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Evanna picked up her key and pulled the door closed. ‘How many people are coming, do you know?’
‘Everyone. How’s Sonia—have you heard?’
They walked to the car and Evanna smiled at Ethan who was lounging in the driver’s seat, a pair of dark glasses shielding his eyes. ‘Sonia is doing very well.’ She squashed into the back seat of Ethan’s sports car. ‘She came out on Wednesday and I’ve already seen her in Meg’s, chatting to Lucy and feeding the baby.’
‘Those two will have a lot in common. Quite nice, really.’ Kyla checked her lipstick in the mirror. ‘A sort of ready-made support group. And how was Logan? I expected him to be traumatised but he’s actually seemed quite buoyant all week.’
Evanna fastened her seat belt. And she knew why that was. He was thinking about a woman. ‘He seems fine. He looked pretty grey to start with but then he seemed to pull himself together and he was fine during the delivery.’
‘Really?’
‘He’s fine,’ Ethan drawled, pulling up in a vacant parking space. ‘You girls worry too much.’
They arrived at the beach, parked in the car park and then made their way down the steps to the sand. A delicious smell of charcoal and cooking floated through the air and a group of teenagers were playing an extremely noisy game of volleyball on the sand.
Automatically, Evanna wandered over to help with the food.
‘We’re all under control,’ Meg said firmly, giving her a gentle push. ‘You go and have a swim, dear. It’s so hot, I’m sure you need it.’
‘I must admit, I do fancy a swim. Are you sure you can manage here?’
‘Absolutely. If I need help, I’ll yell. Kyla and Ethan are already in, look.’ She adjusted her sunglasses. ‘Go and join them.’
Deciding that it was too hot to argue, Evanna wriggled out of her dress, folded it neatly and placed it on top of her bag and then sprinted towards the water’s edge to join the others.
Kyla and Ethan were fooling around, splashing and ducking each other, and she waded cautiously into the water, shivering slightly as it surged above her knees. ‘I don’t know how you two can be so brave. It’s freezing.’
‘Fresh is the word you’re looking for,’ Kyla yelled, splashing Ethan and finding herself ducked as a result.
Smiling at the two of them, Evanna gingerly eased herself into the water.
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bsp; She swam with them for about ten minutes and the cold water was deliciously refreshing against her hot skin. Despite the fact that it was late afternoon, the heat of the sun was relentless.
‘All right. That’s quite enough exercise. I’m starving.’ Kyla rubbed a hand over her face to clear her vision and squinted towards the shore. ‘Do you think the food is ready yet?’
‘I expect there will be sausages because they always feed the children first.’ Evanna dived under the water again, enjoying the cool rush of water through her hair. When she emerged, dripping, Logan was standing in front of her.
Instantly her legs weakened. ‘Logan!’ Her voice was a shocked squeak. She hadn’t expected to see him. Not yet.
More beach bum than doctor, she thought to herself, trying to catch her breath. He was wearing a pair of blue surf shorts and his shoulders were bare.
‘Hi, Evanna.’ His voice sounded unusually strained and she wiped the water from her eyes and studied him closely.
Something was wrong, she could sense it.
‘I— Is everything all right? Where’s Kirsty?’
‘One of the cousins offered to babysit. I decided to take your advice and have a night out.’
‘Oh. Great idea.’ He was staring at her. Why was he staring at her? Feeling self-conscious under his steady blue gaze, Evanna lifted a hand and squeezed the water out of her hair. It trailed over her shoulder in a thick, wet rope. ‘I tried to call you this morning.’
‘You did?’ His eyes were on her hair. ‘Why?’
She felt hideously flustered, not least because Kyla gave her a wink and started to swim towards shore, leaving her alone with Logan. ‘Why did I call you?’ She turned away from Kyla, found herself looking at his chest and backed away, flustered. ‘Because I wanted to ask about Helen Price. Do you know if she saw the cardiologist?’
‘Yes. He confirmed my suspicions. She has an atrial septal defect.’
