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“No. I know you love the kids. But taking on someone else’s family is a big deal. I wouldn’t blame you for hesitating, given your situation with Lola.”
“Since the odds of anything actually ever happening to you guys is ridiculously small, I’m not going to get too sweaty over it. But you should know that I would do whatever it took to make sure those kids get everything they want and need. As for Lola and the baby...I’d work it out.”
“Good to hear. Thanks, mate. It’s a load off, for sure. I know Jodie will be thrilled to have this all sorted. Assuming, of course, that Vivian is in, too.”
Seth had just taken mouthful of beer and he nearly choked as the meaning of his brother’s words hit home. Because Jason had said “co-guardian,” hadn’t he? Which implied that there was at least one other guardian. And now his brother had mentioned Vivian.
“You’re not seriously thinking of asking Vivian to be guardian, too, are you?” The words were out his mouth before he could think of a better way to phrase his objection.
“Why? You got a problem with Viv?”
“Not with Vivian herself, no. She’s fine—awesome fun—as herself. But as a stand-in mother? Are you sure you’ve really thought this through?”
He didn’t understand how his brother couldn’t see what was so patently clear to him. Vivian was a good-time girl. She’d flitted from career to career for the past ten years, bouncing from the east coast of the U.S. to the west and then back again, rubbing shoulders with celebrities and professional party animals. Jason had regaled Seth with tales of her adventures. And now the guy thought she’d be a reliable substitute for Jodie should the worst happen?
Jason frowned. “She loves the kids. When she was in L.A. she spoke to them once a week on Skype, never fail. And since she’s been back she’s been making up for lost time with them.”
“Right. Until the next shiny, bright thing comes along,” Seth said.
“Viv’s not like that anymore. She’s grown up,” Jason said.
“You need to know that whoever you choose is rock-solid. Utterly reliable. Take it from someone who is dealing with a flaky, unreliable woman every day, it’s a nightmare and you don’t want to be exposing your kids to that kind of uncertainty.” Seth could hear the vehemence in his own tone, but he wasn’t about to apologize for it. This was important.
“I take it you’re having some issues with Lola?” Jason said carefully.
“Yes. Just a few.” It was tempting to spill his guts, but this wasn’t about him and Lola. This was about Sam and Max and doing what was best for them.
“You have my sympathy, but Viv isn’t Lola. How many times have you even been in the same room as Viv over the years anyway? A dozen?”
“Enough to know what I’m talking about.” Enough to know that he knew and understood Vivian far better than Jason ever would. He’d never told his brother about the night of the wedding and those mind-blowing minutes in the limo, and he wasn’t about to now. But as far as he was concerned, that night was the perfect illustration of his worries. Vivian had been having a good time, and she hadn’t stopped for a second to think about what the repercussions of her—their—actions might be. She’d just stripped off her dress and climbed on top because it felt good. From what he’d heard and seen over the years, doing what felt good was her life philosophy. Which was great if you were looking for a hot encounter in the back of a limo, but not so great when you were talking about ferrying kids to soccer practice and worrying about fevers at one o’clock in the morning.
In the back of his head, a voice piped up, pointing out that he’d done all those things in the back of the limo, too, and that he’d pretty much thumbed his nose at convention all his life, lived recklessly, done all the things he’d just accused Vivian of doing, and then some. He ignored it, driven by the anxiety tightening his chest. He couldn’t do anything to alter the situation he was in with Lola, but his brother could definitely dodge this bullet.
He realized that almost every muscle in his body was tense and that he’d shifted to the edge of the chair. The need to reach across the desk and grab his brother by the lapels and shake him until he saw sense was almost impossible to resist.
“I appreciate your concern, but Jodie and I are pretty settled on this,” Jason said evenly.
“Then maybe you need to talk some more. Really think about it.”
“We have thought about it. A lot. That’s why I’m here.” There was a steely note beneath his brother’s words. Despite his calmness, Seth had rattled him.
Good.
It was tempting to push harder, to drive home his point further, but there was a look in his brother’s eyes that told him it was time to back off. He’d issued his warning in the strongest terms possible, done his best to alert his brother to the danger he was courting. The rest was up to him and Jodie.
“As long as you guys are going in with your eyes open. It’s your decision,” Seth said carefully.
“Yeah, it is. Our lawyer will draw up some papers. I’ll get them to you as soon as possible so we can get this wrapped up.”
“Let me know what you need me to do or whatever and I’ll make it happen.”
There was weird vibe in the room. Jason was pissed with him. Well, so be it. If someone had tapped him on the shoulder nine months ago and told him how things were going to pan out with Lola, he would have set a new land-speed record bolting in the other direction. He’d simply given his brother good advice. He wasn’t going to apologize for that fact.
“You want another beer?” he asked.
“Actually, I should probably head home so I can help get the kids into the bath,” Jason said.
“Sure.”
He walked his brother downstairs and through the bar, following him out to the street. They exchanged a little more small talk before Jason headed for the tram stop on the main street.
Seth stood watching him walk away. Then he went inside to prepare for a busy night.
CHAPTER THREE
“WHY DON’T YOU two walking, talking menaces take it outside for five seconds while your mum and I make the magic happen?” Vivian said.
Her two nephews skidded to a halt halfway through their fourth lap of the kitchen island. They’d been circling her and Jodie like electrons around the nucleus of an atom for nearly half an hour now, fueled by excitement and too many gummy snakes in the lead up to Sam’s birthday party this afternoon.
“Are we getting in the way?” Max asked.
“What do you think?” Jodie asked.
“I think we are being superannoying,” Max said, giving his brother a high five.
Vivian tried and failed to hide her amusement.
“Please don’t encourage them. They already think they’re a comedy duo.” Jodie walked to the sliding door and pulled it open. “Outside. Now.”
Sam and Max moaned and groaned but they did as instructed, trudging across the lawn to the play equipment in the corner of the yard as though they’d been sentenced to life imprisonment.
“Poor babies,” Vivian said.
“Oh, yes, their lives are blighted. It’s a wonder they can smile, let alone laugh.” Jodie rolled her eyes.
They resumed work on the salads. Jodie mentioned that she’d caught up with Nell, one of her bridesmaids, the other day, and Vivian heard the CliffsNotes version of the other woman’s divorce. They talked about various school friends as they finished the prep work for the party, then Jason came inside from cleaning the barbecue, covered in black gunk and rust, and Jodie herded him into the laundry room to clean up. Listening to them bicker companionably and watching her nephews race up and down the climbing frame outside, a warm sense of belonging stole over Vivian.
She had loved every second of her time overseas, but there was no denying that it was good to be back. There was something about the clear, far-off blue of the Australian sky and the faint hint of eucalyptus that wafted through even the most suburban of streets on a sunny day and the flat, familiar drawl of the Australian accent that eased a pressure inside her that she hadn’t even known needed comforting. Put simply, this was home, where she belonged, and it felt right and good to be here at this stage in her life.
Her small moment of introspection was broken by the arrival of her parents, loaded down with yet more food and presents for her nephew. The other guests poured in after that, and it wasn’t long before the house and yard were alive with the sound of children playing and adults talking and laughing. Vivian did her best to be useful, circulating with platters of finger food and keeping one eye on the horde of children rampaging around the yard. She was, however, very aware of the fact that her gaze kept darting to the door every time a new guest arrived, and after catching herself doing it for the fifth time she admitted she was waiting for Seth.
It wasn’t a comfortable admission, given their history, but there was no point denying the truth. From the first moment she’d laid eyes on him she’d been aware of him—drawn to him—and apparently time, experience and maturity hadn’t changed that fact. Regardless of whatever else had been going on in her life, she’d always enjoyed matching wits with him at the family events they’d both attended.
That didn’t mean that she wasn’t fully aware of his many, many shortcomings, of course. She’d always known him for what he was—temporary fun—and had managed their relationship accordingly. But she’d be lying to herself if she pretended that she wasn’t looking forward to seeing him today. Especially since she would have the opportunity to tease him about impending fatherhood.
Despite her vigilance, he must have somehow snuck into the party without her noticing, because the next time she scanned the yard to see if there was anything she could do to help her sister, her gaze got caught on a familiar dark-haired figure keeping Jason company by the barbecue.
Seth glanced over his shoulder at almost that exact moment and her heart gave a distinct excited kick as they locked gazes.
Just like old times.
He smiled, the same cocky, confident grin she remembered so well, and she grinned in return, offering him a nod of acknowledgement. It was tempting to weave her way through the crowd to talk to him, but that would be breaking her self-imposed rule where he was concerned. She was allowed to be amused by him, she was even allowed to indulge in a little flirting, but she was not allowed to make him important. Racing to his side the moment he arrived at the party definitely fell under that category.
Instead, she returned to the kitchen, eager to occupy herself handing around more food.
“Go away. You’ve done enough,” Jodie said, shooing her away like a housefly.
“I want to help,” Vivian protested.
“Great. Go and be charming and funny and make sure everyone is having a good time.”
“It’s much easier to hand around a platter of sushi,” Vivian grumbled.
“Why do you think I’m here in the kitchen?” Jodie grabbed a clean wineglass and poured a generous amount of a sémillon sauvignon. “Here.”
Vivian took the glass with good grace and was about to slip through the sliding doors when Jodie called to her.
“Wait. Jason probably needs a beer. Which means you should probably take one for Seth, too.”
Vivian dutifully accepted the two bottles of beer, letting them hang between the fingers of her left hand. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the barbecue.
She could see Jason’s and Seth’s heads above everyone else’s. They were both slightly taller than average, and they always seemed to stand out in a crowd. Seth’s shoulders were broader than Jason’s, though, his hair darker. He was dressed more stylishly, too, in a pair of low-slung jeans and a wrinkled black shirt with cowboy boots, as opposed to his brother’s polo shirt and slightly too loose bright blue jeans—daddy denim, as she and Robin called it.
Her professional self had to give Seth points for figuring out early what suited him and sticking to it. He always looked effortlessly cool, as though he’d slung on the nearest thing when he rolled out of bed and it just happened to be a very hip shirt and the latest in edgy jeans.
“Apparently you two reprobates aren’t capable of looking after your own hydration levels,” she said as she drew closer, causing both Seth and Jason to swing to face her.
“Finally. I was beginning to think Jodie had forgotten me,” Jason said, his eyes lighting up when he saw the beers she was carrying.
“You could have gotten a beer yourself, you know,” she said as she handed one of the bottles over.
“And leave my sacred post at the barbecue? What sort of heresy have they been teaching you over in the U.S.?” Jason said.
Finally Vivian allowed herself to look at Seth. He was watching her with lazy approval, his gaze sliding over her face before dropping to her body.
“Looking good, Viv,” he said. “As always.”
She was suddenly very aware of the warm sun on her face and how cool and slippery the bottle was as she passed it to him.
“High praise from a connoisseur like yourself, Seth. Thank you.”
His mouth kicked up at the corner at her dry tone. “And she comes out fighting.”
“Self-defense. As always.”
He glanced at the beer label. “I take it there were no Peronis?”
“I don’t know. Would you like me to race back and check for you?”
He offered her the beer. “You’re a champ.”
She let the bottle hang between them, her smile becoming a grin. He knew she wasn’t going to scamper off to fetch him his preferred brand of beer, and she knew that he loved suggesting that she might.
All part of the game.
“Better drink that while it’s still cold.” She took a mouthful of wine. “Might be the only one you get.”
He laughed. “You haven’t changed much.”
“Neither have you.” It had been two years since they’d last seen each other, and any changes in his appearance had all been in his favor as far as she could see. There were new lines around his eyes and mouth, but they only served to underscore the rugged handsomeness of his face. He’d been good-looking when he was younger, but now he was truly a man, and it showed in the hard, slightly cynical light in his eyes and the density of the two days’ worth of scruff shadowing his jaw. He seemed more comfortable in his own body, too, as though he’d settled more deeply into his own skin.
“Jason tells me you’re back for good this time?”
She couldn’t help but register the skeptical note in his voice.
“A friend and I have started a business together. We’ve got a studio in West Melbourne.”
He looked surprised. “Yeah? So you really have given up all that la-la-land stuff?”
“That’s right. How about you? A little birdie tells me you’re running a bar somewhere suitably grungy.”
“Collingwood. And I own the place.” His tone told her he was aware she’d been taking a retaliatory shot.
“The same little birdie tells me that congratulations are in order.” She raised her glass. “Here’s to becoming a daddy.”
He snorted his amusement. “Go ahead, get your digs in while you can. Everyone else has.”
“Have they?” She glanced at Jason, who shrugged apologetically.
“You’ve got to admit, it’s pretty ironic. Considering.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Seth had always been a walking, talking poster boy for an unencumbered, live-for-the-moment lifestyle.
“So have you swapped that little car you used to drive for an SUV yet?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“You should probably get onto that,” Jason said. “Not much room in that Audi TT for anything.”
“It’s a baby, not a refrigerator,” Seth said.
“Still. You’re going to need to haul a lot of stuff around,” Vivian said. “Diaper bag, pram, portable cot, baby seat... You might even need to get a wagon.”
“Enjoying yourself?”
She pretended to consider. “You know, I am. Is that wrong?”
Jason laughed. Seth gave him a sardonic look.
