Tessa stared up at him with the same doe-like eyes he remembered, only now faint lines creased her forehead and a couple of early grays streaked through her long brown hair. She was still as beautiful as she’d ever been, but the past six months had clearly left their mark. She looked older than her thirty years...even more so than when he’d seen her at the funeral. Too many lazy beach days with fancy drinks did that to a person, didn’t it? Okay, he was being a jerk, stereotyping her. He wasn’t that judgmental. Not any more than she’d always been of his lifestyle. Maybe it really was the stress of her loss showing. That was something he did understand.
His brother, Allan, had been a pilot, too. He’d married his high school sweetheart, Tessa’s sister, Maria, and when their Cessna had crashed just miles from their home in Cape Town six months ago, custody of their then twelve-and-a-half-year-old son, Nick, had been given to both Mac and Tessa. An arrangement that made no sense at all, given that she lived in South Africa with the millionaire husband she’d landed and he lived in Kenya’s outback with no time or place to add a kid. The only explanation Tessa or Mac had been able to come up with had been that Maria and Allan wanted their child to retain ties to both sides of his family. Having the comforts of a mansion, great schools and both a father and mother figure on hand made more sense than uprooting him. Besides, as far as Mac knew, Tessa had plenty of time to spare, what with playing the butterfly wife and not doing much more than writing a fashion column once a week. Mac didn’t have anything close to that kind of luxury.
“Can you please ease up on the man hold?” she panted.
Her face was pale and clammy. He’d scared her to death, all right, but she deserved it. Tessa Henning. In Kenya. In his cave. Unbelievable. He glanced down to where something glimmered against her skin with the rise and fall of her chest. A simple silver M...for Maria. He recognized the necklace as the one he’d helped his brother pick out for Maria’s birthday senior year. Back when he couldn’t afford a whole lot.
Mac released his hold and motioned her to sit on his desk chair while he stood akimbo between her and her only escape.
“What were you looking for, Tessa?”
* * *
TESSA SUCKED IN the corner of her lip the way she always did when she needed to think. This was Mac. She had to be on her toes. She waved away the entire situation with her hand.
“Looking for? Come on, Mac. Suspicious much? I was trying to find a plain sheet of paper to leave you a note to let you know that Nick and I arrived a few hours ago. He’s in a room sleeping right now. We were hoping you could meet us early for breakfast and then take us up for a tour.”
Mac folded his arms and raised a brow. Why had his confidence always irritated her? Standing there like that in his jeans and white T-shirt...like he was a model posing for a rugged photo shoot for one of her fashion posts. It just... She didn’t like it. That was all.
“You broke in here and planned to write me a note,” he said.
“Yes.” Tessa nodded for emphasis.
“In the dark.”
She kept nodding. She used to be so good at smart comebacks, but her nerves had clearly wiped out her memory banks. You’re such a dork, Tessa. Pull it together. She cleared her throat.
“There’s plenty of moonlight out and I thought lights out here were on some sort of generator timer. Aren’t they? I was telling Nick on the flight that we might have to get some LED torches or brush our teeth in the dark.”
“Cute. Really cute.”
She smiled.
“Tessa.” Mac ran his fingers through his short blond hair. Nick looked a lot like his uncle. “Seeing Nick will be great. But why in the world would you pay for a charter from Nairobi instead of calling ahead so I could pick you up? Couldn’t you at least have left a message?”
“And ruin the surprise?”
He raised a brow at her. Okay, so even she knew Mac wasn’t keen on surprises. She hadn’t initially planned on sneaking into his office, but it was the one place she figured she could access a computer privately. She needed to do some research, but she also wanted to check if Katia had sent her an email. Maybe she’d changed her mind about the article. Tessa had forgotten her tablet charger. She should have searched her sheets better. As for getting here from the main airport in Nairobi...yes, counting on Mac would have been easier. And stupid.
“Look. I’m still not used to scheduling around school holidays, so this one crept up on us.”
“I realize you’ve grown accustomed to the silver spoon and spa type of life and people falling at your feet, but I don’t bow to anyone. Don’t you think it’s a bit presumptuous to assume I’m not already booked tomorrow morning?”
She hated—really hated—when people made her sound petty and self-centered just because she’d married a wealthy man. They had no clue about her marriage or what her life was like below the surface. As for Mac...he’d judged her and made fun of her since their school days. He used to call her a hermit, chicken and nerd. She hated him for that and had always resented the fact that Mac, Allan and Maria were part of the cool crowd she’d never fit into. They’d been the kids who got invited to parties, always looked trendy and weren’t afraid to break rules or play hooky when she didn’t dare.
But right now, Mac’s ego wasn’t her problem. His cooperation was. She noticed the top of a brochure sticking out from underneath a few envelopes by his computer. AWS: Air Walker Safaris. He had his logo embroidered on half his shirts and had given a shirt and matching cap to Nick when he’d come down to South Africa to settle things after the funeral. Narcissistic company name, if you asked her. Bet he’d had an easy time coming up with that one.
Nick was a Walker, though, and she needed to press the fact that he was the last “Air Walker.” No way could she bring up having him stay with Mac permanently until she could negate all of Mac’s logistical arguments against it. She needed Mac to succumb to his emotions regarding his nephew. It wouldn’t be easy. She needed to slip under his radar and rob him of his bachelorhood.
When they’d gained custody, Mac had made it quite clear that raising a boy while being both a bush pilot and tour guide wouldn’t work in any way, shape or form. His refusal to take Nick was just one more reason why she resented him. Mac—who lived for spontaneity, change and challenge—had backed off when it came to raising a kid. And he’d assumed that just because Tessa was married, had money and a house and was female, she was mother material. He’d implied that she had more time on her hands—between manicures—than he did.
There were no words for how much she loved and cared about Nick...and no regrets for the time she’d gotten to spend with him. She truly wanted to do right by Maria, but taking on a traumatized child had terrified her, and months of dealing with his depressed moods had left her drained. Mac did care about his nephew. She knew that, just like she knew that if something happened to her, he’d figure out a way to blend Nick into his life, whether he wanted to or not. She just wished he’d taken on some of the load from the beginning. And in his eyes, he had no more reason to take on raising Nick now than he had six months ago when he’d left him in Tessa’s hands.
“Are you booked tomorrow?” she asked.
His lips hardened and he clenched his jaw. “No.”
“I guess it’s all good, then. I promised Nick a holiday and I’d
