She watches as he kicks off his shoes, pushing them under the coffee table where they’ll stay until he leaves again on Sunday afternoon unless she moves them to the shoe stand at the front door. He looks up at her as he stretches his legs out in front of him. He rubs his calf muscle, his hands moving back and forth. She loves those hands; her own fit perfectly inside them. They go to sleep holding hands, and during summer, when it’s too hot, their pinkies touch instead. It’s only been a couple of weeks but she’s missed having him in their bed. It’s lonely without him. Warmth swells in her belly, contentment and longing mixing together. She doesn’t want to be cranky, so decides to start over. ‘I thought it’d be a nice surprise after we didn’t get our weekend in the Hunter Valley.’

Drew throws an unimpressed look around their small flat. ‘Really? You thought I’d like this?’

Darcy bristles. ‘What’s wrong with creating a bit of romance?’

Drew laughs. ‘You’ve been on that show for too long. Red roses and candles don’t equal romance.’

And just like that the warmth cools. ‘Forget about it.’ She moves to the closest candle and blows it out.

‘Darcy,’ Drew objects.

‘What?’ She screws up her face. ‘You just said you didn’t like them.’

Drew sighs, pushing up off the lounge and moving to the kitchen. He switches on a light, the candles dimming in protest. As he reaches to open the fridge he notices a bruise on his arm and pauses to examine his latest footy injury. Darcy feels like she’s the last thing on his mind. He bends down to peer into the fridge, but after inspection, pushes it shut again.

‘I haven’t had time to do the groceries,’ Darcy offers as something of an apology, but her tone is defensive.

Drew leans against the bench. ‘Parko asked if I could help out with the school fete next Saturday.’

And suddenly she realises why he decided to come down this weekend. ‘But that’s my birthday, Drew. You were going to come down here.’

‘It’s not like I can say no—he’s my boss.’

‘So we won’t see each other on my birthday?’

‘I thought maybe you could drive up.’

‘I don’t want to spend half the day driving up there.’ Their long-distance relationship officially sucks.

‘If you leave really early, you’d be able to get there for most of the day.’

‘Happy birthday to me,’ she murmurs a little sarcastically. The last thing she wants to do is set the alarm for five in the morning and drive by herself in the car for four hours. She can’t drive up on Friday night because she’s scheduled to work at the endearment party and the following key ceremony. She probably won’t get home until midnight.