“Is it okay if we keep watching tomorrow?” she asks, pointing to the TV.
She wants to talk to her new friend instead of me. I’m thrilled, while at the same time devastated by this change of events. This is it. This is when I slowly step aside and let my child have a best friend other than me—well overdue, but I’m still not ready for it.
“Of course, babe.” I shut off the TV and reach for our now-empty bowls. “I’m gonna shower and head to bed myself.”
“Thanks, Mum.” She reaches up to kiss my cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Superstar.”
I rinse out the bowls, load them in the dishwasher, check the doors are locked, and head upstairs to my bedroom. After the hottest shower that leaves my skin on the brink of first-degree burns, just the way I like it, I smother myself in cocoa butter before throwing on a pair of sleep shorts, my slippers, and an oversized T-shirt. Then I head out to my balcony.
Our townhouse backs onto a community oval, leaving a huge open space in front of me, perfect for watching the stars. I cross my legs underneath me, getting comfortable on the single lounge I have set up out here, before pulling on my telescope. Dragging it towards my eye and looking through the finderscope, I align it with the moon.
I pull up the stargazing app on my phone, then adjust the lens to the lowest magnification and start mapping myself within the night sky. There are so many bright lights in the city, preventing the view from being truly breathtaking, the way it’s meant to be.
Aurora and I used to settle in towns on the outskirts of big cities, never too close to the hustle and bustle, the areas where people might stay if they were starting over. I’m going to have toget used to a whole new view now that we’re in a busy place like Heart City.
I’m slowly moving the lens, trying to hunt for all the points within Orion, when the hushed sound of a sliding door opening and closing tickles my ears to my right.
“You.”
4
“You,” I say, shocked to see the woman from the bakery sitting across the fenceline.
She wears an equally stunned look on her face, where she sits behind a long telescope.
The last thing I expected when I came home tonight was to find the pretty girl I ran into yesterday. And just like then, the reaction is visceral. Her big, brown eyes, with all her attention on me, have my heart fumbling.
I got home late last night. Every Wednesday, I volunteer at the Life Vine Community Centre with my best mate, Phil, teaching self-defence classes. By the time I got home, all the lights next door were snuffed out. My mind is fighting with disbelief that just before I fell asleep, her face flashed behind my eyes, and the whole time, she was right next door.
I only got back to Heart City two nights ago after spending some time in Trevally Falls with my half-siblings, Callie and Caspian. We not only share the same father but the same relationship with him. A non-existent one.
With Callie finally in the off-status of her on—off relationship with her boyfriend, I’m trying to be there for her more. Especially now that she’s pregnant, with not a shred of acknowledgment or accountability from the sperm donor. But she’s a tough kid, with that small-town skin, hardened by surf, sun, and gossip.
When I got back home, Mike mentioned the new tenant had moved into the house between us. A woman and her young daughter. But Jesus, I was not prepared. I’ve barely been able to get her off my mind since I saw her, and now she’s right fucking here? Dammit, I forgot how gorgeous she is.
“We didn’t get to introduce ourselves properly yesterday,” I say, moving across the balcony. I place my coffee cup down on the table and lean my forearms over the railing. “I’m Westley.”
Her hands are still braced on the tube of the telescope as she looks at me. She runs her tongue over her lip, dark eyes assessing me.
She leans back in her chair, sassy little smirk on her face. “I’m Maevyn.”
“Are you new to Heart City or just new to the area?”
Her dark hair is a wild mess, looking damp in the low light coming from behind her. One arm is covered in an array of inky patterns. I wonder what they are. If they mean anything.
“Why? You wanna offer me a tour?”
I smile, my heart pounding a mile a minute. “Was just being friendly.”
“Lucky me.” She smiles. “We’re new here.”
“Mike mentioned you moved in with your daughter,” I say.
I see her swallow, the casual mask slipping for just a second before she seems to shake it off, turning that easy smile on me again.
“Yeah. It’s just Aurora and me.”
