‘Yes, but charge her half-rates.’

‘You don’t want to give it to her free?’

‘If we don’t charge her, then she won’t come.’

‘And you want her to come.’

‘Yes,’ he snapped, and Rob grinned.

‘I see,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Shall I ring Barb, then, and tell her the five-minute dating was a success?’

‘Just try it.’

‘That’s what I thought,’ Rob said. ‘Okay, not yet. But I’m thinking I might get Mrs. Matheson to pull out all the stops. It’s time we had a great dinner.’

‘Nothing special,’ Jake said.

‘You don’t want to scare her?’

‘Rob…’

‘I know,’ his manager said, placating. ‘But I’m thinking lobster. She can think we have it every night, because we’re not trying to impress her at all.’

‘Manwillinbah Lodge.’

She turned into the driveway and she could scarcely believe she was on the same planet as the place she’d just left. The lodge looked gracious and inviting, long and low and sprawling. Beyond rambling rose gardens were acres of grapevines, just coming into bud. It looked not where she belonged at all.

Why was she panicking?

She shouldn’t be here. She should be somewhere she could be alone to think things through. Though hadn’t she had enough time to think things through, and where had that got her?

But before her muddled thoughts could take her any further, her car door was tugged open, and Jake was looking in.

‘Hey,’ he said softly. ‘I was starting to think I’d need to come up the mountain and fetch you. Welcome, Tori. Welcome, Rusty.’

He was smiling. That smile was enough to make a girl panic all on its own. ‘I was just coming to tell you…to tell Rob I wasn’t coming,’ she muttered. ‘And to thank you for the cleaners.’

He nodded, suppressing his smile. ‘That makes sense. Or not. The cleaners were my pleasure. As for not staying… You want to have dinner while you tell us why not?’