The Australian Affairs Collection. Margaret Way

‘There’s nothing I hate more than driving in the rain. Though the recent rain was greatly appreciated. We had a terribly dry winter. Now everything’s lovely and green.’

      Ben turned his head to gaze at the countryside. ‘It does look good. I can’t say the same for this road, though. It’s deplorable for a main highway. All cracked and patched up.’

      ‘That’s because it’s built over the top of coal mines,’ Jess explained. ‘It suffers from subsidence. Still, that’s Australia for you. We’re notorious for our dreadful roads.’

      ‘That’s because the country is too big for your population. Not enough taxes for proper infrastructure.’

      ‘Not enough taxes!’ Jess exclaimed, putting aside her uncharacteristic desire to please and giving vent to her usual outspokenness. ‘We’re one of the highest taxed countries in the world!’

      ‘Not quite. Australia’s only number ten. Most European countries pay higher taxes.’

      ‘Not America, though,’ Jess argued. ‘People can become rich in America. It’s hard to become rich in Australia unless you’re a crook or a drug dealer. Though, come to think of it, bankers are doing pretty well at the moment,’ she added a touch tartly. ‘My dad works his bum off and still only makes a living. Mum and Dad haven’t had a decent holiday in years.’ She didn’t call five days in Bali last year a decent holiday.

      ‘That’s a shame. Everyone must have holidays these days or stress will get you in the end.’

      ‘That’s what I keep telling them.’

      ‘How old are they?’

      ‘Dad’s sixty-three. Mum’s fifty-nine.’

      ‘Close to retirement age, then.’

      ‘Dad says he’d rather die than retire.’

      ‘My dad says the same thing,’ Ben said. ‘He loves working.’

      Loves making money, you mean, Jess thought but didn’t say.

      ‘You mentioned brothers earlier,’ Ben said. ‘How many do you have?’

      ‘What? Oh…er…three.’

      ‘I always wanted a brother. So, Jess, tell me a bit about these brothers of yours.’

      Jess shrugged. There seemed no point not telling him about her family. They had to talk about something, she supposed.

      ‘Connor’s the oldest,’ she said. ‘He’s thirty-six. Married with two boys. Then there’s Troy. He’s thirty-four and married too, with twin girls. They’re eight,’ she added, smiling as she thought of Amy and Emily, who were the sweetest girls. ‘Then there’s Peter, who’s closest to me at twenty-seven. He’s not long married and his wife is expecting a bub early next year.’

      ‘No sisters?’

      ‘No, no sisters.’

      ‘So you’re the baby of the family.’

      ‘Not a spoilt one, I can assure you,’ she said, though this was a lie. Her brothers had indulged her shamelessly. And had been very protective of her when the boys had started hanging around. They were the reason she hadn’t had a boyfriend till she’d left school. Because they kept frightening them off. Peter, especially. Jess had been a virgin till she was close to twenty.

      ‘I suppose you want kids as well. I saw you smiling when you talked about the twin girls.’

      ‘I’d love at least two children,’ Jess admitted. ‘But getting married and having children is not high on my list of wants right now. I’m only twenty-five. First, I’d like to travel all around Australia. That’s why I bought this little darling,’ she added, tapping the steering wheel. ‘Because it can cope with whatever terrible roads Australia can throw at me.

      ‘Oh look, there’s the turn-off to the Hunter Valley vineyards,’ she pointed out. ‘If you’re staying up on the Central Coast for a while after you get back from your friend’s wedding, then that’s one of the places you should visit. It’s lovely at this time of the year. Lots of great places to stay and terrific wine to taste. You can even go up in a balloon. Colin and I did that not long ago and it was fantastic.’

      ‘Had you been going out with this Colin fellow for long?’

      ‘Just over a year.’

      ‘And you were serious about him?’

      ‘Serious enough,’ she admitted. ‘To be honest, I thought I was in love with him. But I can see now that I wasn’t.’ How could she have been? Colin had been gone from her life less than a month and she already had the hots for another man.

      ‘For what it’s worth, Jess,’ that other man said, ‘I think this Colin was a total idiot, leaving a girl like you behind.’

      Jess could not help glancing over at Ben. His head turned her way and their eyes would have met if they hadn’t both been wearing sunglasses. Even so, something zapped between them like a charge of electricity, taking Jess’s breath away. And suddenly she knew, as surely as she knew that she should get her eyes back on the road ahead quick smart, that Ben fancied her as much as she fancied him. And, whilst the realisation of his sexual interest was exciting and flattering, it also terrified the life out of her.

       CHAPTER SIX

      BEN COULD HARDLY CONTAIN the burst of triumph he experienced when he heard her sharply indrawn breath, then watched her reef her eyes back on the road like the hounds of hell were after her.

      Perhaps they were, he thought darkly. Be damned with his conscience. Be damned with common sense! He had to have this girl. And soon.

      * * *

      Jess was annoyed with herself for feeling flattered by Ben’s interest. Why shouldn’t he fancy her? she reasoned with more of her usual self-confidence. She was an attractive girl, with a nice face and figure. And, yes, super legs. Okay, so she probably wasn’t a patch on this Amber female, but she was over in New York and Jess was right here. On top of that, he didn’t want Amber. No, no, be honest here, Jess, it wasn’t Amber he didn’t want, just marriage. No doubt he would have continued their sexual relationship if she hadn’t put the hard word on him. The truth was he was out here in Australia, probably feeling a bit lonely, and suddenly there she was, with no boyfriend and availability written all over her stupid face!

      Jess was dragged out of her frustrating train of thought by the sudden end of the motorway. She hadn’t even seen the signs to slow down. Rolling her eyes at herself, she made a careful left at the roundabout onto the New England Highway and set sail for the Golden Highway. Thankfully, Ben had fallen silent. No doubt he was working out when to make a pass whilst she was working out how she was going to act when that happened.

      As Jess drove on silently, she wondered why she couldn’t be like other girls—the ones who could sleep with guys on a first date, or even on meeting them for the first time at a pub, or club, or disco or whatever. She could never do that. She found the idea repulsive. And dangerous. She had to get to know the guy first. And like him. Had to see that he liked her too. Liked her enough to wait for her. Till she felt ready to go all the way.

      She’d made Colin wait for weeks. Jess suspected Ben wouldn’t wait weeks for her.

      Not that she wanted him to. Lord, what was happening to her here? This wasn’t like her at all! But Ben wasn’t like any man she’d ever met before. It wasn’t just a question of his movie-star looks, although they were hard to ignore. There was something else. A cloak of confidence which he wore without effort and which she found incredibly attractive. And very sexy. He would be a fantastic lover, she was sure. Very experienced. Very…knowledgeable. He would know exactly what to do and how to do it to make sure she always came.

      A shiver rippled down her spine