‘Did they? That’s horrible. I can’t imagine disowning Tilly over anything that she’d done, especially something as basic as being with the person she loved.’
‘I know, right? But for them, she’d done the unspeakable. She’d been engaged to a good Indian boy—a son of family friends in Calcutta. She broke off the engagement when she met my dad, which was bad enough, but then she went and ran off with him and got married without permission or them even being invited. My grandparents never forgave her for that. They thought when I was sent back to live with them, I could be her redemption.’ She shuddered. ‘Instead of making me want to embrace my culture though, it did the opposite. I was a bit of a shit, actually.’
Nat laughed. ‘I can’t imagine that.’
Prita’s lips quirked. ‘It’s true.’ She frowned. ‘They made me bend though, which made me resent them even more.’ She shook her head. ‘The sad thing was, I was curious about them and my Indian heritage when I was younger and loved to hear the stories Mum told me—more than she perhaps wanted to tell them. It really hurt her when they cast her out for following her heart.’ She frowned and looked down at the table, realising she’d torn a paper napkin into shreds. ‘Sorry, I’m making a mess.’
‘No.’ Nat put her hand over Prita’s. ‘Don’t be sorry—about the napkin or telling me. I’m glad you did. I can’t believe we’ve never really talked about it before.’
‘Talked about what?’
She started as Flynn came up behind her, a tray of glasses in his hands.
Heat enveloped her, immediate, relentless.
No. No. She couldn’t let him do that to her. Cool. Ice. Snow. A blizzard in Antarctica. She filled her mind with those thoughts and turned, a smile on her face she hoped was more convincing than it felt.
His eyes darted down to her lips, stayed for a moment before jerking away to Nat who was reaching for the tray as she said, ‘Drinks! Gimme, gimme.’
‘My wife, the lush,’ Reid said, voice full of love as he slipped his arms around Nat from behind and kissed her on the neck, nuzzling her a little.
Her face lit up in a way that made Prita’s heart thump hard in her chest, the longing in her so hard and sharp that she had to clamp her mouth shut over a gasp. She’d never wanted that kind of relationship. Ever. She’d never wanted to be tied to one person in that way that made her compromise what she wanted and who she was. So what the hell was this about? Probably some left over ridiculousness from her reaction to Flynn and Kissmageddon.
It was ridiculous. She was a serious doctor and mother and that was what she wanted. All she wanted.
Right. Good. Now that was decided she could forget the longing and Kissmaggedon and the sexy boxer shorts and touching his chest and just enjoy this evening as a proper, staid doctor and mother should. And plan at some later stage to talk to him about the issue and moving on from there.
But before she did that, she’d need a drink. She took a tall glass covered in condensation from the tray Flynn was holding, enjoying the coolness of it in her hands, wishing she could rub it over her face, her body. Instead, she clinked her glass against Nat’s and Barb’s.
‘Happy Birthday,’ they both said, a world of understanding in their eyes.
Blinking rapidly, she took a large swallow of her drink.
‘Mmm, love the lime,’ Nat said, sipping on hers.
‘It is good,’ Barb said.
‘Prita likes it that way.’ Flynn gestured at her with the tray.
‘So do I now.’ Nat turned to Reid. ‘We must get more limes. And tonic.’
‘And gin if you three are going to be drinking these from now on.’ He took her drink and sipped. ‘Not bad. Although, I’d prefer a beer. What about you, Flynn? I’ve got some in the outdoor fridge here.’
‘Sounds good.’
‘Should I get one for Mac too?’
‘No. He said he wouldn’t be down tonight,’ Barb said. ‘Ben’s heading back to Melbourne on Monday and they wanted to have dinner, just the two of them.’
Ahh, so that answered where he was.
‘I can’t believe Ben’s in the final year of his course,’ Nat said. ‘Does he still want to come back here and practice?’
Barb nodded. ‘Pat has offered him some part-time work at his vet clinic and then I think he’s going to try to get some other work in the area, build up his rep and clientele and restart CoalCliff Vet Clinic when it’s time.’
‘I didn’t know you had your own clinic,’ Prita said.
‘We don’t,’ Flynn said, his voice hoarse. ‘It was Anna’s.’
‘Oh.’ She wasn’t sure what to say after that. She’d never known Flynn to volunteer information about his wife, except for what he’d said about still loving her after Kissmaggedon. She looked at the others for guidance. They were obviously stunned too.
Flynn didn’t seem to notice the awkward silence as he continued. ‘The vet clinic was her pride and joy. Part of it was burned in the fires, but Ben’s intent on building it again.’
‘Oh.’ Could she sound anymore inane? But nobody else was coming to the rescue. ‘You’re okay with that?’
‘Of course.’ Flynn looked surprised as he shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Anna helped him in his interests to become a vet.’
Reid returned then and handed Flynn a beer. ‘What are we talking about?’
Flynn took a deep swallow of his beer. ‘Anna. Her clinic and Ben’s plans.’
Reid shot a surprised look at his wife. ‘Okay,’ he said slowly. ‘Why?’
‘Prita
