Love on the Rocks by Veronica Henry Page B

by their despairing parents soon snapped out of their sulk when they clapped eyes on Joe. They were like bees round a honeypot. And how could he resist, when they threw themselves at him, these long-limbed, firm-skinned creatures in their tiny bikinis? It was inevitable that there would be trouble when he treated them so casually, and one afternoon Bruno was interrupted from his paperwork by an irate father threatening to call the police.
    ‘I can’t get her out of the van. She’s breaking her heart in there. She’s only fifteen. If I find out he’s laid a finger on her, I’ll have him locked up.’
    It took Bruno the rest of the day to placate the father, coax the young girl out of the caravan to get her side of the story, and promise to remonstrate with Joe.
    Joe was almost callous.
    ‘What am I supposed to do, take her back out of pity? I never made her any promises.’
    ‘At least talk to her, for Christ’s sake.’
    ‘What good would that do? It’ll only get her hopes up.’
    ‘You can’t scamper through life acting like a flopsy bunny on Viagra. Getting away with it just because you’re cute. It’s not fair, Joe!’
    ‘I can’t help it if they throw themselves at me.’
    ‘You can say no.’
    ‘I’m a bloke!’
    ‘They can’t handle it, Joe. You can’t just love them and leave them.’
    ‘That’s the point. I don’t love them. I’ve never told anyone that.’
    Bruno looked at him stonily.
    ‘OK. I might not be able to force you to behave like a decent human being. But I can ban you from liaising with customers.’
    ‘What do you mean, liaising?’
    Joe leaned back in his chair insolently, chewing gum and looking at his brother defiantly. For a moment, Bruno knew how it felt to be a teacher faced with a class of uncontrollable adolescents. He tried to remain calm.
    ‘Chatting up, flirting, touching up, snogging, shagging . . . do I have to spell it out in words of one syllable?’
    ‘What if I meet her on the beach and don’t realize she’s a customer?’
    Bruno grabbed Joe by the front of his T-shirt and pulled him up out of his chair. It was all he could do not to flatten him. He so resolutely refused to take anything seriously, to show even a modicum of responsibility.
    ‘You know exactly what I mean.’
    ‘Hey, chill,’ said Joe, aggrieved.
    ‘Just do as you’re told or you’ll find yourself out of a job,’ growled Bruno through gritted teeth.
    ‘I don’t think Mum would be very happy about that.’
    Joe was getting annoyed now, and was being uncharacteristically defensive. He never usually bothered – a smile was usually all it took to get him out of trouble. And Bruno didn’t want to turn this into a bigger deal than it already was. He let him go with a sigh, not wanting their confrontation to get back to his mother. She would only be upset. And Joe was perfectly capable of telling tales, he was sure.
    ‘OK. Have it your way. Forget I said anything. Just try and keep your hands off the customers if you can.’
    Joe shrugged and sat back down.
    ‘Plenty more fish in the sea.’
    Bruno gave up trying to get his brother to see reason. And he wondered if perhaps he was acting out of jealousy. Joe had always been the apple of everyone’s eye. The late baby. The cute one. Melter of the stoniest of hearts. While Bruno was working hard at school, Joe was garnering praise and attention by stumping round with his chubby legs, a sunny smile and a halo of curls. Maybe deep down Bruno envied him his freedom. He was living the perfect life. He had exactly the right proportion of sun, sea, surf, women, cash, free time and his mother to wait on him hand and foot. He didn’t even have to get his dirty clothes as far as the laundry basket. When he came home from work, Joanie scooped them off the floor and popped them into the machine to wash while he ate the food she had prepared. Before he put on his freshly ironed going-out clothes. Meanwhile, Bruno was working his balls off, stuck in