‘When should we tell him?’
‘Soon. I can do it one on one, or we can do it together. Whatever you think is best.’
‘Together,’ she says firmly.
‘Okay.’
‘So, this is happening.’ She blinks, looking perplexed. ‘We’re together.’
‘Yeah.’ I nod. ‘Finally.’
‘Finally,’ she agrees with a soft smile.
Capturing her face between my hands, I kiss her. Long and slow, savouring her taste, exploring her mouth. Every time we’ve been together, it’s been a frenzy of touching and kissing in a rush, like we’re about to get caught and time is running out. But now, I know I have all the time in the world.
Anya’s phone rings, startling us, and we break apart, a breathless mess. With one last heated look, she turns, pulling herself out of the pool. I slap my hand against her ass as she does, and she lets out a squeal when my hand smacks against her bare cheek.
‘Hi, Mum,’ she says, still sounding out of breath. She reaches for her towel and awkwardly wraps it around herself one-handed, as she tries to hold her phone to her ear in a way it won’t get wet. ‘What? Slow down.’ She pauses, looking over to me in panic. ‘What? I can’t understand you.’
Paddling over to the steps, I hurry out of the pool and start towelling off, watching Anya’s face as her eyes widen, her hand flying to her mouth.
‘Oh my God ...’ She trails off, and my stomach clenches in worry. ‘Of course. Of course, we’ll go. I’m so sorry, Ma ... I have no words. Send me the details of where I need to go.’
I hear the front door open, stealing my focus. Zayden wanders inside, his hair messy, his sunglasses still on. He pulls them off, hooking them on the front of his shirt. He strolls out to us, raising a brow, sensing Anya’s stress.
She hangs up the phone, all the colour drained from her face. ‘Rod’s been in an accident,’ she whispers. ‘A really bad accident.’
I look at Zayden. His face is impassive as he stares at his sister.
‘Some scaffolding collapsed, and the four men on it were crushed. They’re trying to identify who’s been killed, since there’s no record of who was up there at the time.’
Rod works a few hours away for weeks at a time. I used to love it when it was just Anya, Zayden and their mum at the house. It always seemed so much more relaxed.
‘Is he alive?’ Zayden asks, voice cold and emotionless.
She shakes her head. ‘If it’s him, then no. No one can get a hold of him.’
‘Dental records will tell them who’s who,’ Zayden says, speaking clipped and matter-of-factly, as if he actually knows what the hell he is talking about.
She stares at Zayden, waiting for him to say something, but he doesn’t. ‘They need a family member to identify him, and Mum is still on her cruise. She’s in the middle of the ocean right now. I said we’ll go.’
Zayden’s jaw tenses. ‘No.’
She jerks back like he slapped her. ‘No?’
‘No,’ Zayden repeats. ‘I’m not going.’
Her mouth opens, shuts, and then opens again, but no words come out.
‘Zay,’ I say softly.
‘I’m not going,’ he says firmly, folding his arms across his chest. He stares unflinchingly at me before swinging his hard stare back to Anya.
Her lower lip trembles, and moisture gathers in her eyes. ‘Why the hell not?’ she whispers, looking bewildered.
‘I want nothing to do with him or Mum,’ Zayden says.
‘Whatever is going on between you, don’t you think that can be put aside right now? He may havedied.’
