their craggy hillside, and look down on the wombats, echidnas and goannas in their pens.
At the heart of the wildlife walk—and the jewel in its crown—was the koala house. Set up like an enormous tree house, the wooden structure was covered on three sides to weatherproof it for visitors, with an arena opening out below full of native flora and an artfully designed pond.
The entire complex was enclosed in a huge aviary. A visitor could glance up into the trees to view the variety of colourful parrots, or along the rafters of the tree house to see the napping tawny frogmouths. Below were a myriad of walking birds, along with the occasional wallaby and echidna. But at eye-level were the koalas on their specially designed poles, where fresh eucalyptus leaves were placed daily. No wire or special glass separated man from beast—only a wooden railing and a ten-foot drop into the enclosure below.
‘I love this place,’ Carla breathed as they entered.
‘This is really something,’ Dylan murmured in Mia’s ear.
His breath fanned the hair at her temples and awareness skidded up her spine. ‘It’s a special place,’ she agreed, moving away—needing to put some distance between them.
When they’d looked their fill, she led them back outside to a series of small nocturnal houses—the first of which was the snake house.
Carla gave a shudder. ‘No matter how much I try, I don’t like snakes.’
They didn’t bother Mia, but she nodded. ‘We don’t have to linger. We can move straight on to the amphibian house and then the possum house.’
‘C’mon, Thierry.’
Carla tugged on his arm, evidently eager to leave, but he disengaged her hand. ‘You go ahead. I find snakes fascinating.’
Finally the man showed some interest—hallelujah!
Thierry glanced at her. ‘Mia might be kind enough to stay behind with me and answer some questions?’
The snakes might not bother her, but Mia loathed the caged darkness of the nocturnal houses, hating the way they made her feel trapped. She didn’t betray any of that by so much of a flicker of her eyelids, though.
‘I’d be happy to answer any questions.’
Dylan caught her eye and gestured that he and Carla would move on, and she nodded to let him know that she and Thierry would catch up.
She moved to stand beside Thierry, nodding at the slender green snake with the bright yellow throat that he currently surveyed. ‘That’s a tree snake. It’s—’
‘I can read.’
She sucked in a breath. Was he being deliberately rude? She lifted her chin. He might be hard work, but she was used to hard work.
‘They’re very common,’ she continued, ‘but rarely seen as they’re so shy. They seldom bite. Their main form of defence is to give off a rather dreadful odour when threatened.’
Mia was convinced there was a metaphor for life trapped in there somewhere.
‘You give off a bad smell too.’
Thierry moved so quickly that before she knew what he was doing he had her trapped between the wall and a glass display unit—the olive python on the other side didn’t stir.
‘Dylan told us about your background—that you’re nothing but a common little thief with a criminal record.’
The sudden sense of confinement had her heart leaping into her throat before surging back into her chest to thump off the walls of her ribs.
‘When I was in jail—’ with a supreme effort she kept her voice utterly devoid of emotion ‘—I learned a lot about self-defence and how to hurt someone. If you don’t take two steps back within the next three seconds you’re going to find yourself on your back in a screaming mess of pain.’
He waited the full three seconds, but he did move away. Mia tried to stop her shoulders from sagging as she dragged a grateful breath into her lungs.
He stabbed a finger at her. ‘I don’t like you.’
And that should matter to me because...? She bit the words back. She’d had a lot of practice at swallowing sarcastic rejoinders. She’d made it a policy long ago not to inflame a situation if she could help it.
‘Carla and Dylan are too trusting by half—but you won’t find me so gullible.’
Giving a person the benefit of the doubt did not make Dylan gullible.
‘You’re not a fit person for Carla to know. You stay away from her, you hear? If you don’t I’ll cause trouble for you...and that’s a promise.’
‘Is everything okay here?’
A strip of sunlight slashed through the darkness as Dylan came back through the doors. The doors were merely thick flaps of overlapping black rubber that kept the sun out. A few threads of light backlit him, haloing his head and shading his face. Mia didn’t need to see his face to sense the tension rippling through him.
Without another word Thierry snapped away and moved through the rubber panels, his footsteps loud on the wooden walkway as he strode off.
‘Are you okay?’
Dylan’s concern, absurdly, made her want to cry in a way that Thierry’s threats hadn’t.
‘Yes, of course.’ She turned and gestured to the snakes. ‘Just so you know: a reptile encounter can be arranged for the wedding guests too, if anyone’s interested. Though it has to be said it’s not to everyone’s taste.’
* * *
Dylan took Mia’s arm and led her back out into the sunshine, wincing at her pallor.
Her colour started to return after a few deep breaths and he found the rapid beat of his heart slowed in direct proportion.
‘I heard the last part of what Thierry said to you.’
He hadn’t liked the way Thierry had asked Mia to stay behind. It was why he’d doubled back—to make sure everything was okay.
‘It’s not the first time someone has taken exception to my past, Dylan, and I expect it won’t be the last.’
Her revelation yesterday had shocked him—prison!—but he’d have had to be blind not to see how much she regretted that part of her life. He’d sensed her sincerity in wanting to create a new, honest life for herself. She’d paid dearly for whatever mistakes lay in her past. As far as he was concerned she should be allowed to get on with things in peace.
Thierry’s threat, the utter contempt in his voice...
Dylan’s hands clenched. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to knock someone to the ground. He’d wanted to deck Thierry, though. He’d wanted to beat the man black and blue.
He dragged a hand down his face. It had only been the thought of who’d pay for his actions—Mia—that had stopped him.
You didn’t even think of Carla!
Mia stared up at him, her gaze steady. ‘Don’t blame Thierry. He only has Carla’s welfare in mind.’
‘It doesn’t excuse his behaviour.’ A scowl scuffed through him. ‘The man’s a bully and a jerk. What the hell does Carla see in him?’
She gestured that they should continue along the path towards the amphibian house. ‘Don’t you know?’
He didn’t have a single clue.
‘Haven’t the two of you talked about him?’
Not really. But to say as much would only reveal what a poor excuse for a brother he’d been to Carla these last twelve months.
He glanced across at Mia and found that she’d paled again, but before he could ask her if she