Heartbeats in Moonlight

Chapter 74

After they arrived at Picton, Jack picked up their hire car and they set off for Christchurch. Again, Jack and Amelia deliberately drew attention to them, but David and Ella kept very quiet. That was not the plan. David and Ella were meant to help with this charade, but they kept their distance in public.

David volunteered to drive the first segment and Ella promptly got into the back of the car, leaving Amelia to join her in the back. Jack and Amelia knew something wasn't right between David and Ella, but they thought it would be better to leave it to David and Ella to sort it. They stopped half way to Christchurch to have morning tea, and Jack took over the driving. The closer they got to Christchurch, Ella got more anxious. Because, Jack suggested that he and Amelia could drop off the car, and David and Ella could check into the hotel.  

Soon after midday, Jack dropped David and Ella at the hotel, and Jack and Amelia drove off, to return the hire car.

Jack watched his rear mirror to check on the road before he joined the traffic, and as a result he saw David's and Ella's body language.

"Fuck" Jack muttered as he watched David reach for the bags, including the one that Ella originally had picked up.

"What?" Amelia knew that Jack only usually swore when he was upset.

"David and Ella." Jack grumbled. "I hoped this time out, without us, would give David a chance to fix, whatever-that-something that happened on the ferry deck." Jack glanced at Amelia.

She nodded. "Good idea." She sighed. " When then came back into the lounge, I was certain that something had happened out there. She was just a bit jittery. I thought maybe this situation, you know with Nic, well, that Ella was anxious about Nic and she was worried about pulling off this charade. But when she came into the lounge, she was definitely jittery, but difficult to see if that was good or bad! "

"I'd say, bad! I saw their body language on the ferry, and their body language just now, was even worse."

"Oh dear." Amelia tried to look at her side mirror to see if she could see Ella and David, but by that time, the car was already immersed in the traffic. "I just want them to talk, properly," Amelia sighed. "And without any audience. It might give Ella a chance to sort out this, with David."

"I know." He reached over the hand brake and patted Amelia's thigh.

David and Ella stood at the kerbside, with their luggage and Jack and Amelia's bags. Ella automatically reached for Amelia's bags and David reached for it at the same time.

"I'll get it." David said.

"I am sure I manage." Ella muttered.

But thankfully, before they had an argument at the front of the hotel, the concierge arranged for their bags to be collected by the hotel's porter from the verge. David and Ella followed the hotel porter, who had placed the four bags on a trolley. David registered at the hotel, for all four, collected a key for one suite with a connecting door to another suite, for Jack and Amelia.

On the way up to their suite, Jack phone to say they were just going to a shop in Christchurch, that Jack was interested in buying, before they dropped off the hire car. It was a new plan, actually a plot that Amelia and Jack came up with to give David and Ella more time alone.

David said with cynicism, "Apparently, Jack wanted to see a place he was interested in buying."

"Oh?" Ella raised a brow. David rolled his eyes, and Ella understood the message. "I see. They are leaving us with time. I guess they figured out we hadn't resolved our issues!"

"Yeah. Something like that." David opened the door to the suite and saw that their bags were already in their suite. He looked around. The suite had one bedroom. "I'll take the couch." He said.