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‘No. You’re in love with Emma. Always have been. Always will be.’
‘I loved Emma. I know she’ll always be special in my heart. But you’re the one I love.’
She dipped her head in her hand and breathed deep. ‘There are too many people hurting, Daniel. So much damage done. How can you expect me to embrace your love? How can you expect me to return it? Even… Even if I wanted to.’
She looked up to see hope in his eyes for the first time in days. ‘Daniel, you have to let me walk away. You have to give me time.’
The door burst open, the doctor bustling in and swiping up the charts at the end of her bed near her packed bag. ‘Someone anxious to go home, then?’ He looked up at her, switched his glance to Daniel and turned his gaze down to the chart. ‘Hope I didn’t just interrupt something important.’
She gave a wan smile and shook her head. ‘Not at all. Mr Caruana was just leaving.’
EPILOGUE
IT WAS the kind of day you wished you could bottle—not a cloud in the azure sky, the cerulean sea dotted with pleasure craft and a tempering sea breeze to keep the temperature from climbing too high.
It would have been perfect if her heart hadn’t been permanently lodged in her mouth since she’d arrived.
Kallista had turned on its best and Meg had done a brilliant job bringing it all together while Sophie had held the fort in Brisbane these past couple of weeks. A white pavilion had been installed on a grassy patch near the shore and festooned with colourful bougainvillea over fluttering white chiffon, the perfect, romantic setting for the perfect wedding.
And it was. She’d slipped in, arriving on the very last launch when everyone was busy with last-minute details. She’d planned it that way. Even a couple of weeks away hadn’t been enough to make her forget or stop her longing. But it seemed it had been long enough for Daniel. He hadn’t contacted her in all that time. Clearly his profession of love hadn’t meant a thing. She’d done the right thing by walking away.
What she hadn’t planned was how highly strung she felt. She almost cried when she saw Jake up front with the celebrant, pulling at his collar, looking nervous and excited, like every proper groom should. She did cry when she saw Monica, the most beautiful bride she’d ever seen, her smile joyous, her face radiant, as she walked down the aisle on the arm of her proud and equally beautiful brother to the man she loved.
The tears continued when she saw the men shake hands as one man handed the bride over to the other, and then when bride and groom exchanged vows and kissed she cried again.
She dabbed at her eyes as the congregation cheered the newly married couple and filtered behind them along the shore. At this rate she’d be a complete puddle by the time they made it to the speeches.
‘It’s good to see you again.’
She blinked and he was there, gloriously there before her, all magnificent male, dressed in a suit fit for a god. Appropriate, really, given what lay beneath. ‘How have you been?’
Lonely.
‘Busy. How about you?’
‘The same.’ He was looking at her with those hungry eyes, warm and sensual, his mouth turned into the beginnings of a smile although there were lines of strain there too. ‘You look beautiful.’
She smiled. She had red eyes and a heavy heart, but she’d take the words in the spirit they were given.
‘Sit with me at the reception,’ he said. ‘I got Meg to save you a seat.’
‘Of course.’ Sitting with him meant nothing. As sister of the groom, she’d expected not to be able to fade entirely into the woodwork. She could last a few hours in his company; she’d almost convinced herself.
They got corralled into wedding photos of family and friends and it seemed like ages before the party moved to the long-house pavilion. In pride of place was the cake Millie had made for them spilling with orchids in soft pinks and whites. ‘It’s beautiful, Millie,’ she told the woman as they embraced. ‘You’ve done a wonderful job.’
Millie wiped a tear from her own eye. ‘We’ve missed you, Sophie. Him more than anyone. He’s been like a bear with a sore head. Worse these last few days, waiting for you to turn up. You’d think he was the one getting married. Will you be staying a while?’
She smiled, not sure how she should feel about Millie’s revelations. Excited? Hopeful? Or had he merely been dreading her presence. ‘Just overnight. I have to be back in Brisbane.’
The older woman’s face dropped momentarily. Then she sighed and nodded. ‘I understand.’
Did she? Sophie wasn’t sure she understood herself.
