Page 1 of One Weekend in Sydney

ChapterOne

TARA

Two years, countless video calls, and a million texts later, I’m finally face-to-face with my best friend again—and it’s about time. Odette beams at me from the doorway of our hotel suite at The Rocks in Sydney, where I’m crashing with her and two of her closest friends for her all-weekend bachelorette party. I am beyond excited.

“Good evening, soon-to-be Mayor Tara Davies!” says Odette in a cheekily deferential tone. She’s already in her shiny, tight-fitting dress, hair and makeup all done. “It’s so good to see you!”

I laugh as we circle our arms around each other for a tight, giddy embrace. “It’s so good to see you, too! I’m sorry my earlier flight got cancelled. I was scared you’d be gone by the time I got here.”

“Still here.” Odette leads me into the elegantly furnished living area, where two women in gorgeous outfits smile at me. “Tara, these are the girls I keep telling you about, Kelly and Anne. Girls, this is Tara. As you know, shewillbe the newly minted mayor of Moonstruck Cove—if all goes well.”

I raise both hands and cross my fingers.

Anne grins. “It’s great to meet you at last, Tara.”

“Yeah! We’ve heard so much about you,” says Kelly, who has generously paid for our weekend stay in this suite as her engagement present to Odette. She comes from a wealthy family and has become one of Odette’s best friends since Odette moved to Sydney four years ago.

I exchange hugs with the two women. “Thank you! It’s wonderful to meet you both. Gosh, you three look amazing!”

“We’ll help you get dolled up,” says Odette. “But let’s continue this chat on the balcony. It’s almost six. Quick!“

We follow her, and my breath hitches as I step out. Damn, this has to be one of the best hotel views ever! Across the harbour, the famous Sydney Opera House is right in front of us. We can see a good portion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to our left, and the bustling Circular Quay wharves and train station are to our right. On the water are numerous passenger ferries and tourist boats, some speeding away and some sailing slowly.

I’ve been to this part of Sydney several times and still find it mesmerising. Tonight, the multi-art form Vivid Festival starts in a few seconds. I’m hoping to have enough time to check out several light and sound installations across the city before I go back home. I might even get festival ideas to take back with me to Moonstruck Cove. While it’s only a small country town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, it’s a hub for artists.

I’m one of them. I hand-make candles, but mainly as a hobby. My day job is helping in my family’s macadamia farm as well as representing the community as the youngest elected councillor in our area.

“The place is packed!” I say as I watch the throngs of people waiting for Vivid to begin from our high vantage point.

“Ten seconds!” Anne says excitedly.

I join them in counting down the time to 6 PM. “Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.”

Then my breath leaves me. Suddenly, everything seems alight with colours. The bridge glows with pink, blue, green and yellow lights, and the sails of the opera house act as projectors of beautiful, fluid patterns. I look around and find light shows dancing against the facade of buildings. It’s as if the structures around me are the canvas of artwork made of moving lights. Music filling the air adds to the awesomeness of it all.

“Wow,” I breathe. I’ve seen pictures of the Vivid Festival before, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. “I’m glad I made it up here for this.”

“So am I,” says Odette. “But we’ll need to go soon.”

“Oh, yeah.” I hurry back inside and start opening my suitcase.

“Are you looking forward to tonight?” Kelly shakes her hips, dancing in place. “We’re meeting the rest of the girls at Darling Harbour.”

“Kelly’s already jumping out of her skin,” Anne says teasingly. “She has her sights set on one of the strippers tonight. She’s the one who suggested the Wild Boys showboat so she can pick up James.”

“All the Wild Boys are hot, but James is a dream,” Kelly gushes. “You’ll know what I mean when you see him.”

A regretful sigh escapes me. “Odette hasn’t told you? I won’t be joining you on the showboat.”

“What do you mean?” Anne asks.

“It’s all Eric Hislop’s fault!” Odette spits out. “He’s the person running for mayor against Tara, and the reason she’s not coming with us tonight.” She turns to me. “Mind if I tell them the whole story?”

“Go for it,” I say with a smile. I have nothing to hide.

“Well,” Odette says with a huff. “Someone told Tara that Eric will have spies on the showboat, who plan to record her letting her hair down and going wild for strippers.”

“No way,” Kelly utters while Anne’s mouth forms anO.

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