Page 37 of A Kiss for Carter (The Laws of Love 3)

“I have my watercolour class, but—”

“Even more beige.Skip it.Come out for a drink instead.”

I—oh—” They were going to learn how to “bloom” different colours tonight, but Pippa sounded so excited her phone almost vibrated.Blooming would have to wait.

“I’ve never known you to be so keen to see me,” Judith remarked.“What’s going on?”

“Can’t I want to spend time with my big sis?”

Judith laughed.“Of course you can.”

Truth be told, if it had been Carts asking, she’d happily have skipped every art class under the sun, but although she’d toyed with her phone several times since the weekend, she hadn’t plucked up the courage to message and sayhow about we meet before Friday.Images of her failed seduction attempt rotated through her head, a cocktail of confused emotions.

Part of the problem was that the subject of sex had never been discussed in her family.Ever.It wasn’t that sex was wrong as such; it was more like it just didn’t exist.Dad and Mum never touched, other than a kiss on the cheek, as far as she’d seen.Apparently the three Mellors babies had morphed out of thin air.

And then after Pippa was born, Mum had morphed into thin air too.And when she came back Judith knew she had to be very good and very quiet and never make a fuss or Mum might disappear again.

Love, like sex, was something you had to tread very carefully with.

“Are you still there?”Pippa asked.

“Yes, sorry, I got momentarily distracted.”

“Where do you want to meet?”

She thought about the Shamrock and immediately dismissed it.“Oh, I don’t know,” she said airily.“You choose.”

“You know that new place by the Surf Club, Zara’s?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right next door to where I go to yoga.”It seemed there was no way she could escape reminders of Carts.

“I’m meeting someone there around eight,” Pippa continued.“So we could get together beforehand.”

“Is this aspecialsomeone?”Judith loaded her voice with nuance.

Pippa merely laughed, rapped out a time and said, “See you there.”

So that’s how Judith found herself perched on a stool looking out across the manicured lawns of Zara’s towards the beach.The Indian Ocean had turned purple as the sun sank onto the horizon like a giant glowing beach ball.Families with sandy feet and happy smiles came up the steps from the beach, joggers ran determinedly along the boardwalk, dogs walked their owners, and cyclists miraculously weaved in between them all without incident.

A young couple sitting on a bench leaned in and kissed.As they got up, the guy flung his arm around the girl’s shoulders, the girl reached up and kissed him and they shared a lingering smile before they strolled off.

A bucket of sadness threatened to dump its contents over Judith’s head.

How easy love looked.For other people.But before she could start feeling seriously sorry for herself an arm came around her and hugged her hard.“Hey there.”

It was Pippa, looking very schmaltzy.She was wearing orange lipstick, and mascara framed her eyes.Pippa in make-up was an almost unseen phenomenon, except for family weddings.That wasn’t where it ended either.Her red hair had been cut into a really cute style and she was donned in a silky emerald-green shirt and white slacks.

“You look fantastic,” Judith enthused.

“Aw, thanks.”Pippa shrugged it off, sat her butt down and reached for her purse.

“What can I get you?”

She seems a little edgy, Judith thought.Edgy, wearing make-up and a funky new hairstyle.Interesting.

“A lemonade…” Heck, she could be more daring than that.“Actually, a glass of bubbles would be great.”

“Good one.”Pippa jumped up and beelined for the bar.Judith followed her with her eyes.Somethingunusualwas definitely going down here.

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