Sharon Archer - Bachelor Dad, Girl Next Door

‘We came straight through from the airport,’ he said after a moment. Holding her away from him, he frowned. ‘Your bad luck I was here to see that stunt you and your friend here pulled back in town. You think I want to spend my first day home scraping you two off the road?’

‘Oh, don’t you start, too.’ Megan threw her hands up. ‘Terri was just going off at me about it.’

‘Yeah?’ Luke aimed a black look at the rider. ‘Maybe he’ll think twice before he takes you on the bike again.’

‘But Terri’s—’

‘In fact, let’s make that official.’ God, he’d been back in town for less than half an hour and he was already standing toe to toe with his sister. Part of his anger was tiredness. But most of it was fear. If he had the power to prevent it, he wasn’t going to lose another member of his family.

And this was definitely within his power. ‘You’re grounded.’

‘Honestly, Luke!’ Megan planted her hands on her hips.

‘Does Mum know what you’re up to?’

‘I’m nearly eighteen.’ Her chin jutted defiance as she glared at him.

‘Is that a no?’

‘No, it’s not a no. She doesn’t mind if I’m with Terri.’

‘She will after I’ve spoken to her,’ he said grimly.

‘But Terri’s a really careful rider.’

‘Too bad. I don’t want to see you on the back of this bike, any bike, again.’ He directed a narrow-eyed look at the rider.

Brown eyes, so dark they were nearly black, watched him. The hint of wry amusement in them had him clenching his jaw against a scathing comment.

The motorcyclist took off the padded gloves and began fiddling with the helmet strap.

Luke was reluctantly impressed that the boy was prepared to stay in the face of the conflict. ‘Look, Terry, this is a family argument. You don’t want to get involved, mate. All you need to know is Megan’s off the social circuit until further notice. There’s no point hanging around.’

‘Gee. That’s going to be kind of tough, Luke,’ said Megan smugly. ‘Since you guys are going to be working together.’

‘What?’ He turned on his sister. ‘You mean Mum’s letting you go out with one of the hospital staff?’

‘One of the doctors.’ The sly look she slanted him should have been a warning. ‘Terri’s taught me heaps.’

Luke felt his anger crank up several notches.

‘That’s a recommendation I can do without,’ said a husky feminine voice beside him.

The tirade he’d been about to unleash faltered on his tongue.

The rider slipped off the helmet and balanced it on the handlebars. Long black hair slithered over the protective leather jacket as the woman dismounted and turned to face him.

‘Hello, Luke. Long time, no see.’

‘Terri?’ He gaped, his stunned brain struggling to put the name together with the evidence before his eyes. ‘Theresa O’Connor.’

‘Close enough. How are you?’ She held out a hand and he stared at it stupidly for a long moment.

‘Bloody hell. Theresa O’Connor.’ He used her hand to tug her into a hug. It was quick, lasting only a second. Meant to be social, asexual. Nothing to precipitate the volcanic heat that swept through him.

He swallowed and set her away at arm’s length.

Her continued stillness, her composure, unsettled him out of all proportion. Especially the small smile curving her lips.

Suddenly, Luke remembered the last time he’d seen her. On the moonlit beach at the bottom of the hospital grounds. Could it really have been twelve years ago? The memory felt too intense. She hadn’t been so calm then. Though neither had he. He’d just kissed her.

He focussed on her mouth. Those lovely full lips had been soft and hesitant then eager, even demanding, beneath his.

Until he’d pushed her away.

He blinked and dragged his gaze back to hers. She stepped away, unruffled by their contact except for a tell-tale wariness in her eyes. ‘It’s Terri Mitchell these days.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He had so many questions but he felt oddly tongue-tied. His body’s unexpected response to her, that hot fizz of recognition, left him unbalanced.

His memory tripped in with details supplied over the years by his mother and Theresa’s brother, Ryan. Theresa was widowed, her husband killed when they’d been working with an aid organisation in Africa. An explosion. She’d been injured, too.

He cleared his throat before speaking into the lengthening silence. ‘Theresa, I was sorry to—’

‘No harm done.’ She cut him off quickly, a tiny flare of dismay in her dark chocolate eyes. The smile on her lips looked stiff, unnatural and he realised her misunderstanding had been deliberate. Theresa didn’t want to hear his words of condolence.

She glanced behind him, her smile warming. ‘You must be Alexis. Your grandmother’s told me all about you.’

‘Alexis, this is an old friend of the family.’ Luke drew his daughter forward, leaving his arm across her shoulders as he made the introductions. He was pleasantly surprised when she leaned into his side instead of shrugging him off.

She glowed under Theresa’s attention. Gone was the surly, uncooperative child of mere minutes ago.

Theresa’s serene surface was so firmly in place, the moment of panic seemed as though it was a figment of his imagination. Still, there was something…a hint of sadness shadowing her eyes and smile. With her attention on Allie, he could see it much more clearly.

After a few minutes, Theresa said, ‘I’ll leave you all to catch up properly.’

‘Mum said for you to come to tea tonight, Terri,’ Megan said.

‘Oh. Thank your mum for me, Megan, but I have some paperwork to do before tomorrow. See you later, Alexis.’ Her friendly smile faded as she raised her eyes to his. ‘Luke.’

He wondered if her refusal of the dinner invitation was because of his arrival or if the paperwork excuse was genuine.

She mounted the bike, slid the helmet over her luxurious hair. Her long slender fingers worked quickly to buckle the strap beneath her chin before she reached out to turn the key in the ignition. The machine throbbed to life.

Much to Luke’s surprise, she rode down the extended driveway beside his parents’ house.

‘So, I guess that means I can keep riding with Terri,’ Megan said.

He sent her a noncommittal look. ‘We’ll see.’

‘Luke!’

He grinned at her wailed protest and slid his question in casually. ‘Is Theresa staying in the beach cottage?’

‘Terri. She prefers Terri.’

‘Terri, then.’ He raised an eyebrow.

‘Uh-huh. She’s been renting it since she came back.’

He wondered why his mother hadn’t told him when she’d been giving him updates on the latest Port Cavill gossip.

‘And that was, what, six months ago?’

‘About.’ Megan shrugged.

‘It’s a hovel.’

‘That’s when you used to live there, Luke. Terri’s done it up.’

‘Really.’ Perhaps he might find an opportunity to wander down for a visit, see how his old bachelor pad had scrubbed up. Learn more about the intriguing tenant…

Or perhaps not.

He was here for a year and would have his hands full with the hospital, his father and Allie. Meeting Terri again like this had tipped him out of kilter, that was all. He was tired, maybe even a little jet-lagged. Not thinking straight.

The last thing he needed was to complicate his life. Especially with someone who must thrive on excitement if the bike and her previous job were anything to judge by.

Seeing her had plunged him into an odd time warp where he relived their kiss on the beach. Could it really have been twelve years ago? He hadn’t treated her particularly well that night, rejecting her soft sympathy, allowing his bitterness and guilt over his cousin’s death to colour the things he’d said.