Cherish Hard
Page 56

Ísa had cut off that line of talk before it degenerated any further, but dinner had been interesting to say the least. Even being friends was a complicated matter for Jacqueline and Stefán. Poor Elizabeth Anne Victoria and poor Oliver, both of them with their own personal barracuda they had not a hope in hell of controlling.
Without Ísa, it would’ve been a bloodbath—after which Jacqueline and Stefán would’ve shared a toast and wondered what the fuss was about. As it was, Ísa had made sure no blood was spilled and even her combative parents had appeared to relax under the influence of good wine and food.
Catie and Harlow had had a grand old time talking with their eyes and fighting not to crack up while mouthing “love muffin” when Stefán wasn’t looking, while Oliver had appeared sweetly befuddled until Jacqueline pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then he’d glowed—and Jacqueline had tugged him up into a slow dance in time to “Silent Night.”
As for Trevor, he’d thankfully been nowhere in evidence, this being the year he spent the holidays with his mother’s side of the family. Which Ísa had known when she’d made the dinner plans. She hadn’t been born yesterday. And she did not intend to have Trevor creeping about in her apartment. Ever.
She couldn’t wait to tell Sailor everything, laugh with him over her insane family, and hear about his Christmas in turn, her goofy smile getting wider by the second.
Telling herself to act like an adult, she texted Nayna to ask about the Raj situation. It turned out his family had been invited to the same big fat wedding as Nayna’s family—and he’d had the nerve to come sit right next to Nayna, causing every eyebrow in the place to rise into the owner’s hairline.
Single, unattached men did not sit next to single, unattached women unless there was “something going on.”
And even though Nayna had kicked him under the table and hissed under her breath for him to go away, he’d kept on bringing her chai from the buffet, putting extra sweets onto her plate, and all around acting like a besotted suitor.
“Then he leaves an hour before everyone else and drops me in it.” Nayna had fumed down the phone line yesterday afternoon. “My parents were beaming, the aunties were agog with questions, and I wanted to brain him. It was his revenge for my ‘just want you for your body’ moment, I’m sure of it.”
Ísa had fought not to laugh—the more she heard about Raj, the more she liked him. Nayna needed a man who’d play with her, tease her, cause her shields to fall. As Sailor did with Ísa. Yes, it was dangerous and would hurt a hell of a lot when it ended, but that was a future Ísa was studiously ignoring.
Has he got back in touch? she messaged Nayna.
The evil fiend keeps sending me pictures of his abs and arms and all-around spectacular body. I’m weak. I save the photos.
Laughing, Ísa picked up the phone and called her friend. The resulting chat was hysterical and illuminating: Nayna, it seemed, was falling for Raj despite herself. Maybe as hard as Ísa had fallen for Sailor.
Even hungrier by the time she and Nayna finished their call, Ísa went and grabbed some Chinese takeout, then headed to the first Fast Organic site. Sailor had messaged her to say he’d be working there till full dark, and the summer light was only just beginning to fade by the time she arrived.
His truck was the only one in the lot. Or, she should say, his truck was the only one outside of what had once been the lot. It had been completely dug up, the concrete hauled away.
Ísa was astonished at the speed of it all.
Making her way gingerly through the work site, she noticed the warnings about health and safety and did her best to stay uninjured. The last thing she needed was for the company to be hit with a safety violation because she’d fallen on her face.
“Sailor,” she called out, “where are you?”
“Ísa?” Sailor’s face appeared from around the corner of the building.
Scowling when he saw her trying to make her way through the churned-up dirt where the parking lot had once been, he took off his gloves, then walked over in his heavy work boots. He’d lifted her up and was carrying her and the takeout beyond the danger zone before she’d realized what he intended to do.
Then he leaned in and kissed her in voracious welcome, one rough-skinned hand cupping her cheek. She felt deliciously devoured. It was as if he’d been waiting to kiss her all day, as if she was a drug and he was an addict.
Ísa decided she was quite happy to be Sailor’s personal drug habit.
Only breaking the kiss when they were both breathless, he said, “You’re a sight for sore eyes, spitfire.” A long inhale. “And is that Chinese I smell?”
Toes still curled and cheeks flushed, Ísa pushed the take-out bag at his chest. “Men only want me for the food I bring.”
“Oh, I have other priorities.” He ran his hand down her back and to her rear, squeezing with open appreciation.
“Stop that,” Devil Ísa ordered. “That’s dessert.”
He groaned. “You drive me fucking crazy, Ísalind. And I missed you bad.”
“I missed you too,” Ísa said, not about to play games with him.
He responded with one of those silly, sweet nose kisses that made her stomach drop, before he took her hand and walked her around the side of the building.
Her eyes widened. “Wow, how did you manage all this on your own?” The kitchen garden was marked out by a temporary border, the soil all in place.
“I could pretend to be Superman,” he said, “or I could admit that I asked my brothers and Raj to pitch in. All four of them turned up today. My dad would have too, except that he and my mom drove back to Waikato to see my dad’s parents—my grandfather twisted his ankle last night.”
Maybe that explained the tension Ísa had glimpsed in his gaze when he’d first come around the corner. “Is it a bad injury?”
“No. I think my folks just used it as an excuse to go spend some more time with them.” An affectionate smile. “They’re hoping to talk my grandparents into moving to Auckland, but I don’t know if it’ll happen—those two love the Waikato area.”
Sitting her down on an upturned wooden box that looked to have once held some kind of gardening supplies, Sailor took a seat on a neighboring box. Hooking a third box with his foot and dragging it over, he laid the bag of takeout between them.
Wondering if it was just the stress of work that she’d read on his face, Ísa began to set out the food. “How was your Christmas?”
“Usual mayhem,” he said with a grin. “Danny managed to get hold of a bottle of red wine while no one was looking and decided to see what the fuss was about.” He laughed. “Let’s just say he won’t be going near alcohol again for a while. How was yours?”
When Ísa told him, he laughed so hard that he almost fell off his seat. “Am I your love muffin?” he asked with a grin.
Heart skipping a beat, Ísa replied in the same light vein. “I prefer snookums.” She began to open up the takeout to the sound of his renewed laughter, her own lips tugging up. Being with him just made her so painfully happy. “Are you close to your grandparents?”
“Yep. When I was a kid, I used to spend weeks at a time running wild on their farm back before they downsized.” Accepting the box of fried rice she held out, he said, “You? Close to any grandparents?”