As he took his seat across from her, she fought the urge to run.
‘I guess we should start with introductions,’ he said, making her jump a little as he broke the silence. ‘Ewan Campbell,’ he said, holding his hand out across the table.
Kenzie briefly closed her eyes in annoyance, but then remembered they were trying to be civil, and reluctantly shook his hand. ‘Mackenzie Knight,’ she said, trying not to clench her teeth.
‘Probably what we should have done years ago,’ he said, a tiny glint of amusement lighting up his eyes. ‘Or met earlier in the night, before we were both too inebriated to remember names.’ Kenzie really didn’t feel comfortable being reminded about her only night of stupid rebellion.
‘I really am sorry about all that,’ he said, and she saw genuine apology in his eyes. ‘That night was all about enjoying our last few days of a six-month working holiday, before we all went back to our everyday lives.’
‘What are you doing back here?’ she asked, finally voicing the question that had been plaguing her since she’d laid eyes upon him again. ‘You said you were flying home the next day.’ ‘I did. I went home to South Australia. I moved up to the Gold Coast four years ago.’
‘Wait.’ Kenzie frowned, interrupting his explanation. ‘South Australia? You lived inSouth Australia?’
‘Yeah,’ he acknowledged, returning her frown. ‘Why?’
‘You said you were a backpacker! I mean, you and your friends had been fruit-picking and you said you were flying back home …’
‘Ah.’ He nodded. ‘Technically, myfriendswere backpacking and flying back to Scotland. I can see where the confusion might have come from,’ he said. ‘I moved to Australia as a kid, with my family. The friends I was with that night were a bunchof old schoolmates I’d stayed in contact with and met up with when they came for a working holiday.’
That accounted for his accent. Then a second thing occurred to her.He never left Australia.This whole time, he’d still been living in the same country as her.
‘I sometimes thought about that night over the years,’ he said, surprising her.
Kenzie tried not to squirm in her chair. ‘Yeah. It was a good night. It wasn’t something I did very often.’
‘I remember you saying.’ He grinned. ‘You were a workaholic, if I remember correctly.’
‘Well … I guess so.’
‘Still are by the looks of it,’ he added, thanking the waitress who delivered their coffees.
‘You have to be when you run your own business.’
‘You’ve done really well for yourself,’ he added. ‘I did a bit of research on you.’
His words stopped her as she was about to take a sip, and her eyes shot to his in alarm.
‘It’s okay,’ he chuckled. ‘It was all good. I didn’t find anything incriminating.’
‘Maybe I should do a bit of research aboutyou,’ she said. She’d tried, actually. A Google search had brought up the basics—his employment and a LinkedIn account—but nothing much else.
‘Feel free to ask away now.’ He spread his hands. ‘I’m an open book.’
‘Your family,’ she asked, ‘are they in Adelaide?’ She’d made sure Poppy had a close relationship with her family, and it often crossed her mind that somewhere out there was another set of grandparents Poppy would never know. It had always made her a little sad.
‘South Australia, yeah. Near Burra. My parents own their own business, and I have a sister.’
Poppy had another aunt out there. Suddenly, it all became very real. For years, she’d only fleetingly thought of this man as some distant, unreal shadow, and now he had a face and a name and a family who shared her daughter’s DNA.
She felt torn. On one hand, she wanted Poppy to know she had other grandparents and relatives. On the other hand, she didn’t want things to change. She liked her life just the way it was. Everything was settled and happy. She and Poppy had everything they ever needed, and now Ewan had come along and threatened to mess up her whole life.Again.
‘What about you?’ he was asking now. ‘Do you have family here?’
‘My parents are divorced,’ she eventually said, happy to try to delay making any decisions. ‘They’re both remarried now, and I have one sister and two stepsisters.’
‘You’re not married?’
‘No,’ she said abruptly.
