Outback Affair: An Affair Novel (Entangled Indulgence) Read Online Free Page A

make sure I get your autograph.”
    “Certainly.”
    The kitchen door pushed open with a clatter. Janet carried across two plates of food and placed them on the table in front of them. Jess drew in a startled breath as all thoughts of acting and Cockatoo Springs flew from her mind. She reached down, grabbed her phone from her bag, and leaned back in her chair, framing the plate of food in the grid of the small screen of her iPhone camera.
    She totally forgot about the man sitting across from her as she snapped six shots of the meal in front of her, from a variety of angles. She looked up at Alex, suddenly realizing he was watching her with a suspicious expression on his face.
    “Why are you taking a photo of your dinner?”
    Get out of this one, Jess.
    Monica had warned her about being careful. Some pretty awful things happen in the outback; she’d seen the movies, read the news. After all, she’d never see this guy again. And if anything she owed him one for the mud splatter this afternoon.
    “It’s my first meal in Australia, and I want to remember it.”
    So much for decent acting.
    “An interesting habit,” he said. “Although I agree, Janet’s meals are spectacular. She’s wasted in a place like this. It never gets very busy, and she does to like to impress the guests.”
Jess was barely listening to him. She had speared a piece of fish and raised it reverently to her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste and trying to figure out the herbs that combined to give it the subtle flavor. She opened her eyes, and that direct blue gaze was fixed on her lips as she chewed delicately. Pointing her fork at him, she pulled out her best imitation of her mother’s voice.
    “Has anyone never taught you manners? It is extremely rude to stare. Particularly when one is eating.”
    “You really are a case, aren’t you?” Alex threw back his head and laughed. “When ‘one’ is eating? I think that ‘rest’ at Cockatoo Springs will do ‘one’ the world of good.”
    “Don’t be smart. I’m just enjoying my meal. And I like to cook so I am figuring out what is in it.”
    “Unless you know your bush tucker you won’t figure it out.” Picking up his fork, he speared a piece of fish and chewed it without taking his gaze from hers. “Lemon myrtle and pepper berries.”
    “Bush tucker? What’s that?” Although she well knew what it was from her research, she was curious to see if he knew much about the local food. And as well as the amazing article on Alessandro she could do another article using this guy. In fact, she could do a whole series on the outback.
    From the river to the resort. He was an interesting character and would provide some eye candy on the glossy pages against the photographs of the bush tucker dishes. He could lean in front of that black truck of his and hold one of his big fish up for the camera…and flex his muscles. Maybe they could find a good patch of water for the background of the shot Her thoughts wandered away and she starting framing some words around the picture in her head. She looked up as his deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
    “Any native flora or fauna used for cooking or medicinal purposes,” he said. “It’s a popular type of cooking up here in the Territory.” She looked at him, her curiosity growing when he explained how the local bush tucker had become an international success.
    “Cockatoo Springs has just made the papers. It took out first place in an international competition run by some flash magazine,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. “First out of the top fifty restaurants in the world this year.”
    Jess’s head flew up when he mentioned the competition. It had been the catalyst for her trip— Cuisine had run it, and that’s where she’d first heard about the wealthy guy who’d made it an international success in less than two years. She took a deep breath and choked, trying not to spray him with food. A piece of wild rice lodged