The Unyielding Bachelor

by Miranda P. Charles

  “Isn’t this our favourite place?” Rick said. “They treated us so well when we were illicit lovers hiding from the world.”

  She giggled. “Well, we’re still illicit lovers, aren’t we? But, yeah, I agree this is one of our favourite places.”

  Rick parked the car, but she didn’t get out with him.

  “I’ll wait for your text,” she said.

  “No, babe. Let’s walk upstairs together.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked with wide eyes. “You’re really being very lax with security today.”

  “We’ll be fine. Come on.”

  Rick looked totally unconcerned that she followed him, carrying her flowers.

  “Do you know something I don’t?” she asked.

  “Let’s wait till we get upstairs. I have a surprise for you.”

  Patiently, she stayed silent until they reached their room—the same suite they’d occupied the last time they were here. She grinned. Her boyfriend was sentimental.

  Her mouth dropped open when they walked in. Every single table in the vast living area had a massive bouquet of flowers sitting on it. They were all incredibly beautiful and oh so fragrant.

  “You are so sweet,” she said softly, wrapping an arm around his neck and kissing him passionately.

  “There should be an empty vase on the dining table where you can put your roses.”

  “You think of everything, don’t you?” she asked, touched.

  “I try,” he said, looking pleased with himself.

  She gave him a loud smooch on the lips before setting off to look for the empty vessel. Just like he’d said, it was on the dining table. She frowned as she saw a pile of ripped pieces of paper next to it.

  “Rick, someone left scraps of documents in here.”

  “What are they about?”

  The pieces were large enough that chunks of words were easy to read. She gasped when she saw Rick’s name and signature in one of the fragments. Then the one behind it had Betty’s.

  She placed her hand over her mouth. It was the contract. And it was torn.

  She whirled around to look at Rick.

  “Surprise!” he said.

  Her eyes filled. “It’s over? Betty and Shelley are safe?”

  “Yes. The big boss of the organisation was caught two days ago. One of his own henchmen betrayed him. Vince, the guy who’d been terrorising Betty, spilled out their secrets in exchange for a lighter charge.”

  “So they caught that guy Vince first? When?”

  “Uh, four weeks ago.”

  “That long ago? Did you know about it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where did they catch him? And how?”

  “Um...”

  She frowned suspiciously as Rick hesitated for a long moment.

  “He was caught in my house,” he finally said.

  The air was knocked out of Lexie’s lungs.

  “It was the night of my birthday, after you left. He jumped out of the shadows and forced his way inside with me.”

  She stared at Rick in shock.

  “Fortunately, the police were already following his movements. They sneaked through the back door and saved the day.”

  “Did... did Vince threaten you with a knife or something?”

  “A gun,” Rick said.

  She shivered and tears flowed down her cheeks, terrified at the thought of what could have been.

  “Hey, I’m okay,” he soothed, taking her in his arms and rubbing her back.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was asked by the police not to, sweetheart. It was a critical time.”

  “You could have been...” She shook her head, not wanting to even think about the possibility.

  “But nothing happened. I’m safe. I’m here,” Rick said, squeezing her tight.

  “Are you sure they’ve all been caught?”

  “Yes. The police are very positive about that.”

  She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, wanting to feel him vibrant and strong.

  Rick lifted her chin with his fingers, then his mouth descended on hers—loving, passionate and soothing all at once.

  “Baby,” Rick murmured against her lips.

  “Hm?”

  “Since my house is your favourite place, move in with me?”

  She smiled, heart bursting. “Yes.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Three months later...

  “Someone must be having a party,” Lexie said, observing the line of parked cars on their quiet street, which was usually empty of casual parkers. Then she gasped when she recognised one—and two and three—of the vehicles.

  She grinned at Rick, who was trying to smother his smile as he drove into their garage.

  “I’m having a party at our house,” she said.

  “Well, it is your birthday, after all. Pity those guys couldn’t camouflage their cars. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

  She laughed. They were coming back from a birthday lunch with her parents, Brad, Shelley, Betty and Todd. She’d thought they were only going home to get ready for tonight’s intimate dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.

  They walked hand in hand to their home and out into the big backyard.

  “Surprise!” her guests cried out, making Lexie laugh as she went to hug everyone.

  *

  Lexie was chatting with Rick and her friends when Marilyn called for their attention, using a microphone.

  “Hello, everyone,” Marilyn said. “Some of you are aware that we have a fun bet going on. It’s called the Captured by Love betting game. Essentially, some of us women picked who we thought would be the next playboy—ahem, I mean, bachelor—to come off the singles market. Well, we have this round’s winners. To the utter amazement of most of us, Rick had fallen in love. So we want to congratulate Lexie and Jade for betting on Rick. We, losers, will hand over our money to your selected charities.”

  Everyone applauded, whooping and cheering.

  Lexie grinned at Rick. “Yay. Thanks for helping me and Jade win, honey.”

  Rick chuckled.

  “So it’s time to organise a new round,” Marilyn continued. “Before we do, I’m making a plea to all single guys in this party to please put your name as a bachelor for the purposes of this game. We are also inviting everyone to join. We want to increase the pool so we can have a bigger amount to give to the winner’s favourite charity next time.”

  Lexie watched in surprise as Rick walked over to Marilyn and took the mic from her.

  “Excuse me, Marilyn,” Rick started. “But I thought that for someone to win the bet, the guy must at least be in a permanent relationship. Otherwise, you can’t really say for sure that that particular bachelor is off the singles market. The first round closed when Lucas proposed to Jade. I want to be fair, so...”

  Lexie’s heart galloped in her chest as Rick made his way back to her. She took deep breaths, willing for the tears not to fall. But when Rick went down on one knee, his eyes shining with love, she couldn’t stop them trickling down her face.

  “Lex, you changed my life. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have pushed for certain things. Because of you my world has love, freedom and happiness that I didn’t even know I could have.” He glanced briefly at Shelley and Betty before looking at her again, his eyes suspiciously moist. “I love you so much, Lexie. My life wouldn’t be complete without you. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” she said, sniffing and nodding her head.

  With a brilliant smile, Rick reached into his pocket. He pulled out an absolutely stunning diamond ring and put it on her finger.

  Their guests gave them a standing ovation. Through her tears, Lexie saw her mother and best friends wiping their eyes. Oh, Shelley and Betty, too.

  Rick got up and gave her a lingering kiss before settling back on his seat. “Sorry for the derailment, Marilyn,” he called out. “Carry on. We’ll accept everyone’s congratulations later.”

  Everyb
ody laughed.

  “Wow,” Marilyn said, back in the spotlight. “That, people, is what we want to witness again, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. So, you men who are totally without a girlfriend, fiancée or wife, please line up here so everyone can choose from among you and make their bets. Please remember it’s for charity.”

  “You should join, Carter,” Cassie said from behind them.

  Lexie turned around and grinned. In the few months that she’d known Carter, she’d discovered that he had a reputation as a playboy. The perfect candidate. “Yes, Carter,” she said. “I’ll bet on you if you join.”

  Carter chuckled. “Why me?”

  “Well, I already won this round, so I don’t mind if I don’t win the next.”

  Carter laughed. “Are you gonna bet on me, Cassie?”

  Cassie snorted. “Knowing you, no way. But you’re single and unattached so you should join.”

  Lexie stared at her friend. Cassie’s words might say otherwise, but Lexie had been noticing Cassie get a little touchy-feely with Carter. Cassie didn’t usually tap a man on the arm, or nudge him with her shoulder, but she’d done it a few times with Carter. Sure, the two could just have developed a good friendship, but Lexie had never seen Cassie act like that with any of her guy friends, including Lucas and Rick.

  “I think I’ll bet on Carter, too,” Rick said to Lexie.

  “Really? Why?”

  “I like the man. He’s mysterious. You never know what he’s up to,” Rick said with a knowing smile.

  “Hey, Carter,” Lexie called out. “Two people already want to bet on you.”

  “See?” Cassie said, giving Carter a playful push. “Go!”

  “All right, all right,” Carter said with a laugh, walking to the spot where the other single guys had congregated.

  “You should bet on him, Cass,” Rick said.

  “Nah,” Cassie said, following Carter with her eyes.

  “Looks like we’ll have fun watching those two,” Rick whispered to Lexie.

  Lexie sighed. “Don’t encourage Cass. I don’t think Carter’s dying to be in a relationship.”

  “Did you think I was when you bet on me?”

  She smiled at her new fiancé. “No. Not at all. All I knew was that I wanted you to fall in love with me.”

  Rick ran a knuckle on her cheek. “I already had strong feelings for you back then. It was only a matter of time before I completely fell head over heels.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t have to wait six years,” she murmured before lifting her face to his for a kiss.

  ###

  Thank you for reading!

  Carter and Cassie’s love story is next. Click here to pre-order your copy of The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love, Book 3).

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  Rick first appeared in the book At Last, Book 5 of the Time for Love series, which features the love story of his cousin Greg Carmichael. Lucas also previously appeared in two of the books in that series.

  The Time for Love series started with one of the Carmichael brothers’ romance. Enjoy the first chapter of Forever (Time for Love, Book 1) by turning the page.

  Forever (Time for Love Book 1) Extract

  Rebecca Andrews and Zach Carmichael

  CHAPTER ONE

  Extremely lucky. How else could Rebecca Andrews describe what she should be feeling for the new work offer she'd recently received? But somehow, she couldn't muster the same excitement that radiated from her friend and colleague Sarah Daley.

  "I understand why you're not ecstatic about this, Bec, but I still think you should grab it with both hands," Sarah said, her wide eyes magnifying the intensity of her belief.

  Rebecca thanked the server, who placed two mango smoothies on their table, before responding to Sarah. "I know. But the client is Magda Carmichael."

  "Yes. I know that's a big deal for you. But you love Magda, don't you? She's asked for us. She doesn't want anyone else to go with her."

  Sarah, one of Rebecca's four best friends whom she'd known since primary school, had been ready to pack her bags from the moment they got the call from their nursing agency. They had both been personally selected by Magda Carmichael—a very wealthy and absolutely sweet lady—to be her private nurses during her month-long holiday aboard one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world.

  "You have to go with me, Bec," Sarah pleaded. "We've both never been on a cruise before, and we'll get to visit some exotic Asian cities. It'll be fun!"

  "Fun?" Rebecca said with a laugh. "We're not being hired to have fun. We're being hired to work, remember?"

  "I know. But we won't be working twenty-four/seven. That's why they want the two of us there, so we could work on shifts looking after Magda. We'll still have some private time to enjoy what promises to be an incredible trip."

  "I do wonder why she needs two nurses with her?" Rebecca mused. "She'd fully recovered from her hip replacement surgery, and according to the agency, she's not currently suffering from any illness or injury."

  "She's almost eighty, Bec. Magda and her family probably prefer to have two professionals with her on the cruise in case something happens. Besides, she could very well afford to pay for our salary and our trip."

  Yes, the Carmichaels could certainly afford those and much more. Magda Carmichael's late husband was a self-made multi-millionaire who'd founded The Carmichael Corporation, one of the biggest property development companies in Australia. Now Magda's three grandsons looked after the various interests of the company, which extended to wineries and eco-tourism.

  "I wonder who else would be accompanying her apart from nursing staff?" Rebecca asked. "I'm sure she wouldn't be going on a holiday like that by herself."

  "You mean you want to know if Zach will be going," Sarah said softly. "You said you're over him."

  "I am. But that doesn't mean I want to bump into him again," she responded, ignoring the pinching in her chest that still happened every time she thought of Zachary Carmichael, Magda's oldest grandson.

  "It's none of our business and it would be rude to ask. Besides, I can't imagine Zach accompanying his grandmother on a cruise for a month even if he's very fond of her." Sarah leaned across the table with a serious look. "Bec, you know it's time you let go of whatever feelings you still feel for Zach—even the bitterness and regret. And do you really want to say no to Magda?"

  Rebecca sighed. Magda Carmichael was the nicest, kindest, most generous client she'd ever worked with. When she and Sarah were hired as Magda's physical rehabilitation nurses while Magda recovered from her hip replacement surgery after an accidental slip in her bathroom, Magda had treated them like family, not paid personnel. She'd often wondered if the fact that Magda didn't have granddaughters was the reason she'd grown attached to her and Sarah. At twenty-eight, both she and Sarah were close to the ages of Magda's three grandsons. Zach was the oldest at thirty-two. His younger brothers Jeffrey and Gregory were thirty and twenty-nine.

  "You know I can't say no to Magda," she admitted.

  "Yay! You have to tell the agency you're accepting the job, then you have to advise Magda's personal assistant that you're going so she can arrange your travel documents," Sarah said excitedly. "I've already emailed her my details that she's asked for."

  "Okay. I'll email her when I get home."

  "Make sure you do it as soon as you walk through your door. The ship leaves in ten days. I'm sure she'd need time to organise everything."

  "Don't worry, I will," she said with a laugh.

  "Hey, girls!"

  Rebecca and Sarah greeted their three other best friends Brenna Ward, Amanda Payne and Gemma Aldwin with a kiss on their cheeks.

  "You look super excited, Sarah. What's up?" Brenna asked.

  Sarah gleefully told the newcomers their news.

  "Oh my God!" Gemma exclaimed. "I really, really sh
ould go back into private nursing. What the hell was I thinking giving it up?"

  "You know teaching piano is your main love," Rebecca quipped. "Anyway, if I change my mind about taking it on, you're welcome to take my place."

  "Why would you change your mind?" Amanda asked.

  "Did I tell you the client is Magda Carmichael?" Sarah interjected.

  "Ohh," the other ladies said in unison, their mouths forming a perfect 'O'.

  "I see why you're not that keen on this, Bec," Gemma said softly.

  Rebecca put on a nonchalant expression. "Well, I very much doubt Zach will be on the cruise. But even if I see him again, so what? It's been seven months since we broke up. Besides, it didn't take him long to replace me with Miss Universe-Australia."

  Her eyes stung. Damn it. She should be over the whole thing by now. Why was she so slow in moving on?

  "Hey," Brenna said softly, running a comforting hand on her arm. "He's not worth one salty tear, remember?"

  She nodded, trying to regain composure. It was hard to stay unaffected when talking about Zach—the only man she'd ever loved. They'd had an incredible four-month relationship that had started not long after she and Sarah were hired to help Magda recover from her surgery.

  It was a passionate affair that they'd kept under wraps. The Carmichaels were a favourite subject for gossip magazines and paparazzi, and privacy had become something the family guarded with jealousy. Plus, while there were no written rules about dating relatives of clients, Rebecca's nursing agency would have frowned if they found out she was dating a Carmichael. She loved her job and didn't want to jeopardise it.

  Unwanted memories of the moment when she'd told Zach she loved him filled her mind. Yes, it was more than silly of her to expect an 'I love you' back from him, but when he hadn't said it, she'd been so shattered.

  She did try to contain her disappointment from his lack of response, understanding that saying 'I love you' wasn't something someone like Zach would say willy-nilly. But she'd gotten scared. According to some of the articles about him, he had a habit of changing girlfriends every six months or so. Somehow, she'd managed to convince herself that Zach was preparing to dump her.