‘You know me so well.’
Sandy gave her a wink and wafted away in her silky blouse.
Hannah tried to rearrange her expression so it didn’t look daft. Maybe she could swing it so she could sit next to Tom when they had dinner, because if he smelled as delicious as he looked, she didn’t want to miss out.
She watched him move through the room, saying hello to Kev and to Graeme, who must have said something funny, because Tom’s face lost its brooding look. He said hello to—who was that, sitting in the corner?
Holy moly,was that her mum and dad?
But they were on the other side of the country!
She tossed the uneaten half of her sausage roll to the dog that had emerged from the shadows to sniff for fallen bounty and raced over to throw herself on her parents.
‘Hannah Banana!’ said her dad.
‘I cannot believe you’re here. When did you arrive? Where are you staying? How long are you here for?’
Her mother, who was looking very,verydressed up, in a cream and gold jacket and with her hair looking like she’d just had it trimmed and streaked and blow dried, took her hands. ‘We’re here for two nights. The campervan’s in Broome, so we had a decent airport nearby, so when Josh rang and asked us to come, we thought, why not?’
‘You can stay with me if you like. I’ve probably even got clean sheets for the spare bed.’
‘We booked ourselves in at the motel on the highway for tonight, but we’d love to spend tomorrow with you. Josh wanted us being here to be a surprise, so …’
‘Surprise!’ her parents cried.
‘You’re looking lovely, darling one,’ said her mother. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?’
‘No reason. We just don’t see you looking so dolled up very often, do we, Bert?’
‘Who’s the lucky fella?’ her dad said with a wink.
‘Now, Bert,’ her mum said.
If only the fella in question thought he was lucky. If only the fella in question wasn’t still giving the world’s best impression of an emotionless rock. He’d smiled at her—a neighbourly, ‘hey you’ smile—as she’d rushed past him to her parents and now he was at the counter chatting with Graeme, who was passing him a beer. What did the smile mean? What did him spending time with her mean?
Why did his actions, and his expressions, seem so at odds with his assertion that he wasn’t interested in altering his single status?
A ting-a-ling of spoon on glass brought the roomful of chattering to an expectant hush. Josh stood in the centre of the café.
‘Thank you all for coming. We have news,’ he announced.
Vera was beside him, looking flushed and pretty and … just a teensy bit plump.
‘In about five months from now, Vera and I—’
Bless. Josh was getting all choked up and was having to hold onto his fiancée for support. Hannah could rib him about it later when she stopped feeling choked up herself.
‘—will be welcoming a baby into the world.’
‘Called it,’ muttered a voice behind Hannah.
She turned and gave Sandy a wink.
‘A little Cody, brother or sister to Poppy, niece or nephew to Hannah, grandchild to Bert and Amy.’
It was sweet. It was really, really sweet. It was also exactly what she would like to be announcing, only she’d do it with a little less style than her charming brother.Mum, Dad, I’m having a baby. Some time. Probably solo. Get over it and for the love of god, don’t let Marigold badger me into knitting booties.
