Outback Reunion (Bunyip Bay #6)

Chapter Twenty-four

When everyone finished eating, Gabriela helped Ryan, Grant and a woman called Frankie, who owned the local café, clean up in the kitchen. They protested but she insisted. Although everyone was being super friendly, she was conscious of being the outsider here, tagging along only because of Mark, and she didn’t want to take advantage. Of course, she worried a little about not being near Luna when she was in the pool but knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her and there were plenty of other adults watching as well.

‘Mark tells me you’re a teacher,’ Gabi said as she scraped plates clean and handed them to Grant who was stacking the dishwasher.

‘Yep. For my sins.’

Ryan snorted from near the fridge where he was loading containers of leftover salads. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t love it.’

‘The holidays are good.’

But Gabi could tell that wasn’t all he enjoyed. ‘What do you teach?’

‘Drama,’ he declared. She should have guessed. ‘I always wanted to be a performer like yourself, but it turned out my talents lay more in being a drama queen than an actor. I enjoy inspiring the next generation of Hemsworths and Home that made a lot of sense.

‘What about you?’

‘Me?’ She blinked when she realised what Stella was asking. ‘Oh no. Definitely not.’

‘You don’t want more?’

‘It’s not that... it’s just...’

They both glanced towards the pool where Mark, Adam and the kids still looked to be having the time of their lives.

Stella smiled—‘I reckon you and Mark would make pretty cute babies’—then popped the last of her cupcake into her mouth.

‘What? Oh no. We’re not... There’s nothing...’ Gabi tried to set the other woman straight but found she couldn’t finish her sentence. Her throat felt dry, as if she’d shoved a whole cupcake into her mouth and couldn’t speak past it. Stella probably wouldn’t understand anyway. She might have been on her own for the first years of Heidi’s life, but she hadn’t been trapped like Gabi was. She’d had the freedom to make her own decisions, to fall in love and move to this magical town.

Besides, this thing with Mark was just a fling.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry .

‘Gabriela, you may be a fabulous circus performer, but you’re not a very good liar.’ Stella laughed. ‘I think you really like him, and Mark’s feelings are written all over his face whenever he looks at you. He’s a great guy. We wouldn’t have all come here today if—’ She stopped talking mid-sentence.

‘What?’ Gabi asked.

Stella reached across and snatched her perfectly calm baby from her. ‘I think Lily needs a feed.’

‘What were you about to say?’

Stella didn’t meet Gabi’s gaze. ‘About what?’

‘A moment ago, you were saying Mark was a great guy and you wouldn’t have come today if—But you didn’t finish.’

‘Did I say that?’ She laughed nervously as she lifted her top, plucked the dummy out of Lily’s mouth all but shoved her head to her breast. ‘I’ve forgotten now. Silly baby brain. Probably I was about to say that we wouldn’t have come if it hadn’t been such a lovely day. Most days it’s too hot to be outside at this time of year.’

‘I’m not the only bad liar, Stella. What were you really going to say?’

Stella sighed and looked like she might cry. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s really not my place. Please, just forget it and enjoy the party.’

Gabi leaned back into her seat and tried to relax but she felt so confused. Something weird was going on here but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, almost as if she was an actor on a TV show where everyone except her had been given the script. Like The Truman Show , which had been one of her and Dante’s favourite movies when they were little.

And then it hit her.

But no, she had to be crazy.

‘Who wants ice cream?’ cried Grant, emerging from the house carrying two massive tubs and a box of waffle cones.

Kids erupted from the pool, scrambling past each other to get to the gate and Gabi stood up, waiting until Mark came out.

‘Hey,’ he said, grinning widely, water dripping down his bare chest.

Trying to ignore the lust that flooded her, she said, ‘Can I talk to you? In private.’

His brow furrowed slightly as he ran a hand through this wet hair. ‘Course. Is everything okay?’

As Grant ordered the kids into a straight line with a teacher’s expertise, she gestured for Mark to follow her round the front.

Once they were far enough away from possible eavesdroppers, she turned to face him. ‘What are we doing here?’

His Adam’s apple moved slowly up and down. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Stella said something. She didn’t mean to, but it sounded almost as if this barbecue, everyone coming here, was arranged by you .’

He gave her a sheepish grin. ‘Guilty as charged.’

Gabi frowned. ‘But... why? What’s going on?’

‘Gabriela,’ he said, taking both her hands in his. ‘I know we’ve only been reconnected for a week, but us being together feels so damn right.’ He paused. ‘I just can’t bear the thought of you leaving town and of not being able to see you every day. I want you and Luna to think about moving here so the three of us can be together properly, and I hoped that—’

‘I thought you said you weren’t in the market for a relationship,’ she interrupted, shocked by his announcement. She’d never have agreed to a fling if she’d thought he might catch feelings. ‘You said you needed to sort out the farm and the shit in your head first!’

He nodded. ‘And I meant it. I really did. Or at least, I thought that was the case. I thought I was too broken after Tahlia and the end of my career, but I don’t feel broken when I’m with you.’

Emotion prickled the back of her throat. She no longer felt broken either.

‘So, I asked Grant for his help, and he suggested this get-together—it wasn’t supposed to be so big —to give you a taste of what our lives could be like if you throw caution to the wind, leave the circus, and move here. I was going to tell you today—later tonight—how I feel, that I’m falling in love with you, but I wanted you to see how good a life you could have here. With me.’

‘You’re falling in love with me?’ She could barely get the words out.

He nodded and smiled. ‘Pretty sure I’m almost all the way there. And I reckon we’d be awesome together. Luna’s already made friends and you’ve been getting along great with everyone too. You’d both be welcomed with open arms, Luna could play footy with me and Heidi, and there are plenty of casual jobs around for you. You could even run circus or dance classes for the local kids. Or you could enrol in a course online or in Gero, retrain in something you really want to do.’

Goosebumps spread across her arms at his words, but they weren’t the kind of tingles his presence usually ignited. She couldn’t believe it. He’d planned their lives all out without even consulting her. Exactly the way Dante used to do.

‘What do you say? Will you consider moving here and starting a life with me?’

‘Are you crazy? We’ve barely known each other a week!’

‘We’ve known each other almost eight years.’

Her heart pounded as she yanked her hand from his. ‘Let me get this straight. You had Grant organise this party , gather all these people, just so you could make me fall in love with them and want to move here? To be with you?’

He looked down at his feet, guilt painted across his face like bright coloured zinc.

‘And everyone here knows it’s a ruse.’

‘They weren’t supposed to,’ he said. ‘Grant swore to me he wouldn’t tell a soul, but—’

‘Oh, they know!’ Gabi could feel the prying eyes of everyone in the backyard like sunburn on her skin, but she couldn’t keep the anger in check or her voice low.

It wasn’t only Mark who was trying to manipulate her, but this whole crazy town. It had been bad enough being a pawn in Dante’s cruel games, but this was on a whole other level. ‘I can’t believe this. I told you I couldn’t leave the circus, but you obviously weren’t listening, or do you just think you know better than me? I’m so sick and tired of men who think they can control me. You’re no better than Dante!’

‘Mark!’ At the shout, they both turned to see a tall, thin, blonde woman wearing a tiny, pink and red playsuit, flouncing through the gate towards them. She looked like she’d stepped right off the pages of a designer label website.

Distracted by their conversation, neither of them had noticed her car arriving.

‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ Mark growled.

The woman’s smile only faltered a fraction. ‘And it’s lovely to see you too, husband dearest.’

Husband?

‘ Ex- husband,’ Mark hissed.

Oh my God. ‘You’re Tahlia?’

The woman looked Gabi up and down, her nose twitching as if she could smell something terrible. ‘And you are?’

Mark took a step towards Gabi, placing his hand in the small of her back. ‘ This is Gabriela, my—’

‘Friend,’ she finished for him. Or at least they had been. ‘Nice to meet you.’

And people thought she wasn’t a good liar!

Tahlia did not reciprocate. ‘Do you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes, babe? I need to talk to my husband.’

‘Ex-husband,’ Mark reminded her again. Gabi had never seen his expression so dark.

‘You’re welcome to him, babe ,’ she retorted, not bothering with even a faux smile as she hurried away to find Luna.

Moments later Mark caught up to her, grabbing her arm to turn her towards him. ‘Gabriela, please. Don’t walk away like this.’

She pulled free from his grasp and glared at him. ‘I don’t want to talk to you right now, but somebody does. You should talk to Tahlia. She’s come a long way. You should listen to what she has to say.’

With a deep sigh, he looked back at his wife. ‘Okay. I’ll talk to her but only to get rid of her. I’m sorry if—’

Gabi didn’t stick around to hear the rest of his apology.

She wanted to get out of there. Away from all these interfering busybodies who thought it was okay to play with other people’s lives.