And for a single moment in time I forgot. I forgot we were in trouble and hiding for our lives. I forgot all the mistakes I have made and the tragic consequences they brought. I forgot a sexy, mysterious police detective wanted more from me than I could possible afford to give.
I just forgot.
And it was, perhaps, the single most wonderful moment of my life.
Chapter 9
Let's Have A Heart To Heart, Shall We?
Stars began to twinkle into sight across an indigo fading sky, as crickets announced the onset of twilight. Dinner had been delicious and relaxed, and filled with laughter and a surprising - for me - amount of comfort. Abi, Ben and Kelly had included us in their circle of friends as though we belonged there, even if it was just for a few days.
The first few notes of Guns N' Roses' Paradise City started to play on the stereo from inside the house where Ben had disappeared to. Gently wafting out the windows and open door, adding to the atmosphere, and relaxing me further into my seat. Abi started to chuckle as soon as she recognised the song.
"Guns N' Roses, Ben? Really?" she called out over her shoulder and then swigged from her beer bottle with a small knowing grin on her face.
"Guns N' Roses, Red. And lots of 'em," came Ben's muffled reply from inside the house.
"What's wrong with Guns N' Roses?" Kelly asked, from her position on a lounger, Daisy sitting between her legs as she carefully brushed her pigtails out. Despite having had an afternoon nap, the gentle, rhythmic stroking of the brush through her hair, was making Daisy's lids droop.
"Nothing," Abi replied. "Nothing at all. Especially late at night when we're lying in bed and Ben sings Sweet Child O' Mine in my ear."
A smile curved my lips at the cute image, which was soon wiped away by shock at Kelly's words.
"Oh yeah, I bet you were just lying there doing nothing listening to his sexy, rumbling voice when he was crooning, 'Sweet lover o' mine.'"
"It's "'Sweet love o' mine,'" Abi corrected, just as Daisy said in a sleepy voice, "What's a lover?"
"Yeah, Kels?" Abi asked, innocently. "What's a lover?"
"OK, sleepyhead," I interrupted. "Time for bed."
"Awww," Daisy grumbled, but clambered off Kelly's lounger and slipped her hand into mine without further complaint.
She mumbled a goodnight to both women and as we headed indoors I heard Kelly say, "Are all kids that well behaved or is Daisy an exception to the rule?"
"You keen to find out?" Abi asked.
"Fuck off!" Kelly shot back, which segued into a yelp as Abi threw something at her.
I didn't hear the rest of Abi's reprimand, which thankfully meant Daisy didn't either. Ten minutes later, having completed a round of Daisy Bell and a made up bedtime story, I left Daisy gently snoring and returned to the deck. Ben was back, sipping a bottle of beer, which I thought might just have been the same one he'd been nursing for the past hour.
And the girls had opened a bottle of tequila.
"Tequila time!" Kelly declared, passing a shot over to me as Abi lined up cut wedges of limes and a salt shaker.
Ben made a grunting sound and placed his beer bottle down, accepting a shot from Kelly when she handed it to him.
"Should we be getting tipsy right now?" I asked, feeling a little unsettled that McLaren's tattooed goon could take advantage of us when we were under the influence of alcohol.
"Tipsy," Kelly snorted, but Abi interrupted her next words.
"Ben's hardly had a thing to drink, Marie and besides, ASI are keeping an eye on things."
"ASI?" I prompted.
"Anscombe Securities and Investigations," Ben offered, downing his tequila with a grimace. He didn't bother with the lime or salt. "We work for them. Didn't Pierce mention this place is under electronic surveillance?"
I frowned, staring at my shot glass. "He mentioned Anscombe Securities and Investigations, but nothing else."
Kelly chortled. "That'd be Pierce. Ever the silent type."
"And so we segue into the 'cataloguing physical attributes' part of the evening," Abi slurred slightly.
"Jesus, Red. How many shots have you had already?"
"Not nearly enough, lover o' mine," she threw back, spilling tequila over the side of her shot glass as she attempted to refill it.
"Fuck me," muttered Ben in return and took a swig of his beer to hide his amusement. "You better hurry up, Marie. The terrible twins are out drinking you by a mile."
Kelly slammed her shot glass down on the table and let out a very unladylike burp. "'Scuse me!" she exclaimed.
"And you wonder why you can't keep a man?" Abi offered with a smothered hiccup.
"I can keep 'em," Kelly replied. "But then I'd be stuck with 'em. No fun in that."