Love or Money Read Online Free Page B

on the beach.’
    â€˜I used to do lifeguard duty at Luna Bay,’ he said. ‘When I came home for university vacations.’ He pointed. ‘Were you—’
    â€˜I swam there. I spent pretty much every summer holiday at Lovers’ Lookout with my Grandma.’
    â€˜So you told me.’
    â€˜And one day, when I was surfing, a rip dragged me way out past the breakers. It scared me — really scared me.’
    â€˜A lot of inexperienced surfers get caught in that rip. It comes in strong around half-tide, usually. We always fish them out, give them the lecture, and send them on their way.’
    â€˜You didn’t give me the lecture.’
    â€˜I rescued you ?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    He stared into her face again. ‘It’s coming back. The little red bikini, the long blonde hair. The big scared eyes. You couldn’t have been more than—’
    â€˜Sixteen.’
    â€˜So that’s it.’ He beamed. ‘Ever since you showed up this afternoon, I’ve had this…feeling.’
    Erin began to feel something too. Something that came from thinking about a certain lifesaver’s taut, tanned body. Lying over her own near-nakedness as he paddled her back to the beach. She must click back to the Golden Dragon, the here-and-now.
    â€˜I had the feeling too,’ she admitted. ‘Right from when you talked to me in the parking lot.’
    â€˜But you figured it out faster than I did.’ His smile told her he was relaxing at last. ‘Women,’ he grinned. ‘Like all the books say, they’re quicker on the uptake than guys.’
    â€˜Well then.’ She’d take the opportunity that had come on a plate, so to speak. ‘Now we’ve put that to bed, can we talk a bit more about my property?’ she said. ‘I’d like your ideas, please. About what I should do with it until it’s ready to sell.’
    â€˜I already told you. You have a very valuable piece of real estate, and…’ He looked away.
    â€˜Yes, but I sensed that you were holding back. Making sure you didn’t say anything out of place. Being all — professional.’ She smiled, giving him some space. He smiled back, still silent. ‘Can I have some more of your unprofessional advice? Not the five-second grab this time. We have all night.’
    â€˜My advice will be…biased.’
    â€˜Do go on,’ she said.
    â€˜Okay. But first, a legal disclaimer.’ He actually grinned. ‘You should know I’m a member of Luna Bay Landcare. The secretary, actually.’ His grin widened. ‘Sorry, I don’t have a tidy hairdo and nice nails.’ He flexed his hands and she looked at them. They were man’s hands — big, work-toughened. Not like you’d expect a lawyer’s hands to look. She recalled again those hands hauling her out of the rip onto his surfboard. Then she pictured Todd’s merchant banker hands — pale, fingers tending towards chubby, nails perfectly manicured.
    â€˜Luna Bay Landcare? What exactly is that?’
    â€˜Hmm. City types. They couldn’t be expected to know.’ He drew breath. ‘All over the country, locals get together to care for their land. Replace wicked invasive foreign plants with local good guys — get the ecology back into shape. Australia’s had some serious ecological disasters — rabbits, cactus, cane toads. And more around the corner if we don’t fight them. The government puts literally billions into Landcare to pay for plants, tools, professional managers.’
    â€˜No kidding?’
    â€˜Yep. And often, we Landcare people have a fight on our hands,’ Hamish continued, turning his own hands palms upward. ‘At the moment, it’s a special bit of remnant wetland. An endangered tree frog species. And a bulldozer-happy developer.
    â€˜Tell me more,’ she said. He’d changed. His eyes glowed. He flexed his hands