“Let’s get a drink,” I say, taking Kris’s hand and leading him toward the house and the fully stocked bar.
We step inside and find Caleb and April surrounded by their friends.
“Pen,” April calls over as we walk in.
I smile at her as we change direction.
She steps forward, and I pull her in for a hug.
“Congratulations. You look beautiful,” I say before holding her away from me and taking in her gown. “You look like a princess, as Lottie would say.”
“She did when we were getting ready.” April chuckles. “I can’t believe we got through our vows. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so nervous.”
I squeeze her arm. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,” I tell her, making Caleb chuckle. His arm slides around her waist, her body curving into his.
“Including us,” Caleb admits, laughing. “Not long now. This will be you two in a few months,” he adds, shaking Kris’s hand. “Pleased you could make it, Kris.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Kris replies. “It was a beautiful ceremony.”
Caleb and April look at one another. If this was a cartoon, little birds and love hearts would float around them right about now.
We step away as more guests move forward to congratulate them.
“A drink?” Kris asks.
“Please,” I say before we make our way towards Gabriel, Leah, and little Callum.
CHAPTER 4
ELIJAH
As the evening festivities slow down, I make my escape. Lottie has joined April’s students in our old games room, where Mum’s hired a projector and gaming equipment after we moved our old gaming machines to the community centre next door to April’s dance studio.
I make my way to the pool. I long to shed my suit, dive into the warm water, and swim until I’ve relieved the stress of the day. But today isn’t about me, and the last thing my mother needs is drunk guests taking a dip.
I drop onto one of the sun loungers positioned around the side and stare into the blue-lit water. I’ve spent countless hours at this pool since learning to swim. It’s always been my safe place.
When my hobby and love for the water became an obsessive goal to make the Olympic swimming team, I was driven by an unshakeable force to be the best. I swam every morning and every night, weight trained, ate a specific diet, and had the best coaches. I trained for years, only to have it end with a snap.
My hand goes to my ankle, rubbing the now almost invisible scar through my trouser leg.
A snap it truly was. It happened during my final year of university. It was January, and I was cycling to the pool early one morning. I hit a patch of black ice and lost control of my bike. I hit the kerb and came off, breaking my ankle. Surgery, followed by months of physiotherapy, meant I missed out on team selection. When I finally did make it back into the water, I knew I’d never regain the form I once had. With that and finding out about Darra’s pregnancy, I refocused my attention. I concentrated on my finals and building a future for myself and my new family rather than trying to reclaim a lost dream. Frazer Cyber Security went from being an idea to a company whose growth over the past fifteen years has surpassed my wildest dreams.
There’s a movement to my right.
“Hi,” the last voice I expect to hear says. “Are you shirking your duties, Mr Frazer?”
I look up, my heart racing.
“All duties complete. I’ve officially signed off for the evening.”
A flush of adrenalin shoots through my body at the sound of Pen’s voice.
“Impressive. I would have assumed Franny would have run you ragged until the last guest left,” Pen says.
She’s the only person who gets away with calling my mother, Francesca Frazer, Franny. And Mum won’t hear a word against it.
“I could ask, what you’re doing out here?”
