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‘Can I show you my garden?’ he asked in response to her eager compliments, and when she assured him she’d love that he grinned so widely his face disappeared into a mass of brown wrinkles.
For the next half-hour, Amy was highly entertained and educated, and she tried, once again, to put Seth Reardon and his potential threats to her happiness firmly out of her mind.
Seth didn’t return to the homestead until it was close to dusk. By then, the sky had turned smoky aqua and pink and the garden was filled with purple shadows. Amy was about to take Bella inside for her bath when she saw Seth coming across the lawn to the house.
There was something tired about his shoulders that she hadn’t noticed before, but his smile was bright when Bella ran to greet him with her usual bouncing enthusiasm.
He scooped her up in his arms and swung her so high that the little girl squealed, then begged for more.
Seth laughed. ‘That’s enough for now.’ He shot Amy a bright-eyed glance. ‘Come with me and I’ll show you magic fireflies.’
‘Fireflies?’ Amy and Bella chorused together.
He nodded towards the darkening forest. ‘Over here. Come on, I’ll show you.’
They went down a flight of stone steps to a lower terrace, crossed the lawn to a dark line of trees, and Amy saw a narrow track leading away into the shadowy depths of the forest. Seth, who was holding Bella with one arm, suddenly reached for Amy’s hand.
Heat raced over her skin like a fire out of control.
‘Stay with me,’ he said quietly and for a giddy, heart-stumbling moment, she fancied he was asking her to…stay here…
To live with him at Serenity.
And then, crazily, even though she’d only known him for two days, she felt an astonishing impulse to say yes.
‘We’ll take this track slowly,’ he said.
Oh, good grief.
Embarrassment flooded Amy as she realised her mistake. Seth wanted her to stay close to him on the darkened track. Of course he wasn’t talking about a romantic future.
Of course, of course.
Silently, she cursed her ridiculous reaction. For heaven’s sake. Her job was to protect Bella’s future happiness, and she had to remember that Seth might yet make unreasonable demands and become their enemy.
‘W-what about the s-n-a-k-e-s?’ she whispered, spelling out the word so she didn’t frighten Bella.
‘You’ll be OK with me. I know what to look for.’
‘Are you sure?’
She saw the flash of his teeth as he grinned at her. ‘Tree snakes aren’t really dangerous, unless you’re a bird or a little possum.’
Her heart was thundering like a Mack truck, but the problem wasn’t so much her fear of snakes as the intimate warmth of Seth’s hand enclosing hers. She registered every detail—the slightly rough texture of his palm, the individual pressure of each of his fingers.
Seth took them deeper into the forest, dodging hanging vines and buttressed tree roots. The frogs were silent now and the trees crowded close, but just when Amy wondered if they were mad to continue into the gathering gloom they reached a clearing—and Seth released her hand.
The sudden feeling of loss was alarming, but Amy was soon gasping with amazement as tiny pinpricks of light flitted and danced in the dusky glade. The fireflies flashed in front of them, behind them, and above them, and they looked exactly like tiny glowing fairies.
Seth was right—they were magic. Truly magic and utterly entrancing.
‘They’re so beautiful,’ Amy said softly. ‘Look Bella, see the fireflies. They’re like fairies.’
‘Fairies,’ Bella repeated in hushed awe.
‘Aren’t they pretty?’
The little girl nodded, and for once she was too entranced to speak. She simply wound her arms around Seth’s neck and hugged him more tightly, and he smiled and kissed her cheek.
‘Is that firefly all right? It doesn’t seem able to fly,’ Amy said, pointing to a blinking light that had stayed on the ground the whole time.
Seth laughed softly. ‘That’s a female. She stays down there quietly, waiting till a flashing male appeals to her, and then she flashes back, signalling her interest.’
‘Oh.’ Amy wished she hadn’t asked and she was sure she was still blushing when it was time to head back.
‘I didn’t bring a torch,’ Seth told her. ‘So you need to stay close.’
He took her hand again and she vowed to remain calm and sensible as they made their way back.
Conversation would be a helpful distraction, she decided, so she told Seth that she’d made friends with Hans, the gardener, and that she’d visited the kitchen to talk to Ming. Bella chattered about fairies, then promptly begged for another swim.
‘Not till tomorrow,’ Seth told her gently but firmly, as if he was already completely comfortable with his new role as her father.
Amy half expected Bella to ask again for a swim, pleading and putting on her whiny voice, but the little girl accepted Seth’s ruling without a murmur.
They reached the edge of the trees where they could see the lights from the house spilling across the terraced lawns, and just when Amy expected Seth to release her she felt his thumb stroke the back of her hand. Slowly. Deliberately.
Just once.
A trembling thrill raced from her breastbone to her toes.
She knew it hadn’t been an accident.
She couldn’t breathe, but then Seth released her hand and he set Bella down to run ahead of them over the smooth lawn.
Still trembling from his touch, Amy sent a quick glance in his direction, but his attention was focused entirely on Bella, and he was smiling as he watched her skipping and flapping her arms in the warm night air.
‘She’s trying to be a firefly,’ he said.
‘She’s having a great time here,’ Amy admitted softly.
‘She is, isn’t she?’ He was still smiling.
She wanted to remind him of his intention to let Bella return to Melbourne at the end of their stay, but she was silenced by the shining light in his eyes. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked genuinely happy.
After Seth showered and changed into fresh clothes, he went through to the kitchen, where he found Bella at the kitchen table, glowing pink and clean after her bath, smelling of baby talcum powder and wolfing down a bowl of Ming’s special chicken congee.
‘Hi, Sef,’ Bella called, waving her spoon at him. ‘My eating dinner.’
‘Lucky you.’ He found himself smiling back at her. He’d been smiling so much lately it was a wonder his face hadn’t cracked. ‘Is Amy about?’ he asked Ming.
‘She’s taking a shower.’ Ming turned from the stove, shot a shrewd glance Seth’s way, and grinned. ‘I reckon she’s doing the same as you.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Getting spruced up for your dinner date.’
‘It isn’t a date.’
Ming’s keen gaze took in Seth’s clean moleskin trousers and neatly pressed shirt and Seth felt the back of his neck grow hot.
‘I thought I explained,’ he said tightly. ‘Amy’s a friend of Rachel’s. You remember Rachel? Rachel Tyler?’
‘Of course.’ The cook frowned and turned back to the stove. ‘But Amy Ross is nothing like Rachel.’
‘No,’ Seth agreed as he helped Bella to scrape the last of the chicken and rice porridge from the bottom of her bowl. ‘Amy’s not remotely like Rachel. They’re chalk and cheese.’
He heard a sound behind him and turned to find Amy in the doorway. Her hair was loose to her shoulders, brushed and shining, and she was wearing a white summery dress with no sleeves and a soft, floaty skirt. She carried an apricot silk wrap, and her skin looked natural and free from make-up. She was…in a word…
Lovely…
Breathtakingly so.
And she looked as if she might, at any moment, burst into tears.
Seth cursed beneath his breath as he realised she’d overheard his conversation with Ming, and the comparison with Rachel. Damn. He’d meant it as a compliment, but it could just as easily have sounded like a put-down to her. Problem was, he couldn’t explain exactly what he’d meant by his ‘chalk and cheese’ statement without embarrassing her in front of Ming, and without casting her best friend in a bad light.
Despite the abrupt and awkward silence, Amy came into the room and flashed a bright smile, clearly determined to carry on as if she’d heard nothing. ‘Has Bella finished her dinner?’
‘She’s eaten every drop,’ Seth told her.
‘Ming, you must be a genius.’ Amy admired the empty bowl elaborately. ‘Bella doesn’t normally eat much in the evenings.’
Ming grinned. ‘Everyone likes my cooking.’
‘You should thank Ming, Bella.’
‘Thank you, Ming,’ the little girl parroted obediently, but her smile was genuine enough to melt the shy cook’s heart.
‘Now drink up your milk because it’s time for bed.’
As soon as the milk was down Amy whisked the child away.
Not once did she look at Seth.
Amy took a deep breath as she walked across the subtly lit veranda, past a table set prettily for two, with a candle under a glass dome and a pink ceramic bowl filled with floating flowers. She found Seth sitting on the top veranda step, staring out into the vast, moony black night.
‘Seth?’
His head whipped around and his gaze was fierce.
She swallowed. ‘Would you mind saying goodnight to Bella?’ Smiling awkwardly, she explained, ‘I’m afraid she won’t settle without a kiss from you.’
‘Sure.’ He stood quickly and looked as uncomfortable as Amy felt.
‘I’ll wait here,’ she said steadily, but she was fighting tears as she watched him go. It was so silly. She was upset on all sorts of levels tonight.
Bella’s demand that Seth be the one to tuck her in had hurt. Amy hated to think she was jealous, but the little girl was falling for Seth fast and hard. She seemed to be totally fascinated by him—utterly trusting, excited and enthralled.
Amy told herself it was because Bella had very little experience of men. Rachel had stopped going out with guys once she’d known she was pregnant, and, of course, Dominic had stayed well out of any scene that had involved Bella.
But now, it was almost as if Bella sensed that Seth was special, and connected to her. It was fanciful to think that the child knew he was her father. But very soon he would want her to know the truth, and, although she was too little to really understand, it would be an important step in cementing their emotional bond.
Leaving her wrap on the veranda railing, Amy leaned against a post and looked out at the inky sky where a silvery half-moon was glowing softly through a gap in the trees. She thought again about the conversation she’d overheard in the kitchen.
It was really silly to be upset about that. She knew very well she was different from Rachel. It was very true they were chalk and cheese. Their differences had kept their friendship in balance. But it was only logical that, if Seth had been madly attracted to cheese, he was unlikely to fall for chalk.
Of course she knew that.
She had never, in her wildest dreams, expected Rachel’s ex to be interested in her. She just wished he hadn’t held her hand this evening, hadn’t made that one slow, deliberate stroke on her skin. She was quite, quite sure she would remember that slide of his thumb for the rest of her life.
But how idiotic was that?
Anyone would think she was a trembling virgin who’d been locked away in a tower for a hundred years and knew absolutely nothing about men. Truth be told, she’d had experience, but she had a terrible habit of picking the wrong kind of guy. Each relationship had ended unhappily.
If she had any brains she’d avoid men completely. How on earth had she allowed this man, this highly unsuitable man, to reduce her to such a pathetic state in such a short space of time?
She was a fool!
At the sound of Seth’s footsteps, she spun around.
‘All quiet on the nursery front,’ he said, smiling.
‘Is Bella asleep?’
‘Just about.’ He came and stood close beside Amy. ‘And judging by the aromas coming from the kitchen, I’d say our dinner’s almost ready.’
‘Something smells amazing. Is it curry?’
‘Seafood curry. One of Ming’s specialties.’
‘Wow. So we’re in for a treat.’
On cue, Ming appeared with a bamboo tray holding a bowl of steaming jasmine rice and a large blue and white covered pot, which he placed in the centre of the table.
‘Thanks, Ming,’ Seth said with the very slightest hint of an amused smile and a courteous dip of his head.
‘Enjoy.’ Ming bestowed them both with an eloquent grin before disappearing discreetly.
