16
When Jasmine walked onto the veranda to join the Hyde-Underwoods for their customary sundowners, Howard Baxter jumped to his feet to greet her. Jasmine felt a rush of nerves at being in his company again and was grateful to Bintang that she’d had forewarning of his presence. But why hadn’t Howard been in touch with her? Navigating adult relationships was so hard. And Jasmine hadn’t a clue how to read the signals where Howard was concerned.
‘What a piece of luck that I ran into Reggie,’ Howard said to her. ‘I’m playing in a cricket match tomorrow and we bumped into each other as we came off the ferry.’
‘I was over in Butterworth to meet with suppliers.’ Reggie sounded almost apologetic. ‘When I saw the awful digs the poor chap was planning to stay in tonight, I had to persuade him to
