Her face screwed up as if trying to decide what to say. He waited while she figured out the words. In a soft voice she asked, “Does Mum like me?”
The question stabbed him. What should he say? Sofia had barely been a blip in Lara’s life. “I’m sure she does, pumpkin. She left me because she wasn’t ready to settle down, and she didn’t want to stay in Retribution Bay. She was very young.”
“But you were the same age, and you stayed. You love me.”
He squeezed her knee. “Yeah, I do. But when you were born, your mum was depressed, which is common amongst new mums. She wasn’t diagnosed for a while, but that was part of the reason she left.” The other part was because she refused to be trapped in Retribution Bay, but he wouldn’t tell Lara that.
“But she’s better now?”
“I think so. I haven’t spoken to her in a while.” Georgie had called her when his parents died.
“Then why wouldn’t she visit?”
“She lives over in Melbourne. It’s a long way to come.” As far as he knew, Sofia hadn’t even been back to visit her parents. And after he’d refused to give them custody of Lara, they hadn’t wanted to be part of Lara’s life, as if their refusal would make him change his mind about custody.
Lara fell silent, and he pulled into the car park. “Do you want to talk about it more?” he asked. “We don’t have to go to dinner with Faith.” Though he wanted to spend more time with her.
“Faith likes me, right?”
“She does. You two had a blast on Sunday, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, OK. Let’s go.” She thrust the car door open and strode towards the restaurant, determination in every step.
Darcy was so proud of her. He caught up to her at the door where she asked for a table for three. They were given a booth, and he slid in next to Lara and waited for Faith to arrive. She walked in only a few moments later, scanning the tables. He lifted a hand to catch her eye, and she smiled.
Damned if her smile didn’t caress his insides.
“I love this place.” She slid onto the seat across from them. “All the posters of country singers and the music playing.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “You like country music?”
“Love it,” she confirmed. “When I was about Lara’s age, we spent a couple of years living on a farm in Queensland and all they played was country music. I fell in love with it and horses.”
“But you live in the city now,” Darcy said.
“Hard to be a corporate contracts lawyer elsewhere.” She smiled.
The server came over to take their drinks order. “I’ll have a glass of house wine,” Faith said.
“The usual?” Darcy asked Lara.
She nodded.
“Chocolate milkshake and a coke,” Darcy told the man.
When the server left, Faith asked, “You don’t drink?”
“Not when I’m driving with Lara.” He wouldn’t risk it.
“Makes sense,” she said. “Do you want to show me the contract?”
The nerves returned as he gave it to her, and while she read, he and Lara decided what they wanted to eat.
“It’s not great,” she said. “Whoever drew this up was definitely on the side of the seller.”
The waiter returned with their drinks and they ordered burgers for dinner. Darcy waited impatiently for him to leave before asking, “Do we have a case?”
“You tracked down the parent company?”
