Chapter 25

It was happy hour at the Brown Lizard and Evie was anything but. She sat under a huge umbrella in the crowded outside bar area, sipping a lemonade through a straw she’d already chewed to bits. In the pool, three guys splashed around, trying to drown each other as they showed off in front of squealing girlfriends. Bursts of laughter and screeches of delight. They looked so young. Gap year kids. This place had its fair share of them.

The juke-box music stopped and on came another reggae track. Evie hated reggae, and her patience for the things she hated had become tissue paper thin. She jumped out of her chair, dug around for some change and chose ten tracks of her own. Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, The Stone Roses, Crowded House. She’d mix it up a bit, teach these kids a thing or two about music. The tracks she’d ordered would buy her twenty minutes, and that’s all she needed to finish the emails she was typing out on her phone, telling her friends all about the Kimberleys and what she was going to do next.

At first Evie had attempted to write about Adam, but then deleted all mention of him. She didn’t want anyone to know she’d been falling in love with someone who hadn’t felt the same, not when her feelings for him were still so jumbled up and raw.

Not when she still couldn’t bloody believe he’d dumped her.

“Do you mind if we sit here?” Two girls barely out of their teens stood at her table, indicating the empty chairs.

“Of course not, help yourself.” Evie shifted and smiled at them as they sat. “Where are you from?”

“Germany,” the one with the very short hair said. She looked like a pixie experimenting with punk.

“That explains the perfect English, then.”

“Are you from England?” the girl with the straight blond hair asked.

Evie nodded. “Near London.”

And so began the string of usual questions. How long have you been traveling? Where have you been? Where are you going next?

Have you ever been dumped for no reason by a guy you really connected with?

Now that would be an interesting conversation. They could all analyze and dissect the story of Adam and Evie, conjuring up all sorts of theories to soften the blow and hide the bottom-line fact; he didn’t want to be with her. Perhaps they’d explore his commitment issues, his fear of falling in love, and all the other rubbish that made it his problem and his loss, while Evie sobbed and wiped her nose on her clothes.

“Are you going to the disco tonight?” Punk-Pixie asked.

“The one here?” Evie had seen the chalkboard sign. She didn’t really fancy it, but other than mope about on her dorm bed, what else would she be doing? “If you’re going, can I join you?” I’m a likable human being, she wanted to add. Though not likable enough to make a certain Canadian stay.

“Of course,” Blondie said.

“Would you like to come shopping with us too?”

Evie forced up a smile at Punk-Pixie. Had the girl sensed her low mood? Perhaps she looked as miserable as she felt. “I’d love to, thank you.”

Shopping and dancing. What better way to forget a man?

It was six o’clock and dark. Adam lay in his hot tent in a campground on the outskirts of Darwin’s city center holding the note he’d found wrapped around $400.

Your fee. You’ve earned it.

He sat up, telling himself he’d done the right thing. One day, when things returned to some sort of normality for him, he’d track Evie down and explain. He’d already found her on Facebook but in order to contact her, he’d need to create a new account under Adam’s name and he couldn’t be bothered, his fake profile as empty as he now felt.

So he’d just lie here and take mental flight to somewhere else—anywhere else. Anywhere away from a handwritten note that made him feel cheap and worthless. A note he didn’t want to throw away because it was the only thing he had left of her.

Deciding to make something to eat, Adam rummaged in the kitchen box for some quick and ready food. He was hungry without appetite, but he’d swallow down whatever drab meal he’d manage to put together and get on with his plan to . . . to . . . What?

It always came back to this. The same old question.

What the fuck was he doing with his life?

Adam first asked it a month after his retirement when the TV and magazine interviews, that had once been rife, dried up after his last Olympics. The days that had followed were long and empty. He’d had too much time on his hands to mull and stew. He’d been afraid. Afraid that he’d made the wrong decision. Afraid that these shadows of days would preempt the rest of his life. He had some money saved, and he had the apartment, but he knew the money would run out eventually if he didn’t have a plan. But then came Celebrity Stakes and he’d been swept along by the riptide of fame and fortune.

And he still hadn’t worked out what he wanted! He currently had no plan other than to wait for Shane and Krista’s return in ten days with nothing to do except read and think. Once upon a time, in the thick of living in Saskia’s world, this would have been pure bliss, but now, after knowing Evie, he was back to living long, empty days and long, stuffy nights. Alone.

He had done the right thing in letting Evie go, hadn’t he?

And yet, what had he actually achieved?

Abandoning his search for a meal, Adam sat on the edge of the truck. Evie was gone but nothing had been resolved. His life was still a public mess. Saskia was still hunting him down, refusing to let him go.

And he’d acted like a total shithead this morning.

Closing his eyes, Adam was haunted by the image of Evie’s face when she’d realized he no longer wanted to be with her.

But that was just it. He did want to be with her.

He recalled the night he’d almost thrown his phone into the sea wishing he could throw away his problems just as easily.

Wasn’t that exactly what he’d done with Evie?

He’d thrown her away, but Evie wasn’t the problem because the problem still remained.

He pushed off the edge of the truck but had nowhere to go. No matter how shocking it would have been for Evie to hear the truth, Adam realized he should have told her everything this morning. He should have given her the choice. Did she want to face that type of publicity? Did she want her privacy violated? Did she want to become a part of his world?

If she’d said yes, they could have come up with a plan. Together. No one needed to find out straight away. They both had time left on their tourist visas to stay in Australia. He had money and means. They could remain lovers on the run until they’d figured something out.

But what if she said no? Would she stay with him when she found out the truth? And if she did, would things be the same between them?

Adam paced alongside the truck, thinking about Zac and Evie’s father. Evie didn’t take kindly to being lied to. Wounds like that took time to heal for her. Perhaps it was better to leave it, then? Perhaps he’d done the right thing after all.

But Adam missed her. He wanted her. Going back for Evie felt right—she felt right—and there was only one way to find out if she still wanted him.

He secured the tent, jumped into the truck, then plugged his Australian mobile in to charge while he used its GPS to refresh his memory on the route to the Brown Lizard. It buzzed in his hand with a text from Shane.

Got away early. Back in Darwin in the morning. Come the day after?

Adam reread the message and didn’t know whether to laugh at the irony, or weep with relief. At least one of his lies to Evie had come true. He texted Shane back.

Awesome! Looking forward to it.

Then he steered the truck toward the lights of the city.

There were other ways to forget a man, Evie realized as she sipped her third white wine spritzer of the evening. The alcohol buzzed around her temples, made her feel light on her feet. She leaned against the bar and watched her new German friends own the dance floor. Their names were Ines and Sofia, and they were young, gorgeous and confident. They liked two-for-the-price-of-one cocktails and clingy, low-cut dresses, and their enthusiasm for the crap dance music was curiously infectious.

Evie drained her wine, gloriously, spitefully so. She should be drinking water to quench her thirst—but bring on the buzz, she wanted to enjoy the way her eyes were losing focus, her head spinning in just the right way, like she was sailing out to sea.

Drifting with the tide.

What a load of bollocks.

How could she have fallen for such an aimless loser? What else did Adam have going for him other than muscles and excellent driving skills? He had no ambition, no oomph that made him strive and achieve. He was a coward; she knew it the night he told her he’d walked away from his business, and she knew it this morning when he let her go rather than put some effort into growing their relationship.

Idiot.

Evie placed her empty glass on the bar and skipped out onto the dance floor, the hem of the milk-chocolate sundress she’d bought that afternoon skimming her thighs. It was thirty-eight degrees outside, but the bar had air con so she was able to wear her hair out, long and loose. It swished around her back and shoulders as she lost herself in the thumping, steady rhythm. After several tracks, the beat merged into something slower, smoother. She swayed her hips—then looked down as heavy male hands snaked around her. Another way to forget a man? Replace him with someone else. She swayed her hips a little more.

But then her body went on high alert as the masculine arm, sprinkled with dark hair, wrapped itself around her body. The guy leaned in behind her.

“Hi Evie,” he said. She stilled at the sound of the familiar accent. “Remember me?”

The music seemed to get louder, more intoxicating. The dance floor more crowded.

“Kiwi?” Face-to-face with her drunken snog from Airlie Beach, she focused and shouted over the music. “You remember my name? You were pretty drunk that night.”

Kiwi laughed, having the good grace to look embarrassed. “Good times, hey?”

Meh. His kisses had been okay, but she’d been far more dazzled since.

“So, you made it to Darwin?” She extricated his arms from around her waist and asked him about his route to the Top End, holding on to his hands in a friendly gesture that told him she wasn’t interested in a repeat of that sangria-fueled night.

Kiwi took the hint, but not for long. Giving it one more try, he pulled Evie close. He wasn’t as good looking as she remembered—and younger too—but he had an easy, friendly smile. The type of smile that got him things.

“Let’s get another drink,” he said.

Evie’s head swirled with the ego boost of being wanted and desired, even if the guy wanting and desiring her was only looking for an easy lay. She wouldn’t have sex with him, but she could do with more wine and some company at the bar while she drank it.

She turned and slammed into something hard. Kiwi caught her on the rebound and she looked up.

Adam towered over them, his jaw set in a hard line. “Having fun?”

Evie could do nothing but gawp as Adam turned his stare to Kiwi. Mine, his ominous glare seemed to say. Kiwi pushed her back onto her feet, seemingly not drunk enough as to be oblivious to the air crackling with something that didn’t include him. Adam blasted him with another caveman look. Beat it.

“I’m going to get that drink.” Kiwi released her, but not before stealing a cheeky glance at Adam and kissing her full on the lips. Her eyes flew open at the wet and foreign sensation, and all she could see past the side of Kiwi’s face was a furious Adam, statue-still in the middle of the dance floor. “Catch ya later.”

Evie let Kiwi pass then folded her arms to resist wiping her lips. She should rub Adam’s nose in it, pretend she’d enjoyed another man’s kiss, but one look at him told her he wasn’t in the mood to play games.

And neither was she.

Adam had no right, but the part of him expecting to find Evie sobbing into her pillow got pretty pissed off at finding her in the arms another man.

He’d just checked in to this rowdy hostel, booking a double room in sheer hope that Evie would share it with him, and had at first planned to search the dorms and kitchens for her, but when he’d heard the music, he’d made a beeline to the bar, knowing she’d be there.

This place was one big backpacker party and the scowl he’d worn when he’d pushed through the bar doors had earned him a place on the bouncer’s radar. But Adam hadn’t cared. He hadn’t cared if he was one of the oldest people here. One of the tallest and broadest. Hadn’t cared one bit if he stuck out like a storm cloud in a bright blue sky nor if someone recognized him.

He’d only had one goal. To scan the crowd of revelers for Evie, eyes trained to seek out the messy bun on top of her head and the usual ratty vest and dusty shorts she wore, only to do a triple take when he’d clocked her lovely face framed by flowing hair. Her slim body wrapped in a dress that matched the color of her eyes.

Evie looked gorgeous and now that the douche who’d kissed her had gone, he reached out to tell her.

But she pulled back.

“What are you doing here, Adam?”

“Looking for you.” He reached for her again, wanting to lead her away to somewhere quiet and private. “We need to talk.”

“So talk.” Evie flicked his hands away. The music pulsed and bled to the next track, and the dance floor heaved with a fresh wave of music. They were nudged to the middle, surrounded by writhing bodies.

“Outside.”

“No.” Evie moved her body to the music, a sexy wood sprite dancing just out of his reach.

Fuck it.

“You wanna dance?” Adam grabbed her and crushed her body against his. “I’ll dance.”

Her eyes turned wild and wide, daring him to unleash what they both knew he’d been holding back this morning. Adam moved his body with hers, thrusting motions that were making him crazy. Making him see things clearly again. His gaze skimmed her mouth. Her lips parted. He pulled back. Not yet.

The music turned fast and frantic, the crowd jumping as one. They were pushed and bumped, but Adam held their ground. His groin pressed against her as they moved with the beat. He cupped her butt with one hand, cupped her face with the other.

“Is this enough heat for you, Evie?” He pressed his erection against her inner thigh. “Wanna make me burn for you a little longer?”

She shook her head. “I want to know why you’re here.”

“I don’t know.” He had a goddamn hard-on in a cheap hostel nightclub. Couldn’t she see he was a man losing his mind? Losing his mind over her. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing and that’s the truth. But whatever it is, you’re a part of it. I want you to be a part of it.”

As the music smoothed to a mellow rhythm, they came apart. Evie brushed away wild waves of hair that had fallen across her face. He could see the play of emotions in her eyes: fear, confusion, relief, excitement.

Baby, he knew the feeling.