scaredy-cat, Audra Russel?’
She realised he thought her ‘No way’ had been in relation to herself, which was just as well because if he realised she’d meant it for him he’d immediately go out and throw himself off the first cliff he came across simply to spite her.
And while it might be satisfying to say I told you so if he did come to grief, she had a feeling that satisfaction would be severely tempered if the words were uttered in a hospital ward...or worse.
‘Why don’t you let your hair down for once, take a risk? You might even find it’s fun.’
She bit back a sigh. Maybe that was what she was afraid of. One risk could lead to another, and before she knew it she could’ve turned her whole life upside down. And she wasn’t talking sex with her brother’s best friend here either. Which—obviously—wasn’t going to happen. She was talking about her job and her whole life. It seemed smarter to keep a tight rein on all her risk-taking impulses. She was sensible, stable and a rock to all her family. That was who she was. She repeated the words over and over like a mantra until she’d fixed them firmly in her mind again.
She racked her brain to think of a way to control Finn’s risk-taking impulses too. ‘There’s absolutely nothing wrong with some lazy R & R, Finn Sullivan.’ She used his full name in the same way he’d used hers. ‘You should try it some time.’
His eyes suddenly gleamed. ‘I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll try your kind of holiday R & R if you’ll try mine?’
She bit her lip, her pulse quickening. This could be the perfect solution. ‘So you’d be prepared to laze around here with a book if I...if I try windsurfing and stuff?’
‘Yep. Quid pro quo.’
‘Meaning?’
‘One day we do whatever you choose. The next day we do whatever I choose.’
She turned to hang up the tea towel so he couldn’t see the self-satisfied smile that stretched across her face. For at least half of his stay she’d be able to keep him out of trouble. As for the other half...she could temper his pace—be so inept he’d have to slow down to let her keep up or have to spend so much time teaching her that there’d been no time for him to be off risking his own neck. Perfect.
She swung back. ‘Despite what you say, I’m not a scaredy-cat.’
‘And despite what you think, I’m not hyperactive.’
* * *
Finn held his breath as he watched Audra weigh up his suggestion. She was actually considering it. Which was surprising. He’d expected her to tell him to take a flying leap and stalk off to read her book.
But she was actually considering his suggestion and he didn’t know why. He thought he’d need to tease and rile her more, bring her latent competitive streak to the fore, where she’d accept his challenge simply to save face. Still, he had tossed out the bait of her proving that her way was better than his. Women were always trying to change him. Maybe Audra found that idea attractive too?
In the next moment he shook his head. That’d only be the case if she were interested in him as a romantic prospect. And she’d made it clear that wasn’t the case.
Thank God.
He eyed that tight little bun and swallowed.
‘I’ll agree to your challenge...’
He tried to hide his surprise. She would? He hadn’t even needed to press her.
‘On two conditions.’
Ha! He knew it couldn’t be that easy. ‘Which are?’
‘I get to go first.’
He made a low sweeping bow. ‘Of course—ladies first, that always went without saying.’ It was a minor concession and, given how much he still hurt, one he didn’t mind making. They could pick up the pace tomorrow.
‘And the challenge doesn’t start until tomorrow.’
He opened his mouth to protest, but she forged on. ‘We need to go shopping. There’s hardly any food in the place. And I’m not wasting my choice of activities on practicalities like grocery shopping, thank you very much.’
‘We could get groceries delivered.’
‘But it’d be nice to check out the produce at the local market. Rupert likes to support the local businesses.’
And while she was here she’d consider herself Rupert’s representative. And it was true—what she did here would reflect on her brother. The Russels had become a bit of a fixture in Kyanós life over the last few years.
‘I also want to have a deliciously long browse in the bookstore. And you’ll need to select a book too, you know?’
Oh, joy of joys. He was going to make her run two miles for that.
‘And...’ she shrugged ‘...consider it a fact-finding mission—we can research what the island has to offer and put an itinerary together.’
Was she really going to let him choose half of her holiday activities for the next week or two? Excellent. By the time he was through with her, she’d have colour in her cheeks, skin on her bones—not to mention some muscle tone and a spring in her step. ‘You’ve got yourself a deal...on one condition.’
Her eyebrows lifted.
‘That you lose the bun.’ He couldn’t think straight around that bun. Whenever he glanced at it, he was seized by an unholy impulse to release it. It distracted him beyond anything.
Without another word, she reached up to pull the pins from her bun, and a soft cloud of fair hair fell down around her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed and she thrust out her chin. ‘Better?’
It took an effort of will to keep a frown from his face. A tight band clamped around his chest.
‘Is it beachy enough for you?’
‘A hundred per cent better,’ he managed, fighting the urge to reach out and touch a strand, just to see if it was as silky and soft as it looked.
She smirked and pulled it back into a ponytail. ‘There, the bun is gone.’
But the ponytail didn’t ease the tightness growing in his chest, not to mention other places either. It bounced with a perky insolence that had him aching to reach out and give it a gentle tug. For pity’s sake, it was just hair!
She stilled, and then her hands went to her hips. ‘Are you feeling okay, Finn?’
He shook himself. ‘Of course I am. Why?’
‘You gave in to my conditions without a fight. That’s not like you. Normally you’d bicker with me and angle for more.’
Damn! He had to remember how quick she was, and keep his wits about him.
‘If you want a few more days before embarking on our challenge, that’s fine with me. I mean, you only just got the cast off your arm.’
He clenched his jaw so hard it started to ache.
‘I understand you beat yourself up pretty bad on that mountain.’
She paused as if waiting for him to confirm that, but he had no intention of talking about his accident.
She shrugged. ‘And you looked pretty rough last night so...’
‘So...what?’
‘So if you needed a couple of days to regroup...’
Anger directed solely at himself pooled in his stomach. ‘The accident was two month ago, Squirt.’ He called her Squirt deliberately, to set her teeth on edge. ‘I’m perfectly fine.’
She shrugged. ‘Whatever you say.’ But she didn’t look convinced.