I Think I Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 3) by Iris Blobel Page A

because you’d been homesick like a little puppy.”
    Markus didn’t reply. There wasn’t anything he could say, because his friend was right. He’d made big bucks during the few years he’d played in England, and except the few months his sister had lived with him, he’d missed home. Missed his family and his friends.
    They ate in silence for a long moment when he finally asked, “So, you and Tamara?”
    Oliver snorted. “You’re in denial.”
    Ignoring his friend, Markus sipped at his coffee before he said, “Where did the sudden change of heart come from?”
    “She’s had her reasons.”
    “Congratulations, mate. Really happy for you.”
    “Thanks.”
    Markus sighed.
    Tamara had moved to Melbourne the previous year for a brief period after losing her husband during a burglary gone wrong. Oliver had fallen for her within a brief period, but at the time, she hadn’t been ready for another relationship, and it’d crushed his friend for weeks. It was good to see him happy, albeit Markus was somewhat envious. Possibly the idea that he was the last one still single didn’t sit with him very well. Why, he didn’t know. But seeing both his friends so happy in a relationship, he wondered whether it’d be something he longed for as well—deep inside, hidden away from him.
    “Wanna tell me how that happened within thirty-six hours?” Markus asked after a while.
    “Nope.”
    He stared at Oliver.
    His friend shrugged. “Hey, a gentleman never tells.”
    Markus laughed. “Gentleman, my ass.”
    Oliver’s phone buzzed and after a brief conversation, he said, “Gotta go.” He stood and hit Markus lightly on the upper arm with his fist. “Good luck. And listen to your sister.”
    Markus finished his breakfast before heading back home again, with Sarah constantly on his mind.
     
    ***
     
    After her mother had told her about Rachel’s disappearance, she checked the bottle of wine and called a taxi to drive her over to her mum’s.
    The taxi driver was quiet, realising she wasn’t interested in any chitchat. Silence overtook the car after he asked for the address and started the money meter and they drove along the familiar roads. He slowed down as he came closer, passing the old community centre which used to be white, but had faded into a dirty shade of grey.
    The memory of her sister’s disappearance a few years earlier came back to her. It was something that always lingered in the back of her mind.
    Rachel was a couple of years older than Sarah. Both looked the same and as teenagers had often been thought to be twins. Yet, they couldn’t be any more different. Rachel had always been drawn to trouble like a moth to the light. The relationship between Rachel and her mother had never been good especially since Sarah’s father had left. Rachel had always blamed her mother for him leaving. That was when she started her rebellious phase or it might possibly have been the trigger. Sarah wasn’t sure.
    Cursed with bad reports at school, although Sarah was still convinced it was more lack of trying than intelligence, Rachel had built a wall around herself. Nobody was able to tear it down. Until a few years ago, when she’d become more approachable and helped out in the house. The fact that she’d dressed in very old-fashioned clothes should’ve given Sarah and her mother a clue that something hadn’t been right. But who could’ve blamed them? They were enjoying the happy atmosphere around the house too much to notice or want to notice. A few weeks later, Rachel had been gone.
    Sarah paid for the drive, got out of the taxi, and headed towards the house. Mixed emotions rushed through her as well as apprehension about what to expect. Her relationship with her mother had always been a combination of love and hate. Now in her late twenties, Sarah had come to realise it hadn’t been easy for her mother after her husband had left her with two small children, but even with her best attempts, they’d never become