Page 21 of Outback Secrets
‘Excuse me?’
For a moment Henri didn’t realise who she was referring to, but then Eileen raised her wiry eyebrows and added, ‘Because Janet said she saw you yesterday morning. She said you stayed in one of the rooms above the pub, but then when Karen was taking her morning constitutional, she saw the two of you exchange a kiss?’
‘A kiss?’ Henri echoed, thinking Eileen must be referring to the peck she’d placed on Liam’s cheek as a show of thanks. It was quite hilarious that this chaste gesture had been discussed around town and become evidence that the two of them had indulged in a raunchy one-night stand. Some people really needed to get a life. No wonder Henri preferred hanging around with blokes—they were far less prone to this kind of gossip.
She opened her mouth to tell the old busybody that she and Liam were just friends—although even that was a stretch—and she should mind her own business anyway, but Eileen continued before she could get a word in.
‘You should be careful, dear.’
‘Oh?’ Henri frowned, not liking her tone. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
The wretched woman leaned a little closer and spoke in a low voice, even though they were the only two people in the aisle. ‘I don’t like to gossip …’
Hah!Henri deserved a medal for withholding her snort.
‘But Mr Castle’s a bit of an odd one, if you know what I mean.’
‘No, I don’t think I do.’
‘Well, I’m sure you know he came to town ten years ago with nothing more than a rusty old ute and a backpack. No family has ever visited him as far as anyone can tell and he’s never had a relationship. Between you and me, I wondered if he was gay for a while—I’ve got no problem with gays, I’m very happy for Ryan Forrester and his fancy city husband, but rumour has it, Liam gets very friendly with his female guests, if you know what I mean.’ Eileen tapped the side of her nose. ‘So, I guess he’s straight, which makes me think he’s running from something. I asked old Sergeant O’Leary to put his name through the police computer when Liam first arrived, but he refused to tell me what he’d found! Then there’s that scar on his shoulder—he says it’s from an accident he had as a child, but it looks suspiciously like a bullet wound to me.’
Bullet wound?Henri was struggling to keep up.
‘All I’m saying is that you should be careful, Henrietta. There are plenty of men in town and a nice girl from a good family like yours could do a lot better for herself than a questionable publican.’
Questionable?Was Eileen for real? She was even worse than her mother!
Just because Liam had some scar, was single and possibly had the occasional one-night stand, he was questionable? Henri’s nails curled into her fists as she remembered this was a little old lady, not some guy riling her up about not being as good as her male colleagues. Which was a pity because she’d have no qualms about slugging the latter.
‘Thank you for your concern,’ she said instead, her smile so fake it made her cheeks hurt, ‘but as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, your warning is too late. I did spend Saturday night in Liam’s bed, but it wasn’t merely a one-night stand. I’m crazy about him.’
Eileen’s eyes grew so wide Henri thought they might pop right out of her head.
What the hell? Where had that come from?She’d meant to tell the interfering gossip that she could look after herself and perhaps add that Liam was a far better person than Mrs Brady could ever hope to be, but instead … Oh God!
‘Oh … well …’ Eileen recovered. ‘I must say I didn’t think he’d be your type, but who am I to interfere with young love? Anyway, congratulations, Henrietta. I hope he won’t break your heart.’
That was Henri’s chance to say she’d been joking, but suddenly a plan landed fully formed in her head. And it might just be perfect. Concocting a fake boyfriend would be the ideal way to get her mother off her back. And it should stop her sister and friends from encouraging Grant the matchmaker as well. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of the idea before.
Smiling smugly, Henri bid Eileen goodbye and headed for the checkout. Now that Eileen thought she and Liam were an item, it wouldn’t be long before the whole town was enlightened.
Only when she stepped outside and saw The Palace across the road did she realise the major flaw in her plan.
Liam!He would have to be in on the scheme for it to have any chance of working.
Shit. Bugger. Shit.
She stopped and stared at the pub, deliberating between going back into the supermarket and setting Eileen straight or …
Before Henri could talk sense into herself, she dumped the groceries on Cecil’s passenger seat and started across the street towards the pub, ignoring the way her heart rate accelerated the closer she got.
Of course, the door was locked and there was no sign of life inside when she peered through the windows. But just as she was about to give up and head back to look for Eileen with her tail between her legs, she registered music coming from somewhere round the back. Having come this far, she followed the sound of Midnight Oil singing their classic ‘Beds Are Burning’ to find a large shed, its door open, the music blasting out from inside.
Curious, she stepped up to the door. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior and when they did, they zeroed in on the very middle of the shed where Liam was bent, shirtless, over some kind of work bench with some kind of power tool.
He didn’t hear her at first, but when Sheila trotted over to her, he glanced up and switched off the machinery.
‘Well, hello,’ he said, turning towards her so she got the full view of his bare torso. Her mouth went dry at the sight.