A Perfect Love (7 page)

“No!” Jo, Ella and Preston all called out in unison.

I dreaded to think what had them so rattled. Whatever it was, I had no desire to discover what was on that VHS.

Jo coughed back the squeak in her voice. “Honestly, Mum, no thanks. I’m tired. I’m still suffering with sickness and need to go. I could do with an afternoon nap. I have a full-on schedule at work next week.” Jo stepped toward Kate, hugged her close and kissed her cheek.

Kate looked mildly placated. Her frown of disappointment had turned to one of concern. “No worries, baby girl. I remember how exhausting it was. Just be sure to keep hydrated, especially in this stinking heat.”

Turning to me, I saw Jo’s relief. We swiftly said our goodbyes and headed out to the car, Jo virtually shoving me the whole way, overeager to get away.

Once home, I asked Jo what was on the VHS. The temptation was too much. I had to find out.

“Honestly, Liam, you do
not
want to know. I promise. Just erase the thought from your mind. Hopefully, if we never mention it, Mum and Dad will forget to bring it up again.” She shuddered dramatically.

I smiled at her as she kissed me, heading toward our bedroom. There was no doubt about it. Her family were batshit crazy.

With Jo in bed for a nap, I pulled a stubby from the fridge, twisted the cap, and drank my fill. I was still waiting for the call from Mace. I knew there was no point calling him; he would ring as soon as he knew more. Instead, I distracted myself by heading into our office, which was one of our spare bedrooms we’d set up as a decent office workspace.

An hour later, knee-deep in research, my phone rang. Standing, I answered on the first ring, briefly looking at the front of my phone, confirming it was Mace.

“What have you heard?” I was too agitated for formalities. No one more than Mace would understand that.

“It’s not good, brother. It’s true. In six weeks, he’ll be out.”

My gut clenched, a deep throb travelling quickly up my neck as I gripped my phone. It took all the willpower I had not to throw my phone and shout in rage. Jo was just two rooms away. I had to keep my shit together. “Fuck.” My voice was tight, controlled, not at all reflecting the burning anger rushing through my body.

The pain, the fury, the goddamn heartache from seven years ago, hit me full force. I sat back down, pushed my chair away from my desk, and lowered my head between my knees.
Breathe.
I needed to breathe and not explode. Nausea swirled in my gut, mixing with my burning hatred for a man who is going to be released from prison in six weeks’ time.

“You need to keep it together, Liam. Do not lose it. Jo will need you to keep your head.”

“Don’t dare tell me what Jo will need. I know what she’ll need. She’s my fucking wife.” I didn’t even try to keep the venom, the frustration, from my voice. The calm from a moment earlier was already slipping.

There was a pause before Mace spoke, his voice low. “I know you’re hurting and I know you’re pissed, brother. But I mean it. Keep your shit together.”

He was right. I had known this day would come, but hell, I was not expecting it so soon. How in the hell could a nine-year sentence be cut to seven? Nine was too short, but this? It was ludicrous, a goddamn mockery and piss take.

Mace continued. “I don’t have any more details yet, other than it’s a definite, as long as he doesn’t screw it up on the inside.”

I sat up, an idea forming. “Anything you can do about that?” All he needed to do was screw up over the next six weeks and he’d have to continue to serve time. I needed this to happen.

“Maybe. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Mace.”

“Don’t…don’t thank me. I don’t want him out as much as you, but don’t thank me.” His voice trailed to barely above a whisper.

A pang of guilt built and consumed me. It wasn’t his fault. I knew it deep down, but things should not have played out how they did. Guilty or not, Mace had to take some responsibility for that, which he readily did.

I missed my brother. I missed the closeness we’d shared when we were younger, but sometimes things changed irrevocably, so much so there was no return. Moving forward sometimes meant leaving those you loved behind. Mace understood that. I’d done it for Jo, for me, and for Mace. I knew Mace struggled whenever he saw Jo. Knew he felt the guilt pressing down on his soul. It was easier to keep the distance, the divide, but regardless, I still missed my big brother.

I nodded at his words, not caring that he couldn’t see me. “Okay. I got it. Keep in touch, yeah?”

“Will do.”

I went to disconnect but Mace’s voice stopped me.

“Liam…” His voice, still low, had changed to one of sadness, the fierce arrogance he was renowned for no longer present. “Are you going to tell Jo? You know you need to, right?”

I sighed. “I know. I will, but not yet. I need to know more first. Talk soon, Mace.” I disconnected the call without waiting for a goodbye.

My own guilt pressed heavily against me. Jo and I promised each other never to lie. While I wasn’t lying per se, I wasn’t being honest and rushing to tell her what was going on. I felt shitty for it, but the thought of watching her crumble around me made me more resolute. My conviction and need to protect was true and strong. She’d be all shades of mad, but I would deal with the fallout. What I wasn’t willing to deal with was a broken Jo.

Chapter
Five

Jo

Rather than returning to the office after my appointment, I headed straight into town and my favourite coffee shop. Even though I was being officially good and not drinking caffeine, I hoped the fresh coffee aroma would take the edge off, that and a huge slab of chocolate cake.

Slipping into a small booth, I waited for my milkshake and delicious yummy goodness to arrive. I needed time to recoup and gather myself. I’d just had my appointment at the doctor’s to confirm my pregnancy. I had an armful of pamphlets and a huge list of websites to check out, even more on top of the huge list Ella had put together for me. Apparently, they would help me prepare, but all they did was freak me the crap out. I immediately dumped them on the backseat of my car and drove for a chocolate fix, wishing Ella were with me. She was back at work, doing the laborious training and planning days before school started the following week.

Liam had offered to go with me, but there was honestly no need, so instead, I had gone it alone. My cake placed unceremoniously in front of me, I scooped up a fork and happily shovelled it into my mouth, every now and then taking a sip of my strawberry milkshake. The wonderful calories took effect almost instantly, making me lean back and sigh in contentment.

A flash of colour brought my unfixed gaze to the counter. I recognised the bold colours on the cute figure immediately. “Dani,” I called out.

I’d known Dani for a while, courtesy of my baby brother doing the dirty with her pre-Ella. We weren’t great mates or anything, but she was pretty awesome. Her bubbly, out-there personality was contagious. It was pretty hard not to like her. Not that I didn’t want to. Even Ella, who knew of Preston and Dani’s history, told me she really liked her.

Preston told me neither he nor Ella had seen Dani over the past few weeks; they seemed worried about her. I was glad I’d spotted her looking whole so I could let them know she was fine.

“Hey, Jo.” A tight smile formed on her lips, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

I couldn’t help but wonder and worry at her reaction. I didn’t know Dani well, but I knew enough about her to tell when something was not quite right. I forced a cheery smile and invited her to sit while she waited for her order. She looked over her shoulder and seemed to hesitate before sliding into the booth, sitting opposite me.

“You okay?” I asked.

She shrugged, once again a whisper of a tight smile forming. “Yep, sure. I’m fine.” She hesitated for a fraction. “You?”

I nodded. “Awesome, thanks. Unfortunately, I’m back in the swing of things already. My honeymoon seems like a million years ago.”

Her nod mirrored mine. “Oh, okay. Did you have a good time?”

There was something majorly off. Dani’s voice was flat, her eyes dull. Aware I did not know her all that well, I hovered over the line of being too personal, too nosey, but then I remembered I didn’t give a shit about boundaries. I almost chuckled at the thought.

“So, I can’t help but notice you look like shit, honey. What’s going on?” I tilted my head as I spoke. Sometimes, beating around the bush was not what it was cracked up to be. Sometimes, it was far better to charge into said bush, prickles and all, just to get a goddamn answer.

A spark entered her eyes and she laughed loudly. Shaking her head, her laughter turned into a smile, before it turned into a sporadic laugh sitting on her chest. Elbows on the table, she placed her head in her hands, shoulders shaking. Shit. She was crying. I was no good at tears. I always said something crazy inappropriate. Okay, maybe more inappropriate than usual, which was an impressive accomplishment. In my discomfort, my aim was always to break the tension in whatever way possible. This was one of those moments.

“Damn, Dani, did an echidna crawl up your arse and fart prickles or some shit like that? Damn, I’d lose it, too, if that happened to me.”

Laughter escaped between her sobs. I picked up a paper napkin from the table and pushed it in front of her.

“I don’t do well with snot. You going to use that?”

Dani reached down, a tear-stained grin on her face. Blowing her nose, she made eye contact. “Thank you.”

I nodded, touched her arm slightly, and gave a light squeeze.

“Gah! So sorry to do this to you. I’m a hot mess.”

I nodded in agreement, eyeing the small blob of snot hanging from her nostril. She took the hint as I eyed it unceremoniously, and to my relief, she wiped it away. I did not intend to vomit up my delicious cake, but it didn’t seem to take much to turn my stomach over the last couple of weeks.

“So, hot mess, what’s going on? Why all…this?” I gestured in her general direction, lifting my eyebrows in question, knowing concern was filling my eyes.

Bowing her head, she looked at her hands. Lifting her head slightly, meeting my gaze, she spoke, “It’s just been a shocking few weeks, you know?” She shrugged.

I remained quiet, waiting for her to elaborate.

“What with all the stuff with Ella and Preston, and
—
” She cut herself off and lowered her eyes again.

“And?” I questioned.

“Erm, well. It’s all been a lot. An old friend of mine passed recently.”

Noticing a slight edge to her voice, I looked at her a little closer. She really did look like crap. It looked like she’d been crying for a while. The darkness under her eyes, her blotchy skin a dead giveaway. Certainly more than a few moments that tears from sympathy created. I understood the panic over the whole crazy-arse drama with Ella and Preston, but to be honest, it happened a few weeks back, and I’d had my own adventure of discovering I was pregnant since then. Ella and Preston had recovered. Yeah, Ella was still sad because of the trauma, injury and the fact that Ben, the dude who’d gone all psycho, had died, but they had adjusted and were managing to move on. It seemed somewhat weird—okay, a lot weird—that Dani would be mentioning Ella and Preston to explain her own upset. A friend of hers dying, though, I understood.

“Oh, hun, I’m so sad for you. I know Ella and Preston have been worried about you. You should have called them to let them know what happened. They said you’ve been MIA.”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just been hard.”

“I can imagine, hun. The person who died, were you close?”

She sighed softly and nodded before shrugging. “Yes, I mean, no. I don’t know.”

I was sure this was one of those ultra-weird moments. She was acting slightly cuckoo and was beginning to addle my baby brain. I was sure baby brain was a real thing. I had no idea if it came while pregnant or once I’d had my baby, but I’d decided I’d begin to take ownership of any excuses I could think of to carry me through the next eighteen years or so. “You want to think about that?”

She wiped away a tear. “It’s just I thought I did, but apparently, I didn’t…know them that well, I mean. It’s complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be, you know…complicated. Just don’t let it be. Be honest with yourself and don’t let life beat the crap out of you and complicate shit up.” It was true. I believed every damn word my less-than-eloquent mouth was saying.

Pursing her lips, Dani gave a slight nod. “Maybe.” She smiled. “I’ll try.” She looked over her shoulder as her name was called with her order. “Thanks, Jo. I have to go. It was good seeing you.”

“You, too, Dani. Be sure to call Preston, okay?”

She nodded before heading to the counter and collecting her order.