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I chuckle, because there’s something about the way he speaks that draws you into the conversation and makes you feel as if he’s talking just to you. I’ve always liked listening to him speak in public. It’s a rare gift, and although I’ve done it on several occasions, I’m nowhere near as natural as Hux.
“Let’s go right back to the beginning with a sporting story,” he says. “We were fourteen and in the same class at high school. We were both in the year ten cricket team, and we got to the final against one of the local grammar schools. Being the superior batsman,” and he glances at Mack, who tips his head from side to side, “I was in to bat first. I had a great innings, and I made it to ninety-nine runs before the other batsman was caught out. So, out strolls fourteen-year-old Mack onto the field, walking so fast they have to announce a warning in case the grass catches fire.”
We all laugh, and Mack grins, because his walking speed is legendary.
“He’s determined to impress the spectators,” Huxley continues, “especially the group of girls who happen to be there cheering our team on. So he takes forever to get to his position in front of the wicket, strutting around and showing off. The bowler sends him the ball. He hits it to short leg. I yell to wait. He ignores me and sprints up the pitch—which I have to point out, in case you’re not aware, is just short of lightspeed, because two years later he would go on to win first place in the hundred meters in the New Zealand Athletics Championships. And so he promptly runs me out. On the first ball.”
“I did do that,” Mack says as everyone chuckles. “Sorry.”
“I missed my century by one run,” Huxley adds. “Not that I’m bitter or anything. Anyway that story’s just a warm up. Let’s turn to something much more embarrassing. Picture this: we’re fifteen years old, and it’s my older sister’s twenty-first birthday party.”
“Oh no,” Mack says.
“Oh yes. You had to know this was coming, bro.” He gives me a mischievous glance before addressing the room. “So, the party’s at my parents’ house, and my mother tells me I can invite one friend as long as we both behave. Well, that was my first mistake, inviting Mack. I should have known better. He’s always egged me on. I had every intention of behaving. It was his idea to steal a pack of six bottles of Steinlager from the fridge. And it was also his idea, after we’d downed four of said six bottles, to go to the pool where my sister was hanging out with her friends. The thing is, we were both tall and, being all of fifteen, incredibly sophisticated, as you can imagine, and we were convinced we could pass for twenty-one. So we decided to make our way around the pool toward the hot girls sitting sunbathing in their bikinis and chat them up.”
Sidnie grins at Mack. “I can picture it now,” she says, and he winces.
“Moose, our Labrador, was asleep on the side of the pool,” Huxley continues. “I was in front, and I stepped over him. Unfortunately, Mack had donned a pair of dark sunglasses in an attempt to look cool.” He glances at Mack, who’s trying not to laugh. “He didn’t see the dog, tripped over him and fell forward, reached out a hand to steady himself, grabbed the back of my swim shorts, and in full view of all the hot twenty-one-year-old girls, pulled my shorts down, exposing them to the last turkey in the shop.”
He stops as we all erupt into laughter. “The poor girls are probably still in therapy,” he adds when he can get a word in. “And I haven’t finished. As he overbalanced, he crashed into me, and the two of us fell in the pool, me with my shorts still around my knees. Needless to say, we did not pull any of the hot girls that night. And even now, Abigail’s friends still laugh when they see me.”
He glances at me and smiles. It’s such a Huxley story—on the face of it, it’s about mocking Mack, but underneath it all he’s being self-deprecating and mocking himself.
Could I want him any more at this moment? I honestly don’t think it’s possible.
“So,” he continues, “let’s move on to our university years. When we were nineteen, we all went to play paintball…”
He carries on in that vein, telling a few more stories involving the two of them getting up to madcap things and making a fool of themselves that have everyone in stitches.
“I just want you to know what you’re letting yourself in for,” he says to Sidnie eventually.
“Nowyou tell me,” she replies, “when the deed’s done and it’s too late to back out.”
Huxley grins and waits for the laughter to die down. “All joking aside,” he says, “I was thrilled to be here today to watch Mack declare his love for his beautiful bride. The two of you are perfect for each other.Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere te Karohirohi i mua i tou huarahi. May the calm be widespread, may the surface of the ocean glisten like the greenstone, and may the shimmer of summer dance across your path forever.”
Sidnie presses her fingers to her lips, and Mack bends his head and kisses her shoulder.
“Everyone, please join me in toasting the bride and groom,” Huxley says. “To Mack and Sidnie.”
We all raise our glasses. “To Mack and Sidnie,” I whisper before taking a sip of the champagne.
Everyone cheers and claps then, and Huxley sits down.
“It was a fantastic speech,” I tell him honestly.
He taps his glass to mine, and looks as if he’s about to say something, but in the end he just smiles and finishes off his champagne.
My gaze lingers on him, though. I’m sure I’m not the only woman here today who’s more than a little in love with him. His performance of thehakawith Mack—my two favorite guys in the whole world—had tears rolling down my face. I feel torn in two between my head and my heart. Victoria’s words have continued to rumble away in my mind like thunder rolling around the hills:You act like you don’t think you deserve love and affection, but you do. You’ve been unlucky in love, and that’s going to make you wary, but you mustn’t close your heart off forever.
I’ve been trying to protect myself. But it’s not working. I’m miserable and lonely, and all I’ve done is lose my best friend. Is it too late to put everything right?
Chapter Twenty
Elizabeth
When the meal is finally over, the music starts, and the guests filter out of the saloon. It’s dark now, but the deck is lit with fairy lights, and it’s just the start of the party.
True to his word, Huxley changes into his swim shorts and lets the kids dunk him in the pool. I sit with Victoria and the others on the poolside, sipping champagne and laughing as they pile on top of him and try to drown him.
