Page 12

He lifted a large forkful of his eggs Benedict to his mouth. ‘No, for helping you move. Breaking up your bed, et cetera…’ He shoved the gooey bite into his mouth and groaned with pleasure. Hannah’s eyes widened and she stared at his throat, colour pinking her cheeks, and he wondered if his greedy enthusiasm had embarrassed her. He hoped so.

She shook her head as if to clear it. ‘I’m still not entirely sure I want it.’

He swallowed, not entirely sure himself if they were still talking about her move or something else. ‘Then we’ll take it to Goodwill or something. I always go with my gut when it comes to this sort of thing. Wait until the last minute and then see what your heart tells you. You might decide you can’t bear to part from it, or you might realise it means nothing to you and be glad to let it go. See how you feel and decide in the moment.’

‘Good plan, I can be spontaneous!’ she said with a sharp little nod of her head, and began to eat her breakfast. She’d asked for the sauce on the side and carefully poured half of it over the dish before setting it aside. She then picked up her knife and fork, piercing the egg yolk as he had done with a pleased smile. ‘I’ll see how I feel in the moment.’

Caleb had to turn away and deliberately rein in his smile.

Chapter Six

Hannah couldn’t quite believe what had happened in such a short space of time. Her eyes were itchy and she was desperate to get out of her travelling clothes, but she was also buzzing with adrenaline, excited for the future for the first time in months.

Today, she was one step closer to being the fun, spontaneous, interesting new Hannah she wanted to be.

Breakfast had been delicious, the view spectacular, and then Caleb had left her to read the printed contract in the lobby with a coffee while he went to pick up his rental car.

The contract was great. She was shocked by how good the pay was considering most of what she would be doing would be giving advice and waiting around in case something happened.

The only downside was the long days and lack of time off, but frankly, she didn’t mind, as it would only be for a short time, and she could continue travelling after if she wished.

Another bonus was that the studio was based in the Gold Coast, not far from Brisbane – near to where Jules had moved to – so she might even be able to visit her at some point. She’d already sent her a text about it and received an excited squealing voice note in response. A part of her was also pleased she would be doing something that even wild pro-prankster Patrick couldn’t even pull off – a job on a film set! She’d had the contract signed, photocopied and waiting for Caleb by the time he got back.

When Caleb returned from picking up his car, she followed him outside to where it was parked, and he opened the passenger door for her.

It was a huge, fancy silver SUV that looked as if it could drive across the outback without any trouble, but would be a complete pain in the arse to park in the city.

She clambered up into the seat, which was a bit of a hike for her, but she’d managed to strap herself in by the time Caleb walked around and got in on the driver’s side.

‘You okay driving in Australia?’ she asked cautiously, pushing her essentials bag further forward in the seat well with her foot. The worn-out bag looked pitiful in such a flashy car.

‘Why? Because it’s on the wrong side over here?’

‘Wrong for you.’

‘Fair’ – he nodded – ‘but don’t worry. You’re safe with me!’ He winked and her pulse skipped a beat. Switching on the fancy integrated satnav on the dashboard, he gestured towards it as he strapped himself in. ‘Pop your address in and we’ll get going.’

‘I called my aunt. She’s fine with me coming back and leaving my stuff. She’s left the spare key in the lock box for me.’

‘That’s good,’ he said, and after pulling out of the hotel, he added conversationally, ‘You shouldn’t see it as a step back, you know. You tried something and it didn’t work out. There are another hundred different roads for you to try instead.’

‘I guess…’ But she didn’t quite believe him. Would she keep making the same mistakes over and over? Was she, even now, leaping from the frying pan into the fire? Memories of Patrick churned in her stomach, souring the pleasure of her breakfast.

‘If something doesn’t work out, move on and try something new.’ He shrugged as if it were simple, and for him, it probably was. He wore no wedding band and hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend – but you could never tell, especially with carefree men like Caleb.

It never occurred to anyone that she was with Patrick, and he’d always shrugged off the flirty messages from some of his followers as unimportant. It was only later that she’d realised she was the one that didn’t matter.

‘Is that what you do?’ she asked quietly, side-eyeing him and trying to sound casual.

He laughed, but it sounded forced. ‘I’m a stunt performer. It’s my job to fall and get straight back up again.’

Twenty minutes later, they were parked outside of her apartment building. ‘You ready?’ he asked, his brows knitted in surprisingly sweet concern.

‘Yeah, they won’t be in anyway. They’re usually at work by now.’

They headed up, and Hannah felt a prickle of irritation when she opened the door and noticed the flat was still in the same mess it had been since she left earlier. But what did she expect? She hadn’t spoken to them this morning, had left and wandered the streets until it had been a decent enough hour to text Caleb. Some people never changed, and Hannah needed to accept that.

Her flat opened into a rectangular little hallway, with coats and shoes in a jumble on hooks and a bench behind the door.