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“He’s in charge of the new resort,” Brooke said, her voice thin.
“So he’s back for good?” Ember leaned closer, as though Brooke was whispering. “Did he say anything to you? Did he ask about Nick?”
“I don’t know how long he’s here for,” Brooke admitted. The fact was, she knew very little about him at all. “And he didn’t mention Nick at all and nor did I. He didn’t ask me anything.”
“So maybe he doesn’t know.” Ember rubbed her chin. “He’s going to find out though, isn’t he? If he stays here long enough.”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment, connected by a mutual fear. Right as Brooke was about to voice her concern, her phone started to buzz. She picked it up, seeing her mom’s name on the screen.
“Ugh. I should take this. She’s been trying to get ahold of me all morning. Hold that thought, okay?” She swiped her finger across the screen and lifted it to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”
“Where are you? I tried knocking at your door but you weren’t there.”
“We’re at the beach.”
“You are? Why didn’t you say anything? I would have come with you. I haven’t been to the club for ages.”
Brooke swallowed down a smile. “We’re not at the club. We’re at the public beach.”
“Why would you go there?” Her mom’s voice held a note of distaste. “It’s full of… people. You should have used our pool instead. It’s much cleaner.”
“I’m with Ember,” Brooke said. Luckily, her mom liked Ember. One less battle to fight.
“Well what time will you be home? Daddy’s invited some friends over for supper this evening, and one of them is single.”
“I’m busy this evening.”
“Not that working thing again. It’s only a couple of hours, Brooke. Your father does a lot for you. You really should show him some appreciation.” Her mother cleared her throat. “And now that you’re almost at the end of your degree, you should start thinking about your next steps in life. Isn’t it time you thought about settling down? For Nick’s sake at least.”
She could feel her pulse drumming through her ears, drowning out the sound of children laughing, and the sea lapping gently on the sand. “I really am busy,” Brooke said again, looking straight at Ember. “Nick and I are going to Ember’s tonight. Otherwise I’d have loved to come over.”
Ember shot her a sympathetic look.
“Can you cancel?” her mom asked.
“No, it would be rude.” She decided to appeal to her mom’s sense of propriety. “Maybe next time, okay?”
They said goodbye and hung up, then Brooke slid her phone back into her bag.
“I thought you were going to give in for a minute,” Ember said. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Yeah, well I’m not afraid of my mom.”
“You know, if you keep telling lies you’re going to end up with a long nose.”
“It’s okay,” Brooke said, catching Ember’s eye. “If I do Mom’ll insist I have a nose job.”
This time Ember burst out laughing, and Brooke joined in, despite herself. Yes, things weren’t as easy as they could be, and it felt like she had a hundred different things pulling her in every direction, but with friends like hers she could face anything.
Well, almost anything.
5
Ally and Ember appeared on the sidewalk as Brooke parked her car on the street behind Ember’s cottage. She looked up, a frown creasing her face, as she opened the door.
Before Brooke could open her mouth, Ally beat her to it.
“Nick!” she said, her voice unusually high. “You wanna come with me? I need to walk down to the coffee shop to pick up some supplies.” Ally pulled open the back door and helped him out. Whereas Ember hung around the driver’s door, wringing her hands as though they were dripping wet.
