Kiss It Better Read Online Free PDF Page B

Small talk was her friend until her dad came home and explained things. ‘The local bakery is incredible.’ She’d picked up the loaf of dense, chewy potato bread on her morning run into town for newspapers, food and distraction.
    Well, now she had a distraction in the house.
    It wasn’t helping.
    She slammed the bread onto a cutting board and investigated the fridge.
    ‘Can I help?’ Theo stood to the side of the island bench, not intruding, but close.
    ‘No.’
    Unfortunately, he remained standing there, watching.
    She attacked the cucumbers with a sharp knife. She quartered small greenhouse-grown tomatoes and tore at a crisp lettuce. She was generous with pitted olives and added cubes of marinated feta before drizzling over golden olive oil for a classic Greek salad. The trick to the dish was to use the freshest and best ingredients.
    Her patience snapped. ‘You could sit down.’
    ‘I’d rather stretch my legs. The ride down…’
    ‘So go for a walk.’
    ‘Not yet.’
    Her dad walked into the kitchen.
    ‘How’s Aunt Gabby?’
    ‘She’s gone home.’ Mick rubbed his forehead. ‘Theo, has Cassie shown you your room?’
    ‘Yes, but I can easily stay at a hotel.’
    ‘You’ll stay here. Your bike’ll fit in the garage. I’ll show you.’
    It all sounded so damn normal, as if Theo was a friend.
    Cassie pulled a small cut of ham from the fridge and unwrapped it automatically as her dad marched Theo off. Her uncle Sean, Aunt Gabby’s husband, had raised the pig and cured the butchered animal. Cassie concentrated and carved wafer thin slices of the salty, honey-glazed ham and laid them on a plate.
    She’d been putting together simple meals like these for years. Meals that could easily be expanded when people dropped in. Mike Freedom believed in an open house. He had the gift of making people feel truly welcome — probably because he was truly interested in them and what they said. Her dad was interested in everything.
    With their extended family and friends, Agnes had ensured that the house — designed and built along with the factory — could accommodate visitors without upsetting existing inhabitants.
    But Theo was different. This was about welcoming a wolf into their home.
    The men returned. Cassie’s shoulders stiffened and she concentrated on the boiling kettle. She had mugs out. The choice was instant coffee or tea bags. Nothing fancy.
    Theo chose the coffee. Her dad had tea with two sugars, as always. Cassie made herself coffee with extra milk. She carried the mugs to the table and found her dad already seated, but Theo unobtrusively standing. Waiting for her.
    The courtesy rubbed her the wrong way. He was a guest, but not by her wish. She wanted to ignore him, and hated that she couldn’t. She bumped her chair out, sat and dragged it in, then she stared at the food on the table and realised she wasn’t hungry.
    She sipped at her coffee.
    Her dad ate like a horse. It was nervous energy that burned up those extra calories. He piled salad and ham on his plate and buttered three slices of bread.
    Theo served himself more moderately. His long fingers moved with economical efficiency, almost elegance. Then they stilled. His gaze travelled from her face, to her body, almost analytical, definitely detached, and then he frowned.
    Cassie set her mug down, abruptly seeing her skinniness through his eyes. She did not have an eating disorder, but she did lose her appetite under stress. She needed to eat anyway.
    Theo passed her the salad bowl.
    ‘JayBay’s mine,’ Mick said.
    ‘I know that, Dad.’ She glanced up from serving herself salad, and realised it hadn’t been a veiled reprimand at her strongly-stated opinion.
    Mick was addressing Theo. ‘JayBay is completely mine. I mucked around with a few ideas. After Leanne, Cassie’s mum, left, I got serious. I started JayBay with a loan from the bank. Then as it grew, I employed family and friends. They have been and are part of the company, but they