It was a long time before Bella finally peeled herself away from Gabe. When she did, he looked at her with a sad-happy smile.
‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he said softly.
‘Missed you too.’ It was a moment or two before her brain clicked back into action and she remembered there were close to a thousand questions that still needed answering. ‘So did you really mean it – about Sassy?’
‘Of course. I couldn’t let Nikki Browne have her. I bought her for you.’
‘But why did you tell Nikki you bought her for your sisters?’
‘You know Nikki can’t keep a secret. If I’d told her the truth, she would have spoiled my surprise.’
‘But you didn’t even know I was going to stay here.’
Gabe smiled. ‘I did, actually.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I was planning to talk you into it, Belle.’ He took her hands. ‘Anyway, anyhow. Whatever it took. I was going to persuade you that this is where you belong. Sassy was simply part of my strategy.’
She frowned at him. ‘A bribe?’
‘Underhanded, I know.’ Gabe didn’t look in the least contrite. He lifted Bella’s hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. ‘But you know how it is. Standing in front of a 747 to stop it from taking off was my last resort. Desperate times . . . ’
‘Require desperate measures.’
They took time out for another sweet and lovely kiss.
When Gabe eventually released her, she looked around. ‘So I’m guessing that Sarah and Ellie aren’t actually here?’
‘No, they’re all still at the coast.’
‘What about Sassy?’
‘She’s here, in the stables. Do you need to see her straightaway?’
‘No rush. I think I’d rather hear all the things you have to tell me.’
Gabe’s gaze shimmered with emotion. ‘Like . . . I’m crazy about you? More than anything in the world. Like . . . I want you in my life?’
‘That’s . . . ’ Bella had trouble getting the words past the lump in her throat. ‘That’s not a bad start.’
‘There’s more,’ Gabe said as he reached for her hand again. ‘Come inside, out of the heat and I’ll tell you everything.’
Bella had never been in Gabe’s lounge room before. It felt strange – almost forbidden – as they sat companionably close on the sofa with George Clooney curled on the carpet at their feet.
But she listened intently as Gabe told her about his mother’s depression and how she’d tried to kill herself after his father’s death, and that, two years ago, he’d honestly believed that he had nothing to offer Bella.
‘I couldn’t ask you to live with me here. It would have been torture for you with Mum in the state she was and I couldn’t desert my family.’
‘And so I helpfully ran away.’
‘But then you came home again,’ he said. ‘And I think I realised from the start, when you came marching over those paddocks to tell me off, that I loved you more than ever, that you’re the only girl I could ever love.’
‘You knew then? Really?’
‘Yep.’
‘I was the same.’ Bella winced. ‘We were getting there, weren’t we? But then poor old Anton arrived and spoiled everything.’
‘Poor old Anton just made me more determined. That’s why I went to Noosa to tell my family that I planned to marry you.’
‘Marry?’ It was a moment before Bella closed her mouth that was hanging open. ‘I bet that went down like a lead balloon.’
‘Turned out my mother was one step ahead of me. I was going to suggest that it was time we investigated other living arrangements. She’d never liked the outback anyway. Then she told me she’d already decided she wanted to live on the coast from now on. I couldn’t believe it was all so simple. I went down there prepared to move mountains – or at least mothers.’
Bella hugged him. ‘Thank you.’ She pressed her cheek to his. ‘I realise now what a gigantic step that was.’
‘But not as big as I feared. My mother’s been seeing a really good therapist in Noosa and she’s so much better. And she loves the Sunshine Coast. It’s closer to the girls while they’re studying, and to top things off, she’s met this guy who knows about all her problems and he still seems really keen.’
Gabe drew Bella closer. ‘So what do you think?’
With her head resting on his shoulder she said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve travelled from one end of the state to the other and you’ve forked out a fortune for a horse so you can convince me to live with you and be your love.’
‘It’s a good plan if it’s worked.’
She pulled away so she could face him. ‘Crikey, Gabe.’ Her voice choked as she tried to explain. ‘All you had to do was beckon.’
His smile was cheeky as he hauled her into his arms. ‘Consider yourself well and truly beckoned.’