be a surprise when she came home. She worked her butt off to buy that place, and I plan to make it perfect for her.”
A sweet smile drifted over Cora’s lips, and she made a locking motion with one hand. “Your secret is totally safe with me.”
“So we’re roommates, then?”
“Yes. And I won’t keep you up with squeaking bedsprings and screaming in the middle of the night.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and for a hot minute, Trent felt very disappointed that he wouldn’t hear those sounds coming out of her mouth. “No requests for hair pulling or anything like that, I promise.”
“Well, how could I possibly refuse a deal like that?” He held out his hand, and Cora slipped her palm against his, their agreement sealed. “Welcome to Patterson’s Bluff.”
Chapter Four
After chips and beers, Cora suggested they order a proper meal, and Trent was more than happy to oblige. The food at the White Crest was good, hearty fare, and he was perfectly content to sit with Cora and chat. They kept things light and impersonal—skirting topics about her motivations for coming to Australia and why she seemed determined to have the “local” experience. Trent had the feeling Cora was like an onion, one layer of complexity after another with the real her buried far beneath.
Still, Trent found himself enjoying her company, and before they knew it, the pub was filling up around them. So they fixed up their bill and decided to head to the beach to use the showers there.
“So what are your plans after your sister gets back?” Cora asked as they headed along the main drag. The sun was low on the horizon, laying a rich, orange-gold filter over the world. It picked up on the burnished tones in Cora’s highlighted hair.
“I’m going to build my own place,” he replied. “I’ve got the perfect piece of land and everything waiting for me to find the right time to get started.”
But there always seemed to be something delaying him—renovations on Liv’s house, fixing up the back decking around his parents’ place, overtime at the day job, accepting a rush contract for the yoga studio’s expansion when the other building company pulled out last minute. But those things were important to him. As his dad always said, “our family helps others.” It was the Walters’ way.
And who would he be if he didn’t adhere to the family credo?
“That must be nice,” she mused. A salt-drenched breeze ruffled her dress, swirling the hem around her thighs as they walked.
“Building a house?”
“Hunting out a piece of land. There’s something primal about that, don’t you think? Laying claim to the dirt and soil, building a home on top of it.” She had a dreamy expression on her face. “I’ve never had a backyard.”
Trent blinked. “You’ve never had a backyard?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I’m a born and raised Manhattan gal, remember? We’re not exactly flush with extra space there. The best I ever got was a terrace.”
“But…even as a kid?” He balked. He couldn’t imagine his childhood without the feeling of springy grass between his toes and sprinklers cooling him down on hot summer days. “How did you play sports with your friends? How did you have sleepovers under the stars? What about water gun fights in the summer?”
“Well, we’d go to the Hamptons in the summer and we had plenty of space there. But that wasn’t home.” A dark look crossed over her face. “And I was never allowed to play sports as a kid.”
“Why the hell not?”
Cora sighed. “My mother preferred me to take up more ‘ladylike’ pursuits like playing the violin and flute. She wanted me to pursue a music performance career.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t.”
“The truth was…I was only ever mediocre, and I get terrible nerves in front of a crowd. My mother threw all the money she could at it. She even donated a huge sum so I’d be accepted into an elite performing arts conservatory, but everyone there knew I’d bought my way in. I wasn’t as good as they were.” She sucked on the inside of her cheek. “Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore. So I quit.”
Cora’s expression told Trent very clearly how that action had gone down. “And then you went to work for a literary agency.”
“That’s right.”
“Did you ever take up any sports?” They rounded a corner to the road that would bring them to the beach—cars lined each side, people with sand-covered legs and feet brushing themselves down as they packed their