He gave the surf one more wistful thought then stepped under the shower, hoping the water would wash away his aches and pains. Times had changed and he had to keep his wits about him when it came to marketing their wine. Levallier Dell produced premium wines and Flynn was an important part of that. Euan tipped his face to let the water sluice over him. He understood Flynn’s youthful need for change. That had been one of the reasons for Euan’s own trek to Australia all those years ago. But he’d had to make a new start without the benefit of his father’s help back then. Levallier Dell was doing well and Flynn didn’t need to forge his own path, but Euan didn’t know how to talk to him about it.

Lucy’s death had changed their relationship. Anna had become a substitute mother and father for Flynn. Maggie had done her bit. Euan hadn’t felt needed and in any case he’d been incapable of offering comfort to anyone else. It wasn’t until Flynn had been gone a couple of years that Euan had begun to regret not offering more solace to his son. Slowly shedding his grief, Euan had realised he was lonely and began seeking female company. There had been several women over the years but none of them had been able to replace Lucy and so the relationships had never lasted, until now.

He grimaced at himself in the bathroom mirror. That’s if you could call seeing Dianna a couple of times a year a lasting relationship. She seemed to accept their long separations, never making demands. The first time they met was at a wine dinner and he’d been attracted to her immediately. She liked wine and was knowledgeable about it as well, and they had the French connection in common – her parents were French – but there was more to it than that. They’d met again the next day and often over the following weeks and a relationship had developed. They were a good match, not just physically but intellectually.

In the last couple of years, he’d made extra trips to the east on top of his work travels and several visits up to Perth when she flew in there. This last time, they had even discussed travelling overseas together. Suddenly, there was more to this relationship than just a convenient affair. He had to admit it had been harder to leave her this time and he had stayed on an extra week, making the excuse that it was the surf he was enjoying. That wasn’t a lie but he could surf here. What he didn’t have here was Dianna.