Читать книгу New Arrivals: Surprise Baby for Him: The Cattleman's Adopted Family / The Soldier's Homecoming / Marriage for Baby - Melissa McClone - Страница 13

SETH told himself it was a simple thing.

He was merely being playful, giving Amy a friendly and innocent kiss on the cheek just like the one he’d given Bella.

So it made no sense that, from the moment he touched her—merely brushed a wisp of her hair from her cheek—he felt fine, electric tremors all over his body.

Amy was standing still. Very still…Too still…standing with her eyes closed…

Seth could see the delicate blue veins on her eyelids, and he could smell faint traces of the jasmine soap she’d used in the shower. He focused on her smooth, soft cheek and tried to ignore the softer-than-soft bow of her lips, but, for some reason that made no sense at all, he didn’t find his way to her cheek…

He dipped lower…

Until his mouth brushed against hers…and they shared a beat of trembling hesitation…and then a gentle, lingering touch…the most tender of hellos.

And Amy didn’t pull away.

Seth felt a subtle increase in the pressure of her mouth against his, and then her lips parted, yielding and warm. She tasted of the summer night and his blood began to roar.

His heart pounded, his skin burned…the homestead veranda faded and the entire universe became Amy.

Sweetly erotic Amy.

Her mouth was so soft and warm, just how he knew it would be. Oh, God. He’d been fighting this attraction from the moment he saw her in the Tamundra pub, and now she was offering heaven…

He wanted nothing but this…Amy, breathless and needy, her skin silky and hot under his hand.

Her kiss…was such a perfect thing…

But she went suddenly still and pulled away.

Seth realised that Ming was there.

‘I—I’ve left your desserts ready in the kitchen,’ Ming said, eyes wide with poorly suppressed delight, then he scuttled sideways like a crab down the hallway, as if he couldn’t hurry away from them fast enough.

As Seth struggled to breathe he heard Amy’s voice calling, ‘Thanks for dinner, Ming. The seafood curry was sensational.’

She sounded astonishingly calm, not at all like a woman who’d been drowning in a whirlpool of passion.

With her back very straight, her chin high, she turned and sailed ahead of Seth onto the veranda, leaving him reeling in her wake.

He took a swift, steadying breath. If there was one thing he’d learned to do well, it was to hide his feelings. No way did he want Amy to guess how seriously he’d been rocked by that kiss.

Once they were out of Ming’s earshot he asked, almost calmly, ‘Do you think Bella will settle now?’

Amy stared at him blankly, as if she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. Hastily, she looked the other way. ‘Sorry, what did you say? I—I w-was distracted.’

This was better. Perhaps they were on the same wavelength after all.

She lifted her hands in a nervous gesture of helplessness. ‘I—I was hoping Ming hasn’t got the wrong idea.’

‘He’s discreet, like all my staff.’

‘Well, yes, I’m sure he is,’ she said unhappily.

Seth opened his mouth to apologise, but swiftly changed his mind. He wasn’t about to apologise for kissing a lovely girl in the moonlight.

And he wasn’t prepared to admit that the kiss might have been a mistake, even though it was almost certainly a huge error of judgement. He’d let his desire for Amy complicate a situation that was already thorny enough. He would have to tell her the truth sooner rather than later, but he couldn’t face it now. The painful story was still raw inside him. I’ll do it soon, he thought. When I’ve had more time to prepare.

For now, he decided, it was better to simply change the subject.

‘Are you ready for dessert?’ Before Amy could object, Seth added, quickly, ‘You have to try Ming’s watermelon balls in green ginger wine.’

The ghost of a smile flickered. ‘That does sound tempting.’

‘Take a seat. I’ll be back in a sec—as soon as I collect the desserts from the kitchen.’

As Seth headed off Amy let out her breath on a shuddering sigh. She felt as if she’d been holding her breath ever since he’d kissed her, and now she was grateful for this moment alone, for this chance to close her eyes while she relived that astonishing experience.

It was too bad that Ming had seen them, but she wasn’t nearly as worried as she’d made out.

What she wondered now was how she’d lived so long, and dated so many guys, without discovering that one kiss could be a phenomenal, life-changing moment.

Gently, with a sense of wonderment, she traced the soft skin on her lips as she remembered the hot, out-of-this-world thrill that had jolted through her body as Seth’s mouth settled against hers.

She’d give anything to experience that sensation again—everything: her job, her life in Melbourne, the close contact with her family.

She’d never felt anything remotely as exciting when Dominic had kissed her. Small wonder their relationship hadn’t survived. There’d been no real chemistry.

Chemistry. That was the secret ingredient in tonight’s kiss, wasn’t it? Mysterious, magical, astonishing chemistry.

But chemical reactions could also be dangerous and she had to remember that now as she heard Seth’s footsteps returning.

She had to remember that Seth was potentially dangerous. Chances were, every woman reacted that way when he kissed them. Especially that one woman who’d broken his heart.

And Rachel.

A thud of disappointment brought Amy back to earth. What on earth had she been thinking? She couldn’t afford to forget, even for a moment, why she was here. Clearly, this man was indeed dangerous. He had seduced her best friend and made her pregnant and here she was getting into a flap over a tiny kiss that probably meant nothing more to him than yet another woman falling at his feet.

‘I think you’ll find this dessert is the perfect second course after curry,’ Seth said as he reached her.

‘Thank you,’ she said primly.

He set a green glass bowl in front of her and she caught the sweet scent of watermelon mingled with the deeper spiciness of the green ginger wine.

‘That smell reminds me of Christmas,’ she said, determined to steer her thoughts onto a safer track.

‘It certainly reminds me of summer. Tuck in.’

She watched as Seth slipped a marble-sized ball of lush pink fruit from his spoon to his mouth.

Oh, for heaven’s sake! Already she was thinking about his mouth, about his kiss—so perfect.

‘What’s Christmas like here?’ she asked, trying again for a distraction. ‘Do you usually have a big party?’

‘Not any more. We used to throw parties, but they’re not really my scene.’

‘That’s a pity.’ She looked around her at the open-plan living spaces on the veranda, and she pictured paper lanterns in the garden. ‘This is a perfect house for a party, and with Ming to help with catering it would be a breeze, and so much fun.’

‘So you like parties, do you?’

‘Most parties,’ she said. ‘I sometimes have to organise them as part of my job—to help clients with networking, or to launch new products.’

As she said this Amy was hit by memories of the launch party on the night Rachel died and she felt another sickening thud, deep inside, as if her heart had crashed from a great height.

‘Amy, are you all right?’

She reached for her water glass and took a deep sip. ‘I’m OK,’ she said. ‘It just catches me every so often—the pain, you know—when I think about Rachel.’

‘Yeah,’ he said softly. ‘I do know what you mean. And it lasts a long time, I’m afraid. I still miss my dad after all these years, and it’s been worse since my uncle died.’

She was surprised that Seth hadn’t mentioned mourning for Rachel, too. Surely he must feel some degree of grief for Bella’s mother?

For Amy the smallest memory of Rachel could trigger pain—Rachel’s habit of flicking her long, pale hair over her shoulders. Her deep, throaty laugh. A punchline from the zany jokes she loved to tell.

But she wasn’t prepared to share these memories with Seth. It was far safer to leave the intimate details of his history with Rachel where they belonged—firmly in the past.

Unhappily, she scooped up a spoonful of wine-drenched fruit. ‘Can you tell me more about your uncle? Did he always live here?’

Seth shook his head. ‘He started off in Sydney like the rest of my family. Moved to Cape York in his late twenties.’

‘To be a cattleman?’

‘Yeah.’ Seth smiled. ‘Left a thriving family business to become a struggling grazier.’

‘That’s intriguing.’ She dipped her spoon into the bowl. These watermelon balls were amazing. ‘What was the family business?’

‘Have you ever heard of Reardon and Grace?’

She shook her head.

‘It’s a very old importing and exporting business. My great-great-grandfather started it way back, and he owned one of the first warehouses in Sydney.’

‘Wow.’

‘All the men in my family have played a role in the firm, including my father. Seth was the first to leave.’

‘Seth? Was that your uncle’s name, too?’

‘Yes. He was my father’s younger brother.’

Amy frowned. Somehow, this information seemed significant, but she was too caught up in this story to stop and puzzle it out. ‘Why did he leave Sydney?’

Seth’s mouth twisted into a wry smile and she winced.

‘Am I being too nosy?’

‘Not really.’ His steady gaze met hers. ‘But it’s rather a sad tale.’

Unwilling to push him, she took another spoonful of her dessert.

‘You see, my uncle was madly in love,’ Seth said quietly. ‘And everything was fine until he brought his girlfriend home and introduced her to his older brother.’

‘To your father?’

He nodded. ‘He wasn’t my father then, of course. This was before I was born.’

‘But your father fell in love with the same woman as your uncle?’

‘Yes, and he married her.’

The penny dropped, making Amy gasp. ‘So this woman was your mother. Your uncle was in love with your mother.’

‘Completely and hopelessly, I’m afraid.’

‘The poor man.’

Amy could picture it all. Seth’s uncle, this other Seth Reardon, must have been so upset when he lost the woman he loved, that he’d left his comfortable life in Sydney and travelled all the way up here to try to forget her. To start a new life.

‘Did he have to start here from scratch?’ she asked.

‘More or less. It was hard work, but he took to the life like he was born and bred for it, and he soon toughened up. You know what they say? When the going gets tough, the tough get going. He pitched in with the fencing gangs. Joined in the mustering. Helped to build this house. He thrived on the life here.’

‘But he never married?’

‘No.’ Seth’s brow furrowed in a deep frown. ‘When my father died, my mother brought me here, and I think my uncle had hoped that she’d stay.’

‘But she went to America?’

‘Chasing her dream.’ His face darkened. ‘This is no life for a woman.’

‘Why couldn’t a woman live here?’ Amy asked. ‘It’s beautiful.’

‘The house and garden might be beautiful,’ Seth said tersely. ‘But that’s all there is here to keep a woman happy. There are no shops or cafés. No chance for catching up with girlfriends. The nearest hairdresser is in Cairns.’

Amy wanted to disagree. She knew Serenity was remote, but she suspected that a woman could be very happy here. She would have to be the right woman, of course, with the right man.

But if the two of them loved each other deeply, if the chemistry was right, why couldn’t they be blissfully happy?

It wasn’t a question she could ask when Seth’s mother and Rachel and possibly the girl who’d broken his heart had not been prepared to stay.

Amy shivered at the thought of Seth’s loneliness, which he seemed to accept as his fate. She longed to reach out and touch him tenderly, to cup her hand against the rugged line of his jaw, to brush his lips with the pad of her thumb, to show him that she cared.

She longed to rekindle the passion of their kiss, and now, with no Ming to interrupt them, who knew where it might lead? Amy didn’t care. She wanted it, wanted him.

But that’s crazy.

Oh, God. For an insane minute there, she’d almost forgotten Rachel, Bella, her job, her family…She’d almost been ready to throw every responsibility to the four winds…in exchange for a night with Seth.

Shaking, shocked by her foolishness, she reached across the table for his empty bowl. She spoke carefully. ‘Thank you for the delicious meal. I’ll take these things through to the kitchen.’

Instantly he was on his feet. ‘No, you don’t have to worry about the kitchen. You’re a guest.’

Avoiding the fire in his gaze, she said, ‘But I haven’t performed a single helpful task since I arrived. Let me rinse these couple of bowls to keep my hand in.’

He gave her a puzzled smile. ‘If you insist.’

‘I insist,’ she said quietly but emphatically. ‘Goodnight, Seth.’ She walked away swiftly, carrying the dishes, unable to return his smile.

A noise woke Amy, a sudden flapping of wings outside her room and the haunting call of a bird, which she thought must have been an owl. She rolled over and looked through the moon-streaked darkness to Bella’s bed, hoping the sound hadn’t woken her.

Fortunately, the little girl remained very still, undisturbed. Amy rolled onto her back again and closed her eyes. She crossed her fingers, hoping she would drift back to sleep.

She was tired. Really tired. She hadn’t slept well since she’d left Melbourne and right now she wanted to stay drowsy and dopey. She needed to sleep, and not to think.

But already she could feel her brain whirring to fretful life, spinning thoughts…throwing up questions…

About…Seth.

And that kiss…

It was so easy now, in the middle of the night, to let her mind zoom in on the details of that kiss, to live it again in close focus.

She could feel again the intimate brush of his lips against hers, the imprint of his hand at the small of her back, the nerve-tingly pleasure and the rush of delicious heat that had flooded her, the astonishing need, the glorious, overwhelming longing…

Good grief. She was going mad, wasn’t she? She had to be a little crazy to get into such a fever about one kiss.

From the start, she’d sensed she should be wary of Seth Reardon. He was incredibly sexy, despite or perhaps because of his remote, brooding air, but she’d picked up all kinds of signals that he was dangerous, too.

Rachel had been so cagey about him. Even the woman at the Tamundra pub had hinted that he was trouble. And on reflection Amy had to admit she’d had difficulty thinking straight from the moment she’d met him.

Thank heavens she hadn’t thrown herself at him tonight.

The man was a disturbing mystery.

He’d claimed that his heart had been broken, but it hadn’t happened over Rachel.

And yet…he’d made love to Rachel and she’d thought he was The One…and he’d fathered Bella, and now Rachel was dead…but Seth wasn’t particularly upset about it.

None of it made sense. Had the man no feelings?

Was there a cold unemotional side to him that Amy hadn’t seen yet? Had Rachel known that, and sensibly kept her distance?

With a groan Amy rolled over to face the wall and thumped at her pillow. The Seth she’d seen over the past two days had given her the impression that he was warm and vulnerable—and wounded—but that didn’t sit with the alternative image of him as cold and unfeeling.

Would the real Seth Reardon please stand up?

He was a jigsaw puzzle she couldn’t solve unless she found the vital missing pieces.

She’d wanted to ask him about the woman who’d broken his heart, but she didn’t know him well enough to ask such an intimate question. She’d known him for such a short time.

Heavens, had it really only been two days?

Sighing heavily, Amy rolled the other way again and pulled the sheet around her bare shoulders. She thought about Seth’s uncle’s sad story, and she wondered how the poor man had felt when Seth’s mother—the woman he’d loved and lost—had given his name to her son.

And how had he felt years later, when his young nephew had been abandoned by that woman? He’d probably taken care of the younger Seth out of love for his brother, and a sense of duty, but it must have hurt deeply, if he’d still loved the boy’s mother, in spite of her failings.

But fancy there being two Seth Reardons. That was a surprise. That was—

Oh, my God.

Amy shot upright in the bed, her heart racing.

It was a crazy thought, but…

Was it possible…was it even remotely possible that Seth’s uncle had been Rachel’s lover?

When Seth told her that his uncle had died, she’d pictured him as an elderly man, but he needn’t have been that old.

At a guess, she would say that Seth was around thirty, and his uncle was younger than Seth’s father, so he might have been only fifty or so when Rachel met him.

She tried to imagine Rachel falling for a fifty-year-old man. He’d need to have been a well-preserved and decidedly good-looking fifty-year-old man—but he was sure to be handsome if he was related to Seth.

It was possible, wasn’t it?

Her friend had always been a little unconventional in her tastes, and the more Amy thought about it, the more it started to make sense.

Rachel was less likely to burden an older man with the news that he was about to become a father. She’d confided to Amy that her school-days had been blighted by the fact that her parents were so much older than everyone else’s folks. Kids were cruel and their barbed comments had hurt.

And if Seth’s uncle had fathered Bella, the younger Seth’s apparent lack of grief for Rachel made more sense, too.

Slowly Amy sank back onto the pillow.

Wow!

Her head reeled with the thought that the Seth she knew, the Seth who’d kissed her and sent her to the moon, might not be Bella’s father after all. It was ridiculous, but she loved the possibility that he hadn’t been Rachel’s lover.

But hang on, girl. Don’t jump to too many conclusions.

This could be wishful thinking. If Seth wasn’t Bella’s father, why hadn’t he just come out and said so? Was he trying to protect his uncle? His reputation? Was that why he’d been so negative about Rachel’s book?

Or was her new theory total rubbish?

Amy groaned. She wouldn’t be able to get any of these answers until morning, but the questions were going to keep her awake all night.

Seth woke, as he always did, at dawn and he lay very still, with his eyes closed, listening to the silence of the sleeping house and to the warbling songs of the honeyeaters in the rainforest, signalling the start of a new day.

Out of habit, he reached for the wristwatch on his bedside table and squinted at its dial. Yep. Five-twenty a.m. on the dot.

Normally he would leap out of bed. In summer, he liked to get any heavy work out of the way before the day got too hot. But in deference to his houseguests, he stayed put. They were just across the hall and the slightest sound might disturb them. No point in waking them too early.

It had made sense, he’d thought, to put Amy and Bella together in the room across the hall. If the little girl was scared during the night, Amy would be there for her.

But he couldn’t help fantasising about Amy sleeping in a room on her own…

OK, lamebrain, what could you have done? Snuck into her room? Continued on where the kiss left off? Oh, yeah. Brilliant. Then you‘d really make a dog’s breakfast of this tricky situation.

If only he could stop thinking about her. Memories of their brief kiss had haunted him all night, reappearing and expanding out of all proportion in a string of X-rated dreams.

He wasn’t sure that he could survive too many nights with Amy in his house, sleeping in her flimsy white nightdress just across the hallway. He’d be a pile of cinders before the time was up.

Problem was, the wanting wasn’t only about physical desire.

He’d found himself enjoying simply being with Amy…hanging out…talking with her and listening to the warmth in her voice…watching the changing moods in her lovely brown eyes…admiring the sweet and tender way she cared for Bella.

For years, Seth had avoided this level of interest in any one woman, but Amy Ross had slipped quietly under his radar. She was so easy to be with and there was something delightfully refreshing about her. He liked her and he desired her, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Damn it…He had to stop.

He knew he and Amy had no future. Hadn’t he learned anything from Jennifer?

His gaze flickered again to the nightstand and he saw the fancy wristwatch that had been Jennifer’s last gift, the precious farewell gift she given him before she went back to New York.

She’d been so excited about finding the watch in a jewellery shop in Cairns.

‘It tells two different time zones simultaneously, so you’ll always know what time it is in New York. Isn’t that neat, Seth? You’ll know the right time to call, and you’ll be able to picture what I’m doing. I won’t be so far away.’

‘But it can’t change the facts, Jen,’ he’d warned her. ‘You’ll still be on the other side of the world.’

‘I’ll come back. Soon. I promise.’

With that promise calming his fears, they’d made love for the last time, and if Seth closed his eyes he could still see the morning sunlight rimming Jennifer’s auburn hair with fire…could still see the rainbow flashes from the diamond he’d put on her finger.

He’d let her go home.

To America.

She’d been so sure she would simply wind things up in New York and come hurrying back to marry him.

‘I love you, Seth. I promise, darling. I don’t need the city, when I’m with you.’

I promise…

She’d been sincere at the time—he’d give her that. Jennifer had never dreamed she would find the pull of her hometown impossible to resist. In all innocence, he’d let her go back and, inevitably, she’d been seduced by the exciting bustle and buzz of the Big Apple. She’d found herself clinging once more to the security of familiar faces, to the reassurance of well-loved sights and sounds, to the comfort of crowds.

It had only taken six weeks before she’d come to her senses. She’d cried so hard when she’d telephoned Seth that he’d barely been able to make out a word she was saying, but eventually he’d understood that she wasn’t coming back, and, no, he shouldn’t fly over there to be with her.

It couldn’t work, she told him. Their worlds were too different.

For Seth, the lesson was clear.

Love, alone, was not enough.

The softest breath fanned Seth’s cheek. Startled, he turned to find Bella’s blue eyes half an inch from his.

‘What are you doing here, little one?’

‘Up!’ the little girl demanded, and before he realised quite what was happening she gripped his bed sheets, slung one leg high and hauled herself, like a tiny commando, up into the bed beside him.

‘Should you be here?’ he asked as he flung one hand out to prevent her from tumbling back to the floor. ‘Where’s Amy?’

Bella didn’t answer.

Somewhat alarmed, he scooted over to make room for her in his king-sized bed. She merely giggled and began to bounce on the mattress, sending her dark curls flying.

She was a cutie—no doubt about that—this tiny human being who was, amazingly, related to him.

Seth knelt on the bed, ready to catch her if she bounced too high, and he marvelled at her incredible energy and enthusiasm. She was such a happy little thing, so full of life, and, thanks to Amy, she had no sense of the tragedies that had robbed her of her parents.

The word orphan had always horrified Seth.

When his father died and his mother disappeared to the far side of the world, he’d been haunted by visions of storybook orphans, starving and freezing in the snow.

But he’d had his mother’s letters. Inadequate, but tangible, they’d arrived on his birthdays—and he’d had his uncle, whose kindness and love had saved him and kept him afloat.

Now, as he watched this giggling, bouncing little girl, he choked up, thinking about the man who’d fathered her.

I owe you one, mate. I owe you big time.

Except that Amy had picked up the baton. She’d assumed responsibility for her friend’s daughter and, as far as Seth could tell, she loved the kid unreservedly, as if she were her own.

He supposed the security and stability of Amy’s happy family had given her the grounding she needed to reach out without fear. Seemed she was doing damn fine splendid and she didn’t need his help.

‘You’re a lucky kid,’ he told Bella. ‘You’re much better off with her.’

Within seconds of waking, Amy saw that Bella’s bed was empty.

She bounced out of bed in a panic. Bella usually climbed straight into Amy’s bed for a morning cuddle and she’d never wandered off before.

Amy darted into the hallway. ‘Bella!’

‘She’s in here.’

In mid-dash down the hallway, Amy skidded to a halt. Seth’s voice had come from his bedroom.

Zap. Heart thumping, she turned in at his doorway.

Part of her brain must have registered that Bella was bouncing in the middle of Seth’s huge bed, but almost all of her attention was caught by his bare chest.

Oh, help.

Amy had to stare; she simply had to. Seth’s chest was so fabulously toned, so amazingly muscly and masculine and naked.

The sight of him now in his bedroom was such a different matter from seeing him by the pool yesterday. It was totally unexpected, for one thing. But now, after he’d kissed her…After her night of restless tossing and turning…

‘Bella marched in here and took over my bed,’ Seth explained, with an apologetic grin that didn’t quite hide the fact that he was checking Amy out.

It was only when she saw the unmistakable spark of appreciation in his eyes that she remembered she was in her nightdress. Her thin white cotton nightdress. Again. Which meant she was even more scantily clad than he was.

This was becoming an embarrassing habit.

Surreptitiously, she attempted to cross her arms over her chest as she backed out of the room. ‘Bella has so much energy first thing in the morning. Thanks for taking care of her.’

Frantically, she tried to beckon to the little girl. ‘Come on, now, Bella. That’s enough bouncing. Time to get dressed.’

Bella continued to bounce.

‘Hey!’ Seth caught the little girl in mid bounce and swept her so high she squealed with delight.

Amy watched the rippling sheen of his muscles and felt the oxygen sucked from her lungs.

Grinning, Seth turned to her, holding the giggling, wriggling child. ‘Here you go. She’s all yours.’

Struggling to breathe, she prepared to take Bella from him. Their forearms bumped, of course, and for a heady moment she found her hands squashed between Bella’s squirming body and the solid wall of Seth’s bare chest.

He was warm and satiny and hard…and touchable…She could feel his heat, smell his skin…

Pulling away, she blushed hotly, and turned to dash for the safety of her room, but she was distracted by a silver-framed photograph on the dresser near the door.

Clutching Bella, Amy took a second look. It was a close-up portrait of an incredibly handsome man approaching middle age.

His dark hair was feathered with silver and his face had the kind of tan that came from years of living in the outdoors. White creases showed at the corner of his eyes, but, despite the slightly weathered look, there was a breathtaking, filmstar quality about him.

‘Is this your uncle?’ she asked.

Seth’s eyes followed the direction of her gaze and she saw a flash of pain in their blue depths. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s Seth. Everyone around here called him Boss, so there was no confusion about our names.’

‘He looks younger than I expected. When was the photo taken?’

‘A few years ago. Not long before he died, actually.’

Cold shivers skittered down Amy’s spine. So…Uncle Seth had been a hunk. A mature hunk certainly, but indisputably attractive.

Deep down, she sensed the truth as clearly as if the words had been spoken. This uncle had been Rachel’s grand passion.

‘Now’s not the time, Seth, but you and I need to have a talk,’ she said tightly. ‘A serious talk.’ Then she turned and fled from his room.