excused herself and was relieved to see Flick making her way through the pub and into the garden. Luci forgot about seeking out her ex-in-laws and made a beeline for her friend, wrapping her in a big hug.
‘God, it’s so good to see you,’ she said.
‘Sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral,’ Flick replied as she hugged her back. ‘Callum was covering the clinic for your dad so he needed me to help him.’
Flick had a sparkle in her eye. She looked well. Happy. But Luci was too preoccupied to pay any more attention than that.
‘Why didn’t you tell me Ben and Catriona had the baby?’
Flick shrugged. ‘She was only born yesterday. I figured your mum would tell you and we’d talk about it today. Who did tell you?’
‘Ben.’
‘Oh, hell. Are you okay?’
Luci nodded. ‘I think so. Sad for me, if I’m honest, but otherwise okay. I’ll hold it together. I’m not going to give anyone here the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. I’m tired of being the one everyone talks about.’
‘Well, don’t get your hopes up.’ Flick laughed. ‘No doubt they’ll be talking about you again now that you’re back and everyone has seen you talking to Ben.’
‘I’m not back for good,’ Luci responded, and wondered whether that was really how she felt. Could she come back permanently?
She wasn’t sure.
But where else would she go?
She had no idea.
‘You’re not thinking of staying in Sydney, are you?’ Flick asked. ‘Are you enjoying it that much?’
Luci kept quiet, which was a mistake.
Flick jumped straight to a conclusion. ‘OMG, is it Seb?’
She’d told Flick a little bit about him. Not everything. She wanted to keep some of what they’d shared to herself but it had been obvious in her conversations that they’d been spending a lot of time together and Luci hadn’t been able to keep the happiness from spilling into her voice.
‘I’d stay in a heartbeat if he asked me to but I can’t see that happening.’
When Luci saw the expression on Flick’s face—eyes wide open, jaw dropping—she realised she’d said the words out loud and remembered that Flick was working with Seb’s brother. ‘Promise me you won’t say anything to Callum!’ she hissed.
‘Why would I? But does Seb know how you feel?’
Luci shook her head. ‘Of course not. It’s just a bit of fun.’
‘Seriously? That doesn’t sound like you.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Well, you have to admit that even for around here you settled down early. You were always the one who was going to have the serious relationships.’
‘Seb is only in Sydney for another week. I can’t afford to get serious.’
‘So you’re just using him for sex.’
‘Shh!’
‘Well, you are doing the deed, aren’t you?’
‘Yes.’ Luci blushed, thinking about the sex. Where and when and how good it had been. ‘And often,’ she added, wanting to see Flick’s reaction.
Flick laughed. ‘You go, girl! So why is it just a bit of fun? Why can’t it be more serious than that? It doesn’t matter if he’s leaving Sydney. You could go with him.’
‘No.’ Luci shook her head again, knowing she was trying to convince herself as much as Flick. ‘It’s not a long-term proposition. Not at all. We want different things out of life. He’s great but he doesn’t want to settle down. I can’t afford to waste time on someone who doesn’t want the same things as me.’
It was a pity. Such a pity. Luci understood why he felt that way but it was still a shame. He didn’t know what he was missing.
But did she? Why was it that she was so desperate to have kids? Could she be content without them?
She didn’t know what she was missing either but she just knew that something was. There was a yearning in her heart. Not only for a partner but for a family. She knew what she needed to make herself complete. A man wouldn’t be enough. And if she knew that she needed to be a mother without ever having been one, who was to say that Seb couldn’t know he didn’t want to be a father? That wasn’t for her to judge.
Flick opened her mouth and Luci had the suspicion that she was about to tell her something important but right at that moment the crowd went silent. All at once.
Heads turned as the noise ceased and all eyes were focused on the door that led from the pub out to the garden.
Standing in the doorway was Seb.
IT WAS IMMEDIATELY obvious that he wasn’t from around here and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was a tall, dark, handsome stranger. You could always expect a few strangers at a funeral but Seb wasn’t wearing the country uniform. All the male mourners were wearing smart jeans, their polished boots and a shirt that was obviously kept for best. Seb was wearing neatly ironed chino pants, a black T-shirt and his leather jacket. The other men all had suntanned faces with white foreheads where their hats sat, and despite the hours Seb spent on the water he didn’t have the same weathered look of years spent outdoors.
The stunned silence was followed by a swell of murmuring as everyone tried to figure out who this man was. Luci could hear people asking each other if they knew him.
‘OMG, what is he doing here?’ she muttered.
She could feel Flick looking from her back to Seb and back to her and she knew Flick’s jaw had dropped open again.
‘Is that him?’
Luci nodded. She couldn’t speak.
‘Holy…’ Flick said under her breath. ‘He looks like more than just a bit of fun. He looks like a whole lot of fun.’
‘Shush,’ Luci said, whacking Flick on the arm before making a beeline for Seb. She had to get him out of the pub. People had only just moved on from discussing her and Ben and she knew there was no way they’d be able to resist talking about her again now that they’d laid eyes on Seb and realised he was here for her.
Was he here for her? she wondered as she was halfway across the room. Maybe he was here to see Callum? Although that made no sense whatsoever. She knew that the two brothers didn’t even talk that often, so why would he have travelled halfway across the country to see him?
He was grinning widely by the time she reached his side. His blue eyes sparkled and to keep herself from jumping into his arms she grabbed his elbow and pulled him back through the doorway, out of the garden and into the pub. She would have kept walking too, wanting to get him right out of the building and into the street, away from flapping ears and prying eyes, but Seb planted his feet and once he did that she had about as much chance of moving him as a mosquito had in a cyclone.
‘What are you doing here?’
They were in a short, narrow corridor between the pub kitchen and the rest rooms and it was only a matter of time before they were interrupted, but Seb didn’t seem to mind. He leaned against the wall and pulled her into him. She could see he was about to kiss her and she wasn’t going to let him do that. Not in front of her family and the rest of the town.
She put her hands on his chest, keeping them separated by a few inches of air, but the gesture hardly afforded her any protection.