Page 28 of Secrets of Riverside

‘I know, and I promise I’m trying to.’ Deciding to take a quick break, Millie ducked outside, out of earshot of Jenny and Penny, and Tommy. ‘Last night was a bit of a lapse of judgement. It won’t happen again while I’m here, that’s for sure.’

‘I know you’re under a lot of pressure, so I get it, but alcohol isn’t going to make things right. Nor is it going to help you sleep. And I know you said you think you can trust Jarrah, and that’s a good thing, but I’m really concerned about this Tommy bloke, so just please be super careful, okay?’ she pleaded.

For the life of her, Millie couldn’t remember much of what she’d told her best friend about Tommy. ‘I promise I am being careful, and I’ll continue to be.’ She knew she wouldn’t have said anything good about her moody boss.

‘Even though I’m going to be over the other side of the world in a few days’ time, I’m only at the other end of a phone call, when I’m in service that is, okay, Mills?’

‘I know you are, and will be while you’re in Africa.’ Millie’s heart squeezed tight – she was going to miss Ebony like crazy. ‘Have you seen much of Felix the second?’

‘He’s popped in a few times for some food and a nap, the scallywag.’

‘That’s good, at least I know he’s keeping out of trouble.’ Not having realised until this very second just how much she missed the feral ball of ginger fur, she choked back a sob. ‘Now go and enjoy that holiday you’ve worked so bloody hard for, Ebs, and I’ll see you at home when you get back in two months’ time.’

‘Okay, love you lots, Mills.’

‘Ditto, my beautiful friend.’ Ending the call, Millie slipped her phone back into her pocket.

As she wandered back towards the kitchen, a resounding thump caught her attention. Pausing at the doorway, she rose up on her tippy toes and spotted Jarrah over near the stables, bashing a fence post into the ground with a massive sledgehammer. Holy moly, he was ripped, and very easy on the eye. Other than his external attributes, she also admired how he was a man that seemed to accomplish everything he set out to do. Dropping the sledgehammer, he strode towards the back of the LandCruiser. His gait was strong but at the same time easygoing, giving off the aura of a man who would take the shirt off his back to help a mate in need, but in a heartbeat hurt anyone that hurt a person he loved. Getting the sense that he was a bit of a loner, she wondered if there was a person, other than Tommy, that he loved, and the thought that it could be a female fired a shot of jealousy through her. Mentally slapping herself for thinking, and feeling, such a silly way, she stepped back into the coolness of the kitchen and totally immersed herself in the therapeutic benefits of cooking to her heart’s content.

Hours later, the sound of footfalls entering through the back door had her reluctantly turning, expecting to see Tommy. But to her delight, it was Jarrah. With his shaggy light-brown hair in disarray, piercing blue eyes, and a dark shadow of stubble across his chiselled jawline, she had to take a beat. Why did he have to be so damn sexy? All the damn time.

Blinking as if trying to rid the sunshine from his fetching eyes, he regarded her with a wide smile. ‘Oh, hey, Millie, why are you still working at this time of the day?’

‘What time is it?’ She glanced up at the clock above the stove, answering her own question before Jarrah did. ‘Oh, wow, I think it’s safe to say I lost track of time.’ She looked back to him. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t put the last hour down. It’s just a case of me being a bit extra when it comes to the choice of baked goodies for tomorrow.’

‘Oh yes you will.’ He looked, wide-eyed, at the baked goods covering the benchtop. ‘You’re an absolute blessing to this place, Millie.’

‘Thank you.’ The scent of horse and hay had followed him in, and she couldn’t help but take another breath of him as she wandered past him and over to the sink. ‘I meant it when I told you I love to cook.’

‘I can see that.’ Grabbing a glass from the overhead cupboard, he then crossed the room, heading straight for her. ‘Thank you for caring so much about your job; it’s a refreshing change from the last cook we had here.’

She shifted a little to the side, allowing him space to fill his glass from the tap. He did so, and sculled it. Then filled it up with more. ‘Don’t mind me, you just keep on doing whatever it is that you very clearly do with all your heart.’ He turned and leant against the bench, taking tentative sips of water while he watched her over the top of the glass.

Although a little uncomfortable at being his centre of attention, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him as she iced the chocolate cake that had now cooled enough. ‘So,’ she said, desperately needing to talk or sing, anything other than be in this room, in an intimate silence, with a man who filled every nook and cranny of the kitchen with his charismatic presence. ‘How’s your day been?’

‘Yeah, good, thanks.’ The corners of his mouth inched ever so slightly into the hint of a smile, and a teeny ache gripped her heart. ‘Would you like to come over for a bite to eat tonight?’

‘Oh, um, I, ah …’ Find your words, Millie. ‘I don’t want to give people the wrong impression.’

‘It’s all good.’ His smile deepened and stretched into his eyes, tilting her world a little off its axis. ‘Two adults can have dinner together without it being a date, can’t they?’

‘Yes, I suppose.’ She was far too aware of his nearness, of his scent, of his captivating persona.

‘And you have to eat, don’t you?’

His easygoing smile, reaching across the room and resting upon her, had a calming effect. ‘Yes, I suppose I do.’

‘Good, that’s settled then.’ He drank the last of his water, popped his cup into the dishwasher, and then strode past her. ‘See you at the homestead around six-thirty-ish, sound good?’

‘Uh-huh, perfect, see you then.’ She only dared a tiny glance in his direction as he paused, fleetingly, a wide smile on his fetching face, before he tugged down the brim of his hat and disappeared back into the bright late-afternoon sunshine now seeping through the windows of the kitchen.

Millie busied herself by placing all the baked goods into the dessert fridge for the next day, all the while telling her libido to rack off and her voice of recklessness to shut the hell up. Yes, she was single. And from what she gathered, so was he. She was becoming more and more attracted to him as each day passed. But no matter how handsome he was, or how charismatic he might be, or how much she wanted to do very naughty things with him, she’d do whatever she had to, to keep her feet planted very firmly on solid ground. She untied her apron, hung it on the hook near the door, surveyed the kitchen one last time to make sure everything was shipshape, then flicked the overhead light off. An hour later and she’d showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt; nothing fancy. She didn’t want to go giving Jarrah the wrong idea.

But holy moly if he could read her mind …

Crossing the gravel road over to his place, she smiled when she heard the distant lowing of cattle coupled with the sound of the breeze stirring the leaves of the towering paperbarks stretching overhead. Turning the corner towards the back verandah, she followed the garden pathway then met with the man who always succeeded in sending butterflies flurrying in her stomach and her heart.

‘Hey, Millie.’ Unshaved, wearing blue board shorts and a white T-shirt that hugged his biceps and chest, with his hair still damp and smelling of shampoo, it was all she could do to not lean into all that was him. ‘You look lovely.’ His marvellous eyes danced over her.

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