AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t normally attend markets. But I believe I’ve seen you on the beach before.” He nodded at her hair. “You’re rather distinctive.”
She grinned. Her hair was purple with blue through it. It was a pain to maintain with all the time she spent in the water, but her best friend, Jess, was a hairdresser and gave her a very healthy discount. The bright mix of colours really did make her stand out.
“I’m down there most days giving surfing lessons. You should come down sometime. I’ll be happy to give you a lesson or two.”
Juli was proud of herself, being able to form complete, coherent sentences while she was nearly drooling at the thought of him shirtless in a pair of board shorts. A shudder ran through her as she imagined him wet on a board. And if she was teaching him, she would have to look. Rodger couldn’t complain about that one. Well, he could, and no doubt would if he found out. She winced a little. Probably best if her fiancé didn’t find out at all. If it ever happened, that is.
“Perhaps one day.” His gaze went back to her photos, helping her to remember why she was here. She needed to sell something to him. It didn’t matter if he was sex on a stick or looked like a hobo. Money was money, and she needed it.
“So, are you looking for something in particular?”
He ran his fingertip over the outside edge of the warehouse photo he’d been looking at earlier. It really was stunning, and with the colours of the setting sun behind the weather roughened exterior of the abandoned building, it had turned a completely average looking warehouse into something extraordinary.
“This one is exactly what I’m after.”
She reached over with her left hand to pick up the photo, but he caught her hand and twisted it over to look at her fingers before she could pick it up. Tilting her hand, he ran his thumb over her engagement ring.
“Your man lets you catch a bus on your own?”
Frowning, she wriggled her fingers until he released her. She’d really prefer to not examine her relationship with Rodger too closely. She was rather scared of what she’d discover. Forcing her mind back on task, she picked up the image to wrap.
“We only have the one car, and he needs it for work.” She shrugged. “It is what it is.” At least he didn’t work Sundays, so she had the car for the markets. It was depressing to think about exactly how little her fiancé seemed to care about her, with the way he was always putting himself and his needs above hers. It was another reason she did her best not to scrutinise her relationship with him too closely.
A low rumble came from the hot Russian.
“If you were my woman, you would never be left unprotected. He is not a real man if he leaves you open to attack like that.”
She would definitely need to change her underwear when she got home. She was also in danger of swooning for real. This tall, dark, handsome sex god standing before her was a gentleman on top of everything else.
With a sad smile, she taped the tissue paper down and put the photo in a bag.
“Clearly, not all men are equal. Cash or card?”
She wanted this conversation over. This guy was a stranger. Hell, she didn’t even know his name. She already knew Rodger wasn’t the best bloke out there. Truthfully, lately she’d been thinking he was way closer to being one of the worst. But he was all she had, and she’d been stupid enough to say yes to his proposal, so now it looked like she’d be stuck with him forever. It was best if she tried not to think about it too much.
At least he didn’t knock her around.
CHAPTER TWO
TWO MONTHS LATER
After she finished with her lessons for the afternoon, Juli wasn’t ready to go home. For the last six weeks, she’d lived in a house with three other women. Two were backpackers who barely spoke English, and right now, she just didn’t have the energy to deal with them. Jess, her best friend, lived there too, which was how Juli had come to live there. She’d already thought her friend was pretty awesome before she’d given her somewhere safe to land. But the way she’d helped Juli out had solidified the fact. Her bestie hadn’t batted an eyelash when Juli had rocked up on the doorstep, black eye and all, to ask if she could stay with her.
Well, okay, that wasn’t the complete truth. Jess had dragged her in and given her an ice pack for her face. After demanding Juli tell her what happened, Jess had been furious. She’d suggested all sorts of ways they could get some vengeance on Rodger. Seemed Jess didn’t like the fact Rodger had beaten her up any more than she did. But when it came to giving her a safe place to land, Jess hadn’t hesitated. Lucky for Juli, Jess had an empty room as one of the backpackers who’d been staying there had gone home the week before, and she hadn’t gotten around to advertising the room yet.
The house was small but funky, and Juli actually really liked living there. It’d just be nice if it wasn’t quite so crowded all the time. Maybe once she got herself out of debt, she’d suggest to Jess that they keep it to just the two of them. If only she wasn’t paying off all the shit Rodger had run up in her name, she would have more money to put toward her living arrangements.
Having stored and locked up her surfing stuff, she then wandered around the streets of Bondi with her camera, looking for interesting shots. She needed some new, fresh images for her market stall. She had a mix of customers, both locals and tourists, but it was the tourists who generally bought up big, and they wanted unique views of the local landmarks.
With that in mind, she headed back down to the beach as the sun set. Her pulse jumped when she saw how the colours reflected on the clouds behind the Surf Lifesavers’ tower. Now that would be a money shot. It would have been better if she could get the ocean in the background, but annoyingly, the sun set in the west so she had to make do with taking shots angled up so the image would only show the sky and the tower.
She quickly lifted her camera and snapped several photos, not wanting to lose the perfect lighting. She ended up staying there until well after the sun dipped below the horizon. The sky had really put on a show with different colours tonight, and she’d caught them all. With a wide grin, she made her way over the sand and back onto the roadway. Her new home was only two blocks from the main beach at Bondi, and over the past six weeks, she’d gotten used to walking the short distance. As she made her way down the footpath, she packed her camera up and zipped it safely away in its case before she tucked it in her large handbag.
With a sigh and a deep breath, she turned her attention to her surroundings. The bars and clubs were just starting to get busy while all the shops that were packed with tourists during the day now sat empty. She passed by a bar and shook her head with a chuckle when a wolf whistle rung out. Men. She didn’t even consider stopping in for a drink. After the nightmare Rodger turned out to be, she had zero interest in men or relationships. Especially some bloke in a bar who thought whistling at a girl was a good way to get her attention.
Nope, she was going to work hard, save her money, and build a life for herself. Never again would she be stupid enough to fall for a man who wanted to move in together and combine incomes within weeks of meeting. In hindsight, there’d been so many warning signs that Rodger wasn’t a good man. Ah, well, live and learn. She’d be a lot more careful in the future. Because, it turned out, all Rodger had wanted was access to her money, while making sure she had nowhere to go if she decided to leave. Jess was the only friend she had left, and because they mainly caught up when she went to get her hair done, Rodger obviously hadn’t realised it. Also, he hadn’t realised that physical violence was a deal breaker for her. Even if she’d ended up on the street for a night or two, she would never sit and take a man using her as a punching bag. No, siree. Not ever.
Lost in her thoughts, she wasn’t aware she was in trouble until it was too late. A man was walking toward her, holding her gaze. She went to turn to head back to the more populated area of Bondi but came up short when a second man stood in her way.
