She swallowed. “Tomorrow night is my monthly book club. We hold it here at the shop at six o’clock. There’s dinner and we talk about the book we’ve read the previous month.”
“That sounds great. But I haven’t read the book.”
“It doesn’t matter. Half the people there won’t have read it either. But we still gather around a table loaded with food and wine and talk until the wee hours. It’s fun—you should join us. If you want to.”
His eyes lit up. “I’d love to. I’ll see you then.”
After he left, she shut the door and leaned against it, eyes closed. Then she exhaled slowly. How had it taken her this long to meet a man who was so handsome that he made her knees tremble, and with an interest in books? She’d spent much of her life single and alone. She’d missed the opportunity to raise a family. Andnowher Prince Charming had arrived? Better late than never, she supposed. She’d always wondered what it would be like to fall for someone the first time she met them. All she could think was how her quiet little life was about to be blown apart, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
By the time Evie had walked home, she was bathed in sweat and ready to get off her feet. When she opened the front door, she was glad to see that Emily had made herself at home, had switched on the AC, and was mixing margaritas in the kitchen, with Evie’s apron tied firmly around her neat waist.
“You’re an angel,” Evie said, taking the glass she was offered and leading the way into the living room, where she collapsed into her armchair. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do. You work too hard.”
“No, I don’t. But my feet are aching and it’s so hot today, I feel as though I’ve trekked through the fires of Mordor to get home, so this is perfect.”
“You’re such a nerd.” Emily laughed, raising her glass. “Let’s toast to nerds everywhere.”
“Nerds everywhere,” Evie agreed, clinking her cocktail against Emily’s.
The drink was tart and icy. It was exactly what she needed. She lay her head back against the armchair, eyes closed for a moment as she enjoyed the flavour and coolness of it as it slid down her throat. Then, blinking, she studied her sister’s profile.
“How are you?”
“I’m good.” Emily sipped her drink.
“No, really. How are you?”
“I’m fine, honestly. I came here to see you. That’s all.”
“And what about your husband?”
“You know we’ve been having problems,” Emily said with a toss of her head.
“True. The two of you are like a spark to a petrol spill.” Evie ran a finger around the outside of her glass, watching the condensation part.
“We love hard, and we fight hard,” Emily said with a sigh. “We needed some time apart.”
“You’ve been staying with Mum and Dad…”
“Only for a few weeks. Before that, I was back home in Emerald.”
“I know it’s hard for you there.”
“It’s impossible. I can’t stay. He’s gone all the time — working in the mine or out with friends. He expects me to be fine on my own, but I don’t have any friends. It’s such a transient place, and most of the population is male. You know I’ve always gotten on well with men, but I’m married. I can’t spend my time down at the local pub with a group of grubby miners while my husband is out doing who-knows-what with his mates. It’s so frustrating — he doesn’t listen to me. Says I don’t do anything but complain.” She smoothed her blonde hair back from her face with one hand and raised her glass to drink with the other.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Evie’s heart ached for her sister. She didn’t realise how difficult it’d been on her in recent years. Her husband had worked for a mine for decades. He’d flown to central Queensland to work for ten days at a time, then came home again for ten days. They’d seemed to have a good life while they raised their two boys in Toowoomba, but now that the boys were out of the house, he wanted the two of them to be together. Apparently, Emily hadn’t adjusted to her new life in the outback as well as it’d seemed from the outside.
Evie reached out to squeeze her sister’s hand. They sat in silence for a minute as Evie battled to control her emotions while watching tears crawl down Emily’s cheeks. She never could hold it together if her sister was hurting or upset. Finally, she set her drink down and moved to the couch to hug Emily.
They both overbalanced and landed on the arm of the couch. Evie tried to right herself, but her abs didn’t work the way they used to, and she ended up looking like a turtle on its back. She gave up trying and instead squeezed her sister while choking back a giggle. After a few moments, Emily began to laugh through her tears as well.
“You haven’t been doing your crunches,” Emily sniffled.
“As I said, I’ve been busy.” Evie finally smoothed her skirt over her legs. Then she returned to her armchair.
“I’ve missed you.” A sentiment Evie never thought she’d hear from her sister’s lips. She’d have to apologise to Mum for doubting her.
