Three’s a Crowd Read Free Page A

downstairs; Lexie finally had to surrender the dining space she had created off the kitchen, where sliding doors opened up onto a courtyard draped with fairy lights. The setting of so many fun dinner parties became instead a playroom, and the dining table was moved into the living area, making everything just that bit tighter, and entirely ruining the illusion of space Lexie had worked so hard to achieve.
    It didn’t matter, not really, only that Lexie had a little secret. She’d only ever told Annie, because as usual Annie was the only person she knew would understand, but she desperately wanted more children, at least one, maybe two. She didn’t think Scott would be against the idea in theory – he loved kids and he’d come from a big family himself – but there was no way they could fit another child into this house, nor could they afford a bigger house, not if they wanted to stay in the eastern suburbs. And they really didn’t have a choice about that, with Scott’s café smack bang in the centre of Coogee. Scott was already sensitive about being able to provide for his family. Lexie remembered thefirst time he came to her house to meet her parents. He had been gobsmacked, to put it mildly. ‘Look at this place! I knew your dad was a doctor, but Jesus, Lexie, you guys are seriously rich.’
    She’d denied it at the time; she knew people who were ‘seriously rich’ and they weren’t in that league. She watched him desperately trying to impress her parents, telling them the café was just the first step on the way to owning his own restaurant. ‘You never told me that,’ Lexie said later. He merely shrugged. ‘Every chef dreams of having his own restaurant.’
    As nothing had ever come of it, Lexie assumed he’d only said it to impress her parents. It didn’t bother her, Scott could stay in the café forever, if that’s what he wanted. But she wondered if they would ever be able to afford a bigger house, nothing fancy, just something big enough to fit a couple more kids . . .
    She leaned against the bench now, watching him. Lexie knew she couldn’t broach the subject with him yet. Not until she figured out a way to make it work. ‘So, you’re right for the kids’ dinner?’ she asked, sneaking another carrot stick. ‘There’s some of that pasta leftover that Mia loves.’
    â€˜I think I can look after the food part, hun,’ he said. ‘And aren’t you supposed to be going out for yours?’
    Lexie roused herself, turning to check the clock. ‘Oh my God, look at the time!’
    It was exactly one minute to seven as Catherine stepped through the door of the restaurant.
    â€˜There should be a booking under Halliday,’ she said crisply to the waitress who came forwards to greet her. She hoped Rachel had remembered, Catherine always felt better when she made the arrangements herself.
    The waitress glanced at the reservations list and nodded. ‘This way, please.’
    Catherine followed her through the still half-empty restaurant to a table set for four with a view out across Bondi Beach to the ocean. As she took her seat, she glanced at her watch. Seven o’clock on the dot. Her punctuality was a great source of pride to Catherine. The same could not be said of her friends, unfortunately.
    â€˜Can I get you anything while you’re waiting?’ the waitress asked her.
    She probably had a minimum of ten minutes before they turned up, that’s if they were anywhere in the vicinity of their definition of ‘on time’.
    â€˜Do you have a Margaret River sauvignon by the glass?’
    The waitress looked thrown. ‘Let me bring you the wine list.’
    That would take too long. ‘Yes, bring the wine list, along with a glass of sauvignon – a Margaret River preferably, or else something from that region. Ask your sommelier.’
    The girl gave her a