complex. Alex was sufficiently aware of her surroundings to notice it all looked brand new and that a sale board was out the front. Her heart pounded in anxious anticipation.
When they climbed out of the car a man approached them from the front door and held out his hand firstly to Simon and then to Alex.
“Robert Jones. We spoke this morning, Simon. This must be your fiancée. Nice to meet you, Alex.”
The blood was pounding so deafeningly at her temples that Alex hardly knew how she babbled a greeting in return. Thankfully, like so many real estate agents, he had the gift of the gab and dominating the conversation he soon had them through the front door of the stunning but rather soulless apartment.
Alex was grateful that Robert kept them fully occupied with his endless pitch about the modern features of the vast property. She wandered around in a half daze, nodding and making admiring noises every now and then. Simon watched her closely but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
Close to half an hour must have passed as Robert talked the talk. Simon asked lots of questions about proximity to schools, transport and shops. Finally Robert and Simon got around to price and Alex almost fell over.
“We should be able to persuade the developer to come in at under three and a half,” Robert explained. “He hasn’t been able to offload as quickly as he’d have liked and is under some pressure.”
Three and a half million dollars! Alex was staggered. She couldn’t help but stare at Simon. She’d known he was comfortable but had no idea he was that well off. Robert was looking at Alex carefully when he suggested that Simon might like to take her out onto the terrace to discuss an offer.
She wandered outside obediently. Each apartment was cantilevered down a steep slope. The apartment they were in was at the top and had stunning views across the eastern suburbs to the distant ocean. A lap pool to their right sparkled aqua blue in the bright sunshine. Adjacent to it was an enormous marble terrace. It was like something on the Amalfi Coast—it was every girl’s dream home.
“Well, what do you think?” Simon queried, his expression a mixed offering of excitement and awkwardness after their earlier conversation.
“It’s beautiful,” Alex murmured as she basked in the warm morning sunshine.
“Can you see yourself living here?”
“Simon, I’ve never seen myself living in a home like this. I had no idea you could afford it.”
“You mean ‘we’,” he corrected her.
“Whatever. It’s a lot to think about. And we haven’t looked at anything else yet.”
“You won’t find better than this.”
“Perhaps not, but don’t you think it would be a good idea if we looked for a place together? Robert said the developer was having trouble selling these so why don’t we take a few weeks and see what’s around?”
Simon’s features grew hard. “This is all because of the comment I made in the car about your work, isn’t it?”
“No, of course not, although I want us to talk more openly about our future from now on. You’ve been away so long and there’s lots we need to discuss.”
Simon laughed spitefully. “Like whether or not a three and a half million dollar home is good enough for you?”
Alex flushed as she noticed Robert disappear inside the apartment to give them more privacy.
“It’s not that Si,” she explained, keeping her voice low. “We should be planning things together. Isn’t that half the fun?”
“Fun! This is fun, isn’t it? I bring you along to a place like this and suggest we buy it only to be told in the car that you’re too busy with work to stay long and you think we should be discussing everything together!”
Alex couldn’t answer. Again she was fighting back tears of frustration and misery. But was Simon right? Was she just being difficult?
“I feel as though your work has always been more important to you than our engagement,” he railed. “You’ve resisted everything I’ve tried to do to move it forward to a wedding.”
“You’re right, I have,” she conceded. “And I’m sorry about that. We were engaged very young and I felt we were far too immature to get married back then. But we can move forward now. There’s nothing to stop us.”
“Except your work,” he corrected, pressing the advantage he sensed he was gaining in their conversation.
“Simon, let’s not talk about that again. Not here.”
“Why not? It’s highly relevant to this discussion. How are you