Page 41 of Road to Rosalee

Zai’s heart broke for her. ‘Like, you mean, nobody at all?’

His question drew her face to his and she studied him through shadowed eyes. ‘Nope.’

The question he was burning to ask her flew from his lips before he had time to stop himself. ‘What about a partner? I bet a gorgeous woman like you has one back in the big smoke.’

‘Like a partner in business, in crime, or something else entirely?’ She stared at him with an increasingly defensive gaze.

‘Wow, sorry.’ He quickly retreated, not wanting to upset her – there was very clearly something she didn’t want him to know, and it wasn’t his place to pry it out of her. ‘I was just trying to get to know you better, that’s all. I thought a beautiful woman like you would most certainly be spoken for.’

One of her brows rose. ‘Spoken for?’

He shrugged, as though it wasn’t a big deal if she was, even though it would be a dagger through his heart. ‘You know, engaged or married.’

‘Nope.’ It was short, direct, sharp even. ‘Why are you so interested in my relationship status anyway?’

He shrugged her slightly frosty tone off and sighed away his frustration. ‘I just am.’

She seemed to hold her breath as she considered this, then her lips pressed together as she regarded him for a few more uncomfortable moments. ‘That’s not a valid explanation.’

He huffed, rolling his eyes playfully in a bid to lighten the murky energy of the room. ‘Okay, all right. I’ll fess up.’ He held his hands up as though a gun was pointed at him. ‘It’s just … the boys and I really like your cooking and I don’t want to have to try and find another cook to step into your very capable shoes if you have to run back to the city for a boyfriend or husband.’

‘So, essentially, all you care about is filling your stomach with my awesome cooking?’ Her downturned lips twitched at the corners, but she held the smile back, just.

‘Yeah.’ He couldn’t help the smile tugging the corners of his mouth either – thank god the brooding storm was passing. ‘Pretty much.’

Frowning, she tossed a cushion at him and they both laughed.

Gathering himself, Zai brought his gaze to hers, hoping she could read between the lines of what he was about to say. ‘All jokes aside, I really like your company, Melody, and I don’t want you to leave.’

She went to say something, paused, and drew in a breath. ‘I like your company too, Zai, but I can’t stay here forever. My life is back in Sydney.’

Nodding slowly, he silently considered what she’d said, and everything she didn’t say, her all-pervading gaze speaking volumes. The way she was looking at him told him she did like him, possibly as more than a mate … but he wasn’t about to lay it all on the table without more, for fear of being firmly rejected. That would make things between them very uncomfortable. The bottom line was he had to work with her, and she was Matthew Walsh’s daughter. As the seconds ticked on, the room fell awkwardly silent. Trying to find words to fill it, he came up short and instead watched her picking at the dirt beneath her fingernails.

‘What aren’t you telling me, Melody?’ he finally found the nerve to ask.

She took her time answering, her lips parting then pressing together a couple of times.

‘Why?’ It was only now that she fleetingly brought her gaze to his.

Considering his reply, he sucked air through his teeth. ‘Call it instinct.’

‘Regardless of what anyone tells you, instincts aren’t always right, Mister Wellstone.’ Her lips were smirking, but it was clear to him it was to try and hide the secrets that were plain in her eyes.

‘Hmm, interesting.’ He nodded very slowly then shrugged. ‘Each to their own opinions, hey.’

‘Agreed,’ she said, short and certainly not sweet.

As much as he ached to, he wasn’t going to pursue this conversation any longer – now too afraid of what he might discover. For now, he wanted to live in the fantasy world where he and Melody had a fighting chance of becoming romantically involved one day. Until then, he was going to play it cool, calm and collected. He’d have to be content remaining her loyal mate. For now.

Melody yawned, overstatedly so.

Zai took it as his cue. Rising to his feet, he gathered the two empty coffee cups by the handles. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to whip something up for dinner?’ She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and he was worried about her. ‘Even some baked beans on toast? That’ll be what the boys are having right now.’

‘No, I don’t really have an appetite, but thanks for offering.’ She turned her full attention to him now. ‘And thanks for taking such good care of me. I owe you.’

‘No worries, and no you don’t owe me anything.’ A kiss would be nice, though. ‘I’ll head home and leave you in peace.’

‘Okay.’ She held a hand up, grinning. ‘Could you just help me up to sitting before you go, please? Otherwise I might be stuck here all bloody night.’