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‘I thought you might sleep in the other bedroom.’ It was all made up.
Polly sensed his slight hesitation, a brief tension in his gaze as he studied her. Was he waiting for her to tell him that she really wanted him to stay?
Problem was, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She knew she would enjoy his company, but she was also worried she might enjoy ittoomuch.
‘Nah,’ he said. ‘You need your own space. I’ll go back to the flat.’
Again, he was being considerate. Perfect, really. And it was silly to be disappointed.
‘You’ll be fine here, won’t you?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Seth. There’s everything I could possibly need. I—I feel so spoiled.’
His mouth tilted in a crooked smile. ‘Make the most of it. But if you have any worries, just call.’
‘Thanks.’
With that, he was gone. Polly put plates and cutlery into the dishwasher—perhaps the biggest luxury of all was that Seth had a dishwasher. Oh, the joy of just bunging the dirty pots and everything else in there and shutting the door. Not so joyful, however, was the sound of his ute firing up and then heading away, back to town.
Silence fell then and Polly felt lonely, which made no sense. She’d lived alone for years, and anyway, she had a daughter to keep her company now and the baby would soon be awake. But it was so quiet out here in the bush. In the hospital there’d always been background noises and Polly was used to traffic and sirens in city streets and the sounds of doors banging and voices in the hallway outside her apartment.
She found her phone and selected music to listen to, choosing, as had Seth, something soft and easy that wouldn’t disturb the baby. When Summer woke, Polly fed her in the big, comfortable bed, backed by a mountain of plump pillows. Afterwards, when her little one was settled again, she had a long and luxurious shower.
The water from the rainfall showerhead was warm and steady and the natural stone tiling provided a relaxing ambience. Tonight there were extra touches, too—beautiful rose-scented soap and expensive shampoo and conditioner. Surely, Seth must have asked a woman to find these things for him?
Showered and changed into one of her new nighties, Polly settled to sleep, knowing that she would be up several times during the night. But as she lay in the huge plush bed, she was wide awake.
I shouldn’t be here,she thought.This isn’t what I’d planned. I shouldn’t be living off Seth Ramsay’s generosity. It will only soften me and I need to be tough.
She was still awake when Summer woke for her first feed.
Chapter Eight
It was aweek later when Polly packed her baby and her belongings into the Hyundai and drove into Wirralong. In so many ways, the past seven days had been blissful. Seth’s house was like a sanctuary, so spacious and quiet, with everything she needed at her fingertips.
Each morning she had felt stronger and Summer had been more alert, looking around at the world with a kind of wide-eyed wonder. OMG, her baby was cuteness personified, a true little ray of sunshine.
Polly had also developed a comfortable routine for feeding Summer and she’d had fun playing at being a proper housewife in Seth’s lovely kitchen. In the evenings he’d called in after work and they’d eaten dinner together. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind Polly’s simple spaghetti bolognaise or fried sausages and salad, but she’d also served him meals prepared by others—callers she had privately thought of as ‘the good women of Wirralong’.
First, Elsa Hargreaves had arrived on the front doorstep, all smiles and welcoming warmth, and armed with a chicken casserole.
‘I warned you this would happen,’ Elsa announced with a cheery grin. ‘It’s a tradition for new mums here—to save you having to cook while your baby’s so small and demanding.’
Of course, Elsa had been goggle-eyed with curiosity as she looked around at Seth’s house. ‘Wow. Isn’t Seth clever? I’ve been dying to see this place. It’s gorgeous.’
Clearly, Elsa was angling for a grand tour, but Polly wasn’t comfortable showing off Seth’s house, given that she was merely a guest. ‘I’m sure Seth would be happy to show you around sometime,’ she’d told Elsa.
Her visitor seemed a little taken aback, but she quickly recovered. ‘Sure,’ she said, and then, with another smile, ‘Well, I’d better get cracking. I’m on roster to help serve lunch at Harry’s kindy. Catch you later, Polly.’
Two days later, another friendly woman had turned up, slim, dark haired and smiling, with a cute little toddler on her hip. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Ruth Lange, a friend of Elsa Hargreaves. I just wanted to welcome you to the district.’
Polly might have explained that she wasn’t staying in the district, but she had Summer in her arms and Ruth Lange was too busy cooing at her.
‘Ooh, what a divine little bub.’ Ruth handed over a Tupperware container. ‘And this is a lamb casserole. It’s frozen, so you can heat it up any time that suits you.’
‘Gosh. Thank you.’ Polly’s immediate concern was how she might return the container.
‘Oh, no rush with that,’ Ruth assured her. ‘I have plenty.’
