Page 43 of Return of the Outback Billionaire

‘Trust issues, I guess. Past trauma. Former shut-in. I might look like the prettiest doll in the shop but the hidden damage does run deep. And I live in the middle of nowhere—and like it.’ She narrowed her gaze. ‘I wasn’t waiting for you, if that’s what you’re getting at. I thought I covered that last night.’

‘You did.’

‘And I know you’re probably going to tire of me, because once you do adjust to life outside you’ll shine so bright you’ll leave me behind. But I’m aiming to enjoy you while I have you. I like you. I trust you. It’s enough.’ It had to be enough. He wasn’t offering anything else and she was okay with that.

Mostly.

‘Who else do you trust?’ he asked.

‘My father, Gert, Reid, my aunt—even though she thinks she failed me. That’s five. Not bad. What about you? Who do you trust?’

He shrugged and lifted his beer to his lips.

‘Anyone?’ She waited for him to answer, but it was a long wait. ‘Not even Reid?’

‘He’s young.’

‘He’s loyal,’ she stressed. ‘Give him a chance.’ And me, she refrained from saying. Give me a chance too. I’ll do my best by you.

But he didn’t need that kind of pressure and neither did she. Maybe all they needed to do was take everything one moment at a time. ‘I’m having fun. Are you having fun?’

‘Maybe I am.’

‘Oh, go on, say yes and make my day. I like where we’re sitting, by the way. Both of us with our backs against the wall so we can see what’s going on. In feng shui they call this the command position.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yup. I’m a fount of useless information.’

‘Good to know. How was the button shop?’

‘Brilliant. Buttons have stories. I bought blue ones.’

‘I can barely order from a menu, there’s so much choice,’ he offered after a moment. ‘A button store would have blown my mind.’

From teasing to serious information in the space of a heartbeat. Pay attention, Bridie, to what this man chooses to share. ‘Were you always like that with choices?’ she asked carefully, and he shook his head.

‘No. In prison they take choices away. Stay there long enough and not making choices becomes the norm.’

‘But you’re making all sorts of big business decisions. Huge, important ones with far-reaching consequences for conservation and land management. How does that fit?’

‘That’s something I’ve been thinking about since my teens and I’ve had plenty of time to fine-tune those dreams. There’s money there to do it and making it happen is easy. There’s no oysters versus bruschetta decision on the table.’

It didn’t make sense to her, but it clearly made sense to him. ‘I’d be impressed by your ability to compartmentalise except that eccentric billionaires are a dime a dozen.’

‘We are not!’

‘Maybe not,’ she conceded with a grin. ‘And thank you for telling me about your button issues. I like that you did.’

He looked oddly shy for a moment. ‘You wanted to get to know me.’

‘I still do. And when it comes to your land conservation plans, I want to help. I literally have tens of thousands of landscape and wildlife photos you can use in marketing or promo campaigns, and I’m up for taking more specific shots if you need them.’

‘Just don’t make me choose which ones.’

‘I won’t. Those decisions can be mine all mine.’

Look at us, she thought, all smiley and compatible. Take that, weekend headlines. What palpable tension and dramatic history between them? ‘If I order the orange and almond cake and you order the sticky date pudding, I can try both of my favourite desserts on this menu. Not that I’m greedy and entitled, but I may just be an opportunist. Are you in?’

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