making conversation, Jess,’ he said, searching his mind for more safe topics. He could not believe that he still had an erection. ‘You’re not using your GPS, I see. So I guess you know the way to Mudgee.’
‘It’s pretty straightforward. We stay on the motorway till we reach the New England Highway, heading for Brisbane. But we turn off onto the Golden Highway just before Singleton. Then we don’t get off that road till the turn-off to Mudgee. Easy peasy.’
‘You sound like you’ve been this way a dozen times before.’
‘I’ve driven to Brisbane via the New England Highway once or twice but I’ve never been along the Golden Highway before. Or to Mudgee, for that matter. I checked it up last night on the Internet.’
‘I’ve never been this way before either,’ he admitted.
Her glance carried curiosity. ‘You’ve never been to your best friend’s place before?’
‘Yes, of course I have. Several times. But you take a different route when you’re driving from Sydney.’
‘Oh yes, of course. I didn’t think of that. You said you went to boarding school in Sydney, is that right?’
‘Yes. Kings College. It’s near Parramatta. Do you know it?’
A MOMENTARY FLASH of pique had Jess’s hands tightening around the steering wheel. Just because she’d said she wasn’t school smart didn’t mean she was ignorant. Of course she knew of Kings College. It was one of the best private schools in Sydney. Despite it being located in the western suburbs, it was a far cry from the humble high school she’d gone to only a few miles away.
‘Yes. I know it,’ she said, thinking how way out of her league this man was. ‘It’s a very good school.’
‘That’s where I met Andy.’
‘Your best friend?’
‘Yes. We went on to study law together at Sydney Uni as well.’
Oh, Lord. Now he’d studied law at Sydney University, another prestigious establishment. Jess knew what it took to get into law. Which showed Ben was very school smart. But then, she’d guessed that already.
What next? she wondered. He probably wintered in the ski fields of Austria every year. And took his girlfriend to Paris for romantic weekends.
This last thought gave her a real jolt. Jess hadn’t thought of Ben as having a girlfriend, which was very stupid of her. Of course he must have, a man like him. Not a wife, though. When she’d asked him for a contact name and number yesterday he hadn’t mentioned a wife.
A fiancée was still on the cards, however.
‘And now your best friend is getting married,’ she said, trying to make her voice cool and conversational, not like she was dying of curiosity. ‘Are you married, Ben?’ she asked.
‘No,’ he said.
‘Engaged?’
‘No.’
She’d gone too far now to stop. ‘You must have a girlfriend back home.’
‘Not any more. I did have a girlfriend. But, like yours, that relationship has now gone by the board.’
‘She dumped you?’ Jess said with total disbelief in her voice.
‘Not exactly…’
‘Sorry. I’m prying again.’
‘I don’t mind,’ he said. ‘I enjoy talking to you. Actually, I’m the one who decided to call it quits. I just haven’t had the opportunity to tell Amber yet. I only decided last night.’
Amber, Jess thought with a curl of her top lip. A typical name for the type of girl he would date. She sounded beautiful. And rich. Jess hated her, till she remembered Ben was breaking up with her. Since that was the case, she could afford to be less bitchy. But she was still curious.
‘What went wrong?’
‘She wanted marriage and I didn’t.’
‘I see,’ she said. What was it with men these days that they shied away from commitment?
When Jess found herself surrendering to a sinking feeling, she decided a change of subject was called for. She thought of returning to the problems with Fab Fashions but for some strange reason her enthusiasm for that project had lost some of its appeal. It was probably a waste of time, anyway. So she turned to that old favourite to fill awkward moments in a conversation. The weather.
‘I’m so glad it’s a nice sunny day,’ she said with false brightness. ‘There’s nothing I hate more than driving in the rain. Though the recent rain was greatly appreciated. We had a terribly dry winter. Now everything’s lovely and green.’
Ben turned his head to gaze at the countryside. ‘It does look good. I can’t say the same for this road, though. It’s deplorable for a main highway. All cracked and patched up.’
‘That’s because it’s built over the top of coal mines,’ Jess explained. ‘It suffers from subsidence. Still, that’s Australia for you. We’re notorious for our dreadful roads.’
‘That’s because the country is too big for your population. Not enough taxes for proper infrastructure.’
‘Not enough taxes!’ Jess exclaimed, putting aside her uncharacteristic desire to please and giving vent to her usual outspokenness. ‘We’re one of the highest taxed countries in the world!’
‘Not quite. Australia’s only number ten. Most European countries pay higher taxes.’
‘Not America, though,’ Jess argued. ‘People can become rich in America. It’s hard to become rich in Australia unless you’re a crook or a drug dealer. Though, come to think of it, bankers are doing pretty well at the moment,’ she added a touch tartly. ‘My dad works his bum off and still only makes a living. Mum and Dad haven’t had a decent holiday in years.’ She didn’t call five days in Bali last year a decent holiday.
‘That’s a shame. Everyone must have holidays these days or stress will get you in the end.’
‘That’s what I keep telling them.’
‘How old are they?’
‘Dad’s sixty-three. Mum’s fifty-nine.’
‘Close to retirement age, then.’
‘Dad says he’d rather die than retire.’
‘My dad says the same thing,’ Ben said. ‘He loves working.’
Loves making money, you mean, Jess thought but didn’t say.
‘You mentioned brothers earlier,’ Ben said.
