Page 64 of In Step

He shrugged. “There’s nothing you can do.”

I cupped his cheek and turned his face to me. “I can listen.”

He said nothing for a second, then nodded. “Thanks. Another first for my list.” But the smile was forced.

“Does your sister know what you’re planning?”

“No.” He hesitated. “Not until it’s final. I wanted to have something good to say next time we talked.”

“How long has it been?”

His gaze flicked to mine. “Christmas since we last talked. But I got a text not long ago.”

But there was something about how he said it. “For your birthday?” I pressed, still hopeful.

But he shook his head. “Nah. It was a suggestion for Bobby’s birthday, which is coming up.” His gaze slid sideways.

“She didn’t remember your birthday?” I tried to keep the hard edge from my voice, but it wasn’t easy.

He shrugged. “She’s busy, single mum and all that. I didn’t expect her to.”

The man broke my fucking heart.I grabbed his hand and brought his knuckles to my lips. “We are damn well going to celebrate your birthday before I go, somehow, someway.”

He flushed a deep red. “You don’t need to do that. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fucking fine. Stop saying that.” My gaze darted sideways to movement on the veranda, and Kane spun to look.

“Shit, that’s my dad.”

An older man appeared through the front door and looked our way, and even from a hundred metres, I could feel the animosity in his stare.

“He knows it’s you, doesn’t he?”

Kane nodded. “We should go.”

“Wait.” I put my hand on Kane’s arm and slid the other around his neck, drawing him closer.

His brow crinkled. “What are you doing?”

“You’re not going back there, are you?”

He shook his head. “Never.”

“Then how about we ruin his fucking day?” I licked my lips and left the decision to Kane.

He stared at me for a long second, shot another look to the house, and then a sly grin stole over his face and he dropped his window. “You have the best fucking ideas.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, sliding his tongue deep and practically climbing the console to make sure he reached every corner.

But the very best part? Watching Kane reach backwards through the open window and shoot his father the middle finger as we continued to kiss. The arsehole spun on his heels and slammed back into the house, and I fucking hoped he stroked out.

“Mission accomplished.” I breathed the words against Kane’s open mouth.

“Oh. My. God.” He fell back in his seat, the two of us laughing until tears ran down his cheeks. “That was so fucking good.” He wiped them away and started the car. “Let’s get the hell out of here. But first—” He sat on his horn for a couple of beats just to make sure his father got the message. “Okay,nowI’m done.” And he peeled back onto the quiet road with a killer smile in place.

Thirty minutes later I recognised the original family farm Kane had shown me earlier. But this time he didn’t stop, driving another kilometre or so before turning left onto what amounted to little more than a narrow tree-lined track half-hidden by rampant undergrowth that squeaked along the side of the Accord as we inched our way through.

“Should I be worried?” I peered through the windscreen into the shadowy isolation. “Are you intending to have your wicked way with me and then dispose of my body?”

Kane rolled his eyes. “Your mind is a weird and wonderful place.No, I am not going to do away with you, at least not today, although the wicked-way option has a lot of merit that’s definitely worth exploring. I wanted to show you my favourite spot when I was a kid.”

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