was collected he began the thirty-minute drive north to Noosa.
‘Have you been to Noosa before?’ he asked once they were on their way.
‘Yes, but it was quite a while ago, ten years at least. We came on a family holiday,’ she answered. ‘It might have completely changed by now.’
‘That’s what so nice about it up here,’ he said. ‘It never really changes. Sure, there’ve been developments up and down the river and along the coast, but nothing like the massive highrises on the Gold Coast. Noosa National Park is a great place to walk through. You can even do a beach crawl if you want. There are quiet, shady bays or great surf spots, so whatever your mood you can usually find somewhere to relax.’
‘I remember the national park. My sister Ashleigh hated the long walks my parents kept taking us on. Ellie wanted to stop and look at every bit of wildlife and I kept running on ahead, driving my parents crazy in case I got lost, which I seem to recall I did on more than one occasion.’
‘You must have been a cute kid,’ he said after a little pause. ‘I envy your family life. It must have been wonderful having such a loving environment to grow up in.’
‘It wasn’t always fun and games,’ she said. ‘I love my sisters but we fought a lot when we were younger. I guess all kids do.’
There was another lengthy silence.
‘I often wondered what it would have been like to have a brother or a sister.’
She looked at him. ‘It must have been very hard growing up without your parents.’
‘It was. But I learned to cope. My great-aunt did the best she could but I wasn’t the easiest person to be around at times.’
‘Do you have any photos of your parents?’
‘I guess I have them somewhere.’
‘Why don’t you have them out on show?’
‘I’m not the sentimental type,’ he said. ‘It’s in the past and I’m only interested in the future.’
Mia decided to step out on a limb. ‘Your great-aunt said you used to hide any photos of your parents when she put them out. Why did you do that?’
He gave her a hard little glance. ‘You sound as if the two of you had a very cosy chat.’
‘I just wanted to find out a bit more about the man I was marrying.’
‘And did she enlighten you?’
Mia frowned at his sharpened tone. ‘There’s no need to be so defensive.’
‘I’m not being defensive. I just don’t appreciate you interfering in things that don’t concern you.’
‘I think I have the right to know what has made you the way you are.’
‘Why? So you can reform me, to make me more user-friendly?’
‘You’re way beyond reform,’ she snapped back irritably. ‘I wouldn’t even bother trying.’
‘Good. Then at least we know where we both stand.’
Mia frowned as she sat back in her seat with a sigh of frustration. He was like a closed book. As soon as she tried to prise open the pages he would just as quickly snap them shut. She knew he was hurting—she could almost feel it coming off him whenever the subject of his childhood was raised. It was like an aura surrounding him. He didn’t trust life not to hit him from the left field again when he was least expecting it.
He reminded her of Ashleigh’s gorgeous husband, Jake. He had hidden his inner pain behind a façade of cynicism that had very nearly destroyed her sister’s life and his own as well. But Ashleigh’s enduring love had found a healing pathway to his soul.
Did she have what it took to do the same for Bryn? And more to the point—did she even want to try?
‘I think you’ll like my house,’ Bryn said after another lengthy silence. ‘I had it designed specially.’
As olive branches went it wasn’t quite what she had been hoping for but she realised he was making an effort and she forced herself to accept it in the spirit in which it was given.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing it,’ she said.
Mia looked around her a few minutes later in awe. She had been expecting Bryn’s beach hideaway to be luxurious but nothing had quite prepared her for the sheer brilliance of the design that gave him sweeping views over the Noosa River on one side and the beaches and national park on the other. The house was on three levels and was tucked in the bush land that fringed the area, offering a level of privacy that was unbelievable. There were no curtains at any of the main windows—they weren’t necessary as the house was set higher than the rest of its neighbours and the thick surrounding bush was an effective screen.
‘What do you think?’ Bryn asked as soon as he’d shown her the entry level where the main lounge was situated as well as the kitchen and spacious dining area.
‘It’s…wonderful…’ She turned to look at him. ‘No wonder you love coming here. It’s like a private paradise.’
‘Come and I’ll show you the rest of the house from the top floor down,’ he said, leading the way to the open-plan stairs.
Mia followed him as he showed her the three large bedrooms on the top level. A wall of built-in wardrobes gave each room a feeling of space, as did the minimalist décor and pristine white bed linen on the beds. Each en suite had a large, free-standing bowl-like white basin on top of a simple vanity and a big walk-in shower, and the floor and walls were tiled with marble the colour of flecked sand.
He led her back down the stairs to the lower level, where an impressive gym was set up in a large room that led out through French doors to a lap pool in the private garden in which frangipani trees scented the balmy night air.
‘Wow…’ Mia breathed in wonder as she looked around. ‘You sure know the way to an exercise junkie’s heart.’
Bryn chuckled as she bent down to trail her fingers in the water of the pool to test its temperature. ‘I was wondering how you maintained that stunning figure of yours. Now I know.’
Mia felt his compliment wash over her like the warm silk of the water around her fingers. She straightened from the pool and tried to hide her reaction but he caught one of her hands and brought her to a standstill right in front of him.
He stroked the backs of the knuckles of one hand over the heightened colour of her cheek in a movement so gentle her breath came to a stumbling halt right in the middle of her chest. Her stomach gave a little flutter, just like the wings of a trapped moth inside a tiny confined space.
She moistened her suddenly dry mouth at the dark intensity in his midnight-blue gaze as it locked with hers.
The perfumed air swirled around them, wrapping them in a sensual mantle of summer warmth, the exotic atmosphere tipping the balance of distance Mia had desperately tried to maintain between them ever since their marriage was formalised that afternoon.
She
