He laughs, slow and easy.The sound tugs at something deep in my stomach.
We fall into silence broken only by another moan echoing from inside my cabin.
Luke’s eyes flick up.‘Locked out?’
I nod, lips pressed together.
He hesitates.‘You can crash in my room, if you want?’
That earns him a raised eyebrow.
He holds up both hands.‘I’ll sleep in Dax’s room.Promise.’I stare at him for a beat too long.He takes a seat beside me and adds, ‘Or you can sit here until Abbey finishes screaming her heart out.’
A laugh escapes me.‘I’m considering it.’
He glances over at me, an arm resting on one knee, his fingers picking at a thread on his jeans.‘I could sit with you.If you want.’
‘Until what?We both dissolve into mist?’
‘Until you make a decision,’ he says.‘About the whole … sleeping arrangement.’
‘I have a very strict no-second-hook-up policy.It’s part of my cold-blooded city persona.’
He leans back on his palms and looks up at the stars.‘Technically, you wouldn’t be sleeping with me.I’d be elsewhere.You’d be solo.In a bed.Fully within the policy rules.’
‘Hmm.’I glance sideways at him.‘You’re good at loopholes.I don’t like it.’
He grins, slowly.‘Yes, you do.’
Er, yes.I kind of do.
I go quiet again, tugging my knees up to my chest, feeling the cool night air on my bare legs.We sit side by side, the night stretching before us as if it’s got nowhere else to be.The sky is littered with stars, and the only sound now is the occasional chirp of crickets and the frequent moans of Abbey.
‘She always this loud?’Luke asks.
‘Yes and no,’ I say, smiling despite myself.‘She’s a walking contradiction.That’s her charm.’
There’s a beat of silence.Then, as if he’s turning a page I’m not sure I want him reading, he asks, ‘Are you guys close?’
I nod.‘The three of us have been inseparable since high school.Until Ella left for’ – I smile and wave at the sprawling darkness – ‘whatever this is.’
‘And you grew up in the city?’
It’s not a hard question, but it feels like one.My stomach tightens, guarded.‘Yeah,’ I say after a pause, frowning more at myself than at him but refusing to divulge any further information.
He doesn’t press, but I can feel the way his question lingers, an open door I refuse to walk through.He’s prying – gently, carefully, trying not to spook me.I know this trick.I’ve used it on others.
‘What about you?’I ask, deflecting with ease.‘Do you work with Darcy?’
Luke’s brows knit.‘No.I’ve got my own place – family cattle station a couple hours east.’
‘Oh.’I wince.‘Sorry.You mentioned that last night.I blame the rosé.’
He looks at his rolled-up sleeves and gives a faint grin.‘It’s all good.I should’ve known you were a lightweight.’
‘I am not.’My eyes trail across his chest before remembering I’m still pretending to have self-control.‘You said it’s just you and your dad?’
He nods, eyes fixed on something in the sky I can’t see.‘Me, the old man and a few contractors.My dad hasn’t been well for a while, so he spends most of his time in hospital.’
