rush away too soon.’
‘I—I—’ Catching giggling Bella in mid-jump, Amy held her close to keep her still. ‘I’d have to change my flights.’
‘I’m sure we could arrange that.’
She rubbed at her forehead, trying to clear her sleep-fuzzed brain. ‘You were so upset last night. Are you sure you want us to stay?’
‘I’ve had time to think, to get used to everything. I’d like the chance to get to know Bella. I’d like her—both of you—to enjoy Serenity.’
‘Will your uncle mind?’
Seth’s face seemed to cave in. Shadows darkened his eyes and his throat worked. ‘My uncle’s not here. He died a couple of years ago.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, but it was hard to feel the appropriate depth of sympathy when she hadn’t knownhis uncle, especially when her stomach was fluttering madly at the possibility of staying on, alone with Seth.
Amy couldn’t think why she was hesitating. This invitation was exactly what she’d come north to achieve. Twenty-four hours ago, time on Serenity so that Bella could get to know her father had been her primary goal. Her dream.
Twenty-four hours ago, she hadn’t met Seth Reardon. She hadn’t developed a silly, useless and problematic crush that would only get worse if she spent more time with him. But there were other problems, too. There was every chance that Seth would fall for sweet Bella as swiftly and certainly as she had fallen. How would she cope if Seth wanted to keep Bella?
Part of Amy wanted very much to whisk the little girl safely back to Melbourne and to resume her life. She couldn’t give her little girl up.
She would have to make it clear that Bella couldn’t stay at Serenity permanently. That had never been her plan.
Amy knew how Rachel had felt about remote Cape York, and yesterday she’d seen for herself how far Seth’s home was from anywhere else. It was no place for a single dad to try to raise a sociable toddler.
‘Look, I’ll give you time to think about it,’ Seth said, backing down the hall. ‘We can talk about it at breakfast.’
‘No, it’s OK.’ Amy sent him an apologetic smile. ‘It’s a good idea and we’d love to stay. Thank you.’
‘Terrific.’ Seth smiled in a way that put creases in the suntanned skin around his bright blue eyes. ‘We’ll have breakfast on the front veranda at a little after eight. You just have to turn left at the end of the hallway.’
‘OK. Thanks.’
It was only after Seth had gone that Amy realised herwrap had fallen during their conversation—while she was trying to catch the bouncing Bella, no doubt. She’d been standing here, talking to Seth in her fine cotton nightgown, exposed in all its transparent glory.
A glance in the mirror showed her just how much of her Seth had seen, and a blushing river of heat flooded her.
At least he’d been too polite to stare at her breasts.
She wished she could take more comfort from that.
CHAPTER FOUR
H OLDING Bella’s hand, Amy went down the hallway, turned left, as Seth had directed, and walked into a stream of sunshine.
And an idyllic tropical paradise.
‘Goodness, Bella, where are we?’
Last night, entering by the back steps in the rainy dark, Amy had realised that Seth’s home was comfortable—but now she saw that not one thing about it came even close to her idea of a cattleman’s residence.
The veranda at the front of the house was so deep it formed large, outdoor rooms. She paused in the doorway to take it all in.
From here she could see a dining area and, beyond that, bamboo cane lounge chairs grouped around a coffee table, and, beyond that again, a desk with a telephone and a high-backed chair. Gently circling ceiling fans and huge potted palms gave the whole area an elegant, Oriental air.
She saw the garden beyond the veranda and gasped…Instead of hectares of dry, grassy paddocks, the Serenity homestead was fronted by terraces of smooth lawns and lush tropical gardens where delicateorchids grew side by
‘I—I—’ Catching giggling Bella in mid-jump, Amy held her close to keep her still. ‘I’d have to change my flights.’
‘I’m sure we could arrange that.’
She rubbed at her forehead, trying to clear her sleep-fuzzed brain. ‘You were so upset last night. Are you sure you want us to stay?’
‘I’ve had time to think, to get used to everything. I’d like the chance to get to know Bella. I’d like her—both of you—to enjoy Serenity.’
‘Will your uncle mind?’
Seth’s face seemed to cave in. Shadows darkened his eyes and his throat worked. ‘My uncle’s not here. He died a couple of years ago.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, but it was hard to feel the appropriate depth of sympathy when she hadn’t knownhis uncle, especially when her stomach was fluttering madly at the possibility of staying on, alone with Seth.
Amy couldn’t think why she was hesitating. This invitation was exactly what she’d come north to achieve. Twenty-four hours ago, time on Serenity so that Bella could get to know her father had been her primary goal. Her dream.
Twenty-four hours ago, she hadn’t met Seth Reardon. She hadn’t developed a silly, useless and problematic crush that would only get worse if she spent more time with him. But there were other problems, too. There was every chance that Seth would fall for sweet Bella as swiftly and certainly as she had fallen. How would she cope if Seth wanted to keep Bella?
Part of Amy wanted very much to whisk the little girl safely back to Melbourne and to resume her life. She couldn’t give her little girl up.
She would have to make it clear that Bella couldn’t stay at Serenity permanently. That had never been her plan.
Amy knew how Rachel had felt about remote Cape York, and yesterday she’d seen for herself how far Seth’s home was from anywhere else. It was no place for a single dad to try to raise a sociable toddler.
‘Look, I’ll give you time to think about it,’ Seth said, backing down the hall. ‘We can talk about it at breakfast.’
‘No, it’s OK.’ Amy sent him an apologetic smile. ‘It’s a good idea and we’d love to stay. Thank you.’
‘Terrific.’ Seth smiled in a way that put creases in the suntanned skin around his bright blue eyes. ‘We’ll have breakfast on the front veranda at a little after eight. You just have to turn left at the end of the hallway.’
‘OK. Thanks.’
It was only after Seth had gone that Amy realised herwrap had fallen during their conversation—while she was trying to catch the bouncing Bella, no doubt. She’d been standing here, talking to Seth in her fine cotton nightgown, exposed in all its transparent glory.
A glance in the mirror showed her just how much of her Seth had seen, and a blushing river of heat flooded her.
At least he’d been too polite to stare at her breasts.
She wished she could take more comfort from that.
CHAPTER FOUR
H OLDING Bella’s hand, Amy went down the hallway, turned left, as Seth had directed, and walked into a stream of sunshine.
And an idyllic tropical paradise.
‘Goodness, Bella, where are we?’
Last night, entering by the back steps in the rainy dark, Amy had realised that Seth’s home was comfortable—but now she saw that not one thing about it came even close to her idea of a cattleman’s residence.
The veranda at the front of the house was so deep it formed large, outdoor rooms. She paused in the doorway to take it all in.
From here she could see a dining area and, beyond that, bamboo cane lounge chairs grouped around a coffee table, and, beyond that again, a desk with a telephone and a high-backed chair. Gently circling ceiling fans and huge potted palms gave the whole area an elegant, Oriental air.
She saw the garden beyond the veranda and gasped…Instead of hectares of dry, grassy paddocks, the Serenity homestead was fronted by terraces of smooth lawns and lush tropical gardens where delicateorchids grew side by
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