Todd looked to Malie and she gazed back at him. Had they really helped this family long term, did the Davidsons stand a better chance at happiness now because of their intervention?
Malie’s lips curved up, her admiration shining in her gaze. ‘We will talk to them about the bus, won’t we, Todd?’
‘Of course we can try.’
‘Thank you.’
The waiter returned with a loaded-up tray and Tara’s eyes bulged out of her head. ‘I don’t think I can eat all this, Mr Masters.’
‘We’ll help.’
She shook her head, ‘I told you I was rubbish at deciding, you should have chosen for me, Malie.’
Malie laughed, ‘No way, if Mr Masters is paying, I say we go for it.’
Tara laughed and started to tuck in. For a moment both Malie and Todd just watched her, and then with a shake of their heads and a smile as warm as Tara’s, they tucked right in as well.
Chapter Thirteen
‘YOU OK?’
They were standing outside the hotel, having left Tara inside with her parents, and through the glass doors they could see her chattering away excitedly as they stood either side of her, bending down to listen, their faces full of wonder and such obvious devotion. Malie could feel her chest tighten, as a strange wedge formed in her throat. She tried to swallow it back.
‘You OK?’ Todd tried again, turning her to face him, his worried gaze searching her own.
She tried for a smile. ‘Of course.’
He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushed his thumb over her cheekbone and she felt the wetness spread, a tear she hadn’t known had fallen caught in his wake. ‘Malie, what is it?’
She took a shaky breath and turned away from him, starting to walk. ‘I should get home.’
‘I’ll walk you back.’ He fell into step beside her, struggling to keep up.
She shook her head, she needed to be alone before she cracked completely. ‘I can find my own way home.’
‘Malie, what’s happened? What’s upset you? Is it me?’
She didn’t break pace, she couldn’t even look at him, if she did, she knew she’d crumble, and she didn’t want anyone to witness that. She hardly knew what was wrong herself. Seeing Tara like that with her family. Hearing her troubles and how much better her life seemed to be getting and how it compared and contrasted with her own life. It was too late for Malie’s family though – ten, twelve years too late. Too much time had passed with her being an outsider, her parents not knowing how to talk to her and vice versa.
‘Malie, please? I’m worried about you.’ She stopped and he rounded in front of her, his hands gentle on her arms. ‘Malie, look at me.’
Her lashes lifted, her eyes meeting with the blazing concern in his. He shook his head a little. ‘We had a good night; Tara, her parents, everyone had a good night – didn’t you?’
‘Of course, I did.’
‘Then what is it?’
She gazed into his sparkling blue eyes and for a second wondered what it would be like to offload, to tell him everything that haunted her still – the guilt, the sadness, the regret, the pain of missing what she’d once had and how it controlled her even now.
And then she realized, she’d already told him so much, told him more than she’d even told her best friends. She’d known him a week and spilled her all. And why would she do that, unless… unless…
Her lips parted, her chest painfully still. It was so obvious, so startlingly real. She was falling for him.
She’d tried to keep her guard up, keep her distance, keep herself safe and… oh, my, God.
You silly, silly fool, Malie.
‘I have to go.’
She stepped around him and picked up her pace. How could she have been so stupid? So blind to it?
Trying to shake off the panic, her arms wrapped tight around her roiling stomach, her ears strained for footsteps behind her. Only this time he didn’t follow. This time he stayed where he stood and again, she felt his eyes on her back, and it filled her with cold. Because she couldn’t accept the comfort he offered, not without wanting so much more.
‘Tomorrow morning, then?’ he called after her.
‘Yeah.’ The word caught in her throat as she carried on moving. She’d be home soon, then she could let it all out and tomorrow morning she would be up to focusing on the surf. Teaching him like she would anyone else.
She was saved from the mocking laughter inside by her phone pinging in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen, half expecting it to be Todd asking her to turn back. But it wasn’t, it was a message from Victoria asking for a Lost Hours call.
She smiled in spite of her mood. Lost Hours was code for ‘need to talk stat’ and it could be anything from the good, the bad or the downright ugly. And this was definitely one of the ‘good’ variety.
Lost Hours! Lost Hours! I have exciting news and I’m going to burst if I don’t pass it on to at least one of you – who’s awake? I’m too excited to do the time conversion for M and Z! Xx
Her smile grew. How could she be anything but happy when her newly engaged friend was as excited as this? It was also a timely reminder of how Victoria had faced her fears by opening up to Oliver, she’d taken her curveball and batted it right out of the park, gaining her perfect man in the process. But as Malie had said to Zo, that was V, it wasn’t her, V deserved that happiness and more.
She typed a reply:
Hey, gorgeous! Zoe’s mid-air on her way to visit me but I’m one hundred per cent here for this! Give me five to get home! Can’t wait to hear! Mxx PS Do I need to have bubbles at the ready?
She sent it and continued on, her mind now racing with what the news could be and providing the distraction she so desperately needed. Anything to take her mind off Todd, off what-ifs, off her parents and how different things could be.
She was unlocking the door to her apartment when Victoria’s reply came in:
Bubbles?! I haven’t stopped, lol! And this celebration is all Blake Hawkesbury’s fault, eek! Xx
All Blake’s… what could he have to do with this?
Blake owned the sprawling Hawkesbury Estate back in Hawke’s Cove. As kids they’d spent their summers borrowing boats from old Mr Michaels at the harbour and rowing around to the estate’s private beach, catching mackerel and cooking it up on the sand, swimming and generally having a whale of a time. If Blake knew of their antics, he never called them out on it. He was kind and caring to them all… particularly after the car accident.
Her smile dropped a little. It hadn’t just been them affected by the tragedy. Blake’s only child, Henry, had been a passenger in the car that had ploughed into Victoria’s. Henry’s girlfriend, Claudia, had been driving and she’d died on impact, Henry escaping with cuts and bruises and what Malie could only see as a shedload of guilt. He’d hit such a downward spiral shortly after that and there were rumours that his father had cut him off financially, their relationship ending with it. Henry hadn’t been seen in the Cove since.
Was it any wonder Blake now doted on Lily, and by proxy them, too, filling the hole left by Henry?
And for Lily, having lost her father at such a young age, having someone as talented and successful as Blake sharing his wisdom with her, teaching her all he could about the hospitality industry, about the estate and its winemaking, he’d ultimately filled a hole for her too. Now Lily ran her own restaurant that stocked wine from the Hawkesbury Estate and used the skills he’d taught her daily.
But his generosity didn’t end there, he’d even helped Malie all those years ago when she’d mentally broken down after the crash. She’d been desperate to leave the country, to get away from the trappings of her life with her parents but she hadn’t had the means or the know-how. He’d given her the financial aid and the confidence to just do it and she’d been so grateful. She’d paid him back, every last penny, as soon as she’d been able. He hadn’t wanted her to, but she’d insisted, she wouldn’t be a charity case and sh
e wouldn’t take payment for any weird sense of guilt he may have felt about his son’s involvement in the crash. It had been an accident, plain and simple. They all knew that.
Malie, where are you?! I’m getting desperate here!!!!
Victoria’s message lit up on her screen and she shook herself out of the past and into the present. The crash was ancient history and they were all slowly putting it behind them. Weren’t they?
Well, V certainly was… and Zoe would be surfing again very, very soon. Todd had opened Malie’s eyes to what that would mean for her, to see it, to live it again with her friend.
Calling now!
She tossed her phone onto the bed and pulled out her laptop from beneath it, plonking herself down.
Oops, bubbles!
She shot back up, setting the laptop to ring out and placing it on the bed as she raced into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge.
‘Finally… Malie?’ Victoria’s voice filled the room, going from relieved to confused. ‘Malie, where are you?’
‘I’m just coming!’ She yelled over the fridge door. She pulled out a bottle, kicked the door back in place and grabbed a glass from the side, shimmying her way back to the bed and flopping down in front of the laptop.
‘Hey!’ Malie raised the glass and bottle to the screen, grinning as Victoria’s flushed face beamed back at her. ‘You look so happy!’
‘I am!’ Her long dark hair fell in waves around her face, notably dishevelled as though she’d just crawled out of bed and still she looked amazing, amazing and in love.
‘Have you just woken up?’
‘Pretty much!’ There was the sound of a male in the background and Victoria wriggled, her hand pushing someone away.
‘Still in bed though, yeah…’ Malie teased as she sat the glass between her legs and started to unwrap the foil on the bottle. ‘Hey, Oliver,’ she cooed.
‘Hey, Malie,’ came his muffled reply. Victoria pulled the laptop closer and wrapped her fluffy white robe around her tighter before reaching off to the side and bringing a full glass of bubbles into view.
‘I was woken up by the delivery man…’ Victoria dropped her gaze for a second. ‘Where’s Lils, come on, Lils, pick up!’
‘What time is it there? Eight in the morning?’ Malie asked, uncoiling the wire from the cork. ‘She’ll likely be out foraging for ingredients, you know how she likes to keep it fresh and all that jazz in the restaurant.’
‘Never mind foraging, I need her here before I burst.’
‘Am I not good enough?’ Malie whined, feigning hurt.
‘Shut up, you know full well I’d spill all to you, I just hoped to have Lily here because I think she’s had a hand in it, and I want to thank her.’
‘Now I really am lost, a hand in what?’
‘That’d be telling! Shall I ring her on the mobile too, do you think?’
Malie laughed. ‘That’ll only have the same result, the apps are the same whether they’re on the phone or the computer.’
Victoria looked genuinely deflated, her pout emphasizing the luscious curve to her lips. Damn, she could be pretty and sophisticated whatever face she pulled. It was a quality Malie had never been able to master.
‘Of course,’ Victoria murmured, taking a sullen sip from her glass. ‘Not sure what I was thinking.’
Malie laughed again, eager to lift her friend’s mood. ‘Hey, if getting married means you lose your mind, I’m quite pleased I’m set to avoid it for life.’
There was a male grumble in the background as Oliver muttered something to Victoria and her friend batted him away. ‘She’s just joking.’
‘I am…’ Malie gripped the cork and twisted the bottle, the pop sounding the same time as her adamant, ‘not!’
‘Whatever, Malie…’ Victoria’s soft brown eyes pinned her through the screen, ‘one day a guy is going to walk into your surf school and sweep you right off that board of yours.’
She laughed at the analogy and ignored the little voice that said, he already has, you just left him back at Tara’s, steadily pouring herself a glassful instead. ‘Are you getting all fanciful as well as losing your marbles?’
‘I’m not being—’
Malie was saved the rest of Victoria’s rebuttal by Lils’ face filling a new square on the screen. ‘Lils!’
‘Yes!’ Victoria said, crossing her legs and setting the laptop before her so she could peer down into it. ‘Where’ve you been?’
‘Hey, sorry, Mum, but some of us have to work this time in the morning.’ Lily brushed her hair out of her face with one gardening-gloved hand and managed to smudge dirt across her cheek with it. Malie was about to point it out when Lils frowned into the screen and blurted, ‘Geez, are you seriously drinking bubbly at this time in the morning, V? I know you’re getting married and you work in a bar, but…’
She raised a disapproving brow and both Malie and Victoria just laughed.
‘I am, and not just any…’ Victoria raised the bottle to the screen so that they could see the label, ‘I believe this is the finest the Hawkesbury Estate has to offer.’
‘How did you…?’
‘As if you don’t know,’ Victoria said, her smile bright as she took a sip and hummed with exaggerated bliss. It would no doubt be much nicer than the cheap knock-off Malie had in her hand.
She took a sip minus the hum. ‘You’re gonna have to give us a clue.’
Victoria closed in on the screen, her face so alive, ‘Blake Hawkesbury only went and had a whole case delivered! It arrived thirty minutes ago, woke us right up.’
‘Oh wow, how sweet!’ blurted Malie, that was Blake all over. ‘No wonder you’re enjoying breakfast bubbles.’
Lily smiled, clearly not surprised. ‘He said he might send one.’
‘Did he now?’ Victoria grinned. ‘Did he also happen to mention the card that might accompany the case?’
Lils couldn’t keep a straight face; her eyes were wide with forced innocence as she shook her head.
Victoria laughed, ‘You’re such a crap liar, Lils.’
‘OK,’ Lils burst out. ‘He might have mentioned an idea and asked if I thought it was a good one.’
‘And you said yes.’
‘Well, of course I did, what’s not to love about it?’
‘Nothing at all.’
‘And have you replied?’
‘No, not—’
‘Hey, hey, hey, guys!’ Malie felt like she was watching a tennis match, her eyes pinging back and forth the two screens and not having a clue what was going on. ‘Can someone tell me what you’re talking about before I lose my mind?’
‘On that note, I’m hitting the shower.’ Oliver leaned into the screen, offering a glimpse of naked torso as he kissed Victoria full on the mouth. ‘Be good, ladies, not too many bubbles, darling, we’re seeing Mum later and she’ll likely be opening more!’
‘Bye, Oliver,’ Lils and Malie chorused and he rewarded them with a grin and a shake of the head before leaving the picture.
Victoria’s attention shifted off the call for a long, drawn-out moment and both Lils and Malie coughed loudly.
V’s eyes snapped back to the screen, her cheeks flushing pink. ‘Sorry.’
‘We know he has a fine behind,’ teased Malie, ‘but seeing you ogling it when we don’t get the view, it’s just plain unfair.’
‘Hey, that’s my behind to ogle, not yours.’
They all burst out laughing and Lils dropped back from the screen, unveiling leaf-adorned hair and the picture-perfect backdrop of the Hawkesbury estate. Malie felt a pang of longing and quickly quashed it with a swig of cheap plonk, focusing on the funny smile Lils now wore instead.
‘Oh no, are you going all wistful on us, Lils?’
‘No, it’s just… I’m so happy that V’s found someone so perfect for her.’
Malie felt the truth behind her words, the sadness that Lils had thought she’d had that once too, only to find she’d been so very wrong. She wanted to di
stract her. ‘Finding the pickings a little slim in the Cove, love?
‘Slim to none.’ Now Lils pouted and just as Victoria had – she looked perfectly beautiful with it, mud-streaked cheek and leaf-adorned hair and all.
‘That’s not true,’ said Victoria. ‘What about Ben down the chippy? I heard he’d come back to take over from his dad and is quite the looker now.’
‘You are joking, right?’
Malie stifled another giggle.
‘I wouldn’t date anyone in the Cove if you paid me, not with Mrs Whittaker and her busybody antics. You know, I’m still convinced she knew about Al’s intentions to do a runner before I did.’
Even through the screen Malie could see Lils’ cheeks colour and knew that the bluster was all front, that she was still messed-up over her relationship with her ex, who’d been far too charming and slick and an overall nasty piece of work. He hadn’t fooled the squad – V, Zoe and herself – but he’d had poor Lils fooled.
Victoria shuddered. ‘I can’t even bear hearing his name without my skin prickling.’
‘Prickling?’ Malie flipped. ‘I wanna punch him, right smack on that pointy nose of his, then knee him in the balls to get him down to my level so that I can face off his arrogant, over-charming, sleaze—’
‘Yeah, yeah, we get it, Malie!’ It was Victoria staring into the screen at her, her hand doing the whole slicing-of-the-throat action.
Oops. ‘Too much?’
Victoria nodded. ‘Just a—’
‘Nah,’ Lils said, her voice resigned. ‘In all honesty, I think I would have paid to see it.’
Lils gave a brave smile and Malie felt even more guilt. ‘Sorry, love.’
‘Are you guys kidding, he was a waste of space, I only wish I’d realized it before he’d raided our wedding fund and ran off with it.’
‘Well, I just hope he freezes to death up in Scotland, alone and penniless with icicles hanging from his nutsack…’ Malie grimaced, she’d been quite satisfied with the imagery until she’d got to his shrivelled meat and two veg. ‘Scratch that last bit!’
Meet Me in Hawaii Page 17
