“A widower. His wife died a few years ago.”
Susan nodded. “That must have been rough.”
Nolan shrugged, and Susan knew she couldn’t ask more questions without him asking questions in return.
“I have two sisters, both married.”
His expression sharpened. “Older or younger?”
Susan sighed, knowing exactly where this conversation would head. “Both younger than me, married with children.”
“But you’re not married.”
“No.” She’d come close, thought she’d found the one. Twice. And both times she’d regained possession of her trampled heart with her confidence in tatters.
His brows rose, a silent prompt for her to continue. “If I were married, I wouldn’t be onFarmer Seeks a Wife,” she said. “What do your parents think about you being on a reality show?”
“What do yours think about you?”
“Snap,” she said. “My mother loathes the publicity caused by her delinquent daughter.”
“My mother, on the other hand, is following proceedings closely since she was the one who sent in my application.” His dry tone filled in some gaps. Namely, that he hadn’t come willingly.
“You don’t want a wife?”
“I’m not averse to the idea,” he said. “But I like to do my own choosing.”
“I hear you. My mother and sisters are always trying to fix me up with suitable men when I go home to Hamilton. Blind dates are awkward.”
“On that we agree.”
“I’m like most of the women who applied for the show. I’d like someone to share my life, but if it doesn’t happen I’ve realized that’s okay too. I have great friends—ones who’d go the extra mile for me if I asked for a favor. Settling for second best to make my family happy won’t do much for my contentment.”
He nodded and moved out of the way of a deck hand as the captain backed the ferry up to the wharf. “That’s true.”
Susan disembarked with the rest of the women and moved aside to take photos. She strode back to the hovering group. “Can I take a group shot?”
The women clustered around Nolan. “Say sexy farmer,” Susan said and clicked the shutter when everyone laughed. She examined the shot. “Nice photo.”
“Everyone ready to walk to the summit?” Nolan asked.
“I’d like to catch the cute train,” one of the women said.
A couple of the others agreed and went off to buy tickets. The rest of them started the walk along the scoria paths. Weird lava shapes studded the landscape, remnants of the eruption over six hundred years ago. Native pohutukawa trees poked from crevices and Susan snapped a photo of a rock that reminded her of one of theLord of the Ringsmovie characters.
Gradually their group broke into twos and threes with a couple of the women sticking to Nolan and peppering him with flirtation. Susan didn’t bother to compete, merely enjoying the walk and stopping to take photos whenever tempted.
But the giggles of the other women eventually intruded and tumbled her back into the present. She shot a glance to her right and saw Nolan grinning down at a shapely blonde—Cherry or Anna. Susan couldn’t remember her name. While the man was smiling, he managed to distance himself as well. Despite putting on a good game face, he didn’t want to be here, she thought. Yet he’d gone ahead with the reality show anyway to please his mother.
Another reason to avoid him.
She didnotwant a mommy’s boy.
Frowning at her discovery, she took a moment to stop and capture the view of the central city and the thrust of the Sky Tower. A penis-symbol for sure. The tower jolted her mind in the direction of men and her current man-drought. There came a time when a vibrator wasn’t enough and only the solid weight of a man moving against her body would dissipate her hunger.
Since she seemed to put her foot in her mouth every time she spoke with Nolan, she’d have to look elsewhere.
But where?
