was her oldest and best friend’s favourite way to blow off steam.
‘But she has to have a makeover first. I wouldn’t be seen with her with that hair!’ Daniel added.
‘Hey!’ Lu protested.
‘Haircut, highlights and a makeover,’ Daniel stated, and Lu glared at him. ‘As Mak has said, more than once, that hair of yours is a disgrace: much better suited to a prissy librarian who doesn’t curse, drink wine and who has never had a Big O in her life.’
Well, that sounded like her. Not the wine and the cursing part, but the Big O was definitely true. Could she be so damn emotional because she was sexually frustrated? It would be easy to shift the blame, but the truth was that sex had been scarce—OK, practically non-existent—for most of this past decade, so she couldn’t blame her weeping on that.
Empty Nest Syndrome: two. Lu: nil.
And when had her brothers become old enough to mention her orgasms—or lack of them—anyway?
Nate leaned back and put his ankle on his knee. ‘But, Lu, more important than anything else...you should get a job.’
Dan shook his head. ‘Not that she uses any of it, but there is enough money coming in from the trust. She doesn’t have to work if she doesn’t want to.’
No, she didn’t... If she could bring herself to use the money for anything other than the essentials that kept body and soul together. She had never felt comfortable using her parents’ money for anything other than food, shelter and transport.
His brother sent him a you’re-a-moron look. ‘Not for the money, dude. Because it’s something to...to get her teeth into.’
‘Oh, right. Good point.’
Lu lifted her fingers and started to tick their demands off. ‘So, you two think that if I find a job, go clubbing, have a makeover, learn how to surf—’
‘And skydive,’ Nate interjected.
‘Dream on.’ Lu glared at him and continued. ‘Go to pottery and dance lessons then I won’t have time to mope?’
Two blond heads nodded to some internal twin beat.
Lu stared past their car down the driveway. The thing was they could be right. The distraction of getting out and about might keep her from going off her head worrying about them. It wasn’t a bad idea.
Lu nodded slowly. ‘I’ll think about it.’
‘Promise you’ll do it.’ Nate insisted.
‘I promise to think about it.’
‘If you do it, we promise to come home in three months’ time,’ Nate said slyly.
‘You’re blackmailing me with a promise to come home?’ Lu’s mouth dropped open. ‘You little snot!’
Nate just grinned and looked at his watch. ‘We need to get going, Lu.’
She couldn’t bear it. She really couldn’t. She struggled to find the words and when she did they were muffled with emotion. ‘Call me when you get there. Drive carefully.’
Nate pulled her up, cuddled her, and easily lifted her off her feet before placing a kiss on her cheek. ‘Love ya, sis.’
When Nate released her, Daniel held her close. ‘Take care of yourself. Have fun. Please, please have some fun,’ he told her. Daniel let her go and hopped into the passenger seat. ‘We’ll call you when we get there.’
Lu nodded, touched Daniel’s arm resting on the windowsill of the car and blew Nate a kiss.
Her boys...driving off to start their new life...
Lu watched their car turn into the road and sat down on the stairs, holding her face in her hands as she watched her two chicks fly from her very large and now very empty nest.
They would be fine, she assured herself. As for herself...she wasn’t quite sure.
* * *
Two weeks later, in the VIP area of Go! on a very busy Friday night, Will Scott placed his elbows on the railing and looked down at the gyrating masses below him. It was nearly midnight and he’d been thinking about leaving the club for the past half-hour. He could walk down the block to the boutique hotel he’d booked into two days ago and in fifteen minutes could be face-down on the monstrous double bed.
That sounded like heaven.
Will felt someone lean on the railing next to him and looked into the battered face of his best friend Kelby, CEO of the Stingrays rugby franchise, who was also his boss for the next three months. Panic swirled in his gut at the thought.
‘How is Carter?’ Will asked.
The iconic and surly head coach of the Rays had suffered a heart attack a month back, and as the rugby season was fast approaching the team had been left rudderless without a coach.
‘Still in hospital. Still doing tests. They’re talking about a bypass,’ Kelby replied. ‘He said to tell you not to mess it up.’
If it was anyone other than Kelby Will would never utter the words he was about to say.
‘The chances are good that I will.’ Will rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I really don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, Kels. This isn’t some little local team I’ll be caretaker coach of. It’s one of the top teams in the premier rugby playing world.’
‘It is,’ Kelby agreed easily. ‘So?’
‘So I’m thirty-four years old, not old enough to be a coach, and I have no experience at all! I only retired from international rugby last season and I don’t want to muck it up!’ Will retorted, shoving his hand into his dark brown hair.
Kelby placed his bottle of beer on a high table and sent him a penetrating look. ‘It’s strange to see you even marginally unhinged. You are probably the calmest, most confident person I know.’
‘I don’t feel too confident at the moment,’ Will admitted.
‘You’ve been unofficial coach of every team you’ve ever played for.’ Kelby replied, his smile wide. ‘I remember that first practice you attended as an eighteen-year-old. You were so full of Kiwi confidence that you told—who was it?—that he was breaking from the scrum too soon.’
Will dropped his head in embarrassment. He’d chirped the then Captain of the England squad and his big mouth had propelled him into a series of initiations by the older players that had quickly taught him to keep his head down and his mouth closed. But Kelby did have a point. Even early in his career he’d had an affinity for telling people what to do.
Rugby was as natural to him as breathing...but coaching? He was a player, not a technician. Kelby kept telling him that he had the assistant coaches for that side of things—a support team who were employed to deal with the technical aspects. His job was to train, to motivate, to strategise, to inspire and to lead. To get results and to win.
But, hey,
