I check Lincoln’s reaction. He gives me a small, supportive smile.
“I think I need a little more alcohol in my system before I share my story,” he says. He looks at the red wine in Felix’s hand and goes to take it, but Felix won’t let go. He tries again, but the wine splashes out of the glass and all over Lincoln’s shirt.
Felix gives him a pointed look. “That’s what you get for trying to steal my wine. You’re lucky you didn’t spill it all over the carpet.”
“Yeah, okay. Lesson learned.”
Felix points upstairs. “You can use my shower. And just raid my clothes for something to wear after.”
“Thanks, buddy.” He stands up and heads for the stairs. “I need a shower anyway. That theatre was hot tonight.”
I watch him leave and wonder if the whole incident was just an excuse for him to get out of talking about how he lost his virginity. It didn’t sound like he was particularly happy about it.
“Tash, are you comfortable?” Felix asks. “Do you need to get changed, too?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I say.
“Damn, you were supposed to say yes, so I could ask you to bring me down a shirt as well.” He pulls at the collar of the obviously man-made fibre.
“All you had to do was say ‘Tash, I’m lazy, can you get me a shirt from upstairs?’” I tease.
“Tash, I’m lazy, can you get me a shirt from upstairs?” he parrots. “Please?”
I laugh. “Sure. Any preferences?”
“Just something breathable. Maybe a white cotton T-shirt.”
It isn’t until I’m halfway up the stairs that I realise Felix is almost certainly playing matchmaker. I inwardly groan. I’m so clueless.
I reach the top of the stairs just as Lincoln comes out of Felix’s room holding a shirt and pants. Before he can say anything, I talk first. “Felix sent me to get him a shirt.”
Lincoln nods, as if I’ve been given a gravely important task. “You can do that. But first…” He takes my hand and pulls me towards the bathroom. He fixes me with a gaze so intense I think I might melt into a puddle on the floor. “Would you like to join me?”
I don’t trust myself to speak, so I overtake him and lead him into the bathroom.
He closes the door behind us and slowly pulls my shirt over my head, kissing my neck before unclasping my bra and dropping it to the floor. I pull his wine-soaked shirt off and run my hands across his smooth chest.
He steps away for a second to get the water in the shower running.
As steam fills the room, he dims the overhead light and comes back over, planting kisses on my mouth, my earlobes, and my collarbone. He kneels down and unzips my skirt, sliding it over my legs and looking into my eyes the entire time.
Holy moly.
This can’t be real.
TWENTY-TWO
Lincoln
I wake up in the morning in Felix’s spare room, with Tash still sleeping beside me. I watch her breathing peacefully, and I feel content. Last night was exactly what I needed—an evening with a woman who I genuinely like as a person.
I have no idea what happens from here, but I’m not under any delusions that we’re ready to jump into a serious relationship, complete with children involved.
Also, I have to consider what Tash wants. She might decide that last night was enough for her. And we still don’t know a whole lot about each other. What if we have nothing in common? And even if we do, we’re both building careers right now. That would mean limited time for us to spend together. And that’s not even taking into consideration any legal issues I’ll need to resolve with Rachel and the girls.
Reality is complicated.
Tash opens her eyes and smiles. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.”
She sits up and combs her fingers through her hair. That amazing flame-coloured hair. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Better than I have in a long time, actually.”
She smiles happily as she traces circles on my chest with one of her fingers. “Hey, last night you were hesitant to talk about how you lost your virginity.”
“Uh, right. Yeah. I guess because the person I lost it to betrayed me so deeply.”
She frowns. “You don’t mean…”
I nod grimly. “Rachel was my first.”
I know what she’s going to ask next, so I beat her to it. “No, you’re not the second. Rachel and I were on and off before the twins came along and I wasn’t exactly a saint in the off times. But if I’m being honest, this is the first time I haven’t thought about how me sleeping with someone will affect my relationship with her.” I look deeply into her eyes. “Thank you.”
She pulls me into a gentle hug. “No, thank you.”
We sit there, holding each other for a few minutes. I have never felt so calm.
Eventually, she loosens her grasp. “I might grab a coffee,” she says. “Do you want one?”
“In a minute.” I pull her close and start kissing her again. Her skin feels ridiculously soft.
I’m just making my way down her body, kissing as I go, when my phone buzzes.
I groan.
“You should probably get that,” Tash says.
“Ignore it,” I say, continuing on to her thighs.
It stops ringing, but then starts again.
“Just answer it,” she says. She stands up and finds a black slip in her bag that she slides over her body, before sneaking out of the room to give me some privacy.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Lincoln, it’s Carter.”
Carter is my lawyer. I told him to call me anytime he had news about Rachel or the girls.
“Oh, hey. What’s up?”
“I’ve finally heard from Rachel’s lawyer. She wants half the house.”
I figure this is what she was talking about when she said to remember how generous she was being. “Okay. What else?”
“You know we can go for paternity fraud?”
“Yeah, I do. But I’d rather not drag this out for any longer than we have to. And after the High Court overturned that other case…”
“That was a long time ago. But at least you won’t have to pay child support. With Rachel admitting she had a DNA test done, she gave up any rights to financial compensation.”
I rub my face tiredly. “Look, just tell her I’ll put the house on the market after I’ve finished my tour and I won’t sue for paternity fraud, but she has to be reasonable. I want to be able to see the girls, so if that means providing money for some of their expenses, I’ll deal with it.”
“Are you sure? We can ask for visitation rights without paying for them.”
“Please just find the easiest and quickest way to resolve it all.”
“Okay. Sorry to bother you on the weekend. I’ll be in touch next week.”
“Thanks, Carter. I’m on the road until around the tenth of October, but I’m usually available during the day.”
“No problem.”
I hang up and go to the kitchen, trying to keep my mood upbeat.
“Everything okay?” Tash asks.
“Uh, I just have some stuff to sort out when I’m back in Brisbane.”