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faded the instant Tony appeared—newly showered, and dressed in a pale grey shirt and charcoal chinos. Gone was the weary farmer; now he resembled a well-heeled tourist, a confident businessman on a sunny day off.
    She bit her lip, glancing covertly at his newly shaved jaw, catching the drift of earthy cologne as he walked past the open window and the summer breeze wafted it in her direction. Damn, damn, damn!
    He pulled out a chair and waited. “Ellie?”
    It seemed he expected her to sit as though she was a favoured guest at a restaurant, and not the hired help. Certain she was blushing, she sat. His hand ran briefly down through her untied hair.
    Just as she remembered. And exactly as she didn’t need.
    “Suits you better dark,” he said, moving around the table to take the seat opposite. The sensation of his fingers remained, and now he sat directly in her line of sight, inspecting her with lively eyes.
    “Can you carry the salad, please Robbie?” Ginny called. He rose to collect it. Ginny fossicked about in the refrigerator for dressings.
    Robbie. I’ll never get used to hearing him called that.
    Dinner was delicious—cold sliced lamb from yesterday’s roast, mashed potatoes, tender whole new carrots, and the huge bowl of assorted salad vegetables.
    Antonia picked out her strips of red capsicum. Carolyn sorted out her radish slices. Tony transferred them to his plate without fussing. “One day...” he said, raising an eyebrow at Ellie.
    She managed a slight smile. “They’ll develop a taste for them,” she agreed.
    “Yuck!” Caro exclaimed, as she bit into a piece she’d missed. The others laughed at her outraged expression.
    Even something as everyday as eating was difficult with Tony watching from across the table. Ellie dropped her napkin, spooned out far too much mayonnaise, and found herself imagining a repeat of that morning’s breakfast table kiss.
    You wish! she taunted herself, knowing she needed to keep a tight rein on her passion if she was to survive the summer...survive the eight long weeks of tutoring the twins so they’d be up to speed for school when the new term rolled around.
    Tony leaned back in his chair after the main course was finished. His eyes twinkled—as mischievous as Cal’s sometimes were. Ellie couldn’t look away; to see her son as he might be as a grown man was fascinating.
    “I’ve got an idea for tomorrow, girls,” he said. “I’m driving across to Bob Walmsley’s in the morning. If Ginny packs lunch for us, Ellie could take you fossil hunting in the river cliffs. I’ll come back for you about midday. How about it?”
    The twins of course squealed with pleasure.
    “Picnic lunch for four, then,” Ginny said placidly.
    “Well, that’s not what I planned at all,” Ellie objected. “I need to make progress with their alphabet and start on simple words. They’re far too young for fossils yet.”
    “But it’s fun,” Tony said, narrowing his eyes at her. “I used to love poking about. You might even find dinosaur bones,” he added, turning to smile at his daughters. Their eyes grew huge.
    “Like in my big book?” Antonia asked. Both twins raced off to find it.
    Ellie realised there was no getting out of it with such an inducement. “We’ll do the lessons too,” she called after them.
    Tony sent her a look that made her blood fizz. “Wear shorts,” he said. “It’s going to be a real scorcher tomorrow. You’ll need a sunhat.”
    She shook her head. “Burned in the fire.”
    “I’ll find you one,” Ginny said. “Did you lose a lot of your things?”
    “Almost everything. I managed to grab a few clothes, but extras like bags and hats and shoes went up in smoke. I rented the place furnished, so not everything was mine.”
    Ginny looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “Robbie,” she said. “There are still some of Julia’s clothes in the wardrobe. The ones that have never been worn. Would you object if I gave Ellie anything she thinks might