Page 116 of The Felicity Theory (The Laws of Love 4)

She scrubbed at her forehead, grinning. This was crazy.

She dared to send back,Kisses. For you all. And Sam.

That night she wrote,When you held me close, after the diesel disaster, and we thought that kangaroo had died, that’s when something really happened for me. I guess I knew I had a bit of a crush (seriously, Oliver, what woman wouldn’t?). Okay. I’ll admit that night it turned into a major crush. Actually, I think I fancied you like crazy from when you picked me up at the airport. And trod on my hat. But it was when you held me in your arms on that dusty road and you lost your cool afterwards that it suddenly felt like something ran deeper between us, and I thought maybe you felt it too. Oh, and confession time, I admit I did snuggle a teeny-tiny bit up to you while you were still asleep that night. And you don’t snore by the way.

* * *

Time,Oliver realised, was running out. His flight date was getting closer. So after he left Two Gums he headed straight up the highway to Perth. When he landed on the doorstep of Dad’s house all he had with him was a small rucksack and a pink hat.

When Andrea opened the door she gave him a very funny look. “Goodness, Oliver, you look rather…” She cocked her head.

“Yeah?”

“Wild…” She laughed. “And it suits you.”

He guessed he did. His hair was unkempt, his beard long. But he felt so…vibrant, so alive.

“I’m just going to drop my bags, have a shower and go and see Aaron and Alice,” he said. “Before I go.”

“Go where? You’ve only just arrived.”

“To, um, see Felicity.”

Andrea was smiling from ear to ear now. She glanced down the path hopefully. “So she’s here in Perth?”

“No, she’s gone back to England.”

Andrea’s face fell.

“But I’m heading over there tomorrow,” he added quickly.

Her face immediately brightened. “I thought something was happening between you. I really hope it works out.”

“I hope so too, more than you can know.”

Andrea wrapped him in the biggest hug ever.

After that, Oliver went to visit Alice and Aaron in their new house. He smiled as he stood in the street and stared at it. He’d visited once before, just after they’d purchased it, a funky, modernised version of the Australian classic bungalow. He noticed the new planting in the garden, and a sign on the gate that read “Please close the gate, sleepy lizards on the loose.”

As he walked up the path, a voice called, “Oliver!” and Aaron emerged looking a little heated from behind a spade.

Aaron digging in the garden? This was novel.

“Just mulching the natives, keeps the moisture in.” Aaron wiped sweat off his forehead with his elbow.

Oliver shook his head, laughing. “I never thought I’d see this day.”

Aaron grinned. “Miracles happen. What are you doing here? I had no idea you were in Perth.” And with that he dropped the spade, pulled off his gardening gloves and came and gave Oliver a clap on the back. “I’ve got beer on ice. C’mon in and see what we’ve done.”

A tour of the house followed, and Oliver couldn’t help putting himself and Felicity into a similar scenario, then reined in the beating of his heart. There were no guarantees, but there were some wonderful signs.

As he walked out of the kitchen, his eye caught on an array of photos on the wall, carefully framed. One, on the ski slopes of Victoria, made him stop still. He remembered that day so vividly. How elated he was at surviving that first run. Him and Aaron with their mum’s arms around their shoulders.

“Remember that holiday?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think we managed not to fight for five days. And then we had a huge one and Mum had to separate us.”

“You know, I was always convinced you were Mum’s favourite,” Oliver mused, taking a sip of his beer.

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