Anyway, if she felt uncomfortable with Chase at the end of the day, she could simply walk away and never see him again. What did she have to lose?

She slowed the car as they approached a few scattered houses.

‘Are we there, Mum?’

‘Nearly.’

They reached the end of the road and the bay opened out before them. She braked, awed for a moment by the crescent-shaped sweep of white sand edging turquoise water. Low dunes stretched to the left and right and curved into sandy headlands at each end of the bay, enclosing and framing the perfect picture.

Recalling Chase’s directions, Regan turned the car to the right and headed along the dusty road behind the dunes. Houses were built on the inland side of the road only. Chase’s was the fourth and last house and had been constructed on timber posts which, Regan guessed, gave it a great view across the dunes to the ocean.

She pulled the car on to the sparse gravel frontage and stepped out of it, her eyes on the sky-blue weatherboard building. It was a beach shack, exactly as he’d said. She’d had a random thought that he might have downplayed its description and she’d find a sprawling, contemporary holiday home. But no, it was a shack, complete with paint that was peeling in places from the salt air, fishing rods on the front veranda and drifts of sand at the end of each step.

She was acutely aware that butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach, yet she did much scarier things than this all the time. This was nothing compared with her first meeting with angry, disappointed customers when she’d taken over the business. And that was only one example of what she’d learned to deal with on a daily basis. Not that she allowed customers to be let down now that she had the business under control, but still, there was always some demand on her courage.

This, though, had taken on a significance out of all proportion to what it was—a simple visit.

The boys were scrambling to get out of the car and she tore her gaze away from the house to organise them, giving Will the bag to carry and Cory the bodyboards, before reaching into the front seat for the cake. As she closed the car door, the house door opened and Chase strolled out on to the porch.

But this was a very different Chase from the one she’d encountered at the cocktail party. For an instant, she wondered if she’d have given him a second glance if he’d been in board shorts and T-shirt with bare feet when she’d met him.

But then he smiled at her and something deep inside her twisted. Was seeing a friend supposed to feel like this?

His clothes were irrelevant. It was something about him that made her straighten her spine and take notice, that made her nerve-endings tingle and her muscles contract.

She hadn’t given a man so much as a glance since her divorce but this man had her looking.

But look was all she would do. And talk. He’d been so easy to talk to at dinner she’d found herself sharing information about herself she wouldn’t normally give away to anybody.

Since Jack’s desertion, she’d been absolutely certain that she’d never be able to trust a man again. If the one who’d loved her as deeply as she’d believed Jack had loved her could walk out of her life without a backward glance, how could she trust anybody else?

She and Jack had fallen in love the day they’d met, had been married within months, and he’d promised to love her for ever. When she’d had two babies in quick succession, she’d thought they were living the dream, that their life was picture-postcard perfect.

But while she had still been reeling from the death of her father, he’d abandoned the three of them. And not only that, but he’d left her to sort out the mess he’d created. In her book, you didn’t do that to someone you loved.

It had taken her five years to dig her way out of the disaster, to get their lives back on a secure footing. Five years that had killed any love she’d ever felt for Jack, but she still thought about him. Despite their divorce, she didn’t feel she’d achieved closure.

She would never again give a man the power to hurt her as Jack had done. Which meant keeping her heart under wraps and her feelings firmly under control.

Chase jogged down the steps from the veranda and crossed to where she was still standing. ‘Regan, it’s fantastic to see you again.’ He bent to kiss her cheek.

Shock stole her voice. He’d kissed her. She wanted to lift her fingers to her cheek, to touch the blazing spot he’d brushed with his lips, but luckily she remembered she was holding the cake in time to stop her making a total fool of herself.

It was a peck, that was all. Other friends greeted her with a kiss. It was nothing out of the ordinary. She just hadn’t been expecting it from him.

‘Is that the cake?’ He gestured at the white box in her hands.

‘Oh, yes.’

‘Brilliant. Thanks for doing this. Shall I take it?’

‘Um…could you help Cory instead?’ She tipped her head towards her youngest son, who was struggling to hold two bodyboards that were bigger than him. ‘I promised I’d take the boys down to the beach afterwards.’

Chase’s smile broadened to a grin and he dropped to crouch beside Cory. ‘G’day, mate. I’m Chase. Can I give you a hand?’

Cory nodded.

‘I’ve got one of these, too.’

Cory looked up at him as he straightened and tucked the boards under his arm.

‘The waves here are perfect for bodyboarding.’

‘Are they?’

‘Yeah, not too big.’

‘Cory doesn’t know how to do it yet,’ Will chimed in. ‘Mum’s tried to teach him but he keeps falling off the board.’

‘Well, that’s no problem. We can fix that. Shall I take the bag, Will?’

Will looked surprised that this stranger knew his name and he glanced at Regan as he handed over the bag. She gave him an encouraging smile. Will wasn’t shy but he did take a while to warm up to new people.

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