Challenging Andie

by Sally Clements

  “Of course.” The man waved, and a small dark man hurried over from a little clutch of drivers at the coffee stall.

  “The lady wants to go to the Rexa Grand,” the clerk said.

  The man smiled. “I take your bag.”

  She handed it over, and followed him out through the large glass doors. Undulations of heat hit her like a wave. So much hotter and drier than even the hottest day back home. There were planters just outside the door with large palm trees, thin black rubber hoses from a watering system snaking on top of the earth around their trunks, but apart from that flash of green the ground was arid, the top layer of the hard brown earth swirling with tiny dust devils.

  The ride through the narrow streets of downtown Rexa revealed more than television footage ever could. Once elegant buildings scarred with bullet holes. Mounds of uncollected rubbish piled up and overflowing on street corners, with mangy dogs rooting through split bags. Yet, in the midst of chaos, the lifeblood of a city, its people, swarmed. Unlike busy London commuters, eyes focused on the middle distance as they ploughed through the crowds, the people of Bekostan made eye contact, stopped to talk, and smiled.

  She’d learned from Laila that Ryan stayed at the Rexa Grand, and her heart had soared at the thought of surprising him there, and then dived a disappointment-dip when the desk clerk told her he was out. By the time the car had arrived to take her to the tribute ceremony, he hadn’t returned, so with a heavy heart she’d gone alone.

  Now, listening to Arnat speak to the silent crowd, butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach. Laila had promised he’d be here. Was she fooling herself? When he arrived, would he really be glad to see her?

  Laila excused herself from the group of people she’d been talking to, and walked to Andie’s side. She took Andie’s hand. “Now, it’s our turn.”

  *****

  Ryan stood in the crowd. So many people crowded around the stage in the middle of the camp, it had been impossible to push his way to the front. Once he’d seen Andie at the side of the stage with Laila close-by, the urgency to find her had dissipated like storm-clouds broken up by dry winds.

  She stepped up and walked across the stage to the microphone, hand-in-hand with Laila. Silence fell, all eyes on the small blonde figure dressed in pale yellow. Like a sunbeam on the stage. In her soft voice, Laila spoke in Bekostani of Emily. Reminding the people who had known her of her bravery, her determination to bring peace to their corner of the world. Of her sacrifice.

  Around him, people nodded and murmured.

  Laila was holding something that glinted in the sunlight.

  She introduced Andie, and then switched to English. “In honor of your mother, and her contribution to our people, I would like to present this medal of valor.” She repeated the words in Bekostani, and the crowd roared their approval.

  Even at a distance, Ryan saw the tears in Andie’s eyes as she accepted the medal.

  When she stepped up to the mike, pride welled up within him. “I am so happy to be here,” she said in a clear voice.

  Laila translated her words.

  “My mother would be very proud at this moment. The struggle for freedom and peace consumed her, and now, knowing that you have finally achieved it, would bring her such joy.” Her voice faltered, but Laila squeezed her hand, and she bravely continued. “I thank you all, on behalf of my mother. I’m proud to stand here before you in her stead.”

  To thunderous applause, she bowed to the audience, and, with Laila at her side, walked from the stage.

  As the crowd started to disperse, Ryan walked forward.

  *****

  “You were great.” Laila pulled a tissue from the voluminous folds of her dress, and handed it to Andie.

  Andie dabbed away the last trace of tears. The looks on the faces tilted to hers had been her undoing. Their nods when Laila spoke of Emily. Their warm smiles as she started to speak. These people has suffered so much, yet still found room in their hearts to give unspoken love and comfort to a stranger they’d never met before. The experience was humbling. No matter how different on the outside, on the inside all people were the same.

  An aide took Laila’s arm and pulled her aside, muttering urgently in her ear.

  Laila glanced over. “There has been an attack in a village a few miles away. I have to leave you for a few moments.”

  Terror dried Andie’s throat. Ryan. Could he be covering the incident? Her heart clenched with fear for his safety. She rooted in her bag for the phone. She’d tried it umpteen times since she’d arrived, but maybe this time he’d pick up.

  Warm hands spanned her waist, and before Andie could take a breath, she was swung around into a firm embrace. She stared up into Ryan’s face, her heart pounding like a jackhammer.

  His gaze held hers, then his mouth tilted in that sexy smile that had haunted her dreams. One hand slid up to cup her nape, and her chin tilted up. As his lips caressed hers, all sound faded away. She reached up on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck, feeling the thrill of being with him again flow through her entire being as their bodies clinched tight.

  “We need some privacy,” Ryan forced out as he jerked his mouth from hers after long moments. “Come on.” He pulled her to a small tent, checked inside and fastened the fabric door behind them. Then he kissed her again, mouth moving across her closed eyelids, across her cheekbones, and finally finding her mouth.

  He smelled of smoke, and the sleeve of his jacket was covered in blood. “Ryan, you’re hurt!” Andie’s heart raced as she pushed his sleeve up.

  “Not mine. I’m all right.”

  “Laila just told me about the bombing—” Her hands ran over his chest, searching for wounds. “Were you…”

  “I was there. I’m all right.” His arms snaked around her, holding her close. “God, I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too,” Andie admitted. She’d follow him to the ends of the earth. Would suffer the pain of saying goodbye a thousand times, if it could be followed by this all-encompassing joy of being in his arms again.

  “Never again,” Ryan murmured against her mouth. “I won’t let you go.”

  “I don’t want you to. I love you, Ryan.” Her heart filled with warmth that overflowed and filled her body with light. “I thought I could deny it to myself…I was scared to love you.”

  “Love is tricky—a very wise woman once told me.” His mouth curved in a smile. “Attending this ceremony is my final act as war correspondent in Bekostan.”

  Andie’s heart jolted. Had he already been assigned to another war-zone?

  “I’ve accepted a job in London. It will mean travelling, but I’ll be home every night.”

  “But…”

  He reached out and tipped her mouth closed. “I made my decision on a combination of factors. I’ve changed. I’ve learned I can’t avoid love, can’t shield my heart now that you live within it. The passion needed to stay in a war-zone has burned out, and a new passion has taken its place. The passion to try a new challenge. That of being a husband.”

  He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, to retrieve a small suede bag.

  “I love you, Andie.” He opened the ties and pulled out a ring. “Are you up for the challenge of marrying me?”

  For a moment, Andie toyed with asking “What do you think?” but at the look in his eyes, the impulse died. Her fingers stroked the brilliant blue stone, as present merged with a future filled with possibilities. “It’s top of my list.”

  In the silent privacy of a tent in the camp her mother had loved so much, they took that first step into the future. Together.

  THE END

  Be sure to check out these other great romances also by Sally Clements.

  The Morning After

  Catch Me a Catch

  Marrying Cade

  Bound to Love

  New Beginnings – Short stories

  To contact Sally Clements, or to be placed on a mailing list to receive updates about her new releases, click the
‘contact me’ link on her blog. http://www.sallyclements.blogspot.com

  or contact her on twitter, where she’s @sallywriter

  If you enjoyed Challenging Andie, here’s the first chapter of The Morning After.

  Chapter One

  He was tall. Blond. Good looking. With his arm around a curvy brunette, and his tongue in her mouth. A place it had no business being.

  Heat flashed through Ethan Quinn as he slammed his pint on the table. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood from the upholstered seat, half hidden from view in a shady corner, and pushed his way through the crowd on the dance floor. He’d never been in this particular club before, but his brother Sean had wanted to come and hear the smoky-voiced jazz singer visiting from Canada, and it had seemed as good a place as any to catch up.

  As he approached, a wave of anger flooded Ethan at the sight of Michael’s hand edging toward the pretty brunette’s breast. Holding her in a full-body clinch, he was dirty dancing as if his life depended on it.

  Ethan tapped his shoulder.

  Michael’s head jerked up. His eyes widened, then a smile lifted the corners of his mouth as recognition struck. “Hi…”

  It was the smile that did it. The smile that presumed collusion. That Ethan wouldn’t be furious to find his best friend’s almost fiancé snuggling up to another woman mere days after he’d proposed. The smile that gave lie to the promise he’d made to choose only her for the rest of his miserable life.

  Ethan’s fist connected with Michael’s jaw.

  The brunette screamed.

  The singer’s voice faltered and died mid note, and the music degenerated into a haphazard discordant collection of sound, before stuttering to a halt.

  Ethan nursed his bruised knuckles, feeling the dull pain of impact all the way to his elbow. Two bouncers were on Ethan instantly, grabbing his arms with painful grips.

  “Out,” a black suited gorilla muttered.

  “Oh, believe me, I’m going.” Ethan glared at the man sprawled on the ground before him. “Break it off—or I tell her.” He laced just enough menace in his tone to ensure Michael knew he wasn’t kidding. Cara didn’t need a husband who was a love-rat. No decent woman needed that. Ethan turned to the bouncer. “I’ve done what I needed to do.”

  Sean met him outside. “I thought the plan was to go incognito.” Sean’s forehead creased in a frown. “Punching out some random guy is hardly low key.”

  Ethan rubbed his stinging knuckles, then stretched his fingers in a tentative flex. “He’s no random guy. That’s Cara’s man.”

  Sean’s eyes widened. “Ah, no.” A blast of music blared through the door as it opened and a crowd of revelers exited. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They parted at Ethan’s rented BMW.

  “I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.” Regret niggled that their catch-up time had been cut short, but Sean was on duty in the morning—the last thing he needed was a late night bender with his older brother.

  “Just try not to get into any more trouble.” Sean grinned. “I don’t want to have to arrest you. You’re not supposed to even be here until tomorrow afternoon. You can’t afford the publicity…”

  “I know.” Ethan rubbed his hand through his overlong hair, hating the feel of it flopping over his face. But he couldn’t cut it—there was still another week and a half of filming before he could return to his usual crop.

  Sometimes being famous sucked.

  And tomorrow he’d have to talk to Cara. Tell her, before someone else did. A fat raindrop splattered on the car roof. Doubtless the first of many. Ethan zipped his leather jacket, tugged open the car door, and ducked inside, feeling a grimace on his face.

  By the time he drove onto the motorway, the windscreen wipers were struggling to keep up with the driving rain. Typical Irish weather. He flicked on the radio, and turned up the heat, heart heavy as he headed for the anonymity of his rented hotel room.

  ****

  Sweat trickled down Cara Byrne’s spine. She wriggled inside the heavy costume, wishing she could somehow free a hand to scratch, then gave up in disgust as the heavy head wobbled. She couldn’t even see in this thing. Why, oh why, had she consented to dress up for the fundraiser?

  As a member of the organizing committee, there were plenty of jobs she could have chosen. She could have manned the coconut shy. Could have snagged the job of handing out goldfish to kids who managed to win one throwing hoops, if Caitlin Murphy hadn’t leapt in there first.

  Instead, she’d been late to the huge fairground set-up on the one patch of green in the middle of Donabridge, and as a result been stuck with the last job going. The one nobody wanted. That of dressing up as Winnie the Pooh.

  She shuffled toward the huge wall where she was supposed to do her thing. If she hadn’t been so distracted by Ethan’s message, she would be handing out goldfish instead of sweltering in the midsummer heat in a small town in County Kildare.

  She stopped short as an ice cream-clutching kid almost knocked her over.

  She’d been in the shower when Ethan called. Then been frantically multitasking. Bread in the toaster—she could eat it on the way. Hairdryer on, blasting heat, which would leave her hair in a thick blonde cloud. Yet through it all she’d heard the beep signaling a missed message.

  His recorded voice had sounded so strange. “Cara? Pick up. It’s Ethan. Pick up.” Silence had stretched for long moments. “Oh, dammit.” His voice lowered. “Are you okay? I’ll see you at the fair. I’ll explain everything when I see you.”

  Cara’d called him back straight away. But his cell phone had flicked to voicemail, indicating he’d turned it off. Which was so not like him. No matter what his mood, he always had his cell on. His assistant needed instant access.

  A hand grabbed the arm of her bulky costume. “Here you are.”

  The hand pulled her to an elaborate wall with a hole carefully carved in its centre.

  “Okay, now you know what you’re supposed to be doing, right?” Caitlin’s sweet voice wafted up from a hidden point to her left. “You’re Winnie the Pooh. And you’ve gone through the hole into Rabbit’s house to eat his honey, eaten too much, and got stuck. I’ve got the honey pots stacked up here, all we need is you stuck in the wall.”

  “Yes, I understand.” Cara wished the day was over, and it hadn’t even begun. There were three long hours before she could climb out of this ridiculous costume.

  “Can’t hear you!” Caitlin’s voice rang out. She even had the cheek to giggle.

  Cara clenched her teeth.

  “Bend over; I’ll help you into position.”

  It was like trying to pee in a bucket blindfolded. Not impossible, but darned difficult.

  “Okay, now put your arms out,” Caitlin said. “And step forward.”

  Cara did so with her arms extended and her back bent, thinking what an idiot she must look. Thank goodness Michael couldn’t see her. He was working—spending long hours in the office.

  He was very conscientious. That’s probably why all her family thought he was perfect for her. Solid, stable, and a good bet. Not her type at all, really, she’d always had a thing for hell-raisers. Dad liked him. Mum liked him. Even Ryan and Finn liked him, and they’d never liked any of the men she went out with before.

  But despite her family’s seal of approval, she just couldn’t persuade herself to accept his proposal of marriage. He was gorgeous and sexy, but somehow…

  Her thighs rubbed against the costume’s rough interior.

  They’d messed around, but hadn’t slept together yet. There’d been plenty of opportunity, but something was lacking. A spark.

  She’d hidden that fact from Ethan when she rang to tell him of Michael’s proposal. He would have asked the question she really didn’t want to answer—Why?

  To Ethan, being involved with someone definitely meant taking them to bed. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t made love before. She’d thrown herself headlong into a passionate affair with Dev Coonan when sh
e was barely out of her teens, and look how that ended.

  The very first time she trusted a man enough to stretch her wings, she’d crashed and burned when a spiked drink had led to a drunk and disorderly arrest. The weasely Dev had made his escape quickly, leaving her stumbling on the road outside the pub. Since then she’d wised up. There would be no more bad boys for her. And now that she’d finally finished her training and got a sensible job teaching English in The Donabridge Secondary School for boys, she couldn’t risk any hint of scandal.

  She really should consider Michael’s proposal. After all, he was hardly likely to have proposed if he didn’t love her, was he?

  An insecure little voice inside whispered words of doubt. Michael’s ambitious, the poisonous voice sneered. And you’re the boss’s daughter.

  Her musings were interrupted by a sharp push from behind. Cara cursed in an unladylike way, liberated in the knowledge that Caitlin couldn’t hear.

  “That’s perfect! You’re half in.” Caitlin laughed. “Wow, you look just perfect. Absolutely huge ass though!”

  “Thanks,” Cara muttered. At least there was no need for Caitlin to stick around and torment her any further. She could go back to her goldfish, leaving Cara crouched over, waving her arms around and tilting her head to make Pooh look ‘real’ for half an hour. Then she’d have a break.

  Caitlin hadn’t gone. “I’m so excited. Imagine, the premiere and the dinner are tonight!”

  Cara indulged in an over-the-top eye roll.

  “I remember Ethan from school, although he was so much older than me,” she continued. “He was in your class wasn’t he? And he’s such a hunk. I wonder if he’ll remember me.”

  Women world over wished Ethan would remember them. They always had. Long before he’d taken to the screen as Crash Carrigan in a number of action hero roles. And seduced every one of his leading ladies.

  Cara felt a grin on her lips.

  She must be the only woman in the world who was immune to his spell. Ever since the first day in secondary school when they sat next to each other. Ethan hadn’t been like the other kids. Instead of joking around and hanging out after class, he kept to himself. He was small for his age. And his Dublin accent set him apart in a classroom of boys, who had known each other all their lives.