A Groom For The Taking. Rebecca Winters
She sends gifts ahead of time!’
Virginia turned towards the terminal and tugged Bradley in her wake. Hannah, as always, had no choice but to follow.
Virginia was saying, ‘So there’s a spare meal already paid for.’
Elyse, who had taken Bradley’s now free other elbow, said, ‘And the gift’s taken care of too! We’ll just pencil your name alongside Great-Aunt Maude’s on the card. She’ll never know. You won’t be sitting with Hannah, as she’ll be with Roger all night. But you seem like a man who can take care of himself.’
Hannah rolled her eyes. When they settled back into their normal position she realised Bradley was frowning at her.
‘Roger?’ he asked, his tone strangely accusing.
‘The best man,’ Elyse explained. ‘He’s a fitness guru. As maid of honour she’ll be stuck to the guy like glue for the duration. But we’ll find you a fun table, I promise.’
‘Besides,’ Virginia said, ‘you’re the reason our girl hasn’t been able to drag herself away till now. You owe us, so we won’t take no for an answer. Now, I’ll go find some people to do something about your luggage and get you a hire car. Ours is filled to the brim with things for the wedding, otherwise I’d happily ride shotgun while you took my wheel.’ She patted him on the cheek before bustling ahead, with Elyse at her heels.
Bradley slowed up till Hannah was beside him.
‘I told you to run,’ she said.
‘Yes, you did.’ He shook his head in wonder, then his cheek kicked into a half-smile that had her heart galloping all over again.
‘You can’t come,’ Hannah said.
He was silent for a beat. Two. She was sure he was about to agree wholeheartedly—until he looked down at her and said, ‘And why not?’
With his eyes on her, she said, ‘Because you’d cramp my style.’
The sun was behind him, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but the rumble in his voice more than made up for it. ‘Would I, now?’
She felt a smile creep across her face, and her impish streak flashed back to life as her mother disappeared from view. ‘You’ll never know.’
His, ‘Mmmm …’ was far too non-committal for comfort. ‘So, how does your father cope around all that frenetic feminine energy?’
Hannah’s smile faded. She fiddled with her father’s old watch. ‘He died when I was fourteen.’
And from the moment it had happened she’d felt like Cinderella, left all alone with the stepfamily—only the family she’d been left with was her own.
She felt Bradley’s eyes on her as she explained. ‘He adored Virginia to bits. Elyse and I actually thought it rather disgusting how often we caught them kissing at the kitchen sink. Then he died. And she remarried within six months. Things have been particularly cool between us ever since.’
Several moments passed before Bradley said, ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘Thanks.’
In the quiet of the great open space, Hannah wondered if the time was right, for the first time, to ask about his family. She had no idea if his parents were alive or dead. Missionaries or UFO-chasers. Or the King and Queen of some small European country populated by only the most beautiful people. Or if he spent Sunday lunch with them every weekend.
But at the last second she baulked, unsure how far to press the quiet moment. Instead she just said, ‘Mum’s been married again. Twice to date.’
Promising to love and honour each of them with as much supposed vim as she had their lovely father. Each and every time clearly nothing more than a pretty lie. It was why Hannah would never make another person such a promise unless she really meant it. Unless she knew she would be assured of the same level of commitment right back. The idea of doing anything else made her feel physically ill.
She looked to where her mother was now drumming up help in the shape of goodness knew who.
She felt Bradley turn away to watch Virginia. Moth to a flame. Then he said, ‘Your mother …’
Hannah stiffened, preparing for the thing she’d heard a million times before. Your mum’s so glamorous. And Elyse is like a little doll. While you are … different.
‘She’s …’ Bradley paused again. ‘I do believe that dress of hers is the place ruffles come to die.’
Hannah laughed so unexpectedly, so effusively, so delightedly, it fast turned into a cough.
Bradley gave her a thump on the back. It only made her cough all the harder. And feel absolutely certain that her earlier fantasies of Bradley doing anything out of a deeply buried sense of human-being-like protection were just that. Fantasies. The likes of which she needed this long weekend without him in order to stamp out.
Once she’d caught her breath, she said, ‘Virginia does like her ruffles. As well as her pink fluffy cardigans and cocktails with umbrellas in them.’
The rhinestones went without saying, but the crease in his cheek told her he’d heard her all the same.
She smiled. She couldn’t help herself.
Then, as though he too felt the strange familiarity building between then, he frowned and looked away, up at the clear crisp sky. He sniffed in a trail of ice-cold air and thrust his hands into his pockets. Shutting her out.
And there she was, feeling like a satellite to his moon. If that wasn’t reason enough to put an end to her impossible crush, she didn’t know what was.
‘The day is moving on and we’re standing still. Time to get a move on. I’ll drop you at your resort and then be on my way.’
‘Resort?’ Hannah could all but hear her exclamation bouncing off the band of clouds hovering above the hills in the distance.
Bradley didn’t even flinch. ‘Spencer’s itinerary has me starting at Cradle Mountain. I studied his route, and it actually makes good sense. As does giving you a lift, since you clearly need one.’
Hannah snapped her mouth shut. If she’d been in charge of setting his itinerary she would have said the same. But she was on holiday. Out of the loop. And, yes, she was in need of a ride.
She threw her hands in the air and headed for the terminal.
He followed, his long legs catching up with her in two short strides.
She swallowed down the lick of envy at the happy tone in his voice. ‘This car that Spencer hired had better be something big and solid. The roads on this island can get mighty windy.’
‘It’s a black roadster. Soft-top.’ His large hands waved slowly through the air, as though he was tracing its curves in his mind.
Never before had Hannah felt so jealous of a machine.
‘Are you kidding me? Seems to me he’s passed on his drooling habits.’
A gentle kind of laughter tickled her ears.
She walked faster. But with his long, strong legs the blackguard kept up without any effort at all.
‘ARE we there yet?’ Hannah muttered, stretching as much of herself as she could in the confined space of the ridiculous sports car Spencer had blithely allowed their valuable boss to zoom around in. She’d be having a talk with him when they got home!
‘Turn left in eight hundred metres,’ said the deep Australian drawl of the GPS.
‘Ken,’ she said, ‘you are, as ever,