It Happened at Cafe Nix

Kissing Time

Kissing Time

Jenny Schwartz

Tamsin knew she was no good for Luke, so she ran. But now he’s found her.

Luke features in Hero Duty, available from Escape Publishing on 1 June 2014.

“I can work Valentine’s Day,” Tamsin Serle volunteered as her friend and boss Nix bent over the next fortnight’s roster, trying to work out coverage for one of the busiest nights of the year. Busy, that is, for everyone except Tamsin, who’d be home alone if she wasn’t working. She sighed.

Nix glanced up. “You’re not still missing Craig?”

“No.” Tamsin glanced over the cafe, but the midafternoon lull still held. Beyond the cheerful but quiet restaurant, Sydney Harbour sparkled in the summer sunshine. “Do you know, he asked me to take him back?”

“No!” Nix spun her chair away from the counter.

“He said he was sorry. Said he’d been seduced by Lea.” Tamsin rolled her eyes.

Nix snorted. “Loser. But it’s been a year, Tamsin. Should I set you up with someone?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“You could have a rebound romance. For you, we’ll break the no-fraternisation rule. Take your pick.” The invitation wasn’t as silly as it sounded. Cafe Nix was a favourite hangout for Sydney celebrities. The mix of glamour, friendliness and, of course, the location on the famous harbour created magic.

“As if. They’d never look at me.”

“Taaam-ssssin.” A long, drawn out wail of protest. “They all look at you—and the models could scratch your eyes out. You don’t flaunt it. You just have it. You’re beautiful.”

“Huh.”

Nix shook her head, affectionately despairing. “You should value yourself more.”

But Tamsin knew her limitations. She was shy—although waitressing had helped with that. She liked nights at home, could lose herself for hours in designing fabrics and had a completely useless teaching degree because she’d found teaching art to teenagers terrifying. She’d only be a drag on a guy who was going places.

A guy like Luke.

Her body jolted, as it did, even five months later, when she thought of him. And she did think of him.

Luke Mitchell was a force of nature, a powerhouse. Only average height, a fraction taller than her, but leanly muscled with reflexes honed by years of martial arts. He was a fighter; something he hid behind a pose of languid disinterest.

She’d called him a Regency dandy once, with his peacock clothing and his “darling” people hiding his toughness. Despite the role he played, he was straight. Something any number of men in the fashion industry deplored. Ambition and talent blazed in him, attracting people: attracting investors to his fledgling clothing label.

She’d met him in St Kilda when she’d fled Sydney and Craig for a new start in Melbourne. And then she’d fled back to Sydney when she realised how dangerous Luke was to her heart. Back and forth like a wretched ping pong ball.

But damn him—they hadn’t even kissed—and she couldn’t forget him.

A trio of silver-haired women stumbled through the cafe door and exclaimed loudly at the bliss of air conditioning. Tamsin grabbed a complimentary bottle of cold water and started towards them as they settled at a window table, scattering shopping bags around their chairs.