Page 38 of Betrayal

“Scars of your misspent youth?He’s not Dad; he’s not about to state in an interview that his current mistress is the muse for his latest play.Do they even have muses for childcare centres?”

“Hunter’s nothing like Dad, but he’s reputed to be at loggerheads with his father, although I think Hunter would have told me if his father would be at the party.”Anna tapped her mouth with her index finger.“His mother’s friend means people in their fifties and sixties.Rose Bay equals serious money and tycoons—whatever their background—mix with celebrities these days.I hate parties littered with ‘the cream of Sydney society.’And Rose Bay is a little too close to Point Piper for my taste.”

“It’s his mother’s friend, not an all-male birthday party in a penthouse in Point Piper.More to the point, you’re not newly arrived in Sydney and eighteen anymore.”Kate knew Anna’s demons.“Or do you think you might recognise someone?”

“I didn’t pay much attention to faces; I was too busy avoiding roving hands.”Anna shivered with revulsion.“Although I remember the birthday boy.”

“You’re overthinking again,” Kate objected.“Your work involves social events.You attend theatrical events when Mum and Dad are in Sydney.The other party-goers aren’t the issue.Showing you off can mean ‘Hey, look at the lovely human being at my side.’”

“Right.And that’s a line you’re going to give your next hero.”Anna stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then brought her chin down.

“Uh-oh.You’ve got that look in your eye.”

“What look?”Anna opened her eyes wide and battered her lashes at her sister.“I’ll wear a steampunk outfit to Hunter’s party.Bea’s sister has this gorgeous dress I’ve been dying to wear.The online promo called it bordello western.”

“Is that as over the top as your red cocktail number?”

“Bea calls the red dress myKilling Evedress.Bordello western might get a more dramatic reaction.”

“Are you wearing it to test Hunter’s reaction or as payback for a party more than a decade ago?”Kate’s perceptive question made Anna squirm, but something felt off about the late invitation to a party Hunter hadn’t intended to go to.

“Maybe a bit of both.”

“I’d like to see photos, especially reaction shots,” said Kate, who hated paparazzi, hated photos taken without the subject’s knowledge, and frequently lifted a hand to cover her face when a camera turned her way.“Maybe you should wear a bodycam.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“If I’m going to call my next bookThe Exploits of Prudence, I need settings.Riot at Rose Bay party sounds like the perfect exploit for my Prudence.”

“We’re not in a romance, Katie.”Although the more time Anna spent with Hunter, the more time she wanted to spend.But she had binding rules for any relationship.“Hunter’s got secrets.”

“We’ve all got secrets.Why don’t you tell him some of yours first?”

“There was a time I had no secrets,” Anna whispered.

“Not true.There was a time when you gave up any right to privacy.When you acted as outrageously as you could.I was never sure if it was to deflect Dad’s attention from my romance writing or to shout at them both ‘Look at me, I’m living in this house too, in case you’ve forgotten.’”

“A bit of both.”

“But you always had secrets.”

Her sister was right, and Kate had been hurt by Anna’s secrets.

“They weren’t all mine to tell.”Anna shivered remembering the night of Helen’s sexual assault.She hadn’t told Kate about the attack on Helen until Helen’s suicide.

“They’re yours to share.”Kate pushed to her feet, her hand pressed to her pregnant belly.“At the right time.Not with me.If I’d been the right person, you’d have told me by now.Don’t forget the bodycam.”

“Having you made all the difference when Helen died.”Anna’s fury at the injustice of Helen’s death had compounded her grief.That’s when she’d made her vow never to ignore a woman’s call for help.

“Then I got mixed up with Drew, and you blamed yourself for not seeing the signs he was a control freak.Men who manipulate or regard women as personal property don’t walk around with warning signs flashing above their heads.”

“They often have some behaviours in common.”Anna defended her position.

“You tried to warn me to go slower.I—we—were smart enough to outwit Drew in the end.I’m happy, healthy, have a kind, smart, sexy husband, and am looking forward to what comes next in my life.You need to forgive yourself, not that there’s anything to forgive.

“I could have been Helen.The scumbag who assaulted her might have tapped me on the shoulder.Drew might have gone after me.”Anna half-wished she’d been the person targeted because she would have fought dirty.

“Your antennae for scumbags, if not stalkers, was well-developed before that.”

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