Mia made a ‘tsking’ noise. ‘You’re thinking of loukoumades. Kourabiedes are the almond shortbreads with enough icing sugar to induce diabetes.’
‘Count me in,’ Spencer said, his stomach rumbling at the thought.
But the temptation of authentic Greek desserts and ocean-fresh shark was paired with a familiar unease, and when Spencer pulled up at the Angelinos’ home with last-minute presents—a supermarket pack of Matchbox cars for Reggie and a bottle of red and chocolates for Jeff—there were only three extra cars flanking their driveway.
Nowhere to hide in such a small gathering.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway as soon as he knocked, and the door was opened by Jeff’s mum, Agatha.
‘Here’s our soon-to-be resident Romeo,’ she said, pulling him into a warm hug. ‘Fancy using your long service leave for a reality TV show! I thought Jeff was pulling my leg when he told me. The local girls must be crazy for not scooping you up already. I hope you’re hungry?’
Agatha bent down to pet Dolly, receiving a lick across the face from the beagle, then ushered them both into Jeff and Mia’s home. Spencer could smell the divine aromas of barbecuing meat, and the kitchen benches were covered in salads, colourfully wrapped presents and an enormous cake.
‘Can you believe my baby boy is nearly forty, and my grand bubba is three? Where’s the time gone?’ Agatha pressed a hand to the front of her colourful dress. ‘Here are the birthday boys now.’
Jeff came in through the patio doors followed by his young son, Reggie, and his dad, Bernard; three generations of matching jet-black hair and broad smiles.
‘Happy birthday, guys,’ Spencer said, shaking hands with the two men, then bracing himself as Reggie took a flying leap in his direction. ‘Woah, little man!’ Spencer made a show of staggering backwards. ‘You’re not so small now. Later, I’ll have to teach you the special handshake that all the cool three-year-olds are using these days.’
Delighted, Reggie insisted on learning the handshake right away, and the moment he’d nailed the series of moves, he ran outside to show his friends, with Dolly hot on his heels.
‘I was just thinking that by the next joint birthday party, Spencer might have a plus one with him from the telly show,’ Agatha said with a smile, offering them a platter of mini quiches. ‘Most guys would dip their toes in the local dating pool first, what on earth made you apply?’
‘Figured it was high time I tried something new,’ Spencer shrugged. ‘I had a few dates within the district, but it felt weird, you know?’
Agatha’s curious smile turned to a sympathetic nod. She opened the sliding door. ‘Ah, I never thought of that. Good on you, my love, diving into the deep end is often easier than floundering in the shallows.’
‘Here’s hoping,’ Spencer said.
‘You haven’t got cold feet yet?’ Jeff asked, nudging him with an elbow.
‘Course he hasn’t. Half a dozen pretty ladies at his beck and call? He’ll be living every man’s dream,’ Bernard scoffed, offering around a plate of dolmades. ‘I’d bet my cray licence we’ll hear wedding bells before too long.’
‘Ourcray licence, Dad,’ Jeff corrected, taking one of the stuffed vine leaves. ‘And that’s not a wager I’d stake my business on. Those ladies mightn’t fancy him, or vice versa.’ Jeff winked. ‘He’s a finicky bugger, our Spence.’
Spencer considered the eight ladies he’d chosen from the shortlisted applicants the month before. When filming began in May, his first task would be meeting the contestants and whittling them down to the five who’d accompany him home. Would one of those beautiful, talented women really want to move to the Limestone Coast full-time to be with a teacher with an agricultural side hustle, instead of the genuine farmers that normally featured on the show? Or was this a fool’s errand that was setting everyone’s expectations way too high?
Spencer met Jeff’s amused gaze. ‘We’ll soon find out; only a few weeks to go now. I’ll probably wish I’m back in the classroom the moment the cameras start rolling.’
Jeff grinned. ‘Just do us a favour, mate, and practise your small talk while I grill the fish, so you’re not rusty as all hell when filming starts. If you’re as stiff around the contestants as you are around Mia’s friends, you’ll make an arse of yourself in no time.’
Jeff opened the patio doors and under the fairy lights that twinkled from the verandah beams Spencer spotted two other ladies with Agatha and Mia at the outdoor table. Even though he knew exactly who the brunette was, it took a moment before his brain caught on.
Just a mirage, that’s all it is.
He studied his scuffed boots until the instantaneous, completely illogical reaction had passed, overruled by reality.
You know for a fact it’s not Belle, so why the reaction Every. Damn. Time?
Clem Crossley had a little girl on her hip for one thing. She was wearing a yellow dress that was brighter than the flames in the fire pit, and when she caught his eye at the double doors, her mouth set into a grim line.
It was hard enough avoiding her in a small town like Penwarra, and completely impossible in the Angelinos’ small backyard, but he’d do his best, and make a speedy exit as soon as the birthday candles had been blown out twice and the cake was cut.
‘Don’t huddle in the doorway like that, come out and be sociable,’ Mia called from the doorway. ‘We don’t bite.’
Spencer took a long sip of the beer Jeff had handed him. An hour or two of awkwardness on his end was worth it for the friends who’d pulled him back together after his world had fallen apart. And much like the promise he’d made to Belle, he was nothing if not loyal to his loved ones.
There were worse things than being given the cold shoulder,Clem told herself, glancing over to the barbecue, where Jeff and Spencer loaded up a platter with a second serve of flake.Spencer could be one of those creeps who stares at my cleavage, or the kind of bloke who spends all night droning on about his sporting team without even noticing he’s dominating the conversation.
