All The Little Moments (17 page)

“How’s the
arm, Ella?”

The cast-covered appendage waved in the air. “Doesn’t even
hurt anymore.”

“That’s great. Can you wiggle all
your fingers?”

She did, earning her an approving look
from Lane.

“Good. Now, most important—do you still have space for people to
draw on?”

Ella’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No! It got covered
really quick.”

The cast really was covered in every spot possible with crude six-year-old writing and drawings, all in different colours. Ella had come back after her first day at school with it that way, so happy that everyone had wanted to draw
on it.

“That’s cool. I like the horse one of your
friends drew.”

“That was
Aunty Na.”

A smile playing on her lips, Lane looked up at Anna, who gave them a look that dared them to
tease it.

“Art’s not my
strong point.”

“Clearly.”

“I like it,
Aunty Na.”

“Thanks,
Ella Bella.”

“Can’t you two stay and watch DVDs with me
and Kym?”

“Aw, I would, but we have a booking. Maybe
next time?”

“Okay.” Ella’s eyes went back to
the TV.

Lane ruffled Ella’s hair and stood, gazing down at Kym, who looked ridiculous with her ice cream bowl laid out on a tiny child’s bean bag with her tutu puffed out around her. “You good
there, Kym?”

Eyes trained on the screen, Kym waved her spoon. “Great. You crazy kids go out.” She finally pulled her eyes away from the TV. “Have fun, and don’t rush home. I’m all good here.” With a comical wink, she looked back at
the television.

“Where did you buy
that, Kym?”

“I’ll have you know I got this from the Queen
Vic Markets.”

“Well, you
look beautiful.”

Without looking away from the TV, Ella chimed in. “Everyone looks beautiful in a fairy skirt,
Nurse Lane.”

Eyes still on the movie, Kym gave a nod. “Truth delivered by
a six-year-old.”

Grinning, Lane waved at them and stepped over
to Anna.

“Thanks again, Kym, bye Ella!”
Anna said.

Both of them just waved
their spoons.

“You have my cell number—if Toby wakes up, he should settle fine with just a back rub. If you get desperate, you can use
a pacifier.”

Kym waved her spoon again, this time more vehemently. “We’ll be fine.
Go. Enjoy!”

A little nervous to leave, even though her niece looked so comfortable, Anna kept a wary eye on
them. “Ella?”

Her niece didn’t
look up.

“Ella Bella?”

Ella still didn’t look away from the TV. “I don’t want banana, Aunty
Na. Sh.”

Smothering a grin, Anna tiptoed out the room with Lane in tow. Behind them, Kym’s voice was audible as she said, “They interrupted us, Ella—rude. Want
to rewind?”

Anna and Lane were still chuckling when they walked out the door. Anna pulled it shut and then gasped as she was pushed back
against it.

Lane was pressed against her, face inches from
her own.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

Lane gently pressed her lips against Anna’s. Soft fingers stroked Anna’s cheek. Their mouths parted, and fingers grasped at the material of each other’s dresses as Lane’s tongue slid against
her own.

Lane pulled back slowly, forehead resting on Anna’s, a smile on her lips. “I’ve wanted to do that constantly all
last week.”

“A week is a stupidly long time to go
without that.”

“Why did
we again?”

“We were stuck at work and...I actually don’t
know why.”

“Let’s
not again.”

Anna
nodded. “Deal.”

Lane kissed her once more, lingering a second. “Okay. I have a booking for Italian, and if we keep doing this, I’ll happily
miss it.”

“Let’s
miss it.”

“And stay on your doorstep
all night?”

Anna looked around. “True. Dinner
it is.”

At the car, Lane opened the passenger door for Anna with a faux bow, then walked around and entered the driver’s side. She started the car before leaning back against the seat, looking at
Anna seriously.

Uncomfortable under the gaze, Anna
shifted. “What?”

“You just look gorgeous. I really could spend all night
kissing you.”

Anna’s breath caught. She leant back in her seat, head turned and eyes still glued to Lane’s. “Right back
at you.”

“Okay. I’m driving now, or we won’t
go anywhere.”

Enjoying the feeling of being dressed up and out of the house—and being looked at like she was all Lane could see—Anna relaxed back into
her seat.

The drive was quick and filled with easy chatter. Anna couldn’t help but revel in Lane’s company, watching her and snickering as Lane told her about a patient that came into the emergency room with a questionable object in an
interesting area.

They eventually pulled up to a restaurant, and Lane handed her keys to the valet attendant before she took Anna’s hand and led them inside. Anna hummed appreciatively at the intimate atmosphere. Soft candles lit up the room, and classical jazz played over hidden speakers. There was a soft buzz of conversation; almost all of the tables were occupied. The restaurant was in the heart of Melbourne city, and Anna had never been
there before.

They were seated the instant that Lane gave her name for the reservation. Wine was brought over before Anna could
even blink.

“Fast service.” Anna eyed Lane over her wine glass as she took
a sip.

“My father knows the owner; they’re old friends from
the States.”

“You’re from the States? How did I not know this? Where’s
your accent?”

“Oh, God, I moved when I was ten and worked really, really hard to lose it. The accent’s not
loved here.”

“I think it would be cute. So, why such a
big move?”

“My mother’s family is Australian, and she moved to the US after meeting my father when they were both backpacking. Her father passed away, and they decided to move here to be closer to her family, especially
my grandmother.”

“Wow. How was that
for you?”

“I was excited, Australia was very exotic.” Anna made a face and Lane shrugged. “No, really, it is, especially in the US. It was a huge
adjustment, though.”

“I bet. And your parents, or your dad, never wanted to
go back?”

Lane ran her fingertip over the pattern on the tablecloth. “He thought about it. But it just, I don’t know, became home. And now, I would never want to leave, anyway. But it was my mum who wanted to go back
the most.”

“That’s surprising. Do you mind me
asking why?”

Lane shook her head. “Her family never liked that she married a black man, especially because she moved to the other side of the world for him. Her mother could still be difficult at first, but she got over it, and now it’s
mostly fine.”

Anna’s eyes were huge. “That must have been really hard for
your dad.”

“He was actually okay about it. My mum got really angry. But that drama’s over, and now everyone is a mostly happy family. Except at Christmas, but
that’s normal.”

“That’s
for sure.”

Lane gave a smile and dropped her eyes back to the menu briefly. “So, what looks good
to you?”

“Everything—what do
you recommend?”

Lane glanced down at the menu. “You should try the linguine. It’s amazing.”

“Linguine it is.” Decision made, Anna put the menu down. She was excited to eat anything that wasn’t aimed to please
small children.

“So why were you
in Brisbane?”

“It’s not as interesting as
your story.”

Lane
looked up.

“I’d lived there when I was twelve and loved it, and when we moved to Melbourne, I always kind of wanted to go back. When Jake was posted overseas, I really didn’t feel like I had a lot to stay for, so
I moved.”

“It must have been hard having him
over there.”

“It really was. Though, at first, it gave Sally and me an excuse to drink a lot
of wine.”

“Did the two of you ever really need
an excuse?”

Anna gave a soft smile. “That’s what
Jake said.”

The waiter came over and they ordered. They chatted idly about Lane’s family as they waited, Anna asking more questions about Lane’s sisters. The stories made Anna glad that there were only two children in her care, not three. Watching Lane talk so animatedly, Anna found a question bursting out of her mouth before she could
stop it.

“Lane—why on Earth are you
still single?”

Lane looked up sharply from her glass of water,
amused. “What?”

Grimacing, Anna tried to reword her question. “Uh, I mean, how—never mind, I can’t fix that. You’re, you know—funny, understanding, gorgeous. How are
you single?”

She added a charming grin to try and make the question
less strange.

Lane gave an awkward shrug, smiling slightly at the compliments. “I don’t know—I guess I had a bad
break up.”

Nodding, Anna pulled a piece of bread apart on her plate.
“Crazy ex?”

Eyes dropping down to watch Anna’s hand, Lane smiled tightly. “That’s one way to say it. It was a bad start and a bad ending. I guess I was just…avoiding dating for a while
after that.”

Anna wasn’t sure how to ask for more details when it seemed obvious Lane didn’t want to talk about
it. “What—”

The waiter appeared and placed their food in front of them, steam rising from the plates. At the interruption, Lane seemed to relax, and Anna decided to let it go.
For now.

She stared at the linguini in front of her, inhaling the aroma of cream sauce. “This looks amazing.” The first bite brought a moan to her lips as the rich flavour spread over her tongue. She looked up to see Lane watching her, eyes wide and fork paused partway to her
mouth. “What?”

A blush spread over her cheeks. “Nothing—you, just, um—you’re very vocally appreciative of
that linguini.”

It was Anna’s turn to blush. “Well, it’s good.” Desperate to change the subject from her embarrassing noises she said, “I’m glad we skipped appetizers. I really want to have
dessert here.”

“Yeah, they serve some of the best food
in Melbourne.”

“So your mum’s family wasn’t okay with the black thing, but they’re fully accepting of the
lesbian thing?”

“Yeah, go figure. I think they thought it was a phase and just figured I’d settle down with a man.” She
winked. “Oops.”

Anna gave a delighted laugh.
“Oops, indeed.”

“Your family had no issues
with it?”

“I was lucky. My dad struggled, I think. We just didn’t talk about
it, really.”

“And now?”

“Now, fine. He never talked about emotional
things, anyway.”

“See, my dad was always the one who opened discussion. The dinner table was a bombardment of questions
and conversation.”

“He
sounds fun.”

“Oh, he is. My mum is constantly exasperated
with him.”

“How did he cope with
three girls?”

“He loved it—my mum struggled more
I think.”

Anna winced. “I’m not surprised—it must have been fun when you
were teenagers.”

“It
was loud.”

With a contented sigh, Anna put the last piece of pasta in her mouth. “That was
so good.”

Lane nodded. “Just wait until you taste their chocolate torte. Your continuous use of the word ‘good’ will look pathetic—divine doesn’t even begin to
describe it.”

“You’re leading me to the
dark side.”

“You bet.” Lane’s
eyes sparkled.

The waiter came over and took their plates as well as their
dessert orders.

Anna glanced down at her watch. “I wonder how Kym’s
holding up.”

“She looked pretty comfortable when
we left.”

“I’ll have to invite her over more. She did seem
really content.”

Lane smirked. “You can send a text to check up on them, Anna. I
don’t mind.”

“What? I—” Anna gave up and started fishing around in her bag for her phone. “That obvious,
am I?”

“Completely.”

As her fingers swiped over the phone, Anna
laughed aloud.

“What’s
so funny?”

Without answering, Anna held the phone up to show the selfie of Kym and Ella, both poking their tongues out. “This was sent five minutes ago. Clearly, Kym knew I’d want
an update.”

Amusement playing over her features, Lane winked. “Clearly. Is it just me, or does Kym have more ice-cream on her face
than Ella?”

“Definitely not
just you.”

“Speaking of dessert…” Lane’s face had
lit up.

The waiter placed one plate of dark temptation in front of them. Anna’s mouth watered. “This
is evil.”