Before by Nicola Marsh Page B

pumped Reid’s hand until mine almost fell off.
    “As you Aussies say, no worries.” Reid glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a conference call happening in five minutes, so I’ll give you all the details later.”
    “Sure, thanks.”
    I managed to wait until Reid rounded the front verandah and I heard the slam of the front door before letting out a resounding yell that would’ve startled the cattle all the way in the top paddock.
    I had a chance at a fresh start. A real future. Far removed from my current drifter lifestyle that was growing old fast.
    It was just the change I’d been looking for.
    And the damndest thing, Jess was the first person I wanted to share the good news with.

 
     
     

Chapter Seventeen
     
    JESS
     
     
    “I hear congratulations are in order.” I propped on the top rail of the fence, deliberately letting my skirt ride up. Let the moron see what he was missing out on.
    Jack barely glanced up from weeding the vegetable garden. “Yeah, your brother is one helluva guy.”
    “I guess.” When the uncomfortable silence grew—not surprising, considering last time I’d seen him I’d called him an asshole—I tried to make small talk. “Looking forward to living in Sydney?”
    “Yeah.”
    Great. Monosyllabic answers and he wasn’t looking at me. I didn’t want to apologize because I’d meant every word I’d said at his place the other night, but I missed his teasing, missed us. Even if technically there wasn’t an ‘us’.
    No matter what he said, we’d developed a bond. A friendship. A connection. That he’d cheapened by implying I was just out for a holiday fling.
    “I’m sorry about the other night,” I blurted, sliding off the fence to land on my feet. “You’re not an asshole.”
    “Yeah, I am, and you don’t need to apologize.” He finally glanced up, his expression wary. “I like you, Jess. I’ve never had a girl-friend before and it’s been fun hanging out with you. But that’s as far as it goes.”
    I didn’t want to argue with him but I could feel my anger rising at his holier-than-thou speech. “Why do you get to make all the decisions in our relationship?”
    “Relationship? Seriously?” He stood and swiped his grimy hands down the side of his jeans. “How did we go from friends to a relationship?”
    “A friendship is a relationship, dumbass,” I muttered, glaring at him, which is why I saw the exact moment is mouth switched from rebellious to amusement.
    “Do you call all your friends names or is it just me?”
    “It’s you, Cookie.” I deliberately used his nickname, knowing he liked it. “In case you were in any doubt, you’re also a pain in the ass.”
    “Nice,” he said, his wry grin making my heart do that weird flip flop thing it always did when he smiled. “Guess I won’t tell you about the surprise I’ve organized then.”
    “Surprise?”
    I immediately envisaged the two of us strolling off into an outback sunset, before REALITY CHECK flashed across my mind.
    “Actually, I can’t take all the credit. Mrs. Gee and Doreen suggested it.”
    Yep, there went my little fantasy of Jack and I alone together.
    I studied my nails, feigning disinterest. “So, are you going to tell me some time this century?”
    He laughed, a low, sexy sound that rippled over me and made my stomach free fall. “Fancy outback camping for a night?” He gestured at the sky. “Nothing like the sunrises in this part of the world.”
    Sunrises, right. Because all I could think about was the two of us sleeping side by side in a tent in the outback. Alone.
    Did the guy want to torture me to death?
    “So what do you say?” He winked. “Fancy spending your last night in OZ under the stars?”
    “Uh, yeah, sounds good,” I said, needing clarification. “So it’d be you and me?”
    “And Reid.” He made it sound so logical, that I shouldn’t for one moment have jumped to the wrong conclusion that this would be a special trip for two. “It’ll be great