‘You changed the subject.’
‘Did I?I thought we were having a conversation.’
‘Aw come on!You are so, URGH.’She squeezed a hand over her mouth as if to hide her scream.
It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.He couldn’t help but laugh.
Even if she scowled at him, it was adorable.
‘Tell me,’ Romy demanded.‘How did you become a crocodile wrangler?’
‘I met a bloke in a bar one day.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘True story, shortcake.’He shrugged, while picking at the beer bottle’s label.‘I met this crocodile wrangler who’d come to the city for a wedding.Doing a bit of sightseeing, he got lost and decided to sit next to me in this inner-city bar, where I’d been contemplating how boring my life was.’
‘Where?’
‘Sydney.’
‘You’re from the city?’
He nodded.‘I couldn’t be bothered dragging my arse to work that day and was elbow deep in beer.’
‘You were playing hooky.’
‘It wasn’t the first time.’
‘Did your boss find out?’
‘My dad owned the company.He wouldn’t sack his only son, and heir to all.’
Her jaw dropped.
Stone leaned over and pushed her chin up.‘If you keep your mouth open like that, you’ll attract the flies.’
Romy said nothing for the longest time, but her eyes told the story, taking in the details of the big house, the large pond, the fully stocked bar, the large wide screen on the outside wall, and the pathway that led to his private heliport that held all his other toys.‘You’re rich.’
‘That depends on what your definition of rich is.I’m not Rockefeller or Hilton rich.’
‘But you have money.’She pointed at him.
‘Will you treat me differently, if I say yes to that question?’
‘That’s how people treated you in the past?’She then melted in the most empathetic way, where the kindness in her eyes made him want to reach over and hold her against his chest—even if she was the one cracking him open to reveal his secrets.
‘That’s why you’re so protective of your privacy, and have no social media accounts.’
‘The locals here take me as I am.’Would Romy be the same, now that she knew?But he was pretty sure she’d cyberstalk his name later.
So why not beat the social media gossipers with their tell-all tales of fake news about the trust-fund kid.‘I met Two-stroke in that bar, and we hit it off.’
She screwed her cute nose up.‘Seriously, that’s his name?’
‘Russ was his name, but he only answered to Two-stroke.As an absolute petrolhead, Two-stroke could fix any motor and became my helicopter mechanic.He had the room next door to yours until he decided to get married.’
‘Sounds like a fun guy.’
