Cora’s lips were pulling up before Frazer had completely sat down. “Hey. Thanks for meeting me.”

The half smile was on Frazer’s face. “Happy to.”

The glass cold on her fingers, Cora slid the beer across to Frazer. “You didn’t sound that way the other day.”

“Well,” Frazer pulled the beer close, “I just needed a few days.”

“You said maybe.” Cora blurted it out. That maybe had been the thing that had played over and over in her mind the most the last few days.

Frazer chuckled. “I did. But it’s not your…normal situation.”

Warmth that wasn’t from the heaters spread down Cora’s back. “I know. So why did you change your mind?”

“Because.” Frazer took a sip. For a moment, it looked like she was considering what to say. Finally, she just said, “Because we’re friends.”

Relief spread through Cora’s chest. “I’m glad.”

With hunched shoulders, Frazer looked across the water. “It’s chilly tonight.”

“Do you want to go inside?”

Frazer shook her head. “God, no. We’re inside all day at work. It’s so nice out here by the water.”

“It really is.” But Cora wasn’t watching the water. She was watching Frazer watch the water. In the orange light from the heaters, her normally bright green eyes were dark, her dark skin molten.

She caught Cora’s gaze on her. “Did you see Jack this week?”

Cora nodded. “Yeah, I’m meeting with him to talk about the parents he has as options. He wants to make a decision the next fortnight.”

“It’s not an easy one. I’m glad you’re mentoring him, though.”

“He’s a super-nice kid. Once the baby’s born and he’s feeling up to it, we’re going to talk about TAFE.”

“He decided against completing high school?”

“Yeah, he said he was always interested in being an electrician. We’ll see what we can get set up. He may have to do some bridging courses.”

There was an odd look on Frazer’s face.

“Are you okay?”

Frazer nodded. “Yeah. I just… Imagine where he’d be if we never got this programme up and running.”

“You mean if you hadn’t.”

“No.” Frazer shook her head. “I mean we. This was definitely us.”

Frazer’s eyes were still dark, and they stared at her across the table. The wind blew a strand of hair around her face. Her cheeks were flushed from it. Flushed like they often were in bed.

“Frazer—” Cora stopped speaking as a woman stopped at the table.

“Frazer!”

Looking from Frazer to this woman, Cora watched Frazer stand up, accepting a kiss on the cheek from her.

“Hey, Emma. How’s it going?”

The woman’s—Emma’s—hand lingered on Frazer’s arm. “I’m good. Great. Last night was fun.”

“It was.”

Who was this Emma?