Impact (The Fight for Life #2) (14 page)

“Really? That’s incredible. Most Aussies head to Europe the second they finish high school.”

“Not me,” I mumbled as I walked away. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

“I’m sorry.” Charlie whispered when he fell into step beside me just as I was about to take the stairs. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I attempted a laugh. “You didn’t. It’s totally fine. I had something in my eye. That’s all.”

We walked up the stairs in silence.

“So, is it Jules or Julie for short, or are you always Juliette?”

Hearing him say Jules was painful. He had the same deep, gravelly voice as Leo. “Jules.” I almost said Juliette, but it sounded so formal and I was on holiday. “Jules is fine.”

“Okay then, Jules. Let’s go see some books.”

We ascended the last flight of stairs and walked out into a cavernous area that literally stopped me in my tracks. My jaw dropped as I struggled to process what I was seeing. It was the most stunning, awe-inspiring, incredible room I’d ever seen, and I knew the image would stay with me forever.

A chuckle snapped me out of my stupor. “Your face just spoke a thousand words. It was a beautiful sight.” Our eyes locked and I felt the air crackle around us. “You are really beautiful, Jules.”

This was not good. “I… um… I think I might go on by myself if you don’t mind, Charlie?” I took a step back and broke our eye contact.

I saw what I thought to be hurt flash across his eyes. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked tentatively. “I have a bad habit of saying exactly what I think.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “No. It’s not you. It’s—”

“It’s not you, it’s me? Seriously?”

“I’m sorry. You’re lovely and I’ve really enjoyed meeting you, but I…” I really didn’t feel like explaining to a stranger that no one would ever stand a chance with me as Leo had ruined me for other men forever.

“I’ll back off. I promise. I didn’t mean to scare you off.” He held his hands up. “I come in peace.”

“I hope you don’t think I’m arrogant assuming you are flirting with me, but I don’t want to lead you on.”

Charlie chuckled. “How about we pretend I find you really unattractive and just enjoy your company as friends?”

I laughed. “OK. I guess I could also pretend you are offensively ugly too.”

“Right. Then that’s settled, then. We’re just two ugly mugs hanging out in Dublin. Deal?”

I smiled at the ridiculous deal. He was the reason Aussie men had a reputation for being gorgeous. He could’ve been another Hemsworth brother, and I was to pretend he was ugly. No problem at all.

We wandered through the library, gazing at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves cordoned off from tourists. We read the giant banners telling stories of Norse myths and legends and we chatted easily. He had put flirtation on the back burner, and we managed to enjoy each other’s company without me fearing where it was leading. He knew the score, so I could relax. It actually really helped to keep my mind off home, and more specifically, Leo. If I were honest, I’d thought of little else since we’d left. Even though Sia had banned any talk of him, the thoughts were always there. What was he doing? Was he thinking about me? Was he going to the fights? Was he okay? I had driven myself crazy.

“Did you want to buy any souvenirs?” Charlie asked as we moved through the gift shop towards the exit.

“I’ll just grab a few postcards.”

He was waiting for me outside when I ventured out into the sunshine.

“We’re due to meet Matt and Sia. Will you let me buy you a Guinness?”

I scrunched up my nose. “I’ve always wondered if it’s like drinking tar.”

“You can’t come to Ireland and not at least try Guinness.”

We had walked past a few bars on the way to Trinity University campus and I had heard Irish bars were a must. “Okay. One pint of Guinness.”

He grabbed my hand then quickly dropped it, realising he probably shouldn’t have. I was horrified to realise I liked the feel of his touch and balled my hand he’d just dropped into a fist. I wasn’t supposed to like the touch of another man.

“Sorry,” he said as he scrunched his nose, his voice barely a whisper. His apology appeared reluctant.

“It’s okay,” I reassured him, but wished he hadn’t done it. Now I knew his touch.

We jostled along the busy streets to the cobbled Temple bar area near the river. Bars lined both sides of the street and buskers created a fun and lively atmosphere. A man dressed as a leprechaun standing over a pot of gold insisted we have our photographs taken with him. Of course we threw in a few coins for whatever charity he was collecting for.

“Come on. This is my favourite bar in Dublin.”

Charlie opened the door and ushered me in, careful not to touch me again. It was only three in the afternoon, but it was packed to the rafters with singing and dancing patrons. I couldn’t help laughing.

“You still keen to try Guinness?” Charlie shouted in my ear.

“Sure. Why not?” I shouted back, lifting my shoulders.

“That’s the spirit.” Charlie smiled then elbowed his way to the bar while I sang along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”.

A group of guys in fancy dress, or at least I hoped they were in fancy dress, gestured for me to join them on the dancefloor in front of the live band. I shook my head and mouthed,
Not a chance.

One of them jogged over to me and shouted in a posh English accent, “I’m getting married next weekend.” I felt immediately drunk from the beer fumes, but he had a friendly face. “Let me have one more dance with the prettiest girl in the room before then?”

“Come on!” chanted a chorus of voices who had to be his bucks.

I rolled my eyes, then thought,
Fuck it!

I accepted his outstretched hand and allowed him to drag me onto the dancefloor where I was spun, dipped and swirled until I was laughing so hard my sides ached. When the song finished, we were met with a loud applause. I glanced around the room and saw all eyes were on us. I looked at the groom-to-be and we both cracked up again and bowed to our appreciative audience.

“Thank you.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it before bowing dramatically.

“You’re welcome and congratulations.” I laughed and curtseyed.

He kissed my cheek and then pulled me in for a hug, whispering in my ear in a thick Irish accent something along the lines of, “Not sure your boyfriend was too happy about our dance. Hope I didn’t get you in any trouble.”

Before I had a chance to correct his mistake, he was singing along to the next song and was surrounded by his drunken mates.

I glanced around and found Charlie staring at me. When he realised I was looking at him, he immediately shook off his dark look and smiled brightly, holding up two pints of dark liquid. I was in such a good mood from the music and dancing, I ignored the fact this very gorgeous guy clearly wasn’t going to do the friends thing easily.

Thank you
, I mouthed, taking the glass and tentatively bringing it to my lips.

I was surprised to find it was far more pleasant than I’d been expecting. I wouldn’t be rushing back for another, but it was another experience and I was really enjoying everything about Dublin so far.

“Let’s go outside where we can hear ourselves think.”

I followed him outside a little reluctantly. I was really enjoying the atmosphere inside, but was happy to grab some fresh air. We found a free bar table outside and Charlie placed his beer down. “You’re a good dancer.”

I laughed as I was about to take another sip and the froth on top sprayed out over the glass. “Thanks. Bit out of character for me dancing with strangers, but hey. You only live once.”

He raised his glass and chinked it with mine. “Carpe diem.”

I smiled at how much those two words meaning
seize the day
really meant something to me. Until recently, I’d done the exact opposite of seizing the day by moulding myself into something I wasn’t for my mother’s and father’s sakes. I’d channelled my frustrations into the quest for my beloved adrenaline sports but had kept them a secret. I had been living my life on someone else’s terms, and when I’d stopped, the repercussions could’ve been fatal.

Before I knew it, I was sculling my beer with my eyes shut tight. When I opened my eyes, Charlie was looking at me quizzically. “Would you like another?”

I wiped the froth from my mouth with the back of my arm and welcomed the warmth spreading through my body. “Sia.” I spotted her down the street.

Sia launched herself at me and whispered in my ear, “Two hot brothers. Jackpot.”

I pushed her back but laughed at her exuberance.

“Let’s get shitfaced,” Matt proposed boldly. “We’re young and free. Let’s celebrate that.”

He and Sia had clearly had a few already, and it was easy to forget it was only mid-afternoon surrounded by happy, drunk people.

“So what’s the plan from here?” Charlie asked. “Are you just here on holidays?”

“We have no real set plan. We’re just going to backpack around Europe. We both have six weeks’ leave from work.” Sia motioned between us. “We work together at a stockbroking firm back home.”

“There are loads of stockbrokers in London,” Matt chimed in. “You could get a job over there.”

“What do you guys do?” I asked to change the subject.

“We run our family’s office. We make and oversee all the investments and typically spend half the year here in Europe and half back in Australia. Our parents live in Sydney.”

“Wow. That’s very cool,” Sia said.

Charlie slapped his hand down on the table. “Right, ladies. No more talk of work. Another round?”

Many, many hours later, I stood up on shaky legs. “I think I’m done.” I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see it was after ten. “I need to use the ladies’ before I head back to the hotel.” I stood up and swayed a little. “Back in a sec.”

When I came out of the bathroom, Charlie was leaning against the wall, one leg bent with his foot resting on the wall behind him. “You’re not going, are you?” He tried to sound casual, but I sensed the desperation in his voice. “I’d really like to see you again.” He pushed off the wall and held his hands up. “As friends of course.”

I paused. “I don’t know you, Charlie, and you don’t know me.” I thought of the one person I was trying so desperately to push out of my thoughts. Leo. My heart ached for him.

“I’d like to fix that, but I can’t if you do a runner.”

I snapped back to the present at the sound of Charlie’s voice.

“Thank you for coming, Jules,” he whispered into my ear. “I’ve missed you.”

“Of course.” I pulled back so I could study his face. “Good to see you, Charlie.”

His eyes were tired, but his smile reached them. “It’s so good to see you.”

He held me at arm’s length and studied me. “You look as stunning as always.”

He made me feel warm all over. There was no doubt he was a good-looking guy and we got along famously. Perhaps if I’d never met Leo, things could have been different between us. But I had met Leo, and I had fallen so far in love with him, there was no coming back. I could definitely be Charlie’s friend though, especially if things worked out with Sia and his brother.

“You hungry?” He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. My body tensed. I tried to fight the instinct, but it felt too intimate. “I’m starving.”

“I’m happy to see you too, Charlie, but you know nothing has changed, right?” I stopped walking to make sure he looked at me. He dropped his arm and I didn’t like his reaction.

“So you sorted things out with Leo, then?” He was definitely trying to sound casual.

“I’d rather not talk about Leo with you.” I scrunched up my nose.

“Let’s go inside.” I felt his hand on my lower back as he held the door open for me with the other. He was always the gentleman.

We ordered at the counter then found a free table at the back. I loved this café. It offered wall space to local artists to sell their work. I’d bought a number of them for gifts and for myself. This month, the wall was covered in framed photos, drawings and paintings of frogs. Small bronze frog sculptures were displayed on the counter next to a small sign stating ‘Frogs For Sale’. There was no way I was going to be able to resist buying a few. All the other walls were bookshelves full of second-hand books and various forms of book art.

“Books always remind me of you.”

I nodded, smiling. “You make me sound like a book nerd.”

Charlie laughed. “Don’t worry. Skydiving and canyoning also remind me of you.”

“Phew.” I chuckled. Charlie and Matt had met us every weekend wherever we were in Europe. Fortunately, Matt and Sia always wanted to do the same thing, which usually involved bars, dancing and public displays of affection while Charlie and I shared a love for adrenaline.

“Do you think about our adventures a lot?” he asked.

“Of course I do.”

“If you’d stayed, that could’ve been our life.”

“I was on holidays, Charlie. That wasn’t real life.” I pointed my finger down on the table. “This is my real life, right here in Melbourne with my crazy family and complicated love life.” I bit my lip, wishing I hadn’t said that last bit.

“Why is it complicated?”

“Nothing. I shouldn’t have said that.”

The café owner arrived with my coffee and Charlie’s Pepsi Max. “Here you go. I’ll be back with your tomato soup in a minute, Jules.”

“Thank you, Sammie.” I smiled, grateful for the interruption. “Hey. I love the froggy art.”

She laughed. “Me too. The artist is obsessed by the little buggers.” She glanced at the wall covered in frogs and shook her head. “They’re getting a pretty good reaction.”

“It ain’t easy being green, you know.”

“Thanks, Kermit.” She was still chuckling as she returned to the counter.

She left us to it and I turned back to Charlie who was smiling broadly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He continued smiling. “I’m just happy to be sitting here with you.”

Sammie placed a bowl of steaming tomato soup with a crusty roll in front of me and a steak sandwich in front of Charlie. It smelled delicious.

“How did your meeting with my father go?” I asked, changing the subject. I lifted a spoonful of the soup to my mouth and blew on it gently.