Us. He liked the sound of that. He nodded. “You’re their little sister and they’ve always been protective of you.”
“It’s none of their business,” Georgie said.
She didn’t get it. “Your family has been good to me,” he said. “I don’t want them to think I’ve taken advantage of you.”
“Why would they? It’s not like I’m sixteen.”
She made it sound so simple. “You’ve never heard Darcy’s concerns. He was so worried about you going to university and men taking advantage of you.”
Her expression grew incredulous. “I bet he never had the same concerns about Ed.”
“Ed’s not gay,” Matt joked.
Georgie scowled. “You know what I mean. Darcy wasn’t concerned about women taking advantage of Ed.”
“You’re so trusting and he sees your happy nature as naïveté rather than optimism.”
“So what?” she said. “You believe Darcy will think you’re the big bad wolf tempting me away? Lying in wait for all these years?”
It sounded ridiculous when she put it that way. “It might come as a shock to them,” he said. “We should break it to them gently.” He tugged her closer. “Please.”
She sighed and nodded. “All right. Come on, we’ve got a lot more sites to visit before I can have you to myself.” She grinned.
He liked the sound of that.
Chapter 12
Over the course of the day Georgie changed her mind. Working alone had been a nice change, but it was a hundred times better working with Matt by her side. Her dream come true.
He loved her.
She couldn’t believe it. After all these years of hoping and wishing, he’d finally realised it. As she parked at the next stop, she glanced at him, just to make sure she hadn’t imagined the whole thing. He grinned back at her. “Ready?”
Was she ever. She seriously wished she could ignore work and drive them both straight to her place, but it wouldn’t be fair to Declan or to Matt. What they were doing was instrumental in keeping the Bayungu culture alive. “Always.”
Matt slipped his hand into hers as they walked over to the beach carpark signs and Georgie had to resist the urge to shout in happiness. In front of the sign, she slipped her arm around his waist and kissed him. Easy. Comfortable. Right. She didn’t want to let go, but she had to take notes.
With a sigh she shifted away from him to take photos and write down what could be added and changed.
When she was finished Matt held her hand again. “I can’t seem to stop touching you,” he said.
“I love it,” Georgie answered. “Don’t stop.” She tugged him closer and they kissed again, her heart singing at the rightness of it all. Except the kiss soon deepened and her core throbbed. When they broke apart, both were breathing heavily. Georgie glanced at the bonnet of the four-wheel drive. How strong was it?
Matt laughed. “While I’m totally on board with what you’re thinking, there’s a car coming.”
Damn it. She’d have to wait to get him home, alone and naked.
It was mid-afternoon when they drove into False Valley. Matt gestured to the tyre tracks Georgie had checked out yesterday. “That shouldn’t be there.”
“I know. I reported it yesterday.”
“Has anyone checked it out?”
“I did. Someone’s been camping there.” Matt would flip out if she mentioned Lee.
“You went to investigate on your own?” He turned to her, his ‘Georgie’s been naughty’ expression on his face.
She held up a hand. “It’s my job. I called it in before I went in, and I spoke to the office while I was there.”
