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“Let’s finish this up, and tomorrow we can find her and ask.”
Eleven
When Bea wentto the cottage the next day to meet the contractor, Dani stayed behind in bed. She had a cold, with a sore throat and temperature. Bea’s glands felt swollen, but someone had to meet Brett, and Dad had gone to the mainland for fishing supplies he couldn’t get on the island. So, she was the only one available to go.
She ate a quick breakfast, ran a comb through her hair and pulled a hat low over her eyes, then ran down the track to the cottage. She was puffing hard when she arrived and found Aidan already there.
With her hands on her hips, she heaved for breath. “What are you doing here?”
“Good morning to you too,” he said with a grin. “I’m meeting Brett, your contractor.”
“I’m meeting Brett too.”
“I have to talk to him about something to do with a project I’m working on, and he said I should meet him here, as he doesn’t have any spare time today.” He faced her, blue eyes sparkling. “It gave me an excuse to see you as well.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “How nice.” She told herself he didn’t mean anything by it.
They’d reconnected when they caught up over coffee at his mansion on the beach, but that’s all it was. He was a famous ex-football player, and she was a dowdy housewife. He’d already left her once, there was little doubt he wouldn’t have changed his mind.
As much as she could easily let herself get caught up in the fantasy of the two of them together, she was a married woman. She didn’t know what might happen with Preston and was entirely confused about the whole situation. Did he want them to reunite? Did she? There was too much up in the air for her to be flirting with an old flame.
He laughed. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s nice to catch up again after all this time. I missed seeing you.”
She tried to act casual. “Oh, yeah. I know what you mean. In fact, I think I’m going to see Eveleigh later today. She has that bookshop in Kellyville, right?”
His brow furrowed. “That’s right. It’s a little independent shop with all kinds of old, out-of-print or hard-to-find books, along with the latest blockbusters, of course. There’s a café attached, although it’s closed now, I think.”
She hadn’t been certain it was the same Eveleigh she’d known as Evie from their school years, so she was glad to have her suspicions confirmed. “Great. I’m hoping she can help me…”
“That reminds me. I brought you something.” He walked over to his truck, pulled a dog-eared book out of the glove box, and handed it to her.
The title wasMoving on from Grief.
She frowned, holding it up to him. “Grief?”
He shrugged. “It helped me a lot when I lost my wife. There are different kinds of grief. I guess I figured divorce was one of them.”
“Oh, I see what you mean. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
The fact that he’d thought of her meant a lot. She realised she’d avoided dealing with her feelings since she left Sydney. The pain and grief of losing her marriage after twenty-five years hadn’t really struck her yet. She still felt as though she was taking an extended holiday and would go home to her normal life soon. But she wouldn’t. Her normal life had been blown up. Her husband was gone. Her children had left home. The house had strangers living in it.
“If you like, we could get together and talk about it, after you’ve had a chance to read a few chapters. For me, talking helped, although I took a long time to get to that point. I don’t recommend denial. It doesn’t work well for anyone involved.”
It was as though he could read her thoughts. She blushed. “Of course, you’re right. I have to admit to being in a bit of denial still. Can’t quite believe my husband has a mistress and a baby and has left me to go and live in Melbourne. It’s all so fresh still, but I suppose it’s been a long time coming. I must’ve been in denial for years not to realise that something was wrong. I can see it now, although it’s painful to admit it.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said softly, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “He should’ve talked to you if he was feeling disconnected.”
“You’re right, he should’ve. We spent so much time apart for years — me taking care of the kids and the house, him at work. We got used to it, far more than we should’ve. It became our normal. I suppose that’s why it was such a shock to me — I’d lived up to the contract we agreed to, and I assumed he had as well.”
“Fair assumption.”
“It seems I was wrong. About a lot of things.”
“We’re all wrong at times. No one is perfect. But I hope that if I felt something was wrong in our relationship, I’d talk to you about it.”
“I think that’s where you and I went wrong all those years ago as well.” She held the book to her chest. “We didn’t communicate.”
“I’ve always regretted that,” he admitted. “I learned from it, though, and made sure my wife and I spoke openly about whatever was going on in our lives.”
