Sadie Bliss was a bling-free zone. No earrings, no necklaces, no rings.
In stark contrast to Tabitha there was nothing on Sadie’s person that sparkled or drew the eye.
Not an ounce of make-up.
Not a whiff of perfume.
Even her mouth, all red and lush, appeared to be that way all on its own merit.
Sadie cleared her throat as his gaze unnerved her. An odd little pull deep down inside did funny things to her pulse and she glanced at Tabitha to relieve it.
‘From Darwin to Borroloola? That’s like...a thousand kilometres.’
Sadie did not travel well in cars.
Tabitha shook her head but it was Kent who let loose the next bombshell. ‘Actually, it’s Sydney to Borroloola. You can fly from Borroloola to Darwin and then back to Sydney once the interview is done.’
Sadie forgot all about the funny pull, Kent’s celebrity status and the good impression she was trying to make with Tabitha. ‘Are you nuts?’ she said, turning to face him. ‘That would have to be at least...’ she did a quick mental calculation ‘...three times the distance!’
Kent remained impassive at her outburst although it was refreshing to hear a knee-jerk, unfiltered opinion for once instead of one couched in the usual kiss-arse afforded to his level of celebrity. Tarnished as it was.
Did she honestly think he wanted to spend three days in a car with her? But he knew Tabitha well enough to know that she was an immovable force when her mind was made up.
‘Three thousand, three hundred and thirteen kilometres to be precise.’
Sadie felt nauseated at the mere thought. ‘And we’re not flying because...?’
Kent didn’t blink. ‘I don’t fly.’
‘It’ll be great,’ Tabitha enthused, jumping in as Kent’s voice became arctic again. ‘You and Kent. A car. A travel diary. The Red Centre. The true outback. Journalism at its most organic.’
Sadie gave Tabitha a look that suggested she was probably also certifiable. ‘But that will take days!’
‘Let me guess,’ Kent drawled, amused by her horrified demeanour. ‘City girl, right?’
Sadie looked back at him. ‘No,’ she denied, despite the fact that she was an urban creature to her core. Fast lane, city lights, cocktail bars and foreign film festivals.
‘I just get really, really car sick.’ It sounded so lame when she said it out loud but she doubted the great Kent Nelson would tolerate stopping every two minutes so she could hurl up her stomach contents.
Kent’s jaw tightened again. Great. Three days in a car with a city chick and her weak constitution.
It just kept getting better.
‘I guess that’s why they invented motion sickness medication,’ he said woodenly.
Sadie shook her head vigorously. ‘Oh, trust me, you do not want to be around me when I’m on that. I get totally trippy. It is not pretty.’
Kent raised an eyebrow. Vomiting or tripping. Sounded like a trip forged in hell.
Maybe another place, another time in his life he would have been more than happy to see Little-Miss-Curvy getting trippy. But now just the thought was plain annoying.
‘Thanks for the heads up,’ he said.
‘This could be a great opportunity for you, Sadie,’ Tabitha interjected. ‘Two feature stories for the price of one. Of course, if you don’t think you’re up to it we can always find someone else...’
Sadie wanted to stamp her foot at the not-so-subtle ultimatum. But she didn’t. Tabitha was right. It was a gift. How was her boss to know about Sadie’s nervousness at facing her ex-lover again? Or that when she did, she wanted to look a million dollars, not like a wrung-out dish mop?
At least a gruelling car journey would help the crash diet she’d put herself on since finding out about this opportunity two days ago. The last time she’d seen Leo, she’d been thin, her curves straitjacketed by a strict eating regime.
Not naturally svelte, she had taken a while to slim down when they’d first started their relationship. But Leo’s love and encouragement had been a fantastic incentive. Every time he’d raved about the symmetry of her prominent collar, wrist and hipbones, or the way the milkiness of her skin stretched sparingly over the hard surfaces beneath, she’d felt accomplished.
He used to stroke her hair as it fell in between the angles of her bony scapulas and tell her it looked like rippling satin flowing between a sculpted valley. That her creamy skin was the perfect foil.
The only thing curvy about her then had been her breasts. And, no matter how much Leo had lamented them, not even rigid dieting had had an effect on their size. He’d offered to pay for a reduction and she’d been thrilled at the suggestion. Thrilled that the brilliant artist had seen something special in her body. Seen it as a work of art, an empty canvas.
Thrilled that she’d become his muse, revelling in his almost obsessive need to paint her.
She was excruciatingly aware now she was not the woman he had sent away. That he had loved.
And she had a lot to prove.
So there was one upside to this proposed nightmare road trip. Between starvation and puking up constantly she could lose a stone or two before seeing him again.
‘No. It’s fine,’ she said, briskly pulling herself out of the food-obsessing habits of a past life. ‘I can do it. I just can’t promise the upholstery of the hire car will ever be the same again.’
‘No hire car,’ Kent said. ‘We’ll be using my all-terrain vehicle.’
Sadie nodded at him. Of course. An all-terrain vehicle. Mr Intense-and-rugged probably also had the Batmobile tucked away somewhere.
‘When do we leave?’ She sighed.
‘I’ll pick you up in the morning. Pack light. No places serving drinks with umbrellas where we’re going.’
‘Gee,’ she said sweetly, ‘imagine my surprise.’
Sadie’s fallback position had always been sarcasm—a defence mechanism against a world that constantly misjudged her because of the size of her chest. As an adult she tried her best to contain it but, sadly, it was too ingrained in her nature to be completely stifled.
And if Kent Nelson insisted on this ridiculous road trip, on spending days in a car alone together, then he could consider this a heads up.
Tabitha might have forced her hand, but she didn’t have to like it.
Sadie was ready when Kent rang the doorbell the next morning. She was wearing loose denim cut-offs and a modest polo shirt, her hair fell freely around her shoulders and a pair of ballet flats completed the ensemble. Her medium-sized backpack and a small insulated bag were waiting at the door.
