‘What an odd thing to say.’
‘But it’s true; this is the first time in her life she’s had a real cause to fight for. Her generation love that.’
‘Don’t let her catch you talking about her that way, she’ll have you up on a charge of gross patronising condescension.’
‘Very true,’ he said with a laugh. ‘But don’t forget, putting her energy into helping Rosalyn and Finlay is part of her grieving process.’
‘But what then? When Rosalyn is building a new life for herself and no longer needs Emily in the way she does now, what will she do then?’
‘She might go back to university. Or find she has a taste for helping others by sorting out their lives. She seems pretty good at it.’
‘Dear God, you make her sound like Mary Poppins meets Mother Teresa!’
‘Admit it, you’re proud of her. If Rosalyn was any other woman and not Drew’s widowed wife, you’d be banging the drum for that girl.’
Cassie sighed. ‘You’re right. Is it wrong that I can’t quite bring myself to be the bigger person towards Rosalyn? You can do it, but—’
‘But I’m not burdened with a ton of top-quality Louis Vuitton baggage like you are.’
‘Don’t mock me.’
‘I’m not, but stop giving yourself such a hard time. You’re doing a great thing helping Rosalyn. How many ex-wives would do what you have?’
‘But my heart isn’t in it, and you know as well as I do, I’m doing it under sufferance to please Emily.’
‘That’s as good a reason as any, and for what it’s worth, I’m bloody proud of you and I couldn’t love you more.’
‘If only you were a little less perfect,’ she said with a smile, putting a hand to his face and kissing him. But at the same time and for no real reason she could think of, a humorous one-liner she’d once heard popped into her mind, that no good deed went unpunished.
They’d booked to have dinner in the Grand Ballroom that evening and were suitably attired, Ben in a black velvet dinner jacket and bow tie and Cassie in a full-length dress of embroidered ivory-coloured organza, which had been yet another birthday surprise from Ben, along with a little help from her sister.
Their cocktails finished while selecting what they were going to eat and chatting with a fun couple from Sydney who were on a walking tour, they were now being shown to their table in the ballroom where a jazz band was playing.
‘I could definitely get used to this,’ Cassie said when they were seated, and after Martine, their favourite waitress who had looked after them every evening, had poured their wine.
‘Me too,’ Ben said when they were alone.
Reaching for Ben’s hand across the table, Cassie said, ‘Thank you for arranging this, it’s been the best birthday.’
His fingers entwined through hers, he said, ‘I’m glad. I wanted everything to be perfect for you.’
‘You’ve achieved that with bells on. It’s been a blissful few days.’
‘Well, it’s not over yet, I still have another surprise up my sleeve for you.’
‘But you’ve given me so much already.’
He grinned. ‘One more surprise won’t hurt though, will it?’
‘Is it a birthday cake? Have you asked the chef to make me a cake?’
He tutted and rolled his eyes. ‘You had to go and spoil it, didn’t you?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said at the crestfallen expression on his handsome face.
‘Just be sure to act like it’s a total surprise,’ he said.
As the evening progressed, and between courses, their fellow diners took to the dancefloor.
