An Endless Summer(120)

“Grey suit?” I croaked.

Dad nodded his head, his face expressionless.

I scoffed, shaking my head. “Awesome.”

“It was a bit of a battle but you probably heard it from up here,” Dad said.

I had been so immersed in self-pity and hopelessness I hadn’t paid any attention to the sounds below. My world had crumbled as soon as Jeff McGee had shaken his head no. After that, little else had mattered.

“Wow! A bed and breakfast,” I said. “How quaint.” My words dripped with sarcasm.

My dad’s brows narrowed as he picked at the edge of the door frame.

“Is that what you think they’ll do?” he asked.

I glowered at him incredulously. “Dad! I was there; loitering on the steps when they brought the architect in. They were going to rip this out and smash that down. They know exactly what they want.” I was so furious with him, with how blasé he was being. It was as if the hotel meant nothing to him. Our ancestors would be rolling in their graves.

“Well, why don’t we ask him what the new owners have planned?” Dad’s head tilted to the apartment.

My mouth gaped open and a new fear spiked through me. I pulled myself to my feet.

“Don’t you dare,” I whispered. “I don’t want to see anyone.”

“Even me?”

Sean appeared beside Dad in the doorway. My shoulders slumped in relief. Had Dad not been standing right there I would have run into his arms and cried into him.

“Look, love, I don’t want to be rude. It will just take a sec to have a talk with the bloke.” Dad said.

Before I could protest, Dad stepped aside and Mr Grey Suit walked through the French doors with a briefcase. He was tall, but not as tall as Sean, and he was polished, sleek. No doubt about it, he was from the city. He had a no-nonsense grace and all-business attitude that had me self-consciously running my fingers through my hair as I silently cursed my dad.

Sean sidestepped and leaned against the door, watching on in stony silence.

Ugh. I didn’t want to speak to him – what was there to say? I wished the balcony would just open up and swallow me… again!

“You must be Amy. I’m Duncan Lawler.” He reached out to shake my hand.

I unenthusiastically took it.

“Forgive my daughter, Mr Lawler, but as you can appreciate it has been a rather stressful day,” my dad said.

“Of course,” nodded Duncan.

“Maybe, Mr Lawler, you can alleviate some of my daughter’s misconceptions. Are the new owners turning it into a B & B?”

He frowned. “Please, call me Duncan. And, uh, it is my belief that there are no plans to turn it into a B & B.”

“See?” nodded Dad.

I remained unmoved. “Forgive me, Duncan, if I don’t hold my breath over that.”

Duncan smiled. “Is there anything I could do or say to make you think otherwise?”

I smiled sweetly. “Unless you drag the owner up here butt-naked, singing ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ while simultaneously cartwheeling…”

Duncan burst out in laughter. “Well, um, I’ll put it to them if you like.”

I nodded and looked out over Lake Onslow when Duncan turned to Sean.

“What say you, Mr Murphy? Do you know the words to that song?”

My head snapped around. Sean hadn’t moved an inch, still leaning against the door with his arms folded. He broke into a slow smile.

“I would be confident with everything but the cartwheel,” he said without taking his eyes from me.

I was stunned – no, make that horrified – trying to grasp what was happening.

Sean straightened. “Amy, meet Duncan Lawler, my solicitor.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “But, you’re the Sydney buyer’s solicitor.”

Duncan shook his head. No.

I looked at Dad, searching for answers. “The Sydney buyer dropped out, love,” he said gently.

I breathed hard: in, out, in, out. I felt dizzy. “Did you know?” I accused Dad, but Sean cut in before he could answer.

“No one knew.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Sensing the tension in the air, Dad moved off the balcony to the French doors. “Duncan, um, would you care for a drink downstairs?”

Duncan moved quickly. “That would be great.” He nodded at me before turning to shake Sean’s hand. “We’ll have some more paperwork for you to sign before you leave.”

Dad walked over to kiss me on the cheek. “Go easy on him, love,” he whispered. “He remortgaged his lake house to buy the Onslow.”

Dad pulled away before seeing the look of horror in my eyes. He touched my cheek and made his way to follow Duncan, not before pausing in front of Sean.