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Seth looked more than OK, of course, in black swimming trunks and with a towel slung around his magnificent shoulders.
It was hard to stop stealing glances at his bare chest and his deeply bronzed, fabulous physique.
‘Well, let’s have a splash, shall we, Bella?’
The little girl loved the water, but she couldn’t swim, so she needed constant help and supervision and Amy was grateful that she was kept busy. It helped to ignore Seth while he swam up and down the pool with smooth, powerful strokes.
After a bit, he joined them. ‘Your turn,’ he told Amy, sending her a grin that made his teeth flash white against his tan. ‘I’ll look after Bella, while you have a swim.’
It was unsettling to hand Bella over, almost as if it was a foretaste of the future. Amy struggled with her reluctance. ‘You need to watch her like a hawk,’ she told Seth. ‘She thinks she can swim.’
‘I’ll be careful.’
She had no choice but to trust him. ‘She’s not scared of the water, and she doesn’t mind putting her face under.’
Bella was so excited and wet and wriggly that the handover was precarious. Amy almost dropped the little girl when she felt Seth’s bare leg brush against hers and she fumbled again when their hands touched and they bumped elbows.
It was bittersweet relief to leave them at last and to swim away in a careful breaststroke to the deep end of the pool. As she swam she could hear Bella’s delighted squeals and laughter.
When she reached the other end, she turned and looked back and saw them together—father and daughter, looking so alike with their dark wet hair, sleek against their skulls—and she felt another tremor of fear deep inside.
Was she being silly, or was she really in danger of losing Bella? Would Seth demand that his daughter live with him?
The thought brought a hot swirl of panic. She’d been so sure she was doing the right thing, that bringing Bella here was in line with Rachel’s intentions.
But now she’d met Seth and seen his beautiful home she couldn’t help wondering why Rachel had objected to living here. She wondered if there was a deeper reason behind Rachel’s avoidance of this meeting with Seth. And was there also an equally good reason why she’d named Amy, and not Seth, as Bella’s guardian?
Amy was sure she was entitled to the role. She adored Bella, had been involved in her life since her birth, had actually been present at her birth.
She would never forget that incredible, joyous morning. Now, the possibility that she might lose Bella made her want to weep.
She dived under the water to wash away the possibility of tears. She had to be strong, to remember that she’d come here for this—to allow Bella and her father to meet—and she was pleased they were getting on so well. He’d accepted that Amy was Bella’s guardian and she had to have faith in her decisions and in her instincts that told her Seth Reardon could be trusted.
Even so, the few days that she would spend here suddenly felt like a dangerously long stretch of time.
‘Everything’s so different and exotic here,’ Amy said later, waving her hand to the view of the terraced hillside and the bright blue sea framed by a tangle of rainforest jungle. ‘I find it hard to believe that I’m still in Australia. I feel as if I’ve crossed hemispheres.’
‘In a way you have.’ Seth sent her a slow smile, aware that it was becoming a habit, this smiling at Amy. It was highly likely that, between them, she and Bella had made him smile more times in the past twenty-four hours than he had in the past twelve months.
He said, ‘Weren’t you telling me yesterday that Serenity is as far from Melbourne as London is from Moscow?’
She turned to him, giving him the full benefit of her warm chocolate eyes, and he was very glad he’d suggested that they take this time to sit on the veranda, drinking coffee after lunch, while Bella napped.
‘It must have been quite a culture shock for you to move all the way from Sydney to here,’ she said earnestly. ‘You were only twelve. That’s smack on the edge of adolescence, when everything looms larger than life.’
‘Actually, I think the fact that everything was so different here helped me,’ he said. ‘I was overawed by this place, but I thought it was incredibly exciting, and my uncle kept me busy from first thing in the morning till I fell into bed at night. He turned my life into an adventure. I’m sure I’d have found it much harder to get over my father’s death if I’d stayed in Sydney.’
Surprised that he’d told Amy so much, he reached for his coffee cup and drank deeply.
Her face was soft with sympathy, as if she was picturing how it had been for him. ‘It can’t have been easy though, when you didn’t have a mother.’
From force of habit, Seth brushed her comment aside. He had no intention of explaining about his mother. She was a subject he never talked about. There was no reason to discuss her.
But Amy had hooked her elbow over the arm of her chair and she was leaning towards him, watching him with her complete attention. Two small lines of worry drew her brows low and her brown eyes were rounded with concern, her pink lips parted. Seth found himself wanting to lean closer, too, to kiss those soft, inviting lips, to kiss away that frown.
It would be so easy.
So incredibly satisfying.
And…totally inappropriate. She hadn’t come here for a fling.
All day he’d been struggling to blank out the picture of Amy this morning in her flimsy cotton nightdress. He tried not to think about the soft round outline of her breasts, the smooth skin of her shoulders, the tapering curve of her waist.
But Amy was different from Rachel. Seth knew she hadn’t been planning seduction, and he could have sworn that she hadn’t even noticed when her wrap slipped from her shoulders.
There’d been no flirting in the pool today either. But, heaven help him, he could still see the back view of her as she climbed the pool ladder. World-class legs. Lovely behind. Movements so graceful and feminine he couldn’t help but stare.
Damn it, the very fact that Amy’s sexiness was unintentional, and the knowledge that she wasn’t trying to seduce him, made his desire for her all the stronger.
But he shouldn’t have been checking her out. Just as he shouldn’t be thinking about kissing her now.
He couldn’t afford to start an affair with little Bella’s guardian when he knew that it could never go anywhere. The child needed stability in her life, and he’d learned the hard way that women and his lifestyle didn’t mix. For the past few years, he’d worked hard at keeping his distance from women like Amy—intelligent, warm-hearted, home-and-hearth-loving women.
The marrying kind.
Even so, he knew it would only take the first taste of her tender mouth, the first touch of his lips to her soft, warm skin and he’d be craving more.
He drew in a sharp breath.
Don’t even think about it.
Why was it so hard to remember his past mistakes?
For pity’s sake, man, just answer the woman’s question.
He said, ‘My mother left after my father died.’
‘Left?’ Shock made Amy’s voice tremble. Are you saying she left you?’
Seth shrugged and forced a smile. ‘Ever since I can remember, she’d had her sights set on Hollywood, and without my father to hold her back she was free to go.’
‘But she wasn’t free, Seth. She had you.’ Amy stared at him, with a hand pressed to her throat. Her dark eyes were clouded, as if he’d told her something completely beyond her comprehension. ‘You’d just lost your father. You were only twelve. Why couldn’t she keep you with her?’
It was a question that had eaten at Seth for years. Even now, he could feel the agonising slug of loss that had flattened him, when he’d finally understood what his mother’s choice had meant.
Her longing for fame and glamour had outweighed her sense of responsibility.
Bottom line, she hadn’t loved him enough.
Regretting that he’d started this line of talk, he sent Amy another shrugging smile. ‘I was better off up here with my uncle.’
‘I can’t believe that.’
‘I didn’t believe it at first, but with the benefit of hindsight I know it was best.’
Amy looked as if she couldn’t possibly agree.
‘Think about it,’ Seth told her. ‘What twelve-year-old boy would choose to live in a low-rent flat in a huge metropolis like Los Angeles, when he could be here, learning to ride horses, to raise cattle, to fish and to skin-dive, to explore deserted islands, and to paddle a kayak?’
‘I guess,’ she said uncertainly.
‘I owe my uncle a great deal.’
As if she needed time to think about this, she picked up the coffee pot. ‘Would you like a refill?’
‘Thanks.’ He held out his cup and he admired the unconscious elegance of her slim wrists and hands as she lifted the teapot and poured.
She was dressed for the tropical heat in a soft blue cotton dress, with loose sleeves that left her smooth, lightly tanned arms free. Her hair, which had dried in natural waves after their swim, was twisted into a loose knot from which wispy curls strayed.
Her citified neatness was beginning to unravel and Seth found the process utterly fascinating. He wasn’t sure which version of Amy he preferred, but one thing was certain—he was finding it close to impossible to remain detached, an aloof observer.
But he had to keep his distance. In a matter of days she was returning to Melbourne. She was a city girl. End of story.
Amy filled her cup and added milk, then settled down to resume their conversation. ‘So did your mother make it big in Hollywood?’
‘She’s had walk-on parts in daytime soap operas, but that’s about it.’
‘Has she made enough money to live on?’
‘I have no idea, but it doesn’t really matter. She remarried,’ Seth said coldly. ‘Found herself a cashed-up Californian.’
‘Has she ever been here?’
‘Once, when she dropped me off,’ he said, unhappily aware that he’d revealed much more than he’d intended. It was time to put a stop to these personal questions. Years ago, he’d learned to live without his mother and he wasn’t going to admit to a tender-hearted woman like Amy Ross that his only contact with her had been letters on his eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays with generous cheques attached.
He drained his coffee cup and stood. ‘I’m afraid I have business to attend to and I’m sure you’d appreciate time to yourself while Bella’s asleep.’
‘I’d like to take photographs of your grounds, if that’s all right.’
‘Be my guest. But keep to the open areas. Don’t go wandering off into the rainforest, or down the track to the beach.’
Amy frowned. ‘Do you think I’ll get lost?’
‘I’m assuming you’d rather not come face to face with an amethystine python, or a salt-water crocodile.’
The colour drained from her face and he winced. In one breath he’d completely ruined her stay.
‘I’m exaggerating the danger,’ he said more gently. ‘People have been living here for decades quite safely. But I’d rather you didn’t go exploring without me.’
‘Yes,’ she acceded, still looking pale. ‘That might be best.’
‘So promise me for now that you won’t go beyond the garden.’
Amy gave him her word.
Chapter Five (#ulink_a372feda-112c-55f7-a7db-8277ad0f0303)
AS SHE watched Seth stride away, Amy almost changed her mind about setting foot outside the house. The spectre of snakes and crocodiles scared her to death and in a panicky rush she ran back to the bedroom to make sure that Bella was still sleeping safely.
The windows and doors to their room were screened, however, and no creepy-crawlies could find their way in, thank God. Bella was fine.
She knew Seth’s claim was true—plenty of people had lived here and avoided being eaten. Rachel had stayed here for six weeks and she’d never mentioned any special dangers. Then again, Rachel had kept quiet about a lot of things in the north.
Including Seth.
But Amy had already tortured herself enough over that man. All morning, she’d driven herself crazy fretting over his relationship with Rachel, his plans for Bella, and her own giddy pulse rate whenever he was near.
Taking several deep breaths, she swore to put him out of her mind, and she set off, camera in hand, to explore his garden.
Which was lovely. Really lovely.
Again she wondered why Rachel had never mentioned how gorgeous this place was. She’d made so few comments, hadn’t shown any pictures. Nothing. Had she saved it all for her book?
Amy didn’t know the names of many of the tropical plants, but as she walked she recognised hibiscus, orchids and bougainvilleas growing lushly amidst ferns and palms. She loved the showiness and variety of the lavishly hued tropical flowers and leaves.
The butterflies and birds were extra bright and beautiful, too. All living things here were wonderfully vivid. Nature at double strength. As she walked down twisting paths, she felt as if her senses were zapped onto high alert.
She was surrounded by fragrances—the scents of frangipani, of ginger and cardamom, mixed with a pervading smell of damp earth and vegetation. There was a constant peep-peep-peeping sound, which, Seth had already explained, came from tiny tree frogs in the nearby forest.
Here in the tropics there was a sense of life teeming and lush, pushing to the max, and she was aware of an indefinable something that stirred her, a constant pulse-raising excitement and restlessness.
Perhaps that was why her thoughts zeroed straight back to Seth.
She couldn’t help it. He was such a fascinating puzzle.
He’d said he was fine about his mother’s defection, but Amy had been watching him closely, and despite his brave words she’d seen dark pain in his eyes and in the tightening set of his mouth.
Her heart ached for him, but his brave stoicism also frightened her. How could they come to an agreement about Bella’s future when his attitude to mothers and motherhood was almost the polar opposite of hers?
Amy adored her mum and she adored caring for Bella, but if Seth had managed so famously in this remote place without any contact with his mother, he might easily assume that Bella would be fine here, too.
And where, Amy wondered, did that leave her?
It was a relief, on rounding a tall clump of pink ginger, to be distracted by an elderly man wearing a wide-brimmed hat of woven cane and happily hacking at palm fronds with a longhandled machete.
‘Hi,’ Amy called, waving to catch his attention.
In no time, she’d introduced herself and learned that he was Hans, who’d grown up in Indonesia, and had worked as a gardener on Serenity for more than twenty years.
