Page 30 of The Orchard at Rosevale
‘Mac and I own an avocado farm, and we hire seasonal pickers and packers. Mac was on one of hisbusinessjaunts, which I now know meant a rendezvous with Jesse, and I ran into my ex on the farm.’
‘Serendipitous.’
‘It felt like it at the time.’
Ferne remembered the way her heart clenched when Taj loped towards her through the avocado orchard, his smile still packing a powerful punch after decades apart. His green eyes, all the more startling with his olive skin, lit up in the way they always had when he saw her, and her legs had crumpled. She’d sagged against the nearest tree, bumping her head on an avocado in the process, and that had broken the tension as they’d laughed until tears streamed from their eyes.
When he took her into his arms, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to kiss him, until reality crashed over her in a tsunami of reality.
She couldn’t escape Kinstead Avocados no matter how badly she yearned to, because the farm was Cruz’s legacy, and she’d put up with a lot to ensure her son inherited it. Her parents had left her with nothing, and she’d vowed when she had Cruz that she’d do whatever it took to ensure he never wanted for anything.
Bette tapped her on the forearm. ‘You don’t have to tell me if it’s too painful.’
‘Not much to tell. We didn’t sleep together despite a residual attraction that made my hair stand on end, and he left, but not before he asked me to go with him and I refused. He wanted to stay in touch, but I didn’t want to be reminded of what I wanted but couldn’t have, so that was that.’
‘Have you ever researched him online?’
Ferne shook her head, a pang of yearning surprising her after all these years. ‘Why put myself through that?’
‘Even after your husband died?’
‘No. I was too busy seething over his stupid will stipulation to think about an old flame.’
Ferne expected Bette to ask about Mac’s will but to her credit, her new friend had class as well as being a good listener.
‘Want to know what I think?’
Ferne chuckled at the mischievous sparkle in Bette’s eyes. ‘I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.’
Bette pointed to the walking boot. ‘Between that thing and the crutches, you’re not totally immobile, so if you want some fun, why don’t you look him up?’
The thought had crossed Ferne’s mind on more than one occasion since Mac died, but what would be the point? Taj could be anywhere in the world. Besides, she finally had her life back, and she had clear plans of how she wanted to live it. The last thing she needed was a man.
‘Did you bring dessert?’ Ferne asked, unable to eat another thing but wanting to distract Bette.
Bette laughed. ‘Nice diversion. I got some delicious mango pudding, but I don’t think you should eat any, in case Jesse made it.’
Ferne joined in Bette’s laughter, glad she’d made a new friend despite the circumstances. She may have loved being part of the Rosevale Grove community but could count the number of close friends she had on one hand. Meeting Bette had been fortuitous. Having company in the weeks ahead would help time to pass quicker.
Being stuck between the four walls where her husband had loved someone unconditionally would be painful enough without adding loneliness to the mix.
CHAPTER
16
Cruz couldn’t take much more of this.
Whoever invented trivia nights had to be a sadist, a masochist—or both.
Ridiculous questions, stupid answers that got more outlandish in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed by contestants, and having to pretend like he enjoyed hanging out with people he’d only spoken to occasionally back in high school.
Between Thommo’s and Robbo’s constant bickering giving him a headache, and Kyle only having eyes for Bindi—who’d made it her mission to interrogate Cruz about all aspects of city life—it took all of Cruz’s willpower not to take El’s hand and drag her back to the car so he could kiss her senseless.
Her ruby red lips that matched the shirt that shifted across her skin with the slightest of movement … Man, how could a guy think straight, let alone answer inane questions like what year did theTitanicsink, how many stripes on the US flag, the name of the world’s longest river, and what’s the smallest country in the world?
El touched his hand to get his attention. The sparks from her touch alone would’ve done that, without her big blue eyes fixed on him with concern.
‘Are you okay?’
