Wilder’s brother looks like he could burst into song at any moment he’s got so much glee on his face. After what Wilder said about singing in drag with him, I don’t doubt this for a second. “This has just become my favourite day of this year.” He holds his hands up like he’s sending prayers to the heavens. “Favourite!” He drops his hands and continues. “I’m Paul Angus Miller, and my brother is Justin William Miller. And you are?”
“She didn’t ask for middle names,” Wilder mutters.
Paul hits him with a look I’m proud of. “She asked for all our names. I took that to mean middle as well.”
“I knew I liked you for a reason, Paul,” I say. “I’m Scarlett Anne McKenzie.”
“Scarlett, it is an absolute privilege to meet you,” Paul says, and everything I hear in his voice settles warmly in my chest.
I’m not sure how it is that I’ve just met him because it feels like I’ve known him for a long time. I don’t understand this, and honestly, I’m not even going to try. I’m sure crazy is the verdict I’ll come up with if I do, so it’s best left unquestioned.
“Right,” I say to Paul, “I’m ready for that drink you promised me. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
6
Wilder
I’m looking at Scarlett, but it’s like I’m looking at a woman I’ve never met. When I left her and Paul half an hour ago so I could take care of a situation that came up, she was acting a little weirdly with her hand-throwing in the air and her wide eyes and her demand for names, but now she’s behaving in a whole other way. A way I’m drawn to.
Her eyes meet mine, shimmering with a look I’ve never seen before. I wouldn’t call it delight, because no one would ever use that word and Scarlett’s name in the same sentence, but fuck me if it doesn’t look like delight. “Why have you kept your brother to yourself the entire time I’ve known you?”
Yeah, something fucking odd is going on here. If I were a man who believed in supernatural shit, I’d say she’s been possessed.
Paul answers for me. “I’ve been living in Sydney. I just moved to Brisbane last week.”
“For work?” Scarlett asks.
Paul nods. “That and it was time for a change. The hairdressing scene down there got a little too much for me.”
Scarlett reaches for her cocktail. “Oh, how boring. I was settling in for a story about an asshole who drove you out of Sydney.”
I stare at her.
She’s definitely possessed.
It’s the only explanation for what’s coming out of her mouth.
Paul grins. “Sorry to disappoint. There’s no story that involves an asshole. All I have for you is the story about how I chose Brisbane because my brother wouldn’t stop harassing me to move here.”
Scarlett looks at me. “And you said your story doesn’t involve an asshole.”
Paul’s grin turns to laughter. “He’s a pretty tame asshole. I’ve met worse.”
Scarlett’s eyes don’t leave mine. “Remind me to look up the definition of tame. I thought it meant something completely different.”
“Ooh, burn,” Paul says, but I barely hear him. My focus is trapped in Scarlett’s web. The one she’s weaving all the fuck around me. The one she’s been weaving since she arrived tonight.
Scarlett turned up here wearing jeans that cling to her long legs and sit low on her hips. She’s paired them with a scrap of black material that clings to her chest and announces that she’s an angel. News-fucking-flash: that’s the last thing she is. When I walked in on her removing that scrap of material earlier, I almost lost my damn mind. The jury’s still out on whether I actually have lost it because it fucking well feels like I have.
“Wilder, have you got a minute?” one of our bar staff says, mercifully drawing my attention away from Scarlett.
“Yeah, just gimme a sec.” I look at Paul. “What are your plans tonight?” I wasn’t expecting him and was gonna head over to Scott’s for poker after work. But if he’s free, I’ll cancel those plans.
“I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow so I won’t be staying long. I just wanted to come and see where you work.”
“Okay, I’ve got a few more things to do and then we can catch up.”
“Sounds good. Scarlett can keep me occupied until then.”
“Yes,” she agrees. “And the first thing we’re gonna cover is how you managed to get your brother into drag and up on a stage for his own karaoke show. I feel like these will be life hacks that will benefit me in many ways.”
“Honey,” Paul says, looking like he’s settling in to share the secrets of the world with her. “If you haven’t figured out that Justin’s a country boy with only three basic needs you have to meet in order to get your way, we’re gonna require longer than one night for me to help you.”
I leave them to it as Scarlett gives him a look of disbelief. Fuck knows what shit he’s gonna share with her. My brother has a tendency to dole out family stories to anyone who’ll listen. He’s in his element when holding court, and if the way Scarlett’s hanging off his every word is anything to go by, he’ll talk for as long as she wants him to.
It takes me longer than I thought it would to finish up everything I have to, and by the time I get back to Paul, he and Scarlett are engrossed in a discussion about the cost of haircuts and the one she had today that apparently fleeced her. A topic I never imagined Scarlett would have so much to say about.
Scarlett isn’t like other women; she doesn’t carry on about hair or make-up or clothes or any of the stuff the women I know go on about. She’s got all that stuff handled, but I’ve seen her eyes glaze over with boredom when a conversation with staff or the old ladies turns to these topics. She can’t exit fast enough.
“It’s a fabulous cut,” Paul says, eyeing Scarlett’s hair. “Worth every penny.”
I check out her hair, trying to figure out if it looks any different than it did yesterday. Scarlett’s hair hangs wild, an untamed tangle of dark brown waves. It begs to have fingers run through it for a multitude of reasons, the least being to tidy it. When I run my gaze down the length of those waves and note they no longer come close to reaching her ass, I realise it does look different to yesterday. I also realise I have thoughts and knowledge about her hair that I didn’t know I had.
“Right,” she says suddenly, sliding off her stool and almost crashing into me. “I’m gonna go and leave you boys to catch up.” She snatches up her bag and looks at Paul. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Oh, you’ll be sick of me soon,” he promises.
“Maybe,” she agrees. “But I’ll take a gamble on you.”
As we watch her walk away, Paul says, “You’re staring at her ass, aren’t you?”
It’s a great fucking ass. I continue staring at it. “No.”
“Oh, I see, you’re in denial too.”
I sit on the stool Scarlett vacated and look at him. “In denial over what?”