Chapter 17

Evie woke the next morning to the sound of grunting and heavy breathing coming from the other side of the truck. She turned to lie on her stomach, catching a glimpse of Adam’s legs and torso moving up and down.

Press-ups?

At this time of the morning?

The heat and light had woken her up, but it was still only twenty past six. She winced at the sight and sound of his exertion but continued to secretly watch him, counting at least twenty push-ups before he changed the rhythm and lowered his body inches from the ground, paused, then pushed up again. After repeating these slow, grueling presses several times, he held a plank position and pumped his legs in a running action, his toes barely skimming the ground as he pushed his knees toward his chest. He grunted again. And again. Evie turned away, hot and flustered. His groans weren’t helping to banish the sexy fantasies she’d had of him last night.

Quite the opposite.

She heard him stand. From underneath the truck, she saw his feet were now spread wide. Another torturous exercise. Squats? Lunges? Some minutes later, his face came into view under the truck again. He was back in a plank position, sweat dripping off the end of his nose.

He raised his head and caught her watching. “Good morning.”

“You’re not normal, are you?”

“Nope.”

He started another round of press-ups and she rolled over, closing her eyes to the sound of his grunting and imagining him doing something else physical and horizontal.

A short time later, still thinking about physical, horizontal things, Evie ate cereal as she discreetly stared at Adam’s bare back. He was washing himself, dipping a wet cloth into the bowl she’d bought for washing dishes. The campground Adam had seen signs to turned out to be little more than a clearing with a long drop toilet. Not that either of them had minded. Evie enjoyed the detour and the spontaneity, just like she was enjoying the view.

They were a few kilometers from the highway. The occasional road train—large Australian lorries pulling several trailers—rattled past, but other than that it was just the call of the birds and the shimmering of leaves in the breeze. She hadn’t been able to trace their exact journey here on her map, the sandy tracks they’d driven along probably hadn’t been chartered.

Not knowing her exact location stirred something deep within her, like she’d been poised on the edge of a brave new world. Evie snuck another look at the muscles on Adam’s back. She didn’t think muscles could actually ripple, but his were. Very much so. They worked under his taut skin, smooth and oiled like machinery. She licked her lips and pondered a very interesting concept.

What if she made a move on him?

The way he’d looked at her yesterday had sown a seed. A seed that had germinated overnight and unfurled with the rising sun. It was a silly idea to go with her silly crush but, as they packed away their camp after breakfast, there was no harm in testing the water. So much had happened this past week, and this brave new world she now dwelt in reminded Evie that she was a woman who took control. She made things happen.

So why not make things happen with Adam?

Her sunblock was poking out of her backpack, a reminder that she’d yet applied any like she did every morning without fail.

She called out to Adam, holding the bottle up to him. “Would you mind? I’m afraid you’re the only one around today who can do the parts I can’t reach.” She indicated the semi-circles of skin that were exposed by her racerback sports bra, the spaghetti straps of her vest offering very little protection. “It’s too hot for a T-shirt,” she added, even though Adam, as usual, had put his back on.

She’d always known she’d need his help to apply suncream at some point but since that night in Derby, Adam might consider a simple favor like this as something flirty. Something intimate. He glanced quickly at the bottle before taking it from her. She turned her back and hid her smile, sensing his hesitation.

Did touching her make him nervous?

Blimey, if that was the case, he’d run a mile if he ever found out about the steamy scenarios she’d imagined him in last night while she’d been waiting to fall asleep. Him, naked. With her, naked. She bit her lip, still wondering what he would have done if she really had acted upon her fantasies and stepped to his side of the truck wearing nothing but the moonlight.

Cold cream hit Evie’s hot skin without warning. She yelped. Adam mumbled an apology and began to rub, his fingers soft but firm, sliding over her skin in small brisk circles. The circles of a man wanting to get the job done. So unlike her dreams in which he’d taken his time.

“You have good traps,” he said.

“Excuse me.”

“Trapezius muscles. This bit here.” Adam traced a triangle between Evie’s shoulder blades. “Do you work out?”

“I try to.” Evie gathered her thoughts. “Back home I run and do Pilates a couple of times a week, but it’s hard to get into a routine out here.”

“You’re strong and sturdy.”

She turned to face him. “Like a donkey?”

He looked stricken. “No. I—”

“Don’t worry, I’m joking.” She took the bottle from him and indicated his torso with her finger. “If you ever want to tone up that flab of yours, I can show you a few moves.”

“Thanks.” His lips twitched. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She watched him pack his things away. The application of sun lotion hadn’t quite been the sensual experience of her fantasies but at least she’d made him smile. He hadn’t done much of it this morning, having reverted back to Quiet Adam. It was just his nature, but was there more at play? “You seem quiet today.”

“Just hot and tired.”

“Still want to see what’s on the other side of the river before setting off to Windjana?”

They had a few hours in which to explore, having planned to drive to Windjana later in the morning so they could make use of the truck’s air con during the hottest part of the day.

“Yeah, of course.” He finished loading up the truck, closed the boot and nodded to her bag. “You want a hand with that?”

“No, it’s fine.” She plonked her backpack on the back seat next to Adam’s much smaller holdall. She eyed it with the usual curiosity.

She liked Adam—and not just because she fancied the pants off him. He was very easy company, but there was something about him that jarred. She looked at his bag again. It was the type of bag one would take to the gym, not halfway around the world.

“Ready to go?” Adam slipped into the driver’s seat.

Evie climbed in beside him. It had been clear to her since the start that he’d drastically under packed for this trip abroad. He’d had to buy more clothes in Derby, she’d seen the shopping bags, and she’d noticed his new flip-flops, too, which he’d started to wear yesterday instead of his usual running shoes.

Today, he was wearing one of his new rash tops, a particularly well-fitting light blue T-shirt made by a sports brand that didn’t come cheap. At this rate, the only cash he’d have when they got to Darwin would be the fee she’d agreed to pay him. It wasn’t any of her business how he spent his money, but it did make her wonder.

Had Adam left Canada in a hurry? And if so, why?

“So let me get this straight,” Adam said, halfway to Windjana. “When you were fourteen you found out your father had another family you knew nothing about?”

Evie didn’t know how they’d got onto this subject. She was pretty sure she’d been asking Adam about his background, but he had a way of deflecting questions back to her. At first, she’d thought it was because he didn’t want to talk about himself, but now she wasn’t so sure. He seemed truly interested in her, asking her more and more details until she ended up revealing the single event that had marred the end of her childhood.

“I’d spent most of my childhood thinking my father was one thing, only for him to turn out to be another,” Evie continued. “He walked out on us when I was five, then he moved to LA—or so we were led to believe. It turned out he lived in north London, sixty miles away from us. His wife and daughters knew nothing about me either.”

Adam blew out a breath. “Wow, people really do that kinda stuff in real life?”

There was more to the story but Evie didn’t want to drag it up now, like some accolade that defined who she was. She didn’t like talking about Noel Barker, not that his name would mean much to Adam, or anyone else outside of the UK. Her father was a has-been, a small fish in a very large pond.

“Just for the record, this has been a really random conversation to have with a guy I’ve only known a week.”

“I’m all ears. Not much else to listen to out here.”

She held up her iPod charging with a USB adaptor in the truck’s cigarette lighter. “Christina Aguilera?”

“Hell no.”

She laughed. Despite having talked about her father, she was enjoying herself and that interesting concept unfurled a little bit more.

Evie making a move on Adam? She couldn’t.

Could she?

But as the kilometers ticked by, she thought about the brave new world and this fantastic year away from home that she was meant to be having. After her separation from Zac, shouldn’t she be using this time for new experiences that weren’t limited to seeing just the scenery?

So she began to wonder—just for the fun of it—how she would go about seducing a man like Adam. She had very limited experiences with men. There had only ever been Zac, and she didn’t think that drunken snog she’d had in a backpacker bar in Airlie Beach three months ago counted.

The guy, who was from New Zealand, had been called Kiwi by his friends but she was sure his name was something like Sean or Simon. Not that it had mattered. He’d forgotten all about her the moment those friends had returned from the bar handing him a fresh bottle of beer. What did that say about her skills in attracting men and keeping them interested?

With that sobering thought, Evie glimpsed at what her life would be like when she returned to England. She still wanted a man to share her life with, still wanted a family. Which meant only one thing. Soon, she’d have to start . . . dating. The thought depressed her.

“Want a mint?” Adam offered, one hand on the wheel.

“No, thank you.”

Although she wouldn’t mind dating if all the guys were like Adam. Delicious Adam with his fine, hard body and quiet, gentlemanly manners. She didn’t think she’d be so lucky. So why not make the most of it now? After all, Adam had started it. He had thought about kissing her and she was on the other side of the world, having the adventure of a lifetime. Couldn’t Adam become part of that adventure?

Evie peeped again into the possibility of seducing Adam but just as quickly shut the door in its face. What if he rejected her? It would be an utter disaster—and not just for her self-confidence. She couldn’t jeopardize this tour and after that kind of mortification, she’d be finding herself back in Derby quicker than she could say, “Night bus to Darwin.”

Evie seducing Adam? Tempting him with a bite of the forbidden fruit?

What forbidden fruit? She had nothing with which to tempt him. She was totally ill-equipped for seduction. For that, surely, she’d need figure-hugging clothes, a cleavage, and a chilled bottle of wine. She’d need makeup that wouldn’t sweat off in minutes and a hairstyle that didn’t fear a comb being run through it. She leaned back and placed her feet on the dashboard, inadequate that she had none of those things.

She didn’t even have clean feet.

Adam glanced at Evie’s cute toes and worked his way along to her thighs. She had nice legs. They were toned and shapely, and he liked how they were marked with bruises and scrapes, like she wasn’t afraid to use them and get a little dirty.

“So tell me about you?” she asked suddenly. “Any secret siblings in your family?”

Removing his gaze from her legs, Adam focused on the road again. He’d been enjoying listening to her but since she’d told him something personal about herself, he was now expected to do the same. The curse of conversation.

“None that have come knocking,” he replied. “But considering how my dad goes through women, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Your parents are divorced?”

Adam shifted in his seat. Had he said that out loud? Another curse of conversation—or rather conversing with Evie and that way of hers that made him forget. “Like yours, they were never married. Although when my dad turned fifty last year, he joked about it being time he settled down.”

“Your father’s fifty?”

“Fifty-one now.”

She twisted to face him. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-three.” He could hear her thoughts. “Let that be a lesson in safe sex, eh?” Just then, the road signs came into view. “I guess we should see signs for Windjana campground soon.”

Which meant show time.

Tension pinched his shoulders. Adam had no idea if Skinny Pete had come to Windjana yesterday or even if he’d still be there, and by the time he found out, it would be too late to do anything. He’d be stuck with the same two choices—run away or suck it up.

Since yesterday, Adam had imagined all sorts of showdowns. None particularly attractive. The worst featured him skidding back to the highway in a cloud hissing with dust and stone, chased by the gang of twenty-somethings who’d lose control of the wheel, have a hideous crash and become worldwide news. The best scenario was less gruesome but even that ultimately ended the same way; he’d have to say goodbye to this quiet tour of the Kimberleys. He’d have to say goodbye to Evie.

He could picture the disbelief in her eyes as he came clean, her lips forming a simple O as he posed for photographs because, of course, he’d have to encourage the Aussie guys to have a shot at Saskia’s bounty and act like the invasion of his privacy didn’t matter one bit. Adam would then drive Evie back to Derby, offering her the sum of the bounty to ensure she didn’t tell anyone about their time together, and more importantly, didn’t reveal that he was on his way to Darwin to spend time with Shane.

Adam would also take her out for a meal at the best restaurant in town. “We had fun, didn’t we?” he’d say. “Shame we didn’t see all the Kimberleys together, but hey, you can treat yourself to your own private tour in style now.” He’d kiss her cheek and wish her a nice life, and as he walked away, her gaze would drill into the back of his head as she called him all types of self-absorbed asshole.

“Adam. You missed the turning.”

He snapped out of his absurd daydream. “Damn.”

Hitting the brakes, he stopped the truck and tried to clear his mind as dust settled over the bonnet.

“The campground should be easy to spot,” Evie said after he’d turned the vehicle around and headed down the right track. “It’s the only thing down here.”

“I see it.”

The campground was wide and spacious.

And it was empty.

No Jeep. No Skinny Pete. And definitely no photographers.

The furnace blast of heat stung Evie’s air-conditioned skin the second she opened the truck door.

“Where is everyone?” Adam asked.

“In cooler parts of the world.” She hopped out. How much time and space would Adam need to snap out of his most recent patch of quiet contemplation? “Next time, I think we turn down the air con a few minutes before we stop to give ourselves a chance to acclimatize.”

“I think you’re right.” Adam wiped his brow. “Man, it’s hot,” he said, shuffling the toe of his new flip-flop in the sun-parched earth.

Evie could tell he was still trying to shake off whatever he’d been thinking about during the drive, but it was stinking hot here, and irritably so. She could feel her own skin sizzle in the heat. By the coast they’d had a mild sea breeze but here there was nothing, the air stifling hot from the ground up.

The gray nomads had been right. There was heat and there was heat—then there was Kimberley heat. There was a reason no one else was here and the closer they got to November, the hotter it would get. “Maybe traveling at this time of year wasn’t the best decision after all.”

“You want to abort mission already?”

“No. Do you?

“No. I’m still game.”

After being so quiet this morning, Adam’s eagerness and enthusiasm surprised her and it also eased her uncertainty.

“At least we have the place to ourselves,” she said. “In high season, you have to book weeks, if not months, in advance to get a pitch here. This heat is extreme but it’s definitely nothing I’ve experienced before, and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

“It sure is, and you don’t have to persuade me. This is awesome! We’ll just have to adapt our schedule. Hike at dawn or dusk and plan our drives during the middle part of the day. It’s no big deal.”

She studied him curiously, remembering his earlier mood. “What’s made you so happy? You looked miserable just now, like you did this morning.”

His grin faltered but he didn’t deny it. “Just ignore me when I get like that. It’s nothing personal.”

But there was obviously something bothering him, and that bitter tone in his voice when he’d mentioned his father earlier had been similar to the other night when she’d asked if he’d had fun catching up with Canada. “Problems back home?”

He took his sunglasses off, rubbed his right eye with the back of his hand. “Yeah, kinda.” He sighed. “Just family stuff, work stuff. Crap like that. I’m in need of some R and R. I’ve had a crazy year.”

Oh, she could relate to that. Her life had been all sorts of crazy when she and Zac had split up, all sorts of strange when she’d been boxing up their flat, saying goodbye to her past life.

“Rest and relaxation.” Evie held his gaze and smiled. “It looks like you’ve come to the right place, then.”