Page 76 of Special Delivery
‘She did at one point. In solidarity.’
‘Did you try to change her mind? Did you at least tell her about my DIY skills?’
Poppy laughed. ‘She was unimpressed you didn’t finish the job.’
James’s eyes glinted and a grin crept over his face. ‘But I finished the most important job. Twice.’ He watched her intently as her cheeks flushed at the memory; it seemed to embolden him. He slid his arm down to her waist and pulled her towards him. ‘You look amazing,’ he murmured into her neck.
Poppy was suddenly struggling to breathe. She could feel a hardness in his trousers. ‘We decided we’d be friends, remember?’
‘Circumstances have changed.’ James’s voice was low and gravelly.
‘What circumstances?’
‘That dress, for starters.’ His thumb was tracing circles on her lower back and Poppy hoped he couldn’t feel her shiver. What was she thinking, wearing silk?! Save for a few nanoparticles of fabric, she was basically naked under his touch.
He was massaging her waist, edging her closer to him with every flex of his fingertips. She was forgetting to breathe, hernipples were hardening and he was smiling like he knew the power he had over her. She didn’t know if she wanted to sink deeper into this dream or yank herself out of it.
Think, breathe, think, breathe, think, breathe. Oh god, that was too much to remember right now. She tried to focus her thoughts.
‘Should we go for a walk?’ he breathed.
Poppy felt a bolt of heat rocket up her spine. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting?! She was not a horny teenager; she was almost middle-aged! They couldn’t do something like that, not here, not in a public place. Could they? This was really teetering on the edge of that friend zone.
Think, think, think. ‘No,’ she whispered back, surprised she had the strength. She pulled away from him fractionally, steadying herself. ‘Dani doesn’t know anyone else. I should wait for her here.’
Poppy jerked her eyes away and took a gulp of champagne to wash out the impure thoughts flooding her central cortex.Friends, they had decided to befriends. It was proving very difficult to remember this.
‘She knows April,’ James reminded her.
He moved his mouth to her neck, his lips drifting towards her earlobe. They were basically already making out. Poppy remembered vaguely she should be embarrassed by the PDA but she couldn’t make her brain work. At least if they went for a walk she could extricate herself from this blatant public-groping situation.
‘Okay,’ she heard herself say. She needed a bucket of cold water poured over her, stat. This was Orange, for Christ’s sake.Friends of her parents would be here. She needed to pull it together. She wrenched herself away from James and took a deep breath. ‘Where are we going?’
James reached for her but she dodged him and picked up another mini quiche. She racked her brain for somewhere non-sexual they could go. ‘Let’s go to the stables,’ she suggested.
‘Aren’t you sick of horses yet?’ asked James. He picked up three mini quiches and wolfed one down.
‘Ha!’ laughed Poppy. ‘I haven’t evenseena horse today. I haveperceiveda horse in the distance. But could I tell you what colour said horse was? No. Could I confirm if it had four legs? No.’
‘Then we’re going to the stables,’ James said. ‘You can’t go to the races without seeing a horse. It’s unAustralian.’
He led her out of the tent, through the throngs of racegoers and around a brick pavilion. The sky was a swirl of lilac fading into blue as they stepped over crushed beer cans and plastic cups, and came to the quiet of the stables. The air smelled of wet hay and horses, and the din of the crowd was muffled. The horses were majestically quiet. They were tall and muscular, their manes gleaming in the fading evening light. A hilarious thought occurred to Poppy.
‘What?’ James asked, noticing her smile.
‘Your spirit animal is definitely a horse.’
‘Why is that?’
‘They’re tall. Great hair. Very …’
‘Muscly?’
Poppy climbed up onto one of the fences to peer over. ‘I was going to say hungry. You eat weirdly fast.’
James came up behind her. ‘I’ve had a lifetime of practice. How’s the view up there?’
‘Excellent.’ She sat on the top railing and turned towards him. ‘Quite the novelty being taller than you. Are you feeling emasculated?’
