Outback Sisters (24 page)

It opened almost immediately, and there stood Faith, looking far too alive for a woman who was supposedly suffering morning sickness.

‘Hello,' she sang and then frowned. ‘You two look terrible.'

‘Geez, thanks,' Simone replied. ‘Love you too.'

‘Sorry.' Faith slapped a hand over her mouth. ‘Ever since Monty knocked me up I seem to have a habit of speaking first and thinking later.'

Simone forced a laugh.

‘Which means we do look crap, you just wish you hadn't said it. Well, I don't know what her excuse is but I've been up all night,' Frankie said, before marching past them into the villa.

‘What's up her nose?' Faith asked, surprised because Frankie rarely got grumpy.

‘It's a long story, which I'm sure will come out later, but please be kind to her.' Simone gave Faith a quick hug, vowing to forget about the night before and focus on the day ahead. ‘Is the hair and make-up lady here yet? How's the bride?'

Faith grinned. ‘Crazy excited. I'm not sure who's worse, her or Heidi. It's like they've both overdosed on red jelly beans. Come on.' She linked arms with Simone and led her into the lounge area, which although bigger than the one in Frankie and Simone's apartment, was already looking crowded.

‘Aunty Simmo!' Having just unwrapped herself from Frankie, Heidi rushed over to Simone and wrapped her arms around her. ‘We're getting married today.'

Simone laughed at the way Heidi said ‘we' and scooped the little girl into her arms. ‘I know,' she said, wiping some hair out of her eyes. ‘I can't wait to see you in your pretty dress. You're gonna look like a princess.'

‘Princess Heidi,' squealed the little girl, squirming to get out of Simone's arms and back to the action.

‘Frankie, Simone, this is Camille,' Stella said, waving at them from her position on a stool in the middle of the room.

The pink-haired woman wielding a hair dryer glanced up from her task and smiled at the sisters. ‘Love your red hair,' she gushed. ‘I have clients pay big bucks for that colour.'

‘I'd pay big bucks to get rid of it,' Frankie replied, slumping onto the couch. ‘If the upkeep wouldn't be more trouble than it's worth.'

‘Thanks,' Simone said, then turned to Ruby, who was standing in the kitchen, placing croissants on a tray. ‘Is the kettle on? Frankie and I are in dire need of caffeine.'

Ruby wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. ‘That's right,' she said, ‘how was your big night, Simmo?'

Simone blushed. ‘Fine. Did you sleep well?'

‘Perfectly, thank you,' Ruby replied, exchanging a look with Faith before they both sniggered. ‘But we're more interested in
your
night.'

‘Yes.' Faith nodded, resting her hands on her bump as she leaned back against the kitchen counter. ‘What was it like? Was Logan worth the wait? What time did he get here?'

Her cheeks burning, Simone thought she might be sick. Just hearing Logan's name amplified the guilt she was already struggling with. She should just tell them that nothing had happened, but that would only invoke a plethora of further questions. Maybe she could admit that she wasn't feeling it for Logan anymore—which was true, but what if someone said something to him before she had a chance to talk to him? He'd be hurt and embarrassed. And she certainly couldn't tell them about Angus, because Frankie was supposed to be taking him to the wedding.

She nodded towards Heidi. ‘I don't think this discussion is one for little ears, do you?'

‘Don't mind Heidi,' piped up Stella. ‘This'll all go over her head. And I'm desperate to hear the gossip as well.'

‘Um … well … I …'

‘Will you guys just leave Simone alone?' Frankie glared from where she'd collapsed onto the couch. ‘Listen to yourselves. You sound like a bunch of teenage girls. If Simone doesn't want to talk, then back the hell down.'

Simone blinked at Frankie's outburst, although she appreciated the sentiment.

‘Oh, God, I'm sorry, Stella,' Frankie rushed, running a hand through her hair, which didn't even look like she'd bothered to brush it that morning. ‘I'm just tired after being up all night.'

Stella, Ruby and Faith raised their eyebrows in unison. ‘Why were
you
up all night?'

‘Did you and Angus—'

‘No!' Frankie interrupted before Stella could finish. She looked appalled by the idea and Simone was thankful no-one was looking at her.

‘Did the migraine keep you up?'

Frankie looked momentarily confused.

Simone jumped in to save her. ‘That's why you had to skip dinner last night. The migraine, remember?'

Frankie must have been too tired to carry on the charade. ‘I'm sorry, Stella, there was an accident with the cake yesterday,' she admitted, her shoulders slumping.

‘What?' Stella's eyes widened and her hand rushed to her mouth. Until now she'd been the absolute opposite of a Bridezilla but something in her eyes told Simone she could be capable of losing it if hit with an emergency this close to the actual wedding.

‘Oh no,' Ruby said.

‘Cake?' Heidi asked eagerly.

Camille switched off the hair dryer and looked like she was enjoying the drama.

‘Relax,' Simone said, taking a step closer to Frankie. ‘It's all good now. Isn't it?' Preoccupied with her own thoughts, she hadn't really paid much attention when she'd asked about the cake earlier. She'd just assumed they'd conquered the task.

‘Yes, it's beautiful.' Frankie nodded, pulling out her mobile phone. She stood up and crossed the room to shove an image under Stella's nose. ‘I stayed up all night with Logan making a new one. It's not the same as the original but I hope you like it almost as much.'

Simone's heart stopped as she waited for the bride's reaction. The room was deadly silent for about ten seconds and then a smile burst across Stella's face.

‘Oh, my.' She pressed a hand against her chest and sounded close to tears. ‘I love it. I think I love it more than the original. And if people don't want to eat their share at the reception, it'll be so much easier to give them a cupcake to take home. Oh Frankie, I can't believe you did this for me.'

‘It was the least I could do,' Frankie said, a tear snaking down her cheek.

Stella reached up and hugged her. ‘You must be exhausted. Ruby, where's that coffee? Or would you like to go take a quick nap and we'll do your hair and make-up last?'

Frankie shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘I think if I nap, I might not wake up. Caffeine will have to be my friend today because I don't want to miss a moment of all this excitement.'

Not long after that, Ruth arrived with Aunty Esther, Harriet and Grace in tow, so thankfully there was no more questioning about Simone's non-existent fooling around with Logan. She didn't know how people kept secrets for years; this one was already eating her up inside. She hugged her daughters, happy to see them, even if Harriet didn't return the feeling.

‘Breakfast is served,' Faith announced as she and Ruby carried two trays of warm pastries over to the table, where there was already freshly squeezed orange juice and a big bowl of fruit salad.

The hair and make-up progress was halted long enough for Stella to scoff a croissant. Simone watched as everyone else ate; all the emotions churning through her stomach made eating impossible.

‘I wish I had your metabolism,' Aunty Esther said as Grace polished off her second large croissant in a matter of minutes.

‘We used to once upon a time, sis,' Ruth said, sitting down between her granddaughters. ‘Remember? Mum used to say we all had hollow legs when we were teenagers.'

Esther nodded. ‘Certainly not the case anymore.' But she picked up an apple Danish anyway. ‘You're growing into quite a beautiful young lady, Gracie. You've lost all your puppy fat since I last saw you.'

Grace blushed and Harriet perked up. ‘What about me?'

‘You're tall and slender and gorgeous as well,' Ruth said, patting Harriet's hand. ‘Just like your mother.'

As Grace slipped out of the room, Harriet made a face, showing her grandmother exactly what she thought about that comparison. Simone was too tired to laugh or cry, so she took another long gulp of coffee and retreated to the couch to sit next to Heidi, who was playing some kind of drawing game on an iPad. At least Heidi wouldn't grill her about her love life.

Stella's hair done, Faith took her turn in the hot seat and Ruby, Esther and Ruth cleared up the breakfast mess, but Simone barely registered the buzz of conversation around her. She was in her own little world till Harriet marched out of the bathroom.

‘Have you got morning sickness, Faith?' she accused, her arms perched on her hips like a proper madam.

‘Huh?' Faith looked up from where Camille was brushing her hair.

‘The bathroom reeks of vomit.'

‘Harriet, don't be so rude,' Simone yelled, tired of her daughter's insolence. She didn't want Harriet ruining Stella's day and she really wasn't in the mood to deal with her teenage dramatics right now.

‘Yes, why are you always so horrible?' Grace asked, glaring at her sister.

‘I think I'm finally over morning sickness actually.' Faith shrugged, offering a conciliatory smile. ‘I've been fine the last couple of days.'

‘Well, I definitely smelt
something
.'

‘Everyone else feeling okay?' Stella asked, glancing between them.

They all nodded; Simone did feel a little queasy—she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or everything else—but she'd have known if she'd thrown up.

‘In that case,' Ruby said, holding up a bottle of champagne. ‘Who's for a little pre-wedding bubbly?'

* * *

At ten o'clock, after five hours of tossing and turning in bed, Logan gave up the pretence of sleep and ventured out into the living space of their rented villa. Angus's door was still shut, so he filled the kettle and switched it on, hoping the smell of coffee would rouse him. He needed his brother's help to transport the cake from the resort manager's house to the function room where the staff would no doubt already be setting up for the reception. And he needed to do that soon, so they had time to come back and get ready for the one o'clock ceremony on the beach.

He grabbed a couple of mugs out of the overhead cupboard and then leaned against the counter and groaned. Damn, today was going to be interesting. At some stage he needed to tell Simone that he didn't think things were working out between them, but he had no idea when the right time would be. Breaking up at a wedding didn't seem the done thing, but he couldn't let things continue the way they were. He liked her—just not in the way he liked Frankie—and he didn't want to ruin her weekend, or lead her on. They'd had a lot of fun together, but he had to concede Simone was more like the big sister he'd never had than the lover he wanted.

He'd pursued things with her for longer than he should have because they'd clicked so well online and also because he'd wanted to prove something to Angus. He'd wanted to show his brother that he wasn't flighty and irresponsible and that his ideas should be taken seriously. But in his drive and determination to achieve that, he'd ignored the fact that he and Simone simply didn't have the spark necessary for a relationship.

Fuck. What a mess.
The kettle started whistling and the noise brought Angus out of his room.

‘Morning.' Logan nodded to his brother, who looked as bad as Logan felt. You'd have thought they'd both been on all-night benders. He didn't know what was messing with Angus's mind and he doubted he'd tell him even if he asked. Perhaps Angus was simply regretting agreeing to come to the wedding. Logan himself was having serious second thoughts. ‘Want a coffee?'

‘Thanks.' Angus ran a hand through his eternally scruffy hair and slumped into a seat at the small table. ‘Do we have anything to eat?'

‘Nope.' Logan glanced at his watch. ‘The hotel restaurant stopped serving breakfast half an hour ago, but I think there's a bakery in town. Why don't we grab something from there?'

Angus grunted something that sounded like agreement and then practically snatched the mug when Logan put a coffee down in front of him. The two men drank in silence—Logan thinking he'd need a few more cups to get through the day. It'd be okay if tiredness was his only problem, but dealing with his fatigue and juggling Simone and Frankie was going to be tricky. As much as he wanted to spend more time with Frankie, he was going to have to keep his distance today and probably for a while after too. That thought made him feel antsy; patience was not his strongest virtue.

‘Was last night too painful?' Logan asked, not wanting to think about his dilemma. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, he'd briefly considered asking his big brother's advice. Knowing Angus, he'd probably think the whole situation was hilarious, but it wasn't and he didn't plan on confiding in him anytime soon.

‘Huh?' Angus barely glanced up from his mug.

‘Dinner with Simone and everyone else?' It was kind of weird that Angus had met all the people he'd been hearing about from Simone before he had. ‘What were they all like?'

‘Fine,' Angus said, back to his old one-word answers. He'd been quite talkative the last couple of weeks—chirpier than usual—but all good things must come to an end eventually.

‘That's it? Fine?' Logan couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice. ‘Did you stay late?'

Angus shuffled in his seat like he had ants in his pants. ‘Not very. Everyone else was eager to get an early night, so Simone and I did the same.'

‘Thanks for going with her,' Logan said, a little surprised that Angus hadn't just retreated to their villa. ‘I know stuff like that isn't really your thing, so I appreciate you making the effort.'