AUSTRALIA READS AT HOME
IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO LOSE YOURSELF IN A BOOK
FOOL ME ONCE KARLY LANE
The beloved rural writer knows how to tug at our heart strings and captivate us with tales from the country. In this new release, her heroine is farmer Georgie who dreams of one day buying back her family’s former property. That ambition takes a back seat when she meets and falls for Michael, who appears to be the man of her dreams until she realises he’s keeping a shocking secret.
Georgie didn’t feel like dancing. She was away from Stoney Creek, the property she managed, and being a slight control freak regarding her work, her thoughts had been constantly returning to what could be going wrong in her absence. She knew Matt, her farmhand, would have everything under control – she wouldn’t have left him in charge if she hadn’t trusted him, she reminded herself again – and yet she really wished she could be back there right now, where she fitted in, instead of standing here in this crowded hall feeling like an outsider.
The song ended and she spotted Shannon and her partner, but her hope that they’d be leaving soon crumbled as a new song started and they continued to dance. She wished she could drown her frustration in a drink or three – maybe then the roar of loud drunken voices and over-the-top laughter, which she was positive had given her this pounding headache, mightn’t annoy her quite so much. But she’d agreed to drive tonight, so drinking was out of the question. It really did suck to be the only sober person at a B&S ball.
She’d momentarily forgotten about the stranger who’d caught her looking at him earlier, until she noticed him again and took the opportunity to get a better look while he was distracted elsewhere. Despite the fact all the men were dressed in suits – formal attire being the fundamental rule of a Bachelor and Spinster ball after all – his suit looked expensive. This was no discount-store bought suit, and he wore it as though it were an extension of himself. He exuded authority. There was a rugged kind of appeal to him – he wasn’t handsome in a classical sense, but he clearly knew how to dress and act like a sophisticated businessman even while there was something not quite polished about him. A toughness maybe, which didn’t go with the whole expensive-business-suit thing. She saw him watching the event through cynical, almost judgemental eyes and his attitude rubbed Georgie the wrong way even as she felt a pull of attraction.
He didn’t belong in the worn old hall, standing there in that tailor-made suit; he stood out, even though he’d loosened his tie and undone the top button of his white shirt. The other men were mostly veterans of the B&S, their suits carrying the stains and wear of previous balls. Each scuff mark on their shoes, stain on their sleeve or lovingly repaired tear was worn like a badge of honour. The man really did look out of place, and his presence was drawing attention from others, who were being a lot less subtle in their observations than she was, judging by their blurry-eyed looks.
Trouble was brewing, Georgie could tell. Unlike the stranger, most of the younger men had been here from the beginning of the evening and had been drinking steadily. At this stage of the night, with alcohol boosting egos and courage, it would only be a matter of time before testosterone-fuelled confidence tipped over into aggression and then violence. As if on cue, she heard the first slurred indications that time was up. “Look at ’im,” she heard and zeroed in on a large bloke wearing a stained white shirt, untucked and missing a few vital buttons. “Who does he think he is?”
Against her better judgement, Georgie decided to intervene. Nimbly avoiding splashed drinks and groping hands, she made her way across the room and came to a stop in front of the dark-haired stranger.
“Are you lost?” she asked, raising her voice over the loud country music.
He dropped his gaze to meet hers and Georgie felt that same weird pull of attraction, only more intensely up close. His eyes – a dark, almost denim blue – caught and held hers once more.
“Do I look lost?”
Edited extract from Fool Me Once by Karly Lane, Allen & Unwin, RRP$29.99, out now.
Need some comfort reads at this difficult time? New Idea has excerpts from three new novels, which will transport you away from day-to-day life. Whether you like comedy, suspense or romance, these books will absorb you from the very first word to the last.