Pregnant: Father Wanted. Claire Baxter

wrong. Clothes, music, dancing…and they blamed the new country for all of it.’

      He shot her a glance. ‘So you weren’t allowed to be like your friends?’

      ‘No. Oh, and my nonna lived with us too. She was so embarrassing.’

      ‘Embarrassing how?’

      ‘Well, I’d be at school lining up at the canteen to buy lunch like everyone else—a burger or a meat pie or something—when my nonna would turn up with this enormous meal she’d cooked for me. She expected me to sit down and eat it while she watched, and she was very hard to refuse.’

      She waved away Ric’s laughter. ‘You might think it’s funny, but I can tell you, it wasn’t at the time. Then there was shopping. Oh, my goodness, you have no idea what that was like.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘Well, fruit and vegetables, for example. I don’t know what it’s like here, but over there the shopkeepers don’t like you to touch them. They put up signs to that effect. But both my mother and my nonna just pretended they couldn’t read English and went ahead and poked and prodded everything in the shop. They practically squeezed all the juice out of something before they decided it wasn’t good enough to buy.’

      Ric grinned. ‘You’re exaggerating, surely?’

      ‘No, I am not.’ Actually, she was a little, but it had been good to hear Ric laugh after the sadness of their earlier conversation. ‘Oh, I could go on, but I won’t. Just consider yourself lucky not to have grown up overseas.’

      ‘I will.’

      ‘Have you travelled at all?’

      ‘I have. I’ve even lived abroad. In England. I played football over there for a while.’

      ‘Really? That explains your very good English. Did you like it there?’

      ‘Yes, I would have liked to stay longer but…’ He shrugged. ‘I was on loan and my club wanted me back. Anyway, I’ve travelled throughout Europe and to America, but I’ve never been to Australia.’ He turned off the main road. ‘Here’s the hotel.’

      Lyssa sat forward as they drove through a shady pine wood. ‘This is nice.’

      The hotel itself was a three-storey white building, well away from the road, with arched windows opening onto wrought-iron balconies.

      The beautiful young woman behind the reception desk greeted Ric with a smile. ‘We’ve been expecting you,’ she said.

      Lyssa made a point of smiling at her, just to check whether she was invisible. She might as well have been for all the notice the receptionist took of her. With a resigned shrug she turned away to look around the small, elegant hotel with its ceramic-tiled floors and thick white walls. Who could blame the girl for ogling Ric? She’d had to stop herself doing the same thing—and she wasn’t interested in him as a man, only as a tour guide.

      Ric joined her and they made arrangements to meet later for dinner before heading off to their respective rooms.

      Lyssa’s high-ceilinged room had a bright blue bedspread, tubs of red pelargoniums on the balcony and a view through the pine trees to the sea. With a satisfied sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed.

      It had been a busy first day and her energy level was waning. She was tempted to lie down for a while, but she’d learned her lesson. There was no such thing as a brief doze now that she was pregnant. Once her head hit the pillow she’d be out for the count.

      It would make more sense to jump straight into the shower and take her time freshening up before dinner. That would definitely make her feel better.

      She’d packed a few simple non-crushable dresses, her standard wardrobe for evening wear while travelling, so she pulled one out of the suitcase and took it into the bathroom with her.

      After the shower, she took the time to straighten all the kinks out of her hair, then applied the makeup she hadn’t had time for that morning. Finally, she slipped the simple leaf-green dress over her head and stood in front of the mirror as the slinky fabric slithered over her hips.

      Not bad. She’d already gained a little weight. Not enough for anyone to guess she was pregnant—and to be honest, it was probably due more to her hefty appetite than anything else. The dress wasn’t tight, but it did accentuate her curves.

      She shrugged as she stepped into her only pair of high heels. It wasn’t as if she was trying to impress Ric, but she did feel an irrational need to show him she could look her age—and she knew she did tonight.

      The look on Ric’s face as she walked into the restaurant told her he was impressed, and she felt a thrill despite her denial.

      He was silent as he pulled out a chair for her and she caught his eye. ‘How old do I look now?’

      He gave her a lopsided, one-dimpled smile. ‘Ancient.’

      With a laugh, she took a sip of the iced water that was waiting for her on the table. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’

      He nodded slowly as he sat down, and his eyes glittered as they drifted over her again.

      Suddenly unsettled by his slow appraisal, she changed the subject and kept the conversation light while she ate the best potato gnocchi she’d ever tasted, then salad, cheeses and a simple gelato for dessert.

      By the time she parted from Ric and made her way to her room, she was relaxed and happy. Certainly more relaxed and happier than she’d been for a long time.

      Since she’d shared the news of her pregnancy with Steve.

      Since she’d learned that at the time she needed him most, he wanted nothing to do with her.

      She firmly pushed thoughts of Steve out of her mind. He was history. He had no part in her life now and she refused to waste precious time thinking about him.

      She didn’t want to think about how she was going to manage on her own either. For now, it was almost as if she’d entered an alternate reality, one where she didn’t have to worry about the future, where she didn’t have to look any further forward than the next day.

      CHAPTER THREE

      REMEMBERING how Lyssa had enjoyed her food the day before, Ric ordered breakfast for both of them, a feast of fruit, yoghurt, cheese, ham, bread rolls and sweet cakes. Then he sat back with his espresso to wait for Lyssa to come downstairs, surprised at how much he was looking forward to seeing her again.

      It wasn’t that he was attracted to her—although he had to admit he’d almost been knocked off his feet when she’d walked into the restaurant for dinner in her sexy dress—it was because she was fun to be with, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such simple, innocent fun with a female, the last time he’d teased, laughed and shared a joke with a woman. If ever.

      She’d made him realise how rusty he was at having a platonic relationship. Almost all his relationships with the opposite sex involved just that—sex. But Lyssa didn’t want any more from him than what he had to offer right now: his knowledge, protection and company—actually, she probably didn’t want his protection, but she would have it whether she wanted it or not.

      And she wasn’t like the women he was used to. Not cynical, jaded or bored with life. There was a freshness about her that appealed to him. It did him good just to be around her positive energy.

      He’d been having a miserable time lately. It was true that he was recovering from a knee operation as he’d told Lyssa, but it was more than that—he had a decision to make. One that would affect his future, his whole life. Spending time with Lyssa had already made him forget his problems for one day, and he liked the idea of forgetting them for a while longer.

      Doing this favour for his uncle could be just what he needed to take his mind off his problems. They’d still be there when it was finished, but at least he’d have a brief respite