Page 96 of The Geography of Happiness

“And what was that?”

Zach’s tone softened. “She said that you talk to her and her dad almost every day. Imagine my surprise at hearing that. Every day, Spencer.Every. Day.”

Oh god.

“That’s not just any friendship. Come on, admit it. You like him and he likes you. I saw it. Gil saw it. Matt saw it. So whythe fuck are you still moving to Adelaide? What if Terry is the right place to be looking for that life change you want?Terry. Not some new job. Not a new city or country or a string of new hookups. A relationship... therightrelationship. Because let me tell you, it doesn’t get any more exciting and satisfying than that.”

Zach’s voice muffled again and I had to smile. “Leave him alone, Luke.”

The man laughed. “Not a chance.”

“It’s not as simple as all that, Zach.” I tried to make him understand. “Terry’s life is complicated. He’s committed to being wherever Hannah is and that’s exactly how it should be. And in case you’ve forgotten, that’snotwhere I am. And just so you know, I did offer to go up there, but he turned me down flat. It could be years before he’s ready to try...something... with me. Being friends is the best we can do for now.”

Zach groaned. “Christ on a cracker, give me strength. If you want to talk about complicated, then how about all those complicated plans you’re making to uproot your entire life, get a locum for your business, and a sitter for your house, all so that you can run away to?—”

“I’mnotrunning away,” I ground out.

“All so that you canrun away—” Zach emphasised the words. “—to Adelaide and set up a brand-new life thousands of miles away. A new place to live. New bank. New car. Taxes. New friends. All that shit. You can do all that, and yet for some reason, that big brain of yours can’t figure out how to just stayhereand work out how to see more of Terry. How to be in each other’s lives. How to give things a chance with the one person in your life who’s ever tied you in knots. Jesus. Are you fucking crazy?” His voice slid into the realm of hysteria.

“Is this a good time to point out that you also ran away, my little chickadee?” Luke’s smug tone made me chuckle.

“Shut up,” Zach groused, failing to hide his affection.

“Enough.” I took the opportunity to interrupt Zach’s rant. “Can we please agree you’ve made your point and that I’ll think about it? The university is expecting me.”

Luke agreed. “Time to let the man go.”

I could tell from the weighty pregnant pause that Zach wasn’t done, but he managed to keep the rest to himself. “Just call him,” he finished. “Please. Hannah said he was being a pain in the neck, which we all know means he’s worried. Don’t make me come find you.”

I chuckled. “Noted. Are you done?”

“No,” Zach snapped. “Two more things.”

“Oh, dear god.”

Zach ignored me. “One, we love you and we’re always here if you need us.”

A hard lump rose in my throat.

“And two, when you get back to Oakwood, we’re having a cookout at your place, so don’t even try and wriggle out of it. A little bird mentioned you’ve been lying about your cooking skills.”

“Who?” I imagined Hannah or Terry.

“Your brother Derek, when you brought them all out to the station.”

That shocked me silent.

“Mm-hmm,” Zach hummed. “He told me one or two other things of interest as well.”

I swallowed hard.

“Now go do what you need to and then call your man.” Zach ended the call but not before I heard him tell Luke that if their kid ever turned out as dense as I was, they were sending them back for a refund.

I stared at my phone for a few seconds, then pulled up Terry’s number and called. It went straight to voicemail. Dammit.

A few seconds later Hannah called me back. “Dad says to tell you we’re still twenty minutes from the hotel,” she said cheerily. “He says to say we’re both fine and he’ll call you tomorrow after I’m admitted.”

Fine. If I heard that fucking word one more time, someone was going to get hurt. And tomorrow? Like hell. “No deal. Hold the phone to his ear please, munchkin, and no eavesdropping.”

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