Page 26 of What Did I Miss?

A wave of nausea crashes over her. That sounds like a date. It must be. Why else would Rhiannon play dress-ups?

‘Sorry. I’m in a rush.’ Makayla’s not sticking around. She’s heard everything she needs to know.

Sitting in her car with no recollection of getting there, she smacks the steering wheel, letting out a mighty roar.

Two minutes ago, she wanted to straddle Beau; now she wants to throttle him.

When was he going to tell her he was going on a date with a school mum?

Okay, technically he’s single, she’s single, they’re all single, and free to do whatever and whomever they want.

But this is someone she knows, and the mother of one of their students. Talk about a conflict of interest.

‘Don’t you cry. Don’t you dare,’ Makayla says to her reflection.

This is her fault. She should have known he was too good to be true. Heck, anyone after Warren would appear that way. Makayla’s looking at the world with a broken lens and her judgement is out of whack. Quinn was right about staying single. It’s the only way to avoid being hurt again.

A text comes in and it takes all her willpower not to throw her phone out the window. Warren’s name appears instead of Beau’s and the urge returns.

im at ur joint. how long u gonna b? need a favour.

As if this day can’t get any worse.

Buy lingerie ?

‘It’s about friggen time!’ Warren’s manspreading on Makayla’s porch when she gets home from Frillies. ‘Why are you walking like a cowboy?’

Makayla makes her way from the car to her house with a front and back wedgie, each step more excruciating than the last. The corset has shrunk, and if she can’t cut herself out of it, she’s pretty sure a trip to the emergency department is in her near future.

‘What do you want, Waz?’ How dare he show up asking for favours. Makayla doesn’t owe him a damn thing.

‘Did you get Ma’s invite?’

‘Duh.’ She’s family.

Every year, Trish throws a soiree to celebrate her wedding anniversary.

She’s not going to let a minor thing like her husband’s death get in the way of celebrating their nuptials.

The invitation arrived last week in a metallic envelope with remarkable penmanship and the faint scent of classic Chanel.

Warren absentmindedly scratches his nuts. ‘Are you going?’

‘I have to. You know what Mum’s like. It’s tradition.’ Trish hires out the restaurant Edward took her to on their first date.

‘She’s my mother, not yours. Get your own family.’

Makayla glares at the man who seems to have forgotten he’s the reason her parents barely speak to her. They never liked Warren, especially after she ran off and married him. Her dad put him in a headlock when he found out.

‘Get to the point.’ Makayla’s losing circulation from the waist down.

The passenger door of Warren’s ute creaks open and he runs over to help Diamond.

She lifts her long flowy dress to ensure the hem doesn’t catch under her ballet flats.

Diamond’s a cheek kisser who leaves a film of strawberry lip gloss on her victims. She stands silently by Warren’s side, her calming presence doing what it’s probably intended to do – make Makayla more receptive to whatever harebrained suggestion her ex-husband is about to propose.

‘If you’re coming to the event, can you at least bring someone? Ma needs to accept we’re over. She won’t stop with her reconciliation bullshit unless she thinks you’ve moved on.’

It’s actually a brilliant plan. Diamond must have thought of it.

The Velcro of Warren’s fifteen-year-old Rip Curl wallet crackles as he retrieves a fifty-dollar note. ‘Here. Pay a bum on the street if you have to.’

Makayla swats away his insulting offer. ‘I’ve got plenty of interest, thank you very much. That doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to this. For all I know, you’re setting me up.’

‘For what?’

‘To film me with a fake boyfriend in order to get Quinn’s car.’

‘You’ve got rocks in your head, woman.’ The veins in Warren’s neck pulse. ‘For the record, no one deserves that car more than me. What are you going to do with it, anyway? Let it sit in the garage to collect dust?’

‘No, I might sell it for parts, or have it crushed into a cube and delivered to your doorstep.’ Makayla’s joking; Quinn would kill her. However, it is satisfying to watch Warren implode.

Diamond takes his hand and stares at him meaningfully. His breathing slows instantly. How did she do that?

‘I didn’t come here about that. All I care about is Diamond getting a fair go.’ He puts a protective arm around his girlfriend. ‘Please, Makayla.’

Warren sounds so sincere that she’s actually considering it. There’s one problem though. Who would she take? Naturally, Beau would have been at the top of the list; he’d wear the hell out of a suit. But that’s not happening. Probably too busy being shushed by a naughty librarian.

Makayla’s only other male friend is Rongo. But he sweats a gallon when lying; he’d blow their cover in five minutes.

‘Fine. I’ll do it.’ She’ll work out the details later, when her crotch isn’t on fire.

‘Thank you!’ Diamond flings her arms around Makayla, who’s not quick enough to deflect the hug. ‘Have you thought about what you’re going to wear?’

Makayla and Warren laugh on cue.

‘No, baby. That’s not her thing,’ he says.

Baby? Warren hates pet names. They mocked corny couples so often it turned into a hobby. Who is this guy?

At least he’s smart enough to leave while things are civil. He helps Diamond into the car and drops a peck on her lips before and after the seatbelt is secure. His tenderness is mind-boggling.

Makayla bolts inside, risking being sliced in half by her ensemble.

Before slamming the door, those tears she wouldn’t let herself cry in the car start gushing out.

Warm and relentless, like the ones she shed when her marriage ended.

Why wasn’t Warren there for her the way he is for Diamond? Especially that day.