Wild Flower Read Online Free Page A

himself into the cold waves, but even that hadn’t stopped him thinking about her and that amazing kiss.
    He didn’t want to watch her running away, no matter how good she looked from behind. He wanted to see her running towards him.
    Covertly he studied her as he took a swig of soft drink. They’d come to a waterfront fish shack that in spite of the plastic tables and tin roof, she’d promised had the freshest and tastiest fish in town.
    ‘How’s your fish?’ she asked him. She speared chips onto a wooden fork and lifted them up to her lips, blowing on one to cool it in a way that made him want to grab her across the table.
    He muffled his groan in a bite of battered snapper. And another. And another.
    ‘This fish is incredible,’ he said.
    ‘Direct from the Southern Ocean.’
    She was making small talk. Well, at least she was staying in one place, and he could do small talk, before they moved on to finding out why she’d bolted after a kiss that could only be described as five stars.
    He stared across the car park to the ice-blue water lapping the jetty. A few boats bobbed on the white crested waves. ‘When I planned this trip I needed a complete change of scene. I considered Antarctica.’
    ‘Too cold, right?’
    ‘Yep. While I looked at a map online I noticed that the next landmass before Antarctica is …’
    ‘Albany, Australia.’ She grinned. ‘Yes, next stop Antarctica is a bit of a joke here. There are a couple of small islands in the way, but it can get freezing cold. We get pretty fierce winds sometimes.’
    ‘No snow and ice.’
    ‘Sea and sand instead. Whales. Beaches. And the best rainbows you’ve ever seen. That’s why this part of the coastline is called the rainbow coast. The best beaches have both rainbows and whales.’
    The best beaches had Dianella Lee in a bikini. Wade forced himself not to say it. Sounded a bit sleazy.
    ‘Beats Antarctica,’ he said instead. He had to admit the combination of inland bush, rugged coastline and the historic port of Albany to be a lucky find.
    But he’d moved too fast. He had to take it slow, even if it killed him.
    Dianella laid down her chip fork and flashed him a mischievous smile. She seemed to be relaxing. ‘I have an orchid fact about Antarctica.’
    ‘You do?’
    ‘Species of orchids grow on every continent except Antarctica.’
    ‘Cute.’ Yet not as cute as the way she rubbed her nose, a gorgeous little button. ‘Well Antarctica is definitely off the itinerary now. Have you always lived here in Albany?’
    Time to get beyond small talk.
    ‘I was born in Singapore. My dad was Singapore-Chinese, my mum is Australian. I came here when I was nine. A year after I came to live here my dad died, in Singapore.’
    The desolation in her eyes when she revealed that information tore at him. She clearly hadn’t fully recovered from the grief of losing a parent. He realised his luck, with his relaxed and happy family, two parents still married, and his squabbling, fun loving sisters. Their house in the suburbs, even a dog; he took it for granted.
    ‘What was it like for you coming to an Australian town after a city like Singapore?’
    ‘Tough.’ The way she tensed as she squeezed tomato sauce onto her chips told him how tough. ‘My mum remarried and moved away, and I moved in with Borrie. She isn’t the kind of grandmother who cossets you. Instead she gave me chores. I had to water the garden for her. It’s all reticulated now, or most of it is, but there’s always hand watering. While I watered I fell in love with the plants. If you don’t visit a plant every day, you don’t see what’s happening with it, whether it’s ready to bud, or whether it’s getting too wet or dry, or when it’s about to flower. When you get to know the plants, it’s as if they have personalities.’
    ‘Plants have personalities?’
    Yeah.’ She munched a chip. ‘It sounds crazy.’
    ‘Hey, I’m from California.’ He grinned. ‘Crazy is fine by me.