Page 29 of Seduction Under the Southern Stars

“Penny for them,” he asks.

I blush.

He notices, and I wait for him to tease me about it, but instead he smoothly changes the subject. “Zoe asked if I had any stories to tell about you all, and I asked you if you remembered the day Fraser fell in the river.”

I grin. “Yeah. The school had a government inspection,” I explain. “Fraser was… twenty?” My brother nods. “He was at uni,” I continue, “but he came home to help Dad get ready for it. Dad asked him if he’d show the inspectors around the grounds. Fraser decided it would be best if he looked smart and wore a suit. Then, when he was taking them over the bridge to the tennis courts, he missed his footing and fell in.”

Hallie and Zoe giggle. Fraser rolls his eyes. “I’m glad my misfortune amuses you.”

“It really does,” Hallie says.

“There are plenty more stories where that came from,” Linc says.

“Okay,” Fraser replies, “let’s talk about the number of broken bones you had over the four years you were at Greenfield.”

“Two,” Linc says.

“Four,” I correct. “The same arm, twice, then the other arm, then a finger.”

“I won’t ask what you were doing to break that,” Zoe says.

“I should have been so lucky,” Linc states. “Joel stood on it.”

We all laugh, and Joel lifts an eyebrow. “You shouldn’t have left it on the ground.”

“I didn’t leave it anywhere—it was attached to my hand.”

“You were quite accident prone,” I comment. “But that’s probably because you were a bit of a thrill seeker.”

“Still am,” he replies. “I’ve jumped out of a plane.”

“You have not,” I say disbelievingly.

“Like a pro,” Linc says, and winks at me. “Who’s your daddy?”

“Australopithecus afarensis,” I quip.

Joel snorts, the other three burst out laughing, and Linc grins. “Smartass. Yeah, I’ve been skiing and snowboarding. Whitewater rafting. Cage diving in Oz. Rock climbing in the Peak District. You name it.”

“Why?” Zoe asks, baffled.

He shrugs. “Makes me feel alive.”

“He’s certifiable,” I tell her.

“You’re all Kiwis,” he says, “don’t tell me you haven’t bungee jumped.”

“No,” we all say together, and then laugh.

“Actually I lie,” Joel says, “I did do the Auckland Sky Jump off the Sky Tower.”

Linc looks at Fraser. “What about you? Jumped off anywhere high?”

“Nope,” Fraser says. “Feet firmly on the floor, I’m afraid, and no interest in doing anything to change that.”

Linc makes chicken noises. “Absolutely,” Fraser says, “I have a poultry amount of courage.” We all groan at the pun.

“You don’t want to know where he puts the stuffing,” Joel says.

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