LITMIR.BIZ

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died together when she had just left her teens—too young to have really understood her mother yet old enough to see that true love was a worthwhile goal.

      Her marriage, after the initial honeymoon period, had never included an equal partnership so any conversations had been dominated and directed by Sol.

      With Max she felt she could dispute, digress or downright disagree, and her contribution would be appreciated. He must have felt the same because he stood up and held out his hand.

      ‘Come and sit with me for a while on the veranda. We’ll look over the ocean and check out the stars. It is a beautiful night.’

      She took his hand and the feel of his fingers around hers as he helped her up made her realise she had never felt so relaxed and cared for by a man who had no expectations of her.

       CHAPTER SIX

      THEY rose and crossed the room and strolled out through the French doors to the veranda. A soft breeze blew tendrils of hair across Georgia’s cheek and she felt Max’s gaze on her as she sat down on the swing seat. He sat next to her and his strong thigh brushed hers as they swung.

      Georgia took a sip from her glass and tried to retrieve the light mood they’d shared in the dining room.

      The focus had shifted suddenly so that she was aware of Max’s weight against her and the subtle scent of his aftershave even with the breeze carrying scents from the garden her way.

      She remembered those crazy fantasies she’d had on the mountaintop and shifted a little on the seat.

      She cleared her throat. ‘Meeandah Hospital is certainly grass roots. You might change your mind when you’ve had ten nights’ broken sleep in a row from callouts.’

      Max spread one arm to encompass the vista and the other he dropped around her shoulders. ‘A hospital like we have here has fewer than one hundred and fifty births a year. That leaves me two hundred nights with sleep at least—not counting the quick births in the night that I’m told about in the morning.’

      What a dream life as far as she was concerned. Imagine living here, Elsa growing up in this wonderful environment, Max as a true companion and lover, plus the best of doctors to work with. They were damned attractive thoughts but Max could never settle here.

      ‘Somewhere like this is a big step down,’ Georgia said as she thought of the high-powered position he’d held in the city, and even the subtle state-wide ramifications of what he achieved now, along with his visits to the hospital. His position was important to the whole scheme of obstetrics in New South Wales.

      Max looked across at her. ‘Could you be happy working in a facility like this?’

      ‘Of course.’ Couldn’t he tell? She glanced around them at the idyllic lushness of the garden and the endless sky, and thought of the birth she had already been privileged to share. ‘If the health system will sustain it, I’d stay here for ever.’

      Georgia exhaled a long blissful sigh and looked across at him. ‘This is what I love to do. Before I worked at Lower Mountains Base, I had my own home-birth practice, but nowadays I couldn’t make that kind of availability commitment with Elsa.’

      ‘Why is that?’

      She loved it that Max seemed so interested. ‘I need the framework of other midwives around me and this sort of situation is the nearest I can get to the ideal world.’

      Max sat back. ‘I would never have imagined this sleepy town could be an ideal world.’

      She sighed. ‘For you it wouldn’t be. You’d miss not having the city to call on for amusement.’As she said the words, disappointment washed over her. Of course she was being unrealistic.

      That was sad but true. Max would move on and she might even think about staying here when the time came for them to part, if she could be safe. Suddenly she didn’t want to think about the time when Max had moved on.

      Max closed his eyes and felt her words slice into him. They hurt. When had he been bored in the last four months? When had he wanted to be anywhere but coming home to Georgia?

      ‘Do you know so little of me that you imagine that? Do you think me so needy of the bright lights?’ Sometimes he despaired he’d ever have a hope with this woman. She didn’t even try to understand him.

      He sighed and watched her reflect back over what she’d said, but judging by her expression she still didn’t get it.

      ‘How could I know more about you?’ she said. ‘You don’t exactly talk about yourself. Apart from the last few weeks, I’d barely seen you except for night relief from Elsa.’

      He supposed it was true, though to his mind she seemed to be everywhere. When they had rare time to talk his choice would be to hear about her, not himself.

      If that was the price for her to really see him then maybe it was time he began to pay. ‘What do you want to know?’

      She laughed and he wanted to kiss her—not talk about himself. Her infectious chuckle had been there since Elsa’s birth and he treasured these moments more each day.

      She poked him gently with her elbow. ‘Do you realise how dangerous it is for a man to offer to tell all?’

      He tilted his head. ‘I asked what you wanted to know—I didn’t promise I would tell you.’

      ‘Now you are being mysterious.’

      And you are delicious. He swung the seat gently and she was carried with him back and forth. She wasn’t in his arms but it was better than nothing. ‘I’m not intentionally mysterious.’

      ‘So start with Tayla.’ Georgia folded her hands. ‘How did you meet her and what made you think you would be happy together?’

      Max shook his head. ‘Why do women always start with another woman?’

      ‘Fine.’ She shrugged. ‘What do you want to tell me, then?’

      His gaze locked with hers. ‘I’d rather tell you that I have enjoyed the last four months with you more than any I can remember.’

      Georgia’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘It must have been a hoot for you. You enjoyed being woken up by a colicky baby ten times a night and having a grumpy, sleep-deprived housemate to live with.’ Why on earth would he?

      ‘Absolutely.’The tilt of his lips confirmed that he had only pleasant memories and though he spoke quietly, his tone of voice indicated it was the truth. ‘I became acquainted with Elsa and she’s gorgeous, like her mother.’

      Georgia tilted her head. ‘Same temperament, you mean?’

      Max nodded. ‘She’s determined and independent, yes.’

      ‘Ah.’ She had him. ‘So living with me is like living with a baby with colic. I can see why you’d be attracted.’

      They were teasing each other and she was beginning to enjoy it too much. This was far too dangerous for her peace of mind and she tried to steer the topic away into more general waters. Maybe he did have an agenda with her after all or he’d managed to beam in on one of her fantasies.

      ‘It is a glorious night,’ she said.

      Max wouldn’t be diverted. ‘I appreciated each and every vision of you at night since Elsa was born.’

      Georgia thought back over the range of short cotton nighties and men’s T-shirts and boxer shorts she’d worn, with her hair a mess. Not much to admire there.

      He hadn’t finished and his voice brushed her skin with his breath as he turned to face her. ‘And I was privileged to see your hair wild and loose and the real you without the public face of composure that keeps me at arm’s length so very efficiently.’

      This was serious stuff

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