Prick.
The faster she nailed this job for Kinstead Avocados and paid off her debt to that lying, cheating scumbag, the better.
A knock on the door roused her from her musings, and she opened it, wishing her heart wouldn’t skip a beat every time she laid eyes on Cruz.
‘Ready for that tour?’
‘Sure.’ She stepped out of the studio and closed the door behind her. ‘Will it take long? I want to make a start on updating the farm’s Facebook page and Instagram profile.’
‘About fifteen minutes,’ he said. ‘We’ll take one of the quads.’
‘I’ve never been on a quad bike.’
‘We’ll take it slow. It’s our preferred mode of transport for zipping around the farm and we value safety above all else. Helmets and OPDs.’
‘OPD?’
‘Operator protection device, in case of rollover.’
‘Wow, you’re really selling those death traps.’
He chuckled. ‘Just hang onto me. I won’t let anything happen to you.’
Hang onto him? Great, just what she needed—for her body to be plastered against his.
He must’ve sensed her reticence, because he shot her a smug glance. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not a single-person vehicle. There’s room for you as a passenger.’
That’s not what I’m worried about, she thought and mustered her best blasé expression, like she rode up close and personal with a guy she’d almost jumped every day of the week.
She fell into step beside him as they walked to the nearest shed, about two hundred metres from the homestead. The pungent smell of diesel hung in the air. Inside, machinery she didn’t recognise lined the walls in neat rows, with two motorbikes and a quad bike parked near the door. Helmets of various sizes hung on hooks along one wall and Cruz picked two, then handed her one. She eyed it dubiously, wondering how it would fit over her head. Once again, he read her thoughts, demonstrating by putting his on first.
‘These can be tricky,’ he said. ‘Let me know if you need a hand.’
Feeling like an inept city girl, Elora struggled with the helmet for a few moments before sighing. ‘Either my head’s too big or this helmet is too small.’
‘Here. Let me.’
He angled the helmet so it slid onto her head with minimal resistance and she huffed out an exasperated breath. As he fastened the strap, his knuckles grazed the sensitive skin under her chin and a shiver of something she dare not identify shot through her. Idiotic, to not label the ‘something’ as lust, but if she acknowledged the underlying attraction that still buzzed within her, she’d be setting herself up for failure, and that wasn’t an option. This job was too important to risk because she hadn’t had a date since she broke up with Jason six months ago.
‘Thanks,’ she said, stepping away too quickly.
‘You’re awfully jumpy,’ he said. ‘We don’t have to take the quad. We can walk instead and see the rest tomorrow.’
‘I’m good.’ She forced a smile. ‘The thought of helmet hair isn’t too appealing and with the way you jammed that thing onto my head, I’m going to look like a scarecrow when I take it off.’
By his slightly narrowed eyes, he didn’t buy her excuse for a second.
‘I assume you’ll want to take photos as I give you the tour?’
She nodded. ‘My phone has a good camera.’
‘Just tap me on the shoulder if you want to stop, but I’ll try to choose the best vantage points for you regardless.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Okay, then, hop aboard.’
She sat, scooting back as far as she could when Cruz swung his leg over the quad bike. Her seat had two small bars to hold on to, but she didn’t like her chances if they traversed bumpy ground, so she did the sensible thing and wriggled forward a little to wrap her arms around his waist.
