Every single person in the room is waiting to see her excitement about getting the first date with Ty. Cassie’s fixed a smile on her face, but disappointment clouds her eyes. It’s now Imogen’s turn to glare at her. Bonnie should be ecstatic, she should be grinning like the Cheshire cat instead of having pounding thoughts to back when she was eighteen, wishing she’d taken a different path.

Only one word springs to mind: ‘Speechless.’

Chapter 15

15

Penelope lets the water from the shower rush over her, washing away the chlorine. Before she moved from the city she’d easily been able to swim thirty laps of the pool, but today she struggled to do half that. She can’t help but feel frustrated and disappointed in her body.

She wraps a towel around herself and moves into the change room. Two women are slipping out of their work clothes and tugging on gym gear.

‘I loved Imogen,’ one of them says, ‘but he’s never going to choose her.’

‘I couldn’t stand her.’ The other shakes her head. ‘All that drama about wearing the same dress as Addison.’

Penelope wants to sigh. They’re talking about The One.

‘I thought maybe the cheerleader had a chance?’

‘Oh yeah, what was her name?’

Both of the women consider, trying to remember.

The cheerleader’s name had been Hayley, but Penelope keeps her gaze down, pulling on her clothes.

‘I liked Kristy too.’

The other agrees. ‘Smart move bringing him food.’

‘The key to any guy’s heart is through the stomach.’ The first laughs. ‘But I think Bonnie is in with a chance.’

Penelope feels a little lightheaded. She closes her eyes, trying to ignore the stench of chlorine still on her skin. She’ll have another shower when she gets home. She tells herself to finish getting dressed so she can get out of the overheated gym centre.

‘That tall blonde one represented Australia in something, didn’t she?’ The woman’s loud voice booms.

‘Was it hockey?’

Basketball. It had been basketball.

‘Excuse me,’ one of the women calls to her. ‘Did you watch The One last night?’

Their faces are bright, eager to solve the mystery of what sport Samara played. ‘No, sorry, I didn’t.’ Penelope turns away, quickly grabbing her belongings before she’s forced into a conversation she really doesn’t want to be a part of.

Chapter 16

16

‘How is someone like you single?’ Ty asks, his face warm. They’re sitting on a two-seater lounge on a headland, facing the ocean as day becomes night.