Page 110 of Obsession Under the Southern Stars

It’s such an un-Fraser-like thing to say that I burst into nervous giggles. Joel grins, and Hallie… well, Hallie turns the color of a tomato. She glares at him, but he just gives a mischievous smile. Ohhh… Joel was right, something’s definitely going on there.

“Come on,” Joel says, amused, and he takes my hand and leads me out of the room. My heart’s racing. What’s happened? Why did he finish early? Has he found out whether he’s gotten the job?

We walk across the museum foyer to one of the seats that’s against the wall next to the entrance about early settlers.

“Is everything okay?” I ask again as we sit.

“Everything’s fine.” He leans forward, his elbows on his knees. “I love it here,” he says. “Fraser’s turned this place completely around.”

“Yeah, it’s amazing.” I rest a hand on his back. “What’s happened, Joel? Did the interview not go well?”

He doesn’t reply for a moment. Then, eventually, he leans back and turns to look at me. “I withdrew my application.”

My eyes widen, and my jaw drops. “Oh… why?”

“For several reasons. For a start, Manu really, really wants the job. Now his wife is pregnant, he doesn’t want to travel so much, and it means he’ll be based here in Wellington, so he’ll be around more for her.”

I nod. “That makes sense. But even so…”

“I thought about what you said,” he continues. “About not forgetting to put myself first. You were talking about my dad, right?”

“Yes,” I say cautiously. “I know he’s been pressuring you to settle down, and I just wanted to make sure it was what you wanted, too.”

“It got me thinking… and I realized it wasn’t what I wanted at all.”

I rub his back, surprised. “What do you want?”

He studies the statue in front of us of Kate Sheppard, the suffragist and social reformer. Then he slides a hand into his jacket pocket, takes out an item, and hands it to me.

It’s a fancy wooden box, maybe four inches square. I frown at him, and he nods at it, so I undo the catch and lift the lid.

I recognize it immediately. It’s the Mair Necklace, or, I’m guessing, a wonderful replica of it. The large Australian crystal opal is the color of the sea where we swam before the storm—a beautiful blend of turquoise, lilac, and green. It’s encased in a gold band and suspended from a gold chain by two slender arms. At the top, where the two arms meet, are three tiny gold ‘gum nuts’, which are the woody fruit of the eucalyptus tree, which plays such a dominant role in the Australian landscape. They’re set with diamonds, which weren’t in the original. Someone’s taken a bit of artistic liberty there.

“Joel…” I whisper. “It’s beautiful.”

“I had a feeling we wouldn’t find the real one,” he says. “So I had it made for you. I knew that, even if we did find the original, it wouldn’t look anything like this after being in the sea for so long, and I thought it would be a nice gesture. But this morning, when I picked it up, it struck me how symbolic it is.”

I study the gleaming opal. “Symbolic of what?” I ask softly.

He reaches out a hand and runs a finger over the delicate chain. “We’ve both spent a good part of our lives yearning for things. You for your baby. Me for my father’s acceptance and approval. But both of those are like the original necklace. Lost and unreachable.” He touches the opal. “We can’t always control what happens in our lives. But this necklace proves you don’t have to live in the shadow of the past—you can create a fresh start. And maybe we can create a future together that’s just as precious.”

My eyes fill with tears. “Oh, Joel…”

“I’m not going to ask you to marry me,” he says. “Not yet, because I think you’ll say it’s too soon, and we haven’t really dated properly yet. But I want you to know that I plan to, in the not-too-distant future.”

My cheeks flush, and I press my fingers to my lips.

“But until then,” he says, undaunted, “I want to talk to you about something. I heard from Elora earlier—she said she’s decided that she wants to go to Europe with Linc.”

My mouth forms an O. “That’s amazing, I’m so pleased for her.”

“Yeah.” Suddenly, he looks hesitant, almost boyish. “Look, you mentioned that you’d love to travel to Europe too. And I was thinking… how about the two of us go as well? Maybe we could do something similar to what they’re doing. Travel for a bit. We could do some freelance archaeology, help out on digs across Europe with the other two. I’d love to see the Mary Rose and do some diving in the Med. I’m sure you’d like to see the British Museum. It might make Elora feel better to know that we’re around for her, and it’ll be fun, the four of us having a big adventure together.”

Pure delight fills me. “You’re kidding? Seriously?”

His lips curve up. “You like the idea?”

“It sounds absolutely amazing! Oh my God, Joel… what an experience it would be…”

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