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“Upside-down pavlova.” Jackson placed two bottles on the table. “My special creation. Sorry.”
“I feel there is a story I don’t have time to hear. Want to pretty it up with some more strawberries and cream?”
“Yes, please,” Lexi said.
Barb retrieved the ingredients from the fridge and motioned for Lexi to do her thing.
“Jackson, can you bring the drinks outside?” Barb left the room, and Jackson followed with the drinks. His broad back seemed to block half the light as he left.
“You gonna swim today?” Ellie asked.
Lexi’s attention swung back to her task, but not before she noticed Ellie wore a small smile, like she was used to women ogling her husband. Oh, to be so secure. What were they talking about again? That’s right. Swimming.
“Probably not.” She might be making some steps towards courage, but one couldn’t get carried away. Even if she did hate the feeling of sitting on the sidelines. Even if the teenage Lexi had promised herself to never stop having a go at things like swimming like so many older women seemed to. What kind of message did that send to their children? It was like cutting your hair short when you turned fifty, as though long hair was reserved for the young. Nope. Not gonna play.
“I don’t swim either,” Ellie said, watching as Jackson greeted some people then headed to the pool. “Jackson thinks I’m crazy, but I’ve never been confident in the water.”
“Swimming isn’t for everyone,” Lexi said.
Although it seemed to be for everyone else who was here. The guests looked to range from late teens through to early thirties, all enjoying cooling off from today’s heat by swimming, diving, jumping, splashing others. Yeah, coming tonight sure was a great idea. Could she leave yet?
But something urged her to stay, maybe because she’d always been a glutton for punishment.
She finished redecorating the pavlova, stored it in the fridge, and headed outside with Ellie where they found a couple of wicker chairs in the corner of the pool area. Ellie grabbed a packet of chips, and Lexi joined her, propping her sunglasses on her nose.
“So,” Ellie said, “Tell me about yourself.”
Somehow it seemed easier to share about her life with someone who clearly knew little about her. Instead of focusing on the last three months, she could share the things she wanted others to know. So Lexi shared about her studies, her nursing career, and answered questions about life in Australia.
“That sounds awesome. I think Jackson would love to visit one day.”
Lexi coughed, almost choking on a fake sour cream-flavored potato chip.
“You okay? Here, have a drink.” Ellie passed her a plastic tumbler of brightly colored soda, and she gulped it down.
“Hey, Ellie.” A handsome man sat opposite them, nodded a greeting at Lexi, then focused entirely on Ellie. Huh. Lexi wondered what Jackson would have to say about a man speaking to his wife like that. She glanced back at the pool, in time to see his tanned broad chest rise from the water. She swallowed. Looked away. Why was Ellie focused on this other man and not her husband?
“So. Lexi.”
She glanced up, zeroing in on a chest that said hello to every one of her senses. Then she had to swallow and whisk her gaze away to the hills gleaming yellow in the evening sun.
“Don’t you swim either?”
“I do.” She knew she sounded defensive and tried to soften it with a smile. “I just didn’t feel like swimming today.”
Jackson picked up a towel and dried his hair then wrapped it around his neck so it draped over his chest. She was glad. She shouldn’t be paying attention to his pecs. “So have you forgiven me yet?”
“Forgiven—oh. Of course. Yeah. Sorry.”
His smile slid up half his face. “I’m glad you came today. Ellie was glad to meet you.”
“Ellie’s really nice.” Even if she was still talking to the other guy and hadn’t paid Jackson a lick of attention.
“I was wondering—”
“Hey, Jackson. Dude. Is this her?”
Some man Lexi had never seen before grinned at her, then at Jackson.
