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“Beatrice? I wasn’t expecting you.” Preston’s face flushed red.
“I can see that.” She pressed her hands to her hips. “I think it’s time I got an explanation.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Geri said, flouncing out of the office with a glare in Bea’s direction.
The imprint of the two of them wrapped up together in Preston’s office knocked the wind from Bea’s lungs. She gaped at Preston, feeling nothing but a sad emptiness. There was no passion left, no hurt feelings or love lost. Those had been chased away by Preston’s first confession. Now all she wanted was to put it behind her.
“I suppose that makes my decision easier,” she said.
Preston walked to meet her, palms raised. “That wasn’t what it looked like. Don’t get the wrong impression. We were saying goodbye.”
“Why are you lying to me about her?”
His shoulders slumped. “What do you want, Bea?”
“I want us both to move on with our lives and be happy. And from what I’ve seen, you’re pretending to want a reconciliation with me because you don’t want me looking into your finances. I’ve never been unfair. I’m not trying to take advantage of you, Preston. I only wanted you to be upfront with me. If you’d have been honest, none of this would’ve happened in the first place.”
He shrugged. “I’ve worked so hard…”
“We both have. In different ways.”
He sighed.
She studied him — the hangdog expression, the slouched shoulders. He loved his money more than he had loved his wife. As far as she was concerned, he could have it. “I don’t want anything from you. We can split the assets you included in the spreadsheet down the middle, and anything else is yours. You’re far too caught up in material things, Pres. You always were. None of that ever mattered one bit to me. I don’t care about it. I have everything I need back on Coral Island. I hope you’ll be happy with Geri and your new life.”
His eyes widened. “But Beatrice…”
“I’m done,” she said. Then she spun on her heel and stalked from his office.
His assistant stood in the doorway, gaping. She grinned at Beatrice as she strode past and dipped her head in a brief nod. “Goodbye, Ms Rushton. And good luck.”
“Thank you. You too.”
Then she took the lift down to the ground floor and stepped outside into the frigid air. With her head tilted towards the sky, she grinned up at the clouds and tucked her scarf more tightly around her neck and chin. Then she headed for the subway station. She was going home to Coral Island.
Back at the guesthouse, Bea called the airline and booked the first flight north that evening. Then she called Harry to tell him goodbye. He said he’d visit during his next break from classes, and she promised to decorate a room for him in the cottage. She would miss her son, but other than him, there was nothing she was sad to leave behind.
She’d spent every day in Sydney running, cycling and playing tennis. She was fitter and stronger than she could remember being at any time in her adult life. She was bored and listless, lonely and irritable — there was nothing she wanted more than to get back to the island, the renovation and Dani, her new café and the friendships she’d built since her return to her childhood home.
A knock at the door surprised her. She opened it to find a courier placing a box on the ground by the door. She signed for the package then carried it into the guesthouse and placed it on the dining table.
It was addressed to her. The return address on the label was for a shipping company in Airlie Beach. She frowned as she slid a knife under the tape sealing the box shut. Who would’ve sent her something from Airlie Beach? She couldn’t imagine Dad would’ve sent something to Sydney knowing she was on her way back to the island soon.
Inside, there were several bags of coffee. The scent of the beans drifted up to meet her, and she squeezed her eyes shut to inhale with delight.
“Delicious,” she whispered.
Whoever had sent it clearly had good taste in coffee.
There was an envelope in the box. She slid a finger under the flap and opened it. A photograph fell out onto the table. It was a picture of Aidan’s smiling face. He pointed at a large, shining espresso machine on a clean marble kitchen bench top. The bench was deliciously stylish, and she admired it for a full minute before recognising it as the bench top she’d selected for the cottage.
She turned the photograph over and read the words printed there.
Dear Bea, this beauty is waiting eagerly to make your first coffee in your new cottage. I hope you like it. Your friend no matter what, Aidan xo
His thoughtfulness brought a lump to her throat. She wanted to call him and thank him, but decided to wait until she was home to see him in person. The gesture was something Preston would never have thought to do. Even when they were in love and spending every moment they could together, he’d never done anything so thoughtful.
It was simple, but it showed Aidan cared. Even if they were never anything more than friends, she knew Aidan was in her corner. He understood her, knew what would bring a smile to her face, and he was willing to go out of his way to make that happen. For her in that moment, after what she’d witnessed at Preston’s office, it was everything.
