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Kelli felt driven to explain. ‘It’s my dad’s way. Ever since he became successful and the business grew so huge he’s enjoyed sharing it round, feels he owes it to those who knew and helped him back in the dirt-poor days.’ Her father was kind, generous to a fault, not a show-off.
‘What’s he in?’
‘Civil engineering.’
‘With the growth going on in Auckland I can see how he’s done well.’
‘The harder he worked, the luckier he became,’ Kelli quipped, but couldn’t deny her pride. ‘My brothers, all three of them, work in the business. An engineer, a lawyer and an accountant slash business consultant.’
‘You stepped outside the square.’ Something passed through that intense gaze, something she couldn’t name. Admiration? For her? Not likely. Probably a question about why she hadn’t gone into the family business that he was coming up with a load of incorrect answers to.
‘After growing up hearing about the company day in, day out, I wanted something different, something that was about me. Choosing a career where I could help people, make them feel better, was it.’
‘We’re on the same page there. Primarily I did medicine to help others. Plus being good at science and maths made it a no-brainer.’ Mac leaned back in his chair, stretched those long legs to the side of the small table. ‘Why is helping others so important to you?’
Eek. This was getting serious. Trying for nonchalance, she told him, ‘I can’t explain it. It’s just who I am.’ There was truth in that, possibly brought about from the hurt she’d dealt with, hurt she hoped others didn’t suffer. ‘I could ask the same of you.’
‘I hate seeing people in pain.’ Short, snappy words, with a dirty great stop sign behind them. Followed by, ‘Which brother is getting married?’
Back on track, off taboo terrain. ‘Billy, the engineer. His fiancé, Leanne, works in the accounts department of the firm. My other brothers are married and their wives also work there. I’m definitely the odd one out.’
‘That bother you?’ His mouth did that delectable lift at the corner, and naturally her stomach got all hot and stroppy. Nothing compared to how the rest of her body was reacting.
‘It’s nothing new. When I was twelve I was sent to a private school where many of the wealthy send their kids. I didn’t fit in. Dad hadn’t quite made the big league then but he wanted me to have the best. I was smart, but not filthy rich. Some of the girls were horrid to me.’ Understatement. ‘So I stopped going to school, hid out at the mall or the library.’
‘Tell me more.’
She’d not be mentioning that they called her ‘elephant’. ‘When my parents found out I demanded to be sent to a public school, and not the one down the road from the private school but the one in another suburb where the chances of running into any of those awful girls were remote.’
‘You got your way.’ He wasn’t asking.
‘I was desperate. When they backed me I became determined to prove they’d made the right choice. In some ways it was harder to get ahead in the lower decile school, in others downright easy because no one wanted to knock me down all the time.’ Because on day one I arrived with a friendly smile and a willingness to fit in by keeping others happy. Three strapping brothers at my back didn’t go astray either.
‘You were bullied at that private school?’ His mouth tightened even before she answered.
‘All the time by a roving pack of brainless bitches.’ She was surprised by the strength of emotion overwhelming her as she remembered being taunted constantly, punished for things that happened, even when she hadn’t been there. ‘But I’ve moved on, grown a backbone, and become the person I want to be.’ Would he believe that little white lie? Because it was a work in progress. She’d thought she’d got past those girls until Steve had undermined her confidence, resurrected her flaws. Now she knew from the bottom of her battered heart there’d be no leaping into commitment until she trusted herself to be true to Kelli, no matter what any man threw at her.
‘I imagine you always had a backbone.’
‘You do? Thanks.’ File that one with the good stuff that came her way. Not that it was strictly correct.
The waitress arrived with their meals and cutlery, banging the plates down and shifting water glasses too hard so the contents slopped on the table.
When she’d wiped up and gone Mac asked, ‘So who’s the man you’re avoiding by taking me to the wedding?’
‘Jason Alexander. A lawyer. A friend of my brothers’ from years back.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘Nothing really. He’s friendly, kind, hard-working, caring. Fits in with my lot all too easily.’
Mac’s eyes narrowed. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
‘He’s too nice.’
‘In other words, boring?’
‘He doesn’t tickle my keys.’ Eek. Just the thought of Jason tickling any part of her turned her cold. ‘My mother thinks he’d be right for me—you know, as in settle-down-with-him right.’ She shuddered. ‘I’m being unfair. He really is a great guy, but he doesn’t do it for me.’
‘How come your parents don’t accept that?’
Because her ex had been cruel, selfish, and devastating in a nasty way. And because she’d been blind to his faults until he’d cut her down so painfully. ‘Sometimes they’re overprotective. I’m twenty-eight, but being the daughter after three sons comes with complications.’
‘Am I going to be seen as the intruder?’ There. A wee smile.
Might be wee, but it was powerful, switching on all her hot spots. ‘Absolutely. You’ll be quizzed on your intentions, asked about your favourite sport and car, and my brothers will challenge you to anything they can find, tiddlywinks if that’s all there is.’ Suddenly this was fun. As if Mac and she were good together. Steady. Getting ahead of herself. ‘You’re still on?’
‘It’s not only your brothers who put out a challenge,’ he grumped. But there was laughter in his eyes. Warm and generous laughter. Rare indeed.
She melted some more. ‘Where do you think I learned it from?’
The eggs were delicious, the bacon crisp and yummy. They ate in silence, Mac chewing thoughtfully. What was going on in that sharp mind? He hadn’t missed a point about her family and herself, had caught on about the bullying quickly.
‘Once the weekend’s over and everyone’s back to normal, won’t the attempts to get you to date Jason resume? I won’t be there to deflect them.’
‘Probably, but I’ll manage. I don’t live at home, so it’ll only be at family dinners that I’ll have to confront Jason. Whereas a whole weekend is too much. I’d probably lose my rag and say something I’d regret. Jason had a bad home life and somehow became a part of our lot,’ she added.
‘You said you’ve often told Jason how you feel.’
‘Yes. He just shrugs off my refusal.’
Mac went back to being quiet, finishing his meal and ordering an ice cream.
She declined one, thinking of her hips and that skin-tight sheath she’d be wearing at the wedding. That reminded her. ‘We need to set some ground rules for the weekend.’
‘Wondered when we’d have this conversation.’
‘We can’t have a rerun of Sydney.’ No kisses that make me boneless. Unless we follow through and don’t stop at the door.
‘Which part? The ceremony? The dinner?’ His smile widened, was wicked.
‘Never knew you did cheeky.’ He was leaving it all up to her, not making it easy. ‘We have to act like a couple without getting too close, if you know what I mean.’
‘I know exactly what you mean. No kissing, making out in that double bed, gazing into each other’s eyes.’
‘Mac!’ He’d listed everything she wanted to do with him. ‘Try to avoid deep and meaningful conversations with my family.’
‘We’ve got to look believable. I’m a doctor, not an actor.’ Still smiling.
She gave him one back. ‘Me either. My family know me too well.’
‘We’ll be fine. I can be my normal aloof self and let your family think I’m a stuck up prude who wants only to be seen and not heard.’
Laughter spluttered across her lips and she raised her hands in surrender. ‘Whatever.’ The weekend was looking better and better.
When Mac paid for their meals Kelli got cross. ‘I pay my own way.’
‘I’m your partner in crime. I don’t let any woman I’m out with pay her own way.’
