Page 40 of Outback Reunion

She laughed, but happily answered his questions about circus life, everything from what she called the travel and build days—apparently the biggest days of the week—to circus jargon that only made sense in their bubble. As they waited for their food, he learned about ‘midnight runners’, proper terms for all the equipment, and that if there was any trouble between circus folk, the family dealt with it themselves, never involving the cops unless absolutely necessary.

‘Can I ask you something?’ she said, turning the stem of her wine glass between her fingers.

He nodded. ‘Sure. Although I’m warning you, my life isn’t half as interesting as what you’re describing.’

She laughed but before she could ask her question, one of the backpackers arrived with their food. ‘Here you go.’ She put a plate down in front of each of them. ‘Enjoy.’

Gabriela’s eyes boggled at the burger on her plate as the woman retreated. ‘Oh, my goodness. It’s massive!’

‘Just wait until you taste it, you’ll wish it was twice the size,’ Mark said, plucking up a crispy, golden fry. ‘The chips are pretty good too. What did you want to ask me?’

‘Why is this town called Bunyip Bay? I thought bunyips were supposed to live in rivers or swamps, not the ocean.’

He spluttered out a laugh, almost choking on the chip.

‘What’s so funny?’

He swallowed and recovered. ‘That was just the last thing I expected you to ask. And firstly, bunyips don’tactuallyexist, you do know that, right?’

She smirked and rolled her eyes at his teasing tone. ‘You know what I mean.’

‘And secondly, disappointingly, our town is not named after the mythical creature—because that would be cool—but rather one of the men who settled the area in the late 1800s. Arthur Bunyip. He married but didn’t have kids, so there are no Bunyips left in the region.’

‘Oh, that’s sad,’ she said, eyeing the massive burger in front of her as if she wasn’t sure how to tackle it.

He handed her a knife. ‘It’s easier if you cut it in half. And all accounts say that Mr Bunyip wasn’t a very nice man—abused his wife and the Wattandee people—so when someone raised the idea of a commemorative statue for him, they were shot down. Instead, the Progress Association contracted a local artist to build a sculpture of an actual bunyip.’ He chuckled, remembering what his mum called ‘the hoo-ha’ that had gone on surrounding it when he was just a kid. ‘There was a lot of discussion about what it would look like, so that wasn’t straightforward either.’

‘Did the sculpture ever eventuate?’ she asked, slicing the burger down the middle.

He did the same with his. ‘Yeah. It’s in the park, although there’s a group trying to organise a larger statue. You know, like the big tourist icons Australia’s known for?’

Gabriela didn’t reply because she’d just clamped her mouth around her dinner and taken her first bite. Her eyes widened, then rolled back as she moaned in a way that made the muscles all over Mark’s body tighten.

Good lord.Had she any idea what she was doing to him?

‘What the hell do they put in this?’ she asked when she’d finally swallowed that first mouthful. ‘I’ve never tasted anything so good. Is it the sauce or the pattie? Or both?’

Somehow, he managed a chuckle. ‘Good luck ever finding out. Macca, the cook, reckons he’ll take his Bunyip Burger recipe to the grave.’

‘Oh my God,’ Gabriela said through another mouthful. A tiny drop of secret sauce dripped onto her chin. ‘Are you not eating yours?’

‘Not yet.’

He was about to wipe the sauce, already knowing it would taste even better after being on her skin, but she got there first, licking it off her finger in the most seductive manner. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’

Oh, Mark was hungry alright—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt as ravenous as he did right now—but not for food. It was her he wanted to devour. ‘I’m having too much fun watching you.’

Again, pink spread across her cheeks, which, if possible, only made her more appealing. ‘Your loss,’ she said with a coy smile.

‘I don’t think so.’

But he started on his burger anyway, and eventually, once she’d stopped practically orgasming in front of him and he’d stopped practically orgasming just watching her eat, he attempted conversation again.

‘So,Gabriela Jimenez.’ The way she grinned at the way he said her name made him want to say it over and over again. ‘I’m impressed.’

Her smile turned to a bemused frown. ‘By what?’

‘You’re not only part of the Grand Jimenez Family Circus, you’rethefamily. Is the ringmaster your dad?’

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