Page 46 of Outback Secrets

‘She and I have actually already had a bit of a chat.’

‘What? Really?’

‘She gave me the third degree, wanted to know if my intentions were honourable.’

‘Oh God,’ Henri groaned. ‘What did you say?’

‘I told her that your flying concerns me just as much as her and that I planned to make you fall so much in love with me that you couldn’t bear to spend a moment away from me because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.’

‘Hah! Do you think she believed you?’

‘Hey.’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘Didn’t you just say how good an actor I am? I reckon she’s ready to add my name to the family bible.’

Her eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Did she tell you about that too or was that just a lucky guess?’

He laughed, took her hand and started back towards the bar. ‘So, what’s it to be tonight? Guinness or whiskey?’

‘Just a glass of house white, thanks,’ she said, taking the stool next to Rex and nodding hello to Lara and Dylan, who were busy serving.

Liam slipped back behind the bar to pour her wine. ‘How was your day?’

‘Exhausting,’ she replied as he handed her the glass, experiencing what could only be described as a jolt as their fingers brushed in the exchange.

What the hell was wrong with him? He liked women as much as the next straight guy, but he couldn’t remember feeling such a visceral reaction to someone since …

He froze. Since Katie.

‘What did you get up to?’ he asked, pushing that unwanted thought from his mind.

‘I helped Andrew feed the sheep, then I dug their shit out from under the shearing sheds to fertilise Mum’s roses.’

‘You did all that in today’s heat?’ He couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘Don’t you know we country people are tough?’

There wasn’t much chance to talk after that, which was probably a good thing. Liam took dessert into the CWA ladies, cleared empties, refilled glasses, and chatted to locals as they came and went from the bar. Henri sipped her drink and quietly surveyed the scene.

‘Sorry things are a bit hectic tonight,’ he said.

‘It’s fine. I don’t want to distract you.’

You might not want to, but you definitely do.

He cleared his throat. ‘Can I get you another drink?’

She glanced long and hard at her near-empty glass. ‘Nah, I should probably go and say hi to Mum and her friends anyway, and then I might call it a night.’

‘Okay.’ He slipped his hand into his pocket and offered her his key.

‘Thanks.’ As she took it, she leaned across the bar, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, yanked him towards her and kissed him on the lips. ‘Goodnight, Liam.’

‘Goodnight, Henri,’ he managed as she turned and started towards the dining room.

And good luck, he thought. Those women would be like a school of piranhas begging her for information.

But then again, wasn’t that what she wanted?