I’d resisted the urge to put my usual kiss on the end of the message, pushed send and held my breath waiting for a reply.

Once again, he’d taken his sweet time and the reply came when I was brushing my teeth later that night: Pretty busy the next few days but will let you know.

My heart sank—I’d been torn between sadness and all-out rage. We’d been together over twenty years and he couldn’t even make time to fit me into his busy schedule. I hadn’t heard from him since, but it wouldn’t be unlike Adrian to show up out of the blue, expecting that I’d just fit in with his timetable.

Taking a deep breath, not wanting to appear too eager, I headed for the front door, quickly checking my appearance in the hallway mirror as I passed. A swipe of lipstick would have helped, but I didn’t want to leave Adrian waiting.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ I said, unable to hide my disappointment as I opened the door to find Hayley and Wei.

‘And it’s a delight to see you as well,’ she said, leaning forward and kissing my cheek.

‘Sorry … I just …’

Hayley waved her hand at me. ‘Never mind. Wei wanted to give you these.’

He grinned, thrust a massive bouquet of colourful flowers at me and kissed me on the cheek. ‘To say thanks for all the work you did at the shack. Hayley showed me the photos and I was blown away. Thanks for the heads-up on the roof. I’m so sorry—I wouldn’t have suggested you stay there if I’d known how bad it was.’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’m one of those weird people who actually like cleaning. It was cathartic. And Ragged Point is just beautiful.’

‘That’s great. I haven’t been there since I was a kid. Mum fell out with her dad and we stopped going, but I have fond memories of fishing on the beach and collecting shells with him before that. I meant to go visit the old guy when Mum died a few years back but then … well, life got in the way.’

Hayley squeezed Wei’s hand.

‘Would you like to come in for a drink?’ I asked.

They exchanged a look, then Hayley glanced at her watch. ‘That would be lovely, but we’ve only got half an hour as we’re off to a concert tonight.’

A concert? That sounded like a proper date. I couldn’t remember the last time Hayley had dated someone after she’d slept with them.

‘Sounds wonderful,’ I said as I stepped back to let them into the house.

While I put the flowers in a vase, Hayley made herself at home, grabbing a bottle of white wine from the fridge. ‘Where are the kids?’ she asked as she poured. ‘I haven’t seen Saxy in ages.’