He scooched down the couch and gave me a Nick-style bear hug. I didn’t get them very often, but he seemed to know when I needed them most. The last one had been after my previous cat, Lucy, had died.

Eventually Nick let me go, then stood up, looked over my shoulder and smiled. I turned around and saw Lindsey leaning against the doorway watching us. “She’s all yours, love,” he said to his wife. He gave her a quick kiss as he passed her in the doorway and followed it up with a smack on her bum. She rolled her eyes, smiling, then came over and plopped down next to me while I blew my nose.

“Two things,” she said. “First, no more crying. We’re running out of tissues.” I nodded and managed a smile. “Second, Josh is way hotter than his photos!”

I threw my head back and laughed, and she raised her eyebrows at me. “So, what are you going to wear to dinner?”

*

Five minutes before I was due to meet Josh, I paused in front of the restaurant to steady my breath.

I needed to be a swan—graceful and elegant above the water, when below the water, my stomach was in knots and I was moments away from a full-blown panic attack.

Breathe, Sarah.

I looked at my reflection in the restaurant window. At least I looked good.

I was wearing one of Lindsey’s dresses, a 70s-inspired wrap dress by Sass and Bide, which went with the heels and clutch I’d packed for New Zealand. Raiding her wardrobe was far easier than raiding Cat’s, because Lins and I wore the same size. It also meant I could put off going home to my empty flat for at least another day.

I pressed my clutch to my chest and took another steadying breath. Before I left Lindsey and Nick’s, I’d packed it with a clean pair of knickers and my toothbrush—just in case.

I met my own eyes in the reflection. This was it.

The maître d’ smiled as I made my way into the restaurant. When I told her I was there to meet Josh Walker, she nodded and led me through the restaurant to a table with a one-eighty panoramic view of Darling Harbour, the top of the Harbour Bridge just visible in the distance, and Centre Point Tower standing sentry over the cityscape.

The sun was beginning to set, the sky blanketed in herringbone clouds, and the waning sunlight illuminating them as though they were on fire. The city was painted with countless colours, the hues of orange, pink, indigo, and violet reflecting off the glass towers and dancing on the little glassy water in the harbour.

Sydney truly is a stunning city.

Josh had his back to me, and my breath caught at the sight of his broad shoulders and dark curly hair, still damp from the shower.

He glanced up as the maître d’ approached and when he turned around, the look on his face as his eyes met mine made me melt. Oh my, he’s handsome. He stood and enveloped me in a hug, his arms around my waist. I wrapped mine around his neck and held him tightly. He smells amazing.