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My face fell. Tom stood in the office, shifting from foot and foot.
He quickly took off his hat. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“Um, I didn’t get to thank you the other day for helping me with the, ah, wombat problem.”
“Are you okay now?” My eyes drifted down to his crotch and then quickly flicked back up.
“Yeah. Swelling went down overnight.” His cheeks instantly turned red. “Choice of words. Shit.”
I laughed softly. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be embarrassed. Glad I was there to help.”
“Thank you again.”
I nodded. It had been weirdly nice helping him with his doona and the fire and even getting him tea and biscuits.
“And thanks for not telling anyone. Really appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
“It’s my sisters and brother who I needed to bribe to keep their mouths shut. Stacey saw it happen. She was collecting eggs and looked up as I went down. Regaled the family with my tale of woe over dinner.”
I chuckled again.
“How’s Ainslee?” I’d heard her announcement. How could I not hear it? Ainslee had been loud and I’d froze, unable to move away from his doorstep, listening like a creep.
Tom’s face fell. “You know.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help overhear.”
“She’s … here for a couple of days. At the pub.”
Should I congratulate him? Too soon. Way too soon. And they’d be considering their options.
Were they together again? He was starting a family. I should be happy he’d found someone. Tom was clearly with her at his party—
Why was I feeling so sad about him being with someone else? Was this just rebound hormones after Richard?
My shoulders sagged. It felt more than that. Felt like he was lost to me, forever. I shivered, despite the warmth of the air-conditioning in the office.
He cleared his throat, looking away, clearly not wanting to discuss the subject further.
“Huh,” he murmured.
I moved closer to see what had caught his attention. “Oh, that. I was going through my old documents and found it.”
My draft five year plan for the vineyard. I’d been working on it since I’d started university studies more than eight years ago.
“Keen to finish the plan and present it to my family. I lost the original file on my old laptop. Corrupted. Been up at night re-typing and adding new bits in.”
I gulped a deep breath. Lordy, I felt awkward. Tom flicked through some of the pages, pausing on one titled ‘wombat tourism’.
He placed the document down and then picked up an architectural drawing beside the folder. “You’re building something new at the winery?”
“Oh.” My hands fluttered uselessly in front of me as Tom scanned the drawing. “It’s a concept design for a wedding reception and conference venue at a South Australian winery. I met the owner at an industry conference last year, and she kindly shared the design with me. I’d love to extend our restaurant to do events and large groups.”
“Looks amazing. And Angelo said yes to this? Wow.”
