The curtain billowed about the open sliding door where he had clearly let himself out.
Great.
She spun around to see Trent entering the room. He put his bag on the chair next to Will’s empty bowl. ‘I’m sorry to turn up like this but I just knew I had to come,’ he said. ‘I’ve been such an idiot, Em.’
You’re only just figuring this out? ‘Trent, I can’t marry you.’
His brow wrinkled. ‘But I know that’s what you want. What I couldn’t give you before.’
‘When I wanted it,’ she corrected him. ‘Past tense. A lot has changed since then.’
He frowned. ‘Surely not. It’s only been a couple of months since we broke up. Has Queensland been that big an influence on you?’
‘As a matter of fact –’
‘Okay.’ He held up his hands. ‘I’ve been talking to Will about the project and I know it’s a big deal. I realise how much you’ve enjoyed it and maybe that’s the sort of thing you want to get into now. Well,’ he smiled at her like he was handing her a thousand dollars no strings attached, ‘I support you.’
‘That’s great, Trent, but it’s not just about my career.’ She paused, not really wanting to hurt him just after he’d proposed to her. After all, that was a show of commitment and couldn’t have been easy – especially for a man like Trent. ‘I just don’t think it’s a good idea.’
‘Why?’
‘Because . . .’ She hesitated, then went on. ‘I think I’m in love with someone else.’
For a moment there was dead silence and a muscle twitched in his jaw. ‘I see. And can this Dipper person offer you as much as I can?’
She choked. ‘It’s not Dipper.’
‘Then who is it?’
Oh crap! How do I tell him? An icky feeling welled in her stomach. Shouldn’t Will be here when he found out? Trent might not be the man for her but he deserved some honesty. He and Will had been friends since primary school. Shouldn’t he hear it from both of them?
‘Do we have to talk about it right now?’ she stalled.
Trent looked down at the items on the table. Two wine glasses. Two bowls and dirty cutlery. ‘He was just here, wasn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
A hurt expression entered his eyes.
‘Come on, Trent,’ she said a little impatiently. ‘It’s not like you haven’t been seeing other women.’
‘I saw one other woman for a couple of dates. And I can’t say I fell in love with her,’ he said tightly. ‘She’s out of my life now, though she taught me a valuable lesson.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘How wonderful you are,’ he exclaimed. ‘Think about it, Em. We had five great years together.’
Actually it’s more like three great years and two crap ones.
‘We have a house together and a dog,’ he continued enthusiastically. ‘My mother loves you! Do you really want to throw all that away on a fling?’
‘It’s not a fling. I’ve had feelings for him for a long time. I just didn’t realise it. I didn’t get it,’ she said desperately.
He was silent for a moment, his gaze returning to the bowls. ‘Look, after everything we’ve been through as a couple, can I just ask you for one thing?’
‘What?’
‘That you’ll at least sleep on it. I have to stay for tonight anyway.’
She supposed he was right. After all the years they’d spent together, perhaps he did deserve more than a knee-jerk decision. ‘Okay.’
‘Can I stay here?’ he asked. ‘Or would you like me to go stay at Will’s instead?’
The thought of him putting all this to Will tonight did not appeal to her in the slightest. ‘No, just stay here. You can have the couch. I’ll ring for some bedding.’
She went to the phone and spoke briefly to Charlotte. Her friend didn’t quite sound herself either but she was too distracted by the man in the living room to enquire too deeply.
A few awkward minutes later, there was a knock at the door and she went to answer it.
‘Sir!’ she exclaimed.
There, in all his glory, stood Caesar – shocking to behold in jeans and a T-shirt. To her amazement in his arms he was holding a pillow, a set of sheets and a blanket. ‘Good evening, Emily.’
‘Er . . . Good evening, sir.’
Under her stunned gaze, he stepped straight over the threshold and into her unit, much like it was his domain rather than hers.
He put the bedding down on the couch and she pulled herself out of her stupor. There must be some sort of explanation as to why he was here instead of a member of the Silver Seas staff.
‘Is Charlotte okay?’ she asked.
‘Absolutely fine.’ His eyes ran over Trent, less than impressed. ‘And I suppose this must be your guest.’ He sighed. ‘Shame.’
Em choked on this last word.
‘Did I say that out loud?’ he mused. ‘I beg your pardon.’
Trent, who was bristling under this bald assessment, said, ‘And who are you?’
‘Your girlfriend’s boss,’ Caesar informed him. ‘And I suppose you went to uni with her as well.’
‘No, what makes you think that?’ Trent demanded.
‘No reason, a lapse in judgement on my part.’ Caesar looked like he was growing rather bored with the conversation and he turned once more towards the door.
‘I’m not an engineer,’ Trent returned as though the calling were beneath him. ‘I’m a lawyer.’
This made Caesar pause and he spun back to study Trent as if seeing him for the first time. ‘Really? Now that does interest me. What sort of lawyer?’
‘Family law mainly,’ said Trent rather proudly.
Caesar’s eyes flicked over him thoughtfully. ‘Still, you don’t look like you’ve been out for very long.’
Trent raised his chin. ‘I’ve been practising for over three years and I’m very good.’
Caesar raised his eyebrows sceptically. ‘Really?’
‘Of course.’
Caesar turned to Emily, who was watching the unfolding of this strange scene with growing trepidation, and demanded, ‘Is he any good?’
She nodded. ‘Actually, yes. I’ve attended quite a few of his work functions and he’s got a very good reputation among his peers.’
‘Then I have a job for you, if you’d like it,’ Caesar once again addressed Trent, ‘or rather, the owner of this resort does, Charlotte Templeton. It’s a custody battle.’
Trent smirked. ‘I’m sorry but I’m on holiday right now.’
Caesar sighed. ‘Believe me, as much as I’d like to hire a different lawyer, perhaps one with a little more experience and a little less ego, I just don’t have the time to find one. You’ll have to be it.’
Trent’s lips thinned. ‘I don’t just take on any client who walks in off the street. I like to take on cases I’m sure I can win.’
‘With the fire I’m about to light under your arse, you’ll be sure you can win,’ Caesar returned glacially. ‘The matter is urgent.’
Trent stiffened. ‘I will not –’
‘Trent, wait.’ Emily held up her hand, turning towards her boss. ‘Is this about Zara’s biological father? Didn’t she make contact with him recently?’
‘You know about him?’ Caesar said quickly.
Emily shook her head. ‘Not much, only that Charlotte doesn’t really want him anywhere near her family. Isn’t he a criminal or something?’
‘Yes,’ Caesar said softly. ‘He’s now suing for custody of Zara. Unfortunately, the hearing is in seven days. Charlotte needs to sort out representation soon. That felon didn’t give her much time. ‘
‘I knew she didn’t sound right on the phone.’ Emily nodded and turned to her ex-boyfriend. ‘Trent, you have to help her.’
‘But –’ he blustered.
‘If you love me at all,’ she insisted, ‘you’ll help her.’
Trent looked at her for a long moment. ‘Is that what you want? Proof of my devotion?’
/>
‘No,’ Emily said quietly. ‘I just want you to consider for a moment being a decent human being. Coming to someone’s rescue because you’re the only one who can.’
Will would do it.
‘Fine,’ he nodded. ‘I will consider your proposal if,’ he added as her face lit up, ‘you will consider mine.’
Yikes.
Well, that sucked.
Thanks, Trent, for ruining my life.
He knew that in good conscience, at this point, he had to take a step back and wait. If he was to have any sort of relationship with Em, she had to make the choice to reject Trent on her own without his influence. Of course, there was no guarantee that that’s what she’d decide. Trent had just offered her the one thing that she’d been waiting for all along. Now that she could have Trent, would she still want him?
He did a hundred sit-ups trying to burn off the stress. It didn’t work. If he were a fly, he’d be on the wall in her unit, listening to exactly what was going on. As it was, he was stuck here with the noble obligation of giving them both some space.
It was late when the knock came on his door but he was still up. Sleep was not going to come easily to him that night, so why even try? He flung open the door hoping it was Em, but knowing who it would be instead.
‘Will.’ Trent clasped his shoulder in a kind of half-hug before walking in. ‘How’s it all going?’
‘Er . . . good. How have you been?’
Trent rubbed his hands. ‘Fantastic.’
‘Listen,’ Will turned around, running his hands through his hair, ‘sorry I didn’t stay earlier at Em’s to see you.’ He walked further into his unit, expecting Trent to follow. ‘I thought you guys might have needed some space to talk.’
He turned back when he reached the living room and saw that Trent was looking at him with a rather arrested expression on his face.
‘You were over at Em’s place tonight?’
‘Yeah.’ Will raised his brows. ‘Sorry, I just assumed she told you.’
‘No.’ Trent looked stern. ‘She didn’t. Didn’t mention you at all.’
Will’s gut dropped heavily like a wet sponge. Probably didn’t even notice that he wasn’t in the living room when she’d returned there with Trent. Too distracted by the proposal, no doubt. He rubbed his temple. Had he really expected her to say, ‘Sorry, Trent, I’m in love with Will now’?
‘Is there something bothering you, Will? Because I’m here if you need to talk about it.’
He looked up, guilt firing his bones. This was exactly the place he’d been trying to avoid. If Trent knew what he’d done behind his back, their friendship would be over. When Trent had knocked on Emily’s door she’d been practically naked and in his arms. She still would be there if Johnny-Propose-Lately hadn’t turned up.
‘No, no,’ he mumbled, looking down. ‘I’m fine.’ He was only now appreciating the futility of his situation.
He’d exchanged no promises with Emily. They’d made no declarations. Clarified no long-term goals. Their encounter was one of two people who had given in to a crazy impulse. An impulse that probably never would have happened if Trent had still been in the picture.
‘You were there when I proposed, weren’t you?’ Trent demanded.
Will realised for the first time that his friend was looking angry rather than concerned.
He held up his palms. ‘Just barely. I pretty much got out of there as soon as I heard what was going on.’ He looked at the ground, flicking the edge of the floor mat with this big toe. ‘So what did she say?’
There was a moment of agonising silence while he waited for Trent’s response. And then it came like a knife through the heart.
‘She said yes of course.’
His head jerked up as pain sliced through his body. ‘She did?’ His voice barely made it out of his voice box.
‘Aren’t you going to congratulate me?’ Trent eyeballed him.
‘Congratulations,’ Will said dully, and then, because he knew it was expected, gave his friend another half-hug.
Surprisingly, Trent didn’t appear to notice his lack of enthusiasm. He was all news and plans as he went to make himself comfortable on the couch. ‘It was a long time coming, wasn’t it? But you know, Will, it was inevitable. We’ve been together five years. There’s too much history there.’
‘I guess so.’
‘So I’ll be staying at her place for the week while she wraps up a few things here. Then we’re flying off to Brisbane.’
‘Brisbane?’ Will repeated weakly.
‘Well, her R and R is due and we’ve got wedding plans, a ring to pick out and lost time to make up too. Seemed like a good idea to take a holiday together.’
‘Right.’ Will’s throat was as dry as jerky. He’d lost her again, only this time it was worse.
Much worse.
‘When’s your R and R coming up?’ Trent asked.
Will was barely listening. ‘I don’t know. I think it’s this week.’
‘You should take it then,’ his friend exclaimed. ‘Give yourself a break, Will. The shippacker is in now, right?’
‘Shiploader,’ Will corrected him and also sat down, resisting with an effort the urge to drop his head into his hands.
‘Yeah, whatever.’ Trent waved it away. ‘The point is, you should take a break while you can. Not that I’m trying to get rid of you or anything.’ He laughed. ‘How about we catch up for dinner one night next week? You, me and Em can go into Mackay to celebrate.’
Celebrate?
The suggestion made him feel physically ill. He didn’t give a damn about the shiploader or whether the time was right for him to have his R and R. What he did care about was that Trent and Em were going to be living as a couple a mere three doors down from him. Sleeping in the same bed, talking weddings and expecting him to smile about it. He couldn’t watch them moon over each other for a whole week. He’d been through that once before and it had nearly killed him. Not to mention that this time there was the added complication of the awkward conversation he knew he and Em had to have. The one where she said, ‘You know the other night? It was a mistake. Can we forget it ever happened?’
Yeah, he’d much rather not hang around for that.
‘Actually, Trent, I think you’re right. I really should go on R and R while my workload is low. There’ll be plenty of time to, er, celebrate with you and Em when you guys get back from Brisbane.’
‘I completely understand,’ Trent assured him. ‘Well, listen, I better get back to Em. She’s probably wondering where I am. I was only supposed to take out the rubbish.’
‘Yeah, yeah. No worries.’ Will was eager to see the back of him too. ‘Tell her I said congratulations, won’t you?’
‘Sure, mate.’ Trent clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Sure.’
Charlotte passed the next five days in a kind of emotional haze. Mark continued to remain in the background. He checked in at least once a day whether at work or at home. It was funny how when she saw his stern, uncompromising face a feeling of safety seemed to wash over her. He never uttered a loving word or even took her into his arms. And yet, whenever he was there, she felt at peace. Like everything really was going to be okay – they just had to get through it.
Trent, the lawyer they had hired, came to visit her every day to discuss what evidence Dennis was bringing against her and how they should counter it. It was a matter of law that both parties had to disclose to the other any evidence they had gathered prior to the court date. She read with disgust the documents that Denis had found to support his case, including her sister’s letter. In the meantime, Trent also proposed papers they could use to support their argument. Unfortunately, these would take a little time to procure.
Trent always came while Zara was at school and so in this way she was able to keep the entire ordeal a secret from her sister. The last thing she wanted to do was scare her. Zara had only just found out what her father had done and that blow had been crushing enough. She did not
want to put this on her as well. In any case, children under the age of eighteen were not allowed to testify or even attend a court hearing concerning them. Luckily, Trent said he could build a good case without Zara’s testimony.
Otherwise she mainly passed the time cleaning and preparing the guest room for her brother to stay in while she was out of town. On the third day, when she went to her mother’s room to collect her dirty laundry out of the wicker basket, she noticed that something was sitting on the bottom of it under all the soiled clothes. She reached in and pulled out a sealed envelope. There was nothing but the words To Emily scrawled in a not very neat handwriting on the front. She could only assume that her mother must have picked it up somewhere in her wanderings. She was known to take a fancy to things and just put them in her pocket.
When Trent came around that afternoon she showed it to him.
‘I found this note for Emily with my mum’s laundry. I’m not sure how long it’s been there. Could you pass it on to her?’
‘Sure.’ He nodded and took it from her hand. ‘Did she tell you she’s decided to come with us to Brisbane?’
Emily had actually told her the day before. The young woman had turned up in the evening with a DVD and a box of chocolates.
‘Just here to cheer you up.’ Emily had smiled. But Charlotte got the feeling the need was actually pretty mutual. She’d heard that Will had very suddenly taken his R and R and wasn’t going to be back on site again till next week.
‘So,’ she drawled conversationally, ‘Trent’s visit! That was a big surprise.’
Emily groaned. ‘Tell me about it.’
Charlotte pressed her lips together. Given the lawyer was staying in Emily’s unit, she had to wonder where things now stood, especially with Will out of the picture.
‘What’s that look for?’ Emily demanded. ‘We’re not back together if that’s what you’re thinking.’
‘It’s none of my business.’
Emily rolled her eyes. ‘The truth is, he probably would have left by now if he wasn’t doing this case.’
The Girl in the Yellow Vest Page 31