Blame It on the Bikini(6)

‘Sure you are.’ He winked. ‘I have to have a party now and you’re the perfect person to organise it for poor helpless me.’

She shook her head. ‘Poor and helpless are the antithesis of what you are. You don’t need anyone, let alone me.’

He grinned, obviously appreciating the unvarnished truth, but behind the smiling eyes she sensed his brain was whizzing. Yeah, the guy was wickedly calculating. And far too together already after the kiss that had shattered her. She needed to keep her guard well up.

‘Lauren’s finished her degree,’ he said.

Momentarily thrown by the change in topic, Mya blinked. Then she nodded, but said nothing. If she hadn’t been such an idiot, she’d have been a lot nearer to finishing her degree too.

‘For a while there it didn’t seem likely she’d even finish high school let alone a university degree,’ he added.

He was right. When Mya had started at that school, Lauren’s wild streak had been on the verge of going septic and that hadn’t been in the perfect Davenport family plan at all. They were all graduates with successful careers—and expected Lauren to achieve the same. Whereas Mya was the only one in her family to have finished school. She was supposed to be the first in the family to finish a degree too. Honours no less, having won a prestigious scholarship. Except she’d screwed it up, and now she doubted that she’d ever deserved it. But she’d finish her degree all on her own account—independence was now everything to her. This time she was taking the lead from Lauren. So she nodded. ‘She defied everyone’s expectations and did it. Brilliantly too.’

There was a pause and she couldn’t help glancing at him. And then they both laughed at that one unbelievable aspect of Lauren’s success.

‘It’s more than a little ironic, don’t you think?’ he said, his face lightening completely. ‘That she almost dropped out and now she’s going to be a teacher?’

‘She’ll be a dragon too, I bet.’ Mya bit her lip but couldn’t quite hold back the chuckle. ‘Super-strict. She won’t put up with any illegal nail polish.’ Back in the day, Mya and Lauren had broken more than the nail-polish rules. Their favourite look had been purple splatter.

‘So we’ll have the party for her. It’s as good an excuse as any,’ Brad said confidently. ‘Exam results are out. It’s not long until Christmas. Many of her friends are going overseas and won’t be back for her graduation ceremony next year. She’s worked hard for a long while.’ He faced her square on again. ‘So we’ll surprise her.’

‘You’re going to have it as a surprise?’ Mya asked. ‘You want me to distract her?’ She’d be happy to sneak Lauren out and be there for the big surprise moment.

But he was shaking his head. ‘I want you to organise it.’

Mya’s enthusiasm burst like a kid’s balloon encountering the prick of a needle. Of course he did. He had to have this party but she’d be the one copping all the extra work to get it ready? Her ego suffered another blow—and more importantly she just didn’t have the time to do it. ‘Isn’t partying your area of expertise?’

‘Darling, I’ve never planned a party. I am the party.’ He mimicked her emphasis.

‘Oh, please.’

‘Who better to arrange it than my sister’s best friend? I said I’ll hire you. You’ll be paid.’

She bridled. ‘I’m not taking money from you. I’m her friend.’ The thought of him paying for her services irked her. She’d always put in an honest day’s work but the thought of Brad owning her time spiked her hackles.

‘I’ll get in a planner instead.’ He shrugged.

Now she was even more ticked. He was too used to getting everything his own way. ‘You think you can just throw some money on the table and have some flash event happen? Lauren wouldn’t want some impersonal, chic party put together by cutesy PR girls she doesn’t even know.’ Mya shook her head. ‘Wouldn’t it mean more to her if you put in some personal effort? She doesn’t like cookie-cutter perfection.’ Lauren had had so many things bought for her—by impersonal secretaries. She liked the individual—that was part of what had drawn her and Mya so close.

He looked sceptical. ‘You think I should choose the colour scheme and the canapés?’

‘Why not?’ she asked blandly.

‘You’re not tempted by an unlimited budget and licence to do anything? Most women would love that, right?’

‘I’m not like most women. Nor is Lauren. You should organise it—it’s your idea.’ She sent him a cutting glance. ‘Or are you too selfish to spend time on her?’

He laughed. ‘Sweetheart, every human on this planet is selfish,’ he said. ‘We all do what’s ultimately best for ourselves. I am doing this for very selfish reasons and not many of them to do with Lauren herself. It’s mainly so I don’t have to deal with my mother’s hand-wringing and a frozen dinner out with my parents to celebrate Lauren’s graduation. And so you don’t get in trouble with your boss and take it out on me. Does that make me a bad person?’

Heat ricocheted round her body like a jet of boiling oil as she saw the intense look in his eye. He didn’t want her to think badly of him? And he was doing this to prevent her from getting in trouble. ‘No,’ she conceded.

‘You have to help me,’ he said softly.

That was one step too far. ‘We wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t kissed me.’ She tried to argue back but felt herself slipping. ‘You created this problem. You don’t need me.’

‘Do I have the names and numbers of half her friends? No. I don’t know all her university mates the way you do. Of course I need your help.’

Silent, she looked at him.

‘I’m thinking of Lauren. Are you?’ he jeered.

She sighed. ‘For Lauren’s sake, I’ll help. But you’re not paying me.’

‘What a good friend you are,’ he teased.

‘I am, actually,’ she declared.

‘We all do what is best for ourselves,’ he murmured with a shake of his head. ‘Wasn’t insisting I be actively involved in the planning really because you wanted to spend more time with me?’

She gaped—how did he turn that one around? ‘No. I’m only thinking of Lauren.’ She vehemently denied that tendril of excitement curling through her innards at the thought of spending time with him. He had an outsize ego that needed stripping. ‘You think you’re irresistible, don’t you?’

‘Experience has led me to believe that’s often the case.’

His eyes were glinting. He might be laughing, but she suspected part of him meant it. Outrageous wasn’t the word. The guy needed taking down a peg or forty. ‘Not in this case.’

‘No?’ He chuckled, radiating good humour. ‘So that blush is pure annoyance? Then you’ve nothing to worry about, right? We can organise Lauren’s party together because you can resist me no problem.’

Could she resist him? For a second Mya wondered and then her fighting spirit came to the fore. Of course she could. ‘No problem at all.’

He leaned closer. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t seen much of you in recent years.’

‘Maybe you should have turned up to a couple of Lauren’s birthday parties.’

He winced, hand to his chest. ‘I was overseas.’

She knew he’d studied further overseas before coming back and setting up his own practice. ‘So convenient. For work, was it? You learned well from your father.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Doesn’t he use work for emotional avoidance too? Earns millions to buy the things to make up for it.’ Lauren had been given so many things and none of them what she’d truly yearned for.

The laughing glint vanished from Brad’s eyes. ‘Formed a few judgments over the years, haven’t you?’

Mya realised she might have gone more than a little far. ‘I’m sorry, that was out of line. I’ll always be grateful for the kindness your parents showed me,’ she said stiltedly, embarrassed at her rudeness.

But he laughed again, the devil dancing back in his eyes. ‘Their kindness?’

Okay, maybe he did remember the ultra-frosty welcome she’d got for the first year or three that she and Lauren hung out. ‘They didn’t ban me from their home.’ Even though she knew they’d wanted to. Now they realised they owed Mya something.

‘Don’t worry about it. I know even better than you what a mess it was.’

He’d certainly left home the second he could. Mya had been the one who’d spent every afternoon after school with Lauren in that house. She and Lauren hid up in Lauren’s suite, laughing and ignoring the frozen misery downstairs. The false image of the perfect family. ‘But Lauren’s the one who’s made the conscious effort to be different from how she was raised.’