“I thank my luckystars every day.” Phil beamed, shook Todd’s hand and patted him onthe back with genuine affection.
“Nice to see you both.Thanks for the invite.” Todd put his arm around Chloe andencouraged her forward. “Marion, Phil, I’d like to introduce you toChloe Armstrong.”
“I am so happy to meetyou.” Marion shook Chloe’s hand first.
“Enchanted, my dear.”Phil took Chloe’s hand between both of his and shook it warmly. “Weare going to have a marvellous day on the water. Please go inside,make yourselves at home. Have some breakfast. Ah, here’s Patrickand his lovely lady.”
Marion and Phil proved to be themost generous hosts. They had provided a breakfast smorgasbord fitfor a king. Assorted tempting platters of smoked salmon, bagels andcroissants, meusli, freshly sliced fruit, berries and yoghurt werelaid out on a large buffet table in the air-conditioned main cabin.Fruit juice, sparkling water and bottles of champagne nestled inhuge silver ice buckets, with condensation forming on theoutside.
Todd slipped his arm aroundChloe’s waist as they joined Sam and Macolm at the table. They werealready filling plates with smoked salmon, bagels and assortedberries.
“Hey. Glad to see youcould make it.” Sam kissed Chloe on the cheek. “Look at all thislovely food. Grab a plate.”
Patrick slid open the door andapproached the group, his arm around Sharon’s shoulder. “Youremember my brother Todd. And this is Chloe, his … friend, andSamantha and her husband Malcolm.” His hestation caused all eyes tofocus on Chloe. She blushed.
Chloe quickly retained hercomposure. “Nice to meet you, Sharon. I don’t mean to be forwardbut I couldn’t help noticing your pendant. Is it opal?” Chloe leantforwards to get a better look.
“Yes, it’s fromAndamouka in Central Australia. My father spent some time there afew years ago and bought a share in a mine. He chiselled this fromthe rock himself.” Sharon lifted the pendant proudly and admiredthe myriad of colours in the gem.
Chloe had wound her fingersaround Todd’s as they stood side by side. She squeezed gently andleant into him. He return the pressure and raised her fingers tohis lips for a kiss. Her stomach did a little flip. Such a tinygesture, but there in front of his friend and his brother, hisreassurance meant a lot to her.
After breakfast, the talk turnedto sports, the men arguing over cricket legends and test scores,voices raised in jest, but loud enough to jar those who wereuninterested in a little red ball and wooden stumps. Phil hadplayed cricket in his younger days and staunchly defended theAustralian Test side. Marion wore a bemused expression, andtut-tutted at their childish behaviour. Chloe slipped away to finda quieter spot on the lee side of the yacht. The heat of the latemorning surounded her as she walked out onto the deck.
Dazzling sunlight reflecting offthe water, like a scattering of diamonds, sent flashes of lightinto every corner of the cabins. The sea air combined with thebeautiful weather and group of smiling, happy people on board herhad buoyed her spirits and had helped to bannish the bad memoriesof the past forty-eight hours.
Chloe hadn’t wanted to spoil themood this morning by bringing up yesterday’s events, but they hadshaken her and forced her to take stock of what she had, and totake a good long look at her behaviour. The past had encroached onher present and she didn’t like it one bit. She had hoped to putthat time in her life with Paul behind her. Although when shethought about how she had jumped into defensive mode with Toddevery time he had become controlling, instead of explaining why shefound his behaviour so upsetting, she wished she could turn backthe clock. Life could have been much simpler if she had been honestwith him from the start.
Waves lapped gently against thehull, and the soothing sounds of classical music piped through thespeakers on the deck had an almost hypnotic effect. Chloe leant onthe rail, closed her eyes and gloried in the warmth of the sun’srays on her upturned face. If she could be anywhere else in theworld at that moment, she would’ve turned down the opportunity.This was peace. This was security. This was home.
“A penny for yourthoughts, as my grandmother would say. Although judging by theexpression on your face I think I’m wasting my money. You lookhappy.” Sam had snuck up quietly and now joined her at therail.
“We’re so lucky, don’tyou think?” Chloe turned to Sam. “Look at us. Out on a yacht on abeautiful Sunday morning, surrounded by friends, and as much foodand drink as we can possibly consume, the shore behind us, thehorizon ahead. We could sail off into the sunset. There is so muchout there to explore. It’s exciting, don’t you think?”
“Are we still talkingabout the yacht?” Sam turned around, her back to the rail, toshield her eyes from the sun.
“In part. I’ve beendoing a lot of soul searching. I‘ve come to the conclusion I’m notvery good at relationships. I find it hard to trust. I tend toshoot first and ask questions later.
“You are not alone. Iknow a few people with that persnality trait. I guess the goodthing is that you are acknowledging it.”
“I wish I hadn’t runoff to France when I did. But it has given me a chance to thinkabout how I feel about Todd.”
“And is that somethingyou want to share?” Sam asked.
“No, not yet. I knowhe’s a good man. He is trying to kerb his controlling tendenciesaround me. He wants to make this work.”
“Do you want to makeit work?”
“Yes, I think I have abetter chance now that I am coming to terms with my past. Todd hasbeen wonderful, once he knew the circumstances, and very supportiveactually.”
“I held out hope thatyou two would be able to iron out your differences. I know he’sstubborn, and likes things done his way, but it comes from theright place. You look so good together. You know he’s changed alot, especially since you left. It shook him up badly. It reallydid.”
“We had
