A Brit Down Under Read online

  Copyright © 2020 by Hanleigh Bradley

  www.hanleighbradley.com

  [email protected]

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  This book is licensed for your personal use only. Please respect the author’s work and refrain from sharing it with others. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  The characters, organisations and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  This book is written in UK English as the author is a British author. You may notice the occasion variation in spelling and grammar if you are used to reading in American English.

  Hanleigh’s London Saga

  All the books in this Contemporary British Saga have interwoven plotlines, returning characters and places. These books are best read in order to avoid spoilers.

  The Rules Series

  Broken Rules

  Enforced Rules

  Revised Rules

  A Secret Melody

  The History Series

  Repeating History

  Deleting History

  Forging History

  A History In Paris

  The Intimacy Series

  Damaged Intimacy

  Entangled Intimacy

  Forceful Intimacy

  Call Me Doctor

  The Fate Series

  Inescapable Fate

  Inexplicable Fate

  Irreversible Fate

  A Bleak December

  The Holiday Series

  A Brit Down Under

  Dr. Xmas

  Juicy Mangos

  Hanleigh’s London Boxsets

  RULES

  HISTORY

  INTIMACY

  FATE

  Find out more about Hanleigh’s Books on her website.

  Hanleigh’s London Saga

  CHAPTER ONE The Worst Day

  CHAPTER TWO Shark Attack

  CHAPTER THREE Under the Stars

  CHAPTER FOUR A Holiday Fling

  CHAPTER FIVE Dinner with an Aussie

  CHAPTER SIX Not Wanting to Leave

  CHAPTER SEVEN A Terrible Surprise

  CHAPTER EIGHT Back to Reality

  CHAPTER NINE A Surprise Visit

  EPILOGUE Six Months Later

  Preview of Dr. Xmas

  Preview of Unmiss You

  THANK YOU!

  Hanleigh Bradley’s Newsletter

  About Hanleigh

  Hanleigh’s London Saga

  CHAPTER ONE

  The Worst Day

  What the hell made me think this was a good idea?

  They all said I’d regret it. They said something would go wrong. It always goes wrong. I am the world’s biggest clutz and yet I’d stupidly thought going on a backpacking holiday alone was a good idea.

  I was wrong.

  Mum told me I’d be bitten by a snake and Dad said I’d probably get mugged. My best friend Maddy thought I’d get lost and wind up in bed with a sexy Aussie… if only.

  They all underestimated just how much of a clumsy idiot I am. No snake. No scary mugger. Unfortunately, no sexy Aussie… Just me and a shark.

  Yup! A SHARK!

  Worst day of my fucking life.

  One thing I’ve noticed on this trip is that tourists tend to stick together. That’s how I met my travel buddy, Martin. He heard my Scottish accent and rushed to my side on my first morning at the hotel, all excited to find another Brit. I didn’t bother to tell him that I’d been eager to escape Britain and all those Brits back home.

  So much drama. Too much politics… I just wanted a couple of months in the sun without thinking about anything serious. No more questions about when I was going to join my dad’s private practice… or my parents wanting to know when I’m planning on settling down to have kids.

  Seriously, I’m like twenty-five… Can’t they at least wait until I’m thirty before they ask those sorts of questions?

  The one good thing about Martin is that he’s significantly less chatty than the other tourists staying at the small hotel on the seafront. It works. I like the quiet. Neither one of us is particularly chatty—it’s probably a British thing—and so being his friend or ‘travel buddy’ as he keeps saying isn’t that bad.

  Until he suggested surfing.

  Now I really can’t completely blame Martin. He only suggested we do something I’ve been dying to try since the first day I arrived down under but had yet to have the courage to do.

  I’d ummed and ahhed for the best part of an hour before finally relenting and following him down to the beach. He told me he’d found the best instructor around. Apparently, he came HIGHLY recommended, whatever that meant. I think he meant that the barmaid he’s been flirting with for the past week suggested him, but I’m not interested enough to ask.

  Here I was hoping for a smoking hot instructor but nope… the guy was old, had a beer belly and stank of stale cigarettes.

  I should have known right there and then that this was not going to be a good day.

  For the first half of the day, we didn’t even get to go in the water, our instructor insisting that we had to practice on land first. Which was fine by me… I was in no rush to brave the ocean.

  But then when he finally announced that we were ready, he decided it was time to tell us what to do if we see a shark. Don’t get me wrong, I knew there was a chance we’d see a shark, but I didn’t want to think about it. And I definitely wasn’t going to be able to surf well while panicking about becoming a great white’s next meal.

  Although, in fairness, I probably wasn’t about to surf well anyhow.

  He gave us a list of rules that within minutes I’d completely forgotten even though I was desperately repeating them over and over in my head. Something about times of day to not surf… Parts of the water to avoid… Not surfing alone—I remembered that one… He told us not to flail as if I could actually control my panic.

  I at least remembered the most important rule: if you see a shark, get out of the water. That one I could fully get behind.

  Two minutes later, we were all paddling out and I was hyperventilating. Martin tried several times to put me at ease but all the talk of sharks had ruined the whole experience for me. Or so I thought.

  The first time I stood up on my board and didn’t fall off straight away, I forgot all about the sharks that could be swarming beneath my board. Nothing else mattered. It was exhilarating. It was a thrill you wouldn’t find in the Scottish Highlands, that’s for sure.

  After that I was hooked, and for a solid hour and a half, my opinion on the whole ‘surfing’ thing dramatically improved. But it was temporary… Very temporary.

  It helped that I wasn’t anywhere near as bad at it as I had imagined I would be. Don’t get my wrong, I wasn’t good and I wouldn’t be entering any competitions anytime soon, but I wasn’t awful. And I was definitely better than Martin.

  Everything was going brilliantly until I decided to take a breather. Straddling my board, a little off from the beach, trying to catch my breath. That’s when I felt it. Something was definitely swimming underneath my board.

  Immediately, I panicked, telling Martin that I thought there might be a shark.

  He actually laughed at me, the dick! He didn’t believe me at all… Possibly because I’d called shark at least three times
within our first hour in the water.

  Scrambling, I looked around me, trying to see through the depths of water but I couldn’t see anything and I hadn’t seen a fin or anything.

  “It was probably a fish or some seaweed,” Martin told me with a smirk.

  I should have followed my instincts and gotten the hell out of the water, but I didn’t. Instead, I paddled, preparing to catch the next wave. I managed to ride the wave and didn’t fall off my board! It was a rush and I’d quickly paddled back out to where Martin was waiting.

  Something brushed up against me again and I nearly screamed with fear.

  There was definitely something underneath my board, even if Martin didn’t believe me!

  “Mart—” I began but was cut off when I felt it again.

  I began to lift my legs onto my board, but I wasn’t quick enough. I let out a painful scream when I felt teeth bite down into my shin. Those were definitely teeth! “FUCK!”

  Everyone was staring at me like I was a crazy person as I continued to scream. There was something attached to my leg and I thought I was going to die!

  I’d been bitten by a fucking shark!

  It was probably a great white… Trust me to get bitten by a great white! It wouldn’t happen to anyone else, only me. I was at a complete loss what to do. I tried to recall what the instructor said but all I could remember was that I was not supposed to be thrashing about.

  But how the hell else was I supposed to get the shark off me?

  “HELP!” I screamed, my voice hoarse.

  I was going to die. I should have listened to my mum… This was worse than being bitten by a snake. I should have listened to my dad… Maddy… They were all right and I was going to die!

  CHAPTER TWO

  Shark Attack

  The shark was tugging at my leg, trying to pull me down into the depths as I tried to detach myself from its mouth. Even if I didn’t die, I was going to lose my leg.

  I could feel adrenaline rushing through my body as I tried to paddle as well as I could to the shore, Martin and my instructor helping me.

  Even when I stumbled out of the water, the shark didn’t let go. Why the hell wouldn’t the thing get off me? It was smaller than I expected… More the size of a big fish than a shark but it’s bite still hurt like hell.

  The instructor managed to get the monster to release me and Martin seemed to think the whole thing was funny.

  “It’s just a fish,” he had said between fits of hysteria.

  I mentally cursed him, reminding myself that I would never have to see him again when I return to the UK. Which might be sooner than I was planning thanks to the SHARK!

  “No,” the instructor said, holding the fish carefully, “it’s definitely a shark.”

  “That’s a shark?” Martin asked.

  “Just a young one…”

  “It’s a baby?” Martin asked almost gleefully. “Oi, Shannon! You were bitten by a baby shark.”

  I wasn’t sure why he was finding this so entertaining. I was bleeding. And not just a little bit either. There was a pool of blood… A small pool but it was still a pool.

  “I fucking hate you,” I grumbled as I tried to stem the bleeding.

  It was at that moment that my sexy Aussie finally appeared. He had sandy blond hair and a six-pack to die for. If it wasn’t for my bleeding leg, I would definitely be paying him a hell of a lot of attention. I’d be flirting for sure, but how do you do that when you’re bleeding profusely from a shark bite?

  After leaving the water, I began to feel my mind grow foggy.

  The sexy Aussie was busy talking to my instructor while I just stared at him like he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. He turned to look at me, giving me a flashing grin. I didn’t hear anything he had to say. All I knew was that he had one hell of a pretty face.

  Then he was touching my leg. Not sure why. But if he wanted to touch me, I wasn’t about to say no. His hands were on my leg, right above the wound.

  I felt like telling Martin that I’d told him so. There really was a shark in the water. But I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. Instead my eyes began to close.

  ***

  When I finally woke up, I was in the hospital with Martin sitting next to my bed and my leg bandaged up.

  “You’re finally awake?” Martin asked. “Only you, Shannon!”

  “Only me, what?”

  “You only managed to get bitten by a baby shark,” he joked, “and guess who just happens to walk past.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Only the hottest doctor in the country.”

  Sometimes I wondered if Martin was gay… Either that or he was just super comfortable with his sexuality. He certainly wasn’t scared to talk to me about the guys I was attracted too.

  “Sexy Aussie is a doctor?”

  “Sexy Aussie?” a deep, warm voice called from the doorway.

  Shit! As always, I managed to put my foot in it. I felt a blush rise up my neck and into my cheeks.

  “Er…” What the hell was I supposed to say?

  I was probably high on pain meds but he looked even better as he approached my bed in his doctor’s scrubs. Which makes no sense… Those abs were killer.

  He took pity on me. “You’ll be glad to know the shark was returned safely to the water.”

  Nope. That didn’t make me glad at all. I’d have been happy to hear that someone had stood on the damn thing.

  “And you still have your leg,” he told me with a smirk.

  “I didn’t lose my leg?”

  “Yeah… I know you were really worried about that.”

  “Was I?” I felt like hiding under my covers.

  Sexy Aussie was laughing at me and I had never felt so embarrassed in my life.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes softening.

  “Great… Never been better,” I told him, unsure what he expected me to say.

  “I cleaned the wound and stitched you up,” he said.

  “I hope you made it look good,” I replied nervously. “I don’t want a scar.”

  “Oh, I don’t know… A shark attack scar would be amazing!” Martin cut in.

  “Even if it is tiny…” the Aussie said.

  “Well, it’s not tiny,” I retorted.

  “Trust me; I’ve seen my fair share of shark bites.”

  “Oh, well… That’s a relief.”

  What was wrong with them? Where was the sympathy? I was bitten by a shark!

  “I called your mum,” Martin told me.

  Shit! Why would he do that?

  “You didn’t?” I grumbled.

  It was a disaster. My holiday was pretty much over if my mum knew I had been bitten by a shark. There was no way they wouldn’t try and force me to come home early.

  “They want you to come home…”

  “Of course, they do,” I muttered. “Good job I’m an adult and can make my own mind up.”

  “Maddy threatened to come out.”

  “You called Maddy?”

  My eyes were still on Sexy Aussie as I wondered what his name was. He had the most strikingly green eyes. This wasn’t good. I was definitely going to get in trouble now. I always had been a sucker for green eyes.

  “Sorry… I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I’m Jensen,” he told me, stretching out his hand for me to shake. “Jensen Reed.”

  “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself,” I joked. “You’ve seen my medical chart.”

  With a wide grin, flashing me those pearly whites, he nodded his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shannon.”

  My heart skipped slightly as we stood, not releasing our hands. I could have shaken his hand all day but that might had made me seem like a complete weirdo, so I hurried to release him.

  “You’ll be able to get out of here in an hour or so.”

  I was almost disappointed. I wanted to stay w
ith my sexy Aussie just a little longer.

  “There’s a bit of paperwork and we’ll need to give you a prescription and some advice.”

  “How to care for my wound?” I asked. “I’m a nurse. I already know what to do. Just give me the painkillers.”

  “You’re a nurse?” Martin asked. “How come I didn’t know that?”

  “Because you’re just the creepy guy I can’t get rid of on holiday,” I teased him.

  Sexy Aussie laughed at our antics before leaving the room.

  “If you don’t ask him out, I will,” Martin told me in a hushed tone as soon as we were alone.

  “You want to date the sexy Aussie?”

  “Well… No… But you obviously do!”

  I considered trying to deny it but there really wasn’t much point. I didn’t think there was a straight girl alive who would say no to Jensen Reed.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Under the Stars

  When I failed to ask Jensen out, Martin did indeed follow through on his threat, inviting him out for a drink to say thank you for his help. Or at least that was his excuse.

  Sexy Aussie didn’t seem to mind though and agreed surprisingly quickly, telling us that he’d meet us at the bar of our choice after his shift. He gave me his number and I couldn’t believe my luck.

  Maybe fate owed me one, after letting me get bitten by a shark!

  I took particular effort to prepare for our evening out. Usually, I would just have a shower, put a summer dress on and pull my hair down, but tonight I went all out. I was aiming to impress. Martin noticed, of course, and teased me unnecessarily right up until the moment when Jensen joined us at the outside bar.

  The sun was just setting as he joined us at our table.

  “Shannon, you should get the doctor a drink,” Martin demanded. “Since he did such a great job of sewing you up.”

  Laughing, I shook my head before offering to head to the bar.

  “I wouldn’t say no to a cold one,” Jensen replied, offering me another of those blinding smiles.

  I was surprised how much I wanted to rush back to the table as I waited at the bar for the bartender to get our drinks. Glancing back at the table, my eyes met Jensen’s and I sucked in a deep breath. He was looking at me!