Heart of the Cross

by Emily Madden

  ‘And then we will know who this person is?’

  ‘Yes, but the main problem for us is that once that claim is lodged and until the matter is settled, I cannot distribute the estate to you the beneficiary.’

  ‘Joe, that’s a whole lot of lawyer speak. What does that all mean for me right now?’

  ‘It means that you can’t access any funds or properties that make up the estate.’ Joe removed his glasses and sighed. ‘This doesn’t include the house—Rosie updated her will to reflect its sale—but of course it does include the proceeds.’

  ‘How long will this all take?’ Brie felt stupid in her assumption that she would be able to head back to Japan soon. That reminded her, she needed to check on Seb and see if he had sent her equipment to her; that really was the only thing of value. Most of her possessions were in boxes in Rosie’s house, a house that would be settled in two weeks. If this process drew out for weeks or months, she should be looking for somewhere to stay. But her main annoyance was that it seemed she wouldn’t be able to access the flat above the café.

  ‘It all depends on the strength of the claim. I would assume that this person, whoever he or she may be, has not been in Rosie’s life for a while, and this would certainly affect their chances of being successful. In which case, we’re looking at a short process. How about we go through the actual will, then we can talk next steps. Do you have anywhere you need to be right now?’

  Brie expelled a shaky laugh. ‘Nope, my schedule is wide open, Joe. Lay it on me.’

  At least, by the time Joe finished reading the will, there were no more surprises. The estate was made up of the proceeds of the house sale as well as the café and the two-bedroom apartment above. As she already knew, the café was on a long-term lease to Josh. Rosie had bequeathed a sizeable amount to a number of charities, including those who supported transgender and transsexual people, as well as various organisations in the gay and lesbian communities. Something in Brie’s gut was telling her that these charities along with the Scarlet Alliance from the funeral were all clues.

  But what? There wasn’t anyone else mentioned in the will, but someone Rosie was close to at some point in her life knew of her death and felt entitled to something from her. Which got her thinking …

  ‘Joe, I know you knew Rosie for a while, but when did you first meet her?’

  ‘It was the day after your mother’s funeral, actually. She came in looking for legal advice, about setting up a will and guardianship over you—’

  ‘Hold up, guardianship? I thought my mother’s will would’ve stipulated that I would automatically go to Rosie?’

  ‘Yes, but there was also a matter that if your father came forward, then she wanted to see what her rights were.’

  ‘I see. Did Rosie give any indication that she knew who my father was?’ Brie always had been told Maggie herself didn’t know, but considering everything she’d uncovered thus far, she couldn’t be sure if that was yet another thing Rosie had been hiding.

  Joe shook his head. ‘If you’re thinking whoever is contesting may be your father, I have to say, that would be unlikely. For one, they wouldn’t be eligible, and as far as I was aware, Rosie never met your father.’

  ‘Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of previous versions of the will and if anyone was mentioned in them.’

  ‘I wrote the original will, Brie. You’ve always been the sole benefactor. The only thing that changed from one version to the next is the size of the estate.’

  ‘Well, I guess we’ll know who it is soon enough.’

  As she walked back to her car, she saw she had a message from Sienna Di Norro. Her parents were coming home a little earlier than planned; she had spoken to her father and he would be keen to meet with Brie. Would she still be in the country a couple of weeks from now and interested in meeting him?

  Considering it looked like she was going to be in Sydney for a while, she replied, telling Sienna that she would love to. They ping-ponged a couple of times and settled on a date. At least one positive thing came out of today, unlike all the frustration that was coming from the will.

  The stress of the afternoon led her to the bottle shop. Figuring she could always order takeaway for dinner, she pulled into the parking lot and ducked inside, trying to decide if she felt like red or white wine. Knowing the selection of chilled white would be limited, she settled for red, and was rounding the corner when she bumped into something hard.

  ‘I’m so sorry!’ It took a second to figure out that the something hard was a man’s chest, and another second to realise that the man was indeed Josh. ‘Oh, it’s you.’ The words flew out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them and she was gifted with his laconic glare.

  ‘Brianna Hart’s sharp tongue twice in one day, what a treat,’ he said dryly.

  ‘Look, I said I was sorry, Josh.’ She sighed, impatiently rubbing her forehead where it had connected with his chest. When had he got so broad and hard? She remembered him all lean and limbs.

  ‘It sounded a whole lot more genuine when you thought you ploughed into a stranger.’ He smirked. ‘You’re lucky I wasn’t holding a bottle in my hand, now that would’ve really hurt.’

  Brie rolled her eyes. She didn’t have the time or patience for his childish banter. ‘I’m just here to get my bottle and go home to order my pizza.’ She held up her hands in frustration. She was already riled up. She didn’t need Josh’s help.

  ‘Let me guess, supreme no pineapple.’

  ‘Yeah, how did you …?’ She was shocked at his memory. Every time they would have pizza, Josh would insist on getting pineapple on it and Brie, without fail, would pick the monsters off her slices.

  ‘Remember?’ Josh offered. ‘Some things are unforgettable.’ There was a wistfulness in his voice that made her swallow hard. Was he getting sentimental on her? ‘Like how anyone could commit such a crime and remove an essential topping from a supreme pizza,’ he said in mock disgust. At least she thought it was mock, but with Josh she could never be sure. ‘It’s just un-Australian.’

  Brie pursed her lips. ‘I disagree. I believe there’s no place for fruit on a pizza. The only fruit that should be consumed with pizza is of the wine variety, and looking at your selection …’ She tilted her head to get a better view of the bottles in his basket. ‘Either the shiraz or the Barbera d’Asti should do.’

  Josh narrowed his eyes and she half expected him to accuse her of angling to get an invitation to share his wine, which wasn’t that far off the mark. She had forgotten how much fun flirting with Josh was. Wait—was that what she was doing? Flirting?

  ‘Are you laying down a challenge? Because if you are, I’m more than happy to prove you’re wrong.’

  ‘I know you can be a bit of a sore loser.’ Brie smirked at Josh’s scoff. ‘So I have a proposition if you’re interested.’

  ‘Yeah, and what would this proposition be?’ he asked in a deep voice that didn’t mask his obvious interest.

  ‘You bring the wine, I’ll shout the pizza—we can get it half with pineapple, half without, and settle this once and for all. What do you say?’ She held her breath. God, was that too forward? Would he think she wanted more than just pizza, because right now, all she cared about was wine and food … Okay so the company wouldn’t hurt after the shitty afternoon.

  ‘Deal. Your place or mine?’

  Brie gave a nervous laugh and was sure her face was bright red. ‘Erm, I don’t know if you recall, but your mother isn’t my biggest fan.’ She didn’t add that the feeling was in fact mutual.

  Josh gave a hearty laugh, his eyes crinkling at the corners. ‘I don’t live with my parents anymore, Brie. I have a place of my own.’

  Brie wasn’t entirely sure why she was surprised at this. Josh was thirty, and as far as she could tell, single. Why else would he be offering to take her back to his place? Back to his place. The thought of being with Josh on non-familiar territory seemed somewhat daunting.

  ‘Maybe we
should go to my house, I mean Rosie’s.’ Why was she all of a sudden feeling nervous?

  ‘Sounds good.’

  ‘Do you remember where it is? It’s just—’

  ‘I remember where your house is, Brie,’ he said quietly, and it was then she realised just how close they’d been standing the whole time.

  ‘Right, then …’ She took a deliberate step back, narrowly missing a display of red wine bottles. ‘Phew, that was close.’ She laughed a little too loudly before composing herself. ‘I’ll order pizza and meet you there?’

  ‘You do that—and make sure you order the pizza from Amore’s.’

  ‘Is Dom still there?’ she asked.

  He sent her a wink and something inside of her exploded. ‘You betcha.’

  Brie couldn’t stop smiling the whole way home. She had barely walked through the door and placed the pizza order when the doorbell rang. She only just managed not to run to open the front door. ‘Josh,’ she breathed out his name as her heartbeat kicked up a notch. ‘Come in.’ She moved aside to let him pass.

  ‘The wine as promised.’ He held a bottle in each hand.

  ‘You didn’t have to bring them both.’

  Josh shrugged somewhat shyly, and it occurred to Brie that maybe he too was nervous, which of course kicked up her own nerves. ‘Wasn’t sure which one you’d prefer, so I thought why not bring both.’

  ‘Let’s go into the kitchen.’ Brie turned to walk down the hallway. ‘We can have a glass before the pizza arrives.’

  ‘Nope—there will be no tainting of the tastebuds.’

  Brie slanted him a look questioning his seriousness, which seemed unfortunately genuine.

  ‘Besides, we need to let the wine air a while.’

  ‘Oh no.’ She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. ‘Don’t tell me you’re one of those types.’

  ‘What types?’ he asked innocently as she cracked open one of the bottles and took an exaggerated whiff.

  ‘Next you’ll be asking me for a decanter.’

  Josh paused, his interest piqued. ‘Do you have one?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ she said dryly as she retrieved two glasses and placed them expectantly in front of the wine.

  ‘Nope—I told you, you need to wait.’

  Brie groaned and Josh chuckled. ‘Since when did you become such a wino?’

  ‘Since I started hanging out in bars every other night.’ Josh sent her a puzzled look and Brie sighed. ‘Long story.’

  Suddenly, the small talk ran out and there was a lull in the conversation.

  ‘Looks like this place changed a bit in the last ten years,’ Josh finally said as he cast a glance around the Hamptons-inspired kitchen Rosie had remodelled barely six months prior.

  ‘Rosie treated the house like a café. Every time I came home, there was something different. Sometimes it was a new couch, or a few new cushions. I should’ve cottoned on that when she did the bathrooms and kitchen in the same year she was cooking something up.’ Brie couldn’t help the bitterness that kept creeping into her voice. She truly had loved her gran and she was grateful for everything she had done for her; she just wished that Rosie had trusted her enough to tell her whatever it was she’d been hiding.

  ‘For what it’s worth, she was extremely proud of you.’

  Brie trained her eyes on her hands; the sudden thought of Rosie talking to Josh about her left her feeling slightly on edge. She was about to question him when the doorbell chimed.

  ‘Aha!’ Josh leapt off the bar stool and rubbed his hands together. ‘Let the challenge begin!’

  A half-hour later, when they both had had their respective halves of the pizza, Brie still failed to concede that pineapple indeed had a place on pizza.

  ‘The only place pineapple is useful is as a garnish on a Mai Tai.’

  ‘Even on a Hawaiian pizza?’ Josh broached as he topped up their wine.

  ‘Jeez, you don’t give up. No, not even on Hawaiian. And for the record, there’s nothing Hawaiian about a ham-and-pineapple pizza. It was invented by a Greek man who emigrated to Canada in the fifties.’

  ‘Wow, I didn’t know that.’

  ‘Well thanks to me, now you do.’ She tipped her wineglass in his direction before returning it to her lips.

  ‘I miss this.’

  Brie almost choked on her wine. ‘What?’

  ‘This.’ He indicated between them. ‘The debating, the banter, us hanging out. We were friends long before we were anything else, and I miss it.’

  Brie nodded. Josh was right. They were part of the same friendship group all throughout high school and it wasn’t until the end of Year Eleven at a pool party when they were all drinking (even though they were not supposed to) that anything happened. They were sitting on the balcony, sharing a smoke and laughing at one of their friends who decided to moon everyone, when she shivered. Josh leaned over to give her his jacket and the next thing she knew, he was kissing her. He tasted of Midori and coconut and nicotine. For years after they split, Brie refused to drink anything with Midori in it—it always reminded her of Josh.

  Maybe that was the problem—taking the friendship further. Maybe all they needed was to stick to what worked and then it all would be right. And now it seemed as if she was going to be stuck here for a while, she needed all the friends she could get. Then why was she disappointed?

  ‘Hey, speaking of friends.’ Brie folded her leg under her and sipped her wine. ‘Do you ever see any of the guys?’

  ‘Now and then. Harry and Sylvie are due to have their baby soon.’

  ‘What? No way. It feels like yesterday that they announced their pregnancy.’

  ‘I’m surprised you haven’t seen it plastered all over Facebook.’

  Brie strained her memory, trying to recall anything. ‘No, can’t say I have. Although, if I’m away on assignment, internet access is sporadic, so there’re times I’m not on it for weeks.’

  ‘Yeah, I don’t use it much myself.’

  ‘I noticed,’ she mumbled, her slip of the tongue a little too loud, and he sent her a puzzled look.

  ‘Anyone else?’ Brie asked, desperate to throw Josh off. ‘How’s Max? The last I heard he was dating some girl with a weird-arse double-barrelled name.’

  ‘He’s getting married next week.’

  ‘Shut the front door! Max Bentley is getting married? To the double-barrelled chick?’

  ‘Nope, to Avery.’

  ‘Wait, as in your sister, Avery?’

  Josh nodded. ‘Yeah, can you believe it?’

  Actually she couldn’t. In high school, Max was a ladies’ man, and his nickname was Lo, short for Lothario. The last time she’d seen Avery Cooper, she was a rail-thin sixteen-year-old with glasses the size of her head. ‘How?’ was all Brie could manage.

  Josh shrugged. ‘I know it seems improbable, but they’re a good fit.’

  ‘Improbable? It’s unbelievable. I mean, the last time I saw Lo, he was—’

  ‘Acting like Stifler in American Pie?’

  ‘Yes, and Avery was … well, sweet little Avery.’

  ‘Sweet little Avery is now a hot-shot lawyer.’

  Brie felt a burst of pride. She and Avery had been close. Brie had thought of her as the sister she’d never had. ‘Let me guess—criminal law?’

  A look of surprise flickered across Josh’s face and it was her turn to shrug. ‘I remember some things, too.’

  Silently, he captured her gaze and held it hostage. ‘I have an idea.’

  ‘If it’s as good as your pizza idea then I’m in.’

  ‘Come with me to the wedding.’

  Brie almost spat out the wine she’d just swallowed. ‘I’m sorry, what?’

  ‘Max and Avery’s wedding. Be my plus one.’

  ‘Josh, that’s utterly crazy.’ She gave a nervous laugh.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because …’ She knew all the reasons why, she just needed to think of them. ‘Because I’m not invited.’

  ‘Do yo
u really think Max and Avery are going to say no to you? My invitation says plus one.’

  She sighed. ‘Your mother will have a fit. I’m her least favourite person in the world.’

  ‘All the more reason to come.’

  ‘When’s the wedding?’

  ‘Saturday.’ He was wearing her down and he knew it.

  Brie shook her head. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but okay, I’ll come.’

  ‘Yes?’ His eyes lit up.

  ‘Yes,’ she confirmed, emphasising her decision.

  They fell into a companionable silence, broken moments later by the sound of a message appearing on her phone. The phone was closer to Josh, so he picked it up and as he handed it over, there was an unmistakable glance at the screen.

  ‘It’s ah, Seb, sorry—I didn’t mean …’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Brie clicked the screen shut without reading the message, annoyed at the timing of it.

  ‘You should check it, it might be important.’

  ‘It’s not. I know what Seb wants.’

  ‘Is Seb … your boyfriend?’ She could tell Josh was trying to be nonchalant about asking, and a small part of her wanted to hope he was the tiniest bit jealous.

  ‘Seb is not my boyfriend.’ That wasn’t a lie, not really. ‘He’s someone I know who’s organising my equipment to be shipped to me.’ But that part was a lie, because that wasn’t all that Seb was or had been.

  ‘Okay,’ Josh said quietly and she really couldn’t get a reading on his thoughts. ‘I should get going. I have an early morning opening up a café and all.’ He stood up and Brie felt compelled to follow suit. ‘Thanks for the pizza.’

  ‘Right. Thanks for the wine.’

  He gave her a small smile. Great. Things were awkward again.

  ‘I’ll text you the details for Saturday,’ Josh said by way of goodbye as they stood by the door.

  ‘Yes. Saturday. Great. Thanks.’ Could she sound more moronic?

  ‘Goodnight, Brie.’

  ‘Goodnight, Josh.’ She wasn’t sure why she kept the door open and watched him walk down the porch stairs to his car.

  ‘Wait, Josh, your other bottle.’ She turned to go grab it when he stopped her.