Page 84 of Not So Very Sensible

“No, you can’t. And I know that I’d be the last man in the world who can make you happy. One day I hope we can be friends again, but right now, I think it’s best if we have nothing more to do with each other.”

“But—”

“Goodbye, Lucinda,” he said firmly. “Bye, Christine. I’ll be praying for you.”

Then he exited the door, walked down the steps, feeling like the noose around his neck had been snapped and a future could be his again.

Chapter 16

Ellie glanced across at where Katie was checking her phone once again instead of washing up the café’s special china. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “It’s Jason.”

“What about him?” She carried another stack of dirty plates to the sink, separating those to go in the commercial dishwasher.

“He hasn’t contacted me in the last three days.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he hasn’t called me back or texted or even posted anything on his socials. It’s like he’s fallen off the face of the earth.”

Uh-oh. She had a bad feeling about this. “Maybe he’s busy or has gone away somewhere.”

“Without telling me?”

“Yeah, that seems weird. But hey, he wouldn’t be the first person in the world to do something like that.”

“You mean Ethan?”

“Look, I don’t want to draw comparisons, but it does sound a little bit familiar to something a most beloved sister of yours has experienced recently.”

Katie’s chin wobbled, and she shook her head. “No. Jason isn’t like that.”

She finished loading the dishwasher and turned it on. As it hummed away, she glanced at her sister. “Let’s make a cup of tea, and you can tell me about what happened the last time you two met.”

Katie shrugged but did as Ellie asked, boiling the kettle while Ellie quickly cleaned the china that could not go into the dishwasher, thanks to its gilt edging. She assembled an assortment of leftovers from the day and followed her sister out to a round table for two out front.

It was past four o’clock, and the sign on the door had been turned to say CLOSED, and now without Mum or Dad here, it was the perfect time to be real.

“So, what happened the last time you two met?”

Katie sighed and nibbled on a piece of chocolate-dipped shortbread. “It was just like the last. We went for a walk along the Coogee cliffs, then had a meal at Watson Bay, then …” She bit her lip.

“Then what?”

She shrugged. “It’s no biggie.”

As soon as anybody ever said that, it sounded like a biggie. “Then what?”

Katie sighed, sipped her tea, her gaze not meeting Ellie’s. “He, uh, wanted me to go back to his house.”

Oh no. “Did you?”

Katie frowned and finally looked at her. “What do you take me for? I know better than to do that.”

Ellie’s anger grew. “Has he tried that before with you?”

“You mean has he tried to take advantage of me?”