They shared a look and grinned, then Matt bent over until he was face to face with Dexter, his hands ruffling Dexter’s fur. “I know, I like her too, bud.”

Oh, yeah, I’m a goner.

*

“That was delicious. You’re a good cook.” Jules put her cutlery down, then sat back against the wooden patio chair and regarded the beautiful vista of Matt’s vineyard. Rows of vines, all pruned, rolled over the shallow hills as far as she could see, and the property was bordered with eucalyptus trees. When Matt had taken her out on the quad bike earlier for a tour, Jules had kept an eye out for koalas, but no luck; apparently, they were rare in this part of the country.

Still, she’d snapped dozens of photos of the property and had posted a selection on Instagram tagging them with #Aussielife, #Aussiewinery, #naturebreak, #vineyard, and #justbreathe. She’d also sent a message to the girls on their chat thread:

Down at Matt’s place for the weekend. It’s so beautiful here. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in forever. My heart has been stolen by … Dexter the dog! He’s such a sweetheart. Matt is a sweetheart too—will fill you in when we talk. Horse riding tomorrow! J xx

She’d attached a couple of her photos, including one of Dexter looking out over the vineyard. Chloe had replied almost immediately:

Knew you’d love Matt’s place. And Dex. Give him a kiss for me. Dex, not Matt. Haha. Have fun horse riding and watch out for Matt. No repeat of Cabo! Love you. C

There hadn’t been a reply from Lucy, but Jules told herself that she was probably busy or asleep.

“Uh, I don’t know that I’d call myself a cook,” said Matt, “but I know my way around the barbie, and I can throw together a decent salad.”

“You got that right.” Jules reached over to the almost empty bowl, plucked a cherry tomato from the salad and popped it into her mouth. She groaned.

“That good, huh?” Matt teased. She nodded, closing her eyes and savouring the sweet tang of the tomato and the peppery olive oil—both from local producers, Matt had told her.

Jules swallowed her bite. “Seriously, dinner was amazing. We don’t eat a lot of lamb where I’m from. And, seriously, everything—I mean everything—tastes better here, you know? More intense, fresher. Maybe that’s just ’cause back home it’s winter and this time of year I tend to hibernate and live off takeout pizza and pot noodles.” Matt chuckled.

She stretched her arms above her head and inhaled deeply. “I love being here.” It was a rare moment for Jules, being totally unguarded, and she could almost feel herself sloughing off the layers of her staid existence. When she glanced back at Matt, she saw him watching her intently, a smile playing on his lips. “What?” she asked.

He reached across the corner of the table to capture her hand in his. “I’m glad you like it here. It’s not often we have guests.” He must have seen that she didn’t understand who he meant by “we” because he added, “Dexter and me.” At the sound of his name, Dexter lifted his head and looked at his master, his ears pricked and his eyes alert. Jules patted the top of his head and he plopped back down reassuming his position on the ground next to her chair.