“What?” I prompt.

“It won’t be long, you know. I see big things happening for you, McKenna,” she says, with a play punch to my shoulder.

“You think I’ve got potential?” I say, faking the chewing of gum and putting a hand on my hip. Yes, I just went all Pretty Woman on her arse. Funny how the chick in that movie has the surname De Luca …

“Yeah. I do.”

****

I fasten my seatbelt, Vicky to one side of me, April on the other. I reckon after a couple of complimentary glasses of red, I’ll have no problems snoozing all the way through to Sydney.

“You have a good time, Vicky?” I ask, as she straightens out her black skirt and clips the belt low around her hips.

“Yeah, I did. It was amazing. Even though you probably took ten years off my life on that rollercoaster.”

“Yeah,” I say and laugh. “That was some ride.”

“I’ve loved spending more time with you … and everyone else.”

Is she somehow referring to the young motocross rider?

“You and Billy seemed to be getting along well. Any spark there?”

She blushes on cue. “Yeah, he’s nice, but—”

“But what?”

“I can’t see myself with him long-term.”

“From what I hear from April, Billy’s a nice guy.” I saw him opening doors for her, buying her drinks. He was the epitome of a gentleman. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think they were together. They seemed quite comfortable in each other’s company.

“He is, I see myself with someone, well, more … professional.”

“A suit, in other words.”

She nods in agreement. “Yeah. You know, someone who works in my field. Someone with similar interests.”

“Just like I thought,” I scoff. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Of course?” she says, and blinks rapidly, as if she’s got something stuck in her eye.

“Don’t fall for the suit. You have to look at the man underneath.”

“Aw, look at you, Sophie. That’s beautiful advice. When did you become the relationship guru?”

“Since a man in a suit took me for everything,” I state, my tone bored. I pop another mini pretzel in my mouth.

She opens and closes her mouth as if she’s imitating a Guppie. I take great pleasure in the fact that the chatterbox is now lost for words.

“When do you start the new job?” April asks.

“A couple of days after I get back. Can’t wait.” I feel the ridiculous smile pull at my lips, and I don’t care. It’s only up from here.

“I’m so bloody happy for you,” April says, leaning across Vicky and grabbing my hand tight. “Like I said, big things happening for you, McKenna.”

I blow her a kiss.

God I love this woman.

****

The cab ride from the airport is quiet. I don’t bring up the kissing incident, and neither does Rocco. I still don’t know what to think about it. Maybe what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I just don’t want things to be weird between us. Rocco is becoming a closer friend than I’d ever thought possible. I don’t want to jeopardise that. He kissed me when he was feeling weak. He was battling some pretty heavy shit. The mind can make you do crazy things.

When Rocco and I get home, we dump our bags in the hallway. I make a beeline for the kitchen. I’ve missed my staples.

“Noodles?” I ask, as I fill the kettle with water.

He laughs, pulls out a stool and sits. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Once I’ve drained off the hot water, I pass him a cup, and we head to the couch. I look at the clock, which informs me it’s nearly two am. I’d slept solidly for seven hours on the way home, much to my surprise, and I’m too wired to sleep now. It shouldn’t be too hard to get my body clock back in sync.

“Let’s see if I can stay awake until it’s time to go to work,” I say, as Rocco flips through the channel guide on the TV.

“Oh my God!” I cry out as I point towards the screen. “Go back up.” He presses a button and scrolls up the list of channels. Ah, there you are. “Can we watch Footloose? Pretty please?”

He grunts. Really, I don’t care what he thinks about my taste in movies. 80s all the way.

“What about Tattoo Nightmares?” he grumbles.

I stand up and stomp my feet on the floor. I don’t care that I probably look like a spoiled child right now. “That shit is on all the time. I need Footloose in my life right now.”

“Fine, but on one condition.”

I turn to him. “Name it.”

“That you come with me to AA this week?”

I love that this is on his mind. He’s really thinking about it and he’s making changes, but I have no idea why he’d use this as a condition. I’d already told him I’d come to as many meetings as he wanted.

“I’d be coming with you anyway,” I state the obvious.

“I know, I just—”

“Rocco, I’ll be there. Now put the damn movie on.”

“Such a bossy bitch,” he mutters, and then selects the channel.

I laugh and grab the blanket to cover us, tucking it around my feet. He wraps his closest arm around my shoulders, and draws me into his side with a firm grasp of his hand.

“Fuckin’ survived Vegas,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. He presses his lips to my forehead, leaving an imprint of the heat from his mouth. My mind jumps right back to that night.

I’m tempted to say ‘what happened in Vegas stays there’ but I don’t want it to. A part of me doesn’t want what transpired between us to stay on the other side of the world.

“Yeah, we did.”

“Glad I had you,” he says, in a voice so quiet that I barely hear him.

“Anytime. Now shush. Kevin is on.”

His upper body shakes with silent laughter as I wrap my arm around his warm middle.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

ROCCO

Wednesday

“’Kay, I’ll see you tonight,” Suds says as she breezes out the door. Even sporting those bags under her eyes after staying up after the flight, she seems fresh. I guess the holiday did her the world of good, even though she ended up babysitting me.

I finish the rest of my orange juice and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth. There’s fuckin’ underwear everywhere, with the addition of a stark white bikini.

Fuck me dead. Badarse Bridesmaid.

Now all I can think about is how she ground her pussy against me as I filled her mouth with my tongue that night. Now I want her in my bed. Yes, I’ve wanted her in there since she first threw daggers at me, but my motives aren’t purely sexual now. It’s probably about time I deal with the fact that I have feelings for her … because I do. Part of realising these feelings means I’m gonna have to talk to her. I don’t know what she wants, but I know I can’t let it slide and not open up to her about this shit. I can’t let the crackle of pure attraction that we had between us in Vegas fizzle out, and I don’t want her to move out. Maybe she could move into my room, and V could have his back? Soph is a part of this household now, and I know V will be cool with that.

Tonight, I’ll talk to her.

It’s time to man the fuck up.

****

After unpacking my bags, cleaning the place a bit and stocking the pantry and fridge with groceries, I do some weights in my room. I’m finding that keeping busy is the key. Distraction. At least it’s only another hour or so before she gets home.

With each bicep curl, I’m wondering what in the hell I’ll say to Suds.

‘I have a fuckin’ thing for you.’ Nah. Sounds lame.

‘I want in your pants, but I want you in my life more.’ She might slap me before she hears the last part.

I wander into the kitchen, and start making the pasta dough. I feel like a fucking kid, thinking about Suds and how to approach it. How do I make my feelings known to her when I don’t know myself what’s going on inside my head? I like her; I more than fucking like her, but do I love her? I did love Trinity—at least, I think I did. I was blinded by my feelings for her. It’s completely different this time. I’m older and I’m wiser, which could be debated, but this thing we have going on wasn’t like a punch in the face to start. It’s been a slow burn … it’s gotten hotter over time, but there’s other shit there too. An understanding. We’re kind of on a level ground. We’ve both had shitty pasts. We’re trying to better ourselves. It just feels right that we do this shit together.