‘I’ll make it as soon as I can,’ he said decisively. ‘And give you plenty of notice.’
She smiled, intensely relieved that she’d won such a critical round in the fight for a future with him. ‘I’d like that. Thank you.’
There was a wry acknowledgement in his eyes—that taking her compliance with his wishes for granted was not on. Tammy Haynes was her own person, and that wasn’t about to change while he spent most of his life overseas.
‘It might be a good idea to start taking a contraceptive pill. One can’t be too careful,’ he advised.
‘True,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll take care of it.’
He grinned, as though that was assurance enough of her being available for him. ‘I’ll make it soon,’ he promised.
It wasn’t soon enough for Tammy.
Weeks went by with no word from him. It made her wonder if she was taking the contraceptive pill for nothing. She began to hate checking the e-mail inbox on her computer, hated the empty feeling of wretched disappointment it invariably induced, hated having confided to her friends that everything had been fine between her and Fletcher and they’d be seeing each other again.
Kirsty came back from her honeymoon. The gang was due to meet for their monthly luncheon and she hated the inevitable humiliation of having to confess she’d heard nothing from him, hated having to hide the hurt from her friends and weather their sympathy and support. She had been stupid, stupid, stupid to let herself believe there was a chance of a future with him.
The night before the luncheon she once again checked her e-mail inbox, more out of desperation than hope. Incredibly a message from Fletcher popped up. She stared at it in stunned disbelief, almost as if her own angst might have conjured it up, but the words didn’t disappear. She read them over and over again, torn by so many conflicting emotions, her whole body ached from the tumult ripping through her.
How does five days on Lord Howe Island appeal to you? November 25–30. Let me know if you can be free and I’ll confirm all bookings.
Five days together…two weeks away…notice enough to juggle the time from her job. She’d just passed the final test of her midwifery course so that pressure was behind her. She could manage the short break…but should she?
It was probably just rest and recreation for him—a slice of down time cut from his business schedule. If she went, it would undoubtedly deepen her obsession with him. Yet could she bear not to go, knowing that no other man was ever likely to give her the pleasure that Fletcher did?
Take what you can.
Why not?
Given her own loveless life, didn’t that principle still hold true?
So what if the connection was only sexual for him?
She wanted it.
Her fingers tapped out the reply—Sounds good. Confirm bookings. Let me know when and where to meet you.
Satisfied there was no hint of desperate yearning in those words, she hit the send command. Five days with him, she argued to herself, was not a lifetime but it was better than nothing.
The gang met at Darling Harbour the next day, having decided on trying one of the restaurants with an outdoors section along the wharf. Kirsty was happily bursting with news about her honeymoon, and Tammy was relaxed enough to enjoy listening to it. Jennifer was also cockahoop about a new man she’d met, declaring he might very well be Mr Right for her. It was not until after they’d eaten their main course that Celine, with an air of taking the bull by the horns, directly questioned Tammy about Fletcher.
‘Has my brother been in touch with you?’
‘Yes. We’re going to Lord Howe Island together for a few days,’ she answered off-handedly, not wanting to make a big deal of it in case it didn’t turn out well.
The others were delighted to hear he was pursuing the connection, but Celine couldn’t stop herself from expressing concern. ‘I hope you’re not hanging your heart on him, Tammy. I realise he can give you a good time with all his money, but he’s such a self-contained beast—’ she shook her head ‘—I just don’t see him as husband material.’
‘You’re his sister,’ Lucy pointed out in exasperation. ‘Don’t be such a spoilsport, Celine. Besides, Tam is smart enough to work things out for herself. I think a few days alone together on Lord Howe would sort things out fairly quickly. Make-or-break time.’
‘Good point!’ Hannah chimed in. ‘And Tam could do with a lovely break. She’s been so serious, working her head off all year to become a midwife…’
‘Oh, lord, I’ve been so full of myself I forgot!’ Kirsty broke in. ‘Did you pass the final test, Tam?’
‘Yes.’
‘Great! Let’s have a bottle of champagne with our sweets to celebrate.’
‘Celebration is definitely in order!’ Jennifer declared. ‘It’s been a big year. Two weddings, one fully qualified midwife…’ She raised her eyebrows at Celine and Kirsty. ‘Any babies on the way yet?’
‘No!’ they chorussed.
Everyone relaxed into laughter and there were no more awkward moments for Tammy. Privately she took comfort from what Lucy had said. Five days was a long time to be more or less alone together. Would the attraction fizzle out with so much proximity, or cement itself as something deeply solid? The only way to know was to go, and it was best that she did.
After she’d parted from her friends, she went home and looked up Lord Howe Island on the Internet, wanting to know why Fletcher had chosen it and what clothes she should take to fit in with the island’s attractions. She knew there was a yacht race from Sydney to Lord Howe every year, knew the island lay off the far north coast of New South Wales, but that was the sum of her knowledge.
The information on the computer was intriguing. Apparently, the island was an environmental paradise, World Heritage listed for its outstanding beauty and its exceptional biodiversity, two thirds of it a permanent park preserve and its surrounding waters a marine park. It was one of the cleanest places on earth, no air or sea pollution and no litter. It was six hundred kilometres east of the Australian mainland and—an interesting point—beyond the reach of mobile phone calls.
There was no big holiday resort hotel, very few shops and a number of fine restaurants in different locations. Only four hundred visitors were permitted at any one time, and accommodation was distributed amongst seventeen properties which were mostly family operated. The activities listed were bushwalking, trekking, bicycling, swimming, surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking, bird-watching, deep-sea, rock and shore fishing, picnics, golf, tennis, bowls.