Sally sat back in her chair, pleasantly full and with a beer in hand. Andy had taken over cleaning of the BBQ and Chris joined her, dropping a kiss on her forehead before sitting next to her.

"You look relaxed." He told her, stealing her beer as she swatted at him.

"I am," She told him once she'd regained it, watching Chloe torment Kate. The poor woman looked a little wild around the eyes but she was a big girl who could take care of herself and Sally was comfortable. She widened her gaze and caught Becca and Leo sitting together at the edge of the gathering, Leo pontificating about something and Becca leaning in.

Sally didn't have anything personally against Leo. It was just that as the Swain's wife, she was all too aware of the rules and repercussions around fraternisation.

Also, he was an idiot of a man who led Becca into more problems than he solved.

"She is one too many drinks or a bad day away from fucking that man," Sally commented. Chris glanced over at her, confused until she jerked her head at the two of them. He frowned for a moment and then shook his head at her.

"Bomber and 2Dads? She's more likely to tip him overboard."

Sally glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, aware of how stubborn he could be when he thought he was right.

"I know what a poor decision in the making looks like." Chris made a small sound of upset and she patted him on the hand. "Not you, husband."

She liked Becca and she didn't want to see her damage her career for a fuck that wasn't going to last.

Chris reached for her beer again and she relinquished it to him, ready to guilt him into a replacement once he inevitably finished it.

It was only a few minutes later that Leo looked down at his phone and made a quick and unsubtle exit, Becca rolling her eyes at him as he went.

That at least was a hopeful sign.

Sally glanced around the rest of the party, the danger having passed, at least for now.

Chris draped his arm around her shoulder and she leant into his side, feeling his chest move against her.

"See," He said out of the blue, a few minutes later as she had begun to doze. "Now 2Dads is nowhere to be seen and she's chatting to Buffer."

Sally refocused her eyes, amazed how a man who was so observant could also be so willingly blind.

She looked for a moment and then sat up straighter. If before she'd been watching a woman hurtling towards a bad decision now she was looking at pining.

Pete had taken Leo's abandoned seat and was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he talked, his eyes barely leaving her.

And she wasn't leaning away.

Sally saw her opportunity as the party began to wind down and Andy and Chris started lugging the BBQ back into the shed. Pete had stood up as they moved towards it but was now hovering uselessly as the two of them bitched at each other, Becca getting out of her own chair to open the shed door for them.

"Hey Pete," Sally called at him and then suppressed a smile as he jerked away from watching them (watching Becca). "Can I get a hand with the esky?"

Pete trotted over, picking up the other end of the esky with an ease that she envied.

"Did you have a good afternoon?" She asked as they crab-walked over to the grass and set the esky down.

"Yeah," He grinned at her. "Good food and good company."

"Hmm," She hummed, bending down to pull out the bung and release the water. "Looked like you were having a great time chatting with Becca." She glanced up, catching the startled look on his face. Gotcha.

"What's stopping you asking her out now that you're off the ship?" She straightened up, meeting his eyes, deciding on the blunt approach. He tried to bluster but she just looked at him until he subsided, his shoulders slumping a little.

"She's 23." He said with a grimace.

"And you're 29." She shrugged. "You're both adults."

"She deser…"

"If you say she deserves better." She told him. "I'm going to wait until you're not looking and shove ice down your back."

He laughed, startled and she could feel his mood change.

"What's the worst that happens if you ask? She says no?"

He gave her a long-suffering look. "Old married people forget how terrifying that is."

Sally sighed, frustrated and decided to pull out her trump card.

"You should ask her out before someone else does." She eyed him pointedly.

Pete stared at her, the realisation slowly dawning on him.

"2Dads?" He replied, his disgust evident. "He's still on the Hammersley."

Sally shrugged, internally smirking. "I don't think that'd stop him."

She tipped the esky up a little to get the last of the water out and then slipped the bung back in. He picked it up for her automatically, his face thoughtful.

"Thanks, Pete," She told him as he put it back down against the house. "You should do it, you'd be a good match."

He murmured a response to her but his focus was on Bomber, now leaning against the shed, not helping Chris and Andy carry the last of the chairs inside.

"What are you smiling about?" Chris asked her, draping his arm around her waist, his other arm holding a sleeping Chloe to his chest.

"Oh, not much." She replied, watching Buffer walking out of the backyard, Becca next to him.

"Do you still think she'd going to sleep with 2Dads?" His voice was a little mocking and she would have elbowed him in the ribs if he wasn't holding their child. Instead, she smirked, waving goodbye to Pete with a pointed nod.

"I don't think so, she might be a bit too distracted for that."