

### WHITE BREAKERS

A Romance

By Merran Fuller

Published by:

Merran Fuller at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Merran Fuller

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Chapter 1

Maddy stood at her front gate with the scrunched up letter addressed to 'Madeleine McVey' in her hand. She looked at its big, bold type.

_Morgan Collier_! She repeated the name in disbelief as she walked up the path to her inner city cottage. If she'd known he was to be her prospective employer, she never would have applied for the job. It had seemed so wonderful at the time. And she desperately needed the money.

Opportunity of a lifetime! Publishing Executive requires Personal Assistant over the summer holiday period at private beach residence. Top salary negotiable for the right person.

No mention at all as to whom the executive might be.

Funny to receive a real letter in this day and age of emails and texting. She sat on the front step smoothing it in her lap. What was she to do? All her instincts told her to forget it, forget the job. But I need the money, she decided. And I need it because of Morgan Collier. She felt sick at heart and light-headed. She stared at an ant crawling along a paving stone.

"Mummy, where are you?" a child called through the house to the open front door.

"Coming darling," Maddy answered distractedly.

That's the bottom line, she thought. I have no choice. She got up and marched into the house, already imagining the meeting with her future employer, the man who had destroyed her marriage.

The grey wind flicked her hair through the open bus window as it made its way down the Great Ocean Road. Maddy hadn't been here since childhood but she vividly remembered the mesmerising coastline, the moiling ocean crashing ceaselessly for miles against the sheer cliffs.

She stared blankly this time at the formidable breakers, letting her mind fill in the details of Morgan Collier's appearance. Would he have the cold, unflinching eyes of a fanatic? Or the square set jaw of a man hell-bent on staying at the top of his game? After all, he'd managed to extract money from her husband to plough money into Collier Press's first digital design magazine.

Perhaps he'd already gone soft now that he had what he wanted, the creator and head of Australia's leading publishing house. Maddy figured he'd be paunchy and balding to boot, with an ugly greying moustache to hide a weak lip.

She shivered with revulsion. She imagined him trying to work off the weight at the gym, the result of too much high living. No, he'd have a personal trainer, she thought, because he's so rich. She didn't think it right for someone to have that much money, especially if they'd trampled over people to get it.

While thinking about Collier, the little town of Acacia River rolled into view. In an instant the sun broke through the clouds, pouring light on the brilliant white breakers and illuminating the pretty seaside resort against the forested hillside. The fishing boats bobbed in the breakwater beyond the pier, adding the decisive touch to an already picturesque cliché.

Maddy's spirits lifted. The pungent smell of seaweed filled her nostrils, instantly transporting her back to childhood holidays. She could smell suntan lotion and taste vanilla ice cream. Buckets and spades, shells and sand castles floated through her mind.

Would she now be able to give her daughter a good life? Her summer job as Morgan Collier's personal assistant would help pay off her debt to her parents, a debt incurred when Carlisle had run out on their marriage. Collier had refused to pay out on Carlisle's investment in Collier's first digital design magazine, and she was left, literally, holding the baby. She took a sip of her bottled water and swallowed the irony of her situation.

Turning her head towards the window behind she caught her own reflection. She was surprised to see a wry smile on her beautifully shaped lips.

"Natalie Portman lips" Carlisle had said on their first date after he'd wooed her, a young student at art school. Her first holiday job was in a business where he was the owner and head designer. Natalie Portman was his favourite hot actor and Maddy had been flattered that this experienced, older man had seen a resemblance.

It was true, she knew that. She'd been told many times by teenage boyfriends that her lips were very kissable. She wiped away the thought. She'd always believed they were just spinning her a line, until she was swept off her feet at the age of twenty by Carlisle's relentless charm. That was a carefree lifetime ago, before she agreed to marry him. Before she agreed to go into business as his partner and wife.

She looked at her face almost tenderly, compassionately. She believed she was much older and wiser now. Though not yet thirty years old, Maddy had been through enough hardship to last a lifetime.

But she was determined enough. That strength was clearly visible behind her wide, grey-green eyes. They mirrored the sea through her reflection. And if the passenger behind Maddy had cared to notice, he would have glimpsed a spark of fire behind her gaze, a spark waiting to be ignited by who knew what?

She tossed back her shoulder length, streaked hair, one of her few concessions to vanity. She saw herself as a natural woman, but sometimes nature needed a little help. If Maddy had been born with blonde or fiery red hair she would have been truly stunning. Instead, she had been less than blessed with mousey hair. Her mother kindly referred to it as honey blonde. Well, honey blonde it now was, thanks to the hairdresser's foils.

Maddy felt for her raffia hat under the seat as the bus pulled into the roadside stop.

"Any passengers for Acacia River?" the driver yelled, jerking his head to the rear of the bus. Maddy stood on tiptoes as she reached for her overnight bag. She thanked the driver as he placed her collapsible easel, painting equipment and soft tapestry bag on wheels on the gravel curb, opposite the service station that doubled as a general store.

"No problems." He waved and drove off in a cloud of dust and diesel fumes. A little bell tinkled as she opened the door of the store. A plump woman in her forties with bright cheeks and henna-dyed hair strolled out from behind the counter, wiping her big, raw hands on her apron.

"What can I do for you love?" she asked cheerily in a broad Australian accent.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where Morgan Collier's residence is?" Maddy felt nervous saying his name. She hoped the shopkeeper wouldn't notice. The woman laughed.

"That sounds fancy. Like a manor, and I suppose it is."

"So you know where it is then?"

"You must be blind," the shopkeeper answered, obviously amused. She came out from behind the counter and led Maddy out through the door. The woman shielded her eyes against the bright sun and pointed.

"It's there, you can't miss it. Can you see? You must be able to."

Maddy screwed up her eyes and focussed immediately on a magnificent white timber early 20th century-style house with verandahs all around. It nestled into the hillside above the ocean. She would surely have noticed it from the bus if she hadn't been so intent on her own reflection.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said the shopkeeper, more a statement than a question. "It's got a fabulous garden that my Trevor looks after. You can only see a bit of the property from here. It goes all the way up the hill and down behind the bend around the coast. When it's quiet you can even hear the peacocks. Didn't know what it was the first time I heard them!" She laughed again. Maddy warmed to her and introduced herself. The woman smiled.

"We've been waiting for you. I'm Leanne Smart. Morgan asked us to keep a lookout for you. Said he'd send his car."

So her arrival had not gone unnoticed in the town. What else did they know of her, and what did they think of Morgan Collier? she wondered.

"That was thoughtful," Maddy said. Of course, he should send a car, she thought. How else was she to get there? As agreed in the contract, Morgan Collier would provide her with a car for the duration of the job, but she had to get to the house first to drive it.

"Well, love," Leanne continued, "Trevor can drive you over to save time. He's got a few jobs to do at the manor." She laughed again, savouring the word.

"That's very kind, if it's no bother..." Maddy felt herself apologising, a bad habit she was trying to break.

"Oh, it's no trouble, love. Morgan pays Trevor very well to work in the garden. He's a real generous man."

_Generous_. That wasn't a word Maddy would have used. _Bloodsucker_ would have been more appropriate. Yet her own salary was way above what she'd expect in such a position. Well, I guess he can afford to be generous now, she thought. Still, she was puzzled, unable to balance her vision of the man with the opinion of Leanne Smart.

In the car, Trevor was just as friendly as his wife. It was only a short drive to White Breakers but he managed to fit in their life story, telling her they came straight to Acacia River from the city just over 20 years ago. They'd always wanted to live near the sea and he and Leanne had been here since Morgan Collier was fifteen years old.

"He's done a lot for this place in that time. Helped restored the Light House as a tourist attraction, helped save the local pub, among other things. Some people resent him for being a tall poppy, but that's just sour grapes. He's away most of the year on business, but usually comes back over summer. We're always glad to have him back. He throws the best parties on his birthday, invites all his friends from around the world." He turned to face Maddy. "He never forgets us, though."

Trevor hooked Maddy with these revelations about her employer's character. Before she could ask any probing questions, the brand new Holden ute pulled up to an impressive set of open gates, the words _White Breakers_ wrought in iron across them.

Western Red Cypresses formed a canopy over each side of the curving, gravel drive. Purple agapanthus accentuated the surrounding greenery with their vivid colour.

As the car cruised slowly along the driveway, Maddy had a sense of deja vu. Though her heart was pounding at the prospective meeting, she knew at least she would love White Breakers. She had seen this driveway, or something very similar, in a dream. She had always believed some day she would belong in a place like this.

The car's wheels crunched to a gentle stop at the entrance. Trevor helped Maddy get her things from the back of the ute and up the tiled steps to the expansive verandah. A stocky man with a shiny pate greeted them immediately from the open leadlight doors.

I was right, she thought, except he's not the least bit imposing. He looks even older than I imagined. Oddly, Maddy found herself disappointed. She held out her hand as the man gave it a firm shake.

"Good afternoon. I'm Damon, Mr Collier's valet, for want of a better word. You must be Miss McVey."

"Yes, I am, but please call me Maddy. I thought perhaps Mr Collier..."

"Ah, well, Mr Collier was called away unexpectedly on business, but he'll be back this evening." Damon broke off to say goodbye to Trevor who strolled away across the lawn on his gardening errand.

With a swift gesture he led Maddy into the house. She found herself standing on a waxed dark jarrah wood floor in an large foyer. She noticed the exquisite Persian runners scattered over the floor. Their rich reds and blues mingled with the sweet smell of roses and the sassafras wood of a striking contemporary timber sideboard. He's got fabulous taste, Maddy thought.

Dominating all at the foot of the stairs was a huge portrait of a middle-aged man. His expression was forbidding but strangely compelling at the same time. He had a shock of black hair and wild, dark eyes.

"Who's that?" Maddy had to ask.

"That's Flynn Collier, Mr Collier's father. No doubt you've heard of him."

Indeed, she had. Flynn Collier was a legend, the famous former owner of Collier Press and grandson of Augustus Collier, the man who founded the empire on the now-defunct _Melbourne Crier_ , Australia's most respected newspaper of its time. When Augustus died of a massive coronary in the first half of the 20th Century, it made front-page headlines in all the papers. His funeral was attended by an international Who's Who of important people. Such was the respect for The Fourth Estate in those days. Honest people, men and women of integrity, keen to print the truth. How times had changed! If a newspaper was to survive and retain its market share in these days of online access to media, all kinds of political deals and hidden agenda were the norm. Truth and honest debate now seemed a poor second to muckraking and sensationalism to maintain sales.

Damon interrupted Maddy's musings.

"Mr Collier left strict instructions to see you settled and comfortable. I expect him to be back for dinner."

Damon's manner was brusque but courteous. Maddy was not sure what to make of him. She decided not to make him an enemy. As they climbed the stairs to her room, she was amused to see him pull out his smart phone from his vest pocket to look at the time. She had half expected to see a fob watch.

"He usually has dinner around eighty-thirty on the garden terrace. Would that time suit you?"

Before she could reply, Damon continued.

"It's six o'clock now, perhaps you'd like to have a rest before dinner? I'll bring your things up to your room."

"Thank you, that's very kind."

"It's not a problem." He was friendly enough. He guided her to her room.

"I notice you have an easel. I take it you paint?"

"Yes, portraits. That's how I usually make my living. It gives me the freedom to spend time with my daughter."

"Preservation of family life is an admirable quality, Miss McVey." Maddy chuckled silently at his quaint turn of phrase.

"I thought I might have a little time to do some painting while I'm here."

"Well, I dare say you might find a willing subject or two among Mr Collier's guests this summer," Damon commented. As he turned on his heels to leave, he seemed to remember something.

"There is a little cabana on the property, close to the house. It hasn't been used for a while. If you would prefer, I can have your easel and paints moved there. It would be a very suitable studio for you to paint. I'm sure you will find it agreeable.

"Thank you, yes", said Maddy. "That's a wonderful suggestion. I look forward to seeing it."

As she closed the door and gestured goodbye, Maddy turned to find a beautifully spacious and comfortable room.

A breeze blew in through the white muslin curtains draped over the open French windows. This room also had waxed floorboards and a huge, antique Persian rug of the same quality as the runners in the foyer, but of a different pattern and mostly blues.

Her bed seemed bigger than king size. Was that possible? The quilt was covered in a fine, white cotton fabric, in a lighter tone to match the pale French chalk grey walls. The airiness of the colour scheme made her think of sea mist. A sweet-smelling antique carved rosewood trunk stood at the foot of her bed. She noted the luxurious wing-backed chair upholstered in blue and white toile linen. There was also a lime-washed latticed wardrobe that complemented the chest of drawers. A large bowl of pink and mauve hydrangeas on her left bedside table completed the picture. Had Morgan Collier had a hand in this, or was there another person (a woman perhaps?) who had carefully decorated the house.

Maddy walked over to the French windows. The late afternoon sun began to disappear behind the hill as it glinted on the balcony railing. When she parted the curtains, the view took her breath away.

The sea completely filled her vision. Below the lawn and the carefully tended garden, the vista gave way to tangled, native bush, then sand, then the mighty waters of Bass Strait. Nothing between her and Antarctica, if you veered slightly to avoid King Island. How amazing, she thought. The low rumble of the breakers gave an added dimension, which heightened her senses. She loved the ocean, she keened to its enormous power.

Maddy watched enthralled for a few more minutes, taking in the soft breeze, the smell of the sea and freshly mown grass. She waved to Trevor pushing a wheelbarrow past the terrace below. She turned back into the room, suddenly feeling very tired. She lay on the bed intending only to take a light nap. It was so comfortable on top of the soft quilt and down pillows that she instantly closed her eyes. Phantom images of Morgan Collier lingered in her mind as she slipped into a dream.

She awoke at around seven-thirty to the exotic cry of a peacock parading beneath her window. She took a leisurely spa bath in the gorgeous blue and white-tiled en suite bathroom, a modern concession out of time with the rest of the house, but to her approval. Next she pampered herself with an enormous soft white bath sheet.

After her bath Maddy languorously rubbed fragrant oil over her body from an exquisite Murano glass scent bottle. It must have cost a fortune. She felt was she going on a date. Well, Morgan Collier, date or not, I'm ready for you!

She descended the stairs at eighty-forty. Was she too early? She suddenly wished she'd put on a jacket over her cotton shirt. It wasn't cold, but there was a slight chill in the air.

Damon greeted her at the bottom of the stairs. Flynn's portrait glared at her with an all-knowing look and Maddy felt as if she'd been caught off guard. Apprehension pricked tiny beads of sweat into her palms.

"Miss McVey, er Maddy, Mr Collier is on the terrace already. I'll show you the way."

Beyond a conservatory at the end of the eastern hallway Maddy could see a wooden trestle-style table casually laid out with food. Two candles illuminated the relaxed figure of the back of a man who appeared to be staring out to sea. Dusk was beginning to settle into evening.

"Mr Collier, Miss McVey is here." Damon gestured for Maddy to walk onto the terrace. As she crossed the tiled terrace, Morgan Collier stood and turned to greet her. He smiled so disarmingly she almost melted.

He was tall, much taller than she'd imagined, with a shock of black hair, which he unconsciously smoothed back from his brow. His eyes were Flynn's. Maddy thought for an instant they were black until the candlelight revealed them to be an intense, dark blue. He strode forward to shake her hand.

"Hello, I'm Morgan, glad we meet at last, Madeleine." Maddy automatically smiled back. She always used her full Christian name "Madeleine" in her professional life as a painter.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here when you arrived, but I knew Damon would look after you." He waited for an answer, still smiling.

"Yes, thank you, he did," she replied confidently, but feeling flustered all the same. His unexpected appearance had upset her. In fact, he was quite striking. Not typically handsome, but unforgettable. A strong brow, a firm-set, yet sensual mouth. His body looked in great shape. She was instantly drawn to him against her better judgement. She silently wished for the man she'd imagined while on the bus. He would have been a lot easier to deal with.

"Please sit down." Morgan motioned her towards the table.

"What can I offer you?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Just help yourself then when you are ready. I thought you might prefer a more relaxed meal on our introduction."

Maddy could feel him watching her as she eventually helped herself to a serving of herb-crusted Tasmanian salmon and a simple salad of pear, rocket and shaved parmesan. Crusty bread, King Island brie and fat Sicilian olives were the only other accompaniment, along with the ubiquitous mineral water and a perfectly chilled bottle of Mornington Peninsula Pinot Grigio. Casual it may have been, but the napkins were pure linen.

This man had style, dressed in a soft white linen shirt and jeans. An expensive cotton sweater was tied casually around his shoulders. Maddy felt her detachment begin to unravel. Morgan Collier was definitely the sort of man she'd be attracted to if she was interested. But she had no place in her life now for any romantic attachments. Especially not with him. As Maddy took another bite of her salmon, Morgan looked at her steadily .

"Tell me a bit more about yourself," he finally said, taking a sip of wine as he leaned back in the padded cane chair. "Then you can ask me what you like. Within reason, of course."

Here was an intelligent man obviously used to directing the conversation. She'd expected a much more formal meeting, not this _date_ on a terrace with soft twilight and the roar of the ocean as a backdrop to business. She began to feel suspicious about the whole scene. Was she being set up? Maybe he really only wanted her here for one thing. Perhaps he knows who I am she suddenly thought. Just play it cool...

"Well, there's not much more to know than what's in my resume, which you've already seen." Maddy toyed with her salad.

"I've been on my own for several years. I have a six-year-old daughter called Shelley who's staying with her grandparents while I'm here over summer. I usually paint portraits for a living..."

"So Damon told me, among other things," Morgan interrupted. It seems they'd discussed her while she'd been asleep. She wondered if he'd asked what she looked like. She blushed.

She could feel herself start to babble on about her commitment to art and what it meant to her, all the while cross that she was losing her composure. Dammit, he's only a man, and someone I don't like she thought. I should be able to hold my own against him. She decided to throw the ball back in his court.

"I'm curious as to why you chose me for the job. I don't have a lot of experience as a personal assistant. You must have had lots of applicants."

He looked at her a few moments before replying. Maddy shifted uneasily in her chair. Was he testing her?

"Well, it's a curious thing. Often the right person for the job isn't the one who has all the so-called qualifications." He poured them both another drink.

"I liked what you said about yourself. You seemed to have spirit. I wanted someone who showed initiative and enterprise, a willingness to learn and," he looked at her and smiled, "most importantly, the ability to mix with people of all types. You seemed well qualified on all counts."

Maddy had forgotten most of what she'd written, but all these things were true. She'd suffered setbacks in her life but everyone always admired her determination. She'd had an equal share in running the design business with her husband and had supervised a team of designers for several years. Of course, she hadn't mentioned her husband's name in her application. Morgan leaned forward, staring intently at Maddy for a second or two.

"Now, before we go into the details of the job, I've got a request to put to you."

She held her breath. Here it comes. He's going to ask me to participate in some extra curricula activities.

"I want you to paint my portrait."

Maddy was taken aback. "You haven't seen my work. You might not like my style." She didn't know why she said that. She sipped her drink, feeling put on the spot. It was all so unexpected.

"But I do," he replied. "Damon's comment reminded me of the portrait you painted of a friend of mine last year – Jackson Perry."

She hadn't much liked Jackson, an architect of some repute. His wife was a friend from art school days, though they weren't in contact during her time with Carlisle. So thank goodness there was no connection to that part of her life. And when she and Lisette had connected again, she kept that all hidden, blotting it out as she got on with her 'new' life. People knew she had a daughter, but she never talked about her marriage and what went wrong. Move on, move on, she always said to herself.

"I saw the portrait in his house, a present from his wife Lisette, I seem to recall. But I remember thinking at the time it was a terrific painting. You really caught the essence of his character, ego and all." He laughed, whether good naturedly or at his friend's expense, she couldn't tell. His face was a mask.

"Yes, I would be happy to do it, but it would be quite a bit extra on top of the salary for my P.A. work," she dared to say. _What the hell, I should get back what's rightfully mine._ Maddy tripled her usual fee, then waited for his reaction.

"I don't think that'll be a problem. We can set aside an hour or two in the afternoons. I'll make sure I schedule meetings around our time together." He was staring straight at her. He was so reasonable there was no argument to counter the arrangement. Leaning forward onto the table, he continued to speak softly.

"You see, my mother is quite ill."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Maddy replied, still reeling from his acceptance of her fee.

"She's not quite on her death-bed, but she can't move around too well. She lives in Queensland for the climate for most of the year, so I don't get to see her too often. She misses me, like all parents do away from their children..." His voice trailed off and a strange look crossed his face, a look Maddy couldn't fathom.

"The portrait of my father was commissioned by my mother, in the tradition of the Collier Press heirs, starting with my great grandfather, Augustus. Their portraits are back in the Press boardroom. I remember my mother always preferred portraits to photos because they were somehow more real, more alive. Though in these days of Photoshop and the like, it's amazing what you can do," he laughed.

"I know what you mean about paintings somewhere being more alive," Maddy answered excitedly. "They shift and change. A portrait can look different from one day to the next, depending on the light, or your mood. A good picture will reveal something new each time you view it, because it's more than just a snapshot, an instant in time, which is what a photo is." Morgan stared intently at Maddy while she spoke, unnerving her.

"Will you do it?" he asked, with a note of urgency. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."

She hesitated, caught between her natural desire to do the one thing she loved and her conflicting feelings towards him. On the other hand, the money was way too good to refuse.

"I'll do it," she finally said. "On one condition."

"Yes?"

"You let me spend Christmas and New Year at home with my family."

"It's a deal," he said, his lips curling slightly to one side in a barely contained smile. His faced looked vulnerable and mischievous at the same time. How attractive he was when he smiled!

Maddy quickly looked out to the sea. The soft roar coursed through the surprisingly chill night air, causing her to shiver again. The nights in this part of the countryside could be could be unpredictable, especially in early summer. She wrapped her arms around herself. Goose bumps covered her arms. More than the cold, she thought, feeling something portentous about the night.

"Anything wrong?" Morgan asked. "You look as if someone walked over your grave." He got up and moved to her side of the table, wrapping his light blue sweater around her shoulders. She felt his strong hands through the thick, knitted cotton. Maddy jumped from the unexpected heat on her chill, bare arms.

"I'm all right. You didn't have to do that," she muttered defensively. He moved away, sensing his touch was unwelcome. And though Maddy would never have admitted it, that wasn't true. It had been a long time since she'd felt a man's tender touch.

"It's getting cold out here, let's go in," he suggested, deftly ignoring her rejection. "There'll be quite a few guests coming down tomorrow. You'll need to get an early start. Oh, by the way, I'll show you your car. I take it Damon hasn't shown you?"

"No, he hasn't." she replied, relieved the tension had been broken.

"Well, Miss McVey, follow me."

They walked around the long verandah, Maddy smelling jasmine and hydrangea in the misty sea air. Morgan's stride was purposeful and long as they passed lamp lit rooms around the other side of the house.

The huge garage door began to tilt upwards as sensor lights illuminated the interior.

"Well, here it is." Maddy looked into a garage full of cars, all of impeccable quality.

Maddy didn't care much for cars. As an inner-city dweller, cycling was her preferred mode of transport, though she had her driver's licence. Morgan could see her slight look of wonder, or maybe it was distaste, as she looked at some of the distinctive logos of Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz.

"They are my toys, I guess you could say. At least most of them are old – I do believe in recycling," he laughed. "I've had them modified to run very efficiently on bio fuel. I believe in being eco friendly and supporting sustainability when I can.

"That one's genuinely used for off road driving," Morgan said, pointing to a Range Rover.

"Which one will I be driving?"

"Take your pick, except for the Mercedes convertible. That's the one I usually use when I'm here. Any chance I get I like to take it for a cruise down the Ocean Road. It clears my head, helps me think."

I bet, Maddy thought. Plotting and planning on ways to make more money and rip people off.

"Which one's the safest to drive?" She didn't much like the idea of driving over one of the nearby cliffs.

"Well, if that's what you're after, then this is the one for you."

He walked Maddy to an S40 sleek silver Volvo.

"I bought this for my mother to use when she was well enough to visit. She shares your concerns. At least other drivers will stay out of your way on the road. You know what they say about Volvo drivers."

Maddy laughed at his little joke at her expense.

"I don't care. As long as I can drive without worrying about having an accident, I'll be happy."

"I hope you can drive without having an accident," he stated with a little concern. "I don't want my guests ending up as corpses."

"They won't," she assured him.

"I suppose I'd better fill you in on your other duties. Let's talk over coffee. Or perhaps you'd prefer tea?" he asked, arching his eyebrow again. He looked very cute. Maddy ignored that thought.

"Tea, thanks." She didn't want to be awake all night obsessed about her time at White Breakers.

Morgan led Maddy away from the garage around to the front door.

Well, no matter that his charm is probably a sham. At least I'm in fabulous surroundings and I won't be bored, Maddy thought. She looked up at Flynn's glittering eyes as the door opened into the foyer. This time his gaze suggested she might get more than she bargained for. Well, you might be right, Flynn Collier, but I'll give Morgan a run for his money.

Chapter 2

Morgan Collier had not been wrong. For the next week Maddy was up with the birds organising each day for the procession of guests. They came and went in what seemed a constant stream, some arriving mid-morning, others late at night. Most stayed overnight at White Breakers before being driven back to the city by Damon in the Rolls. Maddy learned to tell whether they were business associates or old friends by the way they laughed. The ones who laughed in a relaxed way were the friends. They took liberties in deprecating their old friend, whereas the business associates laughed nervously and too readily at every witty comment Morgan uttered.

Maddy often wondered at these times whether he'd conned them into agreement or whether he genuinely cared about a win-win for all. Surely Morgan at one time or another had used others besides Carlisle?

On this day the Silver Cloud pulled up mid morning carrying three Singaporean businessmen. They were keen to do some sightseeing in the area and at the same time complete a major deal representing Morgan's business interests in Asia. Damon escorted them into a formal lounge area where his employer was waiting, eager to further negotiations.

Maddy had her own office area with laptop and multi function printer and scanner. She was responsible for arranging guests' schedules, booking flights and ordering food from the best suppliers in Melbourne. Of course, if the Smarts could supply anything needed, Morgan had told her to buy from them as a first priority. To Morgan, saving money was a secondary issue to supporting local business. Maddy couldn't figure that out about him either, though she admired the concept.

She wasn't surprised at the coordinated effort it took to keep things running smoothly. Running her own business had taught her that. Employ good people who know how to do their job and you'll also get good results. She enjoyed organising. It was a counter-balance to the sometimes chaotic, creative process.

She sat down on the verandah outside her office in brilliant morning sunshine. She had her laptop open beside her on the beautiful recycled mountain ash bench, hand-made by one of the locals she discovered, with a demitasse of coffee in one hand and her phone to her ear in the other, tracking the progress of the day's next guests.

A photographer and noted woman journalist were arriving at around three to discuss a lead feature in Wilderness magazine about the Otway Ranges and its eco-friendly tourist attractions.

Deanna Riley was the editor, but the magazine was Morgan's baby, as Maddy discovered over tea on her first night. She'd already sensed he had a deep passion for the countryside surrounding White Breakers. And he had the perfect vehicle in one of his own publications to portray its beauty and to promote conservation in the area.

Maddy walked into the country-style kitchen to help take out lunch on the terrace.

"Mmmm, that looks delicious," she said to a plump young woman who was trying without much luck to artistically arrange oysters in shells on ice.

"Here, let me help." Maddy couldn't stop herself from taking over when people had trouble with arrangements, even if it was plating up food.

"Sure, if you want to," the girl replied pleasantly enough. "I find these things a bit fiddly. You're Miss McVey, aren't you? Mum met you when you first arrived. I'm Stacey Smart."

"Please, call me Maddy. How often are you here Stacey?" she asked, finishing the oyster platter and moving on to the fruit basket.

"I'm here most days now with the regular cook when Mr Collier has guests, just to help out a bit. He doesn't expect anything fancy – just the best quality. Keep it simple but good, he says. I always do the very best I can, but, well, it doesn't always look so great," she laughed.

They chatted amiably as they carried platters, fresh baguettes, juice and bottles of mineral water onto another large terrace table, shaded by a very old grape vine. The glorious sea provided the perfect backdrop.

"No wine," Morgan had told her. "My Singapore colleagues like to have a clear head for business."

But it seems when they arrived to sit down, negotiations were complete. Everybody was beaming, so Maddy slipped in a bottle of the best Australian bubbly on ice, just in case they changed their minds. Morgan gave her a collusive wink and beckoned her to sit next to him for lunch. He popped the cork and treated his audience to a sparkling display of repartee and humour, which kept them all amused until mid afternoon. Then Maddy took Kim Lee and two of his colleagues for a spin through the Otways in the S40. Their _oohs_ and _ahs_ were clearly audible as they witnessed the breathtaking ocean views from the Great Ocean Road. Later they saw the temperate rainforest with its abundant birdlife of rosellas, cockatoos, kookaburras, magpies and currawongs and some of the oldest flora on the planet in the form of Dicksonia Antarctica tree ferns.

And so the day ended, much like the others, the journalist and the photographer staying on for dinner. Maddy quietly marvelled at Morgan's capacity to make all his guests feel comfortable, to get the best out of them, to elicit the same enthusiasm he felt for his particular project. No wonder he had a reputation as a winning deal maker. He charmed the pants off everybody.

She noticed he still wore a casual shirt and jeans, but had somehow dressed them up with a superbly cut jacket. Really, she thought, he was an attractive man. Very attractive. That boyish lock of hair over his forehead somehow added to his appeal. I think I've had too much wine, Maddy suddenly realised. This should not be happening, I won't let it happen. I won't be seduced by his charm. She got up rather too abruptly, making excuses because she had a long day ahead.

"Goodnight Madeleine." Morgan followed her from the dining room, leaving the journalist and photographer in animated discussion with Kim Lee about the Otways.

"Thanks for everything this week," he said. "You're doing a great job. I knew I'd picked the right person."

As if she were a flower!

"Hmmm!" was all she could manage. Morgan looked puzzled.

"Is something wrong? Aren't you feeling well?" He reached out to touch her hand with concern. She flinched. Maddy felt confused. She wasn't reacting the way she'd planned. She wanted to be efficient and distant, but every time Morgan stood near her she felt a distinct fluttering somewhere around her heart. Even her knees felt weak.

"It's just an upset stomach. Maybe it was the oysters. A good night's sleep is all I need, I'll be alright" she replied. Maddy didn't like lying. Flynn's eyes glared straight ahead form the portrait, as if he knew the truth.

"Well, it shouldn't be too hectic tomorrow," Morgan said, as she was half way up the stairs. His left arm was on the banister, as if claiming ownership. "We should have time to start the portrait." His deep eyes locked into hers. She couldn't put if off any longer.

"Yes, fine. We'll do that if you like. After lunch." She smiled thinly, thinking maybe she was ill after all.

She fell into bed in turmoil. Maybe she shouldn't even begin the painting. After all, Morgan was her enemy, though he didn't know it. Or maybe he did? She tossed around for ages wrestling with her conscience. Finally the soothing rhythm of the breakers and the mournful cry of the midnight peacock lulled her to sleep. In her dreams Flynn's eyes merged with Morgan's, their deep blue widening into the ocean, drawing her completely to the fathomless depths of her unconscious.

Morgan Collier arrived punctually at the little studio for his afternoon appointment with Madeleine McVey, portrait painter.

Maddy's polite "come in" followed his light tap on the window. Its shuttered windows and jasmine-entwined verandah suggested a welcome coolness within. Although it was still two weeks before Christmas, the heat was now starting to build. The sound of cicadas seemed to shrill from every tree and bush in the garden.

Maddy was dressed in a white singlet top and flowing skirt. She wouldn't need her smock today because she just planned to sketch in Morgan's image onto the canvas. Morgan too was dressed for the heat, in loose canvas pants and a soft, loose cotton shirt. She was surprised. Perhaps she'd expected him to dress a little more formally.

"How's this for a look?" he joked while casually sitting down in a comfy old armchair by the window. The shutters threw intense light across his face and shoulders, throwing his long, dark body into striped relief against the muted interior.

"You'll have to move to this chair," Maddy motioned, "otherwise you'll look like a striped angel fish."

Morgan got up laughing, and moved to the chair she suggested.

"You have an interesting way with words Maddy. Your sense of humour doesn't often show, though. You seem a very serious person most of the time."

"Well, there's a lot of things about me you'll never know," she answered, sketching the charcoal outline of his head and shoulders on the large canvas resting on the easel to her left.

"For instance?"

"Just things" Maddy replied, well aware that she had an opportunity to speak her mind. But she didn't want to blow it yet. She was enjoying the act of sketching. This was always her favourite part. She felt loose and free, her arm making sweeping movements over the broad surface. She didn't have to think right now. The creative process flowed through her unconsciously.

Maddy was impressed that Morgan stayed so relaxed and still as she sketched. Even professional models found difficulty with long, sustained poses. She saw him focus on a lazy fly buzzing around the window, then shift his gaze to her body, travelling up her silky skirt, stopping at her bare navel and up to her well-shaped breasts pressed tight against her singlet. She pretended not to notice.

She sensuously drew his long fingers over the edge of the chair. They were sensitive for such a cold-hearted man. Through the open-necked shirt she could see his pulse lightly throb at the junction of his collarbone. The lock of black hair began to dampen slightly against his forehead in the heat.

"What happened to your daughter's father?" Morgan suddenly said, causing her body to visibly jolt. He was looking directly into her eyes, throwing her off balance.

"I...he..."

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it," he quickly uttered.

"Keep your mouth still, I'm sketching it in right now," she lied. He was turning her into a liar. She should tell him now, let him know and get it over with once and for all, whatever the consequences. After all, it seemed he could almost read her mind. How much longer could she hide it all? She could feel her palms pricking again.

"We had some money troubles, gambling debts."

"I'm sorry. Couldn't you work it out?"

"He didn't want to work it out. He couldn't face me. I guess he was a coward. But it was too much for him to bear. I loved him very much, but that couldn't sustain him..." Her voice trailed off, her throat dry. She wallowed. "I haven't spoken to him in a long time. Now please, I'm trying to sketch in your mouth." She was telling the truth this time, but her hand was shaking. She had to rub out the lines with a kneadable eraser and start again. She willed him to stop interrogating her.

But that didn't work. Morgan pressed on.

"What about Shelley? Doesn't he visit her?" He remembered her name! Maddy felt a stab to her heart.

"No, he doesn't. It was all over before she was born. He decided it was best to be out of our lives."

"That's a real shame. If I had a child I'd climb over hot coals to stay in touch, no matter what."

Morgan stared at the floor, his mind lost in a private thought. She certainly didn't want to talk, so continued sketching in silence. She pushed away the painful memories and tried to let her unconscious mind take over once again. It required a major effort.

"Almost done," Maddy announced, finally capturing the expression she wanted. She'd sketched in the thin scar below his bottom lip. She found herself liking the imperfection. "How did you get that?" she asked.

"What?" Morgan seemed to snap out of a daze.

"That scar beneath your lip..."

"Oh, that." He reached up and absent-mindedly rubbed his middle finger along its line. "I can't remember exactly. I've had it since I was a kid, I think it happened when..."

Maddy noticed the hairy legs of the huge brown huntsman spider run up the easel just before she let out a piercing scream. She had an exaggerated fear of spiders, especially the giant huntsmen that loved eucalyptus trees. It was the one big childhood fear she couldn't overcome. She stood rigid, eyes wide in terror, hands to face, quivering from head to toe. Morgan jumped up and captured the harmless spider in his hands, cupping them together instantly so it couldn't escape.

She was rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend how he could pick it up and carry it out through the open door to the garden beyond. She was still immobile when he ran back in.

"Maddy, are you all right?" He was clearly alarmed. She just stared, her jaw slack, then burst into tears. Morgan took her in his arms, stroking her hair.

"It's all right, it's all right," he reassured her. "The spider's gone far away, it can't hurt you. Everything's all right."

She buried her face against his chest. She felt sick and weak. She hated being like this. She was always strong, indomitable. And how she wasn't. Her sobbing subsided while he held her. She could feel his heart beating fast like her own. He was stroking her back now, his breath caressing her neck and shoulders. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his body heat through his shirt against her bare navel. She felt his kisses on her forehead as he held her even closer.

She forgot where she was. All she knew was it felt wonderful to be held and touched. She lifted her face as his lips kissed away her tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck, accepting his mouth greedily. Morgan pressed his body into hers. Her legs gave way while he support all her weight, his lips hungrily tasting hers.

They slid onto the sofa as Maddy wrapped her legs around his, sighing softly with sheer relief and pleasure. He moved a hand to her midriff and kissed her feverishly around her neck as she ran her fingers through his soft, damp hair. She could feel his passion running through her own body.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered huskily, moving his head down as he lifted her singlet.

_What's happening? No! We shouldn't be doing this!_ Maddy pushed Morgan off and sat up, flushed and confused.

"Please," she said hoarsely. "Stop. This isn't right."

She pulled down her top and smoothed back her tousled hair. She could feel the perspiration running down between her breasts. She moved quickly back to the easel to put distance between them.

Morgan stayed on the sofa. He looked dishevelled, disoriented. He leaned forward, forearms on his knees, hands dangling. He looked up at her in exasperation. It wasn't as if she didn't want him. Her whole body was saying yes! But she couldn't allow herself to fall for the man who so wilfully cheated Carlisle.

"I am so sorry. You were so frightened...I...I wanted to comfort you." He searched her face, waiting for a sign. She didn't respond.

"I didn't mean to take advantage of the situation. That wasn't professional. When we kissed, I couldn't help myself. I should have had more control."

He quickly stood up from the sofa, pushing back his sweat-soaked hair.

"I'd better go. I can assure you it won't happen again."

"Good." Maddy was a whirlpool of feelings, but she summoned all her effort to keep a cool, calm front. "In that case we'll be able to keep it strictly work-related."

Morgan closed the door behind him and didn't look back. He hadn't asked to look at the sketch. She could hear his footsteps walk away from the studio verandah to the garden beyond.

My God, she thought. What am I doing here? Everything looked as it did before Morgan had entered the room. She noted the generous soft sofa and chairs draped in loose linen covers. The rustic coffee table with the inlaid drawer strewn with books and magazines from past, happy holiday times. There was a bar and sink for poolside guests. The marguerite daisies had dropped petals over her paint box. The room was comforting and reassuring. Yet here on the canvas were the beginnings of a portrait of the man who'd arouse feelings in her she'd forgotten had existed. _And I despise him!_ She was so angry with herself for losing her cool. Now she had further reason to hate spiders.

She walked barefoot and dazed out of the studio through a scrubby track to the hot, yellow sand. The sun was still fiercely high in the summer sky. It pounded down on her back and neck. The wonderful, cool blue ocean invited her in.

This part of the beach was deserted, so she took off her skirt and top, leaving on only her bikini pants as she ran into the water. Its Antarctic coldness coursed through her like an electric shock. When she had waded far enough out from the whitewash she dived beneath a wave, coming up invigorated and renewed. She had to forget what had just happened. She had to blot it out for her survival. She emptied her mind by chanting a mantra. It was something she'd learned to do in meditation classes. She lay on her back floating, gently rising and falling on the swell before the next set of breakers. She began to feel calm again.

Her acute hearing picked up the sound before she knew what it was. Treading water just out of her depth, she turned to the shore to see a palomino galloping into view at the eastern end of the beach. The image was surreal. Brilliant sky and sand framed the magnificent house and gardens as they sloped to the glinting ocean. Horse and rider moved across the scene as in a movie. In the few seconds it took for the image to sink in, Maddy could see the wild look on the rider's face, his eyes fixed determinedly ahead to the far-off headland in the west.

He looked like a madman possessed. His loose shirt billowed out behind him like a character from The Tales from the Thousand and One Nights. A scimitar waving above his head would not have been out of place. Morgan hadn't seen her, or if he had, he decisively ignored her.

Maddy was transfixed by this vision of strength and power. What was Morgan thinking as merged into the distance with the sand and sea? Was he thinking about her? Had their fumbling encounter upset him so much? Whatever was going on in his mind, Maddy knew one thing. Her relationship with Morgan was never going to be the same again.

Chapter 3

For the next week Maddy undertook the duties required of her at White Breakers with professionalism and aplomb. Morgan had not arranged for another portrait sitting and she was glad.

On the mornings she sat in her office she would arrange schedules as required, organise video conferences for him with his staff in various cities and generally oversee that guests were well looked after. Morgan was friendly but business-like and Maddy could detect a reserve behind his candour that hadn't been there before.

His eyes were sometimes frozen, impenetrable, as if he'd somehow turned a switch inside himself to the off position. Well, if that's the way he wants to play it, then I'm not going to be the one to try to change things, she thought. After all, he's the one who over-stepped the bounds of our professional relationship.

She was just about to order some exotic delicacies from David Jones department store in Melbourne when Morgan strode into her office.

"It'll be Christmas in eight days' time. When are you planning on going home?"

"I thought two days before Christmas. I'll make sure everything that needs to be done is finished before I go."

"That's fine," he said flatly. "I don't celebrate Christmas," he continued, pacing around the room with his hands clasped behind his back, studying the floor. Morgan was usually controlled and purposeful. Maddy could see how on edge he was today.

"I used to visit my mother and my various aunts and uncles and their families before she moved back Queensland, after my father died. But for the past few years I just haven't felt like that family thing at all."

She looked at him quizzically.

"I guess other things were on my mind." Maddy couldn't see his expression, as he had turned away to walk towards the open French windows. He looked so tall and strong. Maddy's mind flashed back to the striking image of him galloping along the beach on the palomino. She studied his body, noting his long limbs beneath his black Levi 50ls, his straight back and broad shoulders flexing beneath his shirt. He was staring out to sea.

There wouldn't be any more visitors till after New Year so Morgan dressed down on these occasions. Maddy found him incredibly sexy in these clothes. She became conscious of her thoughts so she turned away, slightly embarrassed. She didn't at first hear what he said next.

"Pardon?" she asked politely. Morgan coughed.

"As I said, if you wanted, I could send a car for your daughter in the next day or two. I'd be more than happy to have her stay here for a few days, before you go home for the break. The house would be quiet and we could all do a bit of sight seeing. I need a rest and anyway, it's a good time before the holiday rush starts."

"I..."

"And you could spend more time on the portrait. Stacey would be here to help with Shelley. She's very good with children. What do you say?"

Morgan turned quickly and looked for her reaction. His eyes looked directly into hers, somehow infinitely sad.

Maddy was confused. She twirled her fingers through her hair, a habit she had when nervous or worried. There was no reason not to agree, accept for the fact that he'd tried to seduce her and he was her enemy. On the surface the past week had gone smoothly enough, but there was now a tension between them that was hard to bear. Something had to break soon. For that reason, she should get away. She was only here for the money after all, she reminded herself.

On the other hand, Shelley didn't get much time at the beach. It was absolutely beautiful here. She would love it. Maddy also selfishly realised Shelley could be a buffer between Morgan and herself. It would also give her parents a break too, much as they loved their granddaughter.

"Yes, okay, that sounds nice. I'm sure Shelley would enjoy a holiday at the beach. I'll call my parents and let them know."

"Good, good." Morgan seemed genuinely pleased she'd agreed to his plan. He smiled and walked back across the room to her office door, skirting some distance away from her. "Let me know when," he said, then walked out and shut the door.

What an unusual man he is, Maddy decided. Hot and cold. Friendly and distant. A man of contradictions. Sometimes open, at other times obviously a calculating opportunist. It took all sorts in this world. Maybe he wasn't all to blame for her husband's disastrous debts. Carlisle had certainly been unreliable during their marriage. She had to acknowledge that. Still, what else had she to go on?

Lost in thought, Maddy suddenly realised she had the finalised legal papers for the Singapore deal. She got up from her butter soft leather chair to give them to Morgan. She walked down the expansive hallway. The door to his office was just off the entrance foyer. She knocked softly on the closed door but there was no answer. He must have gone out.

She opened the door and walked in. She'd only been in here a few times briefly. Morgan usually came to her when they needed to talk business, unusual for men of power. She liked it the other way around. It meant she was on her own turf and in control.

She walked over to his stylish timber desk with green leatherette cover and place the papers in his tray. It was a lovely-old fashioned room. Maybe it was furnished the way his father had left it and he chose to keep it this way in his memory. His laptop was the only visible concession to modern technology. Very different from his hi-tech city headquarters, she expected.

The cedar shutters were three-quarters closed, casting soft lines into the book-filled room. Her eyes wandered over the shelves, noticing tomes on architecture and design, bound papers of conservation reports, photography books, books on famous as well as obscure artists. Some books were new, others old. Likely he'd inherited these, she thought. Still, she liked the mix. The artistic heritage had obviously rubbed off on him, (he could have ditched the books, after all), a trait she naturally admired. She had to admit she was also impressed by his interest in sustainability and support for the local ecology. Unusual she thought, for a ruthless, power-hungry man. That sort of person would have no qualms about making money from timber plantations grown quickly to make a buck. She turned to walk back to the door when something at the edge of her vision on the desk caught her eye. Maddy stopped to take a closer look at the silver frame.

It held a photograph of a woman and child. The boy, barely out of babyhood, was seated on the woman's lap, smiling behind brilliant blue eyes – Flynn's eyes, Morgan's eyes. He clutched a teddy that look well loved and worn. The woman was lovely. Her black hair was cut in a stylish long bob. She wore discreet pearl earrings and a green linen sleeveless dress that accentuated her olive skin. And although her lips were curved in a smile, her huge, dark eyes held no joy. Her sadness struck Maddy as the look of someone trapped, someone pleading for help.

Who could she be? Morgan's sister? She couldn't recall him mentioning a sister, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. But the boy looked so like Morgan. That could just be the family resemblance. His wife and son? It hadn't occurred to her to Google this kind of detail about his private life. Maddy had simply assumed Morgan was single, otherwise his wife would surely be staying at White Breakers for the summer. Then again, it was most certainly possible they were separated or divorced. That could explain her sadness. She was trapped in an unhappy marriage. He'd likely treated her badly, maybe he was philandering (of course). He would have ignored her needs while he was busy building his empire. She would have been the trophy wife. Maybe they just fell out of love...

Maddy walked to the back of the house to the kitchen to find Damon alone, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and The Age newspaper neatly folded at the cryptic crossword page, pen poised. He'd obviously just sat down to a break when he looked up to greet her.

"Coffee?"

She nodded and sat at the end of the table. Damon took down an exquisite Limoges water green demitasse cup and saucer from the shelf and prepared a short black from the little Nespresso machine.

"Prefer this," he said. "Better than that contraption," he waved his hand disparagingly to the large industrial-sized coffee machine built into the kitchen cabinetry.

"Where's Morgan?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"He's taken the Merc for a drive. Such a fine day. Said he'd be gone for an hour or two. Wants to look at some young mountain ash seedlings he's had planted a little way inland.

"Oh"? Maddy was curious. She sipped her hot coffee carefully. She could feel the caffeine kicking in.

"A bit of forest regeneration. After the Ash Wednesday bushfires of '83, the forest in parts never fully regenerated – too badly burnt. Mr Collier has been working with the Department of Sustainability to help revitalise the area. He's providing generous financial support to the project, otherwise it wouldn't be possible."

Maddy was amused at the way Damon still referred to Morgan as 'Mr Collier' in her presence. He obviously felt great respect for the man. Maddy had become quite fond of Damon. Their paths crossed often in their daily routines at White Breakers, and Damon had been very helpful to her whenever she was unsure of protocol.

He was also an expert mechanic, an unlikely skill for a man of Damon's build and obvious sensibility. He'd given her advice on how to handle each car on the treacherous Ocean Road bends She had in fact now driven all the vehicles, except the Mercedes. She vowed to herself she'd take it for a spin at least once before her tenure was up. Morgan's love for his 'special car' was the only territorial trait she'd noticed in his character. She thought it childish and amusing at the same time.

"Damon," Maddy finally ventured. "There's something I want to ask you. Please don't think I've been snooping, but I was in Morgan's study a few minutes ago and noticed the photograph on his desk. Are they...is she...?"

Damon put down his cup and paused a few moments before answering.

"Yes, she's his wife, or was his wife. Her name was Luisa. The little boy is their son James. It was very sad, all very sad. He never talks about it..."

"What happened?"

Damon looked unsettled.

"Well, there's no reason you shouldn't know," Damon paused, looking for the right words.

"It's not a secret. It's just that Mr Collier becomes very withdrawn whenever they're mentioned. By thoughtless people, I sometimes think. He's got enough on his plate running the business without having to be constantly reminded. But maybe that's what he needs to get it all off his chest." Damon sipped his coffee. He watched the hydrangea flowers wave gently in the wind outside the kitchen window.

"They're both dead, you see. Looking back now it seems inevitable. But Mr Collier still feels guilty because he believes he was to blame. Luisa was always, well, different. Even before they were married I could see it. She had extreme mood swings and was inclined to throw things when she didn't get her way. But Mr Collier adored her. He'd known her since they were teenagers because their parents were close friends. He didn't seem to mind her moods. He could always calm her down.

"But her behaviour became more erratic after James was born. The doctors diagnosed postnatal depression. They were hopeful that medication and counselling would keep her on an even keel, but her mental state never improved. The doctors then talked about bipolar disorder."

Damon stood up and began pacing around the table.

"It was about the time Mr Collier had broken away from his father to set up a business venture of his own. He knew online publishing was the future and he wanted to prove to his father he could do it without old Collier money to stand on. He reconciled with his father in the end and took over Collier Press when he died. But at the time, looking back, he should have spent more time with Luisa. He was becoming a workaholic just like his father. But I don't think it would have made any difference in the end, anyway." He paused to refill the Nespresso. "Would you like another one?"

"No thanks, I think I've had my fill."

Damon waited for his cup to refill and then continued, leaning against the mountain ash bench top.

"One day she left a note saying she couldn't take it any more and was driving out to a nearby beach with James. Morgan didn't get home till late in the evening. I'd just come in from my day off. He found the note on his office desk and began to panic. We drove out to the beach and found the car parked on the edge of a cliff. It was too dark to see anything, so I called the police while Morgan searched frantically in the scrub. I'll never forget hearing him calling out _Luisa! James!_ over and over."

Damon sat down and drained his second cup. He thrummed his fingers on the table. He stared ahead, his brow furrowed.

"They didn't find the bodies till late morning. The tide had washed them to another beach some distance away. It was too heartbreaking. Such a waste."

How awful, thought Maddy. She felt sorry that Luisa had been in so much mental anguish, but even more so she could imagine the terror her little son must have felt as his mother leapt off the cliff with him in her arms. She must have been totally out of her mind.

"Thank you for telling me, it must have been hard for you too."

"I thought you should know. Sometimes Mr Collier can seem a little offhand with people. That's not really his way. He was never like that before. I know sometimes it's on his mind and he can't shake it off."

What Morgan must have gone through! What a terrible legacy to carry around. She well knew the grief she'd carried for years after the break up of her own marriage. This was something she knew Morgan would have to bear for the rest of his life.

Damon left Maddy alone as she washed her cup at the sink. She suddenly had a desperate need to see Shelley and hold her tight. _Whatever happens in my life, I'll fight to look after my child. If ever I fall in love with another man, he must love Shelley as well, or else he's not the one._ With those thoughts in mind, she called her parents to make arrangements for Shelley's visit.

Chapter 4

"Mummy, can you see the rosellas?" Shelley asked, pointing. The wind blew her blonde hair in every direction from the car window. Maddy poked her head out of the passenger side and looked high up into the eucalypts lining the side of the dusty, winding road. She caught a glimpse of brilliant red and blue flashing through foliage.

"I think I just missed them."

"Look harder next time," her daughter admonished from the back seat.

They were cruising high up on the Otways ridge where the wind can blow wild even on calm, summer days. There were instances when whiteouts could occur in dips and valley where moments before the air had been clear. At other times the clouds scudded over the ridge like a fast moving blanket before dumping sheets of rain over the countryside.

Today was not one of those days. It was perfect. Cotton wool clouds played on a faint zephyr breeze in bright sunshine. The scent of eucalyptus wafted through the air.

"Fantastic day," Morgan commented as he changed gears into a sharp bend.

"I guess I should have taken the Range Rover, but I thought this would be more fun."

"It's just fine," Maddy replied. The suspension was so good she hardly felt the bumps.

"When will we get there?" Shelley piped up.

"You'll know when we're there." Morgan turned around briefly to smile at her. "As soon as we cross the bridge over the Aire River."

"But how will be know it's the right bridge?"

"We'll know."

"How?" Shelley persisted.

"Because it's the only bridge there is around here," Morgan answered patiently.

"Oh." Shelley seemed satisfied and turned back to looking out the window.

Maddy was impressed with the way Morgan responded to her inquiries. She thought he must have been a good father to his son in the brief time his family had been together.

"Do you drive up here much?"

"Quite a bit. This is still an area with fewer tourists, because of the road. We can go to Beauchamp Falls later, if you want. They're beautiful. There are quite a few magnificent falls in the area. The water's icy and crystal clear. Just right for a skinny dip on a hot day."

Well, she wasn't about to do that. Maybe another time, without Morgan. The less she did to encourage him, the better. Especially after the studio incident, which is how she now thought about it. He changed gear again up around a bend into a fern glade.

"We'll have lunch under the redwoods," he said, looking towards Maddy, ."..if that's okay with you."

"Redwoods?" Maddy wondered what Californian trees were doing in the Otways.

"They were part of an early trial plantation. They were supposed to be harvested. Now they've become part of the scenery. There were plans to chop them down, but a lot of people here were against that because they've also become a tourist attraction."

"What do you think?"

"Me? Well, you've got me there. As a conservationist, I really should be against them. Like the current cash crop plantations in the area, they rob the land of native flora. On the other hand, they've been here for so long, and it's a magical place with the river flowing through. The trees themselves are magnificent. Wait till you see."

Within a minute they were there. After a sharp bend they crossed the wooden bridge, and then, on the left, was a huge stand of redwoods, towering above the twisting eucalypts and blackwoods that forested the incline around them. Morgan parked the car and Shelley immediately jumped out.

"Can I go over there?" she asked pointing past the picnic tables.

"Yes, but don't go where I can't see you."

"I won't." Shelley skipped off happily to play in the cool, silent shade of the redwoods. Maddy helped Morgan carry the picnic basket from the car boot and they walked together silently over to a picnic table beneath one of the huge trees.

Morgan was right. This was a wonderful place. The redwoods came from another world. Their foliage was much darker than the native bush. The wind swished high up in the trees, echoing the rushing river only a few metres away from their table. Shelley was already busy making miniature town walls from the dead scaly leaves littering the woodland floor.

Maddy knew that game well form her own school days. It was totally engrossing. So when the sandwiches, fruit and drink were laid out to be eaten, she didn't bother to distract Shelley from her game. Instead, she took a plate of foot to her to be eaten at leisure.

"Your daughter's very self sufficient," Morgan commented as he poured Maddy and himself a cool drink. "She's a lot like you."

"Well, we've had to be that way. You can't rely on other people to look after you in this world."

"Has it been that tough for you?"

"At times."

"Why couldn't your husband have helped you? Doesn't he pay you anything?"

"I told you he had debts."

"Still, he should have shouldered some responsibility, found ways to work it off. Paid you later, when he could."

"Look, you don't know how it was, okay? Besides, it's none of your business!" Maddy was suddenly cross. She was cross with herself for missing another opportunity to tell him what was bothering her. Of course it was his business – it was his fault! But at that moment she suddenly realised she didn't want him to know who she was. She didn't want him to be a part of that life she had left behind.

She was another person now, not the naïve young wife of a man who became a compulsive gambler. She suspected Morgan was not the man she'd initially painted him to be. All her impressions had been through Carlisle's eyes before she'd ever met Morgan. His tragic history had touched a nerve of sympathy deep within her. She could see he was vulnerable beneath that confident exterior. Perhaps they were alike after all.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she said a minute or so later.

"I'm not bothered," he replied, as if her outburst meant nothing.

She felt calm again as she brushed a bug off her shorts. Morgan shifted in his seat. He was sitting very close to her now on the picnic bench. His thigh was almost touching hers. She could feel his heat on her bare leg. His muscle was flexing through his jeans. He appeared to be to be studying a ladybird crawling across the weathered wood of the table. It flew into Maddy's hand.

"They bring you good luck," Morgan said, turning to look into her eyes. "I hope you have good luck."

"So do I," she laughed, tossing her head back. The ladybird flew off.

"Oh, it's gone" Does that mean I only get a bit of good luck? Do you think it changed its mind?"

"No, of course not. You deserve to be happy."

Maddy leaned over and squeezed his hand, touched by his comment. He jumped slightly, as if her touch was charged. He stared intently into her eyes briefly, before the moment passed. Morgan turned around in his seat and leaned back against the table, His eyes were riveted towards the river as he continued the conversation.

"Would you ever consider marrying again if the right person came along?" He was frowning slightly, as if trying to keep some strong emotion in check.

"Maybe," she answered. "But I don't think I would ever trust anyone completely again. I don't think I could ever be that naïve again. He'd have to be near perfect, and he'd have to love Shelley, unconditionally." She laughed. God, what was she saying?

"And what about you?" she asked him. "Would you...marry...if the right person came along?" She almost said "again", but checked herself.

"I was married, a few years ago. My wife died..." he faltered. Maddy wanted to say 'I know', but how could she? As far as Morgan knew, she had no idea of his past. He had made no attempt to reveal it to her. If she said she knew, he'd figure she'd been prying. Morgan looked towards Shelley, who was happily absorbed in her game.

"She was holding our son when she jumped off a cliff." His eyes turned away from Shelley, looking up into the far off distance beyond the treetops. "So, I know something of loss..."

"That must have been dreadful," Maddy ventured.

"Yes, it is...was." He muttered. "But they're gone now. Nothing can bring them back. If you love people too much, it only hurts all the more when they're taken away from you." All the feelings he must have felt on that awful night flooded into his face. His emotions appeared to be tearing him apart. Maddy was at a loss.

"I don't know what to say... just... time heals all wounds." She cringed at her cliché.

Morgan let out a cynical sneer.

"It must. Or how else could we live again?" Maddy asked, in all sincerity.

"Maybe some of us just survive." He spat the words out, rising suddenly. His eyes were bright and glittery. He ran his fingers through his hair and quickly walked in long strides towards the river. He stooped at the riverbank to scoop up the pure, fresh water.

She watch him splash his face vigorously, as if he wanted to wash all his feelings away. His tall body limbered and stretched as he made his way beneath the redwoods to the far end of the reserve. Maddy could see that he was trying to compose himself. She decided it was best not to follow him. He obviously didn't want her to see him like this.

She watched as he approached Shelley and crouched down next to her. Maddy couldn't make out what they were saying. They were too far way. It appeared her daughter was explaining the game to Morgan. She could tell by the way Shelley danced excitedly in little steps between the walls of her imaginary town.

Maddy's heart ached at the revealing scene. She watched how Morgan attentively listened to Shelley, how his body inclined towards the child as she hopped and jigged beneath the trees. She felt a pang of yearning she hadn't know since those first weeks of pregnancy with her only child. Was it a yearning for a family, complete like the vision she was watching now? If so, it was something she couldn't acknowledge. This was a dangerous yearning, this need for another person to make your life complete. This was something she couldn't afford to feel. They didn't need anyone else. Carlisle was never going to come back. She'd abandoned that fantasy long ago. And if Shelley couldn't have her real father, well, she certainly didn't need a substitute.

And yet, here watching Morgan playing with her child – he was now building an extension wall in that miniature city – she felt the possibility of another life apart form the one she was living, a life with another person, perhaps even with this man!

But no, this was fairyland. This enchanted picnic spot complete with happy mother, father and child only existed in stories. Maddy's thoughts wandered like this for a few more minutes until Shelley ran towards her.

"Mummy!" she yelled, the dimples in her cheeks obvious as she smiled from ear to ear. "Mummy, Mr Collier says we can put up a Christmas tree when we get back!"

Morgan sauntered up to Maddy and Shelley, his face now composed, almost happy.

"I can get a tree from the Smart's," he offered. "Probably black market, cut from one of the pine plantations around here," he laughed. "That's okay. That leaves more space for native forest to grow back."

"Can we go now, please Mr Collier?" Shelley pleased.

"You can call me Morgan. I'd like you to think of me as a friend."

"Of course you're my friend! You helped me build my magic town."

Morgan laughed.

"I'd love to play that game again another day, but I think you're right. We should go now. I think it's going to rain." He gestured through the clearing at the end of the plantation where an ominous black cloud was swallowing up the brilliant blue.

"The weather can change pretty quickly here. Let's get away before we get caught in the downpour. If we're lucky, it'll just rain on the ridge and still be sunny when we get back to Acacia River.'

"I don't mind if it rains", said Maddy. The three of them packed the remains of the picnic and walked across to the Mercedes. "I love to feel the rain through my clothes and on my face, especially during a summer shower. The smell of eucalyptus after rain is just wonderful."

"That's a very sensual observation," Morgan said, opening the car doors. Maddy felt herself blush as she buckled Shelley into her seat.

"I can do it myself!" Shelley protested, while holding her teddy bear close to her chest.

"Yes, I know darling, but I do need to check. I'd be a bad mother if I didn't." Maddy was flustered. Not many men noticed that sort of thing. Sometimes Carlisle commented that she would be happy living anywhere, even a tent. He'd make comments like that when she opened a window in the living room to catch a breeze, or when she lingered on a windy cliff top when he wanted to get back to the comfort of his car. He'd say it more in derision than admiration. As far as he was concerned, nature and humanity should be kept as far apart as possible. Morgan was altogether different.

Almost as soon as the car took off, Shelley fell asleep.

"She's tired out," Morgan commented, looking over into the back seat the sleeping child.

"That's the way life should be. There's nothing worse than a grumpy child on the way home from a long trip," Maddy laughed.

"Well, I can understand that very well," he replied. She sensed he was referring to his own family. She could see he was lost in thought as he continued driving in silence down the ridge, sharply weaving around difficult bends. The wind began whipping the under-storey of blackwood trees into a frenzy as the huge dark cloud scudded closely overhead. The sudden roar of rain and leaves slashing against the windscreen broke the silence.

"I see what you mean about the weather," Maddy uttered in alarm.

"I hope another car isn't driving up the ridge right now," was all Morgan could answer.

She could see by the look on his face he was concerned. He negotiated the bends with all his concentration. Visibility was practically nil, and Maddy realised that any slip of the wheels could send the car careening over the side of the road into a ravine. It was not an end she fancied, and she imagined what must be going through Morgan's mind as well.

"My God, is it always this bad?" Maddy was terrified he was going to say it would get worse.

"I've never driven along here when it's been like this. The road is closed over winter. Too dangerous. Prone to landslides." He was shouting now over the din. The car skidded as he took a sharp bend. Maddy clutched the dashboard, her knuckles turning white.

"Damn!" Morgan shouted. "I can't see a bloody thing!" The car slid back on track as he slipped it into first gear. He turned on the headlights.

"Can't you pull over or something?" she almost demanded. "You can't keep driving in this rain. We're likely to have an accident."

"Can't stop," he muttered. "There's nowhere to pull over. If a car comes up behind me, I won't be visible through the rain."

He wound down the window to get a better view ahead. The rain and wind lashed at his face and whipped inside the car as he put his head out the window.

"This is better!" he shouted, his hair now dripping rivulets down his face. Maddy worriedly turned around to look at Shelley. She was out like a light through the howling gale.

She was still looking at her when it happened, otherwise she might have noticed it coming. All she heard was an almighty crack as Morgan slumped against her. She nearly died of fright. Instead, her reflexes were quick enough to wrench the steering wheel towards her. At the same time she felt for the brake around the gear stick with her foot. She was scared out of her mind.

Her heart thumped madly for what seemed an eternity. _God, please don't let us die_ flashed through her brain as she struggled to gain control of the car.

It skidded when she applied the brakes too quickly. She prayed like hell that she was steering the car in the right direction. There was no way she could tell from the angle she was driving. She sensed, rather than saw, the looming shapes of the trees lining the perilous road.

Up ahead on the left she could just make out a wide patch of light-coloured sandy soil. She held her breath, braking the car as best she could to the side of the road. She brace herself for the plunge down the hillside.

Instead, it came to a halt in mud and eucalyptus leaves at the every edge. Her hand instinctively reached for the ignition and hazard lights beyond Morgan's limp body. She sat stunned for a few seconds as her frightened gulps for air merged with the wind buffeting the car.

Miraculously, Shelley was still asleep. Maddy's breathing eased but she was afraid to look at Morgan. She could feel by the weight of his head against her arm that he was unconscious. She gently moved his head back against the headrest to face the worst.

There was a gash on his forehead oozing blood. It didn't look too serious, but the lump beginning to appear indicated he'd taken a hefty whack. There was a small branch poking through the driver's window, no doubt torn off the blackwood tree as it collided with the car. She pushed it back and closed the window, all the while fishing around in her bag for a clean tissue to press against the wound. She was amazed that she hadn't panicked, but not surprised. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered stories of people remaining calm in disasters. It must be shock. _I'll collapse afterwards, but not now._

She grabbed the picnic blanket from the back seat an wrapped it snugly across Morgan's rain-soaked body. She checked his pulse and breathing. She opened his eye to see if the pupil was dilated or normal. Amazing the things you pick up from TV, she thought. All vital signs were okay.

"Morgan", she whispered gently. "Morgan, can you hear me?" His face was impassive. She took the tissue away from the wound. The blood flow was now staunched. I have to get him to a doctor or a hospital, she thought.

With considerable juggling and effort she managed to lift his legs over the gear shift and hand break and haul him onto her side of the car. She got out and opened the door to the driver's side just as the wind dropped. Even before she started the motor a patch of blue was visible through the treetops. Only moments before the canopy had been writhing wildly in the gale.

Who would believe it? she said to herself in amazement. Maddy drove the car cautiously at first, careful not to spin the wheels in the soft edges. She was frightened that any sudden moves might make Morgan's condition worse. A dip in the road brought him to consciousness. She felt him grip her arm, but she couldn't stop as she was still weaving around slippery bends. He nuzzled against her, still unaware of what was happening.

"Maddy?" He jerked suddenly away, holding his head. "God", he groaned, obviously in pain. "What happened?"

"It's okay," she comforted. "You're all right, but I think you need to get to Apollo Bay Hospital. That's a pretty nasty bump on your head. You could have concussion."

"Did we crash?" He stared in confusion at Maddy driving his precious Mercedes.

"Not exactly. You caught the end of a falling branch with your head. Lucky it wasn't more serious."

Morgan listened in dazed attention. He seemed content to lean against Maddy, taking comfort in her control and skill at the wheel. She was too concerned about his condition to worry about the connotations of close physical contact. Instead, she let herself enjoy the sensation of being depended upon by someone as powerful and self sufficient as Morgan Collier.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"For what?"

"For saving our lives," he answered sincerely.

"It was the least I could do," she answered with a nervous little laugh, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"No, I mean it. You're a strong woman, Maddy. You look so fine and delicate, but underneath it all you're made of steel. I admire you for that." Maddy suspected Morgan was slightly concussed.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"A bit strange, echoey in the head." Morgan pulled himself away from her arm and slumped against the passenger door. The bump on his forehead was now very large and reddish.

"I think you should keep still and try to stay as quiet as possible. You don't know what injuries you've got."

"Yes, nurse. I'll do as you say," he acquiesced obediently. It wasn't until they pulled into the entrance of the Apollo Bay Hospital that Shelley finally woke up.

"Where are we?" she said with a start.

"At the hospital darling. Morgan has a nasty bump on his head from the storm."

"Did we have a storm?" Shelley cried. "Did I miss a storm?" Of all the children in the world, Shelley must have been the most unusual. She loved the sound of thunder and loved to watch the lightning flashes whenever she had the chance. Maddy sometimes thought it set her senses on fire. She was definitely her mother's daughter.

Maddy explained to her what had happened as they helped Morgan from the car. Shelley listened with wide eyes, staring in wonder at the wound. Morgan assured her he would be all right.

As they walked through the hospital's automatic Emergency Room doors, Morgan casually said, "If your mother says she'll have dinner with me tonight, I'll be well and truly on the mend. I'm madly in love with her. She's the most beautiful woman I know."

"Yes, she is." Shelley answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But before Maddy's embarrassment had time to take hold, Morgan spectacularly collapsed onto the polished linoleum floor.

I think, Miss McVey, that Mr Collier should be well enough to come own to the living room today. As long as he doesn't use up too much energy or move his head around too much. We don't want to exacerbate the concussion he sustained the other day."

"No, of course not. I understand," Maddy replied to Dr Munroe, the typical stereotype of an old-style country doctor if ever there was one. He was in his early sixties with grey hair, glasses, neat suit and tie, and he carried a Gladstone bag.

"Would helping decorate the Christmas tree be too much for his delicate condition?" she asked cheekily. The doctor missed her humour.

"Oh, I should think that would be the very thing he'd need. Something to take his mind off things. As long as you don't ask him to get up a ladder. I don't want to have to send him to hospital again if he falls off."

"Don't worry about that, we'll make sure he's safe," Maddy answered as she walked the doctor to the door.

Morgan watched them both from the comfort of his chair. He was trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights from their hiding place in a large shoebox. He was dressed in black jeans and a cream silk shirt that gave him a decidedly romantic look, complete with healing wound on his forehead. Lord Byron she thought, remembering illustrations of the poet she'd seen in literature books. Maddy tried not to stare at him as she passed some tinsel to Shelley. His magnetism was palpable. She remembered what he'd said before he crumpled to the floor. She caught his eye as he was about to speak.

"I hope I didn't say anything too embarrassing before I passed out at the hospital."

_Can he read my mind_? She hoped she wasn't blushing again. She wasn't used to it, and didn't like it.

"The last think I remember is driving with my head out the window in the pouring rain."

"No, you didn't say anything embarrassing at all."

"Thank God for that," he answered with a disarming smile. _He can read my mind!_ Now she was blushing. She turned away quickly to pass another decoration to her daughter.

"Don't put any more tinsel on the tree till we've put the lights on," he called to Shelley, "otherwise it'll look weird."

"I won't," Shell answered, "but you'll have to hurry 'cos the angel might fly away before we put her on the tree."

Maddy and Morgan both looked at each other and laughed.

"But she might!" Shelley protested.

"Don't worry darling, she's not going to fly away."

"She wouldn't want to," Morgan said. "She's too happy here."

Maddy got the feeling he felt real pleasure in being part of a family, even if only a temporary one. But weren't they somehow closer, now that they'd shared the drama of the last few days? Maddy couldn't help feeling this was so. She didn't dare believe what he'd said before he passed out. She knew that was just the concussion. At the same time, she could tell by his smiling eyes that he felt this was a special occasion.

"It was good of the Smarts to pot the tree for us," he ventured.

"Well, they felt sorry for you, it was the least they could do. They knew you wouldn't be able to manage."

"I'm not that helpless!"

"You're helpless enough. Just sit back and we'll show you what we can do."

"Let me put these on first. You can't reach up this high." He proceeded to loop the lights in every increasing circles from the top of the tree to the bottom. He was tall enough to do it without any effort.

"There," he said when it was done, looking pleased with himself. He walked over the beautiful grand piano set by the French windows. They were open to the verandah. It was a most gorgeous evening.

The first notes of 'Silent Night' suddenly filled the room. Maddy stood transfixed. Shelley continued to decorate the tree with tinsel while singing along with a few remembered words in her happy child's voice.

"Mummy, you sing too!" she pleaded. "Let's all sing!"

Maddy joined in softly, then Morgan. The smell of gardenia and rose drifted on the warm breeze through the sweet twilight air. Enchanting, Maddy thought. The soft lamps cast a gentle, warm glow across the room. And Venus, the evening star, was just visible above the silhouettes of the cypress trees in the garden beyond.

As Maddy watched Morgan slightly bent over the piano, his long fingers playing effortlessly across the keys, she felt a stirring from deep within. _He can't be bad, can he?_. He possessed a spirit that she understood only too well. It was a yearning for life beyond the bounds of the ordinary. She could see it in the way he lost himself in his playing.

"Sleep in heavenly peeeeace..." Yes, but after passion has been fulfilled with the one you love. She couldn't help her thoughts, try as she might.

Maddy walked slowly over to Morgan and stood by his side. She dared to rest her hand on his shoulder, a gesture of unity, or trust perhaps, and a signal that was feeling something for him that he could either choose to acknowledge or ignore. Her heart thumped beneath her deep red silk georgette top. She was glad he was facing away from her, toward the piano. When he'd finished playing the last note, he lifted his fingers to his shoulder and entwined them in hers. She almost fainted.

"You play beautifully," she managed to say. "Where did you learn to play like that?"

"My father taught me, actually," he replied, taking his hand away at the same time, as if in apology for touching her. Was he thinking of their disastrous time in the studio? If so, she felt a sudden regret.

"In my early childhood, my father gave me quite a good grounding in many things. He was quite musical. I owe him that. Then I had lessons for a couple of years. Then my interest in the piano switched to girls when I was a teenager. So I dropped the lessons. Pity."

Before Morgan could reveal more, Damon entered the room with a bottle of Cristal champagne and Riedel glasses set on a carved, antique bamboo tray. Maddy moved to one side and helped clear the coffee table of decorations.

"I thought ye olde celebrations were in order. I thought this might help with a bit of Christmas cheer".

"Oooh, goody!" Shelley called out, rushing over to the table. "Is there a drink for me too please?"

"Of course! I never forget the needs of small people," Damon answered with a deadpan look.

"There's a glass of lemonade. It's real lemonade, made with lemons and soda. Tell me what you think of it. Stacey made it especially for you."

Shelley looked at the drink with trepidation. She'd only seen lemonade in cans or bottles from the supermarket. She took a sip and her face lit up.

"Mmmm....it's yummy, it tickles my nose." She slurped, rather than sipped, in delight.

"And now for the grown ups." Damon poured out champagne for the three of them. They all clinked glasses in season's greetings.

"It tickles my nose too," Maddy laughed.

"Do you think I should be drinking this?" Morgan asked, suddenly concerned. "I wonder how alcohol mixes with concussion? Oh, what the hell..."

"I am quite sure, sir, that a small glass of champagne will do you the world of good," said Damon, before he turned to talk to Maddy.

"Now tell me Miss McVey, Maddy, if I may be so bold as to ask, how is the portrait coming along of Mr Collier? I should love to see it, if I'm allowed."

"Oh, well, up till now, we've been so busy there hasn't been time for another sitting." Maddy replied, which was only partly true. Neither of them had broached the subject to each other again. Morgan came to the rescue.

"I think after New Year there'll be plenty of opportunities to finish the portrait. We'll both be more relaxed then, in holiday mode. Plus I won't have this bruise on my head. Though, I don't know, maybe it adds to my character. What do you think, Maddy?"

Morgan's eyes flashed down to her. He was standing very close, they were almost touching.

"What do I think about the bruise adding to your character, or what do I think about finishing the portrait after New Year? That's an ambiguous question, Mr Collier."

She was being playful, flirtatious even. The champagne had gone to her head.

"Well, I'm not sure," he answered, moving even closer, his elbow just touching her upper arm. She began to tingle all over.

"Do you think you could put up with me for another few sittings? You'd have to look at me under close scrutiny for some time. Do you think you could bear that?"

Do you think you could trust me? he might as well have added. Maddy looked up into his deep, dark eyes.

"Now you're teasing me."

Morgan touched her gently on the wrist as she lifted the glass to her lips. She nearly missed her mouth.

"I'm not teasing you Maddy, I'm deadly serious." He held her gaze.

"Ahem..." Damon interrupted. "More champagne anyone? There's enough left for one more glass each. We can't let it go to waste." He fussed about pouring more champagne into their glasses.

"Can we turn the Christmas tree lights on now?" Shelley called out from beside the tree. Maddy took a deep gulp of air and fanned her face with a cocktail coaster from the tray. She felt like one of those southern belles from 'Gone With The Wind'.

"Yes, of course we can." Morgan strolled over and plugged in the switch. Sudden brilliance from hundreds of tiny lights illuminated the tree.

"Oh!" Everybody gasped.

"It's so beautiful," said Shelley. "Like fairyland!"

"Here, let me put the angel on top." Maddy put down her champagne and pulled a bentwood chair over to the tree to climb up.

"I can do that," Damon announced. "We can't have another accident just on Christmas." Maddy had the sense to stand back and let Damon take over.

They all watched as he fixed the exquisite gilt and glass angel to the top of the tree. Probably a Collier heirloom, Maddy thought.

"Stay where you are," said Morgan. He picked up his smart phone from the top of the piano. "Let me take a photo of you all. Say 'biscuits' everyone!" He snapped the trio while they were still laughing.

"I'll take one with you in it, Mr Collier." Damon strode forward and ushered Morgan next to Maddy. "Miss Shelley, if you wouldn't mind, how about standing in front of your mother and Mr Collier?" Shelley obliged. "Mr Collier, I really think you ought to put your arm around Miss McVey's, Maddy's, shoulder. Just to balance the picture, you understand."

Morgan did as he was told. Maddy couldn't believe he had his arm around her. He squeezed her shoulder gently. She tentatively put her arm around his waist, feeling the soft, sensuous silk of his shirt over his taut flesh. She was feeling quite tipsy. Champagne was a great drink.

"Say cheesy biscuits this time."

"Cheesy biscuits! Cheesy biscuits!" Shelley giggled over and over hysterically.

"Perfect," Damon said as he snapped again.

"I think you should kiss each other for Christmas," Shelley said innocently, looking up at Maddy and Morgan as she tugged at mother's sleek black velvet skirt.

"What a splendid idea," said Damon.

"Well, for Shelley's sake, here goes..." Before Maddy had time to think, Morgan kissed her full lips, pulling her tight against him with his right arm. It only lasted a few seconds, but she remembered that kiss for the rest of her life. It was sweet, lustful and tender all at the same time. She was never able to quite pinpoint what had made it so special, but the main ingredient was surely the passion that Morgan just managed to suppress with all his will.

"Got it! Well, Mr Collier, I think that tops it. Merry Christmas to you all!"

Chapter 5

This time on the drive down to Acacia River Maddy had the luxury of the Volvo. Her friends in the city had to admit it was a pretty nice car, if not cool. She felt safe and secure in it, though she was aware she could never be fully protected from all the maniacs in the world. Of course, I'm a perfect driver, she laughed to herself. She hadn't had a decent car of her own to drive for several years. She also liked the fact that it was Morgan's. It secretly gave her a thrill to be driving one of his cars. _Better not get too used to it_.

All her friends had been curious about her employer and what life was like at White Breakers. She told them the bare facts, but left out her newly kindled feelings for the man she knew she ought to despise. She was half ashamed to admit them to herself, so she remained quiet on that count.

She hadn't told her friends prior to taking the job that he was connected with her past. She was content to let Shelley fill in the details to her friends of the lifestyle at White Breakers. Only once or twice did she curb Shelley's exaggerated enthusiasm.

"And did he really tell you he was madly in love with you?" asked Maddy's friend Eve, who was staying in Maddy's house while Maddy was at White Breakers.

They'd been sitting on the back porch enjoying the midsummer sunshine, eating smoked salmon and dill sandwiches off chipped plates. Maddy had become used to the finest food money could buy. However, she was astute enough to save the best for things like fine china dinner sets when she was sure she'd be financially secure again. Besides, a part of her was comfortable in her thriftiness, and her desire to recycle.

"Oh Eve, did Shelley tell you that?"

"Don't tell me it isn't true."

"Yes, he did say it, but he was badly concussed at the time. He doesn't even remember saying it."

But Eve wouldn't let it go.

"First he asks you to paint his portrait, then he invites your daughter to come to stay. Then he tells you you're the most beautiful women in the world and that he's madly in love with you. And, as if that's not enough, he then kisses you under the mistletoe!"

"There was no mistletoe..."

"Don't spoil a good story. This man sounds like he's crazy about you."

"It's not what you think..."

"What gives, Maddy? Is there something you're not telling me? He sounds like the greatest catch in the world. Money, power and looks may not be everything these days, but they sure help. You should go for it. Loosen up, you only live once. Carlisle's not coming back."

"I never said I wanted him back."

"Then you're just being stubborn. What are you afraid of? That he'll take away your independence Are you afraid he'll come between you and Shelley?"

"No, it's not that. Well, maybe it's partly that. But I don't think he really feels that way about me. His wife and child died tragically a few years ago. He's not interested in other women. He lives for business."

"I don't believe it! Everybody wants somebody to love, and to be loved in return. And if they get a second chance, they they're fools not to take it." Eve challenged her friend.

"Well, I'm not you. I'm more cautious. I'm not attracted to him."

"Now you're lying, I can tell! We've known each other since school days Mads. I just want you to be happy. You're still young and gorgeous. I've seen the way men turn to look at you in the street when we're out shopping together. Promise me you won't reject him out of misplaced pride, or something stupid like that."

Maddy laughed. "Do you see me like that? Proud and haughty?"

"Sometimes," Eve answered honestly. "Though I know deep down it's because you've built this shell around you for protection. Except now and then I see the cracks. Like now..."

"Not on my face, I hope!"

Eve tossed back her short black hair and laughed loudly.

"I can see I'm not going to get any further with you today, but I won't give up. C'mon let's go inside before we're burnt to a crisp. We've still got to make the New Year's Eve punch for tonight's party."

And so the two friends walked back into the cottage, looking forward to a bit of fun.

Maddy drove up to the main entrance of White Breakers to unload the Volvo. She was in a happy mood. She'd stocked up well on tubes of oil paint from her favourite supplier in the city before driving down. She didn't want to run out half way through painting the portrait. She was looking forward to the next few weeks, even though she was unsure of where she stood with Morgan, or even how she felt.

As she unloaded the car, she glimpsed down onto the passenger seat at the photographs Damon had sent to her home in Melbourne over the Christmas break. They'd slipped out of her work folder. She loved the one of the three of them together, arms around each other, smiling beneath the Christmas tree angel. But it was the photo of them kissing that sent shivers up and down her spine. Really, Damon had been very presumptuous to take it. He could have just airdropped the photos to her phone, but he'd made the effort to have them printed. Perhaps he thought she might delete the one of her and Morgan kissing. He'd even written a cheeky note on the back, which read "Here's a very special one for the album."

She was still thinking of his comment when the striking figure of an immaculately-coiffed platinum blonde, wearing a pink Chanel suit, walked into view on the wide verandah. Her flesh-coloured patent stiletto pumps clicked with precision across the tiled expanse. Maddy was so stunned she dropped the folder and photos.

"Hello!" The woman greeted Maddy with a perfectly manicured hand sporting several fine rings in gold with exquisite gemstones. "I'm Chloe Swann. You must be Madeleine McVey."

"Yes, I am. How do you do?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Oh, you've dropped something." Maddy, still stunned, watched as Chloe elegantly turned her legs sideways and squatted to pick up her folder and photos. At the same time Morgan strode out onto the verandah.

"Maddy! You're back early. I wasn't expecting to see you till this evening." Before she could answer, Chloe turned to Morgan as she looked at the photos.

"What delightful pictures. Were they taken recently? They must have been, there's the bruise on your forehead. Oh, excuse me Madeleine, do you mind me looking at these?" She didn't even glance in Maddy's direction.

"And look at this one of you two kissing under the tree. How sweet! It's just like the one of us taken last year at the New Year's Eve party in Paris, isn't it Morgan? What nice memories you'll have to take back with you when you've finished here."

Chloe smiled from ear to ear showing perfectly even, white-capped teeth. She handed the pictures back to Maddy.

"Well, I must be getting back inside. I need to make some calls. I thought you were Damon coming back with food for my dogs. Where are you, boys?" Chloe proceeded to put her right index finger and thumb between her coral lip-glossed lips and let out one of these piercing whistles that some people have the talent for. Two huge Dobermans lolloped around the side terrace and lurched to a halt in front of Chloe. They both bared their teeth at Maddy and growled.

"Now boys, we'll have none of that here. You behave, or it's back to the dog hotel for you." Chloe looked at Maddy with a butter-wouldn't melt in her mouth smile.

"They won't attack unless they have good cause. Or unless I _tell_ them to. They're my bodyguards, you know. You can't be too careful in this day and age." She laughed a little, high snort, rather like a horse's whinny. "Now, where did I leave my phone?"

"I saw it on the sideboard in the foyer." Morgan answered. Chloe turned on her heels with the dogs following.

"Toodle-oo", she said, not bothering to look back at Maddy as she curled her fingers into a little wave behind her back.

Maddy stood dumbfounded on the steps. Morgan came towards her to take the load she was carrying.

"I take it Chloe introduced herself?" he ventured.

"Yes, she did..."

"Good, then I won't have any explaining to do. Where would you like me to put your things? Office, studio or bedroom?"

"Nowhere, thanks," she answered coldly.

"But you'll need to put them somewhere," he answered, perplexed.

"I mean, I don't need you to help me put them anywhere, I can manage on my own," she retorted.

"I'm sure you can manage, Maddy. But I'd like to help."

Before she could put him off any more, Morgan had picked up her tapestry bag by the handles and march into the house with it. She followed at a distance, watching him walk tall and confident up the wide staircase. Not a word was spoken till they reached Maddy's bedroom.

Morgan stood very close to her as she attempted to go in through the door. He stood with one arm outstretched against the doorjamb while he pushed back the forelock of black hair with the other. His indigo shirt matched his eyes. Maddy almost sank to the floor. He looked at her steadily.

"Did I do something to annoy you?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why are you acting like this?" he asked, the little muscle in his jaw twitching again.

"I'm not acting. I'm just tired, that's all. I've had a long drive down. Now please let me into my room."

"Why should I? You're being very rude."

"You're my employer and I'm your employee. Let's leave it at that."

"Certainly, Miss McVey, if that's the way you want it."

Morgan stepped away slightly as Maddy breezed across the room with her things. She dropped them into the chair and nonchalantly turned towards the window. She didn't want to look at him. She wanted to cry.

"You can leave my bag on the floor there, thanks." She heard the clunk as he dropped the bag onto the polished boards. He didn't say a word. The tension was unbearable. She wanted to run out of the house down to the beach. Anywhere but here. Morgan finally broke the silence.

"I've got time to sit for the portrait tomorrow morning before Chloe and I take off in the afternoon. Does that suit you?" His voice was flat, indifferent. Still she didn't turn around.

"Fine."

"Ten, then," were his last words. She heard his footsteps leave her room as Chloe's voice boomed up the staircase.

"Morgan? Morgan? Are you up there? The dogs are chasing those damned peacocks. Quick!

She heard him bound down the stair following Chloe's marching steps out onto the terrace. Then chaotic barking. At one point she could hear Chloe attempting to admonish Morgan to keep his wildlife under control before any damage was done to her boys. Maddy couldn't hear what he said, just his deep voice in reply and the sudden sharp yowl of a dog. Then silence.

She shut the French doors and collapsed on her bed, rubbing her eyes while sighing deeply. What a fool she was! What an absolute idiot! Of _course_ he'd have a girlfriend or lover. Why wouldn't he? Just because Damon hadn't mentioned her, it didn't mean she didn't exist. From her experience, men couldn't bear to be on their own for long, no matter that a tragedy was the cause for their loss.

She couldn't afford to let any memory linger of what might have been with Morgan. He was only her employer, after all. He'd never given her any real reason to believe she meant anything to him, except for that moment in the studio when they'd both lost control. And that was just pure lust. Why was she so upset? She had obviously misread any implied intimacy between them. And how could she forget the deceitful part he'd played in her husband's decline?

"I'll paint your portrait, Morgan Collier, and then I'm out of here." She shut her eyes hoping to catch an afternoon nap. Instead, she found herself sobbing softly into her pillow, her head throbbing, and annoyed with herself for allowing him to hijack her emotions.

She got up after half an hour or so and washed her face in the cool, tiled bathroom. Then she collected her paints. There was still time before dinner to go to the studio to sort things out for the morning's session.

She walked down the little stone path around the pool to the studio. The pergola covering the path was overgrown with red climbing roses and jasmine. The heady perfume mingled with the humid, oppressive air. As she turned the corner to the trellised area of the studio she stopped dead in her tracks.

One of the Dobermans stood ready to attack. Its salivating mouth was pulled back over its teeth and a menacing growl emanated from its throat. Maddy stayed still, not knowing whether to retrace her steps or to try to negotiate her way out of the situation. She backed up against the studio wall. The dog took two steps towards her. Its mad eyes lock onto hers. She froze.

In the next instant, Chloe Swann's spiky heels announced her arrival around the corner of the studio.

"Ajax! Come here, come to mummy! Come here baby, there's a sweetie," she cooed. "So sorry about that Maddy. Can I call you Maddy? I gather that's what Morgan calls you." Chloe stood relaxed, as much as one can in a pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos She patted the dog. He licked her hand and stared at her adoringly.

"Are you going in there?" she asked casually, gesturing to the studio.

"Yes, I thought I'd put the new paints away and tidy up in time for tomorrow's session."

"May I come in and have a look?" Chloe seemed friendly enough.

"If you like." They both walked together around to the studio door, the dog keeping a respectful distance from them.

"Oh, how sweet. You've got it set up just so!" Chloe remarked as she stood in the middle of the studio. She appeared to be looking for something.

"Can I see the portrait of Morgan?"

"Oh, it's barely sketched in. There's not much to see at the moment." Maddy was reluctant to show anyone her work in progress, let alone this woman. Chloe paid no attention to Maddy's remark. Instead, she walked around to the front of the easel and stared at the painting.

"Yes, I see what you mean," she finally pronounced. "You have quite a long way to go. It has some merit. You've managed to capture a certain likeness, though I'd say in reality his face is much more refined. I dare say with a bit more practice you could become quite good at this sort of thing."

"Thank you for the advice," Maddy answered flatly. She didn't feel angry. She was just gobsmacked at Chloe's attempt at a putdown. She knew how good she was as an artist.

Chloe sat on the sofa without invitation. Maddy busily put away the paints, hoping Chloe would get the hint and leave. She didn't.

"Coffee?" Maddy finally asked. She was intrigued, if anything, by Chloe's hostile attitude. Why should this woman feel threatened? Probably the photos, she thought.

"Yes...oh, if it's only instant, don't bother. That cheap rubbish makes me feel ill. I'm quite allergic to it."

"No, it's _real_ coffee, Nicaraguan organic fair-trade. But I'm afraid it's only a plunger. Does that suit your digestive system?"

"Oh, that's fine, at a pinch," Chloe said, totally unaware of the sarcasm in Maddy's reply.

Maddy brought the plunger and light blue cups and saucers over to the coffee table. She sat on one of the natural linen-covered chairs diagonally opposite Chloe.

"Are you staying here with Morgan for the rest of the summer?" Maddy asked.

"Oh, that depends..."

Maddy raised her eyebrows inquiringly.

"..It depends on whether Morgan continues to pretend he doesn't need me here to support him since that dreadful accident. Oh, he told me about your heroic deed. Marvellous. I really admire women who can take control of a situation when necessary and who know when to bow out at the right time. Are you one of those people Maddy? I'm sure you are."

Maddy stared at Chloe in disbelief. What an incredible cheek the woman had!

"Anyway. I can't be away from my work for too long because the ship can run aground, you know, if the captain isn't at the helm."

Now Maddy was just puzzled. She didn't have a clue what Chloe was talking about. She certainly had a quaint way with words.

"Oh, didn't you know? Hasn't anyone told you? Morgan can be so infuriating. I sometimes think he deliberately withholds information from people, just to keep up the mystery. Not many women would fall for that old trick."

Maddy took a sip of her coffee, intrigued at where the conversation was heading. Outwardly she remained detached and calm, even though she felt like flinging the contents of her cup all over Chloe's perfect pale-pink and black trimmed Channel jacket. Chloe uncrossed her legs and placed her cup purposefully onto the table.

"I'm the editor of the Australia's most successful and influential style magazine." She leaned forward to speak to Maddy in the hushed tones of a confidante. "Surely you've heard of 'Here, Now'?"

Yes, she had. She now recognised Chloe's beaming face from the Editor's Diary in one of those magazines she picked up to flip through occasionally in the doctor's waiting room. She had a flash of 'Here, Now' as a celebrity gossip mag with the fashion pages of the latest, throwaway designs. Maybe she was doing the magazine a disservice. It wasn't really her thing.

"I just love my job," Chloe continued. "Adore it. And Morgan never interferes as the CEO. No. He has complete confident in my ability. He knows I have impeccable judgement. My word is God. Not many print magazines are surviving in today's digital world, but my magazine is so good, sales keep improving. Same with the online version. I have the best team working for me. The best designers, photographers, stylists...everyone at the peak of their careers. I can make or break them, you know. I'm very fair in my dealings, but no one would dare cross me. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She glared at Maddy.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," Maddy answered coolly.

"Oh, come on now, you can't be that stupid, can you?" Chloe's eyes rolled back in her head as she leaned back and impatiently tapped the sofa with her buffed, French white fingernails. She sensed Maddy was being deliberately obtuse.

"I'll get to the point," she spoke bluntly. "Keep your hands off Morgan. I've been the only woman in his life since Luisa died. I was the only one he turned to during those tragic months, apart from Damon. I've seen him at his most vulnerable and I've shared his deepest secrets. Believe me, I know everything there is to know about him. You cannot possibly compete, you're not worthy, so don't even try!"

"What makes you think I'm competing? Maddy replied coolly. Inwardly, she fumed at Chloe's attempt to threaten her. How could such a 'here, now' woman be so old-fashioned in her thinking? Was Chloe a joke?

"Well, of course you're competing. I watched from the office as you lured him into carrying your things up the stairs. And this picture here...," she gestured dismissively towards the portrait. "I suppose you offered to paint it, hoping you would somehow weave your way into his affections. Or is it the connections you're after? A deal like this could set you up as an artist of some standing..."

Maddy was now livid. She jumped out of her chair and stood over Chloe.

"Enough! Basically, this is none of your business. I don't have to justify myself to you or explain any feelings I may or may not have for Morgan. I came here to do a job for the summer, and that's what I'll do. I'd like you to leave now so I can get on with my work. You're already taken up too much of my time!"

And with that final remark, Maddy opened the studio door and waited determinedly until Chloe tottered out with a sly smile as if she had won. Maddy slammed the door, annoyed at her own childish need to do so. She walked over to the coffee table to pick up the cups. She was shaking with fury. She heard a bark, a howl, and "Here, Hector!" before the spiky heels faded away past the pool.

Well, she thought. If that woman thinks she can intimidate me, she's got another thing coming. Who does she think she is? Yet what could Maddy do, after all? If Morgan was in love with Chloe, then that was the way it would be. But was he in love with her? He hadn't mentioned her at all. There hadn't been any time to discuss anything. The opportunity would come soon enough.

Chapter 6

"Do you always drink English Breakfast tea late in the afternoon?" Morgan asked, as he took another sip of his flat white.

"Only in cafes by the beach," Maddy answered. She put down her cup and stared out to the breakers beyond the sand dunes. It was another sublime summer day, with the softest of breezes blowing. She watched from their table outside the health food cafe at the families walking by from the beach. They smelled vaguely of zinc cream and sea as they stepped into the take-away next door for their salty fish and chips. She was reminded of her childhood and wished her life was as carefree as it was then.

She turned away and looked towards the fantastically twisted cypresses lining the foreshore. She could feel Morgan's eyes studying her but she was doing her best to ignore him. He seemed to want to talk. If it was about his relationship with Chloe, well, she just couldn't be bothered.

Apollo Bay was very busy this time of year. It took the spill over of tourists who couldn't afford luxurious holiday apartments in Lorne. Maddy liked it better here. More down to earth, less crowded and touristy. She suspected Chloe would have preferred Lorne. That's the difference between us, she thought. And what about Morgan? Was he more attuned to her way of thinking? She would have thought so, before Christmas.

"Our session went pretty well this morning, don't you think?" He was trying to make small talk. He looked her straight in the eye and smiled his devastating smile.

"Yes, I think so," was all she answered.

Morgan unexpectedly leaned over and gently brushed her face with his hand.

"You've got some paint on your cheek..."

"Oh," was her only response. She didn't bother with a tissue. She just licked her finger and rubbed her face absent-mindedly. _I really don't give a damn what you think of me. Too bad you're trying to get my attention._

He continued to look at her steadily.

"Something's been bothering you Maddy since you got back. What is it?" _Something's bothering me!_

"Nothing you need worry about."

"But I do worry about you. I kept thinking of you while you were away. I missed you around the place," he said, quite convincingly.

"Well, I suppose Chloe would have filled the gap after I left," she dared to say.

"Chloe? Maybe, but not in the same way. There's been too much business to discuss."

_Yes, indeed, that could get in the way for some people. And I'm just a diversion, someone to pounce on in a quiet moment when your hot shot editor is not around._ What did he see in Chloe anyway? She was certainly powerful enough. But really, she was a bit ridiculous. Maddy had heard her talking on the phone to her stylist. Artificially sweet and deadly, she had thought.

And here she was, just one hundred metres away, walking up the street with Hector and Ajax on leashes. Maddy saw how the holidaymakers gave them a wide berth on the street. They were not the sort of dogs that children went up to wanting to pat. It was quite comic, really. Chloe was wearing some concoction to keep out of the sun. A very sensible idea, but the swathes of sheer material around her head and neck with her Jackie O style sunglasses gave her the appearance of a l960s Hollywood movie star, rather incongruous for an Australian seaside town. She certainly got some stares though. Maddy guessed that was the purpose for her look.

"Here's Chloe now."

Morgan turned around to look. "We should go for a swim. Chloe won't be able to sit here with the dogs. There's not enough room."

"That's a good idea," Maddy said, relieved. She didn't think she could stand being at the same table under such strain for much longer. Why Morgan had insisted on her coming out with them for the afternoon she couldn't fathom. "We need to discuss some business," he'd said, but that hadn't happened. Maybe he was vain enough to like the idea of having a woman on each arm. Where the dogs would fit in she couldn't imagine.

Chloe let go of the leashes. The dogs tried to leap onto the table.

"Down, boys!" she boomed. Several passers by stopped and stared, but Chloe took no notice.

"I'd forgotten what a divine little town this was," she commented. "Very quaint. Nice to see everyday people enjoying themselves."

She stood tapping her immaculate canvas slip ons on the footpath. Maddy could tell by the two back to back 'Cs' on the top they were Chanel. Her own canvas slip ons cost $29.95 from the local surf shop. The dogs dropped by Chloe's side with tongues lolling out.

"What else is there to do here? No theatre, concerts or nightclubs, I suppose?" Chloe laughed, looking as though she realised how silly that sounded. A moment of self-awareness, thought Maddy.

"No, none at all," Morgan answered, finishing his coffee. "That's what's so good about it.."

"I think I'd get bored after the sun went down," she yawned. Morgan ignored her comment and jumped up, as if in a hurry.

"Come on, let's go down to the beach," he said. Chloe passed a leash to Morgan and slipped her free arm into his as they moved off. The three of them crossed the road, but Maddy walked faster and got ahead of them, just managing to dodge one of the four-wheel drives cruising along the main street. Maybe it will turn into Lorne, Maddy fleetingly thought. That would be a shame.

She took off her slip ons and shoved them into her beach bag. She moved quickly over the grassy dunes, mainly because the sand was hot. She slid down the other side, letting her feet enjoy the cool sensation of the sand on the shady slope of the dune. Shadows were beginning to creep along the beach.

Maddy didn't look back. She had no desire to see Morgan and Chloe walk arm in arm along the beach. What a stupid idea to come along with them! Walk, breathe, meditate, she said to herself, bending down to pick up some smooth, white shells on the edge of the surf.

She caught a glimpse of a young couple lying on their large beach towel in the afternoon sun, nuzzling up to each other like puppies. She felt a momentary pang of jealousy before kicking the sand in front of her. She dodged the sunburnt teenagers playing cricket, her pragmatic mind wondering why they weren't wearing hats.

She tossed the shells back into the water and broke into a jog. She focussed on the distance, in the opposite direction to town and the fishing co-op by the pier. Cypress trees and sand dunes slipped by as she panted to keep up the pace.

She finally stopped where the beach was deserted. She dropped her hat and bag on the spot. She then peeled off her shorts and t-shirt to reveal a simple, while lycra bathing suit with a halter neck and plunging neckline. It highlighted her golden skin perfectly. It was still very hot and her body was glistening from perspiration. She slipped down to the water and dived under the first big wave when she was far enough out. She could have stayed under forever. Bass Strait was freezing and exhilarating at the same time.

She often wondered how to describe that feeling of absolute freedom. She could swim like a fish and hold her breath for longer than anybody she knew. She kept swimming under the waves while the ocean rolled above. Down here, everything was serene and calm. It was her domain.

She bobbed up beyond the surf, lithe and weightless like a tiny fish. She felt the sun glinting strongly on her face, its piercing light creating myriad diamond-sharp dots over the ocean's surface. She was treading water facing away from the beach, so when Morgan wrapped his arms around her waist she nearly shot clean out of the water. He let go and turn her around while keeping afloat.

"Don't ever do that again!" She screamed. He looked shocked at first, then just laughed.

"Did I scare you? Sorry, I just meant to give you a surprise."

"You could have been a shark!" She was very angry.

"Not as dangerous, I hope."

Maddy continued to simmer while looking at him for a few seconds.

"Aren't you?" She looked into his indigo eyes as the swell buoyed them up.

"No...just crazy for you." They were treading water so close together that his mouth engulfed hers before she had a chance to say anything. Even now she was ready for him. Her desire was overwhelming. It had been bubbling just under the surface and now she couldn't deny it. She kissed him back, tasting salt and fire on his lips.

"Oh Maddy let's stay like this. Don't push me away this time."

She couldn't have even if she'd tried. She was completely helpless in the water in his grip.

"What about Chloe?"

"I don't care about Chloe," he whispered hoarsely, before the sound of the surf drowned out thoughts and words. They kissed deeply. She tasted the salt on his tongue, answering his desire as he caressed the inside of her mouth. She would have had him then and there in the water if it had been possible. Despite the delicious cold she was burning. He gripped her wet hair as the ocean swell pushed her body hard up against his. She could feel through his boxers that he was well and truly aroused. They were kissing with abandon when a big wave broke over the top of them, releasing Morgan's grip and tumbling them both beneath the surface.

Maddy surrendered. She became an arrow and let the tremendous power of the ocean sweep her into shore. She had never felt so alive. Before the sand could grate against her body she scrambled upright in the whitewash. Morgan was a few metres away from her, shaking away the sand and water from his face as the waves crashed around him on the beach.

"What a finale!" he laughed as he splashed towards her.

They stood together in the surf, looking at each other, trying to fathom whether the last few moments had actually happened.

Morgan touched her gently at the little dip in the centre of her neck between her collarbones.

His fingers lingered as they gently brushed away grains of sand from between her breasts. As he touched her she felt her knees give way. She couldn't understand it. She'd never felt like this before. Not even with Carlisle. She was almost alarmed at her primitive desire.

"Easy," he whispered, pulling her tightly to him. She smelled his body, felt the rock-hard smoothness of the muscles on his bare torso. The sea had darkened his hair to blue black. The sun played sparkles across his wet olive skin, catching the midnight blue of his eyes with an up light that hypnotised her. Salt clung to his parted lips. She touched the almost healed cut and bruise on his forehead. They were about to kiss again when Hector and Ajax bounded into the water, knocking Maddy back into the surf with their clumsy exuberance. Morgan shouted them off while he tried to help her up.

"Boys, boys!" yellowed Chloe at the edge of the water. She was not going to get her feet wet.

"For God's sake Chloe, keep your dogs under control!"

"Honestly, Morgan, you know I usually do. That game of cricket on the beach sent them into a frenzy. I normally keep them on a very tight rein."

Maddy walked away up to her clothes on the beach and began to put them on over her wet swimsuit. Having to justify herself to Chloe was the last thing she wanted, yet why shouldn't she be kissing Morgan, now that he'd made his feelings known? What claim did Chloe really have on Morgan, if any? She was aware of Chloe's eyes boring holes into her as she pulled on her t-shirt over her wet skin.

"Let's go back now, Morgan," Chloe said. Maddy was all too aware of her name being left out.

"Tamara and Joey will be here soon from Melbourne to stay the night. We've got lots to catch up on and you don't want to be late meeting our old friends."

Chloe turned and started to walk towards the town with the dogs that seemed under control at last. She was sure Morgan would follow.

"What do you want to do, Maddy" Do you want to go back?" He looked at her questioningly as he put back on his clothes, ignoring Chloe's demands.

She didn't want to go back. Not after what had just happened. But before she could say anything, the sound of a car horn and shouting could be heard from the road above the beach.

"Yoo hoo, darlings!" Chloe was waving up ahead on the beach to the red Sports car that had pulled up alongside.

"Joey, Tamara! How did you find us?" The dogs bounded over to the evening's guests. They had just enough time to get out of their car before being thoroughly flattened by Ajax and Hector.

Morgan lightly jogged up to meet them, holding out his hand to Maddy at the same time, though she didn't quite catch up. In that split second, Chloe seemed to jump to his side and slipped her arm into his. A short, but handsome man in his mid thirties slid down the dune towards Morgan and Chloe.

"Damon gave us spot-on directions, as always. Told us to head for the cypresses with a forty-five degree twist and we'd find the right spot."

"You're kidding!" Chloe chortled.

"Actually, we followed him all the way into Apollo Bay. He's at the grocery store now, l believe, buying food for these two mongrels."

"Oh, you are awful, Joey! They're not mongrels, they're pure breeds, as you well know," Chloe pouted in mock offence.

"Just teasing, Chlo."

"So, what's the news you can't wait to tell us?" Tamara excitedly asked as she, too, slid down the dune. Maddy saw that Tamara was about Chloe's age, but obviously more down to earth. She was suitably dressed in white sundress, her mass of dark hair contained under a large sun red hat.

"Oh Morgan, I just couldn't wait to tell them. I called Tamara this morning, but said we had to be together before the official announcement."

"What announcement?" Morgan looked at Chloe, puzzled.

"Yes, what? Don't keep us in suspense any longer," Joey seemed as eager as his partner.

"We're engaged!" Everyone gasped while Maddy stood rigid, stunned.

"Morgan you old dog, why didn't you let on?" Joey burst out. "That's great, really terrific." He shook Morgan's hand vigorously.

"Chloe's just the woman, I'm sure. Keep it all in the publishing family, eh?" He chuckled a throaty laugh while Tamara gave her friend a hug.

Chloe returned an air kiss and looked towards Maddy with victory in her eyes.

Maddy felt clammy and sick. ls this for real? She felt as though she'd just been stabbed. How could someone feel so wonderful one minute and be devastated the next? This was too cruel for words. She wasn't going to hang around waiting for the next instalment.

Summoning all her energy, she began to walk up the dune towards the road.

"Where are you going?" Morgan called after her.

"Back to town. I'll get a lift with Damon." she answered as impassively as she could, all too aware of the quaver in her voice. She wasn't going to let him see her distress. She wasn't going to allow him that pleasure.

God, she thought. How could I have fallen like that?

Fallen...that was it. Yes, she was in love with him. Totally and hopelessly.

Absolutely hopelessly. He must never know, never. She would close herself off. Totally.

"Maddy, I'll come with you and get the car.' He was about to bound after her but Chloe held him back.

"Maddy!" She yelled triumphantly. "Here, catch!" She threw the keys to the Range Rover. Chloe had obviously had plenty of practice at throwing things and finding her mark. The keys landed right at Maddy's feet by the edge of the road.

"Be a darling and drive the car back to White Breakers would you, sweetie? There's not enough room for the five of us in Tamara's car. Oh, and could you take the boys, too? They like to sit up front and look at the scenery on the way back."

"Of course," Maddy answered. "I'd love too." She felt some perverse pleasure in taking Chloe's dogs. She might even be tempted to turf them out over a cliff on the way back, the way she was feeling.

"I'm going with Maddy," Morgan said adamantly.

"Oh, you can't leave your fiancée," Joey piped up.

Tamara continued. "Not at such short notice, anyway. Maddy seems a very capable young woman. You'll manage, won't you?

"Of course, my pleasure. I'd rather go alone. You stay with your fiancée, Morgan. By the way, congratulations. You forgot to tell me of your plans. Otherwise, things might have turned out differently on the beach...'

"Maddy, it's not what you think," he answered quickly. But she wasn't about to listen to any excuses. She'd been through all that before.

Memories of Carlisle's gambling and pathetic midnight confessions came flooding back to her. And this man was responsible for the whole situation! She put her hand up as a gesture to back off.

She grabbed the dogs off Chloe in defiant pride, her small proud body taking long strides along the road towards the town. Even in the distance she could here Chloe's voice.

"Oh Morgan, now do get in the car. Stop making a fuss! She'll be all right. She's just annoyed at being left out. Sometimes the hired help need a bit of encouragement. We'll cheer her up when we get home. And what did she mean by that remark about being on the beach and things turning differently? You've got some explaining to do."

A moment later, without bothering to turn around, Maddy heard the roar of the sports car make a u-turn in the opposite direction back up the coast.

The tears were streaming down her face now, but soon they would dry.

She'd learned how to control her emotions and shut them down when things got too tough. It was the only way to survive.

Hector and Ajax trotted beside her at an obedient pace. They weren't bad dogs. In fact, walking with them now she began to feel some affection for them, despite their owner. They looked up at her now and again, offering consolation for her tears. She gave them a grateful pat.

"Good dogs, nice dogs. You're much better than your owner." She rummaged for a tissue at the bottom of her bag and blew her nose.

Her sobs were fewer as she reached the edge of town. She now made a conscious effort to control them. She didn't want to draw attention to herself at this moment. In fact, she would rather have crawled into the woodwork of a tumble down shopfront, but there were none around. Apollo Bay was now a well-maintained tourist town.

Though it was early evening, Maddy put on her sunglasses to hide her swollen eyes. The sun was still playing lazy sparkles on the ocean. It was now imbued with a soft mauve light from the setting rays over the hills above the town.

People were already settling in for the night in the restaurants and pavement cafes. Some greeted Maddy in a friendly manner and reached out to pat Hector and Ajax. She was surprised at how calm and docile they were now that she was in command of their leashes. Others steered clear, obviously not relishing the idea of being attacked by Dobermans while enjoying their summer holidays. Still, she couldn't blame them. She wouldn't have put it past Chloe to have had them trained in some evil art of attack. She'd even alluded to it when they first met. Perhaps if she let slip the wrong word, they might yet attempt to go for her.

As she was thinking these thoughts, she saw a familiar figure seated outside Buff's Bistro at a table set for two.

"Damon! Hi. l didn't know you were still in town. l thought you'd be racing back to White Breakers with food for the boys." Damon smiled and motioned for her to join him. She tied up the dogs to a nearby verandah post near a bowl of water specially put there for dogs. They obediently lay down and sat still.

"I see Miss Swann has even managed to get _you_ to look after the damned things."

'Damned' was a fairly strong word for Damon. She'd never heard him utter even the slightest curse. She laughed, glad of the sunglasses to cover up her red eyes. She didn't want to have to explain why she'd been crying.

"Oh, they're good dogs really, when they're away from Chloe." She wasn't sure how he would react to this comment, but she needn't have worried.

"Anything's good when it's away from Miss Swann," he stated with conviction, smoothing his bald head and taking a sip of pinot noir.

Maddy laughed again, feeling suitably cheered. Damon was an ally after all. He poured her a glass of red that she readily accepted.

"I just felt like staying out for a while on my own to enjoy the evening," he continued. "In any other circumstance I would gladly accommodate Mr Collier because he's more than my employer, he's a dear friend. But, well, it is my night off, and one can only endure so much of Miss Swann. She's long on demands but never thanks you in return."

Maddy was secretly delighted that Damon had chosen to confide in her. He was usually so circumspect. She probed further.

"Then how on earth does Chloe manage to keep her employees?" She was genuinely curious. She had good reason to dislike Chloe, but others might not necessarily see her in the same light.

"I do believe she is actually very good at her job. But also they like working for Collier Press. Many of Chloe's team also assist on Morgan's other publications. If they can cope with Miss Swann as editor of 'Here, Now' they are given rewarding assignments on other publications. That's the way it goes."

Damon took another sip of wine and proceeded to eat his fettuccine with gusto. Maddy decided to order as well. The last place she wanted to be tonight was sitting down to dinner at White Breakers with two happy couples celebrating an engagement.

"Then why does Morgan put up with her?"

"Well, l know it's not just because she's good at her job. Surprising as that may seem, she's an astute businesswoman and knows what works. 'Here, Now' sales are very high. However, I suspect the real reason, even though Mr Collier has never told me this, you understand, is because she was Luisa's childhood friend."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you, Miss McVey, Maddy?" He asked earnestly.

"Yes, l do."

"Then would you please take off your glasses? You're unnerving me."

She laughed. "Damon, are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all. l wouldn't do that to you. though l have observed you have a keen sense of humour at times. One certainly needs it at the moment. l just want you to understand what I'm saying."

She thought she'd understood what he was saying. She took off her glasses, confident the redness around her eyes had faded. Was he implying something else? She began to eat her seafood risotto. It was truly delicious, though she knew tonight she had the appetite to eat a only a small portion.

"What exactly are you saying?"

"What I'm trying to tell you," he lowered his voice, "is that it's convenient for Mr Collier to be with Miss Swann. She's there. She was a friend of his wife's. I believe she fulfils his need to somehow remain attached. Duty, guilt, love, call it what you will..." He wiped his mouth on a damask napkin and proceeded to fold it neatly back into a rectangle.

"I'm sure Morgan is his own man." Maddy said. "He seems to know exactly what he wants, and usually gets it, in my short experience working for him."

"He is certainly his own man. And very powerful. But in this case, he's wrong. Miss Swann is not the right woman for him." Damon looked directly across at Maddy. Was he challenging her, waiting for an admission from her?

"Well, in that case, he's well and truly made his bed."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out when you get back to White Breakers," she answered, getting up from the table. At least she now knew where she stood with Morgan. He was a womaniser after all. She could now deal with something concrete. She left some money on the table for Damon as her share of the bill.

"Oh, don't leave yet, Maddy. Surely there's more to say, and you haven't finished your wine."

"No, I really must go. It's getting dark. I've also got the dogs to think of. The last thing I need is to be pulled up by the police and lose my licence for drink driving."

She looked at Damon whose cheeks were now decidedly florid. He guessed her thoughts.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm staying with an old fiend here overnight. I won't be driving." Maddy didn't inquire who the friend was. Damon's private life was his own business.

She bid goodbye and unleashed the dogs that roused themselves sleepily from the footpath.

"The dog food!" Damon called out as she walked away. "Here! You may as well take it back with you. I don't want to incur the wrath of Miss Swann."

She took the bag filled with expensive cans of dog food. The Smart's modest shop couldn't provide for the likes of Hector and Ajax.

"Thanks Damon," she said, before leaving for the second time. "I won't forget what you said, and I take it in the spirit it was meant. But I'm not the woman for Morgan, either. He makes his own choices. He's a hard-headed businessman who goes after what he wants, and usually gets it.

"Luckily I missed out on being the notch in his belt before Chloe arrived. I should thank her, really. She saved me from being a fool."

"You're wrong. I know if you gave Mr Collier a chance, you wouldn't regret it." Damon was almost pleading with her.

"Well, he'll never get the chance," she stated emphatically. "Once the birthday celebrations are over, I'm gone."

And with that said, she turned and walked back up Main Street to the Range Rover. As she negotiated the gauntlet of outdoor cafes with the dogs in tow, she felt an odd contentment. At last she'd made up her mind once and for all about Morgan Collier.

Chapter 7

Life at White Breakers moved at surprising speed over the last few weeks of Maddy's tenure. It wasn't always easy, especially with Chloe hovering around to check on her movements. Maddy could tell she was absolutely paranoid that she'd make some attempt to lure Morgan away from her. She even found Chloe in the studio one day, looking for evidence, Maddy suspected. She scuttled away with some vague excuse before Maddy had a chance to confront her.

But Chloe needn't have worried on that score. Maddy had made it clear to Morgan that she wasn't interested in his attentions, and never could be. The opportunity had come during the last sitting for the portrait.

She'd found it difficult to be in the same room with him after Apollo Bay, but she was confident her will provided strength enough to hide any obvious signs to him that she cared in any way.

This particular day as the final easy strokes to his clothing were blocked in, Morgan looked quite strained. She noticed he was clenching the chair instead of relaxing his fingers, and he kept looking intently at her face, trying to engage her attention.

She dared not look him in the eye. If she did, she suspected her will would falter.

His piercing gaze had an extreme effect on her psyche.

"Maddy ...," he finally said her name.

"What do you want? Make it brief, I'm doing something difficult here."

She kept her eyes on the portrait. She could feel the perspiration dripping down her brow onto her cheek. Her hair was beginning to tendril around her neck as the dampness set in. Even her white cotton top and light skirt were sticking to her body under the smock. It had been such a hot summer, and frequent swims at the beach or in the pool had been the only way for Maddy to slake the heat from her body. How she longed to be in the water now! Anywhere, except here with this man. Morgan's steady gaze was burning her.

"You know you only have to say the word and we could be together."

"I think you'd better forget that idea."

"Maddy, let me explain..."

"There's nothing to explain. You're engaged to Chloe and that's all there is to it. I'm your employee. Don't forget there's such a thing as sexual harassment. l came here to do a job and I've nearly completed what's required of me in the contract. Don't read anything else into our relationship. I can't believe you're still trying it on."

"You can't deny that you have feelings for me. I'm not that insensitive."

"WeII, you are." She wiped her brow and threw down her brush. She quickly walked out the open door of the studio and proceeded down the track to the beach. Morgan got up and raced after her.

He caught up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. He forced her to look at him.

"Take your hands off me, please." She was wild.

"Why should I? You didn't mind at the beach. You were as willing as I was. We were ready to make love, Maddy. Admit it."

How could she deny it? The heat and smell of his body were driving her crazy right now.

"What I feel and what is right aren't necessarily the same thing."

"Why? How can your feelings for me be wrong? Tell me now, I have a right to know."

He wasn't going to let her off the hook. The sun caught a fierce glint in his eyes that forced her to confess.

"You ruined my marriage. You destroyed my husband. Isn't that enough?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Your marriage was over long ago, you told me so yourself..."

"You were the cause. You probably don't remember, my husband probably meant nothing to you. Just someone to use on your way up to the top."

"Maddy, what are you saying?" He grabbed her hands again, seemingly unaware of what he was doing. The still heat suddenly stirred. Stinging sand began to whip up in their faces.

"What are you accusing me of?"

Morgan's eyes were menacing and black. The wind mirrored his anger as it blew chaotic strands of ebony about his face.

"Our company did some design work for you. Neon Graphics. Do you remember the name? You and Carlisle apparently became quite close during the assignment, though I never met you. l only heard what he told me..."

Maddy took a breath. She pulled her wrist away from him and shielded her eyes. She found it difficult to focus. The light dimmed as a huge cloud began to pass over the sun.

"Go on." Morgan stood rooted to the spot as Maddy steadied herself from the buffeting wind.

"You convinced Carlisle to give you a big loan using company funds towards one of your new digital ventures when you had a cash-flow problem. Couldn't lose, you said."

She began to shout. The wind and sand engulfed them in an aural assault.

"You promised to pay us the loan back with interest. We just had to wait a few weeks, then there'd be enough for everyone..."

Great drops of rain began to splash in the sand.

Morgan stared at her with a look of disbelief. He seemed like he was about to say something, then shifted his gaze to the sky, yelling.

"We've got to get back!" He grabbed her hand and almost hauled her up the scrubby path. Serrated grass slashed at Maddy's legs leaving huge red welts.

They made it back to the verandah of the studio just as the rain pelted down in bucket loads.

Maddy walked back into the studio and collapsed onto the cane sofa. Morgan followed her in. She rubbed her stinging legs with the palms of her hands to ease the pain. Sweat and rain mingled through her clothes and hair. She knew she looked like a drowned rat but didn't care. She could feel the rush of blood roaring through her temples as she gasped to catch her breath.

"And...then?" Morgan stood over her, glaring down, waiting for her to finish her story.

"You never paid us back on the investment."

She looked up at him with contempt. She could see it stung him to the quick. Good. He deserved it. Now he knew who she was he couldn't pretend he was anything other than a philanderer and a cheat. Tragedy had obviously not made him a better person. He turned his back to her and stood immobile as the rain hammered on the tin roof.

"You must think I'm a terrible person," he finally said. "Why did you decide to work for me here?"

"Because of Carlisle's debts. He took to gambling to cover our losses, but things only got worse. I've worked to pay off every cent since the day he left seven years ago. Your job offer was too good to refuse."

"I'm relieved to hear you say I pay a decent wage," he answered sarcastically, turning around. "You could have declared yourself bankrupt. That way you wouldn't have been forced to work for the likes of me."

"I couldn't possibly have done that. My parents acted as guarantors for the initial loan when we set up together to expand the business. They would have lost all their savings. As it is, they've lent me more than l care to think about."

She stopped for a while to watch and listen to the rain. It seemed to steady her thoughts. Morgan walked outside and moved to the edge of the verandah staring out to sea. His gaze was now cool, but he couldn't hide that slightly twitching jaw. Even now, as he leaned against a post, his lithe and strong body was asserting its shape under his wet clothes.

"Why didn't you go to the police?" He asked, as Maddy moved onto the verandah.

"How could we? There was no proof. There was never any written agreement about the loan. Carlisle was too trusting. I knew he was a fool not to see a lawyer in the first place."

She saw his dark eyes flash. He shifted his stance. He stood rigid against the post, but remained silent. Maddy continued.

"He had some stupid notion about honour among friends, that one day you would do the right thing. But then, when you threatened him with never working in the business again..."

Morgan cut in. "l did _what_?

"You can't deny it..."

"Go on," he said with a sneer, "I've forgotten how it goes. You obviously know the story so well."

Maddy defiantly ignored his comment.

"Then when you threatened him that with one word from you he'd never work in the business again if he persisted in trying to get our money back, he gave up. We thought maybe our design business would carry us through. We were good at what we did. We had a terrific team working for us. But in the end we couldn't pay them, so they left one by one.

"Then the bank and the taxation department came after us. Carlisle's gambling got us so far into debt it all became too much. He took off and left me carrying the baby, literally. And l haven't seen him since.

"I'm not making excuses for the way he treated me and Shelley. I know he was a weak man. But if it hadn't been for you, we may have stood a chance. End of story."

Maddy stood up and walked to the other end of the verandah below the pool. She could see down towards the stables at the eastern end of the beach. She picked some jasmine and twined it round her fingers. She had to get away. She impulsively jumped off the step onto the sloping lawn without looking back.

Everything smelt fresh and new. A gentle rain was now falling, washing away the oppressive heat. She could see a break in the clouds to the west above the hills. A shaft of piercing light shot through the foliage of a beech tree sending pinpoints of silver light into the surrounding foliage.

The garden was luminous. The delicious scent of native daphne jostled with eucalyptus as she walked along the gravel path to the old sandstone stables. She felt she'd somehow come to a crossroads. She expected to hear Morgan's footsteps in pursuit, but what would he say? He's a wimp underneath it all. He won't say anything, she thought.

She could see that she'd stunned him with her revelations. It would now be impossible for her to continue working for him. He'd have to release her from her contract. One thing she knew for sure, he wasn't going to fob her off the way he had Carlisle. She wasn't going to be weak like him. She'd demand to be paid out for the full amount, and for the full price of the unfinished portrait.

He could do with that what he liked. She may as well milk him for what she was entitled to. And if she'd had one shred of proof at all, she would have demanded he pay out the amount he owed on the loan. She might do that anyway. After all, she had nothing to lose. Nothing.

Or had she? What if he'd never found out who she was? Could things have gone on the way they had? Not likely, not with Chloe in the picture.

She would have made life very difficult indeed. And she could never be happy with someone who'd behaved so abominably towards her family. He could never be trusted.

Yet she knew she held some power over Morgan, a trait she'd never detected in Chloe, or in any of the other people he had dealings with.

He was always the controlling one, effortlessly dominating every business and social setting she had see him in. He could brush people off like flies if they were bothering him. Politely, of course. He was never really rude to people. Didn't need to be. One word from him and they'd be gone.

But with her he was different. He seemed to want to please her. At times she had felt him bend to her thoughts and feelings. It had certainly felt that way on the beach. He was right about that. A twinge ran through her body as she realised their passion would never be fulfilled. Even now, she couldn't help feeling regret.

She loved everything about White Breakers. She loved the big, cool house with its waxed floors and scented wood panelling. She loved the vista of rambling garden from the wide verandahs, the view of the ocean from its generous windows and balconies.

She loved the horses in the stables. She even loved the peacocks that strutted up to her on the afternoons she managed steal away with a book in the garden. They were aloof and tame at the same time, ready to display their magnificent plumage at the drop of a hat to any interested human or peahen.

The tears welled in her eyes as she walked towards Zengardi's stable door. The scent of eucalyptus gave way to the pungent smell of horse, leather saddles and bridles.

Why couldn't Morgan have been someone else? Why did she have to fall in love with a man she could never allow to be her lover? Did fate always deal such an unfair hand?

"Here boy, here Zengardi," she called as she nuzzled her head against his neck. He whinnied in recognition and responded in kind.

'Zengardi', Damon had told her, was the Greek word for 'moon'. Morgan had named the foal after watching him gambolling around wild and free under the moonlight at Blackwood Gully stud farm.

The best racehorses in the country were born and bred in the district, their limbs made strong and swift by galloping up and down the wide-open foothills of the Otways. Morgan had paid a handsome price for the stallion. The owners were not keen to part with a horse they felt had a sure-fire future on the racing circuit. But Morgan had been so persuasive that by the end of the deal the owners were convinced he was doing the horse a favour by keeping it at White Breakers.

"I told them to think of it as an investment in the future of their stud," he relayed to Damon. By keeping such a thoroughbred in close proximity, he could conveniently hire Zengardi as a sire to Blackwood Gully. As ever, a sound business deal on Morgan's part.

"You're more than a business investment, aren't you Zengardi?" Maddy cooed softly to the horse as she smoothed his fine, blonde mane.

"Damn right he's more than a business investment."

Maddy's heart missed several beats. Morgan was standing right beside her. He looked as untamed as her vision of the horses galloping along the ridge at midnight. She stood back as he unbolted the stable door.

"Stay where you are," he ordered imperiously, "I want to talk to you."

She didn't move, more out of curiosity than any compulsion to obey his will, though she could feel her knees trembling from uncertainty. She watched as he bridled and saddled up the horse. He had obviously done this many times before. He was so adept he would have managed with his eyes closed.

He led Zengardi from the stable and bid her bolt the door behind them as he climbed into the saddle.

"Get up," he commanded, turning the stirrup for her foot. Before she had a chance to think he pulled her up with one mighty heave into the saddle behind him. He instantly kicked his heels into Zengardi's belly, forcing Maddy to hold onto him tight as the horse took off in a gallop towards the hills beyond the stables.

Light rain swished onto her face like little icicles. She hadn't the faintest idea where they were going. She was at Morgan's mercy. She buried her cheek into his back and hung on for dear life.

They galloped for what seemed like miles over grassy hillocks. As they finally slowed to a canter she became aware of his warmth penetrating the wet skin of his shirt. His muscles were coiled springs as he concentrated on guiding the horse into a densely thicketed grove of blackwoods, mountain ash and beech. She could hear rushing water nearby and turned to look at the tree fern-studded banks.

"Acacia River", he muttered, easing Zengardi into a trot.

They continued on for a minute or so in silence until Maddy could stand it no longer.

"What's so important that you had to kidnap me?"

She relaxed her grip to maintain some composure.

"So, you're going to add abduction to my list of sins against you?" he snarled, without turning around.

He led the horse into a radiata pine plantation bordering the northern edge of his property. It was as eerie and dark as she imagined the underworld to be. The only sound was the soft thud of the horse's hooves over the pine needles and the thumping of her heart in her ears. Maddy began to feel frightened.

"What do you want, Morgan? I've said all there is to say. I'll go as soon as possible in the morning."

"I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"You still have a contract to fulfil."

Morgan suddenly pulled on the reins and Zengardi stood stock-still.

Morgan dismounted and held out his hand to Maddy. She hesitated. He turned away and began to walk further into the plantation.

All of a sudden a peregrine falcon swooped from high up in a pine. Its wings were so close she could feel the breeze they generated close to her cheek. It continued swiftly out to the native bush, no doubt looking for some prey.

"Magnificent," Morgan stated, to no one in particular. Maddy wondered if the bird was an omen.

"This is such a strange place. It's funny to see my father's idea of a quick cash crop grow to such huge proportions. l suppose I'll have to arrange to get the loggers in. l almost hate the idea of the devastation it will leave as much as the reason for its existence. To think this was once native forest, teeming with wildlife."

Maddy got down from Zengardi unaided. He was a big horse and she stumbled when she touched the ground. She crossed her arms over her chest in self-defence as she walked in trepidation towards Morgan.

"What do you mean about the contract? Do you mean you won't pay me out? ls that it?"

She was furious now. How dare he! She stood with eyes blazing directly in front of him. He gazed back at her steadily but she could tell he was seething with anger. He took two steps towards her, cutting off her surrounding space in a gesture she read as intimidating. She threw back her head defiantly as he forced her to lean against a tree trunk. The rough pine bark cut into the welts on her legs.

"Don't try any macho pose with me, it just won't wash. Don't think you'll get away with not paying this time," she said.

"Oh, I intend to pay you. I wouldn't dream of not giving you what you deserve."

"What, then?" For one horrible moment she thought she was about to be raped. They were here alone, no one would know. How could it have come to this? She shifted her position to show her discomfort. Morgan backed off and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I mean that you'll work out your contract. We made a deal which you agreed to. Nothing has changed to alter that fact." He turned his back to her and began to re-strap Zengardi's saddle. He acted as if she wasn't there. He obviously couldn't have cared less if she had an opinion on the matter. He'd made up his mind and she had no alternative.

"I don't think that's a good idea. How can we possibly work together after what I've just told you?"

"Oh, well manage all right," he answered resolutely. "I'll make sure of it. I'm not about to let one of my investments fall by the wayside before the job is finished. You continue to do your job competently and I'll stay out of your way. You still have the party to help organise. l expect you to pay as much attention to detail to make it a memorable evening for my guests as you have in the past for my business associates."

Morgan led Zengardi out from the perfect rows of trees into the early evening light in the surrounding bushland. He didn't even bother to turn around to see if she was following.

The air was fresh and clear after the rain. Maddy took in the welcoming sound of the ocean in the near distance. The birds were singing the final chorus of evensong high in the trees. She sighed with relief, trembling. At least she felt sure now she wasn't going to be assaulted.

Why had he brought her here? To avoid a scene at the house? Or so there would be no witnesses to the conversation? That had to be it!

"And there's the portrait," he said, finally turning to look at her, his eyes ablaze.

"l couldn't possibly complete it now."

"Oh, I think you will. Don't forget we added that to the contract too."

She wanted to say "you bastard', but figured that would only inflame things. He was right. Better just to fulfil the terms of the contract and take her final payout. He had her cornered. He stood waiting for her to mount the horse. She had nothing more to say to him and would have walked back had the distance not been so great. As she put her foot in the stirrup to mount he noticed her legs.

"You're hurt! How did that happen?"

"It doesn't matter," she answered, not wanting him to pay her any attention. The less said, the better.

"It does matter. They're bleeding. Have you got a tissue or something?"

"No. l'll worry about it later. Just get me back!"

"Take off your smock."

"No!"

"Don't be stubborn, Maddy." She was too tired and saddle-sore to fight.

She took her foot out of the stirrup and removed her wet smock. It was more comfortable off anyway. The sodden material was beginning to make her shiver, despite the sultry atmosphere.

Morgan rolled the smock into a ball and gently dabbed the backs of her legs. Maddy held on to the saddle to keep her balance. She winced as he wiped a particularly sore spot.

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you. There's some dirt in there. I wouldn't want to see it infected "

"I'd rather you didn't do this," she said impassively.

"Don't worry, I've finished," he said, almost contemptuously. "I won't touch you any more. l'll have Damon bring you some antiseptic cream after you've had a good soaking in the bath."

"You needn't bother. l can look after myself!"

"So you've told me before. You're lucky to be so self sufficient, Maddy."

She knew he was having a go at her, but she wasn't going to take the bait. She hesitated in putting her arms around him when she mounted the horse, but she had no option. She was surprised to feel his heart beating as quickly as hers. Without uttering a word to each other they cantered back to White Breakers.

Back to my doom, she thought, melodramatically. Back to awful Chloe and a sentence of hard labour. If I can just survive the next few weeks, get my pay, then everything will be over.

Maddy stood before Morgan in his office. Damon had come to her room at precisely nine o'clock the following morning to fetch her.

"Mr Collier requests your presence as soon as it is convenient." She heard his formal voice through the closed bedroom door. She finally opened it after pulling on her white towelling robe. Damon appeared a little less guarded.

"I trust your legs are much better this morning?"

"Yes, thank you, they are. What's in that ointment? I'll have to take some home with me.'

"Oh, a bit of this and a bit of that. Actually, we use it on the horses. It's made up from some of the local fauna, native herbs and things, with an added dash of the local spa water. Very rich in minerals, l gather.'

"You're joking! l hope I don't start neighing.'

They both laughed. Damon paused before speaking again.

"Er, Maddy, I do think it would be a good idea for you to see Mr Collier right now. I know since yesterday things have not been good between you."

She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I just know these things," he continued, smoothing his vest and checking the time on his phone. She realised it was one of his nervous habits.

"I've been around a long time, I observe. Not much gets past an old dog like me."

"I'm sure it doesn't. And you're not old, Damon."

"You're too kind. Anyway, just a word of advice. Please don't judge Mr Collier too harshly."

"What do you mean?"

"Can't say more than that," he answered, and quickly disappeared.

Damon was inclined to mutter the odd cryptic comment on occasion. Too many Crosswords, she thought. All the same, the more she dealt with Damon, the more she liked him. You had to admire someone who stood by their boss so loyally, no matter what. Maddy knew she would miss him.

Chapter 8

"Tell me again how much it was I borrowed from you and Carlisle."

"Three-hundred thousand dollars."

"Three-hundred thousand?"

"Yes. Plus interest owed."

Morgan paused for a few seconds doing a mental calculation, then said. "Here's a cheque for the full amount. Plus interest."

Maddy couldn't believe she was hearing this. Morgan leaned forward in his chair and handed her a cheque. He'd written five hundred thousand dollars for an amount to be paid from his own personal account.

"I...I wasn't expecting this. Why have you changed your mind to honour the agreement? I don't know what to say."

"I'd rather you didn't say anything, except perhaps 'thank you'. Although l can imagine you wouldn't want to say that. But if I told you I never borrowed the money in the first place, would you believe me?"

"Why would you tell me that?"

"To win your love. Would that be a good enough reason?"

"I wouldn't believe it. Not from you."

"Then it doesn't really matter why I changed my mind. Let's just say that as I'm rich and successful man I can afford to be generous. I wouldn't want your family to suffer because of something you believed I'd done."

She sensed the loss of his own family had something to do with this fit of generosity. She had not forgotten he had shown genuine affection towards Shelley during her stay at White Breakers.

"I wish you'd decided this some years ago. Carlisle and I would still be together."

Maddy flopped down in a chair by the window. She didn't look at Morgan, though she could feel his eyes upon her. She should have felt absolutely elated. She'd finally got what she wanted. Somehow she felt drained.

This wasn't what she'd expected at all.

"ls that what you want?," He looked over from his desk, fidgeting with his engraved silver fountain pen.

"Of course it's what I want."

Was it really? It wasn't what she was thinking. She didn't really love Carlisle any more and had given up any idea of reviving their marriage, even if there had been the possibility. It had been patchy at the best of times, once the romance had worn thin. His gambling certainly hadn't helped their money problems, or their relationship. Being a single mother was pretty tough at times.

"That's life in the new millennium," she'd joked to Eve often enough. But now she realised she was lonely, and what she really wanted was a lasting commitment with someone. And that was so much easier said than done. Morgan got up from behind his desk and walked towards Maddy.

"I'll be away for a couple of weeks," he said, looking out the window at the garden. One of the peacocks was strutting by, uttering its evocative cry.

"I have some business to attend to in Sydney." He turned to look at her. He appeared to be searching her face for something, a sign maybe. She didn't know what to make of it.

"l want you to finish organising the party on your own. Spare no expense. l expect you'll need to go to Melbourne for a week or so to pick up what you can't get here. Leanne will try her best to get in what she can, but she can only supply so much. l'd like to at least give them the opportunity to make a bit of a profit on what they can provide."

"Yes, the Smarts have been great. Trevor has already organised the pavilion and the labour to put it up."

Morgan paced around the room again, a habit she had only seen him do when something really big was on his mind.

"That's good," he said, obviously preoccupied.

"ls there anything special you want me to do?" This complete turn of events had thrown her. His generosity compelled her to ask if there was something she could do in return.

"Just make sure there is enough accommodation for guests who want to stay the night, either at White Breakers or in one of the local bed and breakfasts. I'll foot the bill. l'll trust whatever decisions you make."

He came towards her and stood still, looking down. He seemed to want to ask her a question.

"Maddy..."

"Yes?"

He focussed his deep eyes into hers. He was about to say something important, she could tell.

But he changed his mind and his face froze. She couldn't read his expression at all. He walked back to his desk and began to shuffle through some papers.

"l want all my guests treated with respect, and that includes the locals here in Acacia River. Whether they're wealthy business people or fishermen, everyone is of equal importance to me. But l know you're not a snob Maddy. Just make sure that everything runs smoothly. Can I trust to do that? I know I could once." Did he think she'd sabotage his plans? She felt insulted.

"Yes, of course l'll make sure. Whatever has happened between us, I'll fill out the terms of my contract to the letter. Now that you've paid back the loan, I suppose I can enjoy these last couple of weeks without much resentment."

"l'm glad to hear it. l wouldn't want you to suffer unduly," he answered, the note of sarcasm detectable in his voice.

"Will Chloe be going with you?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

She didn't know why she asked. It just came out. Why should she care?

"The dogs. Will Hector and Ajax be staying?"

"You're worried about the dogs?" He laughed too loudly.

"No, I'm not worried. I just wondered, that's all." Was he mocking her?

"Don't let the dogs concern you. Damon will be taking care of them. Your duties won't extend to looking alter Chloe's dogs. I'm sure that would be more than you could bear."

"I've got no feelings one way or the other for Chloe Swann or her dogs. She's your fiancée, and that has nothing to do with me."

"Don't underestimate your influence on our affairs."

She was puzzled by his comment. As far as she was concerned, they could have each other, and that was the end of it. She had nothing to do with their life together, nothing whatsoever. Maddy suddenly shivered, though it was a cloudless, warm day. Morgan noticed.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. Will that be all?"

He stared at her for a moment with that unfathomable look, then picked up his mobile phone.

"Unless you want to ask me anything, yes. You're free to do what you want."

"Then I'll go to Melbourne to bank the cheque on Thursday and stay up there for the week to organise what needs to be done for the party."

"Whatever you need to do."

"Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye," he said, without looking up. She heard him talking to some business associate on the phone as she closed the door behind her.

She wanted to ring Eve and tell her what had happened, but thought better of it. There would be too much explaining to do and she didn't have the energy for that. She'd have to content herself with the knowledge that she was now free of debt and could live her life without any more guilt over her parents. Now she could pay back them back and hopefully give Shelley a more decent life without looming money worries.

Don't judge Mr Collier too harshly. She mulled over Damon's words. What exactly had he meant? He must have known that Morgan would pay her back.

She climbed the stairs and took her customary look at Flynn's portrait on the way up. That same inscrutable look she'd seen on Morgan's face stared down at her in the sharp morning light slanting through cedar blinds.

"Well, now," said Eve, her lively face staring back at Maddy from the dressing room mirror.

"I think that colour suits you best, though I'm not so sure about the style. Maybe you should go for something a little bit sexier."

"Oh Eve, really, l don't know. l don't feel very sexy at the moment. I feel flat."

"All the more reason to find something to perk you up and put you in the appropriate mood."

She'd met Eve outside South Yarra Station after she'd attended to her catering business at David Jones in the city. She told herself it would just be for coffee and a quick lunch. She hadn't really meant to buy anything for herself to wear for the party. After all, she wasn't trying to attract Morgan's attention or anything. That would be a poor joke considering what had passed between them.

She'd felt great relief at being able to give her parents a cheque to pay back their loan to her. She told them she'd won second prize in Tattslotto, the big state lottery. At first they wouldn't take the money.

"Are you sure? You're not cutting yourself short?" They were concerned that perhaps she was paying out too much at the one time. She reassured them she would suffer no hardship.

Her shame disappeared when she saw the pleasure on their faces as they talked about the early retirement they'd always planned. There was also the possibility of taking the world trip they'd always dreamed of. That in itself was worth the turmoil she'd endured that summer.

"Just stay where you are. I'll be back in a minute." Maddy broke from her reverie as Eve dashed from the dressing room of an exclusive dress shop in Chapel Street.

She still couldn't figure out how she'd let her friend talk her into shopping for clothes in this expensive part of Melbourne. She hadn't even finished shopping for the party. She used to walk down Chapel Street a lot when she was an art student. It was also where she got her first design job, and where she'd met Carlisle. She knew it's length and breadth better than any street in the city, but its profile was not so familiar any more. She didn't much like the way it had changed. She thought its current reputation wasn't a patch on its former original style and substance.

She stood looking in the mirror at herself in her sensible underwear. Good quality, but definitely not sexy. My God, she thought. I'm still twenty-nine for another couple of months. I should be having some fun.

She lifted her hair oft hair neck to see what it would look like up. Not bad, maybe just a trim to get rid of the split ends. The summer sun and winds had been fierce, leaving her hair with a few natural blonde streaks as well. But it was in bad condition. Her hat had not been protection enough from 40 degree Celsius heat.

"Gorgeous!" Eve said as she returned with several dresses over her arm. "You should get your hair done for the party."

"l was just thinking that."

"Here, try this one on. Madam shopkeeper thinks this would suit your colouring." They both giggled. Maddy stepped into a deep, rich red velvet dress. The cool lining felt like a river over her skin as Eve zipped her up. She smoothed her hands over her flat stomach as she looked at her sumptuous image in the mirror. Velvet flowed beneath her feet. She'd have to buy new, higher shoes as well.

"Beautiful. Just beautiful," said Eve.

"Yes, but too hot. This is a dress for winter evenings and glasses of red wine, and fires in majestic hearths..."

"Stop, you're making me dizzy. You're imagination's fired up, that's for sure. The sea air must be good for you." They giggled again.

The next dress she tried on was an electric blue chiffon affair with very low scooped back. It was very dramatic but surprisingly did nothing for her figure. They both decided the black vinyl number was more appropriate for a nightclub.

"What about this one? This should be ideal tor a hot summer night. Easy to slip off!"

"Eve, you're wicked!" Maddy nudged her friend as the dress glided over her light amber skin.

This was it. She stood and looked at herself, amazed at what a few pieces of flimsy material could do. The dress was made of the lightest, silkiest flesh-coloured satin. There was no detail in it, except for the perfect bias cut of the skirt as it skimmed just above her slender knees. Delicately rolled shoestring straps held up a teasingly plunged v-neckline, revealing Maddy's cleavage to stunning advantage. She could hear Barrie White crooning in her head.

"Wow, this is something else! Dare I wear this?"

"Oh, Maddy. It's simply perfect. You look great, very seductive."

"It does suit me, doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't even bother to try on another dress if I were you. That's the one."

Madam shopkeeper couldn't resist knocking on the dressing room door to have a look.

"You can't go past Silk Laundry. I think it was made just for you. And I'm not just doing the usual shop spiel," she said.

Maddy looked in the mirror for a few more seconds. She didn't need convincing.

"I'll take it. Why not? You only live once."

Eve had been right. She was feeling pert and alive. Now all she needed was a pair of fashionable stiletto strappy sandals and some sexy underwear to finish off the outfit.

"You won't feel complete unless you're dressed properly from the foundation up. Believe me, l know these things." Eve spoke in a mock matron's voice as they both laughed and headed up Chapel Street to continue their shopping spree.

"Before I forget, I need to buy a birthday card for Morgan for his party." Maddy said.

"No need," said Eve. "My friend has a fabulous greeting card business. She has great cards that men like too. You can check out her Etsy shop online from your phone when we have lunch. Easy peasy. Save your shopping time for shoes and erotic underwear."

"Maybe I should get him a present too, though the invitations say strictly no presents. I don't want to be a suck. I really don't want to give him the wrong impression."

Eve looked at her as if she was an idiot. "Wrong impression for what? Anyway, I have another friend, strangely enough. She makes fabulous hand-made beanies and scarves and kids hats with cute ears."

"Don't tell me," Maddy said, raising an eyebrow. "She's online too?"

"Yep. You can check her out too before you buy. A beanie would be great for the beach at winter. And not expensive, if it's a token gift you're after."

"Done," said Maddy. "That was easy."

As they continued on their way to look for evening shoes, Eve caught herself looking down a familiar side street. She glanced at the sign above an understated doorway that had been one of the first in the area to utilise the distressed look. Her old workplace was here and still operating as a design business. She was heartened to see some things hadn't changed, after all.

"Let's go down here. I just want to have a look at something." She tugged at her friend's arm and turned into the lane.

"This is where you used to work when you were art school, isn't it Maddy? I remember I used to come and visit you for lunch sometimes, when you and Carlisle were starry-eyed. God, that seems like such a long time ago."

"It was, I suppose. When I was young and innocent. Ha!"

Maddy walked ahead and peered in the window. The look was minimalist, with industrial style fittings. There was a receptionist behind a high, black counter that Maddy realised had been added since she was there. Above the reception area mounted on the wall was a dramatic sculpture about two metres high made from black Perspex. Its obelisk shape echoed the name of the company without having to spell it out. The only colour to punctuate the room was the orange fabric covering three sixties-style saucer chairs located near the door into the main office.

"Very stylish," Eve said, as she appeared alongside her friend.

"Mm, much more high tech than in my day. I like it though."

Maddy was about to follow Eve away from the window when she noticed the door open behind the reception area. Two men came out, one talking heatedly to the other. He was around forty, his thinning brown hair slightly greying at the temples. He wore a stylish, if slightly crumpled, grey linen suit. He looked flushed and agitated as the much taller man glared down at him.

This man was also dressed stylishly, but in a darker suit that accentuated his black hair. His expression was grim and determined. He ran his hand through the lock of hair over his forehead. He appeared to be listening intently to what the other man was saying.

"My God!" whispered Maddy, as she quickly moved from the view of the window.

"What is it? Eve asked, concerned. "You look like you've seen the proverbial ghost."

"I have! Let's get out of here!"

She almost ran down the lane back into busy Chapel Street until she felt safely lost in the crowd. Eve caught up to her.

"What the hell did you see?" she panted. Maddy took some deep breaths and steadied herself with her shopping bags against a shop window.

"Carlisle. I saw Carlisle. I wasn't expecting it."

"Since when has he been working back at his old job?"

"I've got no idea. I didn't even know he was in Melbourne. Last I knew he was living in Sydney, down on his luck. It never occurred to me he would be back here."

"Maybe he's not working here. Maybe he came back asking for a job."

"You're probably right."

But his clothes were too expensive for a person in need of a job. And it certainly didn't explain why Morgan was with him.

Chapter 9

"Are you going to go back and confront him?" Eve asked as she took a bite of her eggplant bruschetta and a sip of King Valley prosecco. Maddy just looked at her. She didn't have the stomach for food right now.

"No!"

"You should go back in there. l would. I'd go back and ask him for child support. You've got a daughter to think of, you know."

"I need time to think. I don't know what's going on."

"Well, you won't find that out unless you go see him. I'll come with you if you like, for moral support."

Maddy knew her friend would help, but what could she tell her? The real reason she didn't want to go back was Morgan. Why had he lied that he was going to Sydney?

"Eve, I can't do this right now. Thanks for the offer, anyway."

"Well, that's what friends are for. Just let me know when you're ready and I'll come with you. I'd like to give that bastard a piece of my mind."

Maddy thought she'd divert the subject by slipping into some idle chatter. But it only prompted Eve to think of something else close to Maddy's heart.

"By the way, you haven't told me how your romance is coming along with that gorgeous boss of yours."

Maddy was beginning to feel worn out.

"I wish you wouldn't go on about him. He's not gorgeous, anyway."

"What is he, then?"

"I wouldn't know. Just another man." Maddy flipped back her hair and looked around the cafe. She pretended to be distracted by the posters on the wall. She took a sip of wine and took in the lovely polished timber floor and starched white tables cloths against the charcoal-coloured upholstered banquettes. Her friend pressed on.

"You haven't answered me. How would you describe him, then?" Maddy rolled her eyes and brushed crumbs from the tablecloth.

"He's just a man, as I said. Vaguely attractive, that's all."

"He's gone down in your estimation, has he?"

Did Eve really enjoy taunting her? Maddy sometimes wondered. She was obviously getting a kick out of seeing her stew.

"I don't care for men these days. Maybe I'm gay." There, that would shut her up. Eve just laughed.

"Maddy, you're hilarious! Not that I'd care if that's what makes you happy. But tell me some more."

"It's none of your business."

"Of course it is. What are friends for?"

"They certainly shouldn't give each other a hard time." But Eve persisted.

"What do you do when you're alone together at night? Or is that butler person, what's his name...?

"Damon..."

"...is he always in the room, chaperoning your in case you get up to things?"

"Eve, lay off, please!'

Eve pouted. She finally seemed to realise she wasn't getting anywhere with Maddy.

"One thing l do know, you've lost your sense of humour."

Maddy was about to protest. Instead, she almost choked on her drink. For who should waltz into trendy Palate Restaurant in Greville Street at that very moment but Chloe Swann. She was the last person Maddy wanted to see right now. I shouldn't have picked a restaurant that attracts celebrities, she thought.

"Let's get out of here, quick. You pay the bill and meet me outside..."

"My God, have you seen another ghost? It's not Carlisle again is it?"

But before she could answer, Chloe spied her from the other side of the central table next to the bar.

"Maddy. How lovely to see you! Doing a spot of shopping for the party, are you? I hope you have everything under control. But I'm sure you would. Such an efficient girl. Introduce me to your friend."

Chloe extended her hand for Eve to shake. She ordered an espresso from a passing waiter and sat down uninvited at the table.

"I've just been having a browse for wedding dresses at Always and Forever in South Yarra. Of course, I'll get my designer to do it, but I just thought I'd have a look around to see what pret a porter there is on offer these days. Just to get some ideas. You never know what little treasure you might find."

She offered a sweet smile to Eve and Maddy. Her coffee arrived promptly. As she took a sip, her face suddenly dropped as if she'd tasted bile.

"This is lukewarm! she shouted angrily. The waiter who'd served her immediately turned back to the table.

"I'd like a hot cup of coffee, and don't reheat this in the microwave. Make it fresh. I can't bear the taste of reheated coffee."

"Certainly, Miss Swann. l'll get you a fresh coffee right away. It's no trouble. I do apologise."

The handsome young white-aproned waiter removed her coffee and motioned for another. Chloe was aware of her status, at least in this part of town.

"So, you're getting married, are you?" Eve ventured. "Anyone we know?"

"Oh, didn't Maddy tell you? I'm marrying her boss, Morgan Collier."

"I think he might still be your boss too, Chloe." Maddy couldn't resist saying.

Eve's mouth was stuck on pause for at least ten seconds, halfway open and halfway closed.

"Maddy and l haven't had much time to talk about things as yet," Eve finally interrupted. She looked at Maddy and raised her eyebrows while Chloe accepted her steaming coffee.

Chloe continued without listening.

"We haven't set an exact date, but it will be some time in May, if all goes to plan. Neither of us wants a long engagement. That would be absolutely boring. l think once you've made up your mind to do something, you should go ahead and do it. Don't you agree?"

There wasn't much room to disagree, as far as Chloe was concerned.

She didn't expect a reply as she pulled out her expensive compact and began to reapply her brilliant coral lipstick.

"I've arranged to meet Morgan here at two. He had to visit a business of his somewhere around here.

"What would that be?" Eve inquired.

"Oh, I'm not sure, some little hobby of his. Some business he took over recently. A design business, l think."

"That wouldn't be Obelisk, would it?" Eve asked, her mouth now more open than closed.

"Odalisque, obelisk, something like that," said Chloe distractedly, her lips stretched to an unnatural 'O' as she perfected the line with lip pencil around her generous lips.

"Maddy, isn't that interesting? That's your old workplace." She turned back to Chloe. "We were just looking in the window there a few minutes ago."

"Well, what a coincidence. Morgan will be here shortly. You should have a chat to him about it. I'm sure he'd be interested." She pretended to stifle a yawn.

Maddy wasn't going to hang around to see where the conversation would lead. Eve had already heard enough to give Maddy a hard time for the next few days. She stood up.

"l really have to go now. l have quite a bit to organise and I'd like to spend as much time with my daughter as possible before l go back to White Breakers."

Just as she was about to leave for the second time, Morgan walked in the door. He looked around briefly for Chloe, only to lock eyes with Maddy. She could feel the blood drain from her face. She didn't know what to do. How could this man continue to have such an effect in her emotions? Before she could make her escape, Morgan approached the table.

"Maddy, this is a surprise!" He seemed as startled as she was. He bent down to kiss Chloe. Maddy noticed it was a cold, passionless kiss to the cheek.

"You're not going, are you?" He asked. "Why don't you stay a bit longer?"

"We'd love to..."

"But I'm afraid we can't." Maddy finished Eve's sentence. She could tell that Eve was dying to sit and chat to Morgan, but she wasn't about to let her have the pleasure.

"l really have so much to do, as you know. So we'll be on our way."

"Best let her go," Chloe chipped in. "We can have a heart to heart chat about the wedding plans back at White Breakers, can't we Maddy?"

"Sure, Chloe." In your dreams, Maddy thought. She said brief goodbyes and virtually dragged Eve from the restaurant after hurriedly paying the bill. She didn't even wait for her change.

"Oh, it was so hot in there! Didn't you think it was hot? l just had to get out."

"Maddy, he's just gorgeous. You didn't mention he had a fiancée. Did you have an affair with him?"

"Eve!'

"l know you're keeping a big secret. I'll get it out of you yet!" They walked along buzzing Greville Street with its cool little shops and cafes back onto Chapel.

"Not now. l'll tell you everything later, when I know a few more things myself."

"You're a woman of dark secrets, Madeleine McVey. If I was living in the same house as Morgan Collier, I know I wouldn't be sleeping alone in my bed every night."

If only you knew, thought Maddy. You wouldn't want to trade places with me.

Chapter 10

Plans for the party were almost finished. Maddy had spent the last couple of days in Melbourne visiting the best florists. Her brief was to make sure the seeming truckloads of roses, liliums and assorted native blooms made a smooth journey to the coast. The flowers came complete with two floral artistes who worked non-stop applying their craft to every nook and cranny at White Breakers.

Extra refrigeration had to be available for the liberal amount of champagne and other drinks for the guests. Spare no expense had been Morgan's words, and she took him literally. Luckily Maddy had Damon nearby to give a hand. He'd been helping Morgan organise these parties for several years and was able to provide her with the right contacts for all these things, otherwise she would have taken twice the time.

As it was, she organised everything efficiently and with a certain amount of pleasure. Her time at White Breakers was coming to an end and she was in two minds about how she felt. On the one hand, she wanted to get away. She was eager to start her life back in the city secure in the knowledge that she was free of debt. She and Shelley would now be able to live a reasonable life on the income from her portraits.

On the other hand, she loved White Breakers. She didn't realise she could become so attached to a place. Was that all it could be? The more she tried to stop thinking about Morgan, the more his image crowded her thoughts. More than that, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss at Christmas, or the way she felt when she'd caught him looking at her with a sideways glance when he thought she wasn't aware.

She hadn't spoken to him about seeing him with Carlisle at Obelisk. She knew Chloe would deliberately not have mentioned it. As far as Maddy, better to let sleeping dogs lie, she thought. She'd find out soon enough when she got back to Melbourne. Then she would do some digging of her own. Meanwhile, she had Morgan's guests and their comfort to think about.

"I think we'll have a few more dozen bottles of mineral water. People are quite conscious about having to stay sober if they're driving."

"Well, hopefully there won't be too many of them on the roads around here after the party," Leanne Smart commented, as she ticked the last minute supplies off the list.

"Thank goodness White Breakers is such a generous house. There are enough rooms to cope with an army of guests," Maddy commented.

"Well, I'm certainly glad I'm not hired as one of the cleaners for the day after! It'll be my day off for a change. I'm going to enjoy myself to the limit, mark my words. It's the one-day of the year where I take off my tracksuit and get properly dressed up. There's not much occasion around here for that, except the odd funeral or wedding."

"I can imagine." Maddy answered.

"Oh, talking of weddings. What's the latest on Morgan and Chloe Swann? Are they really getting married in May?

"As far as I know, yes, though last I heard an exact date had yet to be set."

"Well, I hope he'll be happy. I really do, because he deserves it. But in all honesty, I was real surprised when the engagement was announced."

"Why is that?"

Leanne dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but..."

"No. Go on. I'm interested.

"Well, him and Chloe. She never seemed more than a friend. To me she was a work colleague, someone who had an important job on one of his magazines. I mean, they are as different as apples and pineapples. Couldn't get two more different people!"

There was no stopping Leanne now, and Maddy leaned over the counter to hear the gossip.

"My Trevor heard them arguing one time not so long ago. He was spraying some aphids on the roses when they both came out onto the terrace. They didn't notice he was there. He couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but the gist of it was that Morgan was none too pleased that she'd announced their engagement at Apollo Bay."

Maddy well remembered that day.

"He says to her, 'You had no right to say such a thing in front of friends before we'd made any such arrangement'. And then she says to him, 'I thought I was doing you a favour. Do you want to spend the rest of your life being miserable and living on your own?' And he says back to her..."

Leanne Smart stopped for a moment to take a breath.

"Perhaps I really shouldn't be telling you this."

"No, go on. I'm curious."

"Well, he says, 'l was hoping to get to know Maddy a little better.' That's what he said" Maddy flushed crimson. She hadn't been expecting this at all.

"Yes, truly, that's what he said. After that they closed the window, but that's what Trevor heard. And that's what we all thought, my dear. We thought you would be the one. l hope you didn't mind us thinking that, but well, we all thought you were so suited."

"l don't know what to say." Maddy was lost for words. This seemed to be happening a lot.

"Stacey certainly noticed something when she was working at the house. Chemistry, she called it. She said there was a certain chemistry between you two, and there was no denying it. All l can say is, we're all disappointed that we were wrong. l hope that doesn't offend you."

"It doesn't offend me. You just got it all wrong."

"Well, sometimes people read too much into things if they want something to be the truth," Leanne explained. That's why we jump to conclusions." Leanne nodded wisely to herself.

Maddy had no idea that people had noticed anything between herself and Morgan. Was their attraction so obvious to others? She had to admit Chloe had picked up on it, even if she denied it. The two women walked slowly out into the sunshine.

"I'll get Trevor to bring everything over later today, so you won't have a last minute rush."

"Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. We'll be sorry to see you go. You've only got a few more days left, haven't you?

"Yes, I plan to leave the day after the party. But I'll come back for a visit. Nothing could keep me away from this part of the coast for long. I've come to love it here."

"Well, I can understand that. Just ask anyone who lives here. God's own country, that's for sure."

Maddy said goodbye to Leanne and walked back to White Breakers along the beach. She'd been so busy during the past week she hadn't had much to time enjoy the natural beauty surrounding the property.

There was a slight breeze blowing to temper the heat off her skin. She took off her sandals and let the water lap at her feet as she walked leisurely along the shore. She turned her faced towards the afternoon sun and took in a few deep breaths to try to clear her troubled mind.

Tomorrow would be the party, and then she'd be gone. After all these weeks she'd spent with him here, Morgan Collier remained an enigma. Did his attraction to her run really run deeper? And if so, why had he agreed to marry Chloe?

But time was about to run out, and she realised with regret that these were questions she'd probably never know the answers to.

White Breakers was all abuzz the morning of the party. Morgan was still in the city and had left messages that he'd be back in the early evening. No one was quite sure why.

"I'm sure everything is in capable hands," was all he'd relayed to Maddy via Damon.

Chloe had arrived mid morning at about ten, eager to catch up with her boys and, Maddy suspected, to keep an eye on her. Chloe was going to make sure she was the centre of attention. By the way she was acting, Maddy could tell she thought this day was as much hers as Morgan's.

Chloe flounced into the foyer alter leaving her blue Porsche parked askew across the drive, keys still in the ignition, motor running. Damon obligingly moved it to the garage when some of the caterers found their way blocked to the kitchen.

"Be a darling and just move it for me, would you Damon? I don't have time to worry about that sort of thing."

Maddy watched the scene from her office. She saw Chloe briskly walk past in her black capri pants and white cotton shirt knotted at the midriff. On her feet were a pair of black espadrilles, much more appropriate to a beach lifestyle for once. She virtually leapt up the stairs with her tote bag and Hector in tow.

She's settled in as if she's home, thought Maddy. It wouldn't be long before she was firmly entrenched in Morgan's life and the running of Collier Press. Maybe she'd even take over Maddy's office. She would need her own space to work when staying at White Breakers.

Ajax tentatively wandered into the office and wagged his tail. Maddy had unexpectedly built up quite a rapport with the dog. She called him over softly and fondled his ear while she collected a few things off her desk. She took the photos of Shelley and her parents and popped them into her black leather shoulder bag.

"l'm just going to the studio for a little while," she called to Stacey from the kitchen doorway.

"Ooh, are you going to finish the portrait?"

"It's finished, but I just want to make sure it's dry before Morgan thinks of sending it off to his mother.

"Can I see it?"

"Yes, of course.."

"Today?"

"Maybe, if we can fit it in. ls everything okay in here? Caterers not giving you too much of a hard time, I hope?"

Stacey made way for a young woman carrying a huge tray from the refrigerated truck. She pulled a face to Maddy after the woman walked past.

"Most of 'em are good," Stacey laughed. "I can't wait to get dressed up. I had such a good time last year. Had a bit too much to drink, though. Said and did a few things I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it."

"Then you'll know not to drink too much tonight," Maddy said, thinking sometimes of her own lack of control when she was younger. She remembered what it was like to have such a good time that you forgot things could get out of hand.

"I'm under strict orders to behave tonight, or else. I think I've grown up a bit since then."

"That's good. It doesn't mean you can't still have fun though."

Stacey put something away in kitchen's double fridge and called out to Maddy before she could walk away.

"What's your outfit like? Have you got a beautiful dress to wear?"

"I think so."

"Oh, I'm dying to see it. I think you'll look lovely."

"That's very sweet of you Stacey."

"I wish you were getting married to Mr Collier."

Only a teenager could be so blunt. Maddy shifted uneasily at the door.

"Don't you wish you were marrying him? You're much better than his fiancée."

"Stacey, I'm sure they'll be very happy. They both work in the business together. It'll be a good match."

And now she was being a hypocritical adult. She'd worked in business with Carlisle, and that was no guarantee of a lasting marriage.

"All the same, I still think you'd make a much better couple, I'd fight for him if I was you."

Was it just country honesty or was she deliberately trying to provoke Maddy? Did people really fight over each other these days?

"Really Stacey, I have to say, this is none of your business."

She could see Stacey's bottom lip begin to quiver.

"You're not angry with me are you? I'm sorry if you thought I was rude. But you do like him, don't you? I know he likes you. I can tell by the way he looks and acts when you're around. Wouldn't you like to live here forever? I know I would if I had the chance."

Maddy sighed.

"Yes, I like him very much. I hate to admit it, but I do. And yes, I'd love to live here forever as you so dramatically put it. But he's got someone else so it's not to be. So please don't say anything, okay? You're not to mention how I feel to anyone, especially to Mr Collier. Do you understand? I'm trusting you on this Stacey."

Stacey nodded and snivelled. She pulled out a crumpled tissue from her apron pocket and loudly blew her nose.

Why Maddy admitted to Stacey that she cared for Morgan she couldn't begin to imagine. Maybe it was the relief of getting it out to someone at last. She was under no illusion that it wouldn't be hot gossip in the district within the next few hours. She hurriedly left the house for the studio. She shut the door and leaned against it, panting slightly.

There was the portrait, finished at last. The man's face, which had caused her such confusion, was staring back at her. The likeness was so uncanny it unnerved her. She'd paid more attention to the technical side of her task during sittings with Morgan she hadn't really taken in what she'd actually painted. It had been the only way to keep going during those uneasy times.

The tension between them had been electric, but they'd both kept their distance, afraid to upset the delicate balance of polite conversation. Until that last sitting, when everything had exploded...

So as she studied the portrait, it came as something of a shock to see that she'd managed to capture that same compelling stare in the son that she saw in Flynn every night on her way to her room.

A powerful character was obvious in the way she'd painted the indomitable features. But the barely painted-in scar beneath the bottom lip caught a vulnerability very few people had seen in Morgan. Damon had seen it. And Maddy. She wondered if Chloe was sensitive enough to have noticed. She ran her fingers tenderly along the painted scar. She half wondered why she found flaws in appearance more attractive than perfection. Perhaps they revealed the true person.

The creative process is a funny thing, she mused. The mind works on two levels at once. The unconscious fits pieces of the puzzle together behind the scenes, and the conscious is busy working away on all the surface detail. Then it all fits perfectly together as if by magic.

She was pleased with the results. Very pleased. She wondered what Morgan's mother would think of it. She would like to have met his mother.

She imagined she would have been strong to survive her years with a workaholic like Flynn. But perhaps he had broken her will, and her illness now was a final breakdown from pent up resentment. She could understand that emotion.

She wondered if Chloe would be strong enough to survive Morgan. They were certainly intimidating in their own ways. But Morgan's dominance came from sheer willpower, whereas Chloe was inclined to petulance.

No doubt their wedding would be reported in all the national press, not just the Collier publications. It was the perfect society wedding. Everybody who was anybody would be there. And just like today, there would be no expense spared. She wondered if she would get an invitation. She thought it was likely. Chloe wouldn't be able to resist showing off in front of her. But than again, maybe no invitation would be Chloe's way to send the message she wasn't worth bothering about. Why am I thinking this crap? she chastised herself.

Anyway, she wouldn't want to go. She winced at the thought of them together on their wedding night, making love. The Smarts knew she loved him. Chloe knew it. What about Morgan? She knew he fancied her, but did he love her? And if he did, would she really want to fight for him?

"I'd fight for him if I was you..." Stacey's words were to haunt her for the rest of the day.

Chapter 11

"I see you have everything running to perfection, Miss McVey."

"I believe so," Maddy answered Damon good-naturedly.

"Not only do you have everything running to perfection, but the guests seem to be mingling with absolute ease and confidence. I must say, it's the best organised party I've witnessed for some time."

"Thank you for the compliment, Damon. I do believe you mean it."

"Oh, indeed I do. And may I say you look absolutely delightful."

Coming from some one else, this could have been a line, but knowing Damon, Maddy felt completely comfortable with his comment.

"I've never seen that dress before. ls it something new?"

"Yes, I bought it in one of those designer dress shops in Chapel Street."

"Well, if that doesn't turn someone's eye, I don't know what will."

"And who's eye were you thinking of?"

Maddy kept up the banter as she walked towards the front verandah entrance. She was glad she'd chosen the fine-strapped sandals with heels low enough to negotiate the gravel drive. She wanted to make sure the attendants were keeping up the supply of champagne and fois gras at the front entrance for the endless stream of guests. She needn't have worried. As Damon had noted, everything was running to plan.

"Greetings Mr and Mrs FeingoId." Damon introduced Maddy to the newly arrived visitors and shook their hands on the tiled entrance steps. Damon handed the keys of their new black Saab to one of the driving attendants.

A waiter offered the stout woman and her thin husband elegant cut crystal champagne flutes from a damask-covered trestle table.

Damon fussed and chatted, asking them if they enjoyed the drive down.

"Absolutely wonderful evening. Couldn't have asked for better driving conditions. Oh Howard, aren't these lovely?" Esther Feingold pointed to the bowls of Christmas lilies adorning the table. Their scent filled the verandah.

Two braziers clamped to the fretwork on each side of the steps threw an ambient glow into the soft evening sky.

"No detail spared," Howard answered. "I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves. ls Morgan here yet? I've got a new proposal to put forward to him, just a little idea the Chairman has to offer."

Now Maddy recognised them. They were both on the board of Collier Press.

"Oh Howard, no business talk tonight. It's Morgan's birthday. Nobody should talk business on their birthday."

"I'm sure Mr Collier will be happy to discuss business in the next couple of days. Well now, let me show you to your room." Damon motioned them to follow.

"Nice meeting you dear. I hope you and Morgan will be very happy. So he's finally getting married again. We'll have a chat later."

Maddy felt herself flush. The woman must have thought she was Chloe! As the Feingolds turned to walk into the foyer, she could hear Howard's earnest whisper to the wife. "Put your glasses on dear, that's not her."

Maddy was beginning to think quite a few people at White Breakers had shares in a matchmaking agency. Wasn't anybody's life private these days? As she watched the Feingolds disappear into the house, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, startled.

"Maddy, how lovely to see you!" Her old friend Lisette from art school greeted her with a huge smile. Her beautiful auburn hair curled around her strapless shoulders.

"Lisette, I'm so glad you could come. You look fabulous." They both kissed each other on their cheeks. Maddy turned towards Lisette's distinguished looking husband and shook his hand.

"Hello Jackson."

"Been doing any more portraits lately?" he enquired.

"Morgan, actually."

"Well, I'm not surprised. He thought your portrait of me was terrific. He said you were very talented and mentioned something about liking all your work."

"Really? I think you must have me mixed up with someone else. Morgan didn't know me before I met him this summer."

"But you were in a design company with your husband Carlisle, weren't you?

"Yes, that's right."

Jackson nodded his head, as if he knew something she didn't.

"Then I'm not mistaken. He said your design company had done some work for him. He was very impressed. Said he'd followed your fledgling career with interest."

Maddy was shocked. What game was Morgan playing? He obviously knew more about her than he'd let on. In fact, it appeared there was a lot going on she didn't know about.

She led the Perry's down a side path from the main entrance. Chinese lanterns strung between trees lit their way to the party.

"It's like fairyland," Lisette remarked as they came to a wide lawn rolling down towards the ocean. Right in the middle was a huge, illuminated white pavilion, looking as exotic as something set in a far away Middle Eastern desert from centuries ago.

Torches dotted the grounds, lighting the way for guests taking a stroll under the starry sky. Director's chairs with comfortable cushions were placed in clusters around low tables for anyone in need of quiet conversation. She recognised a couple of well-known politicians and their wives enjoying a private get together.

As they neared the pavilion, music from a string quartet floated above the constant chatter and laughter. Maddy brought her guests over to some other acquaintances in the architectural field where a long and heated discussion on sustainable building materials ensued.

At an appropriate moment she slipped away to make sure no one was being left to languish.

Satisfied that all was well, she decided to reward herself. She surveyed the long, white-clothed tables laden with fabulous food and flowers.

"What a spread," a middle aged man commented to his wife as he helped himself to duck terrine with spinach coulis. Maddy felt some pride that the party guests appreciated her efforts. But she didn't feel like eating at that moment, so she waltzed over to the bar to get a drink.

Several young male attendants ignored waiting guests to rush to her service.

"What would you like?"

"Can l get you anything?"

"Let me guess. Champagne, right?"

She laughed as they stumbled over each other for her attention.

"You got it," she answered, surprised and not a little flattered at their interest.

She was feeling happy tonight. Maybe it had something to do with her dress. She knew she looked good. She coyly pushed back the lock of honey blonde hair she'd nonchalantly left loose from her casually but oh-so-perfectly pinned up hair.

"So elegant," she heard a woman say to a friend as she looked in Maddy's direction. "I wish l could fit into a dress like that."

The young man who'd served her champagne was trying to engage her in conversation.

"So, are you a wife of one of the bigwigs here tonight?"

"No, I'm a private detective."

"Wow, that's cool. That must be an interesting job." He leaned towards her and stared into her eyes. He must have been all of eighteen. "Are you checking up on someone here tonight?"

"Could be," she said, having fun with her little deception. He actually believed her!

"Well, if you need any help, I'd love to be of assistance."

"Thanks anyway, but this is strictly a one-person affair. l don't want to blow my cover."

"I understand," he whispered. "You can count on me to keep your secret." He tapped the side of his nose.

The manager of the bar for the evening motioned the young man to quit talking and start serving the other guests. Maddy took a sip of her drink just as Chloe made her entrance into the pavilion. All eyes turned towards her. She was wearing a long slinky red dress that clung to her very slender body. A modeI's body, Maddy had often thought.

Her platinum hair was cut short and worn behind her ears, no doubt to show off the diamond and ruby earrings. Her lips matched the colour of the rubies and the whole effect was rather stunning. She certainly stood out in the crowd, no doubt what she was aiming for. Maddy looked to see if she was wearing a new ring on her left hand. There was no sign of one.

Chloe moved towards a group from Collier Press. Whispers of "that's her", and "it's Chloe Swann, she's engaged to Morgan," could be heard nearby.

But where was Morgan? Maddy began to feel anxious. Perhaps something had happened. Maybe there'd been an accident on the Ocean Road.

And then she saw him standing on the other side of the pavilion. He was looking directly at her. It was as if Chloe hadn't even walked into view.

Maddy felt herself blush. She'd have to get counselling for this new problem when she was back in Melbourne. She averted her eyes towards the young man at the bar. He appeared to think she was making some kind of cryptic signal and winked as if in the know.

Morgan broke off his conversation to the Perry's and started to walk towards Maddy. Before he reached her Chloe intercepted. He seemed surprised to see her in front of him. He didn't appear to have noticed she was there at all.

"Darling, come chat to Angelo and Marita. We haven't seen them for so long, it's wicked to ignore them." She dragged Morgan by the arm as he looked over his shoulder towards Maddy. Then he merged with the crowd of well wishers.

Maddy talked to some people and enjoyed the music. Suddenly she could hear a glass being tapped loudly to silence all conversation and music. The crowd stood still to hear Morgan give a speech.

"Thank you all for coming. This means a lot to me. l know many of you have travelled a long way to be here tonight." He acknowledged several faces in the crowd.

"I don't often get to see many of you throughout the year, so this is my way of showing appreciation for your hard work, friendship and goodwill."

"Here, here," everyone chorused. "Cheers to Morgan." The guests raised glasses in salute to their host.

Maddy stood to one side watching the proceedings with a kind of detachment. She wasn't a part of that crowd of old friends, though she did recognise a few faces from photographs she'd seen displayed around the house. She wondered if Morgan would announce his engagement. As if on cue, Chloe came to his side as he continued his speech.

"Friends, I am very glad to have something special to announce to you this evening."

Here it comes, thought Maddy.

"l have a very special guest here with me tonight."

There was some murmuring towards the back of the pavilion as the crowd made way for a tall woman with silvery hair dressed in an elegant cream suit. Although her face had the pallor of someone ill, she looked happy.

"My mother has just arrived from Queensland especially for the party. I picked her up from the airport myself, that's why I was a little late. We didn't think she'd be well enough to travel, but with the aid of modern technology and a sympathetic air crew, we managed to bring her out here."

Everybody clapped and cheered for Charlotte Collier.

"I know there'll be a few old friends here who'll want to see her, but make sure you don't tire her out. I don't want to have to visit the local hospital again in a hurry. Once a year is enough." Everyone laughed. His brush with death in The Otways was now legendary.

"I also want to thank Madeleine McVey," Morgan gestured towards Maddy in recognition, "who, most importantly, saved my life. No doubt you've all heard the story. And without her fabulous organisational skills, this splendid party would not have been possible."

Maddy hadn't expected to be singled out in this way. She smiled and nodded graciously to the guests. I can act the part so well, she thought. They gave her a round of applause then continued to party. Morgan beckoned her to come over and meet his mother.

"So pleased to meet you. Morgan was telling me all about you on the drive down. He seems very impressed by your abilities. And you're exactly as he described."

Morgan shifted uneasily next to his mother. He's embarrassed, thought Maddy.

"Do you like it here at White Breakers?," Charlotte Collier continued.

"Very much," Maddy answered.

"Then I do hope you stay on to help Morgan when he's based here. From what he's told me, I'm sure he would be sorry to see you go. Are you thinking of staying?"

"Well, I, he hasn't asked me. I hadn't really considered it. We haven't discussed it. And I have my painting career to consider"

"Oh my dear, I'm sure he wants you to. You could paint here."

Before Maddy had a chance to reply, a group of what appeared to be old and dear friends, headed by Damon, began to congregate around Charlotte Collier. Morgan brought over a special chair for her. There was a lot of catching up to do.

The party swung under way again with a new six-piece band. They livened things up with a mixture of jazz-fusion and Latin rhythm. The company that erected the pavilion also put up a laser light show in the gantry. The specially laid parquet floor was soon filled with dancing couples, including Morgan and Chloe.

A handsome man wearing an impeccable dinner suit grabbed Maddy's hand and literally hauled her to the dance floor. She protested briefly and then thought, why not?

He was the head accountant for Collier Press. He'd flirted with her wildly on a visit to White Breakers just before Christmas. She wondered at the time whether Morgan had noticed. She'd found Dirk attractive and had even played his game for a while, but when she found out he was married, she'd made it clear she wasn't interested.

Still, tonight his wife was also at the party, and one dance couldn't hurt anyone. It was time she kicked up her heels a little, but Maddy hadn't anticipated Dirk's tenacity. She tried to get away after the second dance but he wouldn't let her go.

"Please," she said, "I've got to go now. l'm actually working tonight."

"Just one more dance. You're such a great dancer and we're both having a good time."

"I'm sure you're wife would like to dance."

"She doesn't like dancing."

"All women like dancing."

"No, you're wrong. You haven't met my wife. She doesn't like anything. Not like you."

The lights dimmed to candlelight as the band slowed the pace for the next dance. Before she could escape, Dirk pulled her sharply towards him. He began to sway with Maddy in his arms. She began to feel uncomfortable when she realised he was quite drunk. He clutched her too tightly while breathing whisky across her cheek.

"You're gorgeous," he mumbled, burrowing his face into her hair. She felt his hand slip a little too low down her back. She considered kneeing him in the groin when Morgan placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I'm cutting in now Dirk. l think it's about time you paid some attention to your wife."

"But we're just starting to enjoy ourselves, aren't we Maddy?"

"I think you'd better go, Dirk. I have some things to discuss with Morgan," she said, quick to pick up her cue. Fortunately, Dirk had the good grace to back off.

"I'll leave you to the better man," he joked, and stumbled off the floor to look for his unfortunate wife.

Now Maddy was in Morgan's arms, slowly dancing. She felt as if she was in a dream.

"You looked like you needed rescuing."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Not really. It's just that I know Dirk. And I remember how he latched on to you when he was here last. I guessed you wouldn't want a repeat performance." So, he had noticed.

"That's very chivalrous of you Mr Collier."

"I am a very chivalrous person Miss McVey, despite your low opinion of me." He gazed down at her, his eyes shining almost preternaturally. As she looked up into them, she felt she was losing her soul. She lifted her hand instinctively from his shoulder to touch the scar near his sensuous mouth. He continued to gaze into her face as she traced the outline with her finger, just as she had done with the painting.

"You look beautiful tonight, Maddy."

"l did it all for you," she said, tossing her head back and laughing.

"Now you're teasing me," he said. She laughed again.

"By the way, I loved the beanie and card you left out for me. You didn't have to do that."

"Well, it's you're birthday. I'm feeling reckless. Only one more night to go, what the hell."

"So you don't totally despise me, then?"

"Not totally."

Tonight was the first and last time they'd ever dance together. It didn't matter what she said, or whether he believed her or not. They were dancing so close together, she was sure they were being stared at. She didn't care. She wanted this moment to go on forever, locked with Morgan on the dance floor. Memories of the kisses at Christmas and at the beach at Apollo Bay flooded into her.

But then reality cut in. Before she saw her, Maddy could feel Chloe's presence. She must have been standing all of three inches behind her on the dance floor.

"Morgan."

Morgan either didn't hear Chloe or he chose to ignore her. Maddy felt his arms wrap tight around her as they continued dancing.

"Morgan," Chloe repeated, more determinedly.

"Chloe," he finally answered with a sigh. He barely moved to look at her. Maddy lifted her head from his shoulder and turned around. She was startled to see they were all alone on the dance floor. The music had stopped. Everyone was staring at the three of them.

"The cake, Morgan. It's time for the cake." Chloe stated.

God, I've forgotten the cake! Maddy thought, suddenly flustered. But she needn't have worried. Good old Damon had come to the rescue. He wheeled it into the centre of the parquet floor, the candles sparkling like Christmas decorations.

"Sir, I do believe a traditional song is in order." Charlotte Collier started up "Happy Birthday" for her son. The guests rowdily sang For He's a Jolly Good Fellow as Morgan plunged in the knife for the first cut of the cake.

Not to be outdone for attention, Chloe pushed herself up against his side and put her hand over his.

Maddy wasn't the sort of person to come between two people, especially not two people in love with each other. She felt very strongly about that. But she now knew beyond doubt that Morgan wasn't in love with Chloe, and probably never had been.

Watching him cut the cake, it was obvious he didn't care for her in any way beyond friendship. How could a man truly be in love with a woman and show her no signs of affection?

Should Maddy fight for him? Should she tell him, like Lizzie to Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, that her feelings were now quite the opposite from what he believed them to be?

While everyone was enjoying the cake, she caught him looking at her over the crowd. She also saw Chloe watching both of them. Chloe glanced back and forth between Maddy and Morgan, as if they were complicit lovers trying to hide their secret. Well, it wasn't a secret any more.

But before Maddy had a chance to say or do anything, Stacey Smart and her boyfriend Craig appeared out of nowhere.

"Maddy, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Craig."

Maddy held out her hand, trying to look past Craig's shoulder to see what was happening. She caught a glimpse of Morgan's tall figure disappear yet again.

"Pleased to meet you, Craig," she answered distractedly.

"You remember me telling you about Maddy, don't you Craig?" Stacey asked. Craig nodded and shook Maddy's hand with gusto. It was obvious they'd both been enjoying a drink or three, despite Stacey's sober intentions earlier in the day.

"You look just beautiful. l knew you would. You are by far the most gorgeous woman in this room. Isn't she Craig? Apart from me, of course!" Stacey shrieked with laughter and gave Craig a playful punch on the shoulder.

One more punch and he'll fall over, thought Maddy. She stood chatting to the young couple for a few minutes, and though she tried to get away, more guests waylaid her in the pavilion, wanting to have a chat about her job at White Breakers. She finally managed to slip away to look for Morgan. She had to have it out with him, once and for all.

She headed into the night air, dodging more guests who wanted to talk to her. She managed to avoid lecherous Dirk, who, she was sure, had other things on his mind besides her organisational skills. She started to cross the lawn towards the house.

Lots of people were talking and laughing and enjoying a stroll around the grounds of the estate. It was certainly a beautiful night. The full moon had not yet cut the light of The Milky Way swathed across the sky. Several guests had wandered down to the beach through the scrubby dune to enjoy an evening swim.

As Maddy greeted a group of seated guests, someone called out her name. She turned to see Joey walk towards her.

"Seen Tamara? I can't find her anywhere."

"No, not recently. Last l saw she was with you on the dance floor."

Joey seemed rather annoyed.

"Well, she's gone. Can't find her at all."

"She can't have gone far, Joey. Maybe she's in the house. ls it urgent? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to find out what happened, l guess." He dropped his voice and pulled Maddy over to the side terrace.

"We heard Morgan and Chloe arguing inside the house. Tamara and I were in our room when we heard Chloe storming up the stairs. You know what she's like."

Maddy nodded.

"She's a good friend of Tam's, despite her temper. I'm not stabbing her in the back. It's a well-known fact." Joey finished his drink and placed his glass on a little cane side table. Torchlight flickered on his face.

"Tam heard Chloe slam her door and said to me she was going to find out what was wrong. I told her to forget it. It sounded as though Chloe needed time to cool off.

"But she went in anyway. She never listens to my advice." He peered past Maddy at a group of guests wandering across the lawn.

"l heard a lot of ranting and raving through the walls. Chloe's voice, not Tamara's. Then I heard the two of them come out of the room and go down the stairs.

"I poked my head around the corner to see them just disappearing into the foyer. I went down stairs onto the verandah. Howard Feingold collared me, asking where Morgan was.

"Said I didn't know, but had he seen Tamara and Chloe? Before he had time to answer, I heard a car door slam, and saw Chloe at the wheel of her Porsche, screeching the tyres on the gravel as she took off.

"Maybe Tamara was with her." Maddy suggested.

"Maybe, I couldn't see her. I guess she'll turn up." Joey started to say goodbye until his eye caught someone walking quickly towards him on the path.

"Speak of the devil!" Joey touched Maddy with an "I've got to go" gesture and headed off towards Tamara.

"Boy, have I got something to tell you!," Tamara said breathlessly, as she grabbed Joey's arm and headed up to the house.

Maddy was agitated. Something had obviously happened between Chloe and Morgan. She was busting to know. She found herself wandering around the terrace to the studio path around the pool. Several guests were laughing and splashing in the water, though their actions hadn't been too impulsive. Maddy could see they were wearing swimming costumes.

She skirted around the edge and waved to a couple of acquaintances she had made during her stay at White Breakers.

"Have you seen Morgan?," she shouted to them.

"We haven't seen anyone walk past," a young woman answered. "But we've been having so much fun we wouldn't have noticed anyway."

Maddy walked around the corner beneath the dark verandah of the studio. She slipped off her shoes and felt for the key kept on the trellis ledge hidden by the jasmine.

She turned it in the lock but was surprised to find the door already open. She walked in and instinctively walked towards the table lamp near the window. The overhead light bulb had blown the other day and she hadn't got round to getting it changed.

"Don't turn it on," a voice said from somewhere in front of her, She nearly had a heart attack.

"Morgan?" Her voice was shaking.

"I'm on the sofa."

"What are you doing in the dark?"

"I brought my mother to look at the portrait. It's wonderful. Not me, but how you've painted me. My mother thinks it's the best present she's ever had."

"I'm glad," Maddy answered, quietly thrilled.

"She left a little while ago with Damon. I stayed for some peace and quiet, away from everyone. I needed to think." Morgan paused for a moment. "And I was hoping maybe you would turn up."

"That was a big gamble."

"You're here, so it paid off."

She didn't know what to say. She could make him out seated on the sofa, one long leg tucked under. He was also barefoot. She walked over and sat next to him.

"I heard that you'd been arguing with Chloe."

"That's true."

"Anything to do with me?" Maddy leaned back against the sofa, feeling strangely light-headed to be sitting here with Morgan. She noticed the moonlight catching his face through the partly open shutters.

His evening jacket was off and his shirt was slightly undone. The soft, dark hair on his chest contrasted against the fine, white cambric of his shirt.

Laughter from the pool drifted in through the open window.

"It has everything to do with you. Or should I say, with us."

His head turned towards her. All she could see was black hair and black eyes. Maybe he's the devil, she thought. She couldn't tell whether he was looking at her or not. The air between them was almost vibrating.

"After we danced together, I realised what a sham everything was. My pretence at being happy, my engagement to Chloe. It's all a sham. You know that, don't you?"

"Until today I didn't," she answered truthfully.

"I never wanted the engagement, it was all Chloe's idea. Somehow I fell in with it. It seemed a foregone conclusion. And I was lonely...so I thought, why not? Why not marry Chloe? Especially with the mixed messages I was getting from you..."

Maddy groaned inwardly hearing this. Morgan flexed his fingers on the back of the sofa. Now her eyes were accustomed to the dark, she could see he was looking straight at her. He leaned over and took her hand where it lay folded in her lap. She didn't draw back.

"You know how I feel about you. You've known how I've felt about you ever since you came here. I just can't let it pass."

"Morgan..."

"Don't deny your feelings, Maddy. Don't deny them any more. I couldn't bear it. Living like this is torture for both of us."

He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them tenderly one by one.

Maddy could hardly contain herself. She gasped as he touched her, as if time had stood still since their day at the beach.

He stroked her face gently, tracing the line of her mouth as if he were a blind man. Her lips parted beneath his touch. She could see the pool reflected on the ceiling, like myriad water sprites dancing in an arcane grotto. She leaned towards him as her desire took over.

This time Morgan gave full reign to his passion as he kissed her hungrily on the mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back just as greedily. Morgan eased her flat onto the sofa as he shoved cushions onto the floor to make room. He pushed her silky dress effortlessly up her thighs while nuzzling his mouth into her neck. Shivers coursed up and down her spine as his lips searched out her flesh. She could feel his hardness bearing into her through his clothes.

"Maddy, oh Maddy," he moaned softly, and this time she didn't push him away. This time it was right. She slipped her hands under his shirt as they kissed again on the mouth, exploring each other erotically and deeply. She ran her hands over his bare flesh, thrilled to feel his muscles responding to her touch.

The shoestring straps of her dress fell away as Morgan firmly cupped her left breast in his hand. His mouth slipped down to her nipple, caressing it as if for the first time. She couldn't believe she'd been deprived of such pleasure for so long.

She entwined her legs around his. She couldn't wait, didn't want to wait any longer. She was overwhelmed by the intensity of her feeling.

"Morgan now, please now," she begged, unable to contain herself any more.

"You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that," he whispered, nibbling her ear and driving her into a frenzy.

"l want you. I'm ready."

She could feel him shaking with desire as she helped him unbutton his shirt.

"Wait," he said.

"What, what is it?" she asked, breathless.

"It's okay," he reassured. "I'm just getting something from the drawer." He fumbled around for a condom.

"Thank God I leave a supply for wayward guests."

"I'm glad you're the perfect host," she giggled.

She pulled him back towards her just as the studio door opened. They heard the flick of the switch, but no light came on. A couple could be heard shuffling into the room. Morgan leaned over the sofa, his shirt half off.

"What do you want?," he asked gruffly.

A sudden squeal erupted in the room.

"Ooooh, Mr Collier, is that you?"

"Stacey...Are you lost?"

"Um, no, we were just looking for somewhere quiet. l thought l could show Craig the portrait. Maddy said I could see it."

"Not now Stacey. Come back tomorrow."

She giggled, dragging Craig back with her through the door. Their giggling turned into shrieks of laughter as they walked away past the pool.

"l think we might get a few more guests trying the door if the champagne continues to flow." Maddy said.

"Well, we're not going to hang around to find out. Come with me."

Morgan suddenly lifted her to her feet. She clutched the straps of her flimsy dress to prevent it falling off completely. He took her hand and led her barefoot out of the studio, grabbing a throw rug from a nearby chair on the way out.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her feet springing off the same verandah where only a few weeks earlier she'd turned her back to him.

"You'll see."

Maddy's feet glided over the lawn towards the cobbled path, away from the noise and celebration of the party. As they padded quickly and quietly she felt the warm night and sea air on her skin. She was dimly aware of the ocean beyond the garden, but her excitement was focussed on her secret trip with Morgan. He pulled her to a stop as they reached the stables.

"Zengardi, here boy" he whispered. The palomino trotted up to greet his owner.

Maddy patted the horse's nose as Morgan saddled the horse. She could feel his tension from across the stables. He was in such a hurry he fumbled with the straps, so unlike the cool and assured character she was used to seeing. She rather liked this version. Their excitement was evenly pitched.

Maddy led Zengardi to the path as Morgan closed the stable door. He then mounted his horse and pulled Maddy up behind him. This time she clung to him willingly.

First Morgan paced the horse to a trot, but once they had cleared the perimeter of the garden, he let Zengardi take off into a gallop. The brilliant moon was now high overhead, lighting the way easily across the undulating terrain of the Otway Foothills.

She turned briefly to see the ocean behind her. Below, the pavilion stood out like a beacon from an ancient legend. Music wafted lightly on the breeze. The torches from the garden shone like glow worms on the wall of some fantastic cave. The power of horse and rider shot through her like a bolt of lightning. At last she was free.

She could hardly believe she'd become part of that scene she'd witnessed on the beach just a few short weeks before. Yet her senses were keenly alive, telling her this must be so. A quick pinch to her leg convinced her of that.

As the landscape began to thicken around them, the territory became vaguely familiar. Zengardi slowed to a canter and then to a trot as they moved into a thicket of blackwoods. She could hear the Acacia River flowing a few metres away.

"We came here before," she said softly to Morgan, not wishing to break the magic.

"Yes," he answered, lacing his finger through hers around his waist, "but this time we'll get it right."

They slowed to a walk as the blackness of the pine plantation loomed larger in view.

"Are we going in there?," Maddy asked, somewhat alarmed. "What about spiders?"

"Don't worry," he laughed softly. "I come here sometimes at night, when I need space to think. I haven't seen one yet."

They stopped at the edge of the forest. Maddy slid down into Morgan's arms, his mouth ready to kiss her before her feet even reached the ground.

The scent of pine enveloped them as they stepped into the forest. They stopped a little way in and Morgan lay down the throw rug onto the blanket of pine needles. Moonlight shafted in bands through the tall, still trees. Everything seemed to be glowing.

This time, Morgan slipped the straps from Maddy's dress without any interruption. It instantly fell to her feet. She couldn't help thinking of Eve's words in the boutique when she'd first tried it on.

They kissed a long, passionate kiss as Morgan caressed every inch of her silken, naked body.

"My moon goddess," he murmured. She could feel his heartbeat, feel the desire in every touch of his fingertips. He was driving her wild.

She eagerly tugged at his loose shirt. She couldn't wait to feel his warm skin next to her. She deftly undid his trousers, her boldness as natural as the warm summer night. In a single motion they were lying together on the forest floor.

"So strong," she whispered. "I can feel your strength." Her words seemed to drive him crazy as he feverishly kissed her neck and full breasts. She'd never felt so womanly and ready to make love as she did at this moment.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him to her with her unsated passion.

"Not yet," he whispered hoarsely, as he prepared himself for their lovemaking. He tantalised her with kisses down the length of her belly before reaching that place where she was waiting to be filled.

"Don't tease me," she moaned. "You're being cruel."

"That I'll never be," he assured her.

Maddy ran her burning fingers through Morgan's soft hair. She could feel his lips move sensuously over her skin in exquisitely smaller circles towards her inner thighs. She closed her eyes when he finally reached the essence of her womanhood. She was in heaven. She felt it with all her being. Nothing was as good as this. Heat coursed through to the tips of her toes as he anointed her with his tongue. Waves of pleasure pulsed through her body while her expert lover took her to the brink of rapture.

"No, don't stop," she moaned, as he moved away before she was completely satisfied.

Morgan eased his strong, hard torso gently onto her flushed and trembling body. He held her face in his strong hands at the very moment he entered her, their eyes locking into a perfect gaze of tantric union.

The rhythm of their lovemaking transported Maddy beyond the bounds of time and space. She almost lost consciousness as her pleasure increased in multiple waves time and time again.

When Morgan finally joined her in climax, her ecstatic cries echoed around the forest.

"Was that really me?," she breathlessly asked her lover as they finally lay still together on the forest floor.

"Yes, my darling. No-one else." Morgan breathed softly into her neck.

"l've never felt like this before, ever."

"Then I'm glad it happened with me," he answered, kissing her eyes and mouth in soft, butterfly kisses.

Maddy wrapped her arms around him beneath the strong moonlight.

She felt so completely content she couldn't imagine what else life could offer.

"Can we stay like this forever?"

"Why not? We could forage in the forest for food and keep ourselves warm in winter by making love every hour or two."

Morgan propped on one elbow and gently stroked Maddy's breast.

Even now, sated as she was, she could feel her desire stirring again.

"That sounds wonderful."

He gazed down at her with those midnight blue eyes.

"Marry me, Maddy."

She held his gaze, but faltered.

"I, I can't." A sick feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach.

"Why not? If you're still thinking of Chloe, we had it out tonight. She knows it's over. There was never any real love between us, Maddy. She felt threatened by you. She thought if l married you, I'd give you her job. I finally managed to convince her she was secure.

"No, it's not that," Maddy said, though the revelation surprised her. This, at least, partially explained Chloe's behaviour towards her.

"l'm afraid to say," she continued, turning away, "I'm still married to Carlisle."

His jaw dropped.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't really think about it. It wasn't something I thought you needed to know."

Even in the moonlight she could see he was stunned.

"So, you're still hoping for a reconciliation, is that it?"

The mood seemed to be changing. Maddy suddenly felt very afraid. The night was slipping away from them.

"No, you don't understand!"

"Then why are you still married? he asked.

"Carlisle just disappeared. I heard he'd moved to Sydney, but he never contacted me. There was no reason to go through the trauma. I was too busy trying to get my life together and look after Shelley. You believe me, don't you?"

Suddenly it was very important to her that he believe what she was saying.

"Yes, yes I believe you," he answered distractedly, "but we must get back now. Zengardi's getting restless."

The tethered horse was indeed beginning to champ at the bit. Despite Morgan's changed mood, he kissed Maddy lovingly while they dressed to leave. Was he having second thoughts? She couldn't tell. Maybe things would be clearer in the morning. Dawn was not far off when they cantered back to White Breakers.

Maddy's questions remained unanswered when lingering guests noticed their return. Not a chance of keeping things quiet now, she thought.

They tried to slip into the back entrance via the kitchen, but Joey cornered them before they had time to make excuses.

"So what have you two been up to? The cat's out of the bag now. No use in hiding what we all know. You're disappearance together didn't go unnoticed!"

Morgan stole Maddy a glance.

"We're not denying anything," he said. "But right now I've got some important things to do. l've got to find Damon."

"Morgan, what's so important?" Maddy asked, suddenly feeling abandoned.

"Darling, you need some sleep. I'll explain everything later. Don't worry."

Morgan kissed her fleetingly on the cheek and left the kitchen in a hurry.

"Well, what do you make of that?" asked Joey. "The man of the moment deserts his own party, then leaves his new love for some urgent business."

"I don't know what to make of it, Joey." she shrugged. Weak sunrays from the first morning light broke through into the kitchen.

Maddy suddenly felt embarrassed in her crumpled dress. She put her hand up to her dishevelled hair, the combs long gone somewhere on the forest floor. There were still pine needles caught in a few knotty strands. She excused herself and went up the stairs to her room.

From the open window she could hear voices on the terrace below. Then she heard a car door slam. Tyres screeched as a car drove off at top speed from the gravel drive. Was it Morgan?

She'd just spent the best night of her life in the arms of the man she loved, and now she was alone. She stood naked at the window, the muslin curtain softly caressing her skin in the breeze. What should she do? Today was supposed to be her last day at White Breakers. Her mother was arriving with Shelley to pick her up and drive to Lorne for a few days' holiday. There hadn't been time to discuss any alternative plan with Morgan.

Was he serious when he'd said 'marry me'? Should she wait for him to return? She crawled into bed, only to toss and turn between the cool sheets. When sleep finally took over, the sun was glinting strongly off the balcony rail. Her dreams gave her no clues as to what the day would bring.

Chapter 12

The drive to Lorne was a change for Maddy. She'd forgotten what it was like to be a passenger. Over the summer she'd become used to being a chauffeur for so many different guests.

Now she had the chance to sit back and enjoy the magnificent coastline. 'Enjoy' wasn't exactly the word. She was far too troubled to take in what she was seeing. Her last day had been filled with misery when Morgan didn't show up. Damon had been nowhere in sight, and Chloe appeared to have gone for good. Only the team of hired cleaners showed any sign of life as they busily tidied up from the night before. She spent the best part of the day wondering about her future.

Charlotte Collier was kind and solicitous. She praised Maddy for the portrait, saying what a wonderful painter she was.

"I cannot help you either, dear," she'd said, as she wandered out onto the terrace where Maddy was waiting for her family to arrive. "I'm sure Morgan wouldn't have taken off without good reason. If you must go, I'll pass on a message from you."

Maddy didn't know what to say to her. Perhaps the gossip hadn't reached her about the previous night. She didn't feel it was her place to put Charlotte Collier in the picture. Besides, did Maddy really know yet Morgan's true feelings?

Perhaps she didn't mean anything to him at all. Maybe he'd seen her as a challenge. He'd probably planned to seduce her all along and only paid back the loan to win her over. The fact that she'd fallen in love with him only added to his victory and her humiliation. She tried to meditate. She didn't want to think she'd been let down. Not again.

In the end, Maddy left a note on the kitchen table at White Breakers. She thought about texting him, but changed her mind. If he wanted to find her, he knew where she was. And if she didn't hear from him again, well, she'd get on with her life, just as she'd always expected to.

"You must tell me all about the party. I'm dying to know," her mother asked on the drive to Lorne.

"Later, mum, I'm just a bit tired. It's been a long couple of days."

Maddy turned around to look at her daughter who was asleep in familiar pose on the back seat.

As they rounded the bend into Lorne, sombre clouds began rolling in from the mountains behind the resort town. The ocean was still calm, but the air was humid and unsettled.

"I hope we have at least a day or two of good weather," Jeanette McVey commented. "I'd like at least one long swim before we go back."

They checked in at the Grand Pacific Hotel, a grand edifice on the Ocean Road overlooking the rolling surf of Loutit Bay. It had been built at a time when the town was host to parties of holidaymakers more inclined to play croquet than dance to a rock band.

They went for a late afternoon walk after settling in. Maddy didn't mind the holidaymakers. The people strolling along the main street were very different from the harassed-looking city crowds on a busy shopping day.

These people wanted to relax and have a good time. So what if Kostas or The Arab took longer than usual to serve coffee? Nobody was in a hurry to do anything.

In the city, Maddy would have been tapping her foot and looking at the time. She would have been cross at the delay, wondering why people didn't get their act together to organise work more efficiently.

"You're too impatient," Eve had often said. "Learn to ease up a little. Not everyone moves at your speed."

Well, today she didn't have the energy to run at all. She sat with her family while waiting for her coffee and looked out at towards the bay. Lorne was certainly a beautiful place. She vowed to come back at some stage, but where would White Breakers fit into all this?

Maddy watched the happy young couples walk arm in arm past the sidewalk tables. It was hard not to think of Morgan when she looked at them. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. It was too hard to think about. She drained her cup and suggested some window-shopping.

They strolled along the esplanade, stopping in one shop after another. Lorne was a merchandiser's paradise in the holiday season.

"These bikinis are just like the ones we used to wear in the sixties," her mother announced. "What goes around comes around." Maddy had to agree with her. She'd seen her mother in old photographs wearing the very same orange gingham bikinis at the local swimming pool.

Shelley became bored and skipped further along to a jeweller's shop window.

"Oooh, look at these," she called out. Maddy and her mother ambled alongside.

"What beautiful necklaces," Maddy commented. "Wouldn't you just love one?"

"Oh, they are beautiful," her mother exclaimed. "How about I buy you one? They're only about a thousand dollars each."

Maddy laughed. "l should take you up on that."

"You look like you need cheering up," her mother offered.

"Do l?"

"Yes, you look sad today. Is anything wrong?"

"I'm just a bit flat after finishing work," Maddy said. Her mother answered her with a disbelieving look as they walked back to the hotel.

It was already evening when they settled into the dining room. Maddy fended off her questions about White Breakers. She was too tired to explain to her mother what had happened. Besides, she was sick of analysing the situation.

After a light dinner they all went to bed. Mrs McVey had a room to herself. Maddy and her daughter shared a twin room at the front of the hotel with a spectacular view of the bay.

"Come and look at the lights, darling." Shelley joined Maddy at the window seat and looked towards the town.

"It's all sparkly," she commented, "just like the lights on the Christmas tree at Morgan's." Shelley knelt on the seat with her face pressed against the windowpane. She traced the dots of light with her finger.

"Mummy," she asked unexpectedly, "when are we going to stay with Morgan again?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to see. Nothing's been planned."

"He said you were beautiful and that he was madly in love with you. What does that mean? Was he cross with you?"

"No darling, he wasn't cross."

"Then why was he mad at you?"

"That means something different. When someone is madly in love with you, they love you very much."

"Then why aren't you married?"

How could she explain to her daughter that something so simple could be so complicated?

"Grown-ups don't always marry, you know. Morgan was just joking, Shelley."

"But he wasn't laughing."

Maddy hugged her daughter. She didn't know what to think any more. All she knew was that if she heard Morgan's name mentioned one more time, she'd cry.

At breakfast the next morning she'd had time to recover her composure before her mother's not-so-innocent inquiries again about the big birthday bash.

Maddy chose to describe in great detail the type of food they ate, the beautiful flowers festooning the pavilion and grounds, how many celebrities attended, what everyone wore, what the band played, and so on. Shelley's oohs and ahs were matched by her grandmother's flashing green eyes while listening to Maddy's vivid descriptions.

"You obviously enjoyed your stay at White Breakers, then," her mother ventured, fishing for some revelation.

"It was lovely," was Maddy's only comment.

"No chance of ever going back there again? From what you say, Morgan Collier stays there every summer. Maybe you could secure a position over the holidays in the future?"

"l really don't know. Let's just leave it at that."

She turned to look out the window at the ocean landscape below, but not before she caught Shelley mouthing the words to her grandmother "l told you so."

"Oh, you two," she laughed. "What plans have you been cooking up?"

"Nothing. I just told grandma that Morgan loves you and he'll come and get us and take us back."

"Darling, you have a vivid imagination. Life isn't a fairy tale." How often she'd said those words. In some ways, it made life easier. When disappointment knocked you down, you didn't have so far to fall.

Maddy chatted with her mother for a time over cups of Earl Grey tea about the new school year for Shelley back in Melbourne. Her daughter fidgeted at the table. She'd finished her breakfast and couldn't keep still.

"I'm bored. I want to go outside." She pulled a face at Maddy. "Can we go for a walk now, please?"

Maddy look at her and daughter and smiled.

"I guess. Why not?"

Jeanette McVey frowned as she looked out of the window. Everything was grey.

"It looks like the weather might turn nasty."

Maddy was more optimistic.

"l don't mind if it rains. It'll blow away the cobwebs."

The three of them walked to the foyer. Maddy's mother stood with her foot on the stairs.

"If you don't mind, l don't think I'll join you. I'd rather potter about for a bit and maybe do some reading."

"Sure, mum. Maybe we could meet later for a coffee."

"Why don't we meet for lunch at the nice restaurant on the beach? I might do some shopping beforehand. I saw a top yesterday I've been thinking about buying. Text me when you're ready to meet up."

She kissed them both goodbye before heading up the stairs.

Maddy walked hand in hand with Shelley out the front entrance of the hotel. Her mother was right. The thick cloud cover had developed a distinct steely-blue tinge. The ocean was luminous against its threatening edge.

"Maybe we shouldn't go out right now, Shelley. Our coats are back inside."

"It's not cold, and we can come back if it starts to rain, can't we?" her daughter pleaded.

"I guess you're right. We won't go too far from the hotel though."

So, giving in to her daughter's wishes, Maddy led Shelley to the rocky beach on the other side of the Great Ocean Road. Her intention was to stay close to the pier, in case they had to make a quick dash for it.

There was the tang of salt hanging in the air, as well as electricity. It was one of those rare moments where anything might be possible, given the right circumstances. Maddy could feel it. She had a well-developed sixth sense, and though sometimes Carlisle had ridiculed her for it, she knew it was a gift.

She stood for a minute watching the swell roll into the shore. The air was still very warm and humid. Holding her slip ons in her hand, she let the whitewash surge through her feet. She realised it was probably her last day on the beach until next summer.

She looked over to see Shelley busily building a sand castle at the edge of the surf. She crouched down, eager to share precious time with her daughter.

"Let me show you something I did when I was your age."

"What is it"?" Shelley asked.

"Just look." Maddy picked up some wet sand and held it a few inches above the half-formed castle. Palm upwards, she shaped her hand into a cup with lightly parted fingers. The sand dribbled through between them like wet cement. It had the miraculous effect of creating a stalagmite on top of the castle, an instant turret without the hard work.

"Oooh, it looks like a goblin's house!" Shelley squealed. "Let me do one."

Maddy showed her again how to make it and they both sat entranced for ages as the marvellous structure grew and grew. Several passers by stopped to admire their work before trekking around to the rocks on the far side of the pier.

They decorated the castle with sticks and a stray seagull feathers. Then they fossicked for shells that Maddy gathered in her long cotton skirt. Shelley embossed the castle turrets with great care and detail.

"Now let's put water around it," Shelley said.

"That's called a moat."

"A moat," Shelley repeated. "That's a funny word. Moat!"

She giggled while they both dug furiously around the perimeter of the castle. Maddy felt happy. She'd forgotten where she was until the vision of a dark haired man loomed in front of her. Her heart leapt in her chest. But it was just another passer by stopping for a look on the way back to town.

"Did you get a fright mummy?" Shelley said, staring worriedly at her mother's face.

"Oh, no. l just thought I saw someone l knew." They dug some more.

"Is summer nearly over?" Shelley asked.

"I guess it is. No more sand and sun and holidays till the end of the year. But we'll be together, and that's what counts."

Maddy helped Shelley fill an abandoned plastic bucket with water from the surf. They tipped it into the moat and watched the water swish around and then disappear into the sand.

"We need a lot more water. Do you want me to get it?"

"No more. Let's go to the rocks." Shelley was now bored with this game too.

Maddy checked the sky. Was it even darker? It seemed so.

"All right then, but not for too long. We'll walk around to the point and then back again."

They traipsed past the pier to the rocks. Shelley skipped brightly ahead, checking the rock pools.

"Be careful. Don't slip now," Maddy said, knowing full well that her warning would be forgotten in the next ten seconds. Still, as a mother, she had to say it.

"Look in here!" Shelley called. "There are little fish swimming."

Maddy went up to have a look at the tiny creatures caught in the rock pool.

"They must have been dumped by a large wave earlier on. The sea must come right up over here at high tide."

"Will we see it?"

"Maybe from the hotel dining room."

"Can we go further around? l want to see if there are more pools."

"Just a little way, then."

But by this time, her daughter's enthusiasm had infected Maddy and she was eagerly scaling the rocks around the point. The beach was deserted now, but Maddy only paid a half mind to it. Time seemed to slip by without any effort at all.

"l should take some photos. These rock formations would be wonderful to paint." Maddy could already visualise a picture in her mind, a grand piece that she would somehow slot between any portrait painting she managed to book in for the coming year.

"Paint this one," Shelley pointed. "It's got lots of different colours."

Maddy studied it for a while until Shelley pulled her over to another one.

"And this one. This is the best. It has lots of yellowish stripes.

"Ochre."

"Pardon?"

"That colour's called ochre. The aboriginals use it a lot in their traditional paintings."

"It's beautiful," Shelley commented.

"Yes, it is." Maddy put down her slip ons and touched the rock with the tips of her fingers. It felt like sandpaper.

She looked back to where they had walked from. They were now under a long ledge, which, at its furthest end, formed a shallow cave. They'd ascended quite a way from the shoreline.

"l think we'd better go back now, Shelley. l don't know when the tide will be coming in."

"Just a bit longer."

"No, l think we should go back now." Maddy was cross with herself for not taking enough notice of how far they'd strayed. She felt in her jacket pocket for her phone to call her mother to tell her they were on their way, only to find the battery was flat. She didn't know what the time was. We'll just have to get to the restaurant and I'll call her from there, she thought _._

As they picked their way over the rocks beneath the ledge, an almighty clap of thunder crashed around them. They both nearly jumped out of their skins.

"A storm!" Shelley cried. "There's a storm coming! Goody!"

"Not before we get back, there isn't!" Maddy grabbed Shelley's hand and tried to make a dash for it down the rocks to the point. The sky was now an awesome blue-black. The air had that peculiar smell just before a downpour. Something to do with ions, Maddy remembered.

Did we really walk that far? she thought, as they stumbled along trying to beat the storm. They didn't even make it halfway to the point before big splashes of rain and hail hit the rocks. Shelley was excited and began to do a little dance.

"Isn't this fun?" she laughed. And then she slipped. She didn't hurt herself too badly, Maddy could see. But the blood on her grazed knee mingled with the downpour, causing Shelley to wail in terror.

"It's broken!" she screamed.

"No darling, it's not." Maddy gave her a quick hug before tugging her back up the hill.

"But we must get out of the storm. The rocks are too slippery and dangerous!" She was shouting now. The noise from the surf and the storm was absolutely deafening.

They clambered back as best they could to the ledge. Thunder exploded repeatedly around them. The hail felt like needles boring into their skin. The storm had broken directly over Lorne.

Maddy slipped a few times herself, grazing arms and ankle. When they finally reached safety, she took a tissue from her shirt pocket and firmly dabbed Shelley's wound.

The child was whimpering softly now, clutching her mother's neck while resting her back against the rock face. At least it was dry beneath the ledge. Maddy prayed that they wouldn't have to wait long for the downpour to ease. She hoped it was just a passing end-of-summer storm. She wished she'd charged her phone during the night.

She stared out to sea again, looking for a change in the weather. Sea and sky had merged into one boiling, dark mass. She figured ten minutes had passed since the storm began. It showed no sign of abating.

"What will we do?" Shelley asked. She was sitting on a rock examining her knee.

"It'll stop soon," Maddy answered. She didn't convince herself. In fact, she was getting more worried by the moment. She was aware they were in a dangerous position. If the tide started to come in, they would be cut off around the point. They couldn't travel in the opposite direction because the rocks petered out to cliffs and ocean. There was no escape there.

Maddy began to shiver. Not only were they both soaked through, but the temperature had plummeted since the storm began. Five more minutes, she thought, and then we'll just have to make another dash for it.

She ventured out from under the ledge to gauge their chances. To her horror, she could just make out the pounding surf crashing over the point.

The tide was flowing in. It was just as she feared. Their escape route was totally cut off in both directions.

Panic welled up from her stomach. If she called for help, she would surely alarm Shelley. In any case, who would hear her cries against the roar of the storm and sea? Nobody else would be out in this anyway.

She tried again to walk along the rocks, but the blinding rain made it too treacherous. She couldn't see above the ledge. From memory, it was just a grassy area and the ocean road beyond.

With each passing moment the rain intensified. Apart from the wind, the storm on the Ridge with Morgan hadn't been as bad as this. In fact, this was the worst storm she could remember for several years. It was just their luck to be caught under a ledge with the surging ocean not twenty metres away.

Maddy held Shelley very close. She tried not to show the child her terror. Maybe it would be all right after all.

"We're stuck, aren't we?" Shelley looked up, terrified.

"We'll just have to wait for the storm to pass." Maddy tried to distract her from the rapidly advancing tide. She figured they had about twenty minutes or so left before they were completely swamped, providing a freak wave didn't get them first. She dared not think about it. All she could do was hope.

"Let's sing a song." Maddy said to her daughter.

"What?"

"Let's sing Rain, Rain, Go Away."

"That won't work!" Shelley wasn't at all convinced. She started to whimper again.

"Maybe it will. If we just sing loud enough. We've got to try." Maddy started to sing, hoping Shelley wouldn't pick up the quaver in her voice.

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day." She sang as loud as she could. After a couple of rounds Shelley joined in. She clung like a limpet to her mother's neck.

Maddy knew it was a silly child's song. It was something to focus on. At least someone might hear them, however slim the chance.

"It's not working mummy, it's not stopping!"

"You've got to keep singing. Can you do that?" Shelley nodded. "Sing as loud as you can."

They clung together and sang with all their might. Maddy's eyes were riveted towards the ocean. She now saw it as a monster waiting to swallow them up. She was so mesmerised by the sight that at first she didn't register that other distant sound. She thought perhaps it was part of the crashing ocean.

"Mummy, listen!'

"Thunder."

"No! Listen."

And there it was. Faint at first, but definitely there. Someone was calling out their names.

"Here! We're here!" Shelley was really screaming now. Maddy had never heard her shout so loudly before. She knew her very life depended on it.

"It's Morgan!" She looked at Maddy, eyes shining crazily.

"No, it can't be. He doesn't know we're here."

"It is! I know it is! Morgan!" Shelley screamed again. "We're here!" Before Maddy could stop her, Shelley ran from beneath the ledge out into the driving rain. Maddy caught her just in time before she slipped again.

"He can't hear us!'

"Morgan!" Maddy screamed. She thought her lungs would burst. Terror and joy swept through her at the same time. She was crying as she finally saw him stand before them above the ledge, as bedraggled and rain soaked as they were.

He signalled wildly as he ran back and forth. Maddy couldn't understand a what he was trying to do.

"He can't get to us!" Shelley cried.

"He'll find a way!" Maddy shouted. "Morgan will find a way." He has to, she thought, he just has to. She tried again in vain to interpret his frantic gestures. She saw him point towards the town, and then disappear.

"Where's he gone?" Shelley squealed, jumping up and down on the rocks.

"He has to get help. He can't do it alone. We'll just have to wait until he gets back." _Oh God, please let him get back in time._

They picked their way back under the ledge. Maddy didn't turn around. She deafening ocean roar told her how close it was. Soon the tide would be crashing up to their feet, and then they would be swept out to sea.

"Keep walking Shelley," she called from behind. "Go as far as you can. Go up to the little cave." Her daughter obeyed without uttering a word. The rock closed around them, muffling the sound of ocean and rain. It enveloped them in a cocoon. It would have been an interesting place at another time. But today it could be the place that sealed their doom. She wasn't about to go down without a fight. Certainly not while Shelley was with her.

"What's up at the very end?" Maddy called out.

"There's a drawing on the rock. Maybe it's an aboriginal painting."

Shelley moved gingerly to the end of the cave-cocoon. Maddy could hardly make her out in the darkness.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to keep the terror out of her voice. The ocean had already swamped the rocks they had walk on not three minutes before. Dear God, she prayed again, I'll do anything. Go to church, anything, as long as we get out.

"It's hard to see. It looks like a love-heart."

Shelley beckoned her mother, as if she had all the time in the world. "Can you read the words to me?"

Maddy reached the end. She had to steady herself against the rock wall. Her knees were trembling so much she could hardly stand up. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness she was able to make out what it was. She laughed out loud hysterically.

"ls it funny?" Shelley asked, confused.

There, underneath the ledge at the end of the cave, was a heart with an arrow through it. 'J.G. loves B.H'. Maddy could only speculate on the two unknown lovers who had left their mark.

"Let's just see if we can find a footing higher up," she said.

"Mummy, you're silly. We can't go any further." Shelley softly whimpered.

"Maybe we can get a toe hold on the rocks and hold on to the walls."

Maddy persisted. She wasn't going to give up. She could hear the sea rushing into the rocks not ten metres away. Salt spray filled the cave.

"Are we going to die?" Shelley asked, terrified. Her direct plea nearly crumpled Maddy's resolve.

"No!" She hugged her sobbing daughter as tightly as she could. Never in her life before had she felt the need to trust so implicitly in someone. Would Morgan save them? It was almost too much to hope for.

She rocked back and forth with Shelley in her arms. She figured they had about a minute left to live. There was nothing else to do but plunge into the water. Panic, terror and reason shot through her in alternating currents. How could she have been so stupid? This was the worst place they could possibly be. Here they would surely die. She had to move fast.

Very fast. She dropped her shoes and quickly removed Shelley's. She then dropped her jacket and pulled off her skirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Shelley, we can't stay here. Come with me." She led the terrified barefoot child by the hand back down the rocks from the cave. Water sloshed around their ankles and knees. A wave knocked them off their feet back to the rock face beneath the ledge. Shelley coughed and spluttered, hysterical, screaming.

"I can't swim! l can't swim!" Maddy lifted her high and held her tightly against her chest. She had given Shelley swimming lessons from the age of three, but those lessons were no use in this crazy, monstrous ocean.

"I'll help you darling. I'll hold you." She was a good swimmer and knew how to rescue anyone in danger. She was proud her Bronze Medallion life saving skills that she'd attained while still at Secondary College. For someone so slight, it had been a great physical achievement. Her fear now was being dashed against the rocks by a huge wave before she even had the chance to save her daughter.

"Just relax and let me hold you."

"l can't!" Shelley screamed again, flailing in terror while Maddy tried to hold her and rise above the almighty waves. Rain and whitewash blinded her as she struggled with Shelley to gain buoyancy in the water.

"Do as l say, now. Trust mummy!" She screeched at the top of her lungs. After a few moments the child stopped struggling and lapsed into silence. God, don't let her drown, please. Maddy prayed as she mustered all her strength to stay above the waves.

She knew if she could make it clear around the point that she'd have a chance of swimming back to the pier at the entrance into Loutit Bay. It would take every last ounce of stamina to make it past the rocks, but she had to take it each second at a time.

With all her effort she concentrated on her one-armed backstroke, counting from one to twenty in rhythmic repetition. Anything to keep the exhaustion and terror at bay. She could feel the blood rushing through her ears. The sound merged with the ocean and the soughing rain. She took in gulps of water as the violent ocean sloshed around her. Beyond Shelley's head she could just make out the rock face and the ledge above. She caught a glimpse rocks to the right as a wave lifted her line of vision beyond the ocean surface. The current was carrying them perilously close to the point.

Keep going. Keep going. Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen...

Her breaths were getting shorter and her chest felt on fire. She knew she couldn't last much longer. She was breathing in water. _Morgan, please, please help me. I can't do it on my own._ She was so exhausted that only her will was keeping them afloat. Two, three, four, five... Still she kept going, wondering why she wasn't unconscious. For Shelley's sake, she thought, over and over.

In her delirium she thought she could hear a roaring crowd. She pictured a football match her father had taken her to as a little girl. The vision was clear in her mind. The players were running through the team banner onto the field, the reds and blues of their jumpers mingling with the streamers and the excited faces of the crowd. The cheering was deafening. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty... Her father smiled down at her and brushed away stray locks of windblown hair.

It wasn't until the downdraught from the rotor blades almost forced her under that Maddy realised a helicopter was directly overhead. She struggled desperately to keep her face above water while still grasping Shelley in a rescue hold. She wondered why they weren't drowning.

The rain suddenly eased. Sunlight pierced the clouds so brilliantly she thought she would go blind.

The hovering helicopter blocked out the sun momentarily. She could just make out a figure descending on a rope, like some strange vision from another world. She vaguely heard a voice shouting through the din.

"You'll be all right. I'll take the child first."

Dear God, thank you, she uttered silently, watching the pair ascend through the eclipse of whirling blades. It was the last thing she could recall before the sunlight transformed into a beckoning, white light at the end of a rushing tunnel. She felt strangely blissful and at peace.

_I can move my hand. Yes, I can move may hand and my foot, but where am I?_ Maddy was confused. Had she died? Why couldn't she see? _Open your eyes!_

Maddy sat bolt upright in her hospital bed. The room was all white.

"Shelley!" she screamed out.

"She's all right," said the voice beside her. It was Morgan's.

"Where is she?" Maddy was in a sudden panic, but Morgan held her tightly around her shoulders.

"She's in the children's ward. Your mother is with her."

"She didn't drown?"

"No, she's fine. Just under observation." Morgan let go of Maddy's shoulders and clutched both her hands in his, caressing them with his thumbs while he looked into her eyes.

"It's you we were worried about. You took in quite a lot of water before you were pulled out. You were very brave today."

"I wasn't brave," she croaked. Her throat was sore from the tubes they'd pushed into her. "I had no choice."

"But if you hadn't done what you did, I'd hate to think what would have happened to you. I think my life would have ended too if you'd both drowned."

Maddy looked up into Morgan's eyes. They were full of love and tenderness.

"Did you send the helicopter for us?" she asked.

He held her close in his arms as he leaned over the bed. "When I saw you from the cliff top and realised you were trapped, I ran like a maniac back to the helicopter. I just thank God that I flew it here today instead of taking the long road by car to find you.

"You flew the helicopter?" Maddy asked, looking up at him incredulously. Morgan laughed.

"Just another one of those skills l picked up along the way," he added casually. "Flying in storms is my specialty. I know the guy at the airstrip is trained in search and rescue. I think we made quite a team."

Maddy still couldn't believe he was here with her.

"Why did you come looking for us?"

"When I called your phone you didn't answer. I then called the hotel and your mother said you hadn't turned up for lunch. She was just thinking of calling the police. She'd tried ringing you too when the storm hit.

"She walked back in the rain and became really worried when your room was empty. I raced down to the beach but couldn't see you anywhere. I figured you might be trapped so I ran along the cliff top. And there you both were..."

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," she admitted. "Not just because of the storm. Yesterday morning..."

"How could you think that? How could you, after the night we'd spent together?"

"I didn't know what to think after you left White Breakers. You just rushed off. You were so abrupt. For all I knew, you'd changed your mind and run off to be with Chloe after all."

Morgan looked appalled.

"I never intended for you to think that. There were so many things going through my mind." He looked away and began rubbing his brow. A magpie's evening song drifted in from the garden outside.

"All I knew was I had to sort out something, urgently. My future....our future," he held Maddy's eyes for confirmation, "depended on one person. I had to see arrange a meeting."

"Who, who was it?" But she already knew the answer.

Before he could reveal any more, a brusque nurse with a no-nonsense face burst into the room. She misinterpreted Maddy's wide-eyed look of curiosity for terror.

"Mr Collier, please! Our patient mustn't be put under any stress at all."

She turned to Maddy with a grim smile on her face.

"You nearly died today." She took Maddy's pulse, checked the reading from the equipment and stuck a thermometer under her tongue. She looked at Morgan and continued. "So you need to rest and recuperate without visitors interrupting your sleep time. Is that clear?"

"It certainly is," he answered, winking to Maddy at the same time.

Maddy could hardly suppress a laugh. For all her ordeal, their shared humour made her feel better than any medicine.

Morgan held Maddy in his arms for a long, lingering hug. Despite her weak condition, she could feel her senses stirring as his lips gave her a barely restrained goodbye kiss. Nurse Soames busily plumped up pillows in an attempt to get him to leave. But they wouldn't let go of each other.

"When can I see Shelley?" Maddy finally asked. Morgan answered before Nurse Soames had time to open her mouth.

"I'll bring her to you first thing in the morning. And then," he continued, in answer to her quizzical look, "there'll be time to explain everything."

Chapter 13

The fire was struggling to keep alight under the mound of green wood in the fireplace. Smoke billowed into the lounge of the Grand Pacific as little gusts of wind puffed down the chimney. Some of the patrons stood up and walked into the bar area, rubbing their sore eyes between fits of coughing.

"It'll be okay in a moment," the bartender-cum-fire attendant assured them. He threw in a few firelighters to accelerate the flame. The kerosene fumes only succeeded in driving nearly everyone away. He finally gave up and went back behind the bar to continue reading the form guide for the next day's races.

The summer was well and truly over. Despite intermittent sunshine, the bad weather had persisted and was now lashing the coast with driving winds and rain. With no sign of encouragement from the Weather Bureau, the holidaymakers had almost completely vanished from one day to the next.

But the couple in the corner were oblivious to all this. Sharing the lounge with a few hardy locals, they stayed out of the smoke, wedged as they were behind a little table between the fireplace and back wall.

Dressed in polar-fleece jackets and nursing glasses of warming whisky, they held hands and continued their intimate conversation. Morgan was wearing his new black beanie pulled down over his ears to keep warm. He said he never wanted to take it off. Maddy had also bought a red scarf for herself, so they looked quite the matching pair.

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell me you knew who I was from the beginning."

"Didn't see the need. I didn't know _you_ _thought_ you _knew_ _me_. Just as well I didn't say anything. You would have refused to work for me instantly."

"That's true. I would have. Especially as I _knew_ you were a despicable person." They both laughed.

"I was intrigued by you right from the beginning. I recognised who you were from your application. I _knew_ you were married to Carlisle and had been in partnership together in your business. I discarded all the others instantly."

"I don't believe you." She blushed at her naivety in thinking her identity could have been a mystery to Morgan. He was a man who noticed details, after all.

"It's true. I've always been something of a risk taker. I couldn't imagine why a talented painter like Madeleine McVey would need to work for me. Then I thought maybe you'd hatched a plan with Carlisle to get more money from me. I was also curious to see how things would pan out. Then I hit upon the idea of you painting my portrait, though the reason for it was genuine enough."

"So you saw me as a challenge, then?"

"I guess so. I wanted to test you out, give you the benefit of the doubt. It certainly didn't work out the way I figured."

"When did you change your mind about me?"

"GradualIy, day by day. If you were scheming, it certainly didn't show. And then, I started to fall in love with you. I was very confused."

_"You_ were confused!"

"You were giving out signals, but I couldn't read them. Then after that disastrous first day in the studio, I believed you didn't care for me at all."

"I must admit I tried to give that impression." Maddy confessed.

"It nearly killed me," he said. "You were driving me crazy, blowing hot and cold."

"How could I let my feelings show for a man who cheated my husband?"

"No wonder you kept your distance." Morgan lowered his eyes and tightly gripped his whisky glass. "It wasn't until that day in the studio when you accused me of not paying back the money that I realised Carlisle had lied to you. Suddenly your aloofness all made sense. For all these years you'd thought I'd borrowed money from him."

"When in fact, it was the other way around. He'd gambled away our money, and your loan to him as well," Maddy continued. "Why did you lend him the money, knowing he was a gambler?"

"Because I respected him as a designer.. He was tremendously talented. Such a pity. I thought if I could help him, he might somehow get back on the straight and narrow."

"Is that why you gave him the job at Obelisk?" Maddy asked.

"No. I did it purely because I loved you. I wanted him to be able to pay you child support for Shelley. I thought you were still in love with him, and this would be his way of redeeming himself to you.

"Just before I gave you the cheque, my private detective had managed to locate him in Sydney the day before. He was doing hackwork, still down on his luck, so he jumped at the offer of a job. By that stage I realised he couldn't have cared less about what I thought of his talent. He just saw me as a step back on to the ladder. Any hand up would do.

"He agreed to the conditions of his contract, that he wouldn't reveal to you how he got the job. I couldn't have figured in a million years that you would walk past Obelisk and see us together."

"I got quite a shock," Maddy answered, placing her hand over his. He squeezed it back.

"It wasn't until our night in the forest that I knew for certain you didn't love Carlisle any more. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to see him. All I could think was he had to agree to a divorce quickly. I knew he wouldn't refuse. Then we would be free to marry."

"And what did he say?" She asked, breathless.

"He said 'yes'. He had no other option, considering what he'd put you through. I told him what a fool he was for letting his gambling get out of hand. Easier said than done, I guess, for people with an addiction. He thought he'd done the right thing by you when he left.

"I told him you were technically a widow anyway. I think there's some law that says after seven years, if someone's wife or husband is missing, you can remarry."

"ls that so?"

Morgan caressed her wrist as the fire struggled to thaw out the room.

"Darling, promise me one thing."

"What's that?," she answered.

"Stay away from beaches during a storm. That was just too much drama to handle in one lifetime."

"I promise," she answered playfully. Then she remembered how Luisa had died and felt remorse for her light-heartedness. She picked up his hand and kissed it, feeling the warmth of his skin through her lips. Shivers tingled her spine as he erotically explored her wrist with feather light fingertips.

"Don't do that," she whispered huskily.

"Why not?" He murmured into her ear.

"Because you're turning me on."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do."

"Not here in the lounge."

"I thought you were a woman who liked to take risks," he joked, blowing softly in her ear.

Maddy suddenly felt flushed. Either the heat from the fire had increased or Morgan was having a dramatic effect on her senses. She was amazed that a single touch from his fingers could drive her into such a frenzy. All she knew was that she wanted, needed, this kind of passion for the rest of her life. She took the initiative.

"Let's go upstairs," she whispered. Their night of lovemaking in the forest was etched onto her body and she was desperate to repeat the experience.

With barely contained excitement, they left the lounge with its smoking fire. They left the hardy locals propped up at the bar telling stories of fishing trips that leaned more towards fantasy than fact. When the nights were getting longer they had to find ways to entertain each other between drinks.

But Maddy couldn't have cared less. The last few days had just about been the most memorable of her life. She and Shelley were out of hospital fully recovered. She was secure in the knowledge that her mother was tending the peacefully sleeping child in a room somewhere above them. They reached the foot of the stairs.

"My room or yours?" Morgan asked, and without waiting for an answer, he scooped her up in his arms and easily carried her up the staircase.

"Excuse me, Sir, do l know you?" she giggled.

"I think so," he answered, easing her down outside his door.

"And seeing that you've consented to be my wife," he continued, opening the door to the best suite the hotel could offer, "let me carry you over the threshold."

He headed straight for the bed, never once taking his gaze from her face. There was no mistaking his intention. As he laid her down, his hands clasped hers firmly above her head on the plump feather pillows.

She closed her eyes in supplication and surrendered to his deep and urgent kiss. This time the scent of pine had given way to the warm, smoky scent of skin.

As they consummated their love for the second time, Maddy marvelled at the ease with which their bodies fitted together. She couldn't get enough of her new lover. Lying over his long body, she explored his skin and muscle with eroticism and fervour matched only by his desire for her.

Passionate and lustful, loving and tender, they made love until daybreak when their final, gentle rocking lulled them both into the sweetest sleep of their lives. Bodies entwined, they appeared as one when the surprised housemaid came in to clean the room mid morning. She tiptoed out and shut the door quietly, leaving the sleeping lovers alone and at peace.

Chapter 14

The butterfly flitted erratically from flower to flower. Maddy brushed it away from the canvas and continued to add the final touches of paint to the red blooms in the picture. Her portrait of Chloe Swann was at last finished. She was pleased with the results and congratulated herself quietly.

She eased into the deck chair and took a sip of ice-cold mineral water. Beyond the slope of the lawn the cerulean ocean called her in for a swim. She looked down at her heavily pregnant body and decided against it. Completing a portrait was quite enough activity for one day. Besides, she was too tired to move, and her back, which had been aching quite strongly since early morning was getting worse. She chastised herself for standing too long in her condition.

Taking another sip, Maddy lazily took in the enfolding scene. Charlotte Collier, visiting for the summer, called from the east verandah to say she was having a little nap before dinner. Maddy waved and turned her eyes to the edge of the garden. Chloe had cornered Damon and had launched into a monologue about her achievements as head of the Asian headquarters for Collier Press.

"And then, of course, I have to coordinate Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I hardly have the time for any socialising these days. You wouldn't believe how busy I am."

Maddy smiled. Poor Chloe. She still didn't get it. She was obviously trying to impress Damon, who couldn't have given a damn whether she was a dog trainer or royalty.

"Indeed? Well I never!" he said, ever so politely. Suddenly, from out of the bushes, Hector and Ajax bounded up to Chloe's perfectly toned body.

"Boys, boys, mummy's so pleased to see you! I know Maddy's taken care of you while I've been away. Now we just have to work off some of your fat with a long walk on the beach."

As Chloe greeted her dogs, Damon beat a hasty retreat. He puffed up the garden slope, dressed in a fetching pair of striped board shorts and zinc cream. A towel draped over his shoulders and a straw sunhat completed the picture of a rotund clown.

But Damon was no clown. Maddy had come to value his friendship and support as much as anyone dear to her. He had demonstrated his loyalty many times over to Morgan and herself. She now realised how instrumental he had been in trying to secure her relationship with Morgan.

"I knew from the beginning you two were perfectly suited to each other, but my God, you worked so hard to stay apart," he'd confided to her at their wedding. He peered towards the house as he walked towards Maddy.

"And where is my beach companion?" he asked. As if on cue, Shelley burst from the shrub-lined path leading from the house.

"I'm ready," she called, adjusting the straps of her swimmers. "Let's go to the beach now, can we please?"

"So impatient, this young generation," Damon laughed.

"Now, you will look after her, won't you Damon?"

"I'm nearly eight years old!" Shelley interrupted defiantly.

"I know. But you still need looking after. The surf's very strong, it's not like the bay beaches in Melbourne." She felt sure every mother worried as she did. But since that helicopter day at Lorne, she'd felt it more keenly. Damon and Shelley waved goodbye as they trotted happily towards the beach track.

"Wait for me!" Chloe yelled, slipping off her high-heeled mules as she ran across the slope to catch up. Hector and Ajax happily cantered behind. So much for Damon's peaceful afternoon on the beach, Maddy thought. Dressing for Singapore's fashion elite hadn't improved Chloe's choice of beach wear.

Apart from the portrait sittings, had it been two years since Chloe was last at White Breakers? Maddy mentally calculated and realised it was so.

Their three recent weeks together had marked something of a reconciliation between the two women. In the end, Chloe had shown surprisingly little jealousy towards Maddy. She had the life she wanted after all, now secure in the knowledge that she was a valued employee of Collier Press. Promoting Chloe also meant more time for Morgan with his family, therefore more time at White Breakers. So it was a win-win for them both. Chloe told Maddy she loved her new life and wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Soooooo exciting," was how she'd put it. "I'd be bored out of my mind if I had to live here."

Maddy wondered at her own life's transformation. Had her future turned out as she'd imagined on that first day at White Breakers, she would have been content. She knew that. She would always have been okay.

But this was better. Much better than she could ever have imagined. Her marriage to Morgan had provided a giant springboard to her success as a portrait painter too.

Charlotte Collier had given permission for a photographer to take a picture of her with Morgan's portrait for a prestigious international art journal. Maddy then granted their request for an interview about the portrait and herself. Within days, Maddy was taking calls from noted personalities or their representatives. Could she possibly find the time to paint so and so's wife/husband/best friend/lover for a highly lucrative fee? She knew only a handful of artists ever got the big break they deserved. Artists could slave away for years and never manage to eke out more than a meagre existence. In the end, her talent would have to stand on its merits. As to that, there was no question.

"My God, you've captured her expression perfectly" he said, leaning over and wrapping his arms lovingly around her bulge.

"Don't surprise me like that! I could go into labour any minute."

"Well then, we'd have to do a mercy dash to hospital. I think we could cope. We're getting quite good at that sort of thing."

"I'd rather not put it to the test. I'd like to enjoy at least one final week of doing nothing before the baby arrives. One week of being a sloth."

"That you could never be, darling. You're only at peace when you've got a paintbrush in your hand. Just because this portrait's going to be in the boardroom of Collier Press doesn't mean you can rest on your laurels. You can't fool me." He gently kissed her neck. "I know you've got your paints packed in the hospital suitcase instead of nappies,"

He teased her for a couple more minutes, and then they lapsed into delicious silence as he sat on the grass by Maddy's chair, holding her hand.

"Let's have dinner at the local," he said, breaking the silence.

Maddy shifted uncomfortably her armless chair.

"l don't think so. Not tonight."

"It might be the last time we get to eat out for awhile." Morgan intuitively put his hand up to rub her aching back. "l know the food wasn't so good last time we were there, but l hear they're under new management. Damon says they make a great paella."

Maddy suddenly stiffened and dug her nails deep into her husband's arm.

"What's wrong?" he cried. Maddy could only grimace with pain.

"Well," she finally said, panting slightly, "it's not the food. I'd love to try the paella. But I don't think giving birth in a pub is quite the done thing, even these days."

"Do you think it's happening now?"

"Could be. If the contractions get stronger..."

"My poor darling. And you wanted a week to yourself."

"Well, maybe I'll narrow that down to an hour or two."

Morgan held her tightly. His strong, masculine face had the worried look of every prospective father.

Before long, Maddy could feel another contraction coming on. She was pretty sure these were more than Braxton Hicks contractions.

She let out a long, protracted groan. Morgan looked panic stricken.

"Tell me what to do!" he said.

"Give me five more minutes to look at the view?"

He could only laugh. "You're incorrigible."

Maddy stubbornly hung on for precisely five more minutes, until Morgan managed to convince her maybe they should get to the hospital.

So it was that Susannah McVey Collier was born an hour and a half later at Apollo Bay Hospital.

"She arrived like a freight train," was how the midwife described her rapid birth to the besotted grandmothers. Exactly two years later to the day her brother Flynn arrived, completing the family.

As Shelley helped her younger sister dress him for the beach the summer after he was born, Maddy and Morgan watched over them from the terrace.

"Are we doting parents?" Maddy asked, sipping her gin and tonic.

"Just a touch," Morgan answered.

Maddy turned her gaze to the surf, remembering her first night at White Breakers.

"Who would have thought we would have ended up like this?"

"Has it ended? Morgan asked enigmatically.

"Silly, you know what I mean," she said, turning to look at him. He was still compellingly attractive. But now he looked older, with grey hair at the temples. Maddy decided she liked him even better this way. The occasional look of anguished vulnerability had gradually disappeared after the children were born. He now looked happy and relaxed, most of the time.

Luisa and James would never be forgotten, but Morgan's memories of them seemed less painful and easier to share with her. Love was a great healer.

"But you're right. It's not over. Our life's just beginning." Maddy leaned over and kissed him. His dark blue eyes could still hold her with a look that took her breath away.

"And our children's lives are just beginning, too. Here, at White Breakers. l can't think of any place I'd rather be, can you darling?"

But she didn't need to hear his answer. As he wrapped his arms around her, she knew he felt exactly the same.

###

Thank you reader for purchasing this book. This is my first novel and if enough readers like it, I'll think about writing another one. Currently I design and print art cards, available through my website and Etsy shop (links to these are in the novel). I live in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I hope you enjoyed reading about the West Coast of Victoria and the beautiful scenery along and inland from the Great Ocean Road. With the exception of Acacia River, all locations mentioned in the book are real. I placed Acacia River fictionally somewhere between Lorne and Apollo Bay. There are no houses along this stretch with direct access to the beach as the Road runs right beside the ocean. Consequently, the setting for the beach house White Breakers and the town of Acacia River is a construct - a satisfying one, I hope.

You can find me online at:

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