New Year, New Man. Laura Iding

had started breaking and entering, plus stealing the cars themselves, rather than just the contents.

      ‘One night,’ he said, ‘I made a mistake and got caught. I went to jail, met your father and the rest is history, as they say.’

      Sarah was close to tears. ‘Oh, Nick…’

      ‘I did warn you.’

      ‘You survived, though.’

      ‘Let me tell you about that kind of survival,’ he bit out. ‘It makes you think of no one but yourself. You become hard, and cold, and capable of just about anything. When I first met your father when I was in jail, I didn’t give a damn about him, only what he could do for me. I saw a means of escape and I grabbed it with both hands. When I finally got out of jail and came to work as Ray’s chauffeur, I thought he was a sucker. I had no feelings for him whatsoever.’

      ‘But you did, in the end,’ she said. ‘You loved him.’

      ‘I respected him. That’s not the same as love.’

      ‘I see…’

      ‘No, you don’t. You don’t see at all. You can’t, till you’ve lived in my shoes. I’ve told you once, now I’ll tell you again: men like me can’t love anyone.’

      ‘I don’t believe that,’ she muttered. She couldn’t. For if she did, her future was unbearable. ‘You weren’t that bad when you came to live with us. You were kind to me for starters.’

      ‘Was I? Or was I just trying to get in good with the boss?’

      Sarah frowned. She’d never thought of his actions in that light before.

      ‘Damn it all, don’t look at me like that. OK, so I did like you. You were a nice kid.’

      ‘You still like me,’ she said with a smile of relief.

      ‘Yeah. I still like you.’

      As admissions went, it wasn’t much, but it made Sarah feel better. Things suddenly looked a bit brighter. But she felt a change of subject was called for.

      ‘Have you heard anything about your movie yet?’

      She’d never seen Nick look so confused. ‘What?’

      ‘Didn’t you say that movie you’d put so much money into was coming out in the New Year? Well, it’s the third of January. That’s past the New Year.’

      The penny dropped for Nick. His lurid background was too much for Sarah. Hopefully, she wouldn’t bring it up again. Talking about movies he could cope with. His past was best kept locked in the dungeon.

      ‘It came out yesterday to mixed reviews,’ he told her. ‘It’ll take a few more days before the public’s verdict has come in.’

      ‘What’s it called?’

      ‘Back to the Outback. It’s a sequel to Outback Bride. It has the same writer-director.’

      ‘That should do well, surely. Everyone who saw and loved Outback Bride will come to see it.’

      ‘That’s what we’re hoping.’

      ‘Is it any good? Sequels often aren’t as good as the original.’

      ‘I think it is.’

      ‘But the critics didn’t.’

      ‘A couple of them did. The others hated the tragic ending.’

      ‘Who dies? Not Shane, I hope.’

      ‘No, Brenda.’

      ‘Brenda! That’s even worse. You can’t kill off the heroine in a romance. There has to be a happy ending, Nick.’

      ‘Rubbish. Lots of romances have unhappy endings.’

      ‘Only the ones written by men,’ she said disgustedly. ‘How does she die?’

      ‘She’s shot saving her child from the baddies,’ he said defensively, as if that made it all right.

      ‘No excuses. She simply cannot die. Why couldn’t she have been shot, but still live? Truly, you should have talked to me about this earlier, Nick. I would have advised you.’

      ‘She needed to die. She was no good for Shane. Their romance was flawed and their marriage was a disaster waiting to happen. She hated life in the country and was threatening to go back to the city and take the child when the baddies from her earlier life show up. The sequel isn’t really a romance, Sarah, it’s a drama.’

      ‘You can call it what you like. It sounds awful.’

      ‘Thank you for the vote of confidence.’

      The captain announcing that they were expecting some turbulence and everyone was to belt up terminated what was becoming a heated exchange.

      ‘Typical,’ Nick muttered as he snapped his seat belt shut.

      ‘What do you mean?’ Sarah asked, grabbing at the armrests when the plane shuddered.

      ‘January is cyclone season in this neck of the woods.’

      ‘I wish you’d told me that earlier. We could have just as easily stayed home, especially once Flora and Jim went away.’

      ‘I wanted to show you Happy Island.’

      ‘The island itself, or your fancy holiday house?’

      Nick smiled. ‘A man’s allowed to show off to his girlfriend, isn’t he?’

      Sarah’s heart flipped over. ‘You…you called me your girlfriend.’

      Nick shrugged. ‘I reserve the right to rescind the title if you get stroppy with me.’

      ‘I only get stroppy during cyclones. I also get hysterical.’

      Nick laughed. ‘Now she tells me. Don’t worry. My place is cyclone-proof. Actually, Happy Island hasn’t been directly hit by a cyclone in decades. Mostly, it just gets lots of wind and rain. Unfortunately, we might have to stay indoors for days on end,’ he added with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

      Sarah grinned. ‘Just as well I brought all my old board games with me, then, isn’t it?’

      Nick groaned. ‘Oh, no, not the Monopoly! You always whipped my butt at that.’

      ‘Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders, and Chinese Checkers. I found them in the bottom of my wardrobe when I was packing.’

      When Nick looked pained, she gave him a playful dig in the ribs.

      ‘Come on. We used to have great fun playing those games.’

      ‘I had some different kinds of games in mind now that you’ve grown up.’

      Sarah shook her head at him. ‘If you think this holiday is going to be just a sex-fest, Nick, then think again. I picked up a brochure about Happy Island from a local travel agent and there’s heaps I want to do.’

      ‘Really. Such as?’

      ‘Aside from a tour around the island to all the scenic spots, I’d like to take a boat trip to the barrier reef and a helicopter ride over the Whitsundays. Then there’s windsurfing and souvenir-shopping. Oh, and mini-golf. You can have your revenge on me with that. I also saw pictures of a lovely white beach with the most beautiful turquoise waters where I’d like to go for a swim.’

      ‘Uh-uh,’ he said with a shake of his head. ‘You won’t be doing that.’

      ‘Why not?’

      ‘Because of the irukanji.’

      ‘The what?’

      ‘They’re a jellyfish. Toxic as all hell. They can put you in hospital for days. Two people have died from their sting since 2001. Summer is their peak season.’

      ‘Oh,