Page 41 of Beached Wedding

“Good.”

Ugh. Might as well ask about the weather.

“I’m going to change and hang these in the shower.” He plucked at his rashie then dug into a drawer on his way to the bathroom.

I watched him go, wanting things to be okay between us and not sure how to make it happen. After a second, I heard the water running and the tap of a razor against the side of the sink. While he was out of sight, I put a sports bra on under my shirt.

Breakfast arrived and I brought it to the table on the lanai, glancing up from my phone when he joined me. His jaw was clean. He wore fresh board shorts with a sleeveless T-shirt. A waft of sunscreen and a hint of minty freshness arrived with him.

“You hear from Shane?” he asked, nodding at my phone.

“No. I was seeing what sorts of jobs are available to someone with my vast experience in writing advertorials for medical devices.” I set aside my phone and lifted the lids off the plates.

“Where? Sydney?”

“Anywhere.” I tried to shrug off my predicament. “When one door closes there’s another fish in the sea, right? Those sausages look good.”

He moved one to my plate and stole a chunk of hash-browned potato from mine. “What do you mean ‘anywhere?’”

“Australia, but also Canada. Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto... I’ve been given a choice so I feel like I should exercise it. How did you settle on staying in Oz? Have you ever considered going back to Seattle?”

He paused in pouring coffee for both of us, brows low over his perplexed gaze. He finished what he was doing then set down the carafe.

“Let’s see. Rain?” He weighed one hand in the air, then held out the other. “Sunshine.”

“Mmm. Forty below in Pine Grove or forty above in Australia.” I copied the motion. “These are tough choices, aren’t they? Seriously, though. Was that all it was? Weather?”

“It wasn’t a conscious choice.” He tucked into his plate. “I was only going to do a year of school in Oz while Gary andStephanie got through their son being a premie and got into their new house. But once I was on the Aussie school cycle, I didn’t want to fall back half a year by enrolling in Seattle. I visited Gary over school breaks and we talked about me coming back to finish high school, but the year I turned fifteen, Eddie offered me and Shane work with his clean-up crew. If I had realized he wanted a couple of strong backs on a wheelbarrow and we’d be picking up broken bricks in the heat, I might have made a different decision.” His grin went sideways, wry. “But it was a legit job. Everyone agreed it was a good thing to be able to live and work in two different countries so I got all my documents in order. I was prepared to go to the States for work once I got my degree, but by then Shane and I were flipping houses and talking Togs and Boards. Here we are.”

“Does the US even feel like home anymore?”

“It feels like my hometown. I see Gary and the kids every year or two. It’s a place that feels nostalgic and familiar, but also changes enough between visits that I know it’s not my life anymore. Why? What are you thinking?” He was watching me closely, as though he was invested in whatever I decided. Maybe he was. It could awkward for him and Shane if I went to live in Australia anyway.

“I’m thinking I need to make some phone calls to the shipping company, find out how my stuff will be handled if I’m not there to physically receive it, ask if I can redirect it. I can’t see starting my life from scratch in Sydney, where I won’t have anyone. That’s a little further out of my comfort zone than I’m comfortable with.”

“You have me.”

“No, I don’t.” I said it gently, but it was true. “You’d be my first call if I was arrested, I promise. But I can’t work for you and Shane. I can’t hang out with your crowd. I’m out of the club.” My voice quavered. I swallowed and squinched up my nose to hidethe way my chin wanted to crinkle. “I’m sad about that, butc’est la vie.”

“We can all still be friends, Ash.”

“I refuse to be one of those cast-off sheilas who hover around you and Shane looking for a way back in.”

His face blanked to a warning stiffness. “I happen to think it’s a mark of decency that I’m on speaking terms with every woman I’ve ever slept with, including the one who took all my money.” He jabbed his fork into another cube of my potatoes. “Not that I’d cross the street to say hello if I could avoid her, but I wouldn’t push her into traffic. Shane’s the same. You two will be fine after this blows over. Come to Sydney if you want to. I can still hire you.”

“I’ll just forget the part where Shane stood me up for our wedding, then?” I got up and found my wallet in my bag. My engagement ring was in a zipped pocket. I set the ring on the table next to his plate. “I took that off so I wouldn’t lose it while swimming. Maybe that was bad mojo and the reason this happened. You might as well take it back to him.”

He barely looked at it. “You’re really not coming to Oz?”

“Not to live, no. And I won’t make a point of seeing him if I don’t have to. Neither of us will enjoy it.”

“What are you going to do then?” He sent an angry frown toward my phone. “Go to someotherstrange city where you don’t know anyone? No.” He didn’t give me the chance to answer. “If you’re not going home, come work for me. At least until you figure out what your next move is.”

“I’m pretty sure I heard you say yesterday that whatever I did should be my decision.”

“If it’s something you’ve thought through, then yes, I’ll cheerlead you all the way. But running away? That’s a knee-jerk reaction.”

“It’s called a fresh start.” I sat and added cream and sugar to my coffee, giving it a vigorous stir with my spoon. “Because here’s what I’m thinking. I can go to Sydney, where I’m not wanted, or I can go home to lick my wounds.OrI can see this as an opportunity to do whateverIwant.”

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