Page 46 of The Beach Cottage
“And the cake was delicious,” Annie added.
“I’m so glad you liked it.” She hesitated, hoping they’d continue without her peppering them with questions like, What are you doing here? Why did you come all the way to Coral Island when the kids aren’t here? What are the two of you doing together? Questions she didn’t want to ask, but had to know the answer to.
Preston glanced at Annie, then reached for her hand and took it in his.
Beatrice inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of them with hands linked.
“As you may have guessed, Annie and I are seeing each other,” Preston said.
Annie smiled at him, then turned her beam on Beatrice. “We’re friends, so I told Preston we had to come and see you in person, to let you know. I hope you can be happy for us.”
Beatrice pressed her lips together and gave a quick nod. “I see.”
Preston swallowed. “It didn’t work out with Geri, and I realise now she was too young for me.”
Preston continued. “She stayed in Melbourne, and to be honest with you, I really missed Sydney. So when we broke up, I came back to the city and found a small place in our old neighbourhood.”
“Our neighbourhood?” Bea’s nostrils flared. This was getting worse and worse by the moment.
“Yes, well, it held so many good memories for me. You weren’t there any longer, of course, or the kids. But still, I wanted to be around people I knew, who cared about me. I missed you and the kids more than I was ready to admit. And then I ran into Annie taking a walk one day. We got to talking, and . . . well…”
“The next thing we knew, hours had passed, and we’d hardly noticed.” Annie gazed lovingly at Preston as she stroked the back of his hand.
Bea’s stomach lurched. “Wow.”
“I know. It’s so unexpected. We’ve never connected this way before, but we understood each other like no one ever has before. No offence,” Annie continued.
“None taken,” Bea replied. “How long has this been going on?”
“About four weeks,” Preston replied. “But we’re serious about this, Bea. And I need you to sign those divorce papers.”
Bea’s brows pulled low. “What do you mean? We’re already divorced. I signed the papers months ago.”
“You missed one of the signatures. Didn’t you get the email from my solicitor? We thought everything was done, but there was one line left blank. He said he tried to contact you several times. He has a Melbourne phone number, he told me he’s called repeatedly.”
Bea slapped a hand to her forehead. “Oh, I did get a call from a Melbourne number a few times, but I thought it was a telemarketer and blocked it. There were no messages…”
“No emails?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Well, regardless, things are getting serious between me and Annie, and we’d like to have the divorce finally taken care of, if you don’t mind.”
What if she did mind? That was a question she’d love to ask while she watched the expression on their lovelorn faces. She wanted to throw her glass of water in those very same faces, but she resisted the urge. How could Annie do this to her? She didn’t want Preston back—he was welcome to move on with anyone he wanted. But her friend? Why did it have to be Annie? Out of all her friends from her life in Sydney, Annie had been the kindest, the one she was most likely to stay in touch with. They’d exchanged emails and phone calls several times since Bea moved to the island. And yet Annie hadn’t said a word about having issues in her own marriage, let alone dating Bea’s ex-husband. Or apparently, her current husband since, according to him, they were still married.
She stood to her feet. “It seems I have some emails to check. And I’m exhausted after working all day. So…”
“We’ll get out of your hair,” Preston said. “We’re staying at the Blue Shoal Inn on the other side of the island. It’s supposed to be delightful.”
“That’s great,” Bea said, her voice empty. Maybe he could try hitting on Taya, another of her friends, while he was there. It was difficult to keep abreast of his dating life, so perhaps he already had. She tried to pull herself together. She couldn’t do anything to change Preston, and she’d long ago given up trying. He was an adult; he could do as he wished. And she had no desire to be involved in his life other than as co-parents to their two grown children.
“We’re heading back to the mainland tomorrow after we’ve been on a snorkelling tour. But you can reach me on my mobile number if you need anything before we go. Let me know if you can’t find that email, and I’ll get my solicitor to resend it.”
“Thanks, Preston.” She walked them to the door, opened it and stood on the threshold.
“Do you mind if I use your restroom quickly before I go? Two coffees…” Annie patted her stomach apologetically.
“Of course. It’s back there,” Bea said, pointing toward the end of the café.
