Willa was glowing. ‘Yes, I do, don’t I?’ she asked, delighted.
‘I wonder what Chantal would say?’ Amy mused. ‘About her most romantic moment, I mean.’
Willa pondered that, eyes half closed. ‘It would be something to do with dancing. The romance of swaying against a man, having him hold you close, showing you just by the way he looked at you that you were his…’
Four sighs as their fresh round of drinks was deposited—and then four dreamy sips.
‘So Chantal’s in your camp, Willa. She’s already had her moment,’ Amy said. ‘With Brodie, I mean, at Weeping Reef. Because that’s what happened, right? The dance, the look that everyone could see?’
‘It was sizzling,’ Willa said.
Amy drained her glass. ‘No wonder poor Scott got bent out of shape.’
Kate felt the blood drain from her face. What? What? ‘Scott?’ she said, and thanked all the saints in heaven that her voice had come out halfway normal.
‘Oh, yeah—you don’t know the story,’ Willa said, sounding sad. ‘Scott and Chantal were an item at Weeping Reef. The item. Until Brodie came on the scene. Actually, they were an item even after Brodie arrived. Chantal and Brodie didn’t seem to like each other—except that they did, if you know what I mean, and just didn’t recognise it. I think I was the only one who saw what was happening. Scott certainly didn’t, and he was blindsided. Chantal was dancing with Brodie—which was no big deal. She loves dancing. Lives for it. But she could never get Scott onto the dance floor, and he never had a problem with her dancing with other men. But that night it was…more. Like a…a flash. The way they moved together…the way they looked at each other. Everyone knew in that one moment that Chantal and Brodie belonged together.’
Kate remembered asking Scott to dance at that dinner. Him telling her he didn’t. Ever. Remembered him insisting on absolute fidelity in their contract.
‘So what happened?’ she asked through her aching throat.
‘A huge argument—which ended with Scott slugging Brodie. Brodie took off, leaving Scott and Chantal at the resort together…but not together. Not at all together. Looking back, it all seems so needlessly dramatic, given nothing actually happened between Chantal and Brodie. But Scott and Brodie haven’t spoken since.’
Uh-oh. Awkward. ‘Actually, they…they have spoken,’ Kate said, and took a quick silent breath to steady her nerves for the inquisition.
The three girls stared at her, waiting.
Kate took a slow sip of her Manhattan. ‘I was having coffee with Scott, at the marina across the road from my place, on Sunday morning. And Brodie walked past. His boat’s moored there.’
‘Oh, my God!’ Amy squealed. ‘I don’t know what part to ask about first. Coffee with Scott? How did that come about?’
‘We’ve seen each other a couple of times since Willa’s party.’
There was a long pregnant pause.
‘It’s nothing,’ Kate said.
More silence.
‘Really nothing,’ she insisted. ‘There was an…an attraction there, and we wanted to see if there was anything worth exploring. That’s all.’
‘And is there?’ Jessica asked.
Kate took another sip. ‘No. There really isn’t,’ she said, and felt the truth of that, the pang of it, pierce right through her heart. It took her a moment to recover from that certainty, to find her voice again. ‘Anyway, Sunday morning he was in the area, so—’
Amy choked on her drink. ‘In the area? Are you sure there’s nothing worth exploring?’
‘Yes, in the area, and, no, there’s nothing worth exploring,’ Kate insisted, but she could feel the heat slash across her cheekbones. ‘He buzzed my apartment and I went down to meet him.’
Very important to get the message out that he hadn’t stayed the night at her place. She was a little embarrassed about hiding what was a straightforward arrangement from her friends, but she couldn’t seem to up and confess. And it wasn’t only the confidentiality clause stopping her. It just felt too…painful, somehow, to share.
‘And what happened?’ Amy asked.
‘While we were sitting there drinking our coffee along came Brodie.’
‘And then…? Come on, Kate,’ Amy urged. ‘The suspense is killing me.’
‘All right. I’m just trying to remember it.’ As if she didn’t! ‘There was some…tension. Yes, now that I think back there was definitely tension between them to start with. But I left them talking while I went to order, and by the time I returned, it was all quite amicable between them.’
‘Thank God,’ Willa said. ‘They were so close, back in the day. Closer than brothers. It hasn’t felt right, their estrangement.’
‘So what happened next?’ Amy asked. ‘Is Brodie still here? I’d love to see him. And did they talk about Chantal?’
Chantal. The name whipped through Kate’s bloodstream, breath-stealing.
Jealous. She was jealous—of something that had happened eight years ago. Because one woman had sneaked past Scott’s defences, where she couldn’t go. Where she was resolutely blocked from going. She picked up her glass to take another sip of her cocktail, realised it was empty but had no recollection of drinking it. Too much, too fast.
‘I don’t know what happened then because I left them to it,’ she said. ‘I knew they hadn’t seen each other in a while, and I… I had work to finish. I haven’t spoken to Scott since.’
Which wasn’t strictly correct…but was still true. Officer Cleary and Lorelei had spoken to Scott—not Kate.
‘Nobody was throwing punches, if that’s any comfort to you,’ Kate added. ‘And one thing I do know is that Brodie is still in Sydney, because he’s giving me a sailing lesson tomorrow.’
‘Oh! You are so lucky!’ Jessica said. ‘I’d love to learn to sail.’
‘Well, it’s only one lesson,’ Kate said. ‘All I can really expect is to find out if I’ve got what it takes or if it will be like the time I tried Tai Chi—nice idea, but not going to happen. Why don’t you come too, Jessica?’
Jessica sighed. ‘Nah—I’ve got kickboxing tomorrow.’
‘Why don’t you ask Scott to teach you if you’re really interested, Jess?’ Amy suggested. ‘He’s the absolute best. Better than Brodie—even though Brodie’s the one who’s made it his career.’ She turned to Kate, looking quizzical. ‘In fact, Kate, I don’t know why you don’t ask Scott to teach you. At least he lives in Sydney, so you’ll get more than one lesson out of him.’
Kate busied herself snagging a server and ordering more drinks. By the time she’d done that, she had her poker face on. ‘From what I’ve gathered, Scott doesn’t sail any more.’
‘That’s true,’ Willa said. ‘You know, Weeping Reef was so beautiful, and we were all so excited to be there, but a lot of things went wrong. Things that…that changed us, I guess.’
‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Amy murmured. And then she took a deep breath, seeming to shake off a thought. She smiled—very brightly. ‘But that was then and this is now, so let’s drink to moving on. Onwards and upwards, ladies. Onwards and upwards.’
The girls clinked glasses, although Kate wondered if her empty glass actually counted.
‘The