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‘Wait,’ Ish reached for Emily’s arm before she could run away. ‘Dads don’t play games, they’re too busy for that. They have to run businesses and palaces and do important things, not like mummies. They have lots of time to play.’ He tilted his head to the side in confusion, his eyes narrowed.
‘What?’ Emily said. ‘Of course daddies play! They are the best at playing. Mine plays all the time!’ she smiled broadly showing off a missing front tooth.
‘Duke,’ Ava reached for him but he shrugged her off.
‘Hey buddy,’ Noah said, ‘I’ve got plenty of time to play with you both before dinner, there is nothing I’d rather do.’
Ish nodded but Ava’s heart tore in two. She stood quickly so that she could release herself from the weight of Noah’s questioning stare.
What was he doing? He counted to ten as the kids ran to hide. Noah Hawthorn only had one plan and that was work hard, make money and fight for his daughter. Oh, and keep his hometown free of unnecessary development. But Emily came first.
Staying late after work and eating with his client was not part of the plan. But … Emily. She’d had a ball playing with Duke. Animated, alive, normal, like her parents weren’t separated and living in different cities and fighting over where she lived. So maybe staying for dinner was for her.
As dusk drew in, Ava called them to join her, and poured him another glass of wine and he found himself relaxing. He cooked the steak on the barbeque and they ate together, laughing, joking and having fun.
‘Thanks so much, Ava, for today, and to you too, Duke for keeping Emily company. What do you say, Emily?’
‘Thank you, I had a great time.’
‘Honestly, I’m really grateful. You got me out of a spot.’
‘What else are you going to do with your dad this weekend, Emily?’
‘Oooh, we’re going to see the alpacas! It’s going to be such fun. Last time I was there, they had babies and those babies will be bigger now.’
‘Alpacas? Wow. Are they nearby?’
‘Yeah, it’s a bit odd, isn’t it? There’s an alpaca farm just outside of town. It’s attached to a winery and the kids just love it.’
‘Duke, wanna come?’
Ava and Noah both simultaneously replied with excuses. ‘I think your daddy wants to spend some time alone with you, he’s missed you.’
‘Ava and Duke have better things to do.’
‘No, not fair. Duke really wants to see them. Don’t you, Duke? What are you doing tomorrow?’
‘Nothing, so we can come.’
Ava looked at Noah and he shrugged. ‘It’s a great way to get to know the locals and see the sights.’
Ava didn’t reply. Was she being polite? Did she want to go? He couldn’t tell. But it would have been rude not to include them now, and besides, Noah couldn’t think of one single excuse as to why he didn’t want to spend more time with Ava tomorrow.
Chapter Eleven
Nerves and fear danced for space in Ava’s tummy. Maybe a little bit of excitement thrown in, too.
Problem was she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of seeing Noah today, but trying to understand what that meant exactly had her fraught with anxiety.
Mixing with the locals and seeing the sights and further integrating herself into this little community, added the fear factor and was exactly what she shouldn’t be doing. The pact she’d made with herself to keep a low profile was swiftly going awry. Now she and Noah and Emily and Ish were friends, and today they’d meet more locals. So much for running under the radar.
Trouble was she wanted to be part of this community.
And she also wanted to be invisible.
Noah pulled in his ute beside her and her nerves racked up a notch.
Not for the kids, though. Both barrelled out of their respective cars and shrieked in excitement at seeing each other.
