Driving Her Crazy - By Amy Andrews Page 0,26

over? And where do we sleep?’

‘I’ll take my swag up to the roof of the vehicle and sleep under the stars. You can doss down on the back seat if you like.’

She pursed her lips. ‘Camping, huh?’

Kent shot her a derisive look. ‘I’d hardly call it that. But it’s something you should try at least once in your life.’

Sadie looked at him. At his mouth.

Her, him and a billion stars.

And his mouth.

‘Okay.’

FIVE

‘Are you coming up or not?’

Sadie stood with her hands on the bull bar as an outback night stretched dark and mysterious like a lucky eight ball above her head.

It was one a.m. and they were pulled over near the dust-encrusted sign that announced their entry into the Northern Territory. It was chilly and she shivered.

‘Are you sure it’s okay to walk on your car? Won’t it get dinged?’

Kent shut his eyes, blocking out the pinpricks of light twinkling down at him. ‘If it was one of those modern four-wheel drives, sure. But this thing wasn’t built to crumple. It was built to deflect.’

Sadie eyed the bonnet dubiously even though she knew how sturdy it was from the way it handled. Walking on a car just didn’t seem right.

‘By my reckoning I have you by a good twenty-five to thirty kilos, Sadie Bliss, and it didn’t buckle under my weight. Unless of course you want to stay on the ground there and fend off the spiders.’

Sadie’s pulse spiked as she leapt onto the bull bar. Her gaze flicked from side to side. ‘There are spiders?’

Kent opened his eyes and grinned at the strained note in her voice. ‘Probably a few scorpions too, I’d say.’

Sadie shuddered. ‘Now, see, this is why I don’t camp. There aren’t any scorpions at five-star hotels,’ she griped.

‘There aren’t any up here either,’ he said, too tired for hysterics.

Sadie flicked her gaze from the ground to the roof of the car where she could just make out the outline of Kent’s body encased in his swag. ‘Think I’ll just use the back seat,’ she said, even though the thought of having to put her foot to the ground was creeping her out.

‘Up to you. But, just so you know, you’re missing out on a truly spectacular experience.’ The celestial display was utterly dazzling and Kent wished he’d brought his camera up with him. ‘It’ll blow your mind, city girl.’

Sadie rolled her eyes and muttered, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say,’ under her breath. Except sound travelled exceptionally well through a still outback night and she blushed when she heard Kent chuckle.

‘Okay,’ she announced in a louder voice as she hauled herself onto the bonnet. ‘But I’m going to want my money back if you’re getting me up there under false pretences.’

Kent saluted. ‘Money-back guarantee.’

Sadie kicked off her ballet flats and felt the warmth of the engine heat her cool toes as she clamoured gingerly to her feet. She gave a slight bounce, testing the strength of the metal beneath, satisfied to feel absolutely no give whatsoever.

She scrambled up the windscreen, hanging onto the sturdy metal rungs welded to the roof completely enclosing it. At least she wouldn’t roll off the roof in her sleep! She rather inelegantly hauled herself up over the top and crawled on her hands and knees towards Kent and her swag.

She didn’t look at him as she climbed into her bedding and zipped it up to her chin. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, hoping that she could block him and their sleeping arrangement out altogether. She was immediately cocooned in fleecy warmth, tiredness injecting instant fatigue into her marrow. She moved around for a bit attempting to find a comfortable spot, thankful for the swag’s padded lining on the unforgiving metal rooftop.

‘Will you stop wriggling,’ Kent grumbled. He was actually feeling tired and there was something soothing about being outdoors. He planned on taking full advantage.

Sadie stopped moving and opened her eyes as the illusion that she wasn’t on a car rooftop in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, with a virtual stranger was completely obliterated by his gruff command.

And then a billion stars and a crescent moon took over and everything else melted away.

They had stars in Sydney. She’d often been out on the harbour at night and had them twinkle down at her, but somehow they just hadn’t been able to compete with the ones twinkling from the buildings that made up Sydney’s iconic skyline.

Not so tonight.

Tonight a New Year’s Eve fireworks display