I know we said whatever happened between us would stay casual, fun and frisky. And hell, I'm all for the frisky. You make me hot and hard just thinking about you, but I want more than casual sex.'

She blinked, her eyes widening, but he continued on, undeterred.

‘I loved you all those years ago and I still love you now. I want to wake up with you in my bed every damn day for the rest of my life, like I did yesterday morning. I want to sleep with your body pressed against mine. I want to come home to you everyday. I want to have a family with you. I want…'

He swallowed, unable to say that he wanted to marry her, because try as he had to get over them, two rejections injured a man.

‘You really didn't see Melissa?'

He shook his head. ‘Melissa who?'

She half laughed and then bit her lower lip before saying, ‘And you mean all that? You want me to stay in Wildwood Point? With you?'

‘Yes.' Dammit, he wanted it so badly his whole body ached and his heart pounded. He stood there, shaking with emotion, waiting for her to either make his dreams come true or kill him.

She took a step towards him, her lips curling into a smile. Although hope sparked within him, he didn't move a muscle, but Zoe took another step until she was right in front of him. And then she dropped down on one knee.

His heart shot up from his chest and rammed his tonsils as he looked down into her eyes.

‘In that case,' she said, licking her lips before continuing, ‘Will you, Shaun Raymond Elliot, do me the greatest honour of becoming my husband? You're already my best friend, my soulmate, the best damn lover I've ever had, and I'd be a fool to let you get away a second time.'

Her words made him giddy with joy. ‘I think I was the one who let
you
get away last time.'

She shrugged. ‘Let's not argue over semantics. Let's just make sure we do it right this time. What do you say? Will you?'

He dropped to his knees to join her on the carpet, reached out and cupped her beautiful head in his hands. ‘Yes. Of course, yes.'

And then he kissed her.

The kissing went on for a very long time. Neither of them felt any need to rush to the next step because now they had the rest of their lives to get there. They might have kissed all night if it weren't for Eeyore. What started as a few long barks to remind them of his presence rapidly turned into howling and scratching on the kitchen door. Their laughter pulled them apart.

‘Shall we go tell Eeyore the good news?' Shaun asked, standing and then offering his hand to help his fiancée stand.

‘We shall.' She smiled up at him, joy radiating off her face as she took his hand.

Epilogue—four weeks later

‘You're gonna blow the socks off my little brother,' Hannah said, smiling at her soon to be sister-in-law who stood in front of a full-length mirror, wearing a simple white sheath of a wedding dress and looking as radiant as any bride could be.

Zoe laughed, secretly more than pleased by her appearance. She'd scrubbed up pretty well for a surfie chick who until recently had never felt she had a place in the world. ‘Lucky he won't be wearing any then.'

‘Good point.' The girls laughed until they were interrupted by Sandee coming into the room.

‘The car's here. Are you ready to go?'

She nodded and then took one final nostalgic glance around Sandee's lounge. Being sent to Wildwood Point, to Sandee, had been the best thing to happen to a little lost girl, but it had taken almost another ten years before she'd come to believe that she deserved the happiness this place and its people brought her. Both times she'd arrived here a broken person, believing herself unworthy of love and unable to truly offer it. But Shaun had given the lie to that—he'd shown her she was capable of love and deserving of it also. He'd even given her the confidence to contemplate motherhood, but maybe she'd practise on Hannah and Matt's baby first.

‘Let's do this,' she said to the woman who would walk her down the aisle—or rather, over the dunes—and to her bridesmaid, who, with only a month and a bit to go, finally looked pregnant.

The three friends walked out of the house and excitedly climbed into the waiting limo, Zoe and Hannah carrying gorgeous bouquets of colour. The flash car was the one aspect of traditional weddings Zoe and Shaun had kept, because Zoe had admitted late one night while making plans that she'd always wanted a limo ride. The rest of the day would be an eclectic celebration of their love and Jemima would be the car they drove off to their honeymoon in.

The limo delivered them into the carpark at the Wildwood Point beach where Shaun had first taught Zoe to surf. Luckily the weather had played nice, serving up a particularly warm autumn day, because their guests had been asked to come wearing beach attire. A local band played a fabulous rendition of The Monkees'
I'm A Believer
as Zoe wafted down the sand towards her groom, who was waiting alongside both their boards balanced in the sand. Surfing had brought them together, so it seemed fitting to include it in their special day.

Her heart felt full and warm as she clocked him looking up towards her, dressed in smart black pants and a crisp white shirt rolled up at the sleeves, accentuating his tanned, muscled forearms. No shoes and the cutest dog ever at his side. Her stomach tightened.
How lucky am I?
she thought, overjoyed they'd decided on a short engagement.

In the end, they had beaten Hannah and Matt and Shaun's brother Luke and his fiancée, Nikki, to the altar, having decided there was absolutely no reason to wait. As they'd already lost so many years together, they didn't want to waste another moment.

‘Hey beautiful,' Shaun whispered as she came to a stop beside him.

She'd barely noticed the smiling faces of their friends and family around them as she'd walked through the sea of guests to her man. ‘Hi,' she said back, reaching out to take his hand.

The ceremony was short and meaningful. Shaun's mum read a poem and then the celebrant asked them to turn to each other, hold hands and share the vows that they'd spent the last few days agonising over. Zoe wanted them to be perfect, yet no words seemed big enough to convey how she felt about Shaun, how he'd changed her life for the better.

Shaun smiled down into her eyes as she cleared her throat, ready to say her part. She hoped her voice didn't crack or the tears threatening to break free didn't come too hard and fast and ruin it. He squeezed her hand, sensing her hesitation, and that gave her the strength and courage she needed. She wanted him to know her heart.

‘I, Zoe Louise Bennett, take you, Shaun Robert Elliot, to be my friend, my lover, my husband and my partner in everything. You make me laugh, you get me, you love the same things I do and encourage me to be my best.' She sniffed, feeling those tears itching ever closer, unable to believe this was really happening and totally in awe and wonder at the fact.

Another smile from Shaun spurred her to continue.

‘I promise to dream with you, to grow with you, to laugh and to cry with you, to surf with you.' That got a chuckle from the crowd and she paused, waiting for the laughter to die down before continuing. ‘To encourage you in all you do and to love you with all my heart forever. You were my first love, you are my true love and will be my last love.'

Zoe had been worried about her own tears, but she saw water in Shaun's eyes as she took the ring off Luke, Shaun's best man, and slipped it onto her new husband's finger. His emotion warmed her heart and she squeezed his hand, offering the same love and encouragement he'd offered her.

‘I, Shaun Robert Elliot, take you, Zoe Louise Bennett, to be my friend, my lover, my wife and my partner in crime. Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was the best choice I ever made, but loving you is something I have no control over. I love the way you smile; the way your ponytail swishes down your back when you laugh at my terrible jokes; I love your mind, your body and the moves you make on a board; I love every little thing about you and I promise not to complain when you steal the bedclothes or hog the TV remote.'