Oliver’s eyes flicked to Bonnie before answering. She suddenly wished she hadn’t agreed to a drink. Ryan would tell his wife Emma and word would spread that Oliver and Bonnie were having a drink together. She knew what this town was like—it wouldn’t take much before everyone was talking about it, assuming the two of them were involved in a sordid love affair.

‘Yep, it’s true. Soph’s in the middle of organising the big day.’

Bonnie reached for her glass of wine, trying to seem normal, but she knew Oliver sounded a little awkward. She was thankful for the distraction when her phone chimed with a message.

I’ll pick you up at 6 am. Will get you to Sydney in time for auditions.

Bonnie grimaced. Her sister was nothing but relentless about auditioning for The One.

Don’t you dare.

She pressed send before switching her phone to silent. There was no way she wanted to be a contestant on that terrible reality show.

Ryan and Oliver made small talk for a few minutes, promising they’d catch up for a beer another day. Bonnie didn’t miss the curious look Ryan threw her way before he moved off. She felt queasy.

‘So, Sophie would be okay about this?’ she asked once Ryan was out of earshot. ‘Us having a drink together?’

Oliver smiled a little. ‘Sophie’s not the insecure type.’

‘Yeah, I remember that from school.’ An image of Sophie Nix flouncing around in her own bubble, not at all worried about other people or what they thought of her, came to the front of Bonnie’s mind.

Oliver looked a little unsettled by this.

‘It surprised me to hear the two of you were together,’ Bonnie admitted.

‘Yeah, I can understand that.’

She glanced over Oliver’s shoulder, seeing more people arrive. One of the girls, Faith McKinnon, was a good friend of Carla’s. Bonnie slunk a bit lower in her seat. ‘So, how did it happen?’ How on earth had he become engaged to Sophie Nix?

Oliver considered, his face scrunched up as though trying to isolate an exact reason. ‘Alcohol,’ he said eventually. ‘There was a lot of alcohol.’

Bonnie returned his smile, but it didn’t come naturally. She attempted to shake away the uneasy feeling and gripped her glass of wine.

‘You know Sophie,’ he added. ‘She knows what she wants and goes after it.’ He laughed a little nervously.

Bonnie was struck with an image of Sophie stripping down to a lacy G-string, the kind of thing Bonnie had never owned. She tried to remember if she was wearing her black or beige granny undies.

‘Your parents must be happy you’re back in town,’ she said, changing the subject.

‘Very.’ Oliver nodded. ‘Mum says she sees you around from time to time.’