“Now, now, no need to get upset. Let’s meet tomorrow and we can talk all about it.”
She didn’t want to see him. But if she didn’t meet him, he might never leave. Not to mention the fact that her curiosity might never be sated. She wanted to learn the truth — to find out why he’d left her that way and what’d happened between him and their mother before her death. Where was the money Mum had promised to leave Charmaine?
The sooner Sean left Coral Island and let her get on with her life, the better. She didn’t want to give up her new flat and her job, the wedding planning work she’d lined up and the friendships, not to mention Watson, to go on the run all over again because of Sean. No, she’d face him finally and get it over with.
“Fine. We can meet tomorrow.”
“Great, and don’t skip out on me again. I’m getting tired of the chase, little sister.”
Nineteen
BEA STOODon the end of the dock with her phone in her hand. She held it up and snapped a photograph of Taya embracing Evie and Penny at the same time. Then Taya came to embrace her, and Bea took a selfie of the two of them, tears stinging her eyes.
“I’m not leaving forever,” Taya said with a laugh. “You’re being very dramatic. Especially you, Drew.”
Andrew pushed his hands into his pockets with a half smile. “You knew I was dramatic when you agreed to go on that first date with me.”
“I knew no such thing,” she countered before giving him a passionate kiss.
“I know it’s not forever,” Bea said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “But it’s definitely the end of an era. We usually catch up as a foursome every week for lunch. And now it’ll be a month before we can do that again. I don’t know how often we’ll get to have our lunches at the inn from now on.”
Taya gave a wry smile. “I’m going to miss you too. And I’m sorry I may not be here for your wedding.”
“It’s absolutely fine. We’re keeping everything very low-key. I get it — you’re going to be busy in Fiji. So, think of me when you’re lounging beside the pool with a cocktail in your hand,” Bea said.
As they spoke, the ferry chugged up to the dock, and workers tied it in place before vehicles began exiting via a large ramp. Taya gave hugs all around, then climbed into her car to drive onto the ferry. Andrew said goodbye and hurried away. Bea chatted with Evie and Penny a few minutes before they had to leave. But she remained behind, waiting for her children to disembark.
It didn’t take long for Dani and Harry to appear, backpacks on. A man trailed after Dani, his dark curls carefully groomed, his brown beard flecked with grey. Damien, no doubt. He looked like Bea’s peer rather than her daughter’s. Dani had convinced her to invite him to attend the wedding as her daughter’s date, and Bea was determined to remain cordial to the man, even though she hated the influence he was having on Dani’s attitude and choices.
She embraced her children, then offered a hand to Damien. “How lovely to meet you. Welcome to Coral Island.”
He shook her hand, glancing about the island rather than making eye contact. “It’s very pretty here.”
She nodded. “There’s no place on earth quite like it. Come on—let’s get back to the cottage. I’ve got dinner in the slow cooker.”
They drove to the cottage in the old station wagon. Bea was mostly silent while Dani and Harry prattled on about their studies and their lives in Sydney. It was good to have them back on the island.
Bea never felt quite as happy as she did when her children were around, and she couldn’t wait to share this special event in her life with them. They seemed so much more grown up than they had when she first divorced their father the previous year. So many things had happened since then, and they’d had to mature in order to deal with their family splitting up, Bea moving away, their father meeting someone new, changes to Dani’s degree of choice and Harry’s health.
They’d both coped so well with all of it that Bea sometimes wondered if maybe they were hiding their true feelings. Perhaps that was why Dani was dating a man almost twice her age.
“I hope you like beef massaman,” Bea said as she pulled into the driveway.
The cottage perched behind the dunes with a view of the beach between a clump of pandanus and sea grasses. The entire vista was bathed in the golden light of afternoon.
“Love it,” Harry said.
“I’m vegan,” Damien added.
Bea frowned. “Dani, you didn’t tell me that.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Really? I must’ve forgotten then. I’m sorry. I’m sure I can find something for you to eat, Damien.”
“Wonderful,” he replied as he stepped out of the car.
Harry and Dani carried their backpacks into the cottage. Damien followed without his, since he was staying at a bed-and-breakfast nearby. Bea had a rule for both of her children — no sleepovers with their girlfriends or boyfriends. It was a rule she’d established as soon as Dani began dating and one she intended to continue until they were both married, much to Dani’s dismay.
