But that was another topic not to be mentioned, because even though Alice was convinced Libby felt similarly, she’d never admit it to her. The fact Libby had urged Jess to move back to the bay soon after Leo was born, and the amount of time Leo spent at the Pirelli house, lent weight to Alice’s suspicions about Libby’s beliefs. She also knew there were other compelling reasons for Libby to want to have her best friend living in the bay, but again, Libby wouldn’t wish to talk about those either.
Alice changed the subject. “You look hot. Do you want a cold drink?”
“I’ve got water in my backpack.” She lifted Leo off her hip and held him out to Alice. “Can you hold him for a sec?”
“I swinged high, Lis,” Indi said, her fingers reaching for the cash box.
“Swinging high is awesome fun.” Alice slid the box out of the way and then extracted Leo’s pudgy hand from her sunglasses. “And did you have a swing too, Leo-the-Lion?”
“Up!” he said solemnly and made another grab for the sunglasses.
Alice got a hitch in her chest. With his dark curly hair and ebony eyes, he looked like the baby she’d always imagined she and Lawrence would have, except of course he looked like Jess—all bar his mouth. Jess had a small, bee-sting pout that Alice knew from experience could lurch from playful and sexy to hard and determined. Leo, on the other hand, had thick lips that stretched widely across his little face—a mouth he’d grow into one day far into the future. Meanwhile, it gave him a delightful albeit mostly gummy smile and Alice was a sucker for it. He was a gorgeous kid, but right now his body heat was raising her already elevated skin temperature.
“How about I get someone to man the cooler for the last fifteen minutes and we go inside to the air-conditioning? The kids can play in the ball pit and boost their gutter immunity and we can supervise and enjoy a G&T.”
Surprise flitted across Libby’s face. “Since when do you drink spirits?”
“According to Rod, I’m known for it, so I need to keep my reputation intact.”
“Sounds great to me.”
Thankful she could use her staff discount, Alice bought the drinks while Libby settled the kids. “I asked for plastic glasses so they look like lemon and soda. This way we can drink inside the play enclosure and keep your reputation intact.”
Libby laughed. “You’ve got my back.”
“Always. How are things?” Despite the broad question, Alice was hoping for some long-anticipated pregnancy news.
“Yeah, good. Busy. You?”
A curl of sadness rose into her for them both. “Same. Juggling jobs is keeping me sane and driving me crazy. I turned up to Jake’s the other day when I was supposed to be here.”
“That’s what all those colors on Google Calendar are for.” Libby sipped her drink. “Are you worried that straight after Australia Day most of your work will vanish?”
“It won’t vanish. It will just slow. The weekends will still be busy, especially Saturdays.”
“Don’t you miss having a real job?”
Alice’s hand tightened around the tumbler and the plastic creaked. “I waitress. I work behind the bar. I put up with crap from people who think they’re the only ones on vacation in this town. And I clean boats and empty marine toilets. How much more real do I need to get?”
Libby held up her hand in surrender. “Okay, so “real” was the wrong word. But Alice, you’ve worked too hard and come so far to be content doing all these menial jobs.”
Come so far. Unwanted sympathy cloaked Alice in a shroud of humiliation and she was wrenched back to when they were children; her watching Libby learn everything quickly and with ease, while she plodded and practiced until she was competent but never accomplished. Her parents had pushed cajoled and cheered her, but Libby had pulled Alice along in her slipstream, both championing and overshadowing her in everything except drawing. Art was where Alice aced her talented twin, but growing up, that had never felt enough.
“You wouldn’t be happy doing these jobs,” Alice said lightly, not wanting to discuss it any further. “But we both know I’m not you.”
Her phone beeped again and a zip of excitement tingled through her. Was it Tim41, responding to her flirty message? It was probably just an ABC News update or the wildfire app—she really must assign the dating app its own sound.
“You can check it, I don’t mind,” Libby said, glancing at the children. “It’s not like I don’t do it to you all the time when I’m on call.”
Alice knew she should say, “It’s okay,” but she gave in, desperate to know. Flipping her phone over, she read the first few words of the message on her screen and laughed.
Libby’s head swung round, her face keen with interest. “I know that laugh. Have you been keeping secrets from me?”
“No.”
“Liar.” With the skill born from years of being nosey, Libby plucked the phone out of Alice’s hand. “‘Challenge accepted. How’s your South American geography? Which river runs through San Paulo, Brazil?’ Oh.” Libby sounded disappointed. “Are you playing online trivia?”
Alice’s heart was pumping just a bit too fast and she forced herself to sound casual. “It’s more fun than Words with Friends.”
Libby’s eyes narrowed at the insult to one of her favorite games and Alice gave herself an internal high-five. Nice save!
Libby looked at the phone again. “Hang on. That’s a heart logo…” She squealed. “Is this a dating app?”
Her twin might be a doctor and a well-respected member of the community but when it came to other people’s relationships, she always acted like a teen, desperate to know all the details. Alice wanted to say no, but perhaps admitting to putting her toe in the dating waters might be the
