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A jazz band played on a temporary wooden platform that had been erected on the beach. It was large enough for people to dance and some had already taken advantage. The whole atmosphere was magical, the snazzy couples dancing to smooth saxophone notes against the backdrop of a russet ocean sunset were just the icing on the cake.
A roll of red carpet bordered and lit by flaming tiki torches formed a pathway from the foreshore to the spa where guests came and went exclaiming over the wonders of the posh new facility. Another red-carpeted, tiki-lit pathway led to the nearest luxury tent, drawing more appreciative buzz.
With travel agents and influential tourism representatives here both Claudia and Avery were confident they’d be filling the new luxury accommodation before too much longer.
But it wasn’t just the business community who were kicking up their heels. Avery’s brilliant idea to combine the black-tie launch with a fundraiser for the cyclone-ravaged area had ensured that plenty of locals were also out in force. Prizes of prestigious spa and accommodation packages had been offered and the locals of Crescent Cove had glammed up and brought their wallets.
And all this serenaded by something that no amount of money could buy. The swish of a calm ocean and the kiss of a gentle breeze. The weather had been the one wild card but even it had bowed to Avery’s superior organisational skills. It was a gorgeous, crisp, starry North Queensland winter night. The quarter moon was on the rise, the horizon glowed with orange and pinks and the first stars in the velvety evening dazzled like diamonds.
After the destruction of a few months ago, the weather gods were smiling.
The only thing that was missing was Luke.
‘I wouldn’t have done half as good a job by myself,’ Claudia said, dragging her thoughts back from the one topic that could cast a pall over her entire evening. ‘Your eye for detail is awesome.’
Avery hugged her harder and they both just watched the spectacle for a few moments. ‘Are you sure you’re okay, Claude?’ Avery ventured after a while. ‘You seem really tense. Are you worried about seeing Luke again?’
‘I’m fine,’ Claudia hastily assured, not wanting her focus derailed. The party was here and now and Luke...
Luke was late.
‘And dandy?’
Claudia glanced at her friend. ‘Avery.’
‘Claude, I love you, you’re my best friend. I hate seeing you miserable.’
Claudia frowned—miserable? But she’d been killing herself to be chipper and chatty and chirpy. Just good old Claude. Business as usual. She glanced at Avery, looked into eyes that knew her way too well.
And she couldn’t deal with it now.
‘When does Raoul’s studio perform?’ she asked, looking back to the beach stage as she, not so deftly, changed the subject.
Avery sighed and checked her watch. ‘During the hors d’oeuvres. So...soon.’
‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m starving.’
Even though she knew food was never going to sit well inside her squalling belly.
* * *
Luke followed his mother and the jazzy music towards the beach, straightening the bow tie his mother had hastily thrown together for him. The urge to stop in and see the finished spa and the accommodation was strong but he was already late enough. He pulled up short when he entered the clearing on the foreshore.
‘Wow,’ he said as myriad fairy lights dazzled his eyes and the party atmosphere instantly embraced him.
‘It’s spectacular, isn’t it?’ His mother beamed.
‘Amazing,’ he agreed.
‘Claude and Avery have worked so hard,’ she said.
Luke nodded. He’d not been involved in too much of the launch preparations, knowing it was in good hands with Avery. But this...this was utterly breathtaking.
His gaze roamed the classy crowd as his mother chatted about the set-up and the number of local dignitaries that were attending. Luke couldn’t give a rat’s arse that the state minister for tourism was here—he only cared about one person.
One woman.
A procession of waiters filed past him carrying trays laden with finger food, the aromas of garlic and basil lingering in their wake. They dispersed throughout the guests offering a range of gastronomic delights. Jonah spotted him and strode over to greet him, bringing somebody with him.
‘You don’t scrub up so bad, old friend.’ Luke grinned, shaking Jonah’s hand after he’d been introduced to the local tourism council chair.
He shrugged. ‘Avery likes me in a tux.’
Luke felt a pang in his chest at the goofy smile Jonah had plastered to his face. As if he already knew how lucky he was going to get later.
