A Risk Worth Taking

She made a space for him beside her and he could smell her perfume. Light, pretty and a bit spicy.

“This is my mum, Deirdre.” She gestured to a tall, dignified woman in a cream suit.

“Nice to meet you, Deirdre.”

She smiled, but her eyes x-rayed him in a single glance. “Adam. I hadn’t realized you two had already met.”

“Yeah, over by my bike.”

“Ah, of course.”

Again that laser stare. Adam fought the urge to check if his fly was undone.

“And this is George, my dad,” Cressa said.

Her dad was tall, with strong features, and Adam figured he must have Maori ancestry. That would explain Cressa’s sensational hair.

“An actor, I believe,” said Adam.

George feigned astonishment. “You’ve heard of me in Houston?” He placed a hand across his heart and bowed his head. “I’m honored.”

“Oh, Dad, stop kidding around. And these are my sisters, Juliet, Katherine, Portia and Desdemona.”

Adam blinked. They were as overwhelming in looks as in names. Juliet, Portia and Desdemona were all fair like their mother. He tried to sort them out. Juliet, sleek bob. Desdemona, long curls. Portia, pixie cut. Katherine and Cressa were dark like their father, but Katherine’s hair was short and curly. Their eyes and skin tones were also different. The only thing they all shared was the same strong nose. Adam found it rather cute, but he bet they hated it.

He must have appeared stunned, because George laughed. “The Curtis women en masse are glorious but overwhelming, I know. Stupidly, we forgot to bring a camera today, and I’d love a shot of all my daughters together, especially looking so beautiful.” He pointed to the camera in Adam’s hand. “Would you take one of us all?”

“Gladly,” Adam said, and raised the camera. “Smile.”

Cries of “Cheese” and “Whiskey” arose from the sisters as they squeezed together, and Cressa laughed, her face full of affection as she regarded her siblings.

“Hang on,” said Adam. “I’ll shoot a few more to make sure.” He fiddled with the zoom, clicked a couple more times. “Perfect.”

“What about you?” Cressa asked Adam. “Do you come from a big family?”

“Nope. Just one sister, one brother, one mother.”

Had he just sounded wistful? Man, he must be jet-lagged.

“Lucky you,” sighed Desdemona. “More time in the bathroom.”

“As if you needed it, Des. You always used to hog it,” said Juliet.

“And what do you do, Adam?” Deirdre asked.

He felt as if he was just about to fail an exam. “This and that. Mostly I’m involved in construction.”

“Oh.”

Amazing how much one small word could convey.

“You’re like Cressa,” Des interjected. “She doesn’t stay in any job for long, either. She’s a flibbertigibbet.”

“I’m not,” said Cressa. “I’m versatile.”

That set her sisters off.

“Very versatile,” Juliet agreed. “Last month you were a youth hostel manager down in Hokitika.”

“And before that you were working in a ski shop in Queenstown,” said Portia.

“Don’t forget the bar in Wellington and the stint as a tourist guide in Rotorua,” Des added.

George chuckled and said to Adam, “To think she very nearly qualified as an accountant, and look at her now.”

She looked pretty good to him. Deirdre, however, didn’t seem nearly so amused, especially when Cressa turned to Adam and commented, “They just don’t understand that people like us don’t enjoy being trapped in the same old, same old, do we? We thrive on change, aye?”

It wasn’t quite like that for Adam, but this was so not the time to put her right, especially since, with her mother watching, she was seeking support. “Sure. So what are you doing now?”

“I’m a stuntwoman. Dad got me a job on a TV pilot, The Valkyries. It’s got motorbike chases and broadsword battles between characters in leather gear. All quite mad but loads of fun.”

“No kidding. I used to do motorcycle stunts, too.” The words just slipped out.

Cressa’s incredible eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah, but years ago,” he said, playing down the experience, “and mainly as a touring show. Very different.”

This caused another clamor as all the sisters began asking questions and Deirdre’s smile became more and more taut. To his relief, he caught sight of his mother chatting to another group of people across the lawn, and he held up a hand with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, but I’ve barely spoken to my mom, and need to say hi to her properly. Nice meeting you all.”

BY THE TIME EVENING FELL and the dancing started, Adam was feeling seriously spaced out. He found he had to concentrate to catch what people were saying. Kiwis spoke so damn fast that keeping up was difficult. His body was craving sleep and he was too befuddled now to calculate what time it was back in Texas. Yesterday morning or some such. How great, therefore, when Cressa appeared at his elbow. It was colder now and she was wearing a bright red jacket. Bold with strong lines, it suited her.

“Will you dance with me?”

“With pleasure.”

He put his camera down on one of the tables and swept her into his arms. The band was playing “Moon River,” probably because of the full moon now laying a silver track across the harbor. Adam was glad the number was a slow one. Drifting like this on the grass, under the trees and stars, a pliant woman pressed against him, it felt good. He hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Cressa again before now. He’d only seen her from afar, chatting animatedly in different groups, seeming to know everyone. At one stage he’d spotted her in deep conversation with Jake and Sass. They’d glanced several times in his direction and he’d wondered what they were talking about. Nothing bad, clearly, for here she was, in his arms.

Adam closed his eyes, letting his tired mind relax and his senses take over. He liked her perfume and the softness of her hair. Dreamily, he wound it around and between his fingers. He loved the contrast of the cold night air and the warmth of her body, and his hand slipped up under the hem of her jacket to stroke the sensuous lines of her back. It would be so sweet to melt into the shadows with her and make out. Slow and easy. Almost trancelike, he danced her to the edge of the crowd, toward the sheltering darkness of trees. He’d been so serious for so long, and Cressa reminded him of what he used to be like.

Tonight he was in a foreign land, among strangers. Tomorrow she’d be gone and he would refocus, get back to his studies. Hell, there was absolutely nothing else to do in Aroha Bay. No distractions, just him and Mom. He’d probably ace the exam, given the empty weeks stretching ahead.

The thought made him smile as he leaned down to rub his cheek, then his lips, on the top of her head. That felt good, too. She raised her face to his, but just as he was about to let his mouth sink onto her beautiful lips, he saw Deirdre only a few feet away, observing the dancers. The way Cressa’s mother wasn’t looking at them as she sipped her wine let him know she knew exactly what was going on. He swung around with the music so that his back was to her, but already she had knocked some of that delicious, drugged dreaminess out of him.

Cressa smiled up at him. She appeared so full of mischief and wicked promise that he couldn’t help smiling back. One night with her would be amazing.

“I’ve a surprise for you.”