He smiled back. “It’s no different now. Just think of our virtual reality as the dress rehearsal.”
Brennan draped his arm around Leah’s waist and led her over to his family.
“Mum, this is Leah,” he said. “Leah, this is Kerri, my mother.”
Brennan gave Leah a sneaky sideways glance, which she returned.
Kerri encircled her arms around Leah and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “It’s lovely to finally meet the woman I’ve heard so much about. From what I can understand, love, you already know me?”
Leah smiled. “Yes, Kerri, it feels that way. But so we do everything right, it’s lovely to meet you.”
Jack repeated the same greetings, giving Leah a kiss on the cheek.
Alex stepped forward then and put his arms around Leah. “Hi, Leah. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Hi, Alex.”
Joanne nodded, cobra lips pursed. “Hi, Leah,” she said with clipped words.
“Hi, Joanne,” Leah said, exchanging a glance with Brennan.
Kerri clapped her hands together. “Brennan, you grab your bags out of the car and you can show Leah to your room. I have a few more things to prepare for breakfast.”
Brennan smiled and jogged to the car to grab their bags out of the ute’s tray.
“It’s lovely that you could join us this weekend, Leah,” said Kerri.
Leah smiled. “Thank you for having me.”
Leah and Brennan made their way through the house and up to Brennan’s bedroom. She walked immediately to the bedroom window and looked out over the lush countryside.
“Oh, how I missed this view,” she said turning to smile at Brennan.
“Oh, how I missed you,” he said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her body close. He kissed her on the neck.
“Now come on, behave yourself,” she said, fruitlessly trying to pull away from him. He just held her tighter. “Remember what happened last time. Your mum came upstairs and we nearly got caught in a rather compromising position.”
He smiled and kissed her on the mouth, holding his lips to hers for a long moment. “I love you so much, Leah. You have no idea how happy you make me.”
Leah smiled blissfully. “Believe me, Brennan, I do.”
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ISBN: 9780857990846
Title: Beautiful Illusion
Copyright © 2013 by Jacquie Underdown
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