Page 33 of Outback Secrets

Chapter Nine

‘Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!’

Liam blinked at the sound of Henri’s voice, what felt like mere millimetres from his ear, then opened his eyes properly to see her standing over him.

‘What the hell?’ he groaned, feeling as if he’d had less than two hours’ sleep.

He couldn’t believe he’d actually agreed to letting her sleep over, but he hadn’t been thinking straight. He didn’t seem capable of doing so around Henri. The first night she’d stayed, he’d been only thinking of her welfare, but that should have been the end of it. Instead, he’d not only agreed to pretending to be her boyfriend, but now, it seemed, to basically having her move in with him.

Shit.That had escalated fast. He never planned to have a real girlfriend live with him, never mind a fake one. His heart jack-hammered. Had she woken him because she’d heard him having a nightmare? It had been months since his last one, but he never knew when they were going to creep up on him again. Stressful situations often triggered them. Perhaps the knowledge that she was sleeping only a room away and worrying about her hearing him had actually brought one on?

‘What time is it?’

‘Six thirty,’ she replied, far too chirpily. ‘The early bird catches the worm.’

He let go of the breath he’d been holding, pulled the throw blanket over his head and rolled back into the damn uncomfy couch. ‘I don’t like worms. And I don’t get up before eight. You’re on holidays, aren’t you? We can go surfing later.’

But Henri was persistent. In one hard tug, she yanked the blanket right off and then gasped before dumping it back on top of him. ‘Sorry!’

He was wide awake now and laughed at the shock on her face. ‘You’re lucky I’m wearing underwear. Normally I sleep naked.’

Although she didn’t seem the type to get embarrassed about much, her cheeks turned tomato red and she opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times before she managed, ‘Well, go put some pants on and I’ll make us some coffee, then we can hit the beach.’

‘So that’s why you’ve woken me at this ungodly hour.’

She nodded. ‘We made the date yesterday, remember?’

He gave her a look—he remembered agreeing to lessons, but not to an actual time.

‘Stop being such a sook and get dressed. You can have a nap later if you’re tired, but the waves are the perfect size for a beginner right now.’

‘Are you always this bossy?’ he called as she headed into the kitchen.

‘Are you always this lazy?’ she retorted over her shoulder.

He smiled at her sass. Waking up to a woman in the house was a novelty but flustering her had been an added bonus because he got the feeling not much ruffled Henrietta Forward’s feathers.

Tossing the throw rug aside, Liam picked up the clothes he’d discarded last night and went into his bedroom to find his swim trunks. The bed was so neatly made it almost looked as if it hadn’t been slept in, but he remembered all too well coming upstairs last night. He’d suspected he might find Henri zonked out on the couch, but miraculously she’d taken the bed as he’d told her to. Wanting to check on Sheila, he’d quietly snuck into his room and, thanks to the gentle moonlight spilling in through the gap in his curtains, seen the two of them sleeping peacefully. If he was honest, he’d felt a little jealous. Usually Sheila never left his side, but she’d clearly taken a shine to Henri. Either that or she was keeping an eye on the competition.

Don’t worry, girl, you’re the only female I need in my life.

Despite telling himself this, he’d fought the urge to climb in beside them. If Henri had been surprised to find him in nothing but his underwear, he could only imagine her horror if she’d woken up to find him lying right next to her.

Then, reminding himself that was never gonna happen—sleeping on the couch was too close as it was—Liam went into the bathroom to splash water on his face and brush his teeth. He ran a hand over the rough skin on his jaw and thought about shaving, but immediately rejected the idea. He wasn’t trying to impress Henri; they simply needed to fool everyone else.

‘Sleep well?’ he asked a few minutes later when he found her in the kitchen feeding chunks of Vegemite toast to Sheila, who was supposed to be on a diet.

‘Like a bloody baby. You might just have the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in. Those sheets. Where the hell did you buy them?’

‘Online.’

She swooned. ‘I might never leave.’

He laughed, because they both knew she was joking.

She handed him a coffee and he joined her in another piece of toast before they headed downstairs and over to her bright orange Kombi, which held two surfboards on an old-fashioned roof rack.

‘Are you sure Sheila’s okay to come with us? We could leave her here and I can take her for a walk later,’ he said as Henri opened the door and indicated for the dog to jump up.