Navy Officer to Family Man. Emily Forbes

of the game and wasted no time before ordering drinks. Juliet was careful to stay in control. The rugby players had all gone to shower and change and she wanted to be prepared for Sam’s return. She was going to make sure she made a good first impression, for reasons she didn’t fully understand but which seemed vitally important.

      She and Stella positioned themselves between the band and the bar and kept an eye on the doors. The players were beginning to drift in now. They were easy to pick out of the crowd as most still had damp hair from their showers. The university boys were in civvies but the defence force boys were in their dress uniforms. In Juliet’s opinion the defence force boys had an unfair advantage over the university boys. Dress uniforms trumped casual clothes any day.

      Sam came through the doors, his white uniform immaculate. She’d always been a sucker for a man in uniform. He was six feet of muscle impeccably dressed. His hair was damp from the shower so it was a darker blond now, thick and wavy. Juliet wondered if there was a regulation about hair length in the navy. Sam’s hair looked longer than most, although it stopped short of his collar. His shoulders were broad and straight and he looked like a perfect gentleman, strong and protective, chivalrous. Juliet knew he might be none of those things but he could certainly sell the illusion.

      She scanned the room, waiting to see if anyone went to claim him. A couple of his companions broke away to meet their girlfriends but Sam continued walking. From her spot on the far side of the room she could see him sweep his gaze across the crowd. Was he looking for anyone in particular? He hadn’t stopped scanning the room and she was concentrating so intently on his movements that she was unprepared when his gaze swept her side of the room. Before she had a chance to look away their eyes locked. She tried to relax. After all, he couldn’t know she’d been watching him ever since he’d stepped inside, and she thought she’d pulled it off until he winked at her. She felt herself blush and was tempted to dive behind Stella, but at least he’d noticed her. That was a good thing, so she smiled at him before looking away. She still had time to play it cool and work out her plan of attack.

      She waited until he was at the bar then offered to fetch Stella another drink.

      ‘Excuse me, would you mind if I squeezed in here?’ People were packed tightly together along the bar, giving her the perfect excuse to cram herself in beside Sam.

      ‘Not at all,’ he said, moving over to make space for her. He smiled at her and Juliet felt her heart skip a beat. She’d always thought that was just a saying but there was no other way to describe the effect of his smile on her. If he was gorgeous when he was running around a rugby field, he was absolutely superb when he smiled. His smile was wide and white and started at the right-hand corner of his mouth before spreading to the left and finally reaching his eyes. Crinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes, but they didn’t detract from his looks. He looked like a man who smiled often and easily. The moment his smile lit up his face Juliet knew she was in big trouble. Sam had to be hers?there were no two ways about it.

      Her eyes were still locked on his as she thanked him for making room. ‘I enjoyed the game. Congratulations on winning.’ She paused for a fraction before deciding nothing ventured, nothing gained. ‘It’s Sam, isn’t it? I’m Juliet,’ she said, holding out her hand.

      He shook her hand and Juliet had the strangest sense of déjà vu. His touch was familiar but she knew that was impossible, yet she could sense a memory, almost as though her skin had felt his touch before. It was slightly unnerving but Juliet couldn’t force herself to remove her hand.

      ‘Have we met before?’ Sam asked. He was frowning and a crease appeared between his eyes.

      ‘No.’ Had he felt the same strange familiarity or was he only asking because she’d used his name? She could explain one reason but not the other. ‘I looked you up in the match programme after that first try. I wanted to know who everyone was cheering for.’ Juliet let go of his hand.

      He smiled again, his right-to-left smile, and said, ‘What about you? Who were you cheering for?’

      ‘No one really…not for the first fifteen minutes anyway. I came with a girlfriend to cheer for the uni team but I might have swapped allegiances.’ She gave him a sideways glance, hoping he’d pick up on her invitation.

      ‘So you don’t have a boyfriend on the uni team who’s going to get upset if I buy you a drink?’

      ‘No boyfriend.’

      And that had been it. Somewhere along the way Juliet had remembered to give Stella her drink and had been relieved to find her in a group that included the boy she was keen on, but after that Sam had been the only one who had held any interest for Juliet.

      They’d had such passion and she still found it hard to believe that it hadn’t been enough to sustain them. Hard to believe they hadn’t made it.

      She’d only ever had eyes for Sam but passion was no match for reality.

      The sound of the front door opening brought Juliet out of her reverie. Initially she thought Sam and the children were home but then she heard Maggie calling her. Her sister had gone for a run and was now probably wondering where everyone had disappeared to. The house was in darkness as Juliet hadn’t turned any lights on and it probably seemed abandoned.

      ‘In here, Mags,’ she called out, letting Maggie know she was home.

      Maggie stuck her head into Juliet’s room. ‘What are you doing?’

      ‘Nothing,’ Juliet said as she sat up.

      ‘It’s very quiet. Are the kids already in bed?’

      ‘No, Sam’s taken them out for dinner.’

      ‘He’s still in town?’

      ‘He goes back tomorrow,’ Juliet said.

      ‘And then what?’ Maggie crossed the room and sat on the bed beside Juliet.

      ‘I’m not sure. That’s what I’ve been thinking about. Where do I go from here? On one hand nothing’s changed but on the other…’

      ‘Everything’s changed.’

      Juliet nodded.

      ‘You could have gone with him.’

      ‘I could have but moving every three years or, worse, every six months wasn’t the right thing for the children, especially Kate. Regardless of her issues, moving constantly once we had a family wasn’t our plan and I thought that given the childhood Sam had he’d want to keep his family together. I thought it would be important to him. But the navy was more important and Sam couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give it up.’ Juliet picked at the quilt cover as she spoke. ‘I made him choose between the navy and us, and I lost.’ She shrugged. ‘No point sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I’ll just have to get on with things.’

      Maggie hugged her. ‘You know I’ll always be here if you need me.’

      ‘Thanks, but I can’t expect you to jump on a plane and fly down to Melbourne at the drop of a hat. You’re here now and I do appreciate that but I’m an adult, and I should be able to manage on my own.’

      ‘You can manage but there will be times when it’s tough to do that and Sam won’t always be able to help you with the kids in a crisis?he could be on the other side of the world. I’ll only be in Sydney so if you need me, I want to know. You’ve done it for me and I’d be upset to think you wouldn’t call me. Okay?’

      Juliet nodded. ‘Thanks, Mags.’

      Maggie squeezed her shoulders. ‘No probs. Now, can I make you a cup of tea before I jump in the shower?’

      ‘No, I’m fine really. The kids should be back soon. Have a shower while there’s still some peace and quiet.’

      Maggie disappeared into the guest bathroom and was still in there when Sam and the children returned. Juliet met them at the door and Sam handed her the car keys and a pizza box. ‘We thought you probably hadn’t eaten. It’s a Margherita.’

      ‘Thank