Just an Ordinary Family by Fiona Lowe

Author:Fiona Lowe [Lowe, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2020-01-23T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

14

June

Thursdays were Libby’s long days, but tonight she’d managed to leave the practice just after seven. She arrived home to find the girls bathed, fed and cuddled up on the couch with Nick. The rich aroma of oregano, wine and nutmeg permeated the kitchen, there was a bottle of merlot open and breathing on the counter and a huge bunch of purple irises were arranged majestically in a vase. Nick, who’d usually only ever bought her flowers on her birthday, had been buying her a bunch each week. She couldn’t deny he was working hard at showing he was committed to her and the girls, but an unbridgeable chasm continued to exist between them. It was keeping her in the guest room.

‘Mummy!’ Indi jumped up and ran to her. ‘Read me a story!’

‘Give Mummy time to put her bags down.’ Nick rose from the couch and kissed her on the cheek.

Libby automatically stiffened and his lips barely brushed her skin before he stepped back. Loss settled over her. Why couldn’t she control this instinct to recoil?

Nick lifted her computer bag off her shoulder. ‘Normal day?’

What was normal any more? ‘Pretty much. No emergencies, but I had to give a patient the bad news that his cancer has spread and all we can do is keep him comfortable. That never gets any easier.’

‘Sorry to hear that.’ His sympathy was genuine and he swept his arm out towards the open bottle. ‘I thought we’d eat after the girls are in bed, but would you like a glass of wine now?’

‘Sure.’ She forced herself to add, ‘Thanks.’

Seating herself on the couch between her daughters, she picked up the story where Nick had left off. It was an evening identical to so many they’d shared before the apocalypse, but now tension ringed the normalcy, making everything unfamiliar. For years, she’d never questioned or even considered their easy camaraderie, she just took its existence for granted and now it was gone. Would they ever get to a point where they were relaxed around each other again? Could they?

Nick brought her wine and settled on the couch leaving a respectful gap between them.

Lucy scrambled into his lap. ‘Daddy, you be the dragon voice.’

Nick raised his brows at Libby in query—something he did a lot these days. She nodded and he moved closer to read the text. His warmth enticed her to relax into him. It was what she wanted to do, because in so many ways she was tired of fighting, but giving in seemed like an easy out for him. She moved slightly, creating space between them. He didn’t shift to close it again.

When the night-time routine of stories, teeth brushing and tucking in was over and the girls were snuggled into bed, Nick served up the cannelloni and the salad he’d made. As they ate, he told her about his plan to expand the fleet.

‘Some city slickers love the idea of owning a yacht, but they don’t have the time to sail her more than a few times a year.

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