Lisa shook the cat’s kibble into the bowl and placed it on the floor. Uno crouched into a ready to eat mode and began crunching. Lisa put the box of kibble away and smiled. ‘You know my type.’
‘Do I?’
‘Yes … it’s you.’
Nathan smiled, and Lisa kissed him. As she steppedback, she looked into his eyes. ‘Thank you, by the way.’
‘What for?’
‘Offering Florian the work. Encouraging him to come over. This past month has given him and Dom a proper chance to get to know each other, they might really have something.’
‘I had an ulterior motive.’ A smile tugged at Nathan’s lips.
Lisa looked at him, her expression serious. ‘I told you Dom’s just a friend,you don’t need to play matchmaker—’
‘Cheap labour,’ he blurted the words with a laugh.
Lisa gasped before looking at Nathan’s teasing expression. ‘Oh, you’re terrible.’
‘Not really! I just wanted Dom to be happy, so you’d be happy. I saw how excited you were each time they went out together or stayed late on the terrace.’
‘Well, that’s really kind. Thank you.’ Lisa leaned intoNathan’s arms, the realisation dawning that her own efforts with his friends hadn’t been nearly so generous. The “couple of weeks” Brett, Sam and Alex had intended to stay after Nathan and Lisa returned from France had stretched to four, and still, Lisa hadn’t entirely warmed to the Austins.
Brett was fine; he and Lisa reminisced a little but primarily stuck to the safe subject of the renovationshe had been lending a hand with. Finding Sam more pleasant in the company of others, Lisa had avoided being alone with her. She had attempted to get to know Alex better. But despite being similar in age to Flick’s girls, he wasn’t happy to chat about his interests like Megan; and he wasn’t quirky like Alice. After a couple of failed attempts, Lisa had given up – perhaps too quickly. With theirflights booked for the following evening and their departure set, Lisa knew she had one final evening to make amends. Brett and Sam were Nathan’s friends after all, and their connection to Nathan meant they would be a part of her future. A farewell meal together would be a good way to say thank you for Brett’s help and, Lisa hoped, a way to thaw some of the frost in her relationship with Sam.
Brett dominated the conversation talking about work throughout the meal. Lisa had to admire the fact having Alex had inspired him to take his higher education seriously. He’d applied himself as he never had at school, and had subsequently worked up to a job as a chief buyer for a large retailer. In the relaxed, slightly-alcohol-fuelled atmosphere he and Sam seemed happy, and Lisa was pleased.Alex had even smiled more times than she had seen him muster over the previous weeks, clearly enjoying his dad’s stories.
Being almost thirty weeks pregnant, Lisa found it increasingly hard to finish a meal. She felt too full to manage all of the spaghetti bolognese she had served herself, and yet still she felt the familiar sting at the back of her throat and tightening in her chest of heartburn.Excusing herself, Lisa went to the kitchen and poured a glass of milk. The midwife had recommended a heartburn remedy but, even with the midwife’s blessing and Flick’s insistence she had lived on the stuff, Lisa didn’t like to take medication while pregnant. The cold milk slipped down her throat easing the sensation a little. Lisa rubbed her hand over her hard bump. Winnie had told her heartburnwas a sign the baby had lots of hair. Lisa had no idea if that was true.
As she placed the milk back in the fridge, Lisa glanced around the kitchen. She had removed her jewellery, putting it in a dish on the kitchen side, while she prepared the bolognese. Once finished Lisa had washed her hands and slipped her engagement ring on, deciding to leave her bracelet until after her shower. But shehadn’t put it on, had she? Lisa put her hand to her empty wrist. No. She remembered Brett, Sam and Alex turning up before she’d had the opportunity. She had gone into hostess mode, wanting everything to be perfect. But if she hadn’t put it on and the dish she was staring at was now empty, where was it? Her thoughts flicked to Sam. Had she had the opportunity to take it? Lisa remained almost certainshe had taken and secreted away the engagement ring Nathan had kept from their prom. But she hadn’t confronted Sam about it. How could she without revealing how she discovered it?
But now her bracelet was missing. Lisa thought about the charms on it – the fireman, Uno, the satchel and, of course, her pip. Not knowing where it was caused the tightness in her chest to increase. Nathan appearedat the kitchen door.
‘You OK?’
Lisa wondered whether to say about the bracelet and her suspicions.
‘Thanks for tonight. I know Brett’s never been your favourite person, and that things got off on the wrong foot with Sam, but this has been nice; a new beginning. I really appreciate it.’
And just like that Lisa knew she couldn’t say what was on her mind. She felt desperate abouther bracelet, and she was certain Sam had something to do with its disappearance, but she couldn’t bring herself to hurt Nathan. Her reasons for accusing Sam couldn’t be shared in front of Brett and Alex. Not when the repercussions could result in Nathan losing his best friend and his godson.
Lisa took a steadying breath and welcomed a hug from Nathan. Knowing he would agree that she shouldlay down she told him she felt suddenly tired. It was an easy way out of a situation in which she was unsure she could hold back from blurting out what she wanted to say. But with Sam’s departure imminent she knew she would have to do something to discover the truth, and she would have to do it soon.
