Mr. Nice Guy by Belinda Williams

Chapter Nine

I know I can trust you, and you’re safe.

The words had been going around and around in Tom’s head all day. He kept telling himself the trust part was positive. That Chelsea trusted Tom was good. Really good. But it wasn’t entirely surprising considering his ongoing relationship with her brother and their living situation.

Which left the safe part—that part he wasn’t so thrilled about. It equalled boring, in Tom’s mind, and wasn’t that a kick in the guts? On more than one level.

First, this nice guy arrangement was all about showing Chelsea that nice guys were worth dating. That they were the keepers, and not the loser guys you can’t rely on who treat women like dirt. Second, Tom didn’t want to be boring in Chelsea’s eyes.

Maybe he was deluding himself. Maybe the whole idea that a nice guy could be both trustworthy and exciting was an oxymoron.

‘Hey, Tom. Long day?’

Tom looked up to find his oldest brother, Luke, standing in front of him. He stood up and gave him a brief hug that was more of a mutual backslap than an embrace, as was their way.

‘Luke. Good to see you. Hope I’m not keeping you from Esme tonight?’

Luke’s green eyes—so much like Tom’s—hardened. ‘Only every other weekend now with Esme, remember?’

Ah, shit. How could Tom forget? Luke and his partner, Tash, had split up a year ago, and since then things had been strained. A recent court order had spelled out Luke’s contact with his daughter Esme, and it was a lot less than Luke had been hoping for. Tom hadn’t realised it had kicked into effect straightaway.

‘That’s tough. Really tough.’

‘I’ll say. It means I don’t have to head home to Sydney in a rush tonight though, and I get to spend some time with my little brother, so it’s not all bad. Can I get you a beer?’

Tom held up the one in front of him that he’d barely touched due to being lost in thought about Chelsea. ‘I’m good.’

Luke nodded and strode off to get himself a drink. The poor guy looked like he could do with one. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. As the eldest of the Pierce brothers, Luke gave off the permanent impression that he needed nothing and no one. It was the downside of having three little brothers and a mother who had died young of cancer, Tom supposed. While Tom had spent every second he could with his mother while she was sick, and hadn’t been fazed in the slightest by all the medical aspects—the doctors, the hospitals, the medication—Luke had avoided all of it. Instead, he’d jumped into the role of being the responsible one, overseeing the details of his younger brother’s lives whether they liked it or not.

Tom hadn’t much liked it, and as the youngest, he’d initially been the main target of his brother’s attentions. It hadn’t taken Luke long to figure out that Tom was coping. In fact, Tom had probably coped the best out of all of them, including their father. So then Luke had focused on making sure their middle two brothers didn’t drop their grades or get into trouble.

Luke returned and eased his tall frame onto the sofa opposite Tom that smelled vaguely of stale beer.

‘Long day?’ Luke repeated his earlier question after taking a sip of his beer.

Tom hid a smile. No matter how old Tom might get, Luke would always feel compelled to check in on him. ‘No longer than usual. I’d say the same old stuff, different day, but you know that’s not how my job works.’

‘I know. And I’m in awe of it, to be honest. I’m the opposite—it feels like groundhog day with the constant need to be on my contractors’ backs about not running late and not slacking on the job.’

Luke was a builder and had grown a successful business over the years in residential renovations and new builds. That’s why he was up in Newcastle at the moment—overseeing one of his jobs. It meant he was up here for a couple of days most weeks until the project finished. Tom knew that Luke ran a tight ship, which was why he was in demand.

‘Ever thought of taking a break?’ Tom suggested. ‘You know, a holiday?’

Luke grunted into his beer before taking another mouthful. ‘Everything shuts down over Christmas and summer, and I can never find anyone to work then, so that’s an enforced break. Besides, any holidays I have will be spent with Esme.’

Tom nodded. He supposed it was true, if not entirely fair. Tom was glad that Luke got to spend scheduled time with his daughter, but it sucked that he wouldn’t have any holiday time left for himself.

‘You could take Esme on a short break this summer?’ Tom suggested. ‘That might be nice.’

Luke’s dark eyebrows rose. While Tom and Luke had both inherited their father’s green eyes, Luke was dark like their mum whereas Tom was fairer like his father.

‘Tash barely lets Esme leave the suburb with me, let alone the city. Unlikely.’

‘Camping in the backyard, then?’

Luke finally cracked a smile. ‘You find a solution for most things, don’t you? Must be why you’re a paramedic. Actually, I don’t mind that idea. I think Esme will love it, in fact. Maybe Uncle Tom can come and roast some marshmallows with us?’

‘I’d like that,’ Tom told him, and meant it.

Due to the age gap—almost eight years between them—Tom had never had much of a chance to spend one-on-one time with Luke. Before their mother had become sick, Luke had been too interested in his own life. Then, after the illness, everything had changed, and they’d done whatever they’d needed to survive.

Tom shook the thoughts of the past away. ‘So, Chelsea’s dropping by with a friend soon.’

‘Your housemate and Ben’s youngest sister?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘How’s that going? Is she still proving easy to live with?’

‘I’m pretending to be her boyfriend for a week to convince her to stop going out with losers.’

Luke almost choked on his mouthful of beer. ‘Can you say that again?’

Tom sighed. He wasn’t sure why he was telling Luke this, but Luke had always proven to be a good listener. When Tom was considering studying to be a paramedic after their mother’s death, Luke had listened and given advice. And not the sort of advice you might think a bossy big brother would feel compelled to give. Despite Luke’s self-appointed ongoing responsibility for his brothers, he often kept his opinions to himself unless asked. And if asked, his opinions were well thought out and fair.

Tom repeated his previous statement.

‘Define pretend,’ Luke said.

‘No sex. Nothing physical. We just spend time together for a week and do things a couple might do, like go out to dinner. That sort of thing. Last night we went to a movie.’ Tom didn’t mention which movie. ‘Night before that, I cooked dinner for her.’

‘So, I gotta ask. Why would you feel compelled to do something like this for her?’

‘Because she dates dickheads, morons and arseholes, and not in that particular order. I was sick of hearing about them.’

‘You can’t save everyone, Tom.’

Tom set his beer down on the stained coffee table between them. ‘I’m not saving her,’ he said tightly.

Luke tipped his head to one side, contemplating his youngest brother. ‘You’ve got to admit, it’s a habit of yours.’

‘Chelsea doesn’t need saving,’ Tom persisted. ‘She’s capable, smart and attractive.’ Tom frowned. ‘And that’s the problem. The aforementioned losers are always falling for her.’

‘Sounds like you might be in that boat, too, and I’m not referring to the loser part.’ Luke covered a knowing smile with his beer glass.

‘What? No. It’s nothing like that,’ Tom replied quickly. ‘Ben asked me to keep an eye out for his sister, that’s all.’

‘So Ben knows about this?’

Shit. ‘Not exactly.’

‘You think he’d see it as “keeping an eye out for his sister”?’

Crap. Tom hadn’t fully thought this through, now that he considered it. Damn Nadia and her big mouth for suggesting the arrangement.

‘It was her friend’s suggestion, not mine,’ Tom said. ‘I just went along with it.’

‘I bet she had to twist your arm.’

Tom shot Luke a back-off look, and Luke laughed.

‘Don’t worry, little brother. I’ll keep my trap shut.’

Tom inhaled a breath to calm himself. Luke would keep his mouth shut. He was always true to his word. It was a Pierce brother code.

Tom nodded towards the entrance of the pub where Chelsea had just entered with Nadia. ‘Time to put that theory to the test. Here they are.’

‘Fuck me.’

Tom blinked, then glared at his brother. ‘I know Chelsea’s pretty, but that’s hardly necessary.’

‘No, not her. The other one.’

The way his brother said “the other one” suggested something distasteful you might find on the bottom of your shoe at one of his building sites.

‘Who? Nadia?’

‘Fuck,’ Luke said again.

‘You know her?’

The women still hadn’t seen the men and were busy chatting near the entrance, obviously not in a hurry to locate them. Chelsea and Nadia were like that. When you got them talking, it was hard to get a word in.

Luke finally seemed able to pull his eyes away from the women. Or more accurately, Nadia. ‘Yes, I do. Unfortunately.’

Tom frowned. He knew Nadia had something of a reputation in Newcastle for being a vixen, but he didn’t realise that reputation extended past the city’s borders.

‘Oh, she’s a bit of a character, alright,’ Tom replied. ‘But she’s not as bad as you think once you get to know her. As long as you don’t sleep with her, you’ll be fine.’

‘Too late.’

Tom spat out his beer.