Within My Reach is a modern f/f retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. The whole book is just $3.99 on all the e-book platforms - why wait? books2read dot com /withinmyreach will take you to your e-book store of choice.

Chapter 2

Anna parked her trusty Toyota beside Meredith's BMW. She went around the back, half-expecting to find the boys dive-bombing into the pool, ringing in the summer with screams of delight. But the pool was calm and empty, the garden silent but for the constant chirping cicadas.

"Anyone home?" Anna poked her head around the ranch slider.

"Is that you, Anna?" Mere groaned more than spoke. She was lying on the window seat, an eye mask pushed up to her forehead, making her blonde hair spike out above her ears. With French-manicured nails, she clutched at a thin woven blanket. Toes to match poked out the end.

Anna picked up a toy truck from the floor, put it on the coffee table and sat on the ottoman. "How are you feeling?"

"My head has not stopped pounding all morning. I've taken everything I can without risking liver failure. And what does Charlie do? Disappears for the day. What if I were having an aneurysm?"

"He took the boys? Isn't he working?"

"Left them with the twins, next door." The twins were Meredith's husband's younger siblings. They had just finished their second year of university, though it seemed just a month since they were pimply, precocious pre-teens.

"Well at least you've had some peace and quiet. Shall I put the jug on?" Anna went to the kitchen without waiting for an answer. "How are the twins?"

"How would I know? They swim in my pool daily, but hardly bother to come into the house. Now that you're here, I'm sure they will." Mere got up from the window seat, found she could traverse the room, and joined Anna at the breakfast bar. "Not that I want them to, especially. Louis talks a mile a minute, and Hannah just winds Oscar up."

"Are they working at Upper Crust for the summer?"

"I've rarely see either of them making pizzas or wiping tables or anything vaguely resembling work, but yes, that's the idea."

"Honey with your tea?"

"Honey has more sugar per teaspoon than straight sugar."

Anna pushed a steaming cup of black tea across the counter toward her sister.

"The organic sweetener is behind the pomegranate infusion," said Mere.

"With Christmas coming, thank goodness you haven't given up all sweets." Anna gave her a sachet and a teaspoon. "My colleague Jess makes all sorts of amazing baking with dates and coconut sugar and I have no idea what else but..."

"What would be the point of cutting out sugar only to load up on carbs?"

"Oh."

"It's a small miracle, what with all the left-over pizza and pasta Charlie brings home from the restaurant, but I've lost a full dress size in only a month."

"Oh."

"You should try it, since you're here. We can be sisters in arms, standing strong against the tide of Italian food." Meredith laughed. "I could have done with some support last night at the Poole's Christmas party!"

"You were well enough to go?"

"I was fine yesterday. Only today I've relapsed."

"Was it a fun night?" Anna wanted to kick herself for reminding Meredith of her illness, just as she seemed to have forgotten all about it.

Mere shrugged in summation of the party. "You do make a good cup of tea, Anna. Couldn't you have come on Monday?"

"I've been flat-out with end-of-year stuff at school. I had my classroom to sort out, not to mention my office—total chaos. And then there was all the packing, and getting the house ready for tenants—oh, speaking of which, I have to go and let the Lafoluas in tomorrow."

Mere, thank heaven, had been in Canada on a school exchange when Frida and Anna were dating. It was all over before Mere returned home. The name Frida Wentworth wouldn't mean anything to Meredith.

Out the corner of her eye, through the window, Anna saw movement; Dominic Romano was dragging the trash cans out to the curb. He waved to her, grinning and nodding toward the restaurant. Anna waved back. "I think that was an invitation to lunch."

Meredith huffed. "He should have come in and invited you properly."

Anna smiled into the last of her tea. "It's fine, Mere. We're family." Or close enough; he was Charlie and the twins' father—Mere's father in law—but the Romanos always made Anna feel like she belonged.

Mere stepped into silver sandals at the back door. "I must warn you, Louis and Hannah are trying to make their mark on the place. Hipster is the word, I believe. Old Mason jars and bare light bulbs, blackboards everywhere, and oh! you won't believe what they've got strung up on the wall."

It was an ancient-looking bicycle, with 'Bottecchia' in bold white lettering on the rusted turquoise frame. Nothing to do with pizza, but it looked great.

A trestle table was pushed up against the exposed brick wall and the kids were perched on chairs, intent on the job at hand. Louis, at twenty, looked like the baby-faced Backstreet Boy. He spun lazily on a low stool and reached over to help his nephew.

Anna snaked through the tables and tickled her nephews' shoulders, eliciting a squeal out of Oscar and a gasp from Cameron. "Look at you boys, all grown up, working at the restaurant."

"Auntie Anna!" Oscar was already standing on his chair and it was the work of a moment to leap into her arms.

Anna caught the wriggling child, securing him on her hip then ruffling Cam's hair. "Hey you, having a good summer so far?"

"We had gelato for morning tea," the boy confessed.

Louis gave Anna a guilty grin. "Maybe don't mention that to Mere."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Anna said and put Oscar safely back on his chair. "Is Hannah around here somewhere?"

"Making pizzas."

"I'll go say hello."

Anna ducked into the kitchen, careful not to get in the way.

Hands full of torn mozzarella, Hannah spotted her. "Hey, hey! Summer vacation is officially on, now Anna's here." Her hair all tucked up in a cap, Hannah still managed to look stunning, bright blue eyes and a million freckles. She had the bold expressions and gestures of her Italian father, but her mother's Celtic coloring.

Speaking of her mother: "Anna!" Marian Romano flicked her tea towel over her shoulder and skipped across to give Anna a hug. "Oh, it's been too long. How are you?"

"Very glad school is finished. How are things here?"

"I'm run off my feet," she said, but she was wearing three-inch wedge heels nonetheless. "Christmas parties and, well, it's summer, who needs an excuse to eat, drink and be merry?"

The place was frantic, and conversation at a minimum, but no one asked about Walter or Max. No one mentioned the letting of Anna's family home, or that she was about to go live on a boat. It was a relief of sorts, to not need to speak of it all, but Anna felt a strong sense of gratitude for Selina, who might be on the far side of the Tasman Sea but cared enough to send daily messages full of sympathy and understanding.

Anna was considering how to answer one such message, that evening, when Louis and Hannah got off work. They stripped off to their swimwear on the lawn, diving like the sleek young things they were into Meredith's pool. Mere's husband Charlie, their older brother by a decade, snatched his iPad out of splash-range.

After a few laps, Louis went to change and get himself a drink.

Hannah leapt backwards into a flip then surfaced to say, "Come on, Anna. You know you want to." She was all melodrama and flirtation, strawberry blonde and who knew if she was ever entirely serious?

Charlie shook his head. "That ain't right."

Hannah's laugh cracked through the garden. "Anna's like my guru. The elder of my tribe."

"Gee, thanks." Anna bit back a laugh.

"Who else am I gonna learn from? This is the straightest family in the world."

"I thought you were bi." Charlie took a long swig of his beer. He was still in his office clothes, just one extra button undone, and bare feet under suit trousers.

"So?"

"Never mind." Charlie had slightly old-fashioned tendencies, wasn't quick to adopt new ideas or embrace change. He was all lined up to run the family restaurant if or when his parents ever retired. He'd studied business for that purpose, and in the meantime got himself a sensible job, and every time he caught a bonus or promotion talked of franchising Upper Crust. But he was more talk than anything. He was too risk-averse to be a natural entrepreneur. And it was so much easier to blow the money on a new tennis racket or camera lens.

Anna turned her attention back to Selina's text.

'Please tell me you haven't been roped into nannying your nephews. I cannot bear the thought of that woman getting a free ride all summer while you work—unpaid at that!'

By that woman she meant Kay, who would be getting a free ride regardless of Anna's situation. Truth be told, Anna would rather be here. Even if her bedroom at Mere's was no bigger than her berth on the boat. Even if she would be woken by the boys at the crack of dawn. Even if every Romano would bend her ear with complaints about other Romanos, pouring out confidences and I wonder if you could have a word with Mere about… oh, a thousand different things.

It had already begun. During a mid-afternoon lull, Marian Romano had brought her espresso over to where Anna had been admiring Louis' choice of new art-prints. "I am glad you've come to stay. That nanny Mere and Charlie had this year—they're better off without her. Such a flirt. I was a little worried she'd string along both Louis and Hannah—which could only end in tears."

While Anna tossed the salad for dinner, Mere had bombarded her with an itemized list of every offense, real or imagined, her mother-in-law had ever committed—most of which had to do with what she fed Cam and Oscar.

Charlie had no sooner poured Anna a Pinot Grigio than he begged her to convince Mere to give up her lifetime habit of hypochondria.

While Charlie was showering and changing out of his tennis gear, Mere asked Anna to make him realize that she was truly much more ill than she ever let on.

Anna typed an answer to Selina, 'You know I love the Romanos, and Christmas with my nephews will be great fun.'

Hannah gave up on swimming alone and flopped down on a sun-lounger near Anna. "I'm so glad you're staying for the summer."

"Oh, it hasn't really been set in stone how long I'll..."

"I know, but a girl can dream."

Cameron appeared at the back door. "I can't sleep, Daddy. My legs hurt."

Charlie jumped up and carried the kid away to bed.

Louis appeared, a can of cider in each hand, and touched one to Hannah's bare stomach. She shrieked.

"Bring your guitar?" Louis sat on the step, leaning back on the railing.

"It's in the car."

"What are you waiting for?"

Anna shrugged. In truth, there wasn't a lot of space in her bedroom. The real guest room was reserved for real guests; Anna got the alcove off the living room, and there was no safe place where the boys wouldn't get to her things.

But it was only for a few days. Maybe a week. Anna was struggling to think beyond tomorrow morning, meeting Adam and Sophie Lafolua at the house.

She was only handing over the key and, if they wanted it, giving a tour. As if it weren't mortifying enough, to be showing tenants through her childhood home, there were so many questions churning in Anna's mind: Had Frida mentioned her? What had she said and when—eight years ago or more recently or never at all? How much did Sophie know? Anna dreaded the answers to every question, but her thoughts would not rest.

Eight years ago…

Anna had got out of the shower to find her room empty. Frida must have gone upstairs. It was the first time Frida had slept over. Usually she went home to Mona's in the small hours, but they had both been tired, and leaving was the last thing either wanted.

Hair still hot from the hair dryer, Anna took the stairs two at a time and found Max and Frida facing off across the breakfast bar.

Max looked insufferably smug. So, about normal.

Anna sidled up to Frida and made the introductions. "Frida, Max. Max, Frida."

Frida turned to Anna, silent. Stony.

"If I'd known you had such interesting friends, Anna," Max said, as if that were a complete sentence.

Anna saw that Frida's look was an accusation. Max didn't realize they were together because Anna hadn't told him. And Frida was taking it the wrong way.

Anna had to do damage control. "Frida and I are," she cocked her head to the side, "together."

His surprise was almost immediately replaced by a skeptical look. "You serious?"

"Yep." Anna looked at Frida, not Max. She was past caring what he thought; Frida was all she cared about.

"Well," Max said.

"Well?" Finally, Frida spoke.

"You let me know when you wanna start having fun." Max's eyebrows jerked on 'fun,' and made it gross.

Frida laughed in his face. And in walked Walter. "Morning, all." He gave Frida a business-like nod. "Walter Elliot," he introduced himself.

"Frida Wentworth." She nailed his tone of voice. She was a brilliant mimic—and Walter didn't even notice.

"Max didn't mention he had a guest," Walter said.

"She's, ah, with me," said Anna.

Walter froze, and then forced a smile. "Good-oh. Bank this morning, Max."

They left in a bustle of self-importance, giving Frida nothing but sly glances and Anna not even that.

"Sorry," Anna said, the moment they were left alone.

"You are out, right?"

Anna nodded. "I told them months ago. I'm not sure they actually believed me. I don't exactly walk around waving a flag."

Frida shook her head.

"You saw how Max was. I don't tell him about anything that's important to me. And I hardly see Dad."

"My sister Sophie is in Indonesia and even she knows I'm in love."

Frida hadn't mentioned love before. Neither of them had. Anna snatched up Frida's hand and reeled her in.

Frida's scowl wavered.

"Frida."

"Hm."

"Maybe I am a coward, or too shy, or just… private. But I do," she tilted her face to match the angle of Frida's, "love you. Completely. Don't doubt it for a second."

Frida smiled. "Well, good."

"Good?"

"Same."

"Yeah?"

"Hm." Frida touched her forehead to Anna's. "You have to go, don't you."

"Yeah, school. So do you."

Frida shrugged. "Can I just take photos of you all day, call it practice?"

Anna laughed and pushed her away.

Frida pulled her back in. "I love you."

"Well I'd better call in sick, then," said Anna.

Charlie was out coaching tennis. He'd be gone all morning. Mere was dressed, made-up and restless to do something, but the boys were still in their pajamas. They'd stopped paying attention to Jake and the Neverland Pirates and started playing with their Lego—hadn't even complained when Anna switched the TV over to Frozen Planet.

Stretched out on the sofa, Anna was fully in holiday mode: t-shirt and shorts, bare feet, and she'd even painted her toenails—a metallic purple she'd bought at the pharmacy up the street. She was reading a book—an early Christmas present to herself from Time Out Bookstore. Forbidden love in 12th Century France was almost compelling enough to put Sophie and Adam Lafolua out of her head.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready? You don't want to keep Adam waiting," said Mere.

Anna checked the time on her phone. "I have an hour and a half."

"You're not dressed yet."

Anna gave her sister a look.

"Best be early, just in case. Open some windows and—oh, you should put together a hamper of essentials." Mere looked at her shiny, over-large watch. "You probably still have time. Coffee and chocolates, a nice box of crackers—those oat cakes with the walnuts."

"I already did. I left them in the pantry. I'll pick up milk on the way—anything more would be over-the-top." The last thing Anna wanted was to arrive early and sit there waiting, worrying, wondering what Sophie knew of her, and if Frida were coming to stay. And there was the slim chance that Frida would in fact show up with her sister. Instagram had yet to reveal where exactly in New Zealand Frida was.

Mere was playing with her keys, sitting perched on a bar stool.

"Do you want to come with?" Anna teased.

"To meet Dad's tenants?"

Anna shrugged.

"Well, you know I love the industry—real estate, I mean. And I've never met Adam Lafolua. I know the house, and I am more dressed for it." Mere could certainly pass for a real estate agent in what she was wearing.

"I don't mind." Anna tried not to sound too keen on the idea, but on the inside she was flooded with relief.

"In a way I'm the most appropriate person to do it." Mere slid off the bar stool. "Mommy's going out, boys."

"Bye." Cam didn't look up from his helicopter-in-progress.

Oscar jumped up to say goodbye, dropped his truck and then saw it was broken and burst into tears.

Anna scrambled off the sofa and collected up the pieces. "I'll fix it."

Mere thumbed the tears from his cheeks. "Auntie Anna has it all under control. Right, I have to go."

"They won't be there till eleven."

"I want to air the house and check the pH balance in the pool. If you're going to do something, do it properly, I say." Meredith breezed out.

Anna was a little annoyed, but that was easily outweighed by the sense of whew! At a stroke, Anna's day was transformed into this wonderfully empty, light-weight thing.

One-and-a-half episodes of Frozen Planet and a whole fleet of Lego trucks later, Anna took the boys down to watch their dad's tennis game. They visited the playground by the courts then went home for lunch. Mere returned in time to disapprove of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and had a thousand things to say about the Lafoluas:

He was so friendly, so funny, so complimentary about the house.

She was so interested in the neighborhood and asked after everyone in the family.

He was so appreciative, truly grateful for the honor of living there.

She was 'a tad' overweight, but perfectly tanned and gave that impression of effortless style—although Mere suspected a great effort was required.

Anna twisted the bread bag closed.

"And his manners!" Mere gave an almost dreamy sigh. "I'll admit, I don't know many Polynesians."

"What were you expecting?" Anna got up to put away the cheese and chutney.

"I didn't know what to expect. But they're very keen to try Upper Crust. I wouldn't be surprised if they came for dinner tonight. You hadn't left them anything they could make a meal out of."

"No, but..."

"It was the courteous thing to do, point them to a few good local restaurants. Charles is very keen to meet Adam, so we might have dinner over there as well."

So much for avoiding meeting them.

"There's a sister too. Staying with them, I mean. She didn't say much, just stood on the balcony looking out at the view. It's a great view and all, but a bit rude." Frida was there!? Frida was there.

Anna was, all of a sudden, out of breath. Mere's commentary rose and fell, but Anna didn't distinguish another word. Frida was here.

And Anna would have been there, would have handed over the keys, and pointed out which switch was the sensor light, and demonstrated the trick with the pool cover. If it weren't for Mere making a fuss and Anna making a joke... if Anna had done what she'd planned to do she would have seen Frida. Today. With her own eyes.

Anna had to wonder what Frida thought of Mere? Had to borrow a little of the mortification Mere was too oblivious to register. But that feeling soon gave way to another: Frida was staying at the house. Perhaps she hadn't given Mere a second thought—quite understandable.

Frida hardly needed a tour. She'd spent so much time there. Once upon a time.