Outback Secrets by Rachael Johns

Chapter Twenty-four

Henri cursed as her mother’s voice followed quickly after the knock on her bedroom door.

‘I don’t want to interrupt anything but … I was just wondering if you’re going to stay for lunch, Liam? It would be lovely to have you join us.’

Henri fully expected him to say no, so she almost fell off the bed when he called back, ‘Sure, that would be lovely, thanks.’

‘Excellent. I’m just putting it on the table now. Come on out when you’re ready.’

‘Are you crazy?’ she hissed as they listened to her mother’s footsteps patter back down the hallway. Were they not in the middle of something here?

‘What?’ Liam shrugged one shoulder as he hit her with the most infuriating grin. ‘I’m hungry and it felt rude to turn her down. Shouldn’t I be trying to stay on your mother’s good side?’

Ah, that’s right. The stupid farce.

Henri felt like crying. Would she and Liam ever be able to follow through on what they’d started? Then again, did she really want to have sex with him for the first time on her tiny childhood bed with her mother just down the hall?

Still, as her heart rate returned to normal, she couldn’t help being disappointed. She didn’t want to sit through lunch making small talk with her mum; she wanted Liam to whisk her back to the pub so they could both have their wicked way.

‘Come on,’ he said, climbing off the bed and reaching for her crutches. ‘Let me help you.’

Not usually one to accept assistance so easily, Henri didn’t object as he slipped his arm around her back and lifted her into a stand.

‘You smell so good,’ she whispered, leaning into him, resisting the urge to lick his neck. Her mother was a good cook, but nothing she could possibly serve would taste as delicious as him. ‘What cologne do you use?’

‘Nothing. Just soap and a can of whatever deodorant is on special at IGA.’ He handed her the crutches, and she missed his touch as she allowed them to take her weight.

She sighed. ‘Come on, let’s get this ordeal over and done with.’

Liam gave her a look. ‘It’s only a bit of lunch.’

But where Henri’s mother was concerned, nothing was ever only a bit of lunch.

‘Let’s hope so,’ she said as Liam crossed the room and opened the door.

He walked right beside her as she hobbled down the hallway and into the dining room, which was adjacent to the massive country-style kitchen.

‘Such a shame about Henri’s ankle, but it’s great that you can join us for lunch,’ said Fiona.

‘Why is that on the table?’ Henri cried as she spotted one of their family photo albums resting between a jug of water and her mother’s beloved dog and cat salt and pepper shakers.

‘I thought Liam might like to see some photos of when you were a kid.’

‘Of course he doesn’t,’ Henri snapped.

‘Actually, I do,’ Liam said, an annoying twinkle in his eyes. ‘Very, very much so.’

If she were more mobile, she’d grab the album and hurl it out the window, but she still hadn’t completely conquered the crutches so that would be near on impossible.

‘You two sit down,’ Fiona ordered as she headed into the kitchen.

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ Liam called.

‘Of course not. You’re our guest.’ She sounded offended to have been even asked such a question. ‘Sit down and relax.’

Liam helped Henri into a seat, then he took the one beside her. He’d barely been sitting five seconds when she felt his hand land on her thigh, just below the bottom of her short denim skirt. She inhaled sharply as her damn Kegel muscles jumped to attention.

Her mother returned carrying a steamy hot quiche in her ovenmitted hands. ‘It’s lovely to have you here, Liam.’ She set it down in the middle of the table. ‘I’ve always wanted to ask how you came to buy a country pub?’

‘Um … it was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I’d been travelling for a few years and thinking about stopping and opening some kind of business but wasn’t really sure what. When I stopped in Bunyip Bay, I saw the For Sale sign outside The Palace and it just felt right.’

‘How so?’

‘Mum, stop asking so many questions.’

‘It’s fine.’ Liam gave Henri a quick smile. ‘Well, I guess I just liked the feel of the town, and I saw the potential in the old building. While I was driving around Australia, the old pubs, some really rundown and derelict, others beautifully restored, really intrigued me. I guess I was excited by the challenge of bringing The Palace back to life.’

‘Well, you’ve certainly done that,’ Fiona said as she began to dish up the quiche. ‘Don’t you agree, Henrietta? Remember how dirty and dingy it used to be?’

Henri nodded, even though she now had a feeling this wasn’t the full story. People didn’t just buy pubs on the spur of the moment. Then again, if her whole family were obliterated in one go, who knew what kind of crazy thing she might do.

‘Some salad?’ her mother asked Liam.

As he nodded, she added, ‘Must be pretty tough work though. Long hours, late nights, seven days a week. Hard to get away for a break.’

‘I wouldn’t say it’s any more gruelling than farming,’ he replied.

‘But all those long nights!’ she exclaimed. ‘And when was the last time you took a holiday?’

‘True, I work nights, but most of my days are my own and as for vacations, have you seen the beach recently? People come here for holidays.’

At this, Fiona had to concede a smile.

‘Henri and I went to the Abrolhos on Wednesday—that was amazing.’

‘Ooh, yes, I saw the photos she put on Facebook. I haven’t been in years. I guess you must meet some interesting characters in your job too?’

Liam nodded. ‘Interesting is an understatement. I promise I’m never bored. You should hear some of the stories I’ve heard from people passing through.’

‘I can imagine,’ she said as she handed him a plate. ‘I hope you like quiche.’

‘What’s not to like?’ Liam removed his hand from Henri’s knee to pick up his cutlery and she felt her skin go cold.

Knives and forks clinked against crockery as they all began to dig in. Everyone except Henri—she merely pushed the food around her plate with her fork. Usually, she’d have seconds of her mum’s homemade quiche, but today the only thing she was hungry for was sitting right beside her.

‘This is delicious,’ Liam said after a couple of mouthfuls.

Fiona beamed. ‘Thank you. It’s a secret family recipe. Speaking of family … I can imagine yours weren’t very happy when you decided to stay in Australia.’

Henri tensed, wishing her mother would just mind her own business; then again, Liam was the one who’d accepted her invitation. Perhaps an interrogation served him right.

‘My parents are both dead,’ he said, reaching for his glass of water.

Her mother blinked, then gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’

He nodded. ‘Thank you.’

Awkward silence lingered a few long moments and Henri racked her mind for something innocuous to say when her mother tapped on the album. ‘Would you like to see some photos from when Henrietta was growing up, Liam?’

‘Are there any embarrassing ones?’ he asked.

She beamed. ‘This is Henrietta we’re talking about … pretty much all of them are embarrassing. She was constantly getting into sticky situations, not caring about what anyone thought.’

‘In that case …’ Liam grinned as if someone had just told him he’d won a million dollars. ‘I definitely want to see.’

Clearly delighted, Fiona abandoned her lunch and opened the thick hand-crafted scrapbook—during the height of the scrapbooking craze, she’d made one for each of her children. The baby photos came first, and Henri couldn’t help the warm flush when Liam gushed about how cute she was.

‘She was my chubbiest baby,’ her mother told him, ‘until she started to crawl, and then she didn’t stop moving. She was always running, climbing over furniture and up trees. See how she’s wearing red in almost every photo?’

As she pointed to the jumper two-year-old Henri was wearing, Liam nodded.

‘Well, that was so we could always see her in the distance. She was constantly escaping the house, wanting to be off with Fred or her older siblings, and we discovered she was easier to keep track of when she was wearing bright colours.’

Liam laughed as Fiona flicked the page and Henri’s tiny, pale bum flashed up at him from where she was bent over a paddling pool.

‘Two seconds after that photo was taken, she fell right in. And, if I remember correctly, it was the middle of winter, but Henri didn’t feel the cold. She was always running around naked no matter what the season. When she was seven, she went to visit Fred and the boys in the shearing shed—in the nuddy. I told her to put some clothes on, but she never has listened to me. Learnt your lesson that day, didn’t you, darling?’

‘What happened?’ Liam asked, turning his amused grin on her.

Fiona answered for her. ‘We’d started shearing a day early and there was a shed full of contractors. They thought it was hilarious.’

Oh my God. Kill me now.

But at that moment Liam’s hand found its way back to her leg and this time he squeezed it gently. Pheromones overcame her.

Over the next few moments, his boldness increased. Henri swallowed. Could her mother see what he was doing? As her legs fell apart of their own accord, she was ashamed to realise she didn’t even care! It was impossible to resist the sensations that were flooding her body at his touch.

The embarrassing stories continued with each turn of the album’s pages—tales of her using hair removal cream thinking it was moisturiser, of trying to pee standing up like her brothers and being annoyed when she couldn’t—but she barely heard her mother’s voice. She’d thought only women were supposed to be able to multitask but right now, Liam seemed to be doing a much better job at it than she was.

‘Ah …’ Henri moaned involuntarily as his fingers inched up her leg.

‘Are you okay, Henrietta?’

Liam pulled back his hand, a slight smirk on his face. ‘Yeah, you okay, Henri?’

She’d want to kill him if she didn’t want to kiss him so bad.

‘Um … um …’ For once in her life she struggled for words. ‘Sorry, just … it’s my ankle. I think the painkillers must be wearing off.’

‘Oh, sweetheart.’ Her mother sighed sympathetically. ‘Do you want me to get you some more?’

‘I don’t know.’

What she really wanted was for her to miraculously vanish. Either that or for her and Liam to magically teleport back to the pub like the characters in Harry Potter. If they didn’t get the chance to finish what they’d started soon, she was going to combust!

‘I was supposed to be having dinner and Christmas drinks with Esther and Dave Burton tonight, but maybe I should cancel,’ Fiona said with a frown. ‘I’m sure they’ll understand that I need to stay home and take care of you.’

‘No!’ Henri and Liam exclaimed at the same time. She couldn’t stand the thought of any more of her henpecking, but it would be good for her mother to get out too. Now that her dad was gone, she needed her friends more than ever.

‘I’ll look after Henrietta,’ Liam added, reaching to take hold of her hand—this time in full view. ‘I can take her back to the pub with me now. I’ll take good care of her and this way, you can enjoy your night out without worrying.’

Pleasure rolled through her like bushfire eating up a crop and she hoped ‘taking care of her’ was code for something else.

After packing Henri another overnight bag, they couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. Her bag on Liam’s shoulder, she hobbled out to the car, Liam and her mother shadowing her all the way to his ute.

‘You know, in my day,’ Fiona said as he opened the door for her and took her crutches, ‘we only stayed over at a gentleman’s house if there was a ring on our finger.’

‘Mum!’ Honestly, she really was the worst—she’d been encouraging Henri to stay with him most nights. ‘We’ve only just got together. It’s not time to book the church just yet.’

Liam smiled. ‘There might not be a ring on Henrietta’s finger yet, Fiona, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking through jewellery catalogues.’

Then, OMG, he actually winked.

Her mother gleamed and Henri coughed, almost choking as Liam slammed the passenger door shut.

‘Was that too much?’ he asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat beside her.

‘Nah, it was perfect. It serves her right for meddling so much in my life, but it also means when I dump you, it’ll definitely be me she’s angry at, not you. She’ll probably cook you some casseroles to help ease your broken heart.’

‘Well, if her casseroles are as good as her quiche, then that’s something to look forward to. But won’t that defeat the purpose?’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked as they bumped along the gravel drive.

‘I know you wanted her off your back while you’re home for Christmas, but won’t this just make her more frustrated and angry at you?’

‘Hopefully, she’ll finally realise I’m a lost cause and be over the disappointment by the next time I visit.’

Liam nodded. ‘And when will that be?’

‘Probably not till October for Frankie and Logan’s wedding. I’ve got a month between contracts and I’m heading back to Canada for their summer, but I’m hoping to pick up something else to keep me busy in between.’

Henri glanced at him, but his face was trained on the road, so she couldn’t see whether his expression was one of disappointment or relief. What would happen when she next visited Bunyip Bay? Would he want to pick things up where they left them? Or would one saucy weekend be more than enough?

Speaking of …

‘Can’t you drive any faster?’

He reached out and squeezed her knee. ‘Hey, easy, tiger. I want to get us both back to the pub in one piece. Didn’t I just tell your mother I was going to take care of you?’

‘Yes, but we both know that was a ruse,’ she said, licking her lips as she gazed down at his hand and recalled the liberties it had been taking at the table.

Although Liam didn’t say anything, she saw the speed dial shifting upwards.

Teasing them both, she slowly spread her legs and smiled as she saw his gaze drift from the road down to her thighs. His hand inched ever so slightly upwards, skating the skin mere inches from her knickers.

Yes, please. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the passenger seat, but instead of doing what she was hoping, he lifted his hand off altogether.

What the?Her eyes blinked open as Liam changed gears.

Damn manual cars. And damn country towns. If they weren’t in dire risk of someone seeing them, she’d order him to pull over the car and finish what they’d started right now.

Instead, Henri forced deep breaths through her lungs and tried to ignore the burning desire building inside of her as Liam got them back to The Palace as quickly and safely as possible. When they finally turned into the car park, she’d never been more relieved to see the old cream-brick building.

‘Stay there,’ Liam ordered, then rushed around to help her.

‘Thanks,’ she muttered as he handed her the crutches from the tray of the ute.

She slipped them under her arms and began to hobble, silently cursing because it was impossible to go at any great speed with these damn things. She’d had them less than twenty-four hours and they already felt like a thorn in her side.

As if sensing her frustration, he said, ‘You know what. Forget those; I’ll come back for them later.’ Then, before she realised what he was doing, the crutches were back on the ute and Liam had scooped her up into his arms.

Her hands closed around his neck, her face mere inches from his as she once again inhaled the intoxicating scent of him.

‘Hello,’ she whispered.

‘Hi,’ he whispered back as he strode towards the front door. Although she was smaller than most people and it probably wasn’t that much of a hardship for someone as large, fit and strong as Liam to carry her, it still made her feel more feminine—more desirable—than she ever had in her life. And she liked it.

Maybe her sprained ankle was a blessing in disguise.

‘You okay there?’ he asked as he skilfully unlocked the door and manoeuvred them inside, kicking it shut behind them.

Henri nodded, glad the pub hadn’t opened yet, so they didn’t run into anyone as he carried her through, upstairs and all the way to his apartment.

‘Hey, gorgeous girl,’ he cooed at Sheila when she greeted them at the door and followed them into the bedroom where Liam lay Henri gently down on the bed.

‘Comfy?’ he asked as he straightened again. He wasn’t even panting!

She grinned up at him. ‘Couldn’t be comfier. I’m exactly where I want to be.’

‘Excellent. Can I get you a drink or anything? Something to eat?’

‘We just had lunch.’ Not that she’d eaten much, but that wasn’t because she wasn’t hungry. Now, she was ravenous.

‘Right.’ He nodded. ‘I’ll go grab the crutches and your bag then.’

Was he serious?

‘They can wait,’ she barked, patting the spot beside her. ‘Why don’t you grab yourself and lay down right here instead?’

A pained expression crossed Liam’s face and for a second doubt seized Henri’s heart. Had she misread the situation? Maybe her strong painkillers had caused her to hallucinate and everything she’d thought had happened back at her place had been a fantasy.

‘Is something wrong?’ She hated the neediness in her voice.

‘I saw how much you were struggling on your feet. I don’t want to hurt you.’

Oh God. Relief and something else akin to affection washed through her. ‘So you do want me?’

‘Want you?’ Liam ran a hand through his hair and stared intently at her. ‘Henrietta, I’ve wanted you since the moment you walked into the pub. Why else do you think I said yes to your crazy scheme? When I’m around you, I don’t think straight. But you had a serious accident yesterday … I don’t want to do anything that might make it worse.’

She held up a finger. ‘One, don’t you dare call me Henrietta ever again, and two—if you’re not gunna let your sore lip stop us, then I’ll be damned if I let my stupid ankle.’

The doctor had told her to avoid hot showers and anything else that might increase swelling for the first twenty-four hours—she guessed that might include heartrate-accelerating sex—but she wasn’t going to let those instructions hinder her pleasure either.

Liam took a step towards her. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.’