Page 31 of My Brother’s Best Friends Entanglement

"Geez, I wouldn't know where to start."

He takes a bite of his sandwich, crinkling the paper as he says, "Well, you could start by saying how much better the people are here."

The juice bottle lid pops up as I twist it and take a long, dramatic sip. "Well, there certainly are some better people. The admin office, for one. They are very helpful, and nice too...And well, Professor Pollack, what a present, engaged individual..."

He laughs. "Okay, you've got me there. I guess I've got to work a little harder to get on that list, huh? It sounds like I might be in competition with Professor P."

He isn't flirting. Or not on purpose, I don't think, the words are friendly, but they read as platonic. Honestly, who knows. Even if he is, I'm not interested. I'm here for three months; the last thing I need is a reason to stay in Adelaide once the contract ends.

The lunch hour flies by faster than I expect, and my legs temporarily forget how to work as I struggle to my feet from our spot on the grass.

"You alright?" Craig asks, a smirk on his face as he watches me try to bend my legs under me without flashing the entire student body of Adelaide Uni as I stand.

"You know," I put on a pretend glare, "I just thought of one thing the men of Sydney may be better than those here in Adelaide."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, it's how to be a gentleman."

Like a baby giraffe, I get one leg up, but the point of my boot gets stuck in the grass and I topple forward as I try to swing my second leg up.

Luckily, Craig is there. He lunges forward, his arms coming up to catch me around the waist, my arms automatically coming up to drape around his neck.

"Whoa, easy," he says, as I try to pull my foot free, which somehow has us swaying backwards.

Eventually, we right ourselves, and he makes sure I'm steady on my feet before he lets go.

I'm brushing the grass over my skirt when I look up to see Craig nod in greeting to someone.

When I turn, I see the back of a very familiar black head. Something twists in my stomach. First Marcus and Zachary at home, now Rhys at work too. Suddenly I'm remembering exactly why I left Adelaide in the first place. It's just not big enough for all of us.

Craig must catch me looking because he says, "Rhys Pham. Have you met him? He's the employee counsellor in the People and Culture office."

Yes. I've met him. A voice screams inside my head. I don't know why. Like I need reminding. "Er, yeah. I, er, had a meeting with him yesterday, as part of the orientation."

"He's a bit of an odd one, right?" Craig says, scrunching up the wrappers and collecting our empty juice bottles.

"Um, how so?"

"I mean, nice guy, but is it normal to be so...self-contained all the time? So organised too. He seemed to know more about me than I do myself. But so robotic. It was like a conversation with a talking filing cabinet." He smirks at his own joke, waiting for me to laugh too.

And I should laugh. It was funny. But...I don't. Something bitter coats my throat, like it would be betraying him if I did.

"Yeah, maybe he just takes a while to warm up?" I offer.

His left eyebrow lifts for just a moment, but he drops it.

"So, you were saying about Adelaide men not being gentlemen?" he says, referring to his catching me.

Shaking off the remnants of the Rhys conversation, I bend over to grab my bag and give Craig a smirk. "I stand corrected. For now. Let's just say you're even."

He cocks his head and offers me his bent arm. "Well, then please madam, let me escort you back to your office. You just never know what hooligans there be in these parts."

For some reason, I feel the need to look around, as if to make sure someone isn't watching. Then I take his arm, and with a genteel bow of my head, we walk back to my office.

"Hey, thanks for joining me for lunch," Craig says, as I open my office door, pulling off my coat as I step inside.

"Yes, you did have to twist my arm, what with offering to pay and all. But hey, thanks for taking me under your wing."