“Hi!” she squeaks out. I chirp a laugh at how adorable she is. She is so like her dad—over-the-top affectionate in the best way.
“Hi there. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Your dad and uncle have told me a lot about you.” I run my hand down the sheet of smooth dark hair that is just like Talia’s. She pulls back and I’m met with a striking combination of both her parents. Talia’s olive skin tone, Breck’s bright blue eyes, and a smile accented with dimples to match his on her cheeks.
“Mom and Dad said I needed to get ready for bed.” She juts out her bottom lip. “But I made them promise I could stay up to see Uncle Wes.” She turns to her dad with big puppy-dog eyes to go with her pout. “Can’t I stay up a little longer, Daddy? Please.” She elongates the word, clasping her hands in front of her like a prayer.
Talia appears over Breck’s shoulder and addresses her daughter with her no-nonsense mom voice. “Willow, love, you can come back out to say good night after you brush your teeth and get your pjs on.”
Her little shoulders sag and she offers us a dejected wave as she trudges into the house.
Breck watches her go looking almost as sad as she did. “We could have let her stay up a little later.” His eyes come back to Talia.
“You’re too soft on her.” She presses her hand to Breck’s cheek. “We already let her stay up to say hi to Wes and meet Joss.” She turns to us. “Can I get you two something to drink?”
I glance down at my empty hands and then up to Wes as realization dawns. “I forgot the bottle of wine on the counter.” I turn back to Talia, feeling a niggling of frustration with myself. I hate showing up to something like this empty-handed. “I had a bottle to bring and completely forgot it.”
“You were a little distracted.” Wes winks at me and his smile pulls wide. I blush crimson at the insinuation, then swat at him with my hand.
“No worries. We have plenty. Can I get you a glass?” There’s a smirk playing around Talia’s lips, one that tells me she’s picking up on whatever energy Wes and I are throwing out tonight.
“Sure, that would be great,” I say, willing my face to cool.
“Talia made her famous laksa and we have Tim Tams for dessert—your favorite,” Breck says, and though it’s directed at Wes, I smile because they’re my favorite too. We’ve eaten our way through more packages in the last two months than I care to think about.
He jumps in to show us where the food is, and points to the cooler for Wes to grab a cold one. A few people are already sitting with drinks and bowls of laksa, chatting and enjoying the warmth from the fire. Wes told me there would be a mix of work and college friends here, and some are both. He doesn’t move his hand from my back as we walk to the circle of chairs. It’s not possessive, just friendly, like he wants to make sure I know he’s here, that we’re okay.
The group around the fire stands as we approach, and so begin the introductions. There’s Drew, who I’ve heard a good bit about from Wes. He’s not Wes’s favorite person, but I’m not about to write him off without getting to know him first. Nancy is another colleague from Adventure Chasers, but she was also in Breck’s business program at U of Sydney. So was her husband, Steve, who grips me in a strong handshake and offers a kind smile. The last couple lives next door to Breck and Talia, and it appears Wes hasn’t met them yet either, making me feel a little less like an outsider.
“I’m Jimmy,” the tall, bespectacled man offers, then gestures to his wife. “This is Jane… and that over there is Joey.” He points to the pram sitting next to their chairs. “He’s out for the count and can sleep through anything, so don’t worry about waking him up.”
Talia brings me a glass of red wine and offers me a woolen blanket for my legs as I take a seat by the fire. August nights are still brisk, but being out here and seeing the stars in the sky is well worth it. I love watching the city lights from my balcony, the way they dance on the harbour waters, but you don’t get the stars.
“Want some laksa?” Wes asks.
With my head tipped back to look at the night sky, his voice slides down my neck as he bends to meet me. Shivers prickle along my armsat this closeness, and our eyes lock for just a moment. It’s a pointless question though because he knows I’m not one to turn down food and I’ve been hearing about this noodle soup for weeks.
“You know I do. Thanks.”
I watch him walk over to the table where Talia nearly pounces on him. I only catch the way he motions with his hands and glances back at me, grinning cheekily. He’s back a minute later, handing me a bowl that smells delectable as he drops into the chair beside me.
With a startling “Boo!” Willow appears at Wes’s side. He almost drops his bowl, leading to riotous laughter around the fire. Willow’s girlish giggle stands out above the rest. He sets his bowl aside so she can wrap him in a big hug. She releases him and pulls me into a matching embrace. What must it be like to give affection and love so freely? I think I could learn a thing or two from this tiny human.
“Good night, kiddo,” Wes says, a soft look in his eyes.
“Good night, Uncle Wes. Good night, Joss,” she says over her shoulder as Talia ushers her off to bed and she pouts all the way up to the house. It’s the most adorably sad thing I’ve ever seen.
The group falls into comfortable conversation, everyone eating and complimenting Talia on dinner. College stories are shared between Breck, Wes, Nancy, and Steve. Talia was there for some of them, but she didn’t seem to be a staple member of their friend group at the time.
I get to hear about some of the tours they’ve set up recently, how the skydiving venture is going, and get the inside scoop on a surf trip they hope to do in the summer. I take note of how excited Wes sounds about going, my brain already whirring with the decision totake a week off work to go with him. I rarely take time off—haven’t had much reason to outside of my big trips with Jaz.
It doesn’t take long for me to pick up on the weird vibe that Wes must get from Drew at work. There’s something there under the surface, but it’s hard to pinpoint. At first, I think it’s because he’s the only one in the group who isn’t part of a couple. Not that Wes and I are that, but we came together, we’re sitting together. Drew is kind of the odd man out.
Yet he seems overly aware of Talia, and it gets my hackles up. I eye the way he watches the group, but particularly her, especially when she’s with Breck. Breck’s affection is on another level with her. Not that I can blame him, he’s at his own home for goodness’ sake, but Drew seems to bristle at the public displays. Like when Breck pulls her in close, nuzzling into her neck, or when he grabs her hand to tug her into his lap by the fire, covering them in a cozy blanket.
It’s not until I catch Drew’s eye that I shut down my people-watching (read: spying) and accept that I’m probably picking up on something that’s not there. Or that I’m already biased from what Wes has told me and not giving the guy a fair chance.
I yawn and roll my head along the back of my chair to look at Wes. Legs out long in front of him, hands behind his head, elbows wide—he’s the picture of ease. He’s at home here, I realize.
I wonder if he could see himself putting roots down, or if he’s just biding his time until he goes back to his true home in the States. It makes my heart hurt to think of him leaving, which is exactly why we can’t be more than friends. He must sense my gaze because he turns his head my way, giving me a smile that brings both dimples into sharp relief in the firelight. He’s sobeautiful like this.
