Jade felt a tingle suddenly run down her spine. She wasn’t sure if Mitchell had awakened something in her but suddenly didn’t think it would be a good idea after three years of solitude to be in small softly lit room with Enrique, mood music and massage oil.
She drew a deep breath and blinked away the images.
‘So …’Maureen dropped her already soft voice and leant in towards Jade ‘… is there a special man in your life?’
Jade was still pushing unsettling thoughts of the spa from her mind, and was about to answer the personal question diplomatically when she realised Amber was standing in front of her, dripping wet and smiling and looking a little like sand-crumbed chicken. And beside her was her very handsome beach chaperon.
Jade was painfully aware that he might have heard the question his mother had dropped on her without warning. Quickly, he confirmed her suspicions.
‘Don’t be shy,’ Mitchell urged with a smile that showed his perfect white teeth. ‘My mother is quite a busybody and if you’re single she’ll try to matchmake you with an eligible neighbour. So if marriage is on the cards for you and you’d like her to fix you up with an Aussie husband, let her know. Personally I couldn’t think of anything worse than being trapped in that institution, but each to his, or her, own.’
Jade wasn’t surprised by his views on marriage. To a man with wanderlust surging through his veins marriage would be like a prison. Ruby had been fortunate that she had met David. He had been the staying type and, no matter how short their lives had been cut by fate, they had loved each other completely. It had been a love and commitment that Jade had admired and respected but doubted she would ever find.
‘I’m happily single,’ she announced, not meeting Mitchell’s gaze. ‘And not looking for a husband here or in the US.’
Mitchell thought her answer made sense. From the way she was dressed he thought she should be singing on a hilltop in Austria. It wasn’t the way a woman dressed to get a man’s attention, unless he was looking for a reliable nanny for his army of children.
Jade was definitely not his type of woman. It wasn’t her appearance alone that was sending him running, it was her lack of interest in anything that even slightly resembled fun. She was more like a retired army colonel than a young woman. Strict and staid.
‘Well, now you know, you can leave the poor woman alone,’ he told his mother with a wink that didn’t go unnoticed by Jade. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it a signal that she was indeed a lost cause and Maureen was off the hook in trying to matchmake?
It didn’t matter. Mitchell was a confirmed bachelor and she was single by choice too.
Later that evening, Mitchell and Jade found themselves sitting together after dinner on the balcony of the house. Amber and her grandparents had gone to bed early but Jade wanted to stay up a little longer to unwind from the day. Knowing Amber was safely tucked into bed, she was able to relax for the first time in many years. Finally, she had the feeling of family support and reassurance that she and Amber were not alone in the world. She knew they would only be in Adelaide for a few weeks but the love Maureen and Arthur had shown in just one day was a gift she had never expected to receive and she felt in her heart that they were forming a bond that would last a lifetime.
She didn’t expect or particularly want Mitchell to stay but he did of his own choice. Maureen and Arthur had appeared exhausted from the excitement of the arrival and, Jade suspected, from the preparations for the visit. Amber’s rag doll had been washed and hung in the sun to dry, so she and her favourite doll were clean between pretty pink sheets.
Mitchell was relaxed as he swung away from the table, stretched out his tanned legs and placed them on the padded footstool. He thought the meeting with Jade and Amber had gone well. They were family and he felt good to have finally met them. Amber was a cutie and would without doubt be a heartbreaker in the future. Jade was not what he had expected but as a caregiver she fitted the bill.
He had no clue that Jade didn’t feel the same way. She didn’t think he fitted any bill, and she was looking for answers. With the others asleep, she decided that it was as good a time as any to get some.
She wanted Mitchell to explain his absence from Amber’s life, particularly if he wanted a place in her future. But she was also mindful that his generosity in forgoing his inheritance from his brother had provided a lovely home for them. It was a little like an emotional landmine, but one she wanted to navigate to a satisfactory conclusion for all of them.
Biting the inside of her lip awkwardly, she tried to find a way to ask without the question escalating to something unpleasant, particularly in Maureen and Arthur’s home. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and drew a few short breaths. She felt a little torn about her line of approach. Gratitude, confusion and anger were all vying to direct the opening line of the conversation.
‘What is it?’ Mitchell asked, a little confused by her demeanour as he watched her becoming increasingly agitated.
‘I just don’t …’ she stumbled, and paused and looked away from his intense stare. His deep blue eyes were drawing her in. The softness of his mouth was a stark contrast to the angular lines of his jaw. The same way her demure dress was a stark contrast to the desire he was unwittingly stirring deep inside her.
The old Jade would not have hesitated to see where this infatuation might lead. To flirt a little and find out if it was a two-way street. To see if Mitchell’s strong, tanned arms would pull her close and hold her as his sensual mouth claimed hers. She hurriedly blinked away the mental images that were crippling her line of thought. It was crazy. Perhaps that was a side effect of jet-lag, her sensible side suggested. But she knew the change in hemisphere wasn’t bringing her to life. That it was Mitchell doing it all on his own. And she had to stop it.
Reminding herself that she didn’t even like the man sitting opposite her, let alone desire him, she took a sip of her iced tea. It was old Jade’s healthy but unwanted libido rising to the surface again.
‘I just don’t understand why you never visited Amber. She’s your niece. The daughter of the brother you lost, and you didn’t want to meet her. I just don’t get it.’ She blurted the words out at lightning speed to block out everything else she was feeling.
That was exactly the question that Mitchell had hoped to avoid. Not that it wasn’t warranted. It just wasn’t something he wanted to go into. He wasn’t ready to once again be responsible for others. He’d been there and done that. He had hoped his financial contribution would be far more valuable than anything he could offer emotionally.
‘I’m not a fan of LA,’ he offered up as a reply. It was a half-truth as he didn’t like big cities. ‘I’m more of an uncharted waters kind of a guy. Not into multi-lane freeways and high-rise apartments. Frankly, Hollywood just isn’t my scene.’
Jade’s face contorted at his response, and harshness coloured in her voice. ‘She’s your niece. It wasn’t a sightseeing trip that I was suggesting.’
‘I’m here now,’ he retorted with no audible emotion. ‘Amber’s a sweet little girl and I just want us to enjoy the next few weeks.’
‘That still doesn’t answer my question. Didn’t you want to meet your brother’s daughter?’ Her brow was lined as she spoke. She was disappointed that he didn’t offer a better explanation. She had hoped there was something of substance. Something that could justify why Mitchell had ignored his own flesh and blood for so long. But there wasn’t. The long hair was gone, the beard too, but the disinterest in anything other than satisfying his wanderlust was still there. Jade realised that Amber would never be able to rely on her uncle and that made her sad.
Mitchell ran his long fingers through his hair nervously. It was clear that Jade wanted more of an explanation than he’d planned on providing. She would