‘Life without optimism is dreadful. You have to always have hope. I know what it’s like to live without hope and it sucks. Holly and I were talking last night and we both think you’re the right kind of woman for Mike.’

‘Good heavens, why?’

‘You’re smart and sexy and extremely sensible. I’ll bet you’re a good cook, too.’

‘I’m competent enough in the kitchen,’ she admitted.

Brandon had been keen on cordon bleu food, but not so keen on paying for it. She’d spent hours making elaborate meals for him, often having to eat them alone when he hadn’t turned up at the last minute.

‘Just as I thought,’ Alanna said. ‘You’re perfect wife material, Natalie. Now, all you have to do is make Mike appreciate that having a wife like you would be a bonus, not a burden.’

‘What if I don’t want Mike as my husband?’ she retorted.

Alanna laughed. ‘I’ve spent the last few weeks with you, Natalie. I think I know you quite well by now. Do you know how much you talked about Mike?’

Natalie groaned. ‘How much?’

‘Endlessly. Every time you tried on an item of clothes, it was…would Mike like me in this? Will this turn Mike on?’

‘That’s just sex, Alanna.’ If she kept saying it, she just might believe it.

‘Till it turns into something else. Mike’s a good man, Natalie. And terribly lonely. He needs someone to love him.’

‘He doesn’t think so. He couldn’t have been more adamant about not wanting love and marriage.’

‘Try looking past that macho, loner act to the real man underneath. He’s not as tough as he pretends. Do you know about all the money he spends on under-privileged boys? Boys who don’t have much in the way of family, or money.’

‘No,’ Natalie said, startled by this piece of news. ‘He’s never mentioned that.’

‘He wouldn’t. But he gives heaps to these kids every year. Pays for them to go to summer camps. Buys computers for them by the bucketload. Goes to their schools and gives free computer classes. Recently, he started a new project, building community clubs for them. The kind that have indoor sporting facilities and games rooms and lots of other activities. Reece and Richard help out with donations, but Mike’s money is the main source of finance. If you think he’s going after this partnership deal to increase his own personal wealth, then you’re dead wrong.’

Natalie was stunned. ‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’

‘I just didn’t think of it. We were too busy trying to make you over into a sexpot. But now that you know, does Mike being a closet philanthropist make any difference to your feelings for him?’