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‘Thanks for a beautiful dinner, Connor, and please remember to let your mum know I said goodbye.’ She paused. ‘I mean, goodnight.’
‘Will do, night.’ Before he had to sit and watch her walk away, he waited until she was safely out of the way, then headed back in the direction of home. A little miffed that the night, which had started so great, had ended so awkwardly – even though it was mainly his fault – he thought it was high time she was the one to watch him go.
Getting back to his safe haven, he felt her recent presence lingering, as though she’d left a sprinkling of her spirit there to taunt him. He kicked off his boots and headed inside to find his mum gone from the lounge room. His hands running along the railings of the staircase, he took the steps two at a time just to make sure she was safely tucked up in bed. The light spilling out from beneath the door let him know she was and, not wanting to bother her, he turned near the top and made his way back down the stairs and outside. He needed a cold shower. Now. Then he would hit the hay and spend most of the night staring at the ceiling, wondering why he’d said what he did, when his instincts told him the outcome wasn’t going to be a favourable one. Was it his hurt, climbing to the surface and finally fighting back, or was it because he wanted to stir up her feelings, to see if they had an inkling of a chance? Whatever the divide had been between them while she had been away, thanks to his foot-in-mouth moment, it was hinting at its presence again. Hell, if she was separated from Benjamin, he’d swim through sharks to get to her, to make her see what was still there, but was he going to tear himself to pieces trying to do it?
CHAPTER
11
After climbing into bed at midnight, Samantha had slept well, all things considered. It had been a shock, being put on the spot about their past, but what had she expected? Of course he’d wondered, just as much as she had, about where they might have gone if she’d had the courage to stay in Gum Tree Gully all those years ago, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. It would do them no favours, none at all, to be pining over what could have been. No, they needed to focus on the here and now, and that meant turning all their attention to their positions as maid of honour and best man. Shea and Jack deserved the most splendid of days, and it was her job, and Connor’s, to make sure that happened. So, from here on in, that’s what their conversations were going to be all about, if she had her way. Which she was quietly determined to do.
Her hands tucked behind her head, and her morning meditation coming to an end, she plucked her AirPods from her ears and popped them back into the case. Taking a moment to breathe deeply, she allowed her mind to settle into the day ahead. Lost in peaceful solitude, with nowhere to be and no deadline to meet, she actually found herself humming as she rose from her bed and swept the curtains open to reveal the twinkling brightness of the brand-new day. A kookaburra sitting on the Hills hoist caught her attention, its song one of raucous laughter. The old wives’ tale was that was sung when someone was newly pregnant. Ha, it certainly wasn’t her with a yet-to-be discovered bun in the oven. It had been so long since she’d been in the throes of lovemaking that she was sure she’d forgotten how to, or what it felt like to be wanted, ravished, loved like that. And it would most likely be quite some time until she ever did again.
Although, if she wanted to have the children she so longed for …
She shook her contemplations off. It was time to get on with her day, instead of pondering her lack-ofs, because as the meditation had preached for twenty minutes to her, there was a lot for her to be grateful for, and gratitude brought a better attitude. So, after showering, then deciding on a pair of jeans and a pretty peasant top, she noted the little spring in her step as she bounced down the stairs and towards the scent of freshly brewed coffee.
Shea’s sunshiny face met her. ‘Good morning, lovely.’
Samantha grabbed a cup from the draining rack. ‘It is a good morning, isn’t it?’
‘Geez, what’s gotten into you?’ Shea’s expression was a picture of playfulness as she leant into Samantha’s space. ‘Ahh, let me rephrase that, who’s gotten into you?’
‘Shea, behave yourself.’ Busying herself with whipping up her caffeine fix, she glanced over her shoulder to discover Shea watching her like a hawk. ‘What?’
‘Somethings different this morning, so come on, spill.’
‘Dinner was a success, and that’s it really.’ She wasn’t about to whinge about the moment Connor changed all of that.
‘A success hey, well, from where I’m standing, it appears to have been a massive hit.’ She wriggled her brows. ‘Samantha and Connor sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-NG.’
‘Stop it.’
Shea folded her arms. ‘What if I don’t want to?’
Samantha plucked the wooden spoon from the utensils jar and pointed it in Shea’s direction. ‘Or else.’
‘Ha, I’d like to see you try and use that.’ Shea flashed a challenging grin. ‘I remember my Mum threatening us kids with that all the time, but she never used it on anyone’s backside, God love her.’
With the conversation moving on, Samantha breathed a silent sigh of relief. ‘Uh-huh, she thought she was scary, but she was far from it.’ Her spoon clanked against her mug as she stirred her coffee into a frenzy. ‘Would you like me to take over dinner duties tonight, and give you a break?’ She turned and took a sip, her hip resting up against the breakfast bench. ‘I can’t promise it’ll be anywhere near as delectable as your cooking, but it will at least be edible, and healthy.’
‘Thanks, but all good. I reckon we’ll fire the barbecue up tonight, whack some steaks and sausages on. I’ll give Connor a call, and see if he’d like to join.’ She held a hand up to stop the words that were about to fly from Samantha’s mouth. ‘Because that’s what would usually happen given the fact he and Jack are best mates.’
‘Okay, all right, fair enough.’ Shea had a good point. ‘How about I whip up a potato salad, and something for dessert.’
‘Yummy, sounds good to me.’ She planted a kiss on Samantha’s cheek. ‘Thanks, again, for offering to watch Amaya today.’
Samantha glanced out the kitchen window, to where Amaya was riding her pushbike with training wheels in circles with Fudge loyally at her side. ‘My pleasure,’ Smiling from the heart, she turned back to Shea. ‘And FYI, so you and Jack can totally forget about everything and relax at the day spa, I’ve got this babysitting thing in the bag.’
‘I know you do, Little Miss Practical.’ Hooking her handbag over her shoulder, Shea offered one last smile. ‘I’ll be seeing you this arvo, hopefully a totally new woman.’
‘You will feel a million bucks afterwards, I’m sure.’ She offered a wave. ‘Ciao for now, brown cow.’
Shea chuckled. ‘Oh my god, the things we used to say.’ Her footsteps faded down the hallway, and the click of the front door sounded.
Happy to be contributing to dinner, and helping with Amaya, Samantha strapped Shea’s apron on and got to work. With Johnny Cash serenading her from the stereo, she whisked, stirred and swayed around the kitchen. An hour and a half later, with a pit stop somewhere in the middle of it all to take Amaya a plate of gingernut cookies and a glass of milk, the golden syrup pudding was steaming away on the stove, and the potatoes were now boiled, and cooling in the strainer on the sink. Embracing the feeling of a successful morning, she was just about to head out and spend some time with Amaya in the garden when a crashing sound followed by wails had her racing to the back door, down the steps and across the lawn, to where Amaya now lay beneath her pushbike, with scraped knees and elbows.
‘Oh, my poor darling.’ Scooping her up, she cuddled a sobbing Amaya to her. ‘Shh, you’re okay.’
