Page 75 of Just One Look

Brain Trouble

Luka was sittingon the deck with Marko, sheltered from the wind by the bulk of the house. His bare feet were propped on the railing as he sipped a cup of tea and looked out at a back garden that was an all-shades-of-green slice of New Zealand bush, and eventually, heard the front door close. Marko got to his feet and headed inside fast, and Luka stayed where he was. He didn’t know much about babies, but he knew a woman was tired after she had one. Nyree might want to go up for a rest after her outing without having to be social. He had a vague feeling that crying might be involved, and he didn’t need to be an awkward witness to any crying.

He checked his phone. Elizabeth still hadn’t replied to his text.

She’d asked if they’d had sex, and all he’d texted back was,No.He’d tried to think of something else, but what did you say that didn’t sound either outraged or sleazy? He wasn’t much chop at nuance at the best of times. He’d reckoned it was best to stick to “No.”

He was disabused of any notion of Nyree being overcome by fatigue or weepiness when she came out onto the deck saying, “Must be visiting day. Just what I needed. Hi, Luka. The wind’s brilliant, eh. Cyclone coming in. I love storms.” As he rose to kiss her, he realized that Elizabeth and Marko were behind her, and that Elizabeth was looking … something. Apprehensive. Angry. Something.

Clearly, “No” had been wrong.

He said, “Brought you something for the baby,” to Nyree, then, “Hi, Elizabeth.”

“Hi,” she said, and that was all.

He said, “You’re being intimidating, as usual. Not sure if a kiss is called for here or not.”

She said,“I’mintimidating? You frown like there was a prize for it! And no. Don’t kiss me until you talk to me.”

Nyree said, “Well,thisis interesting. Also, youdidbring me something, Luka. Gift-wrapped, too. Awesome. I’m going to open it now. Oh—want a cup of tea, Elizabeth?”

“Yes, please,” she said. “Preferably with whiskey in it. Wait, forget I said that. Joke. Just milk, please.”

“Got it,” Marko said, and headed back inside.

He came back out with two mugs, set them down on the table, and asked, “Did you two have a good walk, then?”

“Brilliant,” Nyree said. “Two scoops of gelato, toes in the water, and all. Elizabeth had some excellent suggestions for us, too.”

“Oh?” Marko raised a dark brow. “What sort?”

Nyree smiled. “I’ll tell you later. Right. Pressie.”

She opened it in a hurry, ripping the paper and going straight for the prize, and Luka said, as she pulled the thing out, “The shop lady said the design was unisex. It’s meant to be ocelot print. I thought it was good, a bit funny, but could be it’s not, uh, girly enough. You can exchange it if you like.”

Nyree held up the brown-and-black animal-print romper, the matching beanie with its black pompom, and laughed. “I love it. She can terrorize all the other babies, you reckon? And nah. Her wardrobe so far is an odd mix. Ballerinas and bunnies and bees from the rugby WAGs, and all sorts of mad things from the rest. One with dragons that I love, and a red dress with cherries on, but the cherries are skulls. That one could give a person pause. Yours is quite restrained in comparison.”

Marko pulled out the booties, which looked more like boots, from the box, and said, “Got the finishing touch, too, eh.”

“Merino lined with cotton,” Luka said. “They had other colors, but I thought the shiny gold ones were funny. She’s a rocker girl, maybe.”

“You choose your baby gifts on the basis of funniness,” Nyree said. “Awesome.”

Elizabeth said, “I told Marko that I forgot to get you a gift on the way here, Nyree. Sorry. The visit was a bit impulsive, because I needed company, but I should’ve stopped at a store first. It’s been a long week, I guess.”

“Did you have hard surgeries?” Nyree asked. “What sorts? Or did people die, maybe? And youdidgive us a present.”

“That’s what I said,” Marko told her. “That she already gave the present.”

“You don’t even know,” Nyree said, glancing at him sidelong, a little smile on her face and heaps of flirt in her expression, and Elizabeth turned a bit pink and looked away.

What? This woman whose mating dance was more complicated and delicate than anybody’s he’d ever met had given them … what? The mind boggled.

“Some hard surgeries, yes,” Elizabeth said. “And a lot of them. That’s what I like, though, and what I’m used to. Anyway. I love the boots, Luka. The boots are my favorite.”

Nyree said, “Peoplediddie, eh. Must be awful.”

“Nothing that terrible,” Elizabeth said. “Pretty normal, really.”