“Watch it, little brother,” Megan threatened. “Terry and I aren’t exactly in our dotage and there are your nephews.”

“Flynn called,” Anna said. “He’ll be a bit late so we’ll start without him.”

Keely smiled down at her soup. She had been vaguely disappointed there was no Flynn at the table when she’d come in. It had been good working with both the Levallier men today. She had seen a different side to them. Levallier Dell was special to both but Flynn was a very organised person and his father took life much more casually. She imagined that would be frustrating for Flynn.

There was a noise from the back of the house.

“Speak of the devil.” Anna beamed as Flynn stepped through the door.

His face was flushed and his eyes shone. “Hello, everyone. Sorry I’m late.” He stopped and reached behind him. “I hope you don’t mind, Anna. I’ve brought a friend.”

A tall, dark-haired woman stepped out from behind him.

“This is Katerina. She’s Theo’s granddaughter, back for a holiday.”

Keely glanced around at the smiling faces, as the chorus of voices that had welcomed her only a little while earlier now welcomed Katerina. She noticed Euan wasn’t smiling. He turned his attention back to his food. Anna shuffled chairs to make another space and fussed over Flynn while Sean jumped up to ladle more soup.

Keely concentrated on her food. She recalled her meeting with Flynn the day before, when he’d made it clear the invitation to the meal that night was for the Levallier men only. Now here he was casually bringing an extra guest himself.

“Where is home, Katerina?” Megan asked.

“Please call me Kat.” Everyone listened as Kat told them about the Yarra Valley and her links with Margaret River. She was a very attractive woman. Beyond pretty, vivacious was a better word. Like Flynn’s, her eyes were bright and her skin glowed. Flynn joked about knocking her off her pony when she was a little girl and put his arm casually around her shoulders. Kat smiled back at him. They looked perfectly at ease with each other.

Keely sat quietly in her chair but Kat, who was sitting across from her, was keen to include her in the conversation.

“What kind of work do you do, Keely?” she asked.

“I’m a teacher.”

“So am I,” Megan said. “Secondary or primary?”

“Secondary but—”

“We’re often short on relief teachers here.” Megan lurched forward in her chair, her eyes bright. “If you stick around there’d be work if you ever wanted it.”

Keely shifted in her chair. She wished she hadn’t mentioned it. “I’d prefer to have a complete break from teaching…it can be so… demanding.”

“There are other avenues for creative people besides teaching.” Euan’s quiet words surprised her. She looked along the table and met his reassuring gaze.