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Chloe takes a deep breath and laughs. ‘That smells a lot like fish and chips.’
‘Amazing fish and chips thanks very much.’
He reverses into a spot far away from the other cars then grabs his jacket and hoody from the backseat. ‘C’mon, our table is ready.’
He drops the back and helps her onto the load bed. After laying out his sweatshirt and handing her his leather jacket to put on, they sit back against the cab facing the sea. Tate passes her a portion of fish and chips and a bottle of water. Chloe opens the container and takes a deep breath. ‘Smells fantastic, but wasn’t quite what I had in mind when you said amazing seafood.’
He chews on a chip before he answers. ‘I promise I will take you to a fancy restaurant at some stage. I just want to be alone with you right now.’
‘This is perfect, Tate. Really.’ After one chip, Chloe has to agree with his choice of dinner. Who needs fancy restaurants when they have this? Eating fresh fish and chips by the sea in the back of Tate’s truck is so much better. At least like this they’re still relatively inconspicuous. They’re just like a half dozen other couples doing the same thing. No one is giving them a second look. Well, apart from the two women parked a few spaces down from them. Chloe smiles as she eats a chip. ‘I think you’ve been spotted.’
Tate looks over at the other car and snorts. ‘Yep. Jeez, their we’re-not-really-staring look needs a little work.’
Chloe laughs and picks up another chip. ‘Do you think they want a chip?’
‘They can fuck off.’
‘I don’t think that’s going to happen. It looks like they’re arguing over who’s going to come over.’
Tate glances over at the car again and groans. ‘Damn it. You’re right. Okay. You stay here. I’m going to sort them out before they well and truly ruin my dinner.’ He wipes his hands on his jeans and smiles at Chloe. ‘No ketchup on my face?’
She laughs and shakes her head. ‘You’re good.’
He vaults over the side of the truck and walks over to the car. She can’t hear what he says to them, but she can see them both blush when he crouches down beside the open window. He talks to them for a minute then they burst out of the car and he poses for a photo. When they get what they wanted the girls climb back into their car and huddle over the phone.
Tate joins Chloe and smiles apologetically at her. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘You made their day. Nothing to apologise for.’
Tate eats another chip and waves at the girls as they pull out of the car park. ‘Yeah. Weird.’
‘What is?’
‘The whole fame thing. If you think about it, it really doesn’t make sense. I’m just a normal guy. I grew up on a farm a few miles down the road. I went to school around here. All that time under their noses and no interest at all. Add a bit of celebrity to that and suddenly I’m fucking irresistible.’ He picks another chip out of the tray and grins at her. ‘Could have done with that in school.’
Chloe turns and frowns at him. ‘Are you saying no one was interested in you in school?’
He shakes his head as he chews. ‘I was always the weird, scrawny, quiet kid. More interested in music than making friends. Gregg went to the same school and we’d meet up with Dillon and Luke after school, but apart from that I kept to myself. I was either in trouble for dicking around with Gregg during class or hiding behind an instrument. Not the sort of guy the girls went for.’
She leans back and looks at the well-built man sitting beside her. ‘Hold on a second. You? Scrawny?’
‘Like a rake with limbs.’
‘I can wholeheartedly vouch for that.’
They look around and she can feel Tate’s body tense against hers. ‘Dara? Hi.’
The blond-haired man steps out from beside the car and leans over the side. ‘Fish and chips? Splashing out, eh, Tate.’
‘Yeah. Chloe this is my cousin Dara. Dara, this is Chloe.’
He smiles as he shakes Chloe’s hand. ‘Nice to meet you. And as he was saying, he was a slow bloomer. The Tate you see before you broke out while he was in college. I remember I hadn’t seen him for... it must have been about six months after we left school and there was a family thing at my parents’ house.’ Dara laughs and points over at Tate. ‘This one walks in and I swear you could have heard a pin drop. Floppy hair shaved off, ears pierced and a tattoo on his neck. I honestly will never forget the look on everyone’s faces.’
Tate smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s got his performer facade on for some reason. ‘Yeah. At least they were predictable. Got the reaction I knew I would. Wasn’t expecting to see you here. Bit far from your place isn’t it?’
Dara pats his stomach. ‘Loads of space here for a good run. Trying to get in shape.’ He looks at Tate and grins. ‘Think I’ve got a fair bit of running to do before I get to where you are. So, you look well. How are you?’
‘Good, thanks.’
