Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters) - By Caitlyn Robertson Page 0,27

by mistake, and his father-in-law-to-be smiled. Dex smiled back, his gut twisting. He shouldn’t have come to Matariki, but Jude had called in at the station to ask if he wanted to grab some lunch and had refused to take no for an answer, and before he’d known it they were at the Summers’ café. True, it served the best coffee in Kerikeri—and probably in the whole of the Northland. But he wished they’d gone somewhere else today.

But then that was his guilty conscience talking. What he’d done wasn’t going to go away, so he had to get used to being around the Summers’ family with the memory of his transgression hanging above his head like a fluorescent arrow that he was afraid they’d only have to look up to see.

He took a large swallow of his cappuccino, nearly scalding his mouth in the process. But he welcomed the pain. It was only what he deserved.

Cam approached the table, carrying a plate of oatmeal and raisin cookies. “On the house,” he said, placing them in front of the guys with a smile.

“Thanks, Cam.” Jude, Chase and Koru had all had huge lunches, but they tucked in anyway.

Dex took one, but it sat on the side of his saucer, untouched. Cam’s generosity made it worse. He felt as if he’d betrayed the whole family and her friends, not just Honey.

“Can’t believe you’re getting married on Saturday,” Jude said to Dex through a mouthful of cookie. He looked at Chase. “Think you’ll ever get married?”

It was an unusual topic of conversation for the guys. They usually talked about rugby, fishing, surfing, X-Box games, sci-fi and fantasy books if Chase needed inspiration, or occasionally politics if they were in a serious or argumentative mood. When talking about women, they were more likely to talk about their top five actresses than real girls. And weddings…well, that was a taboo subject they trod around carefully like an unexploded bomb.

Things were changing, though, thought Dex—they were all heading toward thirty at a rate of knots, and several of the other guys they played rugby with were married, and a couple even had kids on the way. There was a point when being young, free and single turned into sad and lonely, and although he didn’t think any of them had hit that point yet, he knew it would happen, and probably to Chase first, bearing in mind how he felt about Daisy.

Chase examined his coffee mug. “I don’t know. I thought about it, with Daisy, but we never discussed it.”

“Anyone else on the scene?” Jude asked.

Chase shook his head and smiled. “I haven’t entirely given up hope on her yet.”

Koru took a large bite from another cookie. “You need to get a move on then. My betting’s Reuben will propose before the end of the year.”

Chase looked startled. “Fuck. That soon?”

“Yeah.”

“He loves her that much?”

Koru tipped his head. “He knows he stands a chance of keeping her if she marries him.”

Chase digested that along with his mouthful of cookie. “You think she’s getting cold feet?”

Koru shrugged. “Who knows what goes on in Daisy’s head? She wanted the lifestyle and she likes the money. But she misses it here—I know she does. More than she thought.” He met Chase’s eyes. Koru didn’t say anything, but Dex heard the unspoken comment—she misses you too, Chase.

Koru looked at Jude. “What about you?”

Jude thought about it. “If I met the right girl, I wouldn’t say no.”

Dex had often wondered if Jude would hook up with one of the sisters, but so far he hadn’t shown any signs of favouring one over the other, and like Koru he never seemed short of a girl on his arm.

“I can’t see the point,” Koru said. “Tying yourself to one girl? Where’s the joy in that?”

They all chuckled. “Just wait until you find her,” Chase said. “You’ll be eating your words then.”

“Yeah, yeah. Where’s the fun in forever? Watching each other grow old, growing bored. The same old sex in the same old positions. No secrets, no excitement. No fun! No thanks.”

“It’s different when you love someone,” Chase persisted. “Love’s about feeling comfortable with someone, feeling safe and secure.”

Koru faked a yawn and they all laughed wryly. “The thing is,” Koru said, “it’s unlikely that I’ll meet one girl who satisfies everything I want in a mate.”

“I thought Becca was going to be the one,” Chase said.

“She was okay. Nice enough. But…I dunno. Forever? The thought scared me shitless. She was, you know, good