heat through her veins. Damn, even laughter sounded better in this country.
“Aren’t you a good host,” she said, slinging her bag over one shoulder.
As they walked out the front of the house, she tried to smooth her hair back into a ponytail—but Cora’s shiny, sleek locks were not a natural feature. Oh no, they were the product of keratin treatments and a love affair with her flat iron. When exposed to moisture, Cora’s hair tended to pouf out, kinking and frizzing into a fluffy mess.
“Eh, I figured we didn’t start out on the best foot and, more importantly, my sister will have my left nut if I don’t make you feel welcome.” Trent hit the remote to unlock a dusty silver pickup truck sitting in front of the house. “I hope you’re okay riding in the ute. It’s not super comfy, but it does the job.”
“Ute?”
“Short for utility vehicle. What do you call them?”
“Pickup trucks.” Not that you would see too many of those around where she lived. “And it’s no problem. If you promised me a cold beer, I would ride a kangaroo to get there.”
“You know we don’t really do that here, right?” His lip twitched in a way that belied the deadpan tone of his voice. “But we do eat them.”
“You what?” Cora gasped. “They’re on your passports, for crying out loud.”
Trent shrugged. “They’re tasty and a very lean, healthy source of protein.”
“Well, I won’t be eating one, thank you very much.” That would be like eating a bald eagle. It seemed weird to treat a national symbol as a meal, but maybe they didn’t worry about things like that here.
“Not adventurous with your food, are you?” he teased. The pickup truck—sorry, ute—roared to life, and Trent executed a tight turn in the driveway that had them on a gravelly little road surrounded by dense bushland.
“I’m plenty adventurous. Manhattan has some of the best cuisine in the whole world, but I’m not about to pretend I’m on an episode of Survivor.”
“So witchetty grubs are off the menu as well, then?”
Cora pressed a hand to her stomach. “Keep talking like this and I won’t even need a menu.”
Trent chuckled, and the ute bounced along the unfinished road, kicking up dust and stones behind them. Every time one hit the side, it made a little chink sound. The scent of something sweet and floral drifted into the car through the open windows, mingling with the salty tang of the ocean. Eventually, they exited onto a busier road with more houses sprouting up. Every so often, when the houses broke, the ocean could be seen like a beautiful aqua line along the horizon.
“So how do you know Liv?” he asked.
It stung a little that Liv had never mentioned Cora to her family—but she had to remind herself that Liv was the kind of person who made friends everywhere she went. She was vivacious and gregarious and outgoing and probably had dozens of people in her closest circle.
“Actually, we met online,” Cora said. “We were both in a copywriting course and we hit it off. Then we started swapping work for critiques and Skyping every other week.”
Liv might not know it, but she’d been Cora’s lifeline in a time when everything seemed to be failing her. Hearing the familiar chime of the Skype ringtone on her MacBook had always filled Cora with a sense of relief, because for the hour or two that they talked, she could feel like she mattered to someone.
Liv had listened to her cry over her breakup with her fiancé, she’d commiserated when her parents announced they were getting a divorce, and she’d been the one to text Cora randomly through the day and night, little heart emojis and “I’m thinking of you” cheer-up messages.
“Eventually we ended up meeting in London, of all places.”
“Oh right.” Trent snapped his finger. “She went for a friend’s wedding.”
“I happened to be there for work, so it was kind of serendipitous.” Meeting Liv in person had been like meeting a long-lost sister. “And now I’m staying in her house and she’s staying in mine. I consider her a real friend, even if most of our conversations happen via the internet.”
Trent navigated the smooth corner, and suddenly they were on what appeared to be Patterson’s Bluff’s main drag. The town was capital-A adorable. Neat rows of shops were bustling with people, many of whom walked dogs or had children in tow. Cora spotted a sweet little bakery and an ice cream store