at him. It was heartening to be reminded that her dad had been very popular out here.
But, heavens, now she and this stranger had something in common and she found herself liking him more than was sensible. Perhaps encouraging conversation wasn’t such a bright idea.
She busied herself with securing the punctured tyre in the boot and restowing all the bits and pieces of luggage.
By the time she’d finished, her good Samaritan was removing the jack. ‘That’s done,’ he said, straightening and dusting off his hands.
‘Thank you so much. It’s incredibly kind of you. I really am very grateful.’ And just a little sad that we’ll have to say goodbye now …
He stood with his feet apart, hands resting lightly on his hips, watching her with an enigmatic smile. ‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘Do you sing or play the guitar?’
‘’Fraid not.’ Zoe returned his smile—seemed her face was permanently set in smile mode. ‘The musical genes totally bypassed me.’
‘But you inherited your dad’s talent for flat tyres on country roads.’
‘Yes … unfortunately.’
Wow. Instead of rushing off, he was making conversation with her. And Zoe loved it. She was no longer bothered that he was a stranger. She was too busy enjoying this amazing experience—the most awesome sensation of being swept high and pumped full of excitement, as if she were riding a magnificent, shining wave.
Were her feet still touching the ground?
She’d never felt like this before. Not with a complete stranger. Not with this bursting-from-a-geyser intensity. Rodney the Rat didn’t count. He’d been a work colleague and she’d known him for twelve months before he asked her out.
Truth was—Zoe usually lacked confidence around guys. She guessed it was part of an overall lack of confidence, a problem that stemmed from her childhood when she’d always been the new girl in town, always arriving late in the term when all the friendship groups were firmly established. She’d grown up knowing she’d never quite fitted in.
But this man’s gorgeous smile made her feel fabulously confident and suddenly her biggest fear was that he would simply drive away—out of her life.
‘I’ll tell my dad I met the son of one of his fans,’ she told him.
‘Do you have far to go?’ her helper asked.
‘I don’t think it’s much farther. I’m heading for Willara Downs.’
He stiffened. ‘Willara Downs?’
‘It’s a property near here—a farm.’
‘Yes, I know.’ Now, he was frowning again. ‘It’s my property.’
His property?
Really?
A sudden chill swept over Zoe. He wasn’t.
He couldn’t be.
‘You’re—you’re not—a Rigby, are you?’
‘I certainly am.’ He smiled, but it was a shade too late, and with only a fraction of its former warmth. ‘The name’s Kent Rigby.’ His smile wavered as he asked uncertainly, ‘Should I know you?’
Oh, God, he was Bella’s Kent … Bella’s boy next door.
Kent’s been so sweet, Bella had said.
No wonder he was nice. He was the man her best friend was about to marry.
A cool breeze made icy goose bumps on Zoe’s skin. The purple tinged dusk crowded in and she felt suddenly, terribly weary. And wary.
‘We haven’t met,’ she said quietly, hoping she didn’t sound as ridiculously disappointed as she felt. ‘But we’ll soon have a lot to do with each other. I’m Zoe. Bella’s bridesmaid.’
Kent Rigby’s eyes darkened and his features were momentarily distorted, as if he tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it.
But if he’d been caught out, he was very good at covering it up. ‘Sorry, I should have guessed,’ he said, speaking smoothly once more, with no hint of disturbance. ‘But I expected you to be with Bella.’
Calmly, he held out his hand.
Unhappily, she felt the warmth and strength of his hand enclose hers in a firm clasp. ‘Hello, Kent.’
‘Hi, Zoe.’
‘I dropped Bella off at the hospital. She tried to call you to explain that I’d be arriving on my own.’
Kent had forgotten to let go of her hand. ‘I’m actually on my way back from seeing Tom myself,’ he said.
‘How—how is he?’
‘Slightly improved, thank God.’
Suddenly he realised he was still holding her hand. Letting go, he cracked a slightly embarrassed grin, then thrust his hands into his jeans pockets. He straightened his shoulders, then looked to the sky in the east where a huge full moon was already poking its golden head above a dark, newly ploughed field. ‘I guess Bella will ring when she’s ready to be picked up.’
‘Yes.’
‘We’d better get going, then. Would you like to follow me? I’ll keep you in my rear vision, so I’ll know you’re OK.’
‘Thanks.’
As Zoe followed Kent Rigby’s ute she tried to laugh at herself. What a fool she’d been, getting all hot and bothered about a stranger she’d met on a road side.
Shouldn’t she have guessed that a hot-looking guy like Kent would have already been taken? Hadn’t she learned anything from her experience with Rodney?
OK, so she was feeling ridiculously disappointed right now, but she’d get over it. She’d been looking forward to this weekend too much to let anything spoil it. She’d been so excited about Bella’s wedding and being her bridesmaid. She’d wanted to be the perfect bridesmaid.
That was still her goal. Having a fan-girly moment over the bridegroom had been a minor hiccup, but she’d recover in no time.
In the fading light of dusk, which just happened to be Zoe’s favourite time of day, the track she and Kent were driving along emerged out of a purple-shadowed tunnel of trees onto sweeping lawns, dusky and magical in the twilight.
Zoe saw an archway of rambler roses and a weeping willow … an elegant, Federation-style house, long and low, with lights already glowing on the veranda.
The car’s wheels crunched on white gravel as she pulled up behind Kent’s ute in front of smooth sandstone steps flanked by garden beds filled with agapanthus and lilies. When Kent got out, she saw him silhouetted against the backdrop of his home. Damn. It was such an attractive image—but she had
