Page 86 of The House on Sunset Lake

‘I have an appointment with Marshall Roberts and we’re going to talk about it,’ he said, not wanting to dwell on what he had in store.

‘Jim, this is ridiculous. You could end up being thrown to the sharks.’

‘Like 007,’ he smiled grimly.

‘You’re Jim Johnson, not James bloody Bond. This is serious. Are you at least going to take some security with you?’ Her news reporter instincts were kicking in.

‘Know any Caribbean sharpshooters?’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not very handy with nunchucks.’

Sarah leaned on the balcony and looked out towards the skyline.

‘And your friend whose husband is having an affair . . . Three guesses who that is.’

‘One guess,’ said Jim, taking a spot next to her.

‘How do you know?’

‘I went to their beach house to confront Connor. I saw him having sex with another woman.’

‘Bastard.’

‘I can think of a dozen stronger words for him than that . . . Do I tell her?’ he asked after another moment.

‘I’d want to know.’

‘Would you?’ queried Jim.

Sarah didn’t respond.

‘The truth. Such a noble word, right?’ said Jim slowly. ‘I remember asking my dad to tell me what it meant once, and he said, “It’s what’s right.” But is it right for Jennifer to be told what Connor is up to? Isn’t a better truth for her just not to know?’

‘She deserves to be happy,’ Sarah said firmly.

‘I’m not sure she’ll let herself be.’

Neither of them said anything for a few moments.

‘I know how she can be happy. How you can be happy too,’ Sarah said. Her voice was low and the mood between them shifted and saddened. Jim had a sudden sense of an ending, like the last whispers of summer in the September evening air.

‘You were right

back there, you know,’ she said, motioning back into the wedding reception. ‘You do need to play the field, kiss a lot of frogs, make mistakes, get your heart broken . . . You also need to know the difference between settling down and settling for someone.’

Another momentary silence.

‘Me and you, Jim . . . I’m not daft, you know. I know how you feel about Jennifer. I thought in the beginning that I could win you round, but we’re seven, eight months into this relationship and I don’t see your eyes shine any less brightly when someone mentions her name.’

‘Sarah, come on. Jennifer is my friend. That’s all. My first love, yes, so we’ll always have a connection, but time moves on, people move on.’

‘Do they?’

‘Yes,’ he said more passionately.

‘I’m just not sure this is a good idea any more,’ she said finally.

There was a long pause as Jim let the implication of her words sink in.

‘What are you saying here, Sarah?’