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Her eyes widened ‘That’s a fair way past my apartment’
‘So it is’ What would Rosie have thought of Molly? Would she have liked her? Yes, he thought, she would Rosie had insisted he had tosorry for hi bluntly, ‘Find another woman to love, have that faret for e’ve lost That would ether worthless’
But should he really take Molly to his ho ahead, instead of always looking over his shoulder at the past?
CHAPTER FIVE
WHY GO TO Coogee when there were plenty of cafés near the hospital? Or in Bondi Junction Molly watched Nathan’s firh the entle Shuffling further down into the luxurious leather seat, she stifled a yawn Which was rude when Nathan was taking her out, but the night had caught up with her
‘Have you always lived in Coogee?’ she asked, in need of a distraction to stay awake Not that Nathan wasn’t one, but he ht leave her on the side of the road if she stared at him all the way to the well-known beach
‘Only since I bought the house I like being near the sea, and Coogee appealed Before that I lived on the north shore’ His voice hitched on that last sentence
‘The surfing?’ He’d told her he used to surf
‘It wasn’t a priority, as I rarely rode the board at the tih that’s turned out to be a bonus, like a lot of things about the property I do hit the waves these days Besides, the house ticked a lot of boxes and had thatfactor, so I bought it’
She’d like to see the place sometime It would tell her a lot about Nathan Her head nodded forward, and her eyelids drooped shut Sitting up straighter, she forced her eyelids up and stared out at the road ahead She’d buy her own home sometime A small, warm house that would wrap around her; not a sterile mansion that showed off to her friends hoealthy she was That particular house hadn’t been her choice It’d had Paul written all over the grand frontage, the sweeping staircase, the expansive rooms The place had felt h she as much as the house was on display to all and sundry ‘Not your first property?’
‘No The one I owned first was cosier and more family orientated’ He paused
Molly waited, hoping she stayed awake long enough to hear what else he had to say
‘I wasto raise our children there But four years ago it went horribly wrong’
Wide awake now, she touched Nathan’s arm ‘I’m sorry Life can play nasty when it chooses’
‘You’re not wrong there’ Nathan flicked the indicator and pulled into the outside lane, keeping a safe distance fro i wheel
She knew the grief of losing the chance of having a fa she wanted for her future Unlike her, Nathan could have children if he chose to Molly returned to watching those fingers as they played a silent, sharp rhythm on the wheel
‘Rosie got ALL’
Acute lymphatic leukaemia Molly’s heart dropped for Nathan, and his wife What could she say? No words could help But a hugthe city highasn’t conducive to safety Like her dream? She squeezed his arm softly, and remained quiet for the rest of the ride out to the beach
Had Nathan told her about his wife in a bid to soften the blohen he asked her about her past? Or were they getting a little closer and he wanted to put it out there straight-up? Yesterday’s arguo They’d been scratchy with each other, then friendly to the point he’d had a cup of tea in her apartment At the time it had seemed a vast improvement in their relationship, and since then she’d exposed the results of her darker side, and he was still happy to spend time alone with her
Having spent the past two years running solo, to have now shared ti with a man was hard to take in It excited her about the future See a laugh, of doing things outside her four walls
‘Wakey-wakey’
A gentle shaking of her ar around ‘Sorry’ She never went to sleep in the company of anyone, let alone a ee?’ The sweeping beach with its golden sand sang to her, re the , she listened to the waves s down from the street
‘Yes, it sure is’ He glanced along the street, then back at her ‘And, Molly?’
Uh-oh What had she done? She’d been asleep, couldn’t be too serious ‘Yes?’
‘Stop saying sorry all the ti ever since you dropped Burgess in ED Shock or an adrenaline high does that’