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‘I told you to call me Ben,’ he said, and smiled at her, a full hundred-watt smile which showed perfect American teeth and a charm which was just as dazzling.
Oh my, Jess thought, trying not to be too dazzled.
Not without much success, given she just stood there staring at him whilst her heartbeat did the tango and she forgot all about Fab Fashions.
‘Perhaps we should get going,’ he said at last.
Jess gave herself a mental shake. It wasn’t like her to go ga-ga over a man, even one as impressive as this.
‘Yes. Yes, of course,’ she said, still far too breathlessly for her liking. ‘Do you need help with your bags?’ she added, recalling what he’d said about having a banged-up right shoulder.
‘I can manage,’ he returned. ‘Just open up the back for me.’
He managed very well. Managed the passenger door without any help either.
By the time she climbed into the driving seat and belted up, Jess had taken control of her wildly dancing heartbeat, having told herself firmly to get a grip and stop acting like some awestruck schoolgirl. She was twenty-five years old, for pity’s sake!
Taking a deep breath, she reached for her sunglasses and put them on.
‘Would you mind if I called you Jessica instead of Miss Murphy?’ he said before she could even start the engine.
Jess winced. She hated being called Jessica. ‘I’d rather you call me Jess,’ she replied, and found herself throwing a small smile his way.
‘Only if you promise to call me Ben,’ he insisted as he snapped his seat belt into place.
Jess suspected that women—no, people in general—rarely said no to Ben De Silva. His combination of looks and charm were both seductive and quite corrupting. Already she wanted to please him. Yet she wasn’t, by nature, a people pleaser. Jess had always had a mind of her own and a mouth to match. Suddenly, however, all she wanted to do was smile, nod and agree with everything Ben said. Already he was Ben in her head.
‘Okay. Ready, Ben?’ she said as she reached for the ignition and glanced over at him again.
Dear heaven but he was gorgeous! He smelt gorgeous too. She did like men who wore nice aftershave.
‘As soon as I put these on,’ he replied, pulling his own sunglasses out of his pocket.
They were very expensive looking. God, now he looked like a movie star, a very sexy movie star, the kind a girl fantasised over in the privacy of her bedroom.
Jess’s susceptibility to this man was beginning to annoy her. Next thing she’d know, she’d start flirting with him. Which wasn’t like her at all! Gritting her teeth, she checked her rear and side mirrors, executed a perfect three-point turn, then accelerated up the street. Neither of them said anything for a full minute or two, Ben being the first to speak.
‘I must thank you again, Jess, for doing this for me.’
‘You don’t have to thank me. You’re paying for the privilege.’
‘Still, I can see you probably had to put yourself out to do this. I would imagine a girl as attractive as yourself would have better things to do over the weekend than work.’
‘No, not really.’
‘You didn’t have to break any dates?’
‘Not this weekend.’
‘That surprises me. I would have thought you’d have a boyfriend.’
‘I did,’ she bit out. ‘Till recently.’
‘What happened?’
She shrugged. ‘We were going to go on a road trip together around Australia. That’s why I bought this four-wheel drive. Anyway, at the last moment he decided he didn’t want to do that. Instead, he took off backpacking around the world with a mate.’
Jess felt, rather than saw, Ben’s startled look. When driving a client, she rarely took her eyes off the road.
‘He didn’t ask you to go with him?’ he quizzed, his shocked tone soothing Jess’s still lingering hurt over Colin’s defection.
‘No. He did ask me to wait for him, though.’
‘I hope you said no.’
She laughed as she recalled her quite volatile reaction. ‘I said a little more than just no.’
‘Good for you.’
‘Perhaps. Colin said I have a sharp tongue.’
‘Really? I find that hard to believe.’
Was he mocking her?
A quick glance showed a perfectly straight face. A perfectly straight, very handsome face. Jess decided he was just making conversation, which was better than sitting there saying nothing all the way to Mudgee.
‘He also said I was bossy and controlling.’
‘No!’
He was mocking her. But not unkindly.
She sighed. ‘I suppose I am a bit controlling. But I just like things to be organised. And to be done properly.’
