‘A bit more than that.’ Nathan grinned. ‘Go on then,’ he prompted, ‘tell her.’
‘The day we had coffee,’ Cat began, aware this conversation would earn her a thorough quizzing from Jodie, ‘I ran into him quite by accident. He invited me to dinner. Cooked the most amazing meal.’ Cat felt her heart soar when she thought of that evening. The way they had fallen into easy conversation once more, like friends who had known each other for years.
‘A meal? Well,’ Jodie made a face, ‘sounds as if it’s getting serious, Cat.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Cat took a mouthful of wine. She could do without the matchmaking. Luke wasn’t relationship material. He’d already made that clear in not so many words. But she was happy with friendship. Friendship was fine.
‘What about your drink at The Smugglers and walk along the beach then?’ Again Nathan intervened, mischievously revealing far more than Cat was comfortable with.
‘Wow.’ Jodie whistled. ‘It is getting serious.’
‘Nonsense. We enjoy each other’s company, that’s all. We’re friends. Not all relationships have to be about sex.’
‘Hang on, Cat, we’re talking about Luke Carrack.’ Jodie laughed. ‘Lord if I was in your shoes I’d have—’
‘Well, I’m not you,’ Cat said dismissively, trying to keep her voice calm. Jodie had hit a nerve but there was no way she was going to let her know the truth. That sadly Luke Carrack didn’t want that sort of relationship with anyone. Not even her. The loud buzz of approaching engines interrupted the conversation and all three shifted their attention to a collection of approaching jet skis. The noise quietened as they coasted gently towards the beach. Immediately she recognised the riders. Jordan Hunter and his friends.
On the far side of the veranda the girls were already on their feet. Chantelle had moved over to the low wall on the edge of the decking. She stared towards the sea, a furious expression on her face before turning back to her friends with a comment Cat couldn’t quite hear. The next moment she was weaving through the other tables, almost colliding with a young surfer in board shorts carrying a tray of empty bottles. Without stopping to apologise she was off at a run, dodging even more people as she headed across the beach.
Jodie gave Cat a ‘wonder what that’s all about then’ look. It was Nathan, standing behind their chairs, who supplied the answer.
‘Jordan’s offloaded a girl from the jet ski. There’s a bit of a confrontation going on. Shit!’ Nathan hardly ever swore so Cat knew whatever was happening must be bad.
‘What’s going on?’ Jodie got to her feet, frowning as she followed his gaze, trying to figure out what he was seeing.
‘Marika, that’s what. Damn!’ The next moment he’d vaulted over the low wall and onto the beach.
‘Who’s Marika?’ Jodie asked as they ran across the sand to catch up with Nathan. Cat told her about the Polish waitress and the way she had flirted with Jordan on the night of the family dinner.
Up ahead, a small crowd had gathered and they squeezed their way through, discovering Nathan kneeling on the sand supporting a sobbing Marika while Jordan and Ed were holding onto a furious Chantelle.
‘I want to know who she is,’ Chantelle demanded, ‘and what she’s doing here with you.’
Cat and Jodie stood watching the scene. Chantelle, like Jordan, was an overindulged brat. Not only that, she tended to whine, which was exactly what she was doing right now. Cat could see from the expression on Jordan’s face the sound was getting to him and soon he was going to lose it completely. The whining stopped. Jodie shot Cat a relieved look only to shake her head in disbelief as Chantelle began to cry.
‘Tears,’ Cat whispered, leaning towards Jodie as the girl’s sobs grew louder. ‘The ultimate weapon.’ Jodie laughed.
‘Come here.’ As Ed let her go, Jordan tried to pull Chantelle into his embrace. At first she punched his chest and tried to push him away then eventually gave in to more sobs. Standing behindthis emotional tableau, Spence and Daniel rolled their eyes, no doubt having witnessed the same scene many times before.
‘There was no need to slap her.’ Jordan smoothed her hair gently as she wept against his bare torso. ‘I was giving her a lift to the beach, she’s just a friend.’
Friend? Cat and Jodie exchanged amused glances. ‘Since when has Jordan Hunter had femalefriends?’ Jodie murmured. ‘His only connection to women is for sex. Friendship? It doesn’t happen.’
‘I didn’t slap her.’ Chantelle hiccupped. ‘I didn’t touch her. She … she just fell over. She must have tripped over something.’
‘What, like this?’ Jordan suddenly shoved Chantelle away so hard she landed bum first onto the sand.
‘Ow! Why did you do that, you moron?’ She winced as she got to her feet, dusted the sand from her bikini bottoms and scowled at him.
‘Because I hate liars.’ He glared at her. ‘You did hit her, didn’t you? Admit it. And don’t call me a bloody moron.’
‘I am not a liar. I told you she tripped and fell back on the sand.’
The whole thing suddenly started to become very public. Daniel, Spence and Ed, who had been shadowing him, stood there smirking at Chantelle as Jordan’s tirade continued. They were soon joined by several more of his friends, turning the whole thing into a real spectator event.
‘You’re a liar, Chantelle Mason, and there’s no place for liars in my life,’ Jordan shouted, and gave her another shove which sent her sprawling. Signalling to his friends, he turned to leave.
‘Jordan?’ Chantelle shot to her feet, taking a moment to dust the sand off once more before she chased after the group. She eventually reached him, grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt. He swung around to face her, his expression hardening as he looked down at her.
