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‘I’ll be interested to hear all about it. That trek’s on my bucket list.’

‘I’ll show you some photos when I get back.’

‘You like taking photos?’ Craig nodded at the two camera bags as the taxi pulled up beside them. ‘A great hobby.’

‘I do.’ Graysen nodded, seeing no need to tell the young guy that he was generally regarded as one of the top five landscape photographers in the world. That hobby had given him and Marion a good life. Unlimited travel, a cottage in the English countryside, and a beachside house at Palm Cove near Cairns. But Marion had always been a Newcastle girl and had wanted to spend her last months on the lake, even though she had no family left there.

‘I’ll look forward to seeing them. Have a great trip, sir.’

An hour later, Graysen was settled in the business class lounge at the domestic airport terminal. His flight had been delayed due to the strong winds and he shivered as he watched the rain running down the window beside him. He glanced at his watch.

Was it too early for a whisky?

It was past noon, and from the information that had flashed up on the departures board all flights had been delayed a couple of hours. He stood and crossed to the bar and soon had a tumbler of Glenfiddich and ice in hand as he chose a magazine from those on offer. Taking his seat in the circular lounge, Graysen sat back and flicked through the glossy magazine, picking straight away who’d taken the photographs of the African bushveld.

‘I don’t think I want to do this anymore, Paul. This is not a good omen.’ The cultured English voice belonged to a very attractive blonde woman who was about to take a seat opposite him.

‘Is it okay to sit here?’ the man with her asked.

Graysen looked around, not particularly keen on having his solitude interrupted. The business lounge had filled up and there were very few seats left.

‘Sure.’ He put his head back down.

‘Thank you. We appreciate it, don’t we, Paul?’ The woman was staring at him when Graysen lifted his head and he nodded.

‘Looks like we could be here a while,’ the guy called Paul said. ‘We just heard our flight to Alice Springs has been put back to three-thirty. I’m Paul Dunn, and this is my wife, Cecily.’ He leaned over and kissed her cheek. ‘I love saying that, sweetheart.

Graysen tried not to groan as he realised he would have company for at least three hours. Newly-married company. He knew it would be rude to ignore them, so he stood and held his hand out. ‘Graysen.’

‘I hate flying enough without the delays. Like Paul said, we’re going to the Red Centre for our honeymoon. Where are you off to?’

‘Same,’ he answered shortly.

‘Business or pleasure?’ Paul asked as he sat across from Graysen.

‘A holiday trek.’

‘You’re an Aussie?’ Cecily was slow to take the hint as she reached over and squeezed Paul’s hand. ‘Paul booked a trek for our honeymoon as a surprise. You know I think I would have much rather gone to the islands. And now with this delay, I think it’s the universe telling us we shouldn’t be going. We can still change our mind, honey. There were lots of flights to Cairns on the board when I looked.’

‘Sweetie, now come on, you’ll have a ball. It’s supposed to be really pretty. How many people get to go trekking on a luxury tour for their honeymoon? Five-star service in an incredible location.’ Paul looked over at Graysen as he lifted the glass and drained his whisky. ‘I’m going to get a drink, what’s your poison, buddy?’

For the first time, Graysen picked the American twang.

‘Glenfiddich. Thanks. With ice.’ If he had to sit and listen to Cecily’s prattle, and sweetie and honey, for the next couple of hours it wouldn’t hurt to anaesthetise himself.

‘Wine for you, my precious?’

My precious?

Cecily nodded, Paul headed for the bar and Graysen wondered if they’d seen Lord of the Rings.

‘So, you’re travelling alone?’ Cecily said as Graysen opened the magazine and tried to show her he did not want to talk. His breath caught, and his breathing shallowed as that familiar dull feeling began to unfurl from his gut and settle in his chest. He was pissed off he’d let this couple get under his skin.

‘Yes, I prefer my own company.’ Maybe it was rude, but he didn’t really care. She might be beautiful, but she wasn’t very intuitive.

‘Yes, we do too. Paul works really hard and I’m left at home by myself most of the time. We’ve been living together for five years. His proposal was a shock to me, but we had the most incredible wedding in the Cotswolds near Mummy and Daddy’s manor. Ten bridesmaids, and we had the most amazing pink theme. Would you like to see some photos?’

Graysen grunted and shook his head without looking up.