Page 29 of Cinderella and the Outback Billionaire

‘I hope you don’t want that money back. I don’t have it.’

‘Yeah, I heard that too.’

She didn’t like that he seemed to know so much about her life. Had he asked around? Had Gert opened up to him about Ari’s stepfather and stepbrother situation? Because, honestly, she didn’t care any more that they’d turned their backs on her the moment her mother was cold. Even her mother had pushed Ari away towards the end as a way of keeping them happy. She’d never felt so alone and if it hadn’t been for Gert stepping in and offering her a home, Ari didn’t know what she would have done. She’d stopped thinking of them as family years ago. She was doing all right on her own these days, thank you very much, and she dared anyone to think otherwise.

‘So that’s your ticked-off look,’ he mused. ‘I wish I could see it better.’

‘Do you? Do you really?’

‘And I really like your dire warning voice. I promise I’ll behave.’

‘Are you always this jokey?’

‘You’re in a mood. I’m trying to cajole you out of it. I’m offering you the mood-lifting Cinderella experience. And all you have to do to get it started is give me a lift and your company for the evening.’

With a sigh that was more for show than for protest, she gave in. He’d already managed to take her mind off her study failures. His mood-boosting skills actually were as good as advertised. And there was also the not so small effort it had taken him to arrange to be waiting for her.

She’d told him about liking their time in the tent because she felt useful, and here he was throwing himself on her mercy for a lift and ceding control. Journey with me, he might as well have said. You drive. I trust you. She’d never even seen a relationship dynamic like the one he seemed to be offering her. Did he realise how paper-thin her defences against him were? ‘I’ll do it. On one condition.’

‘Name it.’

‘Please don’t dress me up and take me to the opera this evening. Or to a ball. Or to a fancy dinner with the flying snails and challenging silverware. Can we give that a miss?’

‘As you wish.’

She headed for the driver’s side door. ‘How’d you get here?’

‘Uber.’

‘And how’d you know this was my car?’

‘Gert said you drove a thirty-year-old Hilux. This one has red dust in its wheel rims. Calculated guess.’

‘I wish there’d been more of those in my exam.’ She blew out a breath. She wasn’t going to think about that. Nothing she could do about it. ‘My passenger-side door isn’t locked. Jump in.’

He reached for the passenger-door handle. ‘You don’t lock it?’

‘Who’d want it? Besides, the locks have been broken for years. I also need to drive us to the nearest mechanic. I was almost late for my exam because Bessie wouldn’t start. I think it’s the battery.’ She didn’t want to think about all the other things it could be.

She’d parked on an incline with the nose facing downhill and no other cars in front of her, and after two sluggish attempts at getting the engine to turn over, she blew out a breath, shoved the vehicle in neutral, released the brake and let it roll until she could clutch-start the beast.

It started with a jolt and she found second gear with barely a grind and then they were on their way. ‘Atta girl.’ She patted the dash.

‘That is so sexy,’ he murmured. ‘Can you muster cattle too? Fix a broken five-wire fence?’

‘Is that what turns you on?’

‘It’s never been a complete turn-on before. I’d have found it interesting but not necessarily a reason to pursue a woman. Maybe it’s just you.’

No getting past his open interest in pursuing her. She was simultaneously grateful for his clarity and sure that his pursuit would be short-lived. ‘You know what I’m going to do for you? I’m going to save us a lot of trouble and show you the real me.’

‘I can’t wait. How else are we going to get to know each other?’ he murmured agreeably as they reached a stop sign and Ari prayed the ute didn’t stall. ‘What did you have planned for this evening before I turned up?’

‘You mean after the trip to the mechanic? If I only had to buy a new battery, I was thinking I’d go home, get Thai takeaway from the restaurant down the road, put some music on and open a bottle of beer. Because that’s how I roll.’ She had her eyes on the road and couldn’t see his reaction to her big night of celebration. ‘There may have been a little singalong and a toast to me for sticking to my education plan in the face of poverty. You’re welcome to join me. I’m not wedded to the Cinderella plan.’ They’d hit the main road. ‘Can you bring up directions to the nearest battery place?’

‘I have a better idea.’

Ten minutes later, Reid had directed her to a workshop of some kind on the outskirts of Fortitude Valley near Brisbane city centre. Huge industrial doors stood open and Ari could see several vehicles inside.

---