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Yeah, because his good looks weren't enough, the bastard had a to-die-for accent, too. Life just wasn’t fair some days. Her fiancé was so average it hurt. He didn’t have a romantic bone in his body, no cool accent, no ink. Just oil-stained hands from working on cars and cute dimples that had sucked her right in when she’d first met him.
"I often catch the bus. It's cheap and does the job."
He frowned at her like she was nuts. Not an uncommon reaction. Lots of people thought she was crazy. Including her fiancé.
"Job?"
"You know? Gets me from A to B?" She grinned at him, "Sometimes it even gets me back to A again."
He shook his head with a chuckle. The sound shot down her spine and made her nipples tighten. Damn, she hoped he didn't notice. It wasn’t like her bikini had padding or anything to hide the fact. With a raised eyebrow, his gaze lowered for a moment. Bugger, of course he noticed. Ah well, not much she could do about it. Not her fault that the man could melt panties at twenty paces.
"So, where's your accent from? Europe somewhere?"
"It's Russian."
She nodded, like she knew all about various accents and where they came from. She didn’t. "Should have guessed that. You visiting, or do you live here?"
His English was really good, but that didn't mean he lived local.
"I live nearby. Not far from here, actually, over in Bellevue Hill. I've been in Australia since I was a young child."
She cocked her head at him. "Funny, considering how close you live, that I’ve not seen you around before."
"I don't normally attend markets. 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 colors 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 doubtwouldif he found out. She winced a little, probably best if her fiancé didn't find out.
"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, with the way the sun setting behind the weather-roughened exterior of the abandoned building looked.
"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 rather 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 his work." She shrugged. "It is what it is." At least he didn’t work Sundays so she had her car for the market. 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 scrutinize 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 panties 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, hell, lately she'd been thinking he was way closer to the bottom. 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. So, it was best if she tried not to think about it too much.
At least he didn't knock her around.
