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Seth pulled out a chair for Amy and, to her dismay, the old-fashioned gesture set her heart speeding again.
She kept her gaze lowered as he sat opposite her and she told herself again to remember that she was the guardian of Bella’s future. That was her role here.
It was time to forget the handholding, the suntan, and the heavenly blue eyes. Seth was her host and she was his guest. No more, no less.
She took a deep breath and smelled their fragrant meal and the scent of frangipani. In the glow of the candlelight, Seth’s shirt gleamed whitely and his throat was a dark shadow above the V of his open collar. She concentrated on safer things—the smooth gleam of silver cutlery, the crisp white napkins and the fine matchstick placemats dyed a deep watermelon pink.
Helping herself to fluffy spoonfuls of the aromatic rice and curry, she made a stab at polite conversation. ‘I have to keep reminding myself that this is a cattle station,’ she said. ‘I feel as if I’m on holidays at a beautiful resort.’
‘Well, this should be a holiday for you. I’m sure you deserve a break,’ Seth said with a smile. ‘But tomorrow I’ll take you and Bella to see the rest of Serenity. You’ll soon see there are plenty of cattle.’
‘How many?’
‘At the moment we have around seven thousand.’
Amy’s eyebrows lifted. ‘More than a few, then.’ Between mouthfuls, she added, ‘This food is sensational.’
‘Ming’s outdone himself tonight.’
Seth looked and sounded amused, which confused her.
‘Do you dine out here alone, when you don’t have guests?’
He shook his head. ‘Hans and Ming often join me here. Sometimes I eat in the kitchen, or over with the stockmen. It varies.’
‘I wish I’d known that. I would have been more than happy for Hans and Ming to have joined us tonight.’
‘What? And spoil their fun?’
Amy frowned.
‘Those guys see so few women,’ Seth explained, gesturing to the candle and the bowl of flowers. ‘Hans adores his garden, and Ming loves his cooking, and they live for the chance to do this kind of thing.’
‘But they probably think—’
‘Relax. I’ve explained our situation to them.’
‘What did you tell them?’
‘That you’re a friend of Rachel’s. That you and Bella are in the north on business. Just passing through.’
Amy nodded, reassured. She wondered if Seth would tell the others about Bella’s relationship to him once she was gone.
As she thought about their departure in a few days’ time, she realised, with a start, how very far away Melbourne felt. Already, it was almost as if she’d lived there in another lifetime.
She looked out into the moonlit garden, to the dark wall of trees beyond, and the twinkling stars peeping above the forest canopy. This alternative reality had already wrapped itself around her senses. Her heart.
‘I love these open verandas,’ she said. ‘They’re such a good idea. Like living in the garden.’
‘The best way to live in the tropics.’
‘But what happens in bad weather? Don’t you have cyclones here?’
‘We have built-in storm shutters that roll down. This whole area can be made completely secure.’
‘That’s clever. Who designed that? Your uncle?’
Seth nodded.
‘Was there a woman involved? It’s all so—so lovely.’
‘No woman. My uncle had a flair for design. He liked to be surrounded by beautiful things.’
A shadow crossed Seth’s face like a cloud over the moon.
Ever so casually, Amy asked, ‘Did Rachel stay here in this house when she was working here?’
Seth blinked and the cloud vanished. His eyes were suddenly bright and alert with more than a hint of wariness. ‘No, Rachel stayed over in the barracks with the other staff.’
‘I see.’ Amy wasn’t sure what to make of that information and she paid careful attention to her food.
‘She also spent some time on one of the islands,’ Seth said.
‘With you?’ Oh, good grief. Amy couldn’t believe she’d asked such a pointed question, but now that it was out she couldn’t take it back.
Seth, however, dodged her question with the practised skill of a politician. ‘She liked to take the dinghy across to Turtle Island on her days off,’ he said. ‘She liked the view to the west, looking back to the mainland, especially at sunset.’
‘I suppose that’s why she called her book Northern Sunsets.’
He lowered his gaze. ‘I dare say.’
She could all too easily imagine Rachel with this highly desirable man, alone on a tropical island, watching the sunset, but the thought made her ridiculously miserable and her throat prickled painfully as she tried to swallow.
‘Let’s not talk about Rachel.’ Seth was watching her carefully. ‘I’m sure the memories must be upsetting for you.’
She nodded.
‘I’d like to hear all about you.’
‘Me?’ Her head shot up and she stared at him. ‘Why?’
As if the answer was obvious, he shrugged. ‘You’re Bella’s guardian.’
‘Oh, right. Yes, of course.’ Why else would Seth be interested in her? He had every right to check out his daughter’s protector.
Tamping down the tiniest spurt of disappointment, Amy wondered where she should start.
‘I know you work in marketing,’ Seth prompted. ‘Does that create difficulties for you with childcare?’
‘I do some of my work from home,’ she said defensively. ‘But not all. Do you have a problem with day care?’
His eyes widened. ‘I know very little about it. If you’re single, I guess you don’t have an option.’
‘That’s right. I don’t have an option, but it’s not a problem. There’s a wonderful day-care centre quite near me, and I have a big, extended family so I have a great back-up team.’
‘Is your family in Melbourne?’
She nodded. ‘I have two older brothers, both married with kids. And my parents, of course. Aunts, uncles. We have tons of family gatherings—Christmas, birthdays, Easter, Mother’s Day. You name it, we celebrate. Any excuse for a Ross family get-together.’
‘Sounds like fun,’ Seth said, but a tight note had crept into his voice.
Sensitive to his distinct lack of family, Amy took her enthusiasm down a notch. ‘Most of our gatherings are fun. But big families can be claustrophobic at times.’
‘How does your family feel about Bella?’
Was this a trick question? ‘They adore her, of course.’
‘Of course.’ Seth’s face was grim as he speared a piece of fish with his fork. ‘And what about your boyfriend?’
Amy tried to keep her tone casual. ‘What boyfriend?’
Seth’s gaze locked with hers. ‘There’s got to be a boyfriend. A girl like you must have a host of admirers.’
She almost choked. ‘I don’t have anyone at the moment. There was someone, but it—it didn’t work out.’
It was weird how quickly Dominic had faded from her thoughts. Did it mean she was shallow that, after two months of living with Bella, she rarely thought about him? Now, in Seth’s company, she didn’t want to think about Dominic at all.
In the glow of the flickering candle, Seth’s eyes had turned such a deep blue she feared she might drown in them.
‘If there’s no boyfriend,’ he said softly, ‘why are you blushing?’
Because of the way you’re looking at me.
‘Amy?’
She chewed nervously at her lower lip, unwilling to admit to Bella’s father the exact reason that had prompted Dominic’s departure. If he knew Bella was involved he might try to persuade her to leave his daughter here.
‘Did this man break your heart?’
‘Is that any of your business?’
‘I thought we were having an adult conversation.’
‘Yes, we are.’ She let out an impatient huff.
‘Did he?’
‘Break my heart? No. I—I don’t think so.’
‘You don’t think so?’ Seth skewered her with a searching, no-holds-barred gaze. ‘That isn’t possible. If your heart was broken you’d know about it.’
‘You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.’
He shrugged, but didn’t answer, and she realised with a sharp pang that it was true. Seth had been hurt badly and he still carried the scars.
With her eyes on the bowl of floating flowers, she forced herself to ask, ‘Was it Rachel? Did she break your heart?’
‘No, not Rachel. It was years ago—long before she came here.’
Puzzled, Amy looked up, but he smiled at her with a surprisingly gentle look that sent her pulse spiralling helplessly. At the same moment she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned to see Bella in her green and white pyjamas, coming towards them across the veranda.
‘Baby.’ Amy jumped to her feet. ‘What are you doing out here?’
‘I waked up.’
Hurrying to the little girl, Amy scooped her up quickly and hugged her close. She smelled warm and sleepy, and she was rubbing at her eyes with one fist while she clutched her pink pig with the other.
‘You didn’t kiss me goodnight,’ Bella said with a hint of bossiness.
Aware that Seth was watching them, Amy tried to be stern. ‘But you sent me to find Seth. You wanted him to kiss you.’
‘Want you, too,’ Bella said, sticking out her bottom lip stubbornly.
‘If I take you back to bed now and give you a kiss, you must promise to go straight back to sleep.’
‘Sef, too.’
‘But you’ve already had a goodnight kiss from Seth.’
Bella looked mutinous ‘Sef, too.’
Amy sent a helpless glance back to Seth, and saw that he was already on his feet.
‘It’s OK,’ he said, coming towards them with a slow, easy smile. ‘I can give Bella two kisses in one night.’
‘Well, yes. Of course.’ Amy hoped she didn’t sound flustered.
He followed her to the bedroom, and she was far too aware of his presence as she turned on the lamp, and rearranged Bella’s toys around her pillow, then helped the little girl into bed and retucked the sheets.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she gave Bella’s soft cheek a kiss. ‘Night, night.’ Gave her another hug. ‘Don’t let the bed bugs bite.’
She stood and shuffled in the narrow space between the twin beds to make room for Seth, who suddenly seemed enormously tall and broad shouldered. And excessively male.
Bella’s eyes shone as he perched on the bed beside her and she grinned with delight as he kissed her.
‘Goodnight, possum.’ Gently, he tucked a strand of hair from her face. ‘Now close your eyes.’
Bella obeyed.
