Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters) - By Caitlyn Robertson Page 0,9

mouth, breathless with emotion, feeling like an intruder to this personal, intimate moment of affection between her father and the vineyard owner. Clearly, Aroha was attempting to comfort Cam during a moment of grief just as any friend would do to another. And there was nothing too forward about Aroha’s gesture—she didn’t take him in her arms, or kiss him, or reach up to stroke his hair.

And yet still the look on her face made Honey’s stomach swirl. Aroha liked him, and not just as one friend likes another friend.

Honey had known the two of them got on well, and she liked Aroha, thought her fun and pleasant to be with, and she respected how hard she worked on the vineyard. But still, Honey hadn’t expected to discover this. And on the anniversary of her mother’s death, of all days.

Did Cam return Aroha’s affection? He showed no sign of it at that moment, obviously too full of his grief to think about anything else. But the way he didn’t pull away from Aroha’s touch told Honey it wasn’t unwelcome.

She bit her lip. Her mother had been gone a year. To Honey it seemed like nothing. The grief felt as raw as it had the day in the hospital when Marama slipped away, slowly and gently as a leaf in a stream. The thought of her father loving anyone else caused a lump to form in Honey’s chest, and her throat tightened and she held her breath until she went dizzy. Her hands clenched at the notion of another person thinking she could take the place of the woman who had been the centre of their family.

And yet, it must feel like an eternity for her father. 365 days alone. He was a relatively young man, only forty-eight—it was no age to think about being celibate for the rest of his life. She knew Dex had found it incredibly difficult to go without sex for six months, and Cam wouldn’t only be missing the sex. He must be missing the other things that made it so special about being with the one you love—the cuddles, being able to discuss worries and fears with another person, just knowing you’re not alone. Was it so incredible to think he might eventually want to share his life with someone else?

Without looking up, Cam nodded at Aroha’s whispered words and rubbed his nose before returning his hand to his hip. She gave a small smile, touched his arm once more and then slipped out of the gate.

Honey hesitated, not wanting him to think she’d been spying on him, but not wanting to leave him if he was upset, either. At that moment, he looked up and glanced across to the building to see her standing there. She paused, unsure whether to turn away, but then he smiled and held a hand out to her, and she walked over and put her arms around him.

He hugged her tightly. “Hey, sweetie.”

“I wasn’t spying on you,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded and kissed the top of her hair. “You?”

“Yeah. Dex is taking me to the cinema.”

“Nice. He’s a good boy.”

She stifled a chuckle, thinking that her fiancé wouldn’t appreciate being called a boy, but she’d always be her father’s little girl, and Cam wasn’t going to change his ways now.

They stood there like that for a minute, content in the warm sunshine to hold each other, she resting her cheek on his chest and listening to the steady thud of his heart, he with one arm tight around her, the other stroking her hair.

“Aroha’s nice,” she said eventually.

“Mm.” He sounded distracted.

“She’s very pretty.”

He drew back at that and studied her, frowning. “We were just talking.”

“I know.”

“I’d been thinking a lot about your mother, and Aroha asked me how I was and I…well, got a bit upset.” He rubbed his nose again. “She told me how lovely it was that I missed your mother so much. That I was lucky for having had a relationship like that.”

Guilt swept over Honey. She’d assumed Aroha had been trying to make a move on her father, and that had been unfair. “That was a nice thing to say.”

“It was.” He cleared his throat and met her gaze. “Nobody can replace your mother, Honey.”

Her throat tightened. “Aw, Dad…”

“She was everything to me. My whole world.”

Her lips trembled. “I know.”

“I don’t want you thinking… I would never…”

She buried her face in his neck. Her voice, when she spoke, was nearly a squeak. “I