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  “I traded it in,” he said with a shrug, “Do you like it?”

  “Yes,” I answered slowly, suddenly very worried about him, “But why…?”

  Logan huffed impatiently and his smile turned to a glare. “I just felt like a change, Eve. Get in the damn car,” he snapped.

  Whoah, sensitive topic, I thought, picking up my bag and walking around the car to climb in the passenger side. As soon as I moved, Logan’s smile returned and he eyed up Stone. “Who’s your boyfriend?” he teased me.

  “Just a friend,” I quickly corrected him, not looking at Stone, “You met him and the band at the club the other night.”

  Logan’s grin widened and I knew he was still watching Stone. “Just a friend, hmmm?” he said, turning to grin at me, “If you say so, Evie. If you say so.” He dropped a kiss on my cheek and waved cheerfully at Stone as his foot pressed down on the accelerator and we started to leave the parking lot. I snuck a peek back at Stone’s face and shivered at the harsh glare there. It was then I realised I’d forgotten to say goodbye. Was he mad? He turned and punched the van, before reaching into his pocket for his Smarties.

  Yep. He was mad.

  ***

  Instead of taking me to the apartment where I’d visited him previously, he stopped outside a medium size house. It was two stories and had a high fence for privacy. I got out of the car cautiously, wondering what we were doing here. He couldn’t have bought a house. Logan was the world’s biggest commitment phobic, and not just when it came to the ladies. His commitment to the flying doctors in recent years had been the only thing he’d ever stuck at. Mum said it was because he bored easily.

  “Like it?” Logan asked, taking my bag from me and locking the car. He pushed open the gate and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the front garden.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, admiring the desert-flowered garden. Whoever had planted this garden knew what they were doing. There were vibrant reds and yellows and I smiled wide, pleased to see so many native plants in one place. I frowned on a sudden thought.

  “What’s wrong?” Logan asked, looking around the garden with a worried face.

  “I forgot my camera,” I grumbled.

  He laughed and gave my pony-tail a tug. “It’ll still be here next time,” he assured me.

  “Next time?” I asked him, my eyes wide.

  He grinned and rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome here anytime, Eve,” he said pulling me away from the garden and towards the front door.

  “It’s yours?” I asked incredulously.

  “Yep,” he said proudly, then shrugged, “Well, mostly the bank’s.”

  “When…” I trailed off, glancing around at the really unfurnished house that smelled like paint and was filled with boxes. I looked up at him suspiciously.

  “You invited me here because I was the only family member in town to help you with unpacking and stuff huh?” I asked playfully, but feeling quite hurt.

  He snorted. “No offense, Evie,” he said, “But I think I’ll get the boys from work to help with the moving and renovating.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m a lot stronger than I used to be,” I informed him, “My friend Alec has been helping me weight train.”

  “And you look good,” he said, giving my slim, but toned arms a squeeze, “Maybe Zane and the big trips will finally realise you’re a big girl, now that you don’t look so frail.”

  He shook his head. “Zane wonders why I don’t respond to an email that is composed entirely of questions. Whether I’m keeping an eye on you, are you eating or am I being nice to you.”

  He growled lowly, “Then the rest of it was him nosing into my personal life. Who’s this girl they’d heard about, is it serious, will I be taking her to visit Mum?”

  I quashed the urge to ask about her, knowing that he wouldn’t respond nicely.

  “That’s just Zane,” I said softly, “He thinks it’s his job to look after everyone.”

  Logan’s expression clouded over and I bit my lip in regret for bringing up the subject. “Ten years this year,” Logan replied, going to the fridge to pull out a beer, shoving one at me as well.

  I raised an eyebrow at my beer, not acknowledging what he’d just said.

  Logan smiled. “What?” he said, rolling his eyes, “You’ll be eighteen in a little over two months and it’s not like I never drank underage.”

  He took a swig from his beer and then shot me a worried look. “Just don’t tell the others,” he said quickly.

  I grinned at him and took a long swig from the bottle, without letting it froth over. “Not bad,” I said, pointing at the label, “TEDs are better.”

  He laughed and poked me in the stomach. “When have you been drinking?” he asked me cheerfully.

  I shrugged. “Paulie buys the little trips alcohol. He won’t buy me any, so Jake always asks for more than he needs and gives it to me.”

  Logan laughed again, his bad mood completely gone. “Jake’s a good kid,” he said with a fond smile.

  I chuckled, “Not according to his teachers.”

  Logan grinned and shook his head. “Those boys are always in trouble, aren’t they?”

  I nodded slowly and sent him a shy smile. “Show me the rest of your place?” I asked tentatively.

  Logan beamed and grabbed my hand. “Love to,” he said with pride and then dragged me from room to room explaining what he wanted done.

  “What’s happening to this one?” I asked curiously when we bypassed the door across from his bedroom.

  Logan shrugged. “Probably a guestroom,” he said, pulling me past it and excitedly showing me what he planned to be a games room. I shook my head. It was weird to see Logan this excited about a house. Usually he moved from place to place, often switching which Flying Doctor base he worked from, meaning he had to move across country. He’d been in Alice for the past two years though and it made me uneasy that the wanderer was putting down roots.

  I had a surprisingly great weekend. Logan took me to see a movie and even cooked me dinner! The dinner was a disaster though and I had to step in and help. My poor big brother had been crushed and I’d promised to come around again soon to teach him to cook. Apparently he’d been living the bachelor’s life, buying microwave dinners and packets of chips and pizza and such that you just cooked in the oven. I wondered if he was trying to impress this girlfriend of his by cooking from scratch…and he’d invited me over to be his guinea pig.

  Having never been close, Logan and I had lots to talk about. He knew very little about the last five years of my life and I knew just as much about his. I was almost sad to go when Sunday afternoon came. He drove me back to the university and promised we’d catch up soon. I promised him those cooking lessons again and watched him drive off. Maybe he was lonely? I thought, twirling a piece of hair around my finger. I sighed and made my way to my room. I smiled when I noticed it was empty and threw my bag into a corner. I debated whether or not to go to dinner, worrying that Stone was still mad at me.

  In the end, I decided that I was too tired and full, so I bought a sandwich from a vending machine down the hall and slipped into bed. I waited nervously for nine o’clock, wondering whether Stone would make an appearance tonight. He did. Right on nine, he knocked on the door and I meekly called out for him to come in.

  He opened the door and stood in the doorway, his intimidating grey eyes studying my face intently. He had to lean to one side so that his head fit under the frame and I shifted uncomfortably, knowing that he was much bigger and stronger than I. I bit my lip and, without breaking eye contact, moved over on the bed, holding up the covers. He pushed his weight off the frame and turned off the light, climbing into bed beside me. I rolled onto my side to give him more room and he mimicked my actions. He didn’t pull me close though. He didn’t wrap an arm around me. He lay there stiffly and I knew he was still angry at me.

  For not saying goodbye?

  For not joining them this weekend?

  I
didn’t know what the reason was, or if I even deserved it.

  I just knew that I didn’t like it.

  ELEVEN

  Chapter 11.

  Stone was distant with me all week. Well, not just me, he was distant with everyone. He slept in my room each night, but he didn’t make any attempts to hold me. Each night, he paused at the door, as if waiting for me to tell him to go away. Then, when I said nothing, he would climb into bed with me and we’d lie in silence.

  The week dragged on slowly for me, but for Briar, it flew quickly. She spent the week busily planning her eighteenth birthday party, which was to be held that Friday at the local bar they frequented. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, and to make matters worse, I’d be the only one there under the age of eighteen. I’d have to rely on Stone to get me in the door again and given his sour mood, I wasn’t positive he would.

  They convinced me to ditch classes on Friday so that we could spend the day doing whatever Briar wanted. Stone led her around the mall like a spoiled princess, buying her whatever she wished. He even let her drag him into one of those photo booths. I held in a giggle when I peeked over Briar’s shoulder to look at the strip of prints. Stone’s expression was exactly the same in every shot, whilst Briar posed and made funny faces beside him.

  Next, was the bottle shop, then the tobacconist. Briar replenished everyone’s stores of booze and cigarettes, just so that she could wave her ID about. I saw her purchase an expensive, imported cigar when she thought no one was looking and slip it into Stone’s pocket with a quick kiss on his cheek. He’d rolled his eyes at her, but looked pleased enough. At the time, I’d wondered why she’d hidden it, but brushed it off as unimportant.

  Later, when alone in my bedroom, I’d agonised over to what to wear. It was the first day of spring and thus, it was no longer cold at night. I finally settled on a pale pink dress with thick straps and a billowy skirt. I slipped on a pair of silver heels and let a silver necklace dip into the cleavage exposed by the low V of my neckline. I straightened the slight kink from my hair and smoothed it back into a simple, low ponytail. I nervously glanced at my reflection, but was pleased to see that I looked fresh, healthy and young, the dress not making me look slutty at all. Briar banged on my door and I hurriedly grabbed my purse, letting her drag me to the limo she’d hired for the occasion.

  Briar bounced in her seat the entire way to the bar. Beside her, Fredi was rubbing her hands together and listing off all the shots she was going to make her try. Donny threw in suggestions, but the other boys sat in companionable silence. Candy and Mason had been invited also, but they’d gone on ahead to set up the band’s equipment.

  I fidgeted with discomfort as the others lined up to show the bouncer their IDs. Fredi, Jamie, Alec and Donny weren’t even checked, but Briar displayed hers proudly. I glanced up at Stone, who had grabbed my hand, but hadn’t pulled me towards the door. He didn’t look down at me. He withdrew his phone from his pocket with a frown and called a number.

  “Where are you?” he demanded, but there was little bite to his voice.

  The person on the other end must have responded, because Stone flicked the phone shut and started dragging me around the building to the rear entrance. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who was standing there, almost falling flat on my face when Stone kept walking.

  “Hello beautiful,” Liam greeted me with a sexy grin.

  I blushed. “Oh, um, hey,” I whispered, playing with the skirt of my dress nervously. He must have flown in to surprise Briar, because she’d told me none of them were coming and that she’d be going home for the mid-semester break week to celebrate with them.

  “You still not eighteen yet?” he asked me curiously, looking up at Stone with amusement.

  “No,” I muttered, “Not for another twelve weeks.”

  “Counting down are you?” Liam asked with a laugh.

  I let out a short, nervous laugh. “Maybe,” I admitted.

  Stone gave us both a firm push toward the door and I quickly made my way inside, Liam following behind me with another loud laugh. We made our way into the main area of the bar without talking and I smiled when I saw Briar already doing shots at the bar with Fredi. Stone scowled when he saw them, but didn’t try to stop Briar. Instead, he made his way back to the stage, where Alec, Donny and Jamie were tuning instruments.

  I followed behind Liam as he snuck up on his sister. He clamped his hand over her eyes and deepened his voice as he whispered, “Guess who.”

  Briar squealed and shoved his hands away, turning around and throwing herself at him in a fierce hug. “Liam!” she cried excitedly, “What are you doing here?”

  He snorted. “Duh, it’s your eighteenth birthday,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek, “Happy Birthday sis.”

  She whacked him on the arm with a laugh. “You just wanted to come and get drunk,” she said playfully.

  “That too,” he agreed.

  Fredi gave Liam a brief hug and then made her way onto the stage to get ready with the rest of the band. Briar went to join Candy and Mason at a table, but I stayed at the bar to buy myself a drink. I opened my purse to take out some money as I waited to be served, but Liam placed a strong hand over it.

  “What are you having?” he asked me, “My shout.”

  I considered arguing, but knew that, like the rest of them, it wouldn’t do me any good.

  “A glass of coke please,” I asked softly. He wrinkled his nose at me.

  “Do you want rum or bourbon with that?” he asked, taking his wallet from his jean pocket. My eyes got caught on that sexy, jean encased ass for a moment, so it took me a second to register what he’d asked.

  “Neither,” I responded with a frown, “We’re underage.”

  “Shhh,” Liam muttered, pulling me close to talk in my ear, “They don’t know that.”

  “Stone won’t like it,” I murmured uncertainly.

  Liam laughed. “No,” he agreed, “He won’t. But he isn’t the boss of you Evie…and he’s sure as fuck not the boss of me.”

  He had a point…

  “One drink,” I said, my voice soft, but firm.

  “Atta girl,” Liam grinned, flagging down the bartender.

  ***

  One drink turned into many as we watched and listened to the band play. Liam looked steady on his feet, but Briar, Candy and I were wrecked. Mason, the only sober one as designated driver, laughed at our clumsiness and bizarre conversations.

  We’d just managed to stop laughing after a particular long attack of the giggles, when Stone went into a short drum solo and we stopped talking to watch. I watched him thoughtfully for a few moments, before turning back to Briar with a small frown of curiosity.

  “Why do you call him GG?” I asked.

  She giggled. “That’s my special nickname for him. He’s my GG and I’m his BB.”

  I waited for her to explain further.

  “Why?” I prompted.

  She frowned. “Because we’re best friends!” she exclaimed happily.

  Liam rolled his eyes. “GG is for Grant Graham Stone,” he explained, “And BB is for Briar-Rose Marie Brighton.”

  “Ohhh,” I said with a heavy nod, “I understand.”

  Briar leaned over the table and beckoned me closer with a finger. I willingly obliged her, wondering what secret she was about to offload.

  “It’s his birthday tomorrow,” she whispered quietly, “But don’t tell anyone. He doesn’t like the attention.”

  I knew what he meant. I hated being centre of attention. I was lucky though. I managed to fade into the background. Someone like Stone though, could never be ignored. I wondered if any of the band members knew that his birthday followed Briar’s.

  Liam leant back in his chair and casually asked, “So what’s the go with you and Stone?”

  I froze at the unexpected question and tried to clear my foggy brain enough to answer.

  “He sleeps in her bed,” Candy said with a giggle, her
head falling limply onto my shoulder as she smiled dopily.

  “What?!” Briar asked, her face comically surprised as she gaped at us, her body swaying slightly.

  “Sshhhhh!” I hissed at Candy with a forced frown, raising my finger to my lip. I couldn’t keep it up though. I burst into giggles, letting my head fall backward as I slid down a little in my seat. Beside me, Liam pushed my slack legs closed with a grin.

  “He sleeps in your bed,” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  “Since when?” Briar demanded, standing up too quickly. She would have fallen on her ass if Mason hadn’t caught her.