care. She gave herself up to the smooth easy motion of the canter, the cooling afternoon and the scent of sun-warmed grasses—all the gnarls inside her working themselves free.
‘Better?’ she asked when she reached Flynn again.
He slanted her a grin. ‘How’d you know?’
‘I start to feel exactly the same way when I’m cooped up for too long. There’s nothing like a good gallop to ease the kinks.’
He stared at her for a long moment. She thought he meant to say something, but he evidently decided to keep it to himself.
‘Munich,’ she blurted out, unable to keep her thoughts in.
‘What do you want to know?’
‘What would my duties be?’
‘A bit of office support—some word processing, accessing databases and spreadsheets, and setting up the odd meeting. If I want printing done, you’ll be my go-to person. The hotel will have business facilities. There might be the odd letter to post.’
This was her and Robbie’s dream job!
‘But...’ she bit her lip ‘...I don’t know any German beyond danke and guten Tag.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Auf wiedersehen?’
Oh, right. She nodded. ‘Goodbye.’
‘Those phrases will serve you well enough. You’ll find you won’t need to know the language. Most Europeans speak perfect English.’
Wow. Still, if she did go she meant to bone up on as much conversational German as she could.
‘You’ll be doing a lot of fetching and carrying—Get me that file, Addie. Where’s the Parker document, Addie? Ring down for coffee, will you, Addie? Where’re the most recent sales figures and costing sheets? Things like that.’
That she could do. She could major in fetching and carrying. ‘When are you planning to leave?’
‘In a week’s time.’
Oh, wow!
He frowned. ‘Do you have a passport?’
‘Yes.’ She’d had one since she was seventeen. Robbie had wanted one, and even though by that stage it had been pointless, Robbie’s parents hadn’t been able to deny her anything. She’d wanted Addie to have one too. Addie had kept it up to date ever since.
‘Good. Now be warned, when we work the pace will be fast and furious, but there’ll be days—lots of them, I expect—when we’ll be twiddling our thumbs. Days when you’ll be free to sightsee.’
It was every dream she’d ever dreamed.
She straightened, slowly, but she felt a reverberation through her entire being. There was more than one way to get off the farm. If she played this right...
‘Naturally I’ll cover your expenses—airfare and accommodation—along with a wage.’
A lump lodged in her throat.
‘I meant what I said earlier, Addie. I want us to build a solid working relationship and I’m not the kind of man to put off the things I want. I don’t see any reason why that working relationship can’t start in Munich.’
If she did a great job for him, if she proved herself a brilliant personal assistant, then maybe Flynn would keep her on as his PA? She could live the life she’d always been meant to live—striding out in a suit and jet-setting around the world.
He stared at her. Eventually he pushed the brim of his hat back as if to view her all the more intently or clearly. ‘Mind if I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
‘Why haven’t you said yes to Munich yet? I can tell you want to.’
She moistened her lips and glanced out at the horizon. ‘Have you ever wanted something so badly that when you finally think it’s yours you’re afraid it’s too good to be true?’
He was silent for a moment and then nodded. ‘I know exactly how that feels.’
She believed him.
‘All you have to do is say yes, Addie.’
So she said it. ‘Yes.’
FLYNN GLANCED ACROSS at Addie, who’d started to droop. ‘Are you okay?’
She shook herself upright. ‘Yes, thank you.’
He raised an eyebrow.
She gritted her teeth and wriggled back in her seat. ‘When can we get off this tin can?’
They’d arrived at Munich airport and were waiting for a gate to become vacant. They’d been on the ground and waiting for fifteen minutes, but he silently agreed with her. It felt more like an hour. ‘Shortly, I expect, but I thought you were looking forward to flying?’
‘I’ve flown now. It’s ticked off my list,’ she ground out, and then she stilled and turned those extraordinary eyes to him. ‘Not that it hasn’t been interesting, but I just didn’t know that twenty-two hours could take so long.’
Addie’s problem was that she’d been so excited when they’d first boarded the plane in Sydney she hadn’t slept a wink on the nine-and-a-half-hour leg between there and Bangkok. She’d worn herself out so much—had become so overtired—that she’d been lucky to get two hours’ sleep over the next twelve hours.
He suspected she wasn’t used to the inactivity either. He thought back to the way they’d cantered across the fields at Lorna Lee’s and shook his head. Overtired and climbing walls. He understood completely.
A steward’s voice chimed through the sound system telling them they were taxiing to Gate Twenty-eight and to remain in their seats. Addie blew out a breath that made him laugh. Within twenty minutes, however, they’d cleared Customs and were waiting by the luggage carousel. Addie eased forward in one lithe movement and hefted a bag from the carousel as if it were a bale of hay.
He widened his stance and frowned at her. ‘If you’d pointed it out I’d have got it for you.’
She blinked at him. ‘Why would you do that when I’m more than capable?’
A laugh escaped him. ‘Because I’m the big strong man and you’re the dainty personal assistant.’
One side of her mouth hooked up and her eyes danced. ‘You didn’t tell me dainty was part of the job description.’ And then she moved forward, picked his suitcase off the carousel and set it at his feet.
‘Addie!’
‘Fetch and carry—that was part of the job description and that I can do.’
He folded his arms. ‘How’d you know it was my case? It’s standard black and nondescript.’
She pointed. ‘With a blue and green tartan ribbon tied to the handle.’
She’d noticed that? ‘Adelaide Ramsey, I have a feeling you’re going to be a handy person to have around.’
‘That’s the plan.’
Was it? Her earnestness puzzled him.
And then she jumped on the spot. ‘Can we go and see Munich now?’
All of her weariness had fled. Her back had straightened, her eyes had brightened and she glanced about with interest. He swallowed and led the way out of the airport to the taxi stand. ‘It’ll take about forty minutes by cab to reach Munich proper.’
‘It’s so cold!’
He turned to find Addie struggling to pull