Love or Money Read Online Free Page A

the touchy subject of her plans for the property.
    â€˜Yeah. That’s busy downtown Luna Bay,’ Andy smiled. ‘You’d see more action in a cemetery at midnight. Thought I’d grab some time to get the accounts sorted.’ He closed his laptop. ‘Like to order, Erin? Or do you need to go and say hi to your fish?’
    â€˜Order first, fish later. I’ll have the usual, thanks Andy.’
    â€˜Short soup, plus pork noodles in hoi sin sauce, sprinkled with chopped raisins.’ Andy scribbled on his pad. ‘I can hear my Hong Kong grandmother turning in her grave.’ He slipped out to the kitchen run by his mother, Rosie.
    Her meal arrived. Guiltily, she picked at it with her chopsticks. Grandma Spenser’s ghost sat opposite, quiet, reproachful. How could Erin enjoy her dinner while that gloomy presence watched her?
    Hamish Bourke checked his watch as he stepped into the Golden Dragon. He’d eat quickly and get back to the office. The application for the Department of Environment funding for the wetlands restoration project was due on Monday. Lately, he spent more time on voluntary Landcare matters than on working for a fee — not good for his fledgling practice. But the funding application was important. Extremely important. The orange-bellied tree frog whose habitat was under threat might exit Planet Earth if the wetlands project didn’t happen. He stared into the restaurant’s gloom. It was empty but for a woman, blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She sat with her back to him at the corner table near the fish tank. Chopsticks in hand, she turned as he walked in. He stared, then recognised Erin Spenser.
    â€˜Hi,’ she called when she saw him looking hard in her direction.
    â€˜Er, hi,’ he answered. Those lips, that cute pointy nose, the smile, set his heart racing again. He’d come to the restaurant for a quick meal. Now he’d have to be polite, waste time. A couple of hours before, as Erin stood to leave his office, he’d given himself an order. Keep your distance from that woman and don’t get ideas.
    â€˜Staying for dinner?’ Her smile invited him.
    â€˜Well…I…’ Hamish found himself stuck for words again. The scene was set for a replay of the afternoon at the office. He stepped towards her table.
    Andy walked in from the kitchen carrying a folder of loose papers. ‘You two know each other?’
    â€˜We do.’ Erin grinned at Andy. ‘Luna Bay’s a pretty small town. Mr Bourke and I met this afternoon.’ Andy walked back to the counter and his laptop.
    â€˜Is it okay to call you Hamish?’ she said, looking up at him as he stood beside her. ‘You said you were Hamish to your friends. I don’t want to presume —’
    â€˜Oh, of course.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Hamish. Please.’
    â€˜The usual for you too, Hamish?’ Andy called from the counter.
    â€˜Yes, thanks Andy.’
    â€˜Singapore noodles,’ Andy confirmed. ‘Vegetarian?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    â€˜So, we’re not going to be adventurous tonight then?’ Andy said as he headed for the kitchen.
    â€˜Would you like to join me?’ Erin eyed the chair opposite.
    â€˜Well, thanks.’ He eased out the chair and sat. She used the moment to take in his shoulders again. She’d try to help him relax. His X-ray stare was getting to be rather too much.
    â€˜Pardon my mentioning this — it’s a bit forward,’ he said, still awkward. She half-smiled, curious. ‘What is it about you, Erin? Your face? Whenever I look at you up close, something goes click.’ He paused, smiled across at her. ‘Have we met before?’
    â€˜Since you ask, yes,’ she said. He stared at her again. ‘Roll your mind back to a certain summer afternoon at Luna Bay,’ she said. ‘Twelve years ago. A lifeguard sits on a lookout tower, keeping an eye