The Lucky Escape by Laura Jane Williams

Author:Laura Jane Williams [Williams, Laura Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-04-16T17:00:00+00:00

22

Our first full day in Sydney was what Patrick had spent the previous night calling Paddy’s Perfect Surprise Day. After a buffet breakfast in one of the four restaurants in the hotel, I was instructed to pack for the day and be comfortable, but not ‘daggy’.

‘I just remember them using that word on TV,’ Patrick had smiled. ‘It means uncool. I mean, at least I think it does.’

I’d chosen cropped baggy blue trousers with my Birkenstocks and a white top that I thought made me look quite glow-y, now I was matching Patrick in the getting-a-tan department. I left my hair loose and un-straightened, and wore one simple gold chain around my neck. With a sweep of bronzer and my sunglasses I was going for modest but stylish. I grabbed the small leather cross-body bag I’d worn wine tasting and headed downstairs, where Patrick had instructed me to meet him out front.

I spotted him immediately. He stood across the road to the hotel, his khaki knee-length shorts revealing the toned calves of a runner. He had Birks on too, and a white linen shirt so that we accidentally matched, like those old married couples who wear his ’n’ hers fleeces. His grin was huge, and it made me burst into a smile right back, a joy at seeing him that practically bloomed out of me. We stood there looking at each other, a pair of loons, staring and smiling, light traffic passing by between us. I liked how it was to enjoy somebody so much. He made things better. We’d only been apart fifteen minutes, but I’d yearned for him.

‘We’re taking a road trip!’ he yelled across the street. My eyes adjusted and I saw that he was standing beside a sleek black Audi convertible, and that he was twirling keys around in his hand.

‘Wait,’ I said, figuring it out. ‘You’re driving?’

‘I thought it might be fun,’ he shouted, opening the passenger door and gesturing to me that I should cross the road and get in. ‘Wind in our hair, going where the road takes us. Where the sat nav takes us, anyway.’

‘I see. Wow. Okay.’

The fawn leather was soft under my thighs, the smell of new car powerful. Patrick told me to mind my fingers and closed the door behind me before climbing in the other side and starting the automatic engine.

‘What’s the plan, man?’

‘The destination is a little town about two hours away to the south, still near the coast, for the music festival there tonight. Figured we’d stop along the way if we can, goggle at the sights, play spot the kangaroo. Bonus points for a koala.’

I took off my bag and put it by my feet, fastening the seatbelt and declaring that I’d best connect my phone to the speaker.

‘This is going to need a soundtrack,’ I insisted.

‘Don’t let me down, DJ,’ Patrick replied, putting on his sunglasses and starting the engine. ‘I’m gonna need some singalong classics, if you please.’

Ten minutes later we were singing

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