Page 77 of Outback Reunion

And to not want to have babies with him! That was even more perplexing. Gabi could just imagine a tiny baby with Mark’s sugar-brown hair and her own heart-shaped face. Maybe it would even have a dimple as well. Would they have a girl or a boy?

No!She stopped short before she started brainstorming baby names. She shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts. Mark might seem perfect, but no one—except in romance novels—was. Right now, her mind was warped because of the amazing sex they’d had, but if they were around each other all the time, his faults would surely start to show.

Just like they had with Dante.

But it was all a moot point even if Mark wanted a relationship and even if she were willing to risk one, because their lives were completely incompatible. She was trapped in the circus, and his life and livelihood were here in Bunyip Bay.

Forcing herself back to the book—reading about someone else’s romance was much safer than fantasising about her own—she managed to lose herself in the drama between the pages and was startled when Mark’s shadow loomed above her.

‘Oof. I’m well out of practice,’ he said, dropping onto the sand beside her. Sweat glistened on his broad chest, his t-shirt now tucked into the back of his shorts. He must have taken his shirt off when Gabi had been reading; now she struggled not to reach out and run her hand over his bare skin.

‘Want a drink?’ she asked, reaching into her beach bag for her water bottle.

She could do with a cold hit herself.

‘Thanks.’ He took it from her, and she noticed the way his dimple quivered as he drank. She was freaking obsessed with it. With every last inch of him.

‘Luna and Jai must be getting along well,’ she said, glancing over to where they were still kicking the ball between them. If she focused on Luna, she’d hopefully manage not to jump this man-god in public.

‘Yeah, she’s such a great kid.’ Mark handed the bottle back to her. ‘You sure she’s not mine, because she’s pretty damn good with a football.’

‘Arrogant much?’ she teased, taking a sip from the bottle. ‘You’re not the only person who can kick a footy, you know, and her biological father was very coordinated as well.’

He shrugged. ‘Can’t help my wishful thinking. Luna’s a cool kid.’

She hmphed.

‘What?’ Mark frowned.

‘She’s only fawning all over you because she thinks you’reDante’sfriend.’ She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. ‘If she knew you weremyfriend instead, she wouldn’t want a bar of you. Luna doted on her dad; sometimes I think she’d rather I’d died instead.’

‘I’m sure that’s not true. She’s just young and struggling with her grief. She’ll come through it. You both will.’

Gabi sniffed, once again fighting tears. She’d barely cried at all in six months and yet these last few days, every time she was with Mark, she found herself letting down her defences. ‘Thanks. I’m sorry, I think I’m just emotionally exhausted. We both needed a holiday.’

‘Well, looks like she’s enjoying it,’ Mark said, nodding towards Luna. She and Jai had abandoned the football and he was now lying in the sand as she buried his body beneath it.

Gabi smiled at the sight, her heart warming once again at seeing Luna having fun with someone around her own age. ‘Yeah, I think she is,’ she said, taking advantage of her daughter being distracted to hold Mark’s hand again. It felt so illicit, yet at the same time this simple touch wasn’t nearly enough.

He looked down at their joined hands, then looked back up at her with a questioning smile. ‘I hope you are too.’

She nodded and smiled back. The problem was she was having too much fun.

Chapter Nineteen

‘You have a gorgeous smile,’ Mark told Gabriela as she grinned at him. Her hand in his felt pretty much perfect and although he had a mountain of farm and house stuff to do before his parents came home, he was glad he’d remembered Gabriela and Luna’s morning beach ritual.

Waiting until tonight to see her would have been torture. Even seeing her now without being able to do exactly what he wanted to her was its own kind of torment.

She squeezed his hand. ‘And you’re a sweet talker.’

They smiled at each other like a couple of lovesick teens and he somehow managed to resist the urge to lean in, press his mouth to hers and give her something more to smile about.

‘What was Dante like?’ he found himself asking. He didn’t mean to upset her and part of him didn’t want to know, but there was another part that felt like this dead guy was his competition and he needed some intel.

Gabi took a moment to reply. ‘He was a great dad and a talented performer. He was very charismatic. A real charmer. Everyone that worked in the circus loved him and the audience couldn’t get enough either.’

‘And what exactly was his role? What were his acts?’

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