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“How did he react?”
“I think he was uncomfortable. I mean, I just grabbed him and laid it on. I didn’t even think about it, just did it.”
“Did he push you away?”
She thought about it for a long moment. “No. No, he didn’t push me away. But he didn’t pull me in, either.” She sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”
They sat in silence for a long while, watching the waves rolling gently to the shore as the sun forced itself through the cloud cover. A rockfall from years before had cut off the main beach, and with the tidal flow of the Blessed River forming a natural barrier at the other end of the beach, Leah had her own little oasis here, despite the condition of the house.
“I don’t know if this is helpful or not,” Leah began thoughtfully, “but I noticed something when we went to Genoa the other week. We were going to be really late coming back, so we grabbed some takeaway and ate it in the park. You remember?”
“Sure.”
“So, we sit down, you both open your burgers. Without saying anything, Rafe takes the top off his, holds it out to you, you drop your pickles on. Then he holds out his chips, you take a few and put them on your burger. You order coke, he orders Fanta. You get some spare cups and mix them up, so you’ve both got half coke, half Fanta.”
“Mezzo mix, sure. Where are you going with this?”
Leah blew out a frustrated breath. “You know, I have no idea. But it means something.”
“What does it mean?”
“I don’t know. It either means that you are such great friends with so much history that you shouldn’t risk it over a kiss.”
“Right.”
“Or, you’re such great friends with so much history that you would be perfect together. Romantically.”
Mikayla blew out a breath, then took a bite of her croissant, eyeing the ocean meditatively, thinking it through for a long moment. “I’ve got a plan.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna pretend it didn’t happen.”
“That’s a terrible plan.”
“You’re probably right but it’s the best I’ve got. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to risk that. I have no idea how to talk to him about it, so I think it’s best if I just leave it. And I’m just going to forget all about that dream. Yep, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Mikayla happy to just gaze out at the ocean and admire the sun’s persistence in its effort to pierce the low hanging clouds. Then a memory stirred her. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You and Callum.”
“Ah, there is no me and Callum.”
She glanced over in time to see a shadow pass over Leah’s face. Mikayla wrestled with herself briefly over whether or not to pursue the topic. Concern won. “Looked like you had a nice dance last night.”
“Sure.”
Well, if that wasn’t a firmly closed door, Mikayla didn’t know what was, but she was not to be deterred. “Do you know Callum?”
“Of course. He’s your brother.”
Mikala suspected Leah was being deliberately obtuse. “Smartass. I mean, have you met him before you came here?” She’d been pondering this question for a long time. Both she and Juniper had noticed that Leah was very different with Callum than anyone else. The best explanation for that was that they’d met before.
Leah didn’t answer at first. The silence was spinning out for so long, Mikayla thought she wasn’t going to. But then she said, her voice quiet, “I’ve met him before, yeah. But he doesn’t remember it, so it’s really not worth mentioning.”
“Is that why he makes you uncomfortable? Did he do something?” Although Mikayla doubted that Callum would deliberately hurt anyone, he had been quite wild in his younger years, once he’d found a bit of success with his music. She’d hate to think he’d got carried away in some way and hurt her sweet, sensitive friend.
