light stream in.
Each morning started with a surf at sunrise. ‘Didn’t know you surfed,’ Marcus said with a laugh as Kate joined him on the beach with a board she’d hired from the hotel.
‘College in California. Surfing was basically my major!’ she’d replied as they ran out into the shallows and plunged into the waves.
After a surf came yoga by the pool. Marcus was underwhelmed at the prospect, but after some cajoling from Liv decided it was easier to join in than to resist. For Kate, it was non-negotiable. Since Noah died, her morning exercise—even if it was just a lazy stroll around her Louisburg block—was as crucial as breathing. It was Molly who’d downloaded the YogaDay app onto her phone. ‘Fifteen minutes. I promise it’ll help.’ Though it pained her to admit, it had turned out that decent amounts of sleep, exercise and nutritious food—not her original diet of buckets of chocolate, peanut butter toast and chardonnay (who knew?)—helped to allay the grief and anger that knocked about in her chest.
And it turned out that sex helped too.
For the first time in years, Kate found herself grinning like a giddy schoolgirl at the thought of a man. She yearned to be touched. Whenever she and Marcus were together, even if it was just working at the desk, her skin felt like it was on fire.
This was unexpected. Molly had set her up on a couple of dates last year—one with a scatty violinist, and another with a recently divorced partner in her law firm—but Kate had known pretty much after the first glass of champagne that they were not for her.
She’d not expected to feel the steam train of lust that accompanied the delicate first moments of a relationship ever again.
She paused. Was that what this was? A relationship?
Marcus sat beside Liv, squeezing lime juice over cheeks of fresh mango. ‘Here, I saved you some food. Liv was about to eat all the pancakes.’
‘Dad!’
‘I’ll just have the one, Liv, promise.’ She winked.
‘Trust me—once you’ve tried them, you’ll want them all!’
Kate sat down and helped herself to a crunchy hopper—a light pancake that looked like fried pressed spaghetti but tasted like rice. She topped it with freshly shredded coconut mixed into a sambal with chilli, tamarind and onion. The savoury dishes were accompanied by a colourful platter of fresh jackfruit, mango and Kate’s favourite, the sweet and sour rambutan.
Two espressos were delivered and the smell of fresh coffee made her smile. For the past few days Marcus had been casually attentive. He’d noticed that she preferred her coffee short and black, that she liked to take her white tea with a drop of cold water so it didn’t burn her tongue while she worked. He offered advice as she worked on her Cheapside piece and sought her advice on some of the watch and pomander images. They’d always had an easy banter as colleagues and she was pleased that, rather than it being awkward when it came to her choice of images, it was a delight to share the work with someone who cared as much as she did.
After breakfast, Marcus took a chopper into the mountains, while Liv drank green smoothies and ate gluggy acai bowls between study and swims. Kate worked on the memento mori project for her Swiss client, and continued writing the Cheapside article.
In the evening, they went for a long walk along the beach and admired the lit-up Galle Fort then headed back to the hotel before the evening winds whipped sand and sea mist into their faces.
After their walk, Liv excused herself to go study. ‘Time to hit the books. Can’t wait until this year is done.’
‘Do you think she knows?’ asked Kate on the third night, as they sprawled naked under white cotton sheets in her room.
‘Knows what?’ Marcus teased as he ran a finger down her thigh.
Kate propped herself up on her elbow. ‘I’m serious.’
He reached up and kissed her forehead. ‘I’m sure she’s across it. She’s just turned eighteen—she’s pretty much a grown-up.’
Kate must have looked as embarrassed as she felt, because Marcus went on, ‘Look, she’s concentrating on her final exams, then her gap year. She’s not that interested in what her old dad is getting up to. Besides, she likes you.’
Then he leaned over and kissed her while tracing the curve of her hip, before clenching her tight. Kate couldn’t get enough of his strong arms around her body or the taste of his salty skin.
Afterwards, as they lay