'I can do the basics. My mum worked long hours too, so I had to fend for myself a fair bit.' She swallowed down the guilt that curled in her stomach whenever she thought about her mother. 'I can do a basic pasta … salads. That kind of thing.'
'What does your mother do?'
'She's a cleaner.' Chantal bit down on her lip, wishing the memories weren't still so vivid. 'I don't think she's ever worked less than two jobs her whole life.'
His eyes softened. Damn him. She didn't want his sympathy.
'What about your dad?'
'He left when I was ten.' She shrugged, stabbing her fork at a lettuce leaf more forcefully than she needed to.
'Siblings?'
'None. Probably sounds strange to someone with such a big family.' Good-turn the conversation back to him.
'Yep-four sisters and never a moment of peace.'
She envied the contented smile on his lips. It was obvious his family was important to him. She'd bet they would be close, despite his father's absence. The kind of family who had big, raucous Christmas gatherings and loads of funny traditions. So different from her. They'd been so poor at one point that her mother had wrapped her Christmas present-a Barbie doll from the local second-hand shop-in week-old newspaper. The memory stabbed at her heart, scything through the softest part of her. The part she kept under lock and key.
'It drove me nuts, growing up,' he continued. 'But I became amazingly proficient at hair braids and reading bedtime stories.'
Her stomach churned. 'You'll make a great dad one day.'
A dark shadow passed over his face. The wall dropped down in front of him so fast and so resolutely that Chantal wondered what she'd said. A sardonic smile twitched the corner of his lips. Okay, so there were some things that put Brodie in a bad mood.
'I don't want the white-picket-fence deal.' He drained the rest of his wine and reached for the bottle to empty the remaining contents into his glass. 'Marriage, kids, pets … not for me. I've got enough responsibility now.'
'Cheers to that.' They clinked glasses again.
He quirked a brow. 'But you got married.'
'Just because I did it once it doesn't mean I'll do it again.' Her cheeks burned. 'That debacle is over for good.'
The wine had loosened her limbs a little, and it seemed her tongue as well. She probably shouldn't have accepted the shot of whisky one of the other dancers had offered her before she went onstage. But she'd so desperately needed Dutch courage to force her back onstage.
'Sounds like there's a story there.'
'Maybe.' She shrugged.
Could she claw back her words? Brodie didn't need to see the ugly bits of her life … especially not after she'd gone to such efforts to hide them. Then again, did it really matter?
'I've seen you naked, remember.' He grinned.
How could she possibly forget?
'No point keeping secrets from me now.'
She took a deep breath and decided to throw caution to the wind. After all, he knew her most devastating secret: that her career had turned to crap. What harm could another failure do if it was out in the open?
'The short version is that I was young, naive and I married the wrong guy.'
'And the full version?'
'I married my agent,' she said, rolling her eyes and taking another sip of her wine. 'What a bloody cliché. He seemed so worldly, and I was a wide-eyed baby. We met a month after I left Weeping Reef, and he promised he'd make me a star. He did-for a while-but then he started treating me like his student rather than his wife. He wanted everything his way, all the time.'
Brodie held his breath … Dammit. If she asked, wild horses wouldn't keep him from finding the dude and teaching him a very painful, very permanent lesson. Fists clenched, he drew in a slow breath.
'I couldn't take it. The constant criticism, the arguing … ' Her olive eyes glittered and she shook her head. 'Nothing I did met his expectations-he smothered me. Pushed all my friends away until I could only rely on him. I couldn't forgive that.'
'Good.' The word came out through clenched teeth and Brodie realised his jaw had started to ache. 'A guy like that doesn't deserve your forgiveness. What an arse.'
'Yeah, major arse.' Her lips twisted into a grimace. 'We ended up separating, and the divorce went through about six months ago. I've been trying to find work but I keep bombing out.'
'Why do you think that is?'
'I don't know.' She shook her head, despair etched into her face. 'Maybe after being told for so long that I don't work hard enough, that I'm not disciplined enough, I've started to believe it … '
'That's complete crap and you know it.' He gripped the edge of his seat, knuckles white from lack of circulation. How could anyone not see the lengths that she went to in order to achieve her goals? She deserved every success in the world.
She managed a wan smile. 'So there you have it: the failings of the not-so-great Chantal Turner. I can't keep a career and I can't keep a man. I can't even book a goddamn dancing job without getting myself into trouble.'
'It's not your fault,' he ground out. His stomach pitched, and the need to bundle her up in his arms thrashed like a wild beast inside him.
'Oh, but it is.'
She drained another glass of wine. Was that two or three? Not that it mattered. He'd keep her safe on the boat tonight. He'd protect her.
'I've done all these things myself. My judgment-my errors.'
'You can ask for help.'
She shook her head, dark locks flicking around her shoulders. 'No. I got myself in trouble-I'll get myself out. Besides, I'd need to trust people. I can't do that.'
Her vulnerability shattered him. She'd worked for everything she had-chased it and made sacrifices for it. It wasn't fair that she was here, feeling as if she'd stuffed everything up. He wanted to erase the pain from her voice, smooth the tension from her limbs and barricade her from the dangers of the world.
'You can't go back to that accommodation.' It wasn't a question, and it wasn't a suggestion.
'I need to stay somewhere, Brodie. I need to find a damn supermarket and cook myself a meal.' She shook her head. 'I need to get my life together.'
He wondered if, in her head, she'd told herself that she couldn't rely on him. But he wanted her to … Against his better judgment, he wanted her to lean on him.
'Stay here-at least for now. That will give you time to find something else … something safer.' He grabbed her hand across the table, cursing internally when his blood pulsed hard and hot at the contact. 'I'll keep the boat docked here and you'll be close to the bar. Then we can wander around during the day. Have fun. Pretend life isn't such a pain in the butt.'
A small smile pulled at her lips as she retracted her hand from his grip. 'I don't know … '
'You don't have to trust me.'
Her eyes roamed his face before she shrugged her acceptance. 'So that's days and evenings sorted. What did you have planned for nights?'
He swallowed. It would be easy to come up with a list of things they could do at night, and most of them would make excellent use of her yoga flexibility. Hell, how would he keep his distance after what they'd shared last night? He didn't need things getting messy between them, and he certainly didn't want to do anything that would make him lose her again.
'What about nights? We can watch movies, chill out on the deck. Keep it PG-13.'
Totally chivalrous-he was simply being a good friend. Keeping an eye out for her. Yeah, right.
She smirked. 'Does PG-13 include kissing?'
'It might.'
'Heavy petting?'
'That sounds like it could lead to something a little more X-rated.'
'I want to know what kind of tricks you might try to pull-what loopholes you might use.'
'If I want something I make it happen. Loopholes or no loopholes.'
'Yes, you certainly do.' Her eyes flashed, pupils widening as she shifted in her seat.
Her foot brushed his leg under the table. Had she done it on purpose? He couldn't read her face-couldn't tell whether her flirtatious tone was meant to bait him or mock him. She pushed her plate away and leant back in her chair. One bronzed leg crossed over the other and the hem of her dress crept up to reveal precious inches of thigh.
'But you can't blame a girl for trying to protect herself,' she said.
'Why do you think you need to protect yourself around me?'
'To make sure history doesn't repeat itself.' She stretched her arms, dragging the dress farther up her thighs. If she kept up the pace she'd be naked soon, and he'd be on his knees. Not a bad thing, given the way she'd cried his name last night.
Cut it out. You're supposed to be helping her-not plotting her future orgasms.
'No more dancing?'
'You're far too tempting on the dance floor. All the girls at the resort thought so,' she said. Her eyes focused on something distant, something lost in memory. 'You're a magnet for the ladies.'