The Big Little Festival. Kellie Hailes

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СКАЧАТЬ of the festival committee. He thinks your beer garden would be an excellent addition to the festival. What do you think about that?’ Jody raised an eyebrow and prayed her brother would do the loyal family thing and tell Christian to bugger off – even though it was a good idea. One she wished she’d thought of herself.

      Tony clapped his hands together with enthusiasm. ‘I think that’s a fantastic idea. Best idea yet. The beer garden’s only just been created, needs a bit of a tidy up, a bit of landscaping and whatnot, but this would give me the excuse I need to pull my finger out of my arse and do it. I’m in.’ Tony reached out and grabbed Christian’s hand and shook in vigorously.

      Traitor, Jody grumbled to herself. That made two backsliders today. Her body and her brother. The two things that were meant to be loyal.

      ‘I’m so glad you like that idea, Tony. I think it could be quite spectacular. I was also thinking you could string lanterns across the area. They’d look brilliant during the day and be a real show-stopper at night for those who chose to stay on after the festival.’

      ‘Great. Love it. I’ll get on to it. Jodes? Why didn’t we hire this guy earlier?’

      Christian took another slurp of beer, set his glass down and focused on Jody. ‘Thank you, Tony. I appreciate that you see my worth. If only everyone did. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting the committee to be so…’ Christian paused, his eyes darting from side to side as if racking his brain for the right word.

      ‘Crazy?’ Tony supplied.

      ‘What is with you people today?’ Serena snapped, her face lighting up with a grin. ‘That’s my mother you’re talking about!’

      ‘I stand by my statement. I’d also add nutty, forceful, determined and pretty damn intolerable when given a hint of power. I still can’t believe you agreed to take those two on, Jodes.’ Tony shook his head. ‘You must have been having a moment.’

      Or desperate to make up for the past. A lump settled in Jody’s throat. ‘Something like that, Tony. Had myself a wee bit of a turn, obviously.’ She forced a smile. ‘Anyway, I’ve quit, so it’s not my problem any more.’

      ‘Actually, Jody…’ Christian’s focus remained on her.

      Jody tried not to squirm in her seat. Why did he have to keep looking at her so intently? And why did he have to have those warm, roasted chestnut-coloured eyes that could melt steel, or an ice maiden’s vow to herself. Ugh. She folded her arms and pinched the soft underside of her arms in an attempt to pull herself together.

      ‘…I wasn’t joking when I said I needed your help. I do. And I hate admitting that. But Rabbits Leap is… different… to what I’m used to. The people here are set in their ways. And there seems to be some sort of hierarchy I can’t figure out. Well, I can. At the moment it seems the locals are on top and I’m at the bottom of the pile. Which would be fine, but I need to make this work. I need someone to help me figure this place and its people out. I need you, Jody. I want you.’

      Serena giggled. ‘Well, that’s not the kind of declaration a girl hears every day. I think I’d better leave you two alone.’ She slugged back the dregs of her wine, gathered up her bag and winked at Jody. ‘Have fun!’

      Frustrated, Jody lowered her head into her hands and sank her teeth into her lower lip. What choice did she have? If she said no, she’d be stuck in the same place she’d been for years – looking for a way to make up for her one night of recklessness that had impacted on so many. But if she said yes? She recalled those flickers of electricity that had danced over her skin when they’d touched. If she said yes, she’d be putting herself in a position she’d sworn never to be in. She’d be opening herself up to attraction. Which could lead to desire. And then the ultimate no-no, love. And, in her experience, that never led anywhere good.

      ‘We need to get something clear,’ she mumbled into her hands. ‘You are not my favourite person right now. But I’ll work with you. Not because I want to, but because I don’t want this little town to lose its one big dream. So I’ll come back onboard, but you need to understand that I won’t be dictated to. If we’re butting heads, we’ll have to find someone for a swing vote. Understood?’

      Christian lifted his head a little, just enough so one half of his face was in view. ‘Mr Fancy Pants understands.’ He gave her a cheeky grin.

      Her heart must have discovered a trampoline in her chest because it did a flip-flop. Jody closed her eyes against that far-too-cute smile. It was too late to back out. She’d done the deal. But why did she suspect the price she’d pay would be high?

CHAPTER THREE

       Focus.

      Christian forced himself to read the words on the laptop, but for the first time in a long time the screes of plans and ideas he had for an event held little to no interest. Not when his mind was filled with images of curling blonde hair that bounced on sun-kissed shoulders, tanned legs so long they looked like they could give The Shard a run for its money, and the tantalising hint of divinely curved breasts.

      Damn it! The last thing he needed was to have the hots for a woman he was supposed to be working with. The building blocks to success did not include romance. He’d learnt that time and time again when his previous attempts at relationships had gone south when his girlfriends began to put pressure on him to cut back on the hours he spent at work so they could spend more time together. Further proving his suspicion that having both fairy tale-style love and a career was impossible. The only compromise was partnership, two people supporting each other to further each other’s success. An arrangement his parents had down pat. A united front at work functions. But behind the door of their family home? Short, sharp and dismissive summed it up. The only time kind words were exchanged was when a goal was met. A win had. It was the only way he’d received any attention. Not that his decision to go into event management was taken seriously by them. No doubt when his recent failure became public knowledge they’d pop open a bottle of champagne…

      He pulled up a budgeting template and pushed the self-pity away. Self-pity was not what winners were made of. And even though he’d not followed the family into law or medicine as expected, he’d still become the best in his field. And he wasn’t going to let one stupid error derail everything he’d built.

      A scuffle outside his bedroom door caught his attention.

      ‘You’re a cock-up,’ a voice yelled.

      ‘No, you are. Your face is a cock-up.’ The retaliation was met with another round of scuffling.

      What the hell was going on out there? Why was Tony allowing people to fight in his establishment? When Jody had mentioned his accommodation she’d assured him that, despite its being above a pub, it wouldn’t be rowdy.

      ‘Boys. Do I need to hide your tablet again?’ The stern warning put a stop to the fighting.

      Three sharp raps on his door followed. Shit, Jody was here to see him. He peered at the time on the laptop. Of course she was, they had a meeting. Which she’d brought her sons to. Something she’d not mentioned and something he couldn’t condone. If he’d wanted to work with kids he’d have been a teacher.

      He marched to the door, his head full of rebukes, pulled it opened, and all his words of chastisement disappeared as the air whooshed from his stomach at the sight before him. Jody’s two young lads, with those СКАЧАТЬ