Page 69 of Broken Beyond Repair

Alex’s voice made her jump as she hit the ‘End Call’ button. She turned, relieved to find him a good distance away. She’d been careless with her conversation. Not that she said much; Rosie was the one implying things.

“She went up for a bath as soon as we got home from the hospital.”

Alex pushed a glass against a lever in the fridge door. Ice dropped in, followed by water. “Want one?”

“No, thanks.”

Alex approached her, sipping his iced water, his eyes twitching as the brain freeze hit. “How did it go?”

“She’s in a boot, so she’ll be able to bear weight on her leg.”

“She can walk?” he translated.

“Yep.”

Alex laughed. “What a relief, for both of us.”

“Indeed! I hear it’s your birthday next week.”

“Yep, and no doubt there will be another watch from Mum.”

“Not into watches then?”

“I have a phone. What do I need a watch for? Plus I have tons of them. I started selling them at school.”

Sydney smirked at the thought. “What would you like?”

Alex grew solemn at the question. “It would just be nice to spend the day with her,” he admitted, almost under his breath. “When I was younger we’d always do something together on my birthday – as a family.”

That was one hell of a random statement from a teenager. Sydney had a mind to check his temperature. That the kid was so disconnected from his own mum wasn’t good; that he craved her attention was even sadder. She was going to need to pull something out of the bag for both of them on his birthday next week.

CHAPTER27

“Ithought we’d go for the iconic red dress; it makes you look sexy. Don’t you agree, Sydney?” Alison asked, placing a hangered dress against Beatrice as she stood in front of the full-length mirror.

“Yes,” was about all Sydney could say aloud as Beatrice’s eyes pierced her own as they met in the mirror. There was so much more she wanted to say.

The whole situation was beginning to feel uncomfortably close to her dream, albeit with the welcome presence of Alison.

“It will stand out on the bookshelves, too, and blend perfectly with Christmas colours,” Alison said. “I’ll leave you to dress. I’m sure Sydney can assist you.”

Seriously!?

Sydney took the dress from her and watched as the woman closed the dressing room door behind her. Her eyes returned to Beatrice, who had since slipped off her silk dressing gown and was now in a matching set of red lace underwear. A red that matched the colour of her lipstick.

Sydney sucked in a silent breath and exhaled slowly. Beatrice was enchanting, even with the addition of the walking boot.

“Dress?” Beatrice asked, raising her eyebrows as their gaze met again in the mirror. “Please.”

“Sorry.”

Sydney snapped herself out of it and pulled the dress from the hanger. She took the weight of Beatrice with her shoulder as she stepped into the gown, pulling it up over her legs. The red underwear screamed at her like a warning button — “Don’t touch!” — when all she wanted to do was touch. Passing the dress to Beatrice to position across her chest, Sydney diverted her attention around to the back, where the actress’s pale skin presented itself to her. She knew she had to do everything she could to resist touching it with her fingers — or her lips.

“Sydney, zip?”

Her fingers brushed the top of her lace knickers as she fumbled for the zip. Finally grasping it, she lifted it until it fought back, resisting her request as if it understood her reluctance to lose sight of Beatrice’s back. Moving closer, she took both sides of the material and then blew softly across her shoulders. Beatrice inhaled and her body lifted, allowing Sydney to pull the material together and zip her up.

“Thank you,” Beatrice said, turning. “How do I look?”