Her parents had promised to meet her outside the security checkpoint and as she neared the spot, Payton said a silent prayer that they’d kept their promise. As she worked her way through the crowd, she caught sight of Sam. He waved at her and she started toward him. He met her halfway, then grabbed her bag.

“I thought my parents would meet me.”

“They’re waiting in the Red Carpet Club just down the concourse. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you, Sam.”

“I have something to say to you,” he said. He took her elbow and steered her over to a row of chairs set against the wall. “Sit.”

Payton gave him a withering look. She wouldn’t be ordered around like some naughty pet.

“Please, sit down,” Sam amended, motioning to the chair. “I have something I need to tell you before you talk to your parents.”

She frowned, taking in the stricken expression on Sam’s face. Payton had never seen him so worried. Her stomach lurched. “What is it? Are my parents all right? Has something happened? Did someone die?”

“No,” Sam said. He sat down, then pulled her down beside him. “It’s me.”

“You’re dying?” Payton asked.

A wry smile touched his lips. “Metaphorically, yes.” Sam drew a deep breath, then met her gaze. “For the past three years, I’ve been carrying on an affair with my executive assistant. Your father found out about it and I’m sure your parents will bring it up. They think that’s why you ran out on the wedding.”

Payton stared at him, his words a jumble in her mind. “You were having an affair? You were cheating on me? And my father knew about it?”

“Yes. To all three questions. I know how you must feel and I can only beg for your forgiveness and spend the rest of my life making this up to you. It’s over. It’s been over for a month now and-”

“Wait,” Payton said, holding up her hand. “A month? You mean, it was still going on while we were in-” She stopped, stunned by the realization. “She was there. In Fiji. Emily was there. We invited her to our wedding. Oh, my God. You were planning to carry on after we were married?”

“I know this must be a shock, but I can assure you that-”

Payton shook her head, a laugh bubbling up inside her. “I knew something was wrong. I trusted my instincts and I was right.” She stood and picked up her bag from the floor, slinging it over her shoulder. “Do you want to know what I feel, Sam?” She shrugged. “Nothing. I feel nothing. I thought I loved you, but I know now that what we had wasn’t love. It was obligation. And I’m fine with this.”

He jumped up and reached for her arm, but Payton avoided his grasp. “Unfortunately, you won’t be taking over Daddy’s bank, but I’m sure you’ll find comfort in the fact that you can keep sleeping with Emily.” Payton held out her hand. “Goodbye, Sam. Have a nice life.”

He took her hand and gave it a weak shake. Then, Payton turned on her heel and headed down the concourse. As she walked, she tried to make sense of what Sam had told her. Her parents had known about his affair and they’d still gone ahead with the wedding plans. How was that possible?

When she reached the first-class lounge, she stood in the doorway, her gaze falling on the handsome couple sitting at a nearby table. They spotted her at the same time and her mother rushed up to her, arms thrown open. She gathered Payton in a frantic embrace, hugging her tightly. “You’re home,” she cried. “Thank God. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see you again.”

A moment later, her father appeared at her side and patted her on the shoulder. “There, there. Well, I’m happy to see you’ve come to your senses, Payton. Come on, let’s get out of here. We have a car waiting.”

“No,” Payton said.

Her father arched his brow. “No? How do you propose we get home?”

Payton straightened her spine and took a deep breath. “I’m not going home, Daddy. Not tonight.”

Her mother gave Payton’s arm a gentle squeeze. “Oh, George. She’s going to Sam’s, of course. Darling, we couldn’t be happier. You know how much we adore Sam. And he loves you. Just wait, this whole terrible embarrassment will be forgotten in no time.”

“Mother, I’m not going to Sam’s.” She took her mother’s hand and pulled her along with her toward their table. “I think we should order some wine, sit down and talk. I have something I need to tell you.”

“She’s pregnant.” Her mother pressed a hand to her heart and closed her eyes. Her father held her elbow to keep her upright.

“I’m not pregnant!” Payton groaned. “Why would you think that?”

“Sam said you were-oh, how did he say it, George?”

“Shacked up, Margie,” her father said. “He said Payton was shacked up with some unemployed soccer player.”

“Football,” Payton said. “Aussie rules football. Mother, Father, sit down,” she ordered. It was time they started treating her like an adult and not some eager child always willing to please. This conversation would be between three reasonable adults-or one reasonable adult trying to calm two irrational-overbearing adults. She drew a steadying breath. “I’ll be right back.”

She strode up to the bar, ordered three glasses of Merlot and paid with one of the twenties that Sam had given her. Then she carried the wine to the table and sat down.

“Why are we staying here?” her mother asked. “Why don’t we go home and have a drink? I’m sure the quality of this wine isn’t up to the standards of what we have in our wine cellar.” She took a sip and wrinkled her nose. “Just as I suspected.”

“This is ridiculous.” Her father pushed away from the table. “You’re coming home with us right now, Payton. You are going to get a good night’s sleep and then we are going to figure out how you can make this all up to Sam.”

She shook her head. “I don’t love him. And neither should you. He cheated on me. You knew and you were going to let me marry him all the same. You two spent a lifetime trying to protect me and then, when I really needed you the most, you were ready to walk away, to let me marry a man who didn’t love me.”

“Sam assured me the affair was over,” her father said. “And that it wouldn’t happen again.”

“Well, he wasn’t telling you the truth. Thank God, I figured it out.”

“When did you find out?” her mother asked.

“A few minutes ago,” Payton said. “But I knew something was wrong for a long time. I felt it in the weeks before the wedding. And in Fiji. That’s why I ran.” An image of Brody flashed in her mind and she smiled. “And I’m lucky I did. Because I’ve met a man I can really love and trust, a man who wants me and not the bank I’ll inherit. I have to live my life now on my own. And I’m going to do that in Australia. With Brody.”

“What is she saying, George?” her mother asked.

“She’s just distraught. You need help,” her father said, turning to Payton. “We can get you help. A nice quiet place to get some perspective.”

Payton giggled softly. “Daddy, I don’t need help. I’m perfectly sane and I’m happier than I’ve ever been. And I hope someday you’ll come to visit me. I’d love for you to meet Brody. He’s a wonderful man. Or maybe, we’ll come here for a visit. Brody might have a tryout with a football team later this summer.” She gulped down the rest of her wine, then stood, satisfied that she’d said everything that needed saying.

Though she ought to have been angrier over her parents’ deception, there wasn’t really a point. Everything they’d done had led to Brody and that was all that mattered. She rounded the table and kissed them both on the cheek. “I have to go now. I think I might be able to catch the flight back tonight if I hurry.”

“You only just got here,” her father said.

“And now I have to go,” Payton replied, picking up her bag. “I love you both. And don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

She walked to the doorway of the bar, then turned and waved at her stunned parents. It was enough for them to see that she was healthy and happy. They’d get over her broken engagement and their disappointment that Sam wouldn’t be a part of the family. And they’d find a way to explain the embarrassment of the wedding. And maybe someday they would meet Brody and understand why she loved him.

As much as she wanted to feel regret while walking away from them, Payton couldn’t. She was returning to the man she loved, to a land she was learning to love and to a life that would be built on love. She wasn’t frightened or nervous or anything but blissfully happy.

She checked the signs at the end of the concourse and headed toward the Qantas desk. If she hurried, she could hop the 7:10 flight to Australia, a full day before her scheduled return. Then, in about thirty hours, she’d be back in Brody’s life-and in his arms-for good.

“DAVEY, GRAB ME that spanner.” Brody crawled halfway down the windmill and waited as the kid searched the ground at his feet. “Next to my saddlebags.”

He picked up a tool. “This one?”

“No, the big one.”

Davey finally found the tool, then climbed up the ladder and handed it to Brody. They’d been working together all day, greasing and adjusting the six windmills close to the station. Tomorrow they’d catch the ones on the outlying pastures, traveling by ATV rather than horse.

Brody had decided to return to the station after just one day alone in Fremantle. The apartment seemed so empty without Payton there and he found himself spending every waking minute thinking about her. He could rehab his knee as easily on the station as he could in Fremantle, and he’d have work to occupy his mind the rest of the day. Station work was difficult and exhausting-and exactly what he needed.

He wasn’t sure when Payton would return. She’d promised to call once everything had been settled, but he expected she’d spend at least a week or two in the States before she left again. He’d decided to go on as if she wasn’t going to return. Then, everything after that-if there was anything-would be like a gift.