confession under the onslaught of too many lagers had now come back to bite him on the butt.
He forced a laugh, aiming for casual. ‘Turns out my online marketing manager is Callie. Had no idea ’til we met in Melbourne to tee up the surf school campaign. She’s here to work for the week—made sense she came to the wedding as my date. Nothing more to it.’
Archer took a slug of beer after his spiel, wondering who he was trying to convince—himself or Tom.
Yesterday had been tough. Hell, it had been sheer torture, watching Callie come alive as she sketched out ideas, seeing her glow as he approved an early pro forma, seeing glimpses of the vibrant woman he’d once lost his head over many years ago.
Sadly she reserved her enthusiasm for work only. Following that impulsive kiss on the beach she’d reverted to coolly polite and casually friendly.
She might have ditched her initial antagonism, but an invisible barrier between them was still there—one he had no hope of breaching considering how things had ended between them.
Correction: how he’d ended things between them.
He didn’t blame her for being wary. But late last night, with the woman he’d once been crazy for sleeping in the room next door and insomnia plaguing him, he’d wished they could recapture half the easy-going camaraderie they’d once shared.
He only had a week to get this surf school campaign up and running before he flew out to Hawaii for Christmas Day, so realistically he couldn’t afford to stuff around.
He knew what he was doing. Flirting with her as a deliberate tactic to distract himself from the stress of being home and having to deal with his family. It was a distancing technique he’d honed with other dates before her. But none had affected him as much as Callie.
He’d deliberately kept things between them light-hearted and work-focussed, but what would happen if he ratcheted up the heat? Would she release some of that new reserve she carried around like an invisible cloak and resurrect the passion they’d once shared?
Tom pointed his beer in Archer’s direction. ‘The fact she’s the first woman you’ve ever brought here speaks volumes.’
‘It was convenient for work, that’s all.’
‘Yeah, keep telling yourself that.’
Or course Callie chose that moment to hustle through the back door, wind-tousled and pink-cheeked and utterly delectable.
‘Hey, Arch, there’s a car out front—’ She caught sight of Tom and stopped, her eyes widening, before she crossed the kitchen and held out her hand. ‘You’re a much better-looking version of Archer, so you must be a Flett too.’
Tom laughed as he shook her hand. ‘I like her already,’ he said, while Archer shot him a filthy look.
‘Callie, meet my older brother, Tom.’
A playful smile teased the corners of her mouth as she glanced up at Tom—a smile she hadn’t shot him once since they’d arrived.
‘Pleased to meet you.’
Something painful twisted in his chest at the way she lit up in the way she’d once used to light up around him.
‘Come meet his daughter—and Trav, the groom.’
Tom’s goofy grin proved what he already knew: he sounded like an uptight ass.
‘You have a little girl? That’s great,’ Callie said, falling into step beside Tom while Archer brought up the rear, hating himself for feeling petty and out of sorts that Callie had lightened up for the first time since yesterday because of his brother.
‘Hey, another girl. Awesome.’
Izzy flew at Callie and a strange, unidentifiable feeling swamped him as he watched his niece hug her, spontaneously and without reserve, the way he’d wished Iz had hugged him when he’d first opened the door.
Unfazed, Callie led Izzy back to the chessboard, where she shook hands with Trav, whose goofy grin matched Tom’s.
Great—two Flett males she’d slayed. He couldn’t wait until she met his dad.
Three.
The number popped into his head.
Three Flett males she’d slayed, including him. No matter how many times he denied it, the fact remained: Callie was the kind of woman who could have an impact on a guy.
An unforgettable impact, considering the schmuck he turned into around her.
When he finally tore his gaze away from the captivating sight of Callie giggling alongside Izzy, Tom’s smug smirk greeted him.
‘So tell me. What did an amazing woman like that see in a putz like you? And why the hell did you let her go?’
Did.
Past tense.
Having his brother verbalise what he’d been wondering himself since reconnecting with her ticked him off more than the uncertainty plaguing him.
This week was about work and familial obligation, before he fled back to the life he liked. If a little light-hearted flirtation with Callie made it more bearable, so be it.
He hadn’t banked on this restlessness, this annoying feeling that he was missing out on something by making the lifestyle choices he had. Worse, having his brother articulate it.
‘Leave it alone,’ he muttered under his breath, garnering a broader grin from Tom.
‘You know I’m the last person to believe in all that romance crap, considering the number Tracy did on me, but have you ever considered this coincidence of her coming back into your life might mean something?’
Archer stared at his brother in amazement. Tom had given up his dreams to turn pro for Tracy, a local surf groupie who’d deliberately got pregnant to snare her man. Tom had foregone his dream to marry Tracy, stay in Torquay and raise Izzy.
Ironically, Tracy had been the one to take off a year into the marriage, leaving Tom with a toddler and a nagging bitterness.
Tom didn’t believe in happily-ever-afters, so the fact he’d mentioned the word romance and alluded to fate alerted Archer to how badly he must be making a fool of himself.
‘You’ve been spending too much time reading Izzy’s fairytales, mate.’ His gruff response came out as a snarl, and he immediately realised his reaction had increased rather than eased Tom’s suspicions.
Tom held up his hands. ‘Just voicing an impartial opinion. No need to get your tether rope in a knot.’
Callie pumped her fists in the air and shimmied her shoulders as Trav made a disastrous move with his queen. Izzy cheered and Callie joined in, her vivacity flooring him in a way he’d never expected.
She’d been so focussed yesterday, concentrating on business and little else. He’d forgotten she could be like this: funny and vibrant and cute.
Well,
