What Rosie Found Next Read Online Free Page B

normal at last.
    ‘I’m sure you’re not imposing,’ he said. ‘So come on, what’s this grand house like?’
    He’d changed the subject as usual, but Rosie was too relaxed today to get uptight about it. She flipped the camera on her iPad around so he could see the place for himself.
    Framed by spectacular views of the fields and bushland that surrounded Magnolia Creek and stretched for miles, the garden was a real-life watercolour spread out before them. The smell was different too, although only she got to appreciate that right now. The freshly clipped lawn and floral notes pervaded Rosie’s senses and were far more powerful than any garden in the city or suburbs. She wished Adam could be here to feel the difference between a place this remote and the city.
    ‘You’ve certainly landed on your feet with this one,’ said Adam as she swept the iPad across the view beyond the rear of the garden, showcasing the Dandenong Ranges beyond, highlighted beneath the strength of the Australian sun. The rockery was dotted with a spray of yellow and vibrant red flowers, and in the middle of the lawn were various beds of roses. Some were pale-lemon with petals streaked with pink, others were ruby red, some an innocent white.
    ‘You’ll be gardening the whole time, won’t you?’ Adam laughed.
    Rosie turned the camera back to her momentarily. ‘Other than keeping the grass short, watered frequently and the flowerbeds tidy, it should be easy enough to maintain.’
    She shifted the camera’s focus to the pool now. The outside space, like the interior of the Harrisons’ home, was beautifully cared for. Four pots stood at intervals beside the glass pool fence, and large creamy white Gardenias stood tall, nodding in the breeze as the sunlight caught their glossy green leaves. A leaf floated down from a tree above, into the crystal clear waters turned blue by the coloured tiles beneath. The solar heating showed off by disgorging its hot flush of water with a forceful glug, disturbing the surface, but it didn’t look any less idyllic.
    ‘Check out the gazebo.’ She focused now on the structure at the far end of the pool past the row of baby-blue agapanthus. ‘It’s even got a beer fridge!’ It would also be a great place to enjoy the shade and give her fair skin a much needed break from the summer sun.
    ‘Nice. Have you been in the water yet?’
    ‘No, but I will do, and soon.’
    After a brief tour of the inside of the house, Rosie came full circle and sat at the outside table.
    ‘How’s the wildlife treating you?’ Adam asked. ‘Are there many snakes, spiders?’ He’d never been one to step outside the city.
    ‘It’s not too bad, although I did meet Bertie.’ She told him all about the lizard who’d taken her by surprise, neglecting to tell him about the other unexpected visitor. Owen would be gone soon enough, so there was no need to give Adam cause for worry about another man hanging around.
    ‘Are you still planning on coming back for Christmas?’ she asked as George jumped onto her lap and settled down, purring.
    ‘I’ll do my best.’
    They’d discussed the possibility of her flying to Singapore for Christmas, but with the new job and now the house-sit, Rosie didn’t want to leave Magnolia Creek.
    ‘I wish you were here,’ said Rosie.
    Adam frowned. ‘We’ve been over this.’
    ‘I know, I know. You’re there for work. This is the way it is for now.’ She didn’t mean to sound quite so whiny, but she rarely nagged him about working away and for some reason, in this gorgeous setting with nobody to share it with, it just got to her.
    ‘I’d better go, Rosie. I love you.’
    ‘I love you too.’
    ‘It’s not forever, I promise.’
    Rosie’s smile was weak and her voice small as she said goodbye.
    She clicked out of FaceTime and reprimanded herself for sounding needy when she was perfectly able to look after herself.
    In the kitchen she took out the eggs from the pantry and set about making