“I’ll be back after lunch to pick them up.”
Louise and I wander through the centre, towards the restaurant, both keeping an eye out for the enemy. We pass a surf shop that has a shirt in the window in the same colours as the dress I’ve just bought. A Hawaiian-style shirt. Ant would love it. Louise laughs when I tell her how much my mother will hate it. So I buy it.
My new friend and I are the first to arrive at the restaurant. I order a vodka tonic and a bottle of sparkling water to fool Mum and Grandie with. I could say I don’t know what’s come over me. But I do. It’s Ant. And with any luck, he’ll be coming over me again before the day is out.
“I’m going to claim a headache and grab a cab back to the resort after lunch if you want a lift,” I tell Louise, who agrees immediately.
“Pool. Book. Quiet cocktail. Say no more.”
“I don’t remember seeing you at the bridal shower.” If I had, I suspect I would’ve had a better time.
“No. I was interstate for work. Shame.” Louise pulls a faux frowny face, then laughs.
“There you are. Where on earth did you get to?” Grandie says, lowering herself into the chair beside me.
“I couldn’t find the bathrooms, and by the time I got back, you’d all gone,” I lie.
It’s clear from her expression that Grandie hasn’t bought my excuse, but she wastes no time getting down to business.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to speak to your young man last night. I’ve asked Emily to make sure you and he are sitting beside me tonight.”
For crying out loud. It’s a twilight cruise. Are we going to have assigned seating at every meal? Then again, the sooner we get the inquisition over with, the better.
“Of course, Grandie. That would be lovely.” I risk a look at Louise, who knows my grandmother from childhood. She looks like all she needs is a choc-top and a tub of popcorn.
“You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourselves on the dance floor.” Grandie sniffs as she says it, as though she means it as a euphemism for something else. I bite my lip to avoid the dirty smile that’s building.
“We did. I can’t remember the last time I went dancing.”
“Hmm. And is he the reason you wore that very revealing dress last night?” she asks, lips pursed.
“Oh, Lili’s dress. It was gorgeous, wasn’t it?” Louise pipes up. “I’m sure I saw a picture of that Swedish princess, or is she Danish? … what’s her name? … wearing one very similar at a gala last week. The latest edition ofVogue, I think it was.”
Well played, Louise. I could take lessons in handling my family from this girl.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ant
Root canal. A prostate exam. Ball waxing.
All things I’d rather do than spend a day on the golf course—or anywhere else for that matter—with Warren, Julian and friends. And yes, I have had my balls waxed. Once. Long story. Never to be repeated.
It’s a shame the company is so awful because this is a fantastic course, with the kind of lush grass, manicured greens and stunning views you’d expect from an exclusive club in Maui.
While we all enjoy—and I use the term loosely—a pregame champagne on the terrace, I reflect on my conversation with Lilavati this morning. How shy she looked when she asked what we were. My soul was screaming at me to say we’re everything, she’s everything. But the last thing I want is to scare her off. And I can’t make that admission until I’ve made the other one. Which maybe I should’ve done, but with her mother breathing down our necks to get to breakfast, it didn’t feel like the right time.
The holiday fling we agreed on may not be quite where I want us to be, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Finally, the carts are ready and it’s time to tee off. Rather than get caught up in the one-upmanship the rest of the guys are engaged, in I focus on my game. And it pays off.
By early afternoon, we’re at the nineteenth hole, which is no less painful than listening to them all talk about themselves on the course, although it is a little cooler under the massive palm-frond-esque ceiling fans. And the icy-cold beer definitely dulls the discomfort.
“I thought you said you’d played once or twice,” Warren grumbles as I sit down opposite him with a well-earned glass of amber liquid.
I laugh as though it’s all a bit of a joke.
“I may have understated it a little.”
