Page 36 of The Side Road
Twenty minutes later, he hadn’t returned.
Mia put her cookbook down. ‘I’m going to find him,’ she said. ‘If I’m not back in ten minutes, alert the neighbours.’
Tash nodded. She rolled the dice and moved her token.
Mia switched on her phone light and slipped around the bookcase. ‘Oliver,’ she whispered. ‘Where are you?’ She could see his torchlight in the far corner.
‘Over here,’ he said.
She found him leaning against the wall, his phone resting on a nearby table. ‘Did you find something? Is it the money?’
In the dusty light, his eyes gleamed, like he was radiating from the inside. He peeled his body off the wall.
‘Mia, do you believe in god?’ he asked.
‘I’m on the fence. Halfway between agnostic and atheist.’
He stared at her for a long moment.
‘Did you find god?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ He pointed to a long shadow resting against the wall. Something rectangular, covered in a blanket.
An old painting, she thought. From the colonial era. An original Tom Roberts that once hung above the parsonage fireplace. That would be some treasure. It would also be worth a bit.
Her stomach fluttered and her skin prickled; Stephanie Plum had strong competition. She pulled the blanket aside. Underneath was an old motorbike.
‘Oh, my,’ she said.
Oliver was behind her. His hands rested on her shoulders, and she felt his breath on her neck. Her heart hammered. Closing her eyes, she savoured the feeling of his fingers on her neck. Gently, he kissed her just below her ear. Right where she had wanted to kiss his neck.
She turned and stared.
His eyes shifted to amber, like tiger eyes. ‘Sorry, I had to kiss someone. Tash wasn’t here.’
He didn’t look sorry. She placed her hand over the spot where his lips had touched her skin.
‘I didn’t find god,’ he whispered. ‘I found Heaven.’
He moved closer to the bike. Taking a corner of the blanket, he wiped the dust off the tank. Mia adjusted her phone torch. The word ‘Vincent’ was written in white and gold on the side of the tank.
He smiled up at her. ‘Mia, you’re terribly attractive.’
‘Terribly?’
‘Yes.’
She blushed and turned away. To her surprise, neither the kiss nor the compliment were unwelcome. What a day this had turned out to be: boxes of red wine, treasure lurking in unexpected places, old keys and antique cookbooks. He had kissed her neck. Her Sundays were never this exciting.
Aware that they were still staring at each other, she said, ‘This must be some bike.’
‘It’s the greatest motorbike ever made.’
An hour later,after they had shuffled tables and moved pieces of furniture, the black bike was outside the garage, resting on its side stand. Mia typed ‘Vincent Black Shadow’ into her phone and ran an internet search on the value of the bike. ‘Can you guess what it’s worth?’ she asked.
‘Ten thousand,’ Tash said.
‘About a hundred and fifty grand.’ With a rag, Oliver wiped down the bike.
