A Secret Between Friends: A New Zealand Sexy Beach Romance (Treats to Tempt You Book 6) (14 page)

The trip back to Beck’s house felt oddly awkward. Genie held her tongue and looked out of the window, conscious that beside her Niall was quiet, although he did smile and reach out to hold her hand at one point.

So much remained unsaid between them, but she didn’t know where to start to discuss it. It had been a fantastic day and an even better evening, and she wanted to ask him if he’d like to see her again while she was home, but for some reason the words wouldn’t form on her lips.

Had she made a mistake in going to bed with him? It was difficult to come to that conclusion when it had been so great, but at least before they’d actually had sex she’d been able to convince herself he couldn’t possibly be as good in reality as he was in her head.

The truth had been quite the opposite. Making love—or, rather, having sex, she reminded herself sternly—with Niall Brennan had surpassed anything she’d been able to conjure up in her dreams. She’d suspected he’d be tender and respectful, with a layer of passion running beneath it that would hopefully overtake him when he got carried away.

She hadn’t expected that passion to set her alight until they were both consumed by flames. He’d been surprisingly demanding, a tad aggressive and forceful, and the combination had made her dizzy with desire. When she’d suggested getting together while they were away, she’d expected he’d agree because he was a guy and she was offering free sex, but she’d hoped the attraction she’d felt for him had been reciprocated even if only a little bit.

The way he’d taken her, though, the fierce passion he’d shown… He’d made her feel desired and wanted, and it had seemed as if he too were fulfilling a dream he’d had for many years.

In the cold light of day, though, the girlish fantasies that had swirled in her head as she’d fallen asleep had turned to ash by morning. She’d had another nightmare about Ciara in the night, and when she’d awoken, Sinead’s words had kept ringing in her head.
It’s your fault Ciara’s dead. It’s your fault Ciara’s dead.
She’d been unable to shake the guilt, and it made it worse that she’d just slept with Sinead’s son. To top it all, he’d been distant and a little cool with her, although she wasn’t sure why. Perhaps the guilt had got to him too.

“You won’t tell anyone about last night, will you?” She scratched her cheek. “Especially your mum.” She wasn’t sure she could deal with Sinead’s anger right now.

Niall’s lips twitched in a wry smile. “Of course not. I would like to keep my balls intact.”

“Ha. I mean it.” She wore a checked shirt, and where the material lay on her jeans, she concentrated on counting the checks. White, blue, white, blue, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve…

He caught her hand gently in his own. “Okay. It’ll be a secret between friends, eh?”

“Yeah.” That was all it was. Nothing more than that.

“What about the rest of the bucket list?” He turned the car into Beck’s road. “Are you going to carry on with it?”

“I’d like to.” She hesitated as he pulled up and put on the handbrake. “Are you…um…do you still want to join me?” He turned his light green eyes on her, heating her up from the inside out at the memory of his mouth on hers, the slide of him inside her. She blinked to break the spell. “You don’t have to, but if you do, it would be nice…” She was waffling now, and she bit her lip to shut herself up.

He smiled. “Sure. Come on, why don’t we choose the next item?”

“Okay.” Feeling a bit happier, she got out of the car, retrieved her cane, and went to the back to lift out her bag. Niall held out a hand.

“I can manage,” she said.

“I know. I’m being a gentleman. I’d make the most of it if I were you.”

It irked her that he thought she needed help, especially because she knew he’d spotted her reuse of the cane, although he hadn’t said anything. Still, she shouldn’t be rude. “Fair enough.” She gave him the bag, and he carried it up the path to the house.

Beck was sitting at the dining table with a bunch of papers spread out before him. “Morning,” he said as they walked in.

“Hey.” Genie kissed the top of his head as she walked past him to get the list from the coffee table.

“Have a good time?” He raised an eyebrow at Niall.

“Fantastic,” Niall said. “The restaurant did the best steak I’ve had in years.”

Beck’s lips twitched. “Glad to hear it.”

“Just ignore him,” Genie said, trying not to blush at the thought that her brother was aware they’d probably slept together. She came back to Niall and offered him the sheet of paper. “You choose this time.”

He put the sheet on the table, swirled a finger in the air and let it fall. Beck rose to peer across the table at the outcome.

“Speed dating?” Beck laughed. “Rather you than me.”

Genie felt a little sick. Why did it have to be that? She’d thought it might be nice to pick another activity that would give her and Niall time alone together. This wasn’t at all what she’d had in mind.

Niall slid his hands into his pockets, looking amused. “Well?”

She hesitated. She could veto, but then what message would that send him?
A secret between friends.
It had been a one-off, that was all.

“Sounds fun,” she said.

He nodded, his eyes meeting hers. The shutters had come down, and she couldn’t read what he was thinking.

“Do you know anywhere they do it?” she asked him.

“Not off-hand. I’ll have to look around.”

“No need,” Beck said. “Let’s do it at the bar.”

Genie raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fun. You know I’m always looking for ideas to bring people in. I’ll make some posters and spread the word. There are loads of singles around. We’ll do it next Wednesday, and we’ll make it a thing in Ciara’s honor, maybe raise some money for her favorite charity or something.”

“That’s a great idea, thanks mate.” Niall looked genuinely touched. “Let me know if you need any help.” He checked his watch. “Okay, I’m off. See you later?”

Genie nodded.

He hesitated. Then he held a hand out to her. His lips curved up, and his eyes were warm.

She walked towards him, and he put his arms around her and gave her a hug. She rested her cheek on his chest, inhaling his sexy smell, and trying not to think of his body on top of hers, his hot lips claiming hers while her teased her oh-so-slowly to fulfilment.

He kissed the top of her head, then moved back and walked out.

Genie watched him go. Then she limped over to the table and sat opposite Beck.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fabulous, thanks bro. Cool as. Couldn’t be better.” She leaned forward and put her forehead on the table.

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She banged her forehead lightly a few times, then sat back with a sigh. “It’s all right. I’m being an idiot, that’s all.”

He scratched his beard. “You want me to beat him up for you?”

That made her laugh. “No, it’s all good. I’m okay. I just…I like him, that’s all.”

Beck snorted. “No shit, Sherlock.”

Her eyes widened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He pulled some paperwork toward him and turned on his calculator. “I’m just amazed you both made it this far without hooking up.”

Her jaw dropped. Beck knew she’d always liked Niall? “He’s never been into me,” she said. “He was with Tamsin, remember?”

“Timing is a big factor in relationships. You were only fourteen when he met Tamsin. That probably had a lot to do with it.”

Genie reached out and touched his hand. “Beck… You and Josie…”

“Nope.” He turned over a page of his accounts. “Not going there. Don’t change the subject.”

“You know you can talk to me though, right?”

“No need.” He tapped on the calculator keys, then scribbled a few figures in a column.

She wasn’t going to get anything else from him. Pushing back her chair, she limped over to the windows and looked out at the view. Clouds had gathered, reflected in the gray sea. Memories of the dream lingered, giving her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It’s your fault Ciara’s dead…

Her fingers picked at the beads on her wrist, counting them in groups of two.

*

In spite of her misgivings, Genie enjoyed helping Beck organize the speed dating evening. It had been a long time since she’d turned her hand to anything creative, and she spent a few evenings with sheets of A3 paper, drawing and coloring some advertisements that Beck then put up around the bar. Those who were going to take part would pay a fee that Beck would collect and give to Starship, the charity for sick children that Ciara had sometimes raised money for in the past.

He pinned up a sign-up sheet with two columns, one for men and one for women, with enough space for twelve names of each gender. The age range was stated as twenty to thirty-two.

“What will you do if you don’t get enough people sign up?” Genie asked him.

“If we’re short of guys, I’ll be calling on everyone I know to fill the gaps,” Beck said. “If we’re short of girls, I’ll see if Josie can help.”

By the time Wednesday came, however, the sheet was filled. Genie arrived thirty minutes before the evening was due to start, brought there by Jonah, who was also taking part, and asked Beck if she could look at the sheet to see who’d be coming.

“I feel I should point out I won’t be giving you Jonah’s number.” Beck retrieved the sheet from behind the bar.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Thank God for that. I can’t imagine anything worse than dating Mr. Tom Cat here.”

Jonah just grinned and took the sheet from his brother. “Anyone good signed up?”

They investigated the list of names. On the guys’ side, Niall was at the top, followed by Jonah. Danny was also on there, halfway down, and so was Finn, Niall’s older brother. She didn’t know any of the others though. On the girls’ side, she recognized Billie Rutherford—a friend of Josie’s. And then, to her surprise, she saw Josie’s name on there too.

She looked up at Beck.

“Awkward, much,” Jonah said, pulling a face.

Beck shrugged. “Not really. We’re separated. She’s free to do as she pleases.”

Genie frowned. “Even so. It’s pretty insensitive.”

He turned away and began lining up glasses. “I’m over it, Genie. Forget about it.”

She exchanged a glance with Jonah, who mimed cutting across his throat to end the conversation, and she decided not to pursue it. God knew her own life needed sorting out before she started work on her brother’s.

She ran her finger down the rest of the girls’ names on the list, and then her heart stopped. “Tamsin?” She stared at Beck. “Oh shit. Surely not?”

“Sorry, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about it,” he said. “It didn’t seem fair to say yes to Niall and no to her.”

“Beck, seriously. How awkward is that going to be for him?”

Jonah popped a peanut in his mouth and gave her an amused look. “Why do you care?”

“I…don’t…I…” She clammed up as his eyebrows rose. It was none of her business. The two of them were adults anyway—surely they could have a civil conversation for five minutes.

People began to arrive, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she pinned her nametag to her T-shirt. Beck had organized the side room into twelve tables in two rows, each with two chairs, one on either side. The girls were to take the chairs on the left, and the guys would take a chair on the right, getting up to move along when Beck rang the bell, which would be at about five minute intervals. At the end, everyone got the chance to write down the names of the people they would be interested in seeing again. If both parties wrote down the other person’s name, Beck would pass on their contact details. If one party didn’t write the name down, no contact details would be exchanged.

Tamsin came in, and as she passed Genie she gave a small nod, which Genie returned. Genie sipped her cocktail and tried not to squirm. Tamsin wouldn’t know that Niall had slept with her. And even if she did find out, they’d broken up so it was none of her business!

As seven o’clock neared, Genie began to wonder if Niall was going to be a chicken and not show up. She’d just bought herself another cocktail for some Dutch courage when he came in.

Her heart doubled its pace on the spot. He looked
gorgeous.
Wearing tight jeans and a sexy casual grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he looked like a surf dude who’d been talked into reluctantly dressing up for the evening, which was pretty much the case, she thought. He’d showered, because his hair was damp at the nape of his neck and sticking up on the top. She knew how it felt in her fingers, short and spiky up the back, softer where it was longer. His lips curved in a smile as one of the waitresses welcomed him in and handed him his nametag, and Genie’s heart fluttered at the memory of those lips, the silky slide of his tongue as he thrust slowly into her.

She looked away and sipped her cocktail. Her stomach fluttered again.

Tonight she’d get the chance to speak to lots of different guys, and it should be fun, she scolded herself. Okay, so both Beck and Niall’s exes were there, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. She had to concentrate on herself and put everyone else out of her mind.