Page 17 of Outback Secrets

‘Guess it’s better than driving home drunk. Any sugars?’

‘Two, please. And I would not have driven home,’ she said, horrified. ‘I might have had more to drink than usual, but I’m not stupid. I’d have slept in Cecil.’

‘Cecil?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, my Kombi—he’s the love of my life.’

The toast popped but Liam didn’t reach for it. ‘You have a Kombi van? Does it have a bed in it?’

She nodded. ‘He’s outside in the car park.’

Liam started laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘Last night, when I found you curled up on the couch near the pool table, I could barely wake you. I offered to call Tilley to come get you, but you told me you’d sleep in your car. I didn’t know it had an actual bed in it, so I offered you a room instead.’

‘Whoops.’ Henri smiled apologetically. ‘Didn’t I mention Cecil was a van?’

He shook his head. ‘All you mentioned was how lovely my eyes were and how much you wanted chocolate.’

‘Oh God, I’m so sorry.’

‘It’s fine. Really. All part of the service. And in answer to your question, we came in here so you could use my bathroom, but you fell asleep in the bedroom instead. I slept on the couch—I promise. I’d have taken the free room myself but I wanted to be close in case … you needed anything.’

Henri guessed that was his polite way of saying he wanted to be able to hear if she started vomiting in her sleep and he needed to stop her choking to death. How utterly mortifying to have got so pissed that this stranger had to give up his bed for her.

‘I promise I don’t usually behave this way, but things have been a little stressful lately and my mum’s been driving me crazy since I got home. I was angry at her when I arrived last night and then … never mind.’ The guy might be a good Samaritan but that didn’t mean he needed to hear her woes. ‘I’m usually much better at holding my grog but I must have been really tired or something.’

‘Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’ve dealt with worse drunks than you. You weren’t verbally abusive, you didn’t tell any terrible jokes, and in the end, you didn’t even throw up.’

Thank God. ‘Well, I appreciate it anyway.’ She finally took a sip of coffee. ‘Geez, that’s good.’

Liam grinned, and damn if it wasn’t the kind of smile that made Henri feel a little off kilter. More likely it was just the alcohol still lingering in her veins.

‘There are few things in life I take more seriously than coffee,’ he said.

‘We have that in common then,’ she replied, returning his smile.

‘What do you want on your toast?’ He plucked the slices from the toaster and slapped them on a plate. ‘I’ve got Vegemite, honey or blueberry jelly?’

‘Vegemite, please.’

The moment Liam unscrewed the lid on the jar, the dog started sniffing the air.

‘You’ve already had your breakfast,’ he told her, the affection clear in his voice. ‘This is for our guest.’

‘Your dog’s a real sweetie,’ Henri said, smiling down at the odd-looking thing. Its body was speckled grey and white, but its head was mostly black with flecks of ginger.

‘She’s not bad.’ He slathered the toast with butter and Vegemite then passed it to her.

‘Thanks.’ She took a bite of her toast, then frowned. ‘Was it downstairs last night? Or does it stay up here while you work?’

‘It is called Sheila. And she was asleep behind the bar.’

‘She must be a very well-behaved dog. I don’t remember seeing her at all.’ Not that she remembered much.

‘She’s quiet unless a brawl kicks off and then she barks and bares her teeth. Much more effective than a bouncer.’