Second Chance (19 page)

Disappointment mixed with a very
confusing relief went through her.  Nodding, she stepped back.  “Right.”

About to walk past, he stopped to
gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ears.  “How about we go out for some
lunch when I get back?  Lunch at the café or something?  Neutral territory to
talk?”

That actually sounded good.  A
little of the tension she didn’t realise she had slid away.  “Sure.”  She
paused.  “Umm…I think I need to go home and change.”

“Why?”  Almost instantly there was
a wary light in his eyes.

Okay, couldn’t blame him for
that.  “I’m in work clothes, and they’re not exactly clean enough to go to the
café.”  She indicated a spot on her shirt, a smear on her pants.  “Truthfully,
Grant, I’d feel out of place walking in like this.”  And she needed a little
space.

He looked down to where she
indicated, looked back up at her face and nodded.  “I’ll pick you up.”

“You know,” she said dryly, “I
really won’t run away.”

“I’m holding you to that,” he
replied unexpectedly, and left.

Geez.  That left her feeling a
little disgruntled.

Walking into the kitchen, she
picked up her shoulder bag and saw Fergus sitting by the door, Slinky not far
away.  Both of them looked from the direction in which Grant had disappeared to
her.

“Don’t judge me,” she told them. 
“I already told him I wouldn’t do a runner.”

Fergus squinted from beneath his
fringe.

Taking the keys from her bag, she
scowled.  “You needn’t take his side.”

Heaving a sigh, Slinky flopped
onto his side.

“Just because I fled a couple of
times you don’t have to rub it in.”  Walking out, she locked the door, half
expecting Fergus and Slinky to appear through the dog door.  When neither
appeared, she added, “Just to shock the living crap out of him and you two,
it’d serve you all right if I sat outside the back door of the vet clinic
waiting.”

Not in this lifetime.

Driving home gave her time to
breathe, to have some space from the intensity of what had happened, to come to
terms with the fact that yes, she had boinked hotly with the local vet.  She
couldn’t help but grin and give a little wriggle of delight.

Really, her and Grant Wilson,
local vet and eligible bachelor.  And he thought she was hot.  That was
unbelievable but undeniable, making her feel unaccustomedly desirable.

True, it was in slightly grotty work
clothes with a very haphazard ponytail that looked rumpled and -
good grief!

Catching sight of herself in the
rear view mirror - the rumpled hair, the kiss-swollen lips, the bright eyes and
flushed cheeks - Tam didn’t know whether to smile wider or hide her head.  She
had to walk into the house looking like this, facing her Aunt…unless she could
skim in undetected through the back door and into the shower before her Aunt
knew she’d arrived.

Deciding on that course of action,
she pulled into the driveway to see Robby’s car parked to one side.  The
boyfriend had arrived.

The fleeting thought that maybe
her Aunt was seeing as much action as Tam herself had Tam pausing with one hand
on the door handle, then she remembered that it was a half work day for Aunt
Maree, she’d be expecting Tam home.  No hanky-panky with that expectation.  She
hoped.  Just the thought had her almost ready to wash her brain out with a
toothbrush.

Looker or not, she was still her
Aunt.

Voices came from the kitchen and
she managed to slip into her room with a simple, “I’m home, Aunt Maree!  I’m
going to have a shower!”

“No worries,” came drifting back
from the kitchen.  “Want me to put a cup of coffee out for you?”

“Sounds great.”

What should have been a quick
shower turned a little more sensuous.  It brought back memories of Grant’s
hands running over her, his mouth on her, made the soap slip between her
fingers.  If she wasn’t careful she’d lose focus, slip, hit her head on the
wall and fall arse over tit in the bathtub.  Not a good look.

Dressed in a simple skirt and
blouse, she was diverted by the mobile ringing.  Picking it up, she saw it was
her mother.  “Hi, Mum.”

“Tam, is it true?” her mother
demanded.

“Is what true?”  For one startled
second Tam thought her mother had somehow heard about her and Grant already. 
Impossible.

“You told Anthony and Peter it was
all over?”

“Oh, that.”  She rolled her eyes.

“Both of them? 
Both
of
them?”

“Yep.”  She sat on the edge of the
bed.

“I can understand one, you have to
choose, but to throw both of them away?  This could be your last chance, Tam.”

“I’m not exactly an old maid,
Mum.”

“Don’t you want children?”

“Not with someone who doesn’t love
me.”

“Love comes with time, dear.”

“Not the kind of love I want.”

“Tam, you’re not thinking
clearly.”

“Actually, I’m thinking clearer
than I ever have.  They want me for a possible inheritance.  I want real love.”

“But sweetie, Anthony and Peter
are both good catches.”

“Sorry to dash your dreams, Mum,
but they’re not my catches.”

Her mother drew a deep sigh.  “You
know I love you.”

“I know you do.”  In her own
weird, one-eyed way, her mother did love her.  “And I know you only want what
is best for me.  But Anthony and Peter aren’t what’s best for me.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“No, my mistake was in letting it
go on for so long.”  Getting off the bed, Tam checked her appearance in the dressing
table mirror, satisfied that she looked neat and tidy, no resemblance to the delightfully
dishevelled appearance she’d had earlier.

“What if you’ve lost your chance?”

“You know what?  Maybe they
weren’t my chance, have you thought of that?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. They both
want to marry you.”

“No, they want to marry money.  I
actually don’t have money.  They’d probably divorce me if the inheritance never
came through.”

“You’d at least have children, and
whichever you married would have to provide for you.”

Her mother had always ruled her
heart with her head.  “I can’t believe we’re having this discussion.”

“Just think about it, Tam,” her
mother pleaded.

“I’ve thought about it.  It’s
over.  It never actually was on, to be honest, and I have not one shred of
regret.”  Tam pictured her mother sitting on her dainty chair, nibbling on one
red-painted finger nail.  “This is my life, Mum.  I came here to think, to
clear my head, and I’m seeing clearer than ever.”  No need to let her mother
know she’d had some revenge on Dingbats 1 and 2 along the way.  “I’m happy.”

“When are you coming home?”

“Back to the city?  I’m not
sure.”  Tam pursed her lips.  “I’m surprisingly happy here.”

“In
Gully’s Fall
?”  There
was real horror in her mother’s voice.

Grinning, Tam started for the
door.  “Maybe I have new chances here.”

“In Gully’s Fall?”

“I did have a date with a cute
farmhand.”

“Tamara!”

“He might be my third chance.”  Laughing,
Tam headed for the kitchen.

“This is not funny!”

“Depends what side of the phone
you’re on.”  Feeling immensely light-hearted, she entered the kitchen, nodding
to Robby and Aunt Maree.

Halting their conversation, they
both looked at her.

Noticing a lovely bunch of orchids
in a pale lavender vase, Tam sniffed them.  “Mum, I have to go.  Aunt Maree has
visitors.”

Robby’s eyebrows shot up.  In
contrast, only one of Aunt Maree’s did.

“Tam, please, give Anthony or
Peter one more go,” her mother pleaded.

“Sorry, Mum.  It’s over.  Now, I
have to go.  Say hello to Dad for me.  I’ll call you later.”  Cutting off her
mother’s protest, she flipped the phone shut.

“Let me guess,” Aunt Maree said. 
“That was my sister-in-law?”

“Yep.”  Tam nodded.  “About
you-know-what.”

“Ah.”  Aunt Maree nodded.  “The
you-know-what that you ended?”

“That’d be the you-know-what.” 
Tam smiled brightly at Robby.  “Hi.”

“Hi yourself.”  He looked at Aunt
Maree.  “Do I want to know about this you-know-what?”

“Nope.”  Aunt Maree gestured to
the sink.  “Your cup of coffee is up there,  Tam.”

“Thanks.”  Picking it up, Tam took
an appreciative swallow.  “Yum.  Tastes good.”  She switched her attention to
Robby.  “Buying Aunt Maree’s affections?”  At his blank look, she explained, “The
orchids?”

“They’re not from me,” he said. 
“Though I wish I’d thought of it.”

“They came all the way from
Ellor’s Loop,” Aunt Maree answered.  “Seeing as that’s the only florist
around.”

“Secret admirer?”  They were
really lovely flowers.

“They’re not from
my
admirer.”

Puzzled, Tam looked at her.

“There’s a card.”  Aunt Maree pointed
to a dainty card lying beside the vase.  “For you.”

“For me?”

Her Aunt nodded.

Wondering who could be sending her
flowers, Tam opened the card and read
‘To Tamara, a Beautiful Lady, the Love
of my Life’
.  No name.

“Your secret admirer.”  Robby
grinned widely.  “Any idea who?”

Tam scratched her head.  “Nope.” 
Farris, maybe?  Little soon for declaring something like this, and he didn’t
strike her as the corny romantic kind.  Weird.

“Never mind that.”  Aunt Maree
raised her eyebrow again.  “What’s this about you and the local vet groping
each other in the middle of the road?”

Chapter 7

Grant had half expected Tam to
have done a vanishing act.  He’d hoped she hadn’t, but he could still see that
faint panic that had replace the dreamy, sexually satiated expression in her
eyes.

The woman was a runner, no doubt
about that.  She got her dander up fast, too.  Now that he thought about it,
she’d always been a little prickly in school.  Funny what one remembered.

Sitting across from Tam in the
café, he studied the menu, glancing over the top to see Tam chewing her lip
while reading it, her glasses perched on her nose.  “Not hungry?”

“Hmm?”  She looked up, blushed a
little, looked back down.  “Trying to decide.”

The woman was actually blushing. 
Grant found that incredibly cute and amusing.  So outspoken, so fiery, a hot
little piece in the sack, a curvy little temptation outside the sack, and with
a shy streak.

Placing the menu down, she pushed
her glasses onto the top of her head.  “Okay.”

He raised both eyebrows.

“Done.”

He smiled.  “Same.”

Right at that moment Cheryl, who
had been hovering nearby, walked up to the table.  “What’ll it be, kids?”

They both gave their orders.

Cheryl hesitated, obviously dying
to ask a question, but when Tam just looked blankly up at her and Grant gave no
more than a pleasant smile, she sighed and walked away.

It didn’t take a genius to know
that his little scene with Tam earlier had gone the rounds of town.  Mrs
Preston, who was sitting nearby having lunch with her niece, Julia Preston, was
giving Tam the thumbs up signal.

“Good grief.”  Tam flipped open a
napkin.

Yvonne was sitting with her
friend, Jaci, in a corner booth glaring daggers at Tam.  Yep, his little cuddle
with Tam in the middle of the road had put paid to Yvonne’s nefarious plans for
him.  That was an added bonus.

“This is your fault.”  Tam rolled
her eyes as Laz, one of the fire vollies, walked past and winked at Grant.

“I own that,” he said without
shame.  “I made a statement you couldn’t deny.”

“You sound so proud.”

“Bloody oath.”  He grinned.

“You’re not going to start
strutting around, are you?”

“At the fact that I’ve bagged
myself the new girl in town?  Hell, yeah.”

Shaking her head, she refolded the
napkin.  “That doesn’t sound nice.  Try again.”

“At the fact that I had hot sex
with the new girl in town?  Hell, yeah.”

Her cheeks went redder as she
shifted a little self-consciously.

Deciding he’d teased her enough,
he gentled his tone.  “At the fact that I’m dating the prettiest girl in town? 
Hell, yeah.”

Even though the blush was still
evident, she looked him right in the eyes.  “Is that what we’re doing?”

Straight to the point, no mucking
around.  This woman confused him sometimes.  By turns shy, prickly, straight
forward and a runner.  When she chose to go straight down the line, she went
for it.  He liked that.  Definitely preferred that to her dodging questions and
running.

Stretching out his arms, resting
them on the back of the booth, he met her gaze seriously.  “Yes.”

“Are you sure you want to do
this?”

“Yes.”

“Not because you feel obligated?”

That was unexpected.  “What?”

“Because we…you know.  And you
kissed me in the road.”

Astounding.  “To prove a point,
remember?  To prove to you that I don’t care who sees me with you, who knows I
want to be with you, who knows why I want to be with you.  I proved that
point.”

“I guess you did it better than
you thought.”  She slid her gaze sideways to where several of the café patrons
were trying to unobtrusively watch them. 

Ignoring the people, Grant replied
easily, “Then my job is halfway done.”

That caught her attention. 
“Halfway?”

“The other half is finding out why
you’re suddenly so uncomfortable.”

For several seconds she studied
him.  Not an idle look, not an admiring look, but an intent scrutiny that made
him feel as though she was probing his mind, trying to guess what he was
thinking and feeling.

Not in the least perturbed, he
just waited.

It surprised him when instead of
leaning back in the booth she leaned forwards, placing her folded arms on the table
as she regarded him levelly.  “I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

Wondering exactly what she was
getting at, he asked, “Not used to what?”

“To this.  Dating.”

“You’ve never dated?”  That was
startling.

“Not a date that showed me real
affection in public.”

Shit
.  “Are you serious?” 
He blinked.  “Your dates didn’t show you affection in public?” 
What the
hell…?

“I wasn’t girlfriend material.”  She
shrugged.  “Anyway, I always made a better friend than a girlfriend.”

“Who the hell told you that?”

“I didn’t have to be told, Grant,
it was just the way it was.  Do you know I actually helped several male friends
catch the girls of their dreams?  My time with one of them late at night was
plotting the perfect dates.  He was such a dork, God bless him, but he loved
this girl so much and she had no idea he existed.  They’re married now.  He
swears it was my plotting that helped him.”

Grant didn’t quite know what to say.

“I was the spare date, the spare
girl, the friend.”  Tam shrugged.  “The only two men I dated that I thought
were serious turned out not to be.  Not for the reasons I wanted.  Apart from
those two my dates were basically me making up the numbers.”

“I can’t believe those idiots you
dated didn’t show any affection in public.”  He shook his head.  “Complete
arseholes.”

“I’ve never had a serious
relationship nor did what we did.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve never lost myself enough to
do what we
did
.”

Boy, she sure was worried about
him not getting it.  “I get it.  You’ve never had a chance to show affection in
public.  That’s going to stop right now.  I’m not like that.  I have no
problems being affectionate.”  He smiled reassuringly at her.

Tam stared at him.  “Do I have to
spell this out to you?’

“No.”  He kept his voice
soothing.  “I understand.  You’re not experienced with real dating.  Not real
dating with a man who wants to date you and keep on dating you, one who isn’t
afraid to kiss you in public or give you a hug when someone is nearby.”

She continued to stare at him.

Maybe he was missing something.  “What?”

“Grant, I’m a little uncomfortable
because I’ve never…”  She glanced around, leaned forward, gave him the ‘come
here’ gesture with one finger.

He obeyed curiously, meeting her
in the middle of the table.

She placed her lips to his ear. 
“I’ve never had sex with anyone.”

She what?
  For several
seconds he froze without even blinking.

Neither of them moved, her mouth
still close to his ear as she waited.  Finally, she whispered, “Grant?”

Turning his head until his lips brushed
her ear in turn, he asked softly, incredulously,  “You’ve never had sex
before?”

He could feel the heat of her
blush.

She breathed once, twice, before
her lips tickled his ear.  “No.  Never.”

He had to make sure he had this
correct.  “So I’m the first man?”  She nodded.  “I’m your first?”

Her mouth back at his ear, warm
breath caressing his skin, making his blood heat a little.  Talk about sexy.

“You keep saying that with such
shock, I’m going to make you eat the menu.”

Breathed like that, it was still
sexy.

Pulling back only enough so that
he could meet her gaze, he started to smile - until he saw her eyes.  Really
saw her eyes.

Those jade green eyes held a hint
of worry, a hint of hope, a hint of shyness.  And almost an expectation of rejection.

Holding her gaze, he said softly,
“Let me guess.  Those men didn’t want to keep dating you because you wouldn’t
put out for them?  They’re idiots.  It’s your body, your choice.”

She swallowed but her eyes didn’t
waver.  “Actually, those men I dated weren’t interested in sex with me because
I wasn’t good enough.”

He blinked.  “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard.”

“What do you mean you weren’t good
enough?”  Anger started to lick through him.

“I’m not the ideal figure in
today’s standards, Grant.  I know it.  They expected their girlfriend to be a
sexy, slim nymph.  I didn’t meet that expectation, ergo they were not
interested in sex or public affection.”

“Jesus.”  The anger turned to
fury.  “
Jesus
, Tam.” He was so furious he couldn’t get another word out.

“It’s okay.”

Grant growled, “Yeah, it is
okay.”  Before she could do more than stiffen slightly, her expression startled
then just as quickly hurt, he continued in a low, deep voice, projecting every
feeling he had into it.  “It’s okay they missed out.  It’s more than okay by
me, it’s bloody fantastic.  They had no idea of the treasure they let slip
away.  I don’t see a woman as a set size, a set look, nothing but a label.  I
don’t judge a woman by anyone’s standards but my own and hers.”

The hurt slipped away as she
watched him closely, her body very still, her gaze searching his intently.

“Tam, in you I see a woman who
makes me laugh, makes me growl, makes me feel both hot, happy and sometimes
frustrated - and that frustration isn’t always in the fornicating way.”

She grinned a little, eyes
crinkling enchantingly at the corners.

Wanting her to know, to feel, he
leaned forward a little more, his mouth so close to hers now, her breath a
whisper on his lips.  “You’re not perfect, I’m not perfect, but if we give each
other a chance, we might come pretty close to being the perfect couple.”

“Really?”  Her eyes were so big.

“I, for one, am damned glad those
silly bastards buggered things up with you.”  He kissed her lightly, a gentle
press of lips.  “That means I have you all to myself.”  Another light kiss that
turned a little deeper.

Okay, there was some tongue, but
God, who could blame him when those lush lips parted and all that temptation
was just screaming at him to taste her?

When he drew back she was flushed
and smiling, while he was, it had to be admitted, a little horny.

Shame they were in a café.

“So maybe my yanking down your
daks in fourth grade worked after all?” Tam queried huskily.

“It didn’t get my attention then, but
hell, do it now and see what happens.”

“She yanked down your daks?”

Startled, they both looked up to
see Ernie standing by their table, a plate in each hand and a huge grin on his
face.

Tam slid back into her seat, clearing
her throat and looking anywhere but at Grant.

Grant dropped back into his seat
without a qualm.  “Fourth grade.  Right down.  Never forgot it.”

“You never do.”  Ernie laughed as
he placed the plates on the table.  “Hell, I remember when Cheryl yanked my
daks down, but it wasn’t in fourth grade.  We were dating and-”

“Ernie!” Cheryl barked from the
table she was serving several feet away.

“Oops.”  With a wink, Ernie
hurried away, giving Cheryl’s backside a hearty smack as he passed.

She gasped and swatted out at him
with the tea towel she had over her arm, but Grant didn’t miss the giggle that
escaped her, or her delight.

Smiling, he switched his attention
to Tam.

Now that she’d confided in him, he
sought to relax her more.  “So, when did you start wearing reading glasses?  I
don’t remember you with them in school.”

“Huh?”  She touched a finger to
the glasses on top of her head.  “Oh, I’ve needed them for reading for the last
four years.”  She screwed up her nose.  “Annoying.”

Pulling out his mobile, he flipped
it open.  “Can you put them back on?”

“You want to show me something?” 
She slipped the glasses onto her nose, pushing them up the bridge with her index
finger.

He lifted the pone, sighted her. 
“Smile.”

Startled, she frowned.  “Why?”

“Glasses are sexy.”

“Are you serious?”

“Hell, yeah.  Especially on you.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.  It’s the sexy librarian
look.”  He looked over the mobile, winked.

Her eyes rolled.

“Come on, play with me.”  At her
raised eyebrows, he added, “My fantasy librarian bad girl.  Now tell me, if I was
a bad man who came in with an overdue library book, what would be my
punishment?”

“Make you clean the book shelves.”

“You can do better than that.”  He
watched her expression.  “What if I was a bad man with an overdue library book
who touched your breast?”

She gaped, gasped, and then
started laughing.

Snap!
  Got it.  Lowering
the mobile, he flipped it shut and slid it back into his pocket.

“I think you might be a lech.”  She
took the glasses off, folding the arms and sliding the glasses carefully into
the little case by her purse.

“There’s a lot about me for you to
discover.” He winked.

“Should I be scared?”

“No, but I like a good scare.”  At
her puzzled expression, he added, “Scary movies.  Which reminds me, it’s movie
night at Molly and Kirk’s tonight.”

“Oh yeah.”  She nodded.  “I was invited. 
Shame you’re working.”

“I’m not working.”

“Really?  But Molly said you
were.”

“Molly asked me just this morning
if I was coming, said she wanted to make sure.”

“Really?  How odd.”

They looked at each other.

“You don’t think…”  Tam raised one
eyebrow.

Grant grinned.  “Yeah, I do.”

“I’ll sort her out.”

“Can I watch?”

“I’m not sure what to think of
this unexpected side of you.”