Page 10 of Outback Reunion

Gabriela nodded. ‘So... how’ve you been?’

‘Uh... yeah, good,’ he said, not about to get into the whole messed-up situation with her.

She scratched the side of her neck and they stared at each other awkwardly for a few long moments. Neither seemed to know what else to say; such a contrast from last time when they’d talked so freely.

He felt himself stirring at the memory of that amazing night and Gabriela blushed, making him wonder if she was thinking about the same thing.

Part of him wanted to ask what the deal had been—why she’d run out on him without saying goodbye, why she didn’t even leave a note—but still raw from Tahlia’s rejection, he didn’t want to hear another, even if it was eight years late.

‘How long are you here?’ he asked instead.

‘A week and a half. Our first show is Friday night.’ It was Wednesday now. ‘You should come.’ Before he could reply one way or the other, she added, ‘Anyway, nice seeing you again, Mark, but I’ve got to go.’

He watched her as she walked down the aisle and towards the checkout, her hips swaying in a way that made his mouth water.

Yep, he definitely needed chocolate after that surprise. By the time he’d thrown in three different blocks of Cadbury’s, three packets of Tim Tams and a Violet Crumble for good measure, his basket was full and Gabriela had left the store.

‘I thought footballers weren’t supposed to eat all this shit?’ said the gangly, pimply teen behind the counter as he scanned Mark’s items and packed them into recycling bags.

‘I’m not a footballer anymore,’ he snapped, the words causing his heart to squeeze, ‘and what I eat is none of your business.’

His grouchiness would no doubt be all over town by the afternoon, but he didn’t care. What the locals thought of him was the last thing on his mind right now. He hadn’t been planning on buying alcohol, but he dumped the food in the back of the ute and crossed over to The Palace.

After what had just happened, the chocolate was going to need backup.

Chapter Two

Gabi’s whole body shook as she threw the groceries into her old wagon, wincing as she remembered the eggs. Hopefully she hadn’t just broken them, but her heart had been pounding so hard after Mark had literally run into her that it was a miracle she’d even remembered to pay.

Slamming the boot shut, she hurried around to the driver’s side, slumped into the seat and closed her eyes as she replayed it all in slow motion.

The annoyance she’d felt as a trolley had rammed into her because some idiot was rushing around the corner of the aisle without looking where they were going had evaporated the moment she’d laid eyes on said idiot. He had at least a three-day growth and his hair was shorter now, cropped close to his head at the sides, only slightly longer at the top, but it was still that rich, brown sugar colour. His voice sounded deeper than she remembered, yet it was as she looked into his eyes that recognition dawned, and her knees threatened to give way beneath her.

Déjà vu.

She’d never forgotten the connection she’d felt that night eight years ago when she’d first looked into them—nor the conversation and mind-blowing sex that followed—and she’d met no one with that unique electric blue colour since.

But Gabi could only imagine what he must have been thinking about her—dressed in her grubby build-day clothes, her hair so messy even a bird wouldn’t nest in it and her face entirely bare of make-up. Wasn’t it everyone’s worst nightmare to run into an old boyfriend when you’re looking less than your best? Not that Markwasan old boyfriend—and right now he was probably thanking his lucky stars.

She opened her eyes and glanced outside, looking up and down the street, taking it all in now from a different vantage. When they’d arrived in Bunyip Bay late last night, she’d thought it a gorgeous little town and was excited about squeezing in some time at the beach with Luna between shows. Towns like these were few and far between and the closest they ever came to having a holiday. She’d even bought herself a bikini so she could lie on the beach and read her book in the sun while her seven-year-old daughter built castles on the sand.

Suddenly this cute little coastal country town didn’t feel quite so like paradise, because now everywhere she went she’d be paranoid about running into Mark again.

Would that be so terrible?

Ignoring the voice in her head, she finally started the wagon and turned out of the carpark, back down the road towards the oval where the circus was setting up. The king poles had been put in place early that morning and the guys should be drilling into the ground to form the peg line by now. Soon it would be all hands on deck as they ran out the skins and then everyone would focus on the lacing to secure the Big Top, especially important in a place like Bunyip Bay, which had a reputation for getting rather windy.

Luna ran up to Gabi as soon as she parked inside the lot, her ginger hair flying messily around her face and her four performing dogs—Russell, Basset, Princess and Cruella—following behind. ‘Mum! You’ve been gone for ages. Did you remember to buy me a snorkel?’

‘Sorry, they’d run out,’ she lied, feeling a prick of guilt, but she wasn’t about to tell her daughter the truth, that she’d been looking for one whenMarkhappened and then everything else had completely slipped her mind.

Luna pouted, then seemed to think better of her mood. ‘Can we still go to the beach later? Granny said maybe we can have a barbecue dinner down there.’

Tonight, at the end of their first build day, she and her mother-in-law, Eve Jimenez, would cook up a feast for everyone, before an early night, so they could all get up at the crack of dawn to finish setting up. Usually, this meal was had on the lot but when they were in a place as magic as this, they sometimes mixed things up. Everyone would welcome a swim in the ocean after working in these sweltering temperatures.

‘Did she now?’ Gabi wiped a hand against her sweaty brow, struggling to think as far as dinner with Mark still front and foremost in her head.

‘What took you so long?’ asked Muriel, perching her hands on her bony hips as she nodded towards the wagon.