‘It just doesn’t add up.’ She shook her head. ‘The women you describe sound so different from the women I know.’
‘It’s the Montgomery charm,’ he said, hoping it was working its magic on Ruby as well. ‘But enough about me and Bunyip Bay’s old-age pensioners, I want to know about you.’
He heard her quick intake of breath. ‘There’s not much to know really. When I’m not looking after my horses, I’m usually helping Mum and Dad at the shop. I really need to get a life.’
He didn’t buy this simple summary; there was so much more behind those dark eyes, and he wanted to know it all. But he didn’t want to scare her off with too much prying. As the lights of Geraldton came into view, his stomach rumbled in anticipation of the feast ahead. ‘Have you been to this place before?’ he asked. Faith raved about it, but he’d never been himself.
‘No, but I’ve heard it’s great and I’m starving.’
‘That makes two of us.’
Less than a minute later, Monty turned into the car park of the Indian restaurant and stole another quick glance at the gorgeous woman next to him. Yeah, life was good.
***
Waiting twenty minutes for Curtis to get ready at his friend’s place hadn’t been the best start to their date, but he’d been good company in the car. The journey to Geraldton went quickly, with Curtis telling the funniest (and rudest) knock-knock jokes she’d ever heard. But when Faith pulled into the car park at the restaurant and saw Monty’s ute, an uneasy feeling swept over her.
‘That’s Monty’s ute,’ she announced, before she could think not to. ‘Maybe we should go someplace else? The fish and chip shop near the foreshore is good.’
‘Nah, I’m up for Indian.’ Curtis smacked his lips together. ‘Who cares if Monty’s here? He’s a good bloke.’
Uh. Yes. That fact was undebatable, but… ‘He’s on a date. I don’t want to cramp his style.’
Curtis actually hooted. ‘So what? So are we.’ And he stretched one arm over the back of the seat, across her shoulder and squeezed. ‘Maybe we can double date.’
Oh sheesh! She fought the urge to thump her head against the steering wheel. It felt like she was out with a teenager. How could she tell Curtis that Monty wouldn’t want to double date? That he was serious about settling down and offering one lucky lady commitment. That he was serious about Ruby. Curtis wouldn’t understand.
‘Okay, we’ll go in.’ She turned off the ignition and decided to ask the waiter to seat them at the opposite end of the restaurant from Monty and Ruby. Yet, the moment they stepped inside, she saw this would be impossible. Her Monty radar zoned in on him immediately, and the only table available in the packed restaurant was right behind theirs.
She could have kicked something.
A waiter approached them. ‘Can I help you?’ He sounded stressed. Faith could relate.
‘We have a reservation,’ Curtis announced, pulling Faith into his side. ‘Under Faith Forrester.’
The waiter found their booking in his list then made a show of looking at his watch. ‘You’re very late.’ He glanced back over his shoulder at the busy restaurant. ‘We have only one table left.’
‘It’ll be fine.’ Faith tugged out of Curtis’ embrace, not wanting to cause a scene.
‘Right this way then.’ The waiter smiled tightly, gestured for them to follow and led them to the table right behind Monty and Ruby. Leaving two menus on the table between them, he stepped away.
So enthralled were Monty and Ruby in each other’s company that they didn’t seem to notice Faith and Curtis sit down. Curtis took the chair facing the others and Faith sat down opposite, very aware that her back was only a ruler’s length away from Monty’s. She could almost feel the heat coming off him, and she grappled with a ridiculous urge to turn around and take a look.
Had they been leaning across the table, eager to get as close to each other as possible? Had they been holding hands? A funny pain shot to her temple at the thought. She rubbed her fingers against the spot.
‘You okay?’ Curtis peered over the top of his menu.
‘Fine. Just a little tired.’ She picked up her own, although the thought of food made her stomach revolt.
‘Hey, Monty,’ Curtis called past her, loud enough that half the restaurant turned to look.
Her cheeks flushed as a chair shuffled behind them.
‘Curtis. Faith. Fancy seeing you here.’ When Monty spoke, he didn’t sound delighted to see them. She’d briefly mentioned their date to him during the week, but hadn’t included specifics.
‘Great, isn’t it?’ Curtis grinned.
‘Um…’ Monty was lost for words. Classic.
‘We’re seeing a movie later on. Why don’t you join us?’
And then Faith heard Ruby’s perfectly prim voice. ‘That would have been lovely, but I have to get back. I’m working in the shop tomorrow morning and have to get up early to see to my horses first. Thank you for the invitation though. Hello, Faith.’
Succumbing to the inevitable, Faith turned around to greet her friend and his date. Monty looked illegally good in snug-fitting jeans and a crisp grey shirt. He had some sort of gel in his hair. She’d never known him to make such an effort, and the sight made her mouth go dry. ‘Hi, Ruby. Hi, Monty.’
‘Evening.’ Monty bowed his head. ‘I didn’t know you were coming here tonight.’ The undertones were clear; if he had known, he’d have taken Ruby someplace else.
‘Nor did I you,’ Faith said, through a forced smile. They’d talked about his bank loan, the search for a farm and her organisation of the ball, but for some reason, neither had gone into detail about their upcoming dates.
‘Well, I hope you have a good evening,’ Monty continued, as he and Ruby’s next course arrived and the waiter came back to take Faith and Curtis’s order. It was a welcome relief from the awkward conversation, but as the waiter walked away, Faith couldn’t recall what either of them had ordered.
‘Any ideas on what you want to see tonight?’ Curtis asked her. Waiting for her answer, he poured them both a glass of water from the pitcher on the table.
‘I don’t mind,’ she said, unable to summon excitement at the thought of sitting in a darkened movie theatre for a few hours. Without realising it, she leaned farther back in her seat. ‘What kind of movies do you like?’
Even before he replied, she guessed the answer. Curtis had action and adventure written all over his face. As he launched into a long spiel about the movies he’d watched in the last year, she only half listened. While making noises in what she hoped were all the right places, she craned her head back, straining to hear Monty and Ruby’s conversation.
‘Unfortunately, the chance to buy the Payne farm has fallen through.’
‘Oh, Monty, I’m so sorry,’ Ruby crooned.
Faith shifted slightly and glared at Curtis’s glass, searching for a reflection of the scene behind her. But all the glass reflected was the brightly coloured paper lanterns strung across the ceiling.
‘It’s fine.’ She heard Monty say. ‘One setback’s not going to hold me down. I’m already on the lookout for the next place.’
‘Good for you!’ There was a clink of glasses. Faith had a flashback to Monty’s table and the expensive bottle of champagne sitting between them. She was suddenly desperate for a drink, but neither she nor Curtis had thought to bring anything.
‘So you’re happy to see it then?’ Curtis spoke loudly as if this wasn’t the first time he’d asked.
Reluctantly, Faith refocused her attention on him. ‘Yes, that’s fine.’ It didn’t matter what movie she’d agreed to see because her mind would be elsewhere.
‘Great.’ But Curtis didn’t sound that impressed as he took a slug of water.
They sat smiling—not comfortably—at each other for a few long moments. Faith guessed Monty and Ruby were eating because their conversation had paused too. All she could hear was the clink of cutlery against plates.
‘When are you off
to Queensland?’ she asked, smiling and trying to feign enthusiasm. ‘Will you work on boats there too?’
Curtis shrugged. ‘Not sure. I might pick up some bar work until the picking season really gets going.’
‘I’ve heard fruit picking is hard slog.’
He leaned across the table and wiggled his bushy eyebrows. ‘Don’t you think I’m up to it, sweetheart? I’ll have you know this body can do things that would blow your mind.’
Faith managed a laugh and a quick smile. If he’d spoken to her like that last Friday night, shivers of anticipation would have sown goose bumps all across her skin. But knowing all he wanted was a quick tumble between the sheets dimmed his appeal. If she’d met him ten years ago, she might have taken him up on the offer, but now … now she wanted a lot more.
‘Have you worked the orchards before?’ she persisted.
More than happy to talk about himself, Curtis linked his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat like it was a couch. But it wasn’t his words that claimed her attention.
‘I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been having a brother like that.’
Like that? Faith cringed at Ruby’s tone. Trying to look riveted by Curtis, she leaned farther back in her seat, wishing she had some kind of supersonic hearing.
‘You’re lucky you’re an only child,’ Monty replied. Although his tone was light, anyone who knew him as well as Faith could detect it was forced.
Gobsmacked by this admission, her mouth fell open. How had she never known he felt this way? Monty had always been so caring and protective of Will. She shook her head, deciding her ears must have failed her.
‘Will’s needs always came first.’ Monty continued, his voice rough with emotion. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I understand he needed so much more than me, but… My parents never even thought about what was best for me. I hated leaving the farm, moving to Perth.’
Phew. At least Faith knew that much.
‘I know I was only young, but it was like they didn’t spare one thought to my future, only Will’s. So many times I wished for a normal brother or sister, one I could fight with, have a joke with, one I didn’t have to explain to people wherever we went. I know I’m selfish and horrible…’
Monty’s voice drifted off and Ruby’s came again. ‘You’re not horrible. Everything you’ve said is totally understandable. Just because you want what’s best for you doesn’t mean…’
But Faith didn’t hear what Ruby had to say. Her mind was whirring like an inferno. Why had Monty never told her any of this? She couldn’t think of anything he didn’t know about her— well, aside from the dreams she’d been having recently—and yet he hadn’t shared this massive thing with her. This big ball of resentment lived inside him and she’d never realised. What did that say about their friendship?
She placed her hands on the table and pushed up out of her seat. ‘Back in a moment.’ As she headed for the restrooms, she passed the waiter bringing their food, but the last thing she felt like doing was eating.
Rushing into a cubicle, she flicked the lid of the toilet down and sat there, staring blankly at the back of the door.
She thought back to that day she’d told Monty about the Barking Ball, and recalled he hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about supporting an autism charity. Why hadn’t she called him on it? She racked her brain for any other clues she might have missed but came up short.
As much as she liked the idea, she couldn’t hide away in the restroom all night. Even if this date was only a bit of a fun for Curtis, it was rude to leave him out there waiting while their food got cold. But she wasn’t ready to head back to the table and hear more revelations.
Grabbing some toilet paper, she wiped her eyes, then blew her nose and tossed the paper in the bowl. The flush of the toilet masked the sound of someone else entering the bathroom, and when Faith stepped out of her cubicle, there was Ruby.
‘Are you okay?’ She sounded genuinely concerned. ‘I saw you rush in here. Are you sick?’
‘Just a headache,’ Faith answered tersely, amazed at how easily the lie fell from her lips. Although it wasn’t exactly a lie—her head did ache, just not in the migraine-need-a-Panadol kind of way.
Ruby began digging around in her fancy handbag. ‘I’ve got a painkiller if you like.’ Before Faith could concoct an argument, she conjured a green and white packet and popped out two capsules. The easiest thing was to take them and make her escape.
Yet, even after she cupped her hands and gulped water from the taps to swallow the tablets, Ruby didn’t go. Faith dried her hands under the automatic dryer, hoping Ruby would get bored and return to Monty.
She didn’t. And the moment the room went silent again, she pounced. ‘Monty’s been telling me all about your fundraiser. I think it’s a lovely thing you’re doing. I’d love to help if I can.’
What? Was it a conversation about the ball and its charity that had led to Monty’s confession about Will? Whatever, the idea of working alongside Ruby exacerbated her headache to unbearable proportions.
Catty Faith escaped. ‘Why are you suddenly interested in Monty now?’
Ruby blinked. ‘Excuse me. I’m not sure what you mean.’
Faith sighed, it looked like she was going to have to spell it out. ‘He asked you out when you first came to town and you never even looked twice at him. Suddenly now, when he’s going to buy a farm, have land for your precious horses… Now you pay him attention.’
‘You haven’t the slightest clue about me, Faith.’ Ruby’s voice was soft, her tone icy. ‘I know Monty has asked me out before, but the truth is, the time wasn’t right. I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I’m sorry if that offends you, but that’s your problem, not mine.’
Ruby didn’t wait for a reply. Clasping her shoulder bag against her side, she turned on her impressive black heels and high-tailed it out of the room, leaving Faith staring into the mirror and wondering how much of her proclamation was true. She blinked at her puffy, red reflection. Ugh!
If Monty and Ruby did make a go of it, things would change in Faith’s friendship with him. If she didn’t at least try and make an effort with Ruby, she could lose Monty altogether.
Psyching herself up to apologise, Faith stepped out of the restroom, but Monty and Ruby were already on their way out. Monty’s hand rested intimately against the small of Ruby’s back as he opened the restaurant door with his other one. They made the perfect couple.
Faith felt her best friend in the world slipping away, and her mind tortured her with thoughts of what Monty and Ruby might get up to for the rest of the night. Back to the table, she found Curtis halfway through his dinner, mustard stains at the corner of his lips and something yellow caught between his front teeth.
‘Glad you didn’t wait,’ she said as she slipped into her seat.
‘Too famished,’ he replied through a mouthful of food. ‘Dig in. This tucker’s great.’
She still wasn’t hungry but desperately needed something to distract her thoughts from Monty and Ruby. Taking a mouthful of chicken korma, Faith smiled at Curtis. It was a forced smile, one that felt totally awkward and uncomfortable on her face, but being in such a strop wasn’t fair to him when all he’d ever asked of her was a fun night out. ‘Now, you were telling me about fruit picking.’
Two hours later, as Faith sat in a dark theatre shovelling popcorn into her mouth and watching an awful romantic comedy, she wondered why she was putting herself through this hell. She wouldn’t watch Jennifer Aniston on the small screen for anyone, and yet here she was suffering through two hours of the woman magnified. She’d bought her own ticket, and Curtis had had the audacity to ask her for a loan so he could buy some munchies as well. Didn’t he know it was still the done thing to at least offer to pay when you asked a woman on a date? What the hell did he do with his money anyway? Working on crayfish boats wasn’t exactly stalking the stock market, but she knew from Monty that they did all right. And Curtis didn’t even have to pay rent.<
br />
By the time the credits rolled up the screen, Faith could have burst out in song. She turned down Curtis’s suggestion that they find a pub still open and floored it back to Bunyip Bay. She was neither surprised nor disappointed when Curtis didn’t ask her in or try to kiss her goodnight. As she headed back out to Forrester’s Rock, she couldn’t help thinking her night would have been much more enjoyable if she’d been with Monty.
The mere idea of more dates with strange men exhausted her—all that effort to dress up and offer stimulating conversation. Maybe she simply wasn’t cut out for relationships. Was it time to accept the fact that where men were concerned, she wasn’t one of the lucky ladies?
Monty had hoped that Ruby’s reason for turning down Curtis’ offer was because she’d rather spend some quality time alone with him, but when he asked her back to his place for coffee, she politely declined, making that same excuse about having to get up early and tend to her horses.
Damn her bloody horses! They may have ruined his plans for soft music, a bit of wine and late night conversation, but they would not rob him of what he’d been anticipating all night.
A kiss.
He’d barely tugged his keys out of the ignition before he leapt out and rushed around to open the passenger door. Ruby got out and stood awkwardly in the space between the car and the open door. Garnering courage, he stepped towards her, took hold of the hand that wasn’t holding her small bag and caught her gaze. ‘Thanks for a wonderful evening.’
She opened her mouth to respond, but he didn’t want to miss the moment or lose his nerve.
Under the glimmer of a streetlamp, he leaned forward, closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. They were soft, yes, but strangely cold, and although his lips were hot with desire, there was … nothing.
He’d expected fireworks, explosions, earth shattering sensations, but sadly, he’d experienced more spark the last time he’d eaten a chocolate bar. And he wasn’t even that fond of chocolate.
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