God, she was gorgeous.
The sense of relief at her arrival was mammoth. He let go the breath he’d just realised he’d been holding and rose from the couch as she approached. It was lucky he did: he was there to catch her when she tripped on the congestion of cables covering the floor and lunged into his open arms. He pulled her to him and for a moment nothing else existed—not the lights, the people, the buzz of energy in the room—nothing, except the two of them. Clinging to one another. He saw only Evie, felt only her soft body, could smell only her special flowery fragrance.
And it almost sent him to his knees with wanting her.
‘No time to explain. Please don’t make the wrong choice tonight,’ she whispered against his ear. ‘Just follow my lead.’ The breathiness of her throaty voice sent tingles spiralling through his body before her words registered.
‘What—what do you m—’
‘One minute till we’re live.’ The floor manager’s warning cut him off.
She withdrew from his arms to be miked up then took a seat on the lounge, motioning him to do the same. ‘Sorry I’m late, everyone,’ she apologised to the room. ‘Wardrobe and makeup clearly had no idea what they were getting themselves into, trying to make me look good.’ Chuckles and murmurs of obvious approval rippled through the crew. Cam wolf-whistled.
Evie waved off the compliment and smiled around at everyone before turning her gaze on the teleprompter, instantly Miss Professional. Although the agitated way her fingers played with the armrest made him think she wasn’t as calm as she appeared.
What had her words meant? Who was the wrong choice? Follow what lead? It was all too confusing and he had so much he wanted to tell her, so many things to explain.
More than anything else though, he just wanted her back in his arms. To tell her, finally, that he loved her.
* * *
Evie stole a glance at Adam as the floor manager counted down the final seconds. He sat tapping his thumbs together, radiating awkwardness, and probably thinking about the huge list of places he’d prefer to be rather than here. He sat so close, and she wanted desperately to stretch out and squeeze his hand for reassurance, but one touch would be her undoing. She’d never be able to stop.
Her hand moved to her stomach instead, to quell the crazy hippos dive-bombing inside there. She’d never seen Adam Armstrong, pearl farmer, dressed in anything other than boardies, jeans and T-shirts, which he wore pretty damn well, she had to admit. But Adam Armstrong, gentleman suitor, in black Armani with a red rosebud pinned on the lapel? Man, he was so good-looking it was almost obscene.
Her first sight of him after more than three weeks of enforced absence had put her into a spin. The same excitement that caught at her throat also sent delightful shivers through her breasts and between her thighs. Her ‘stumble’ had been as much a driving need for some sort of physical contact as a means to an end—a private warning she had something planned—and his actual touch hadn’t disappointed. Blood rushed in her ears and her heart accelerated as her whole being suddenly came alive, her body instantly remembering the insanely wonderful feel of his arms around her.
She could have stayed locked together with him like that forever but circumstances didn’t allow. Withdrawing from Adam’s embrace was like giving up on breathing; and knowing she could never live without it cemented her resolve. She could do this. For him. Even though her father was on the floor and eyeing her warily.
There’d been no chance to give details. She just hoped Adam would catch on quickly when the time came.
‘… and action.’
Overriding the apprehensive anticipation that held her in its firm grip—because anything could happen here—Evie swung instinctively into business mode. She forced herself to breathe deeply, ensured she was facing the camera showing a red light, and proceeded to read aloud the words scrolling through the teleprompter. As little as possible was left to chance when a program went live to air like this; her entire dialogue was scripted. It was up to her to make it sound natural.
After the introduction she turned to him. ‘It’s good to see you again, Adam.’ She meant every word, more than she could ever hope to convey.
‘You too, Evie.’
The way he spoke her name was a gossamer caress on her skin that sent her toes curling in her stiletto ankle-boots. And when he flashed his wide-open smile, his dark-eyed gaze coming to linger for a moment on her lips, her pulse began beating so fast in her throat she worried the mike would pick it up. Did he have any idea of the effect he was having on her? Could he possibly be experiencing any of the same feelings she was—sheer pleasure at seeing him again, regret for the way things had turned out for them? No doubt that was too much to wish for.
‘How about you tell us what’s been going on in your world over the last week,’ she began, leaning into the lounge, one arm resting on the top, feigning composure.
All too aware of the cameras moving around them, she concentrated her attention fully on Adam as he responded to the scripted questions. The first few were designed to help him relax, to break through any self-consciousness he might be feeling in this artificial setting, and to give the TV audience the impression these were two mates having a friendly chat.
And it was working. The more he talked, the more animated he became. She watched his changing facial expressions in fascination as he described the ups and downs of the last two months, explained how the thought of the rest of Australia having an intimate knowledge of his personal life was daunting, to say the least, and admitting how totally unprepared he’d been for everything that had happened over the duration of the shoot. He’d changed in the time they’d been apart; she’d never seen him so open with his emotions. No longer hiding behind his defensive wall, he was holding nothing back.
The idea that she may have played a small part in helping the real Adam emerge from the deeply private, deeply lonely man she’d first met, both heartened and hurt her. She couldn’t help but be glad, for his sake, that he’d finally found himself, but it also brought home the reality of the situation. The man she loved was on the verge of revealing to an estimated one million viewers how it felt for him to be falling in love with someone else.
Dying on the inside but somehow sucking back the pain, she maintained her professional facade and kept reading. ‘What is it about this woman you’ve chosen that makes her so special?’
‘She’s incredibly sweet and funny. Doesn’t mind laughing at herself.’ His voice became deeper, mellower. ‘Not only is she beautiful but she has this natural warmth that just kind of radiates from her. And she’s passionate about things that really matter.’
No, she isn’t! Evie silently screamed inside, even while she asked the scripted question, ‘What do you see as her best quality?’
His dark eyes glistened with emotion. ‘That’d have to be integrity. She’d never lie. Even when it costs her.’
It was too much. ‘Are you sure about that?’ The words were her own. In her peripheral vision her father lurched immediately to attention.
‘I know I’ve made the right choice, if that’s what you mean. I want to go to sleep each night knowing I’ll wake up with her beside me. I’ve waited my whole life for this woman, and it’s time to tell her how I feel about her.’ He sat forward on the lounge.
Evie knew, just knew, with a certainty that terrified her, he was about to announce Chrissy as his perfect mate. There was an indefinable something about him she’d never seen before. An air of excited trepidation. He could hardly contain himself; he had something he wanted the whole world to know and he was busting to let it out.
If she’d had any doubts over whether she could pull this off, they flew out the fake window behind her. When realisation struck that there’d be no time to inform Adam of the turn of events before they went to air, she’d had to quickly formulate a new plan. The revised intention had been to wait for Chrissy’s arrival on set to confront her with the revelations while the cameras rolled, to capture t
he woman’s reaction. But Evie couldn’t handle even one more minute of the deceit. The several-second delay used with live television would, fingers crossed, give her the chance she needed to fill Adam in before she was dragged from the set.
It was now or never.
The one-way ticket to career oblivion came amazingly easy. She turned to the camera, addressing the TV audience. ‘I’m sorry viewers, but there are some issues to address prior to Adam making his choice. The program will return as soon as possible.’
For the briefest moment there was complete silence in the studio. Then all hell broke loose. Her father gave a frantic cut-throat signal to the floor manager who ignored him, clearly straining to listen to instructions from the main control room. Several of the camera operators stepped back from their equipment, awaiting further orders. Cam seemed to be the only one handling the situation with composure, keeping his camera trained on them.
With one eye on a fast-approaching Ewan Sinclair, Evie leaned towards Adam, determined to say what had to be said while she still had the chance. ‘There are things you need to—’
‘Stop, Evie.’ There was a look about him that compelled her to do as he said.
A small scuffle was taking place involving Cam, his camera and her father but her eyes were riveted on Adam.
‘I have something to tell you. More important than all of this.’ He gestured around the frenetic activity on the studio floor. ‘More important to me than living up to a contract. Even more important than the farm.’
More important than Paradise? Nothing meant more to him than that. Unless …
Suddenly her senses were reeling. When he took her hand, a thunderclap of feeling thrilled through her body.
He pressed her fingers to his chest. ‘Feel that?’ His heart was thumping as wildly as hers. She nodded mutely. ‘Every crazy beat is for you.’
She tried to respond but only a squeak emerged.
‘After you left, I almost convinced myself you were just a crutch. I was grateful for the way you helped me come to terms with my past, but my future was up to me. What I didn’t realise until you weren’t around anymore was that there was no future without you. You were that part of me I’d been missing all my life.’ His liquid-brown eyes stared directly into hers with an honesty so patently transparent she could feel tears welling.
‘You’re my rib, Evie, protecting my heart from the ghosts of the past. When you’re not with me it’s like … like something’s been torn from inside me. You make me strong enough—brave enough—to know I can deal with whatever life has to throw at me from here on in.’
Before he concealed it, an expression close to anguish flickered across his handsome features. She understood that look; Adam was reneging on his contract and believed in doing so he was in danger of losing his home. The enormity of what he was prepared to sacrifice for her hit with a force that left her breathless.
‘I know how much your job means to you and, no matter what, I’ll support you with that,’ he promised.
She wanted to speak, needed to tell him so many things—that the farm was not at risk, that the one thing she’d learned over the last few weeks was that a career choice made for all the wrong reasons created a huge, empty void—but her vocal cords were paralysed. For the first time in her life she’d been struck dumb and all she could do was pray he could read the silent message of hope in her eyes.
‘I don’t know if you can forgive me for the way I treated you. If you can, you’ll make me the happiest, most thankful man in the world because, Evie Sinclair … I love you. And I never want to be without you again.’
The depth of love in his voice, the admission—finally—of his true feelings, the knowledge that she meant more to him than the life he’d carved out for himself in one of the most beautiful places on earth, all of it overwhelmed her and the tears came.
‘Say something,’ he pleaded. His strained laugh was on the edge of desperation. ‘Rule number one for being proposed to on live television: you need to respond.’
Wh-wh-what?
‘I … I …’ she croaked.
‘Evie, please put me out of my misery. Will you marry me?’
In that moment she loved him more than she could ever have believed possible. Loved him with a passion so fierce, a heartfelt longing so powerful, that it pulsed through her with a living energy that threatened sparks.
Finally the words made it out of her mouth. ‘What, and give up all this?’ She threw her hands in the air. ‘Are you nuts?’
His face fell. He misunderstood.
‘Adam, that’s a yes.’
His mouth curved into a half grin that widened into a full grin, and finally into a smile as big as the entrance to Luna Park. ‘You will?’
She nodded, grinning through her tears. ‘In a heartbeat.’
Sometimes being true to yourself, living life the way you knew it should be lived, required risk. Who knew what the future held? All she could be sure of was that her old career-driven existence, the one that used to be her raison d’etre, simply wasn’t enough anymore. Not without this man.
‘We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for, Adam. As for forgiveness, when you love someone with all your heart, like I love you, there’s no room left for blame.’
He reached out and wiped a drop from her cheek with trembling fingers. Her skin flared hot beneath the touch and the most delicious tingling stirred that oh-so-sensitive space between her thighs. Feverishly aware of his body inching closer, she waited, heart hammering and nerves quivering, for the longed-for taste of his beautiful mouth. He pulled her to him, so close now that she was breathing in his sweet breath, and when he brushed his soft full lips over hers, her whole body dissolved, melting with desire for him. He tasted heavenly. The sense of suspended time stretched the kiss into an eternity of endless sensual feeling, wrapping them together in an intimate cocoon where only the two of them existed.
He kissed her long and hard, clutching her body to his like he never wanted to let her go, stealing her breath and making her dizzy. It wasn’t until a swell of applause filtered through the pulse pounding in her ears that it registered where she was and what was happening. Her eyes opened to the crew standing around clapping and whistling, and the sight of the glowing red light on the camera Cam still aimed at them.
She didn’t know where to look, what to think. This was all being beamed live to air; her Cinderella moment screened into hundreds of thousands of homes across Australia. Reality TV, literally.
Adam pulled her back into his arms, strong arms that promised nothing but safety and unconditional love. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he whispered, his tone infinitely tender.
She cuddled into him. ‘I’ve missed you too. And Bitzer. And your mum and the rest of the girls at the retirement village. Hi girls! I know you’ll be watching.’ She waved a little self-consciously into the camera. ‘And I can’t wait to get back to Paradise. I want to be in a place that makes me feel good about myself.’
‘Yeah, well, we’ll have to see what happens with that. I recently learned from a very wise woman that home doesn’t have to be a place. It’s wherever the people you love are. I get that now, and if keeping the farm isn’t an option I reckon I can handle it. As long as I have you.’ His heart was there in his eyes, and she’d have followed him to the moon right then if he’d asked her.
But there’d be no need for that. The collusion between Neil and Chrissy was a deception the network would want to keep under wraps. Suing Adam for reneging on his contract would see the sorry saga brought to light in court. That just wasn’t going to happen.
‘You know what? I have a feeling it’ll all work out.’
Adam took her once again into his arms, stroking her back, her hair, her face, as if he couldn’t get enough of touching her. Rediscovering the familiar feel of his broad, hard body was like coming home after being away too long and realising that you never wanted to be anywhere else.
Dimly aware of going into an ad brea
k, Evie instinctively checked around for her father. He was caught up in animated conversation with the floor manager, and glancing every few seconds at a screen with a Twitter feed happening across the bottom. What was that expression he was wearing? He seemed … happy.
Even though his precious show had been compromised? Hard to believe. But then he caught her eye, and actually beamed at her. What the hell was going on? Had she finally made him proud? She couldn’t help but hope so, but the need to prove herself to him was no longer the driving force it had once been.
Steve approached them, punching an arm into the air and with a huge grin on his genial face. ‘You guys are an absolute sensation! Social media’s going wild. You’re generating more talk than any new show this season and your dad is rapt. Congratulations!’
She expelled a long breath, releasing a sense of guilt together with the trapped air in her throat. Despite the show going nowhere near to plan, its immediate success would keep the advertisers onside. Thank God. This industry may have lost its lustre for her but she certainly didn’t wish the network, or her father, any ill. If there was one thing she’d learned from this whole experience it was the value of forgiveness. Of letting go the hurts of the past.
The rest of the hour flew by in a blur of manic behind-the-scenes activity. Clearly most of the footage that had been lined up—a montage of the developing relationship between Adam and the girl he chose—was no longer relevant as it featured only Chrissy and Meg. Editorial assistants had scrambled together some vision of herself and Adam inadvertently caught on tape, and put together shots where Adam made reference to his growing feelings without mention of a name.
On-screen, she and Adam had largely been spared the embarrassment of that unsavoury staple of reality TV—the confrontation—with Meg being nothing but her lovely self and wishing them both the best, while Chrissy simply refused to appear. Off-screen, the woman’s screams of outrage, accusing anyone and everyone of a conspiracy, had echoed through the studio to the point where she’d had to be marched out by security. That part of the spectacle had been captured live and, shown up for the person she truly was, the real Chrissy at last had her five minutes of fame.
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