‘We had such a great time last night I spent the whole day with him. Drove the coastal route this morning, then had lunch at that new boutique pub. It was … romantic.’
‘Okay, the fact you said the R word means you get to eat.’ Nev handed her the plate. ‘Bon appétit.’
‘Romantic, huh?’ Summer grinned. ‘You’re so not the type.’
‘I know, right?’ Karly gestured at her plate. ‘Now, if you can give me a few minutes to demolish this lot, I’ll tell you the rest.’
‘There’s more?’ Nev’s eyebrows shot up. ‘If you say you’re moving to Melbourne and I’m going to be the only single left in our group, I’m throwing the rest of the nachos in the bin.’
Summer’s surprised gaze zeroed in on her and Karly knew it was time to share the one secret she’d never revealed to her friends. ‘I’ve thought about it.’
Summer and Nev’s mouths dropped open in unison before Summer said, ‘You’d move to Melbourne for a guy you barely know?’
‘Of course not. This has nothing to do with Hudson.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve always harboured a secret hankering to know what life would be like beyond Acacia Haven, I just haven’t said anything.’
A tiny frown creased Nev’s brow. ‘Why didn’t you tell us before now?’
‘Because it’s never been an option. As long as Pop’s here, I’m staying.’
Understanding lit Summer’s eyes. ‘He’s getting older, so it makes sense, but do you really want to give up so much? I mean, if it’s been a dream of yours to move away, shouldn’t you try it?’
Emotion clogged Karly’s throat at the thought of leaving Pop to fend for himself. ‘It’s not a dream, per se, just something I’ve thought about from time to time. And who knows, even if Leo comes through for me and I buy the agency, it doesn’t mean I’ll be tied to this place until I’m old. Maybe I’ll make a squillion and get to move regardless.’
Nev’s confused glance swung between them, so Karly added, ‘Leo’s looking to invest in real estate or a business in town, so my clever friend here,’ she pointed at Summer, ‘thought it prudent to suggest Leo backs me financially to buy the agency from Pop.’
‘Wow, that’s huge,’ Nev said. ‘What did Hudson say?’
Karly screwed up her nose. ‘I haven’t told him yet. I want to meet with Leo first, see if this is viable, before telling him.’
‘Yikes.’ Nev served herself then pointed at the dining table. ‘If it pisses him off it could throw a major spanner in your loved-up haze.’
‘No-one said anything about love.’ Karly joined her friends at the table and sat, hating how her heart leapt at the thought of having deeper feelings for Hudson. ‘He’s given Pop the weekend to decide on selling, so that gives me time to meet with Leo and set my plans in motion.’
‘Well, I think it’s great you have a chance to continue the Vogel legacy in town.’ Summer raised her wine glass. ‘To our intelligent, gorgeous friend getting everything she wants, even if that means she moves away one day and leaves us behind.’
‘Hear, hear, except the moving part,’ Nev said, clinking glasses with them all. ‘I’m so happy you’re having a good time with Hudson. You deserve to be happy.’
‘Thanks, girls.’
Karly tried to join in her friends’ enthusiastic chatter about how she should spend her weekend with ‘Hottie Hudson’, but she couldn’t dismiss the niggle in her gut, the one that insisted this could all blow up in her face once he learned the truth.
CHAPTER
36
Hudson needed something to ground him after the day he’d had, something concrete to focus on, something to distract from the intangible feeling being with Karly elicited.
If spending the night with her had been amazing, today had given him the wrong idea.
That he wanted more days like today. Days filled with laughter and sunshine, smiles and warmth, banter and parrying.
He’d never met anyone like her.
As for giving in to her demand for more time … he never capitulated when it came to business. He made things happen. So delaying the inevitable … beyond stupid. The crazy thing was, a small part of him wished she’d asked for the weekend so she could spend it with him—and rather than asking her if that was the case, he’d joked about it.
Shaking his head, he opened his laptop. Checking in on the youth housing centre would be just the thing he needed: a potent reminder of why he’d come to Acacia Haven in the first place. He shouldn’t let a beautiful, brainy woman distract him.
‘Too late for that, idiot,’ he muttered under his breath as he hit the call button for Stella Quincy. He’d texted his manager of the Carlton centre he’d be video calling at this time and though it was after hours he knew she wouldn’t mind. Stella was as devoted to getting the other centres off the ground as he was. Like him, she’d slept rough as a kid and had firsthand knowledge of how bad some of the youth on the streets had it. He often wondered if he would’ve suffered a similar fate to his mum if Stella hadn’t intervened and he’d been left to fend for himself.