The Farmer's Perfect Match

by Marilyn Forsyth

  When Adam had suddenly appeared in the shed, hair still wet from a shower and smelling sexily of citrus-scented soap, she’d had to order her stomach off the roller-coaster, her knees not to shake. No matter where he stood, even in this huge space, it was too close for comfort.

  She’d almost succumbed to that grin of his, the one that left her helpless. But even as the idea of throwing herself into his arms flashed through her mind, she’d drawn back from it, knowing she had no option other than to do what she had to.

  ‘See, Bitzer,’ she said as she flung her arms around the dog, hugged him close to her chest, ‘I had to set things into proper perspective after what almost happened.’

  It had been impossible to look at Adam without remembering the effect yesterday’s moment of closeness had had on her body. Nerves dancing an Argentine tango. Blood roaring in her ears.

  ‘This … thing between us is purely physical. I had to make him understand that acting on it would be totally inappropriate. He’s better off knowing how things stand. Right?’

  Bitzer responded with a lick of his chops and an almost-human whine of compassion. Her self-justification momentarily validated, she scratched him thankfully behind his tattered ears.

  But the relief of absolution was brief; the encounter continued to haunt her. She’d been more abrupt than she intended simply because she didn’t trust herself to leave any leeway. Her brusqueness had hurt him. When she tried to cover her real feelings by telling him she felt sorry for him, his pain had been palpable. Unable to bear his expression, she’d refused to meet the wounded look in the dark-brown eyes that showed too much. It wasn’t hard to picture her own face, guilt written all over it. She willed the image away.

  Pressing her hand to her heart, she waited for the brief pain to run its course. ‘I didn’t set out to hurt him.’ Bitzer stared up at her, his head tilted to one side. ‘He’s a nice guy. I’d never do that.’ The dog beat its tail hard on the ground. ‘I’m glad you believe me.’

  Evie sighed heavily. In the circles she mixed in, men like Adam were few and far between. He was a dream come true in so many ways, but the timing—her still recovering from a broken heart, him living in this isolated part of the country, their meeting under these circumstances—was nightmarish. And in the world of TV—her world—timing was everything. Jeopardising her lifelong goal by chasing what could only ever be short-term gratification made no sense.

  ‘Let’s face it, I can’t give him what he needs. I want a career. He deserves someone like Meg,’ she explained to the dog. ‘Someone to love him with no strings attached.’ And Chrissy has so many hanging off her she might as well be a marionette.

  The time for hard decisions had arrived. Quashing her feelings for Adam was imperative. The distancing act that had just taken place was the first step. Success didn’t come without sacrifice and she had to be willing to make sacrifices to get ahead.

  Briefly she struggled with her conscience. Was she willing to become the type of person this job required? Did the end justify the means?

  Could she push aside her feelings for Adam and not regret it?

  Time would tell. All she knew for certain was that she had to try. Failure was not an option.

  Suddenly she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts any longer. She should be feeling like a winner—she’d done what she had to do to placate Neil—but where was the sense of satisfaction?

  * * *

  Despite the lingering unease after her confrontation with Adam, Evie was relieved that the breakfast shoot had gone off with barely a hitch. Unsure how her new no-nonsense approach would be received, she was gratified that everyone followed her instructions without question, and she had even earned some rare words of praise from her mentor.

  The only problem was that Chrissy won the cook-off. Apparently Eggs Benedict was Adam’s favourite breakfast. How the woman knew was anybody’s guess. Meg had been gracious in defeat, deciding to put her afternoon to good use by doing her washing.

  Three of them now stood at the jetty, waiting for Chrissy who, true to form, was running late. No doubt prettying herself up—as if she needed it. Cam was busy pacing out prospective shots from the pier while Evie attempted to pin a mini-microphone on Adam.

  A smattering of dark hair curled above the neck of his rash vest. His chest felt as solid and warm as a brick furnace. Feeling his eyes on her, she didn’t look up, concentrating instead on fingers that seemed to have morphed into thumbs under his scrutiny.

  ‘Looking forward to this?’ she asked. The question was ridiculous but she needed to keep things between them as companionable as possible under the circumstances. They still had to work together.

  ‘Yep. Love paddling around the bay. You any good at canoeing?’

  It was a relief to have the response so friendly. ‘I haven’t done any for quite a while.’

  ‘You could have some trouble keeping up with us then.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be doing my best to stay with the action.’

  ‘I wasn’t worried.’ His face was uncharacteristically inscrutable.

  ‘Does that mean you have faith in me to keep up, or you’re hoping I won’t be able to?’

  His only answer was a tight-lipped smile. At the memory of how close she’d come to tasting those perfect lips yesterday, she exhaled a long breath. Using one arm, she brushed her long hair back from her face. Why was it so damn hot all of a sudden? She stepped back from him, the mike at last in place.

  ‘Good morning, Adam. Cam … Evie.’ All blonde curls, glossy pink lipstick and film-star sunglasses, Chrissy enveloped them in a cloud of Vera Wang’s Princess.

  Of course. What else would she wear?

  The girl knew how to make an entrance. Over denim cut-offs she wore a bright-blue midriff top that showed off tight-as-a-drum abs. The outfit had a predictable, and no doubt intended, effect on the guys. They both stared. Cam swallowed loud enough to be heard.

  Evie could have hugged Adam when his response was a laconic, ‘Where’s your hat?’

  It was comforting to know the flirt wasn’t winning him over that easily. But then he spoiled it, giving her one of his gorgeous grins at the baseball cap she pulled from her beach bag to wave at him.

  Pinning the other mike to Chrissy’s top, Evie sucked up her disappointment and resisted an insane urge to ram the implement down the woman’s throat.

  Much as she hated to acknowledge it, jealousy wasn’t new to Evie. God knows, she’d felt it often enough towards her sister at times when they were growing up. But it had always been tempered by the fact that she loved Lulu as well as envying her.

  Correction. She had loved Lulu. Until her sister committed the ultimate betrayal.

  Evie shook her head to clear the images that still plagued her, even after all this time. Adam wasn’t Nick. Adam wasn’t even hers and never would be. So why feel jealous of Chrissy, who should mean less than nothing to her?

  Why? Because Adam deserved the best. If there was even the most remote likelihood of Chrissy being right for him, she’d back off. But she didn’t believe that for one minute. There was something not genuine about the woman. She could feel it.

  Chrissy was in this for Chrissy alone, and that raised her hackles. The fact that the woman was fooling everyone but Evie with her act didn’t help matters either.

  Cam’s voice pulled her from the troubling reflections. ‘I need some footage before we go.’ He pointed to a spot. ‘Stand there, Chrissy.’

  ‘How’s this?’ She stood, artfully posed, grasping Adam’s fingers firmly. She held her smile as Cam moved around, camera over his shoulder, to shoot from different angles. Adam simply held her hand, a gorgeous, mute accessory to the scene.

  The kind of accessory any girl would pay big bucks to get her hands on.

  ‘Come on,’ Adam said finally, with an edge of impatience. ‘Day’s a-wasting.’ Even though the necessity for the staged takes had been established, it seemed his dislike of them continued.
/>   With Chrissy settled into the canoe, Adam handed her a paddle.

  ‘What’s this?’ she asked.

  ‘A paddle,’ he deadpanned.

  ‘You mean I have to row?’ She was doing that innocent-eyes thing she was so infuriatingly good at. Somehow Evie suppressed her gag reflex.

  ‘It’ll certainly help if we intend to outrun them.’ He gestured towards Evie and Cam as he climbed into the canoe.

  The helpless look was quickly replaced by a conspiratorial grin. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  ‘See you later, guys,’ Adam called back over a muscled shoulder as they pulled away.

  ‘Hey, wait for us!’ Evie passed the Steadicam carefully down before clambering into the canoe behind Cam and taking control of the paddles.

  For some time they trailed Adam and Chrissy around the bay, Evie’s arms working overtime to stay close enough for Cam to get usable footage, listening in to their conversation through earpieces. They were obviously having a great time, Chrissy constantly gasping aloud as Adam pointed out the myriad things visible in the crystal clarity of the water. Sadly, Evie had no time to look herself.

  At a sudden eardrum-splitting squeal, she ripped her earpiece out. Head still spinning, she looked around for an explanation.

  ‘Hold it,’ said Cam, aiming the camera at the water. ‘Got it.’

  Evie caught a movement. Apparently a small manta ray was enough to elicit the excited shriek.

  ‘That’s it?’ she demanded of Cam.

  When he twisted around to look at her, his eyes were crossed. ‘Say again. My ears are still ringing.’ That made her laugh.

  But if she was honest, it wasn’t just the high pitch that got to her, it was the fact the woman was enjoying the adventure way too much. She would have bet her life on Chrissy hating the day Adam had planned.

  It appeared not.

  Either she was bloody good at pretending, or she was having the time of her life. Evie wished, now more than ever, it could have been Meg on this date.

  ‘Where are they going? Come on, Evie, you’ve got to keep up.’

  Narrowing her eyes against the water’s glare, she tried to make out their direction. Zeroing in on them, she headed their way, arms aching with the effort, muttering things under her breath about cameramen who could do with lessons in gentlemanly behaviour.

  Talking in hushed voices, Adam and Chrissy were doing a lot of laughing. Evie liked Adam’s deep laugh; it came from a good place—his heart. He stopped to wipe the sweat from his face with a muscled forearm then leaned in close to whisper something into Chrissy’s ear. She giggled in return.

  What was going on? Warning Cam to silence when he opened his mouth to say something, Evie replaced the earpiece, cupping a hand to listen in.

  ‘They’ve spotted something. They’re heading for the beach,’ she informed him.

  Cam focused the camera on some shadows beside the canoe. All of a sudden they took the form of three dolphins leaping simultaneously from the water in an arc alongside them. The animals continued to follow the boat, weaving elegantly in and out of the waves, tantalisingly out of reach, as Evie pulled the canoe towards shore. Her arms ached but she couldn’t stop smiling; they were enchanting.

  By the time they beached the canoe, the other two were already engaged in playing with several dolphins in the shallows.

  ‘They’re verbal creatures,’ Adam was explaining. ‘You need to talk to them to keep their attention.’

  ‘Nice dolphin … nice … dolphin,’ Chrissy said hesitantly.

  ‘Try a bit more expression,’ he encouraged. ‘Like this.’ He demonstrated how it was done, his voice animated, his gestures effusive. ‘Hello gorgeous! How beautiful are you?’

  The dolphin responded with a burst of chatter at which they both laughed uncontrollably, until one of the animals flicked Chrissy’s leg with its snout. She grabbed Adam’s arm, and he squeezed her hand in return.

  ‘What does she think? It’s going to eat her?’ Evie muttered under her breath.

  ‘Play nice,’ warned Cam from behind. ‘And for crying out loud, stay out of my shots.’

  Evie crunched further along the beach, trying to enjoy the warmth of the sand between her toes. Not being able to join in the fun was another problem with playing fly on the wall. She wanted desperately to wade in, to pat the dolphins and talk with them.

  To remove Chrissy’s possessive grip on Adam.

  An image of the girl under attack from a frenzied pack of killer dolphins had her railing at herself in disgust. What are you doing? Where’s that professionalism you promised yourself? When did you become such a bitch?

  The dolphin chatter grew louder and faster. They were beginning to nose Chrissy quite strongly. She maintained a smile but it was looking less and less genuine.

  ‘You’re doing great,’ said Adam, throwing her a dazzling grin.

  Evie only just turned away, stifling a groan, when a terrified squeal made her glance back. A dolphin had torpedoed Chrissy, barrelling her over. When she surfaced, coughing and spluttering, she’d lost the cap and her usually fabulous hair hung in sand-covered blonde tangles over her face. She looked like a drowned rat.

  And Cam, bless him, was capturing every moment.

  Adam was instantly beside her, anxiously tugging her to her unsteady feet. He held her gently to him, smoothing her hair back from her face. Cradled in his powerful arms, she looked tiny, bewildered and defenceless, and Evie was immediately remorseful for her uncharitable thoughts.

  Being knocked over by an animal as thick-bodied and strong as a dolphin had to be dangerous. She didn’t really want to see Chrissy hurt, she just wanted her gone.

  A loud peal of girlish laughter drew her thoughts back. It was the last thing Evie expected to hear from a woman who’d just been smashed A over T. Arms around Adam’s waist, Chrissy rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He hugged her back.

  The coy smile up at him was all the information Evie needed to realise just how classic a manipulator Chrissy was. Her quick regroup to present a good-humoured front for the camera—and for Adam—was a master stroke.

  That glint in her eye was one of victory.

  Evie had to hand it to her; Chrissy had almost fooled her too. The woman was an amazingly good actress.

  * * *

  With Chrissy clearly recovered from the brief brush with danger and no longer needing his physical support, Adam dropped his arms. Chrissy didn’t.

  ‘Give her a kiss back,’ Cam called out.

  Adam cleared his throat awkwardly, embarrassed by the demand. A kiss was a private thing, not a spectacle to be recorded.

  ‘A gentleman wouldn’t do that without permission,’ he said quietly.

  Before he could move away, Chrissy’s arms reached up around his shoulders. ‘You don’t have to ask.’

  Though tiny, she was much stronger than she looked. With a hand either side of his neck, she dragged his face down to plant her lips on his. No sparks, no knee-weakening, but her mouth was soft and supple and for a split second he found himself revelling in its sweet taste.

  Until he remembered where he was and who was watching.

  He opened his eyes to meet Evie’s. He could have sworn the look in those green-brown depths was hurt, but the expression vanished so quickly he couldn’t be sure. He pulled his mouth away.

  Uncomfortable with what had just happened, he removed himself from Chrissy’s arms and stepped away. ‘I, er … I’m not … that was …’

  ‘That was great,’ called Cam, giving a thumbs up sign.

  ‘Ditto,’ said Chrissy breathily, running a small pink tongue over her lips.

  What sounded like a disapproving tsk came from Evie’s direction, although when Adam looked, she appeared engrossed in contemplating the horizon. Now that he thought about it, she’d been avoiding his gaze most of the day. And the few times eye contact had been made, she appeared to be sending daggers his way.

  She had no right to be annoyed with him. She was th
e one who’d drawn the line in the sand regarding their relationship; he was doing his best to honour her wishes by focusing his attention where it should have been from the beginning.

  Women!

  If his isolated existence hadn’t prevented him from having more interaction with them, he might have a better understanding of how they worked. But he didn’t, and trying to puzzle them out was too complex a problem for his befuddled brain. He needed sound advice from experts.

  A visit to the retirement village was in order.

  CHAPTER

  10

  March 18

  Transcript: Interview with Meg McNicol

  Location: Veranda

  (Start interview)

  Evie: How did your first one-on-one date with Adam go?

  Meg: We went beach-fishing. It was so much fun! I even caught a fish! (Holds up fish/huge grin)

  Cam: (Muffled) How do you stop a fish from smelling?

  Meg: (Dubious) I don’t know.

  Cam: You cut off its nose.

  Meg: (Peal of laughter) I thought you were serious.

  Evie: Back to the questions, guys. What qualities are you looking for in a man, Meg?

  Meg: I want plain and simple. What you see is what you get. And I like a man in touch with his emotions.

  Evie: You’ve dated a fair bit, yeah?

  Meg: (Self-deprecating snort) Uh, yeah.

  Evie: What’s one thing you’ve learned from past relationships?

  Meg: (Pensive) I’ve learned that being yourself is more important than changing to please someone. See, the last guy I dated told me I was too exuberant. His exact word. He said I laughed all the time, that I never took anything seriously. No pleasing some people, I guess.

  (Indiscernible comment off-camera)

  Meg: Thank you Cam. Couldn’t have described him better myself. And listen, if things don’t work out with Adam, call me. (Hand imitates phone)

  Evie: Hey, come on you two, this isn’t a dating chat room.

  (Laughs)

  Evie: Back to the questions. Again. What do you like most about Adam?