Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Praise
- About the Author
- Also by Tricia Stringer
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Excerpt
- One
She picked up her phone. There was a text from Milt. She closed her eyes. Did she want to read it? The crack in their marriage that she thought had healed had been ripped open. There could be no denying Jack’s presence. It was as if Milt had cheated on her all over again. At home the weight of it had been intolerable but here, thousands of miles away, she felt like a different woman.
Her eyes flew open. Determined to hang on to the sense of freedom being here had unleashed she put the phone firmly back on the desk, whisked off her clothes and slipped into the silky summer nightie she’d brought with her. She raided the bar fridge, took a chocolate and a can of lemonade and settled back in the middle of the bed, propped up by all four pillows, then switched on the TV. With the addition of pay-TV channels there was a long list of movies for her to choose from and no time frame in which to watch them. She popped the top off the lemonade and felt giddy with the sense of freedom that fizzed over her.
Seventeen
Seventeen
Natalie was later than she’d intended to breakfast. She’d sat up watching My Cousin Rachel. Dark and brooding, it was something she’d never have watched at home but she’d enjoyed it nonetheless. It was definitely not Milt’s kind of movie and she couldn’t imagine her girls watching it either. She’d flicked through a magazine for quite a while afterwards before she’d felt sleepy, her wakefulness a combination of the heavy presence left from the movie and her afternoon sleep, and then this morning she’d slept in, despite the time difference. Nine o’clock here meant it was ten-thirty already at home. The indulgence of doing things when she wanted instead of when someone else did was taking a bit of getting used to.
She wore sunglasses against the bright light of the Kimberley morning and paused to take in the busy dining room open on all sides to the beautiful day. Her gaze extended outside, beyond the garden and the lawns to the white of the sand and the vivid blue of the ocean. Her best intentions to walk first thing hadn’t come to fruition but she had all day to visit the beach.
“Would you like to join us?”
She looked down. Two women were studying her expectantly, one with twinkling blue eyes and a smile, the other with piercing grey eyes and a jutting jaw.
“Only we noticed you ate alone last night,” Blue Eyes said.
“Oh.” Natalie glanced around. Every table seemed to be occupied.
“You’re welcome to join us.” Grey Eyes spoke this time. “But if you’d prefer to eat alone—”
“Thank you.” Natalie took the spare seat and placed her plate of bacon and eggs on the table.