Short Soup (2 page)

A strange expression flitted over his face, one she couldn’t interpret.

“I’m great.” He sucked in a breath, his T-shirt stretching tight across his chest. “I’ve just got a lot of things on my mind.” He slung the towel over his shoulder. “I need a shower. You coming?”

For a split second she had a powerful visual of Dion in the shower, water cascading over his tanned, naked body. She blushed furiously. Jeez, how inappropriate could she get? Dion was practically her cousin, and you didn’t mentally undress your cousin. It was too … bizarre.

Hurriedly she spun away, hiding her hot face behind a curtain of hair. “Yes, I should get going or my mum will start ringing.” She began to walk back to the stairs, Dion following close behind. “Um, I’ll see you soon.”

“Tonight, to be precise.”

“Oh?” She swung round. She hadn’t realised how close he was. He bumped into her, the solidness of his chest surprising her.

He hissed out a breath, took a quick step back. “Yup, your, er, mum invited us over for dinner.”

The front of her torso was still tingling from the brief contact with his body. What was the matter with her? Low blood sugar? PMS? Post-divorce craziness? She had to get out of here before she made a complete fool of herself.

“Right, right. Okay. See you tonight.”

Glaring sunshine poured over her as she scrambled up the wooden stairs. The back of her neck was sticky, but somehow she didn’t think that was entirely due to the air temperature.

Dion stared after Toni as she hurried up the stairs to her car. His gaze was glued to the tantalising sight of her thighs flashing beneath the short hem of her dress. Damn, she had sexy legs. And a luscious bottom. Did she know what an eyeful she was giving him from this angle? Probably not. Toni had never been a flirt.

Sunlight glinted off her blue-black hair. Her hair was like a midnight waterfall, shiny and immaculate. Probably cost a fortune to maintain. She looked a million dollars, despite her divorce … or maybe because of it. Her figure had rounded out, become more attractive, if that was possible. He stared after her until his eyeballs hurt. Eventually she disappeared from sight, and a few moments later he heard a car pulling off. Only then did he realise he’d been holding his breath. He exhaled, rubbing the dull ache in the centre of his chest.

Well, that could have gone better. How could he be so dumbstruck in front of such an old friend? This was Toni, for chrissakes. They’d shared baths when they were toddlers, discussed pimple creams when they were teenagers, argued over music and TV, seen each other almost every day for the first eighteen years of their lives. But everything was different now. He was different. For the first time in his life he was nervous around a woman.

Scowling, he tramped up the wooden stairs, his bare soles slapping on the rough boards. His SUV was parked a short distance up the road. He got in and pulled off in a flurry of gravel.

Trouble was, he didn’t know how to act around Toni any more. Until the end of high school he’d taken her for granted. She was just a part of his life, always there, like his right arm. Then she’d left. With her drive and academic smarts it was a given she’d go to university. Everyone expected her to succeed, including him. While she went off to Sydney uni, he’d stayed behind in Piper Bay, doing what he did best which was not to take life too seriously.

When had he come to realise what a gaping hole she’d left in his life? Was it before or after his big blow up with his dad? He couldn’t even label the emotion he’d felt every time he thought of her. Even now he couldn’t. Those few minutes with her on the beach had been all kinds of things – terrific, terrifying, and miserable all at the same time. When her face had clouded over at the mention of her ex, he’d felt so furious and hamstrung. Furious that someone had hurt her so badly; hamstrung because he couldn’t act on his instincts – which were to pull her into his arms, stroke her hair, and tell her everything was going to be all right. Nick had screwed her over, but at least the bastard was out of the picture now. Maybe now Toni would finally begin to notice him, not as a platonic friend, but as a man.

He definitely wanted more than friendship. He wanted to hold her close and smell her hair. Wanted to slide his hands over those tasty legs of hers, pull off that dress and get down and dirty with her. Wanted it more than ever after bumping into her near the stairs. The memory of her breasts squishing against his chest brought the heat seething through his body.

He pulled up in his driveway and jumped out the car. What was wrong with him? Five minutes with his childhood buddy and his brain was a mess. Where was his cool? Sure, he’d carried a yen for Toni for too long, but that was no excuse to lose it with her. She was here for a few days only. She’d split with her husband. And this was the worst time for him to become distracted. The relaunch of the restaurant was his golden opportunity to finally prove himself to his dad. No time to fool around with a woman, especially one in a vulnerable state like Toni. He’d just have to bring his balls into line. Keep things light between himself and Toni. Be the easy-going guy she’d always known.

And maybe a cold shower wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

As he hustled into his house, the phone started to ring.

“Where are you?” his dad grumbled as soon as he picked up the call. “I’m at the restaurant. Why aren’t you?”

Dion sucked in his stomach. His father wasn’t supposed to be at the restaurant. The entire relaunch was meant to be Dion’s baby, but of course his dad couldn’t help himself interfering. “I’m just going to take a shower and I’ll be right over,” Dion said evenly.

His dad snorted. “So much work to do and you taking shower? How you going to be ready tomorrow?”

Dion gritted his teeth. “Dad, it’s my responsibility. Let me handle it.”

“I don’t know if you’re ready.”

“Dad, just give me a proper chance, why don’t you? I won’t let you down.”

His father groused further, but eventually hung up. Dion tilted back his head and let out a deep sigh. He stood for a while, flexing his toes against the cool floorboards, his thoughts returning compulsively to Toni despite his best intentions. He should focus on the restaurant and forget about Toni for a while. But he knew he couldn’t. After all these years she was back, and available.

Blood thumped in his veins. He exhaled a long breath. Somehow he didn’t think the cold shower would do it for him.

“Aiya, you too thin. Sit down. I make you something to eat.”

A lump lodged in Toni’s throat. Trust her mum to greet her as if nothing had happened. She gave her mum another hug. At sixty-five Pearl Lau was as energetic as ever, her hair still defiantly permed and coloured. She was dressed in her usual outfit of polyester slacks – beige because of the season – and bright floral top, covered by a blue and white checked pinafore. A heavy jade bracelet weighed on her reed-thin wrist.

The sight of her mother’s fragile wrist thickened the lump in Toni’s throat. “Mum, are you okay?”

“Of course, of course.” Pearl bustled around her kitchen, pulling things out of the fridge. “What you want to eat? You want me to make short soup? I got some nice wonton here. It’s for tonight, but I can steal a few for you.”

“Actually, I’m not very hungry.”

Pearl shot her a frown over the open fridge door. “You eat McDonald’s already? That’s not proper food.”

“No, I’m just not hungry. I’d love a cup of tea, though.” She slid into a chair at the Formica table while her mother put on the kettle. A small vase on the table held a posy of plastic flowers. The kitchen floor looked like it had been mopped twice over that day. Her parents’ modest three-bedroom ranch-style house screamed seventies – aluminium sliding windows, exposed brickwork, slate floors. It had barely changed since she was born. Even those plastic flowers were the same. “Where’s Dad?” Toni asked.

“Buying wine.”

Toni wrinkled her forehead. “Rice wine?”

“No, char-do-nay wine. For you, for tonight. Margaret River Chardonnay. It’s your favourite wine. You said so last time you were here.” Her mother busied herself making the tea and pulling out mugs and milk.

Nick had taught her about wine, as he had so many other things. His father was a banker, his mother an interior designer, and Nick had grown up in a sophisticated, cosmopolitan environment – whereas she had arrived at university green, impressionable, and keen to absorb everything. Nick had said her naivety was adorable, but he’d also taken pleasure in teaching her the “proper” way to do things. He’d instructed her how to dress, drink wine, discuss politics, please him in bed – and she’d been a willing student, eager for his praise for her “improvements”.

“I only said I liked that wine because of Nick,” she said. Now, it nauseated her to remember how enthralled she’d been with him.

“You don’t like chardonnay?”

“Uh, it’s okay,” she replied. Her father was buying the wine to cheer her up, but she didn’t have the heart to confess she hated the stuff nowadays.

Four years ago she and Nick had spent the weekend here at Piper Bay, just before they’d left for London. The details of the visit were a blur now, but she could remember the roller coaster feeling inside her stomach, that sensation of teetering between euphoria and despair. All weekend she’d clung to Nick’s side, laughing at his jokes, anxious to please him, desperate to act as a buffer between him and her parents. She’d been so bright and chirpy, but underneath the shiny veneer had lurked a fear that everything was slipping from her grasp. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, the warning signs of that last trip were obvious. The more she’d cleaved to Nick, the more he’d withdrawn from her. Maybe seeing her in her home setting had put him off. Maybe he was tired of her clinginess. Maybe he’d already stopped loving her then.

“Oh, Mum,” she found herself choking. “What a mess I’ve made.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Her mother grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it hard. Toni blinked fiercely until the blurriness faded from her eyes. She’d shed enough tears over Nick. He wasn’t worth it. She made herself sit straighter as her mother’s fingers tightened like a nutcracker around hers.

“Thanks.” Toni swiped away the last remaining moisture from her eyelashes.

Pearl muttered an expletive in Cantonese. Toni stared at her. It was the first time she’d ever heard her mother swear in any language.

Her mother jutted out her chin. “I always know he wasn’t right for you.”

“You never said anything like that. You said you liked Nick.”

Pearl clicked her tongue as she pushed a mug of tea towards Toni. “Of course I say that. I’m your mother.”

Toni took a sip of tea then thunked the mug down on the table, causing a drop of tea to spill out. “So tell me how you knew he wasn’t right for me. Is it because he’s not Asian? Is that it?”

Her mother rose, collected a damp cloth from the sink and cleaned up the spilt tea. “That got nothing to do with it,” she answered. “You never go out with Chinese boy. I never say anything.”

That was true, Toni conceded. Her mother had told her off for plenty of things but never for failing to bring home a Chinese boy. Things were different now, but during her
childhood Piper Bay had been ninety per cent Anglo-Saxon. The Happy Palace had been the only Asian restaurant in the place. At school she and Dion had been the only Asians in their class year. Her pragmatic mother had probably realised long ago there was very little choice in the matter.

“So what, then?” Toni doggedly persisted. It didn’t make any difference now, but she wanted to know what her mother had thought all along.

Pursing her lips, Pearl continued to wipe the already pristine table. “You too anxious to make him happy. He not anxious enough. Marriage is give and take, but you give too much and Nick take too much. How can you be happy together?”

Toni opened her mouth to protest, but the dull ache in her chest told her her mother was right. Hadn’t she already felt that imbalance in their relationship during their last visit here? She lifted the mug, but her hand was shaking too much and she was forced to lower it.

Her mother leaned forward, pressing her hand on the table to emphasise her point. “You make mistake marrying Nick, but you still young. Now you have another chance, you pick better this time.”

“Mum, I’ve only just got divorced. I don’t want to pick anyone!”

“You change your mind soon.”

Toni pushed out her lower lip. “Not soon. Not for a very long time.”

Her mother heaved a sigh. “Look at me. I’m not spring chicken any more. I’m waiting for grandchildren, just like your Aunt Queenie.”

Toni frowned. Aunt Queenie was Dion’s mum. Not technically her aunt, but as close as any real relative. Queenie and Pearl were the same age. In their late thirties they’d both been childless and had more or less given up hope of ever being mothers, until a relative had sent Queenie a packet of evil-smelling Chinese herbs. Within a year she’d fallen pregnant, and six months later so had Pearl. The story of their miracle births had been related to Toni and Dion ad infinitum.

“I’m sure Dion won’t disappoint his mum,” Toni said. “He’s always got some girlfriend hanging off his arm.”

“Not any more. He’s too busy with the restaurant. No time for girls.”

No time for girls? An image of Dion drifted into her mind – his taut biceps and muscled legs, his warm brown eyes and white teeth. All that hunkiness going to waste. Such a shame. Wait, what was she thinking? She nipped the inside of her cheek but couldn’t stop her train of thought. Dion had always liked women. A lot. She couldn’t believe he had no time for girls.

“That can’t be right,” she said. “Maybe he’s hiding a girlfriend from you and Aunt Queenie, just to avoid your inquisitive questions.”

Pearl’s jaw dropped. “He wouldn’t do that, aiya! Not Dion.”

Toni almost rolled her eyes. For as long as she could remember Dion had been the golden boy to her mother and Aunt Queenie. In their eyes he could do no wrong.

“No, he’s very busy at the restaurant.” Grabbing the empty mugs, Pearl began to wash them up at the sink. She hated having dirty crockery around the place. Toni got up to help her, but Pearl waved her back to her seat. “Dion got big plans for that place. You see it tomorrow. Lots of people coming to the party. Dion prepare all the food himself. He’s good cook. Almost better than me.”