 A hard man, a typical outback man – that was Guy Richardson. And he had no intention of letting David, his cousin’s orphaned son, be uprooted and dragged off to some strange country. Olivia Bridewell might have been David’s legal guardian, but Guy was family. Olivia couldn’t understand it. Guy was a bachelor and the new owner of a vast, ramshackle property in the middle of nowhere. Why wasn’t he relieved to get rid of the responsibility of a small boy? But David needed Guy – and his life at Willagong Creek. He also needed a mother. Could a marriage of convenience be the answer?
Original Release Date: 1992
A Little Bit Extra
One of my oldest books and still, I think, one of my best. I’d spent three months working as a cook on a cattle station in North West Queensland, and I loved every minute of it. The homestead where I stayed was quite modern, but I spent a night in a dilapidated old house on a property nearby, where two young men had been living for several weeks, and it was covered in dust, just like the homestead at Willagong Creek, with a trail of footprints leading between the bedrooms and the bathroom and the door out to the cookhouse. Like Olivia, I was always sneaking in garnishes when I thought the jackaroos wouldn’t notice and wishing I wasn’t quite so English and out of place. In one scene, Olivia passes out after cutting her knuckle, which is exactly what happened to me. I still have the scar to prove it, but nobody swept me off to bed!
Excerpt
‘What happens when your visa runs out?’ ‘I’ve thought of that,’ Olivia said evenly. She took a deep breath. ‘I’d like you to marry me.’
Silence. It stretched, twanged. Olivia was sure she could hear her words echoing around the outback, fading slowly into the distance. Marry me. Marry me. Marry me.
She could hear the wicker scrape protestingly against the wooden floorboards as Guy got to his feet. ‘Marry you?’ he repeated softly. He was standing very close, the impression of leashed power almost overwhelming.
‘Yes.’ Olivia cleared her throat. ‘It would be a strictly business arrangement.’ You’re willing to do this for David’ he asked at last. ‘Give up your career? Live in the outback? Marry a man you hardly know?’
‘Yes.’
There was another long silence until, still looking out at the stockyards, he said, ‘All right, I’ll marry you – on two conditions.’
‘Conditions?’ Olivia tucked a swath of blonde hair behind her ear and eyed him warily.
‘First, that it’s just until David goes away to school.’
That was fair enough. ‘What’s the second condition?’
‘That no one else knows the arrangement we’ve come to. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, we should be married like everyone else.’
She hesitated. ‘That’s not a problem, is it?’
‘It’s not a problem, no.’ He looked up at her, his eyes creased against the light. ‘But I wonder if you’ve thought about what it involves?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We’ll have to sleep together, for a start.’
For a long moment, Olivia couldn’t say anything. Her heart did a long, slow somersault and thumped painfully back into place, as a vision of Guy making love to her presented itself with unnerving clarity.
‘I-‘ Her voice sounded unnaturally high and she hastily cleared her throat. ‘That won’t be necessary, surely?’ she managed stiffly.
The elusive amusement was lurking at the back of his eyes and around his mouth. ‘Perhaps I should rephrase that? We’ll have to share a room.’
Olivia stepped away restlessly, pushing the silky hair away from her face in frustration. ‘I didn’t really have this in mind when I suggested marriage,’ she said at last.
‘I’m sure you didn’t.’ The dry amusement was unmistakable this time. ‘You’re the one who wants to get married. I’m just pointing out what it will entail.’
Olivia folded her arms about her in agitation and began to pace up and down the veranda. ‘All right, all right. Point taken. It’s not as straightforward as I thought it was.’
She paused, and turned back to face him, biting her lip. ‘I suppose we ought to be honest about this. What exactly do you expect out of this marriage?’
Guy raised one eyebrow, and Olivia found herself noticing the texture of his skin, the way the brown hair grew at his temples. She had a sudden urge to reach out and run her fingers over his jaw to feel the first faint prickle of stubble.
‘Just what we’ve discussed.’ She jerked her attention back to what he was saying. ‘David’s a responsibility that we share. I expect you to be a mother for David, and a housekeeper for me. I also expect you to behave like any other affectionate wife – at least when anyone else is present.’
‘Then sharing a room isn’t …’ Olivia found herself floundering. ‘When you said sleep together, did you mean … would you expect …?’ Damn him! Why didn’t he help her? He must know quite well what she meant! ‘Will you … I mean, will we …? She trailed off to look at him hopelessly.
Guy looked back, expressionless.
‘Not until you ask, Olivia.’
From the book: Woman at Willagong Creek
By: Jessica Hart
Imprint and series Mills & Boon® Tender Romance™
Copyright © 1992
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. The edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. For more romance information surf to: http://www.eharlequin.com/
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