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He kissed her forehead, and she looked up at him with a smile. She could see herself like this, with him. Forever.

The following Tuesday, Sam looked around the kitchen, happy with his work. The thick slab of marble stone benchtop married well with the sage coloured subway tiles that he had suggested for the backsplash. Above the island bench hung three blown glass pendant lights courtesy of Molly’s friend. Satisfied it was perfect, he climbed the stairs to the studio. He knocked out of politeness and opened the door when the women called for him to enter. He saw Molly in the gallery space, carefully touching up one of her floral masterpieces. He made his way over to where Hazel was sitting at the large timber table, typing on her laptop. She was wearing round gold rimmed glasses that he hadn’t seen before.

“Glasses, hey?” he whispered in her ear. She giggled as he kissed her on the cheek. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into him.

“They’re for reading and using the computer. I’m just working on the speaking list for the exhibition.’’ Hazel turned her head to meet Sam.

Molly pretended not to notice when they kissed.

“I like the glasses. I think you should wear them more often.’’

Hazel shook her head and smirked.

Sam unwrapped his arms from Hazel and cleared his throat. “Uh, Molly? The kitchen is ready.’’

Molly turned excitedly. “Excellent! Oh, I am so looking forward to this!’’

Molly followed Hazel and Sam as they made their way downstairs.

“Oh, Sam. It’s beautiful. I love it!’’ Molly cried as they entered the room. She ran her hand along the smooth stone bench and whooped with delight.

Sam had his arm around Hazel, and she nestled closer. “This is so lovely, Sam. You’ve done an excellent job.’’ Smiling up at him, he gave her a squeeze.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it, Molly. This is one of the best parts of my job. I like getting a warm reception. You know I’ve only ever been disappointed with the reaction once. Horrible woman. I gave her exactly what she asked for. I tried to convince her to go with some other options, which she wouldn’t. Then she blamed me for how it turned out. The workmanship was great, if I do say so myself, but the colour scheme was just,’’ Sam trailed off as he shook his head in disgust. Hazel and Molly laughed.

“Well, you’ve got one very happy customer right here,’’ Molly declared as she walked over to Sam. She jovially pushed Hazel out of the way and pulled Sam in for a hug.

“Thank you, Sam. I know I’ve paid you for all of this, but your professionalism and patience have been wonderful.’’ Molly pulled away and gave Sam a loud clap on the shoulder. She pulled Hazel in on her opposite side and hung her arms around both of them. “I’m so happy, right in this moment.’’ Molly bit back tears.

“I’m happy too, Mum,’’ Hazel said as she looked past her mother to smile at Sam, who grinned back at her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“You said we were going to the beach?” Hazel clarified as she squinted against the glare of the windscreen. Pulling out of Fig Tree Lane, Hazel had expected they would pass through town to the beach, but instead Sam had turned west, heading in the opposite direction.

“Well, technically I said ocean,” Sam corrected, giving nothing away.

“Right, ocean. So, why are we passing cow paddocks and rusty old sheds?”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

“Huh, a surprise ocean? I’m not sure I follow. I’m fairly certain there’s only one ocean around here. I feel like I might have noticed another one,” she said, a light tease in her tone.

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully. He turned the dial of the sound system up, letting the country tunes fill the air. Somebody Like You by Keith Urban came on.

“I love this song!” Hazel cried, humming along.

“I know,” Sam said simply.

Hazel side eyed him with a grin as she began to sing, trying to keep her volume lower than the song. Her singing voice was pretty neutral. She wasn’t great, but she wasn’t terrible.

Sam was stealing glances at her every chance he got.

“What?” Hazel eventually asked, laughing a bit self consciously.

“Nothing, I just, like this.”

“Oh, you like this?” Hazel grinned, then deliberately sang louder and off key.