‘It’s fine…really,’ Mia reassured her. ‘It’s what Bryn and I both want.’
‘You know, Mia, I was in love once,’ Agnes said softly. ‘It happened late in life; I was so excited. We were going to be married but when Bryn’s parents were tragically killed my fiancé wasn’t keen on having an instant family. He gave me a choice. It was either him or Bryn.’
‘And you chose Bryn…’
‘Yes. But then I had to act as if I was no longer in love with my fiancé. It took some doing, I can assure you, especially when after a few months he married someone else and had a child with her. I was heartbroken but I had to carry on.’
Mia felt the sting of tears at the backs of her eyes for what both Bryn and his great-aunt had been through. How had she coped with losing the man she loved? And how had Bryn as a child so small and defenceless coped with such a terrible loss without it leaving permanent scars?
‘Bryn shut down emotionally after his parents died,’ Agnes went on sadly. ‘I tried to ease him out of it but I’m afraid he resisted all my attempts to get him to talk about it. It was as if his parents had been permanently erased from his mind. He never mentioned them. He still doesn’t. Even the photos I kept about the place would disappear without explanation. I gave up in the end.’
‘He speaks so fondly of you…’
‘Yes, he’s a darling, but as I said you’ll have your work cut out for you. I never thought he’d ever settle down. No one did. It’s a miracle it happened while I was still alive to see it.’
Mia moistened her lips self-consciously. ‘Yes…it is…’
‘I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see him so happy at last,’ the old woman went on. ‘I am so excited about the wedding. I am living for the day.’
Mia gave a tight swallow. ‘So am—’ Her words faded as a tall figure suddenly appeared in the doorway.
‘Is this a private meeting or can anyone join in?’ Bryn asked as he entered the room.
‘Bryn, darling, you’re early,’ Agnes greeted him warmly. ‘Look at the lovely flowers Mia brought me.’
Mia watched as he stooped to press a kiss to his great-aunt’s cheek, trying to work out if he had overheard any of their conversation. She could imagine he would be very annoyed to find her discussing his past with his only living relative. How long had he been standing there?
‘And how is my gorgeous fiancée?’ He turned and pulled her into his embrace, lowering his head to place a scorching kiss on her lips.
She forced herself to meet his glinting dark gaze once he’d lifted his mouth from hers. ‘Hi…’
He held her look for what seemed a very long time before he turned back to his great-aunt. ‘Are you all set for the wedding?’
‘Yes, dear,’ Agnes responded. ‘The nurse is coming with me, as you arranged. I can hardly wait.’
Bryn took Mia’s hand and tucked it through his arm, looking down at her with an inscrutable expression on his face. ‘Nor can I, isn’t that right, sweetheart?’
‘Um…that’s right…’ Mia gave a shaky smile.
Bryn waited until they were outside in the car park before he spoke, his tone and frown accusatory. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to visit my great-aunt?’
‘It was a last-minute decision,’ she said, lowering her gaze. ‘I thought she might like some flowers.’
‘What did you talk about?’
‘Not much…the wedding arrangements and stuff…’
His frown increased at her evasive answer. ‘You weren’t tempted to act on your threat to spill the beans?’
‘No, of course not.’ She looked up at him. ‘I didn’t even mean it when I said it, much less intend to ever act on it. I was angry at you. I would never do anything to upset her.’
His eyes were hard as they clashed with hers. ‘You’d better be telling me the truth.’
‘I am telling you the truth but if you don’t stop glaring at me like that your great-aunt along with the staff around here might draw their own conclusions about the true state of our relationship,’ she warned him.
He let out his breath in a ragged stream, his mouth tilting wryly. ‘You’re right. I must have pre-wedding nerves or something.’
‘It’s not too late to call it off,’ she said, fiddling with her car keys in an effort to avoid his eyes again. ‘I’m sure Agnes would understand if you told her the truth.’
‘No.’ His tone was implacable. ‘Our marriage is going ahead come hell or high water. It’s what she wants more than anything. Besides, Annabelle rang me just before I arrived here and told me my latest ratings. My popularity is at an all-time high. If we pulled the plug now it would destroy my credibility and totally ruin my career.’
She gave him a haughty look as she unlocked her car. ‘I hope you’re not expecting empathy from me if that should ever happen.’
‘It’s not going to happen, Mia,’ he said with steely determination. ‘Because we are going to be husband and wife in forty-eight hours, and like I just said to Agnes: I can hardly wait.’
‘You look absolutely beautiful,’ Gina gushed as Mia put the final touches to her bridal make-up two days later. ‘I can’t wait to see Bryn’s face when he sees you.’
Mia gave herself a critical look in the mirror. The skirt of the white satin and tulle gown was voluminous and emphasised her slim waist, and the close-fitting strapless top showcased her upper body to maximum effect. Her make-up was subtle but highlighted her clear grey eyes and the creamy texture of her skin. Gina had done her hair for her, setting it in Velcro rollers first before arranging it on top of her head in a sophisticated style that made her feel like a princess.
‘I guess I look OK,’ she admitted grudgingly.
‘More than OK,’ Gina said, then added with a tiny sigh, ‘But it’s a pity your family aren’t here to see you.’
Mia pretended to be concentrating on attaching her veil rather than meet her friend’s eyes. It had been the hardest thing she’d had to do so far when she’d called her parents the previous night and told them she was getting married the following day. In many ways it had been the performance of her life. She had managed to convince her entire family that it was the real deal, including Ellie, who had called her from Brazil saying she was going to be released in forty-eight hours thanks to Mia’s efforts on her behalf.
Mia had told each of them of her whirlwind love affair with Bryn and how very happy she was. Her parents had initially been disappointed that she had left it so late to tell them but when she explained her reasons they understood her concern that they have the holiday they had planned for so long without interruption.
Ashleigh, so much in love with her own husband, was an easy person to convince. She had fallen in love with Jake Marriott at first sight, so there was no way she would have ever questioned Mia’s story.
‘I think that’s Henry now,’ Gina said, peering out of the window.
Mia took a steadying breath as she reached for the bouquet of white roses, her stomach turning over in trepidation.
There was no way out now.
She was going to be married to Bryn Dwyer within the hour.
Officially.
Legally.
Temporarily.
‘Ready?’ Gina asked with a huge excited grin.
Mia smiled until it hurt. ‘I’m ready.’
Bryn turned to watch Mia walk up the aisle; she had refused his offer of someone to give her away in the absence of her father and decided to do it all by herself with just her flatmate as bridesmaid.
He caught the eye of his great-aunt, who was sitting with a nurse in attendance. The sheer joy on her frail, pale face was all he had ever hoped for and it made him a little less guilt-stricken about how he’d engineered his relationship with Mia.
From the very first moment his eyes had clashed with Mia’s in that café, he had wanted her. And when she’d come to the station and bawled him out he had wanted her even more. He liked her fighting spirit. He liked the w
ay she stood up to him defiantly when every other woman would have given in. He also liked her soft heart; the way she had openly cried when she met his great-aunt for the first time had touched him very deeply. And though he knew it was probably terribly chauvinistic of him, he couldn’t help but feel pleased she hadn’t slept around. It seemed likely she would be less inclined to be indiscreet with someone else, but on the other hand it meant he would have his work cut out for him convincing her to sleep with him, which he very much wanted her to do. He had thought of nothing else; his desire for her throbbed constantly in his blood, until he could barely think about anything else. He saw her as a particular challenge, and the one thing he liked in life was a stiff challenge. She hated him and he looked forward to the challenge of making her fall for him just like every other woman had in the past. It had nothing to do with his feelings. He had no intention of complicating his life with emotions that could only come to grief. He liked her, of course; who wouldn’t? She was feisty and quick-witted and when she wasn’t tearing strips off him her personality was sweet and caring.
He looked down as Mia came and stood next to him, the scent of her flowery perfume filling his nostrils, her tentative smile as she met his gaze through the film of her veil making his throat feel unusually tight. He cleared it discreetly and faced the front, straightening his shoulders and taking a breath as the priest began the ceremony in a solemn, authoritative tone.
‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…’
CHAPTER NINE
MIA stood very still as Bryn turned to lift her veil from her face at the priest’s command to kiss the bride. His dark gaze meshed with hers for an infinitesimal pause before he lowered his mouth to hers. A soft sigh escaped from her lips and disappeared into the warmth of his mouth as it covered hers in a lingering, passionate kiss that sent rivers of sensation through her body.
You’re not acting, a little voice inside her head began to taunt her but she refused to acknowledge it. Of course she was acting! That was what Bryn was paying her to do, to convince the world that she was in love with him when the very opposite was true.
She hated him.
No, you don’t. That same little voice was back and even more insistent this time.
‘I do.’
Mia hadn’t realised she had spoken the words out loud until she saw the quizzical look on Bryn’s face as he straightened from kissing her.
‘We’ve already said that bit,’ he whispered with a teasing little smile.
‘I—I know…I was just…’ She gave up in relief when the priest announced the signing of the register would take place before the bride and groom would exit the cathedral.
Once the register was signed and some photos taken, they made their way back down the aisle to the strains of Handel’s music, the congregation and interested bystanders swelling towards them as they stepped out into the warm summer sunshine.
The reception was held at the same hotel as the ball had been, the room beautifully and lavishly decorated, and the champagne flowing freely by the time they arrived from having the official photographs taken.
Speeches and toasts were made, the cake was cut and the bridal waltz performed, cameras still flashing madly until it was finally time for Bryn and Mia to leave.
Gina had a tussle over the bouquet with several other young women but she was victorious in the end, although the bouquet she held proudly aloft was suspiciously short of a few blooms.
The ever-present journalists pressed forward as Bryn helped Mia into his car, their microphones outstretched. ‘Where’s the honeymoon going to be, Mr Dwyer?’ one of them asked.
‘How long will you be away?’ another pushed in.
‘No comment,’ Bryn said and closed Mia’s door. He waved to everyone before he got in the driver’s seat and leaning across gave Mia a long, sensual kiss for the benefit of the cameras.
Mia was already feeling a bit light-headed from all the champagne she’d consumed and his kiss made her head spin even more. She sank against him, her senses reeling at the erotic message being communicated by his lips and tongue.
He lifted his head and, smiling once more for the Press, he gunned the engine and they were away, balloons and tin cans and streamers trailing in their wake, the shaving-foam message ‘Just Married’ scrawled all over the back window.
‘How are you holding up?’ Bryn asked the silent figure beside him a few minutes later.
She sent him a rueful sideways glance. ‘My face aches from smiling all the time.’
He gave a soft chuckle of laughter. ‘Yeah, so does mine.’ He glanced in the rear-view mirror at the bouncing cans and pulled over to the side of the road to remove them, placing them in a rubbish bin on the pavement before getting back in behind the wheel and easing the car into the traffic.
Mia stared down at the two rings on her left hand. It hardly seemed real that she was sitting next to a man she hadn’t even met in person a little over a month ago. And now she was going on a honeymoon with him to his private retreat in the Queensland Sunshine Coast town of Noosa.
‘Do you think the Press will follow us?’ she asked to fill the little silence.
‘I shouldn’t think so,’ he answered. ‘I think now the wedding has come and gone their interest will die down. It has to. All they were really interested in was whether or not we were really getting married. No one thought I would ever do it.’
Mia gave her rings another twirl, not trusting herself to chance a glance his way. ‘Your great-aunt seemed to be very happy for you.’
‘Yes, she was.’ His eyes flicked to her briefly. ‘I guess I should thank you for playing the role so well. You must have acted the beautiful-bride part before. You were a natural.’
‘I’ve been to a lot of weddings,’ she said and then added in a self-deprecating tone, ‘besides, the priest tells you what to say. It’s hardly challenging. It’s like having an Autocue to prompt you.’
He smiled as he took the turn to the domestic terminal. ‘I guess the challenging bit is yet to come.’
Mia decided not to respond. She’d been steadily panicking about the bit to come all day and wondered how in the world she was going to negotiate her way through it.
Ever since she’d spoken with his great-aunt Mia had felt increasingly confused about her feelings towards him. She could still taste his kiss on her lips and it worried her that once they were alone she wouldn’t have the resolve to keep her growing attraction to him under control. He was hard enough to resist while she hated him. How much more tempting would he be if she started to like him?
But you do like him, the little voice in her head returned. She tried to block it but it kept on filling her head with nonsense.
You’re in love with him.
You want to spend the rest of your life with him.
You want to have his children.
She clutched at her bag with both hands, staring down at the rings on her finger that bound her to him.
It couldn’t possibly be true. How could she love a man who had destroyed her career with a few words he’d written, thinking nothing of it, as if it were a simple game of sport?
She was just falling under his sensual spell like every other silly woman who didn’t have a measure of self-control. She would just have to try harder to avoid becoming yet another of his conquests.
Falling in love with Bryn Dwyer was too dangerous.
Their relationship was temporary.
She had to remember that.
‘Come on, Mia.’ Bryn’s voice broke through her reverie as he opened her door a few minutes later. ‘Our plane leaves in forty minutes. We need to check in before the flight closes.’
The flight to Maroochydore took an hour and a half and Mia was glad that for most of it she had slept. She woke just as they were coming in to land, the lights of the coastal town situated on the south bank of the Maroochy River twinkling in the clear night air.
Bryn had organised a hire car for them and as soon as the luggage
was collected he began the thirty-minute drive north to Noosa.
‘Have you been to Noosa before?’ he asked once they were on their way.
‘Yes, but it was quite a while ago, ten years at least. We came on a family holiday,’ she answered. ‘It might have completely changed by now.’
‘That’s what so nice about it up here,’ he said. ‘It never really changes. Sure, there’ve been developments up and down the river and along the coast, but nothing like the massive high-rises on the Gold Coast. Noosa National Park is a great place to walk through. You can even do a beach crawl if you want. There are quiet, shady bays or great surf spots, so whatever your mood you can usually find somewhere to relax.’
‘I remember the national park. My sister Ashleigh hated the long walks my parents kept taking us on. Ellie wanted to stop and look at every bit of wildlife and I kept running on ahead, driving my parents crazy in case I got lost, which I seem to recall I did on more than one occasion.’
‘You must have been a cute kid,’ he said after a little pause. ‘I envy your family life. It must have been wonderful having such a loving environment to grow up in.’
‘It wasn’t always fun and games,’ she said. ‘I love my sisters but we fought a lot when we were younger. I guess all kids do.’
There was another lengthy silence.
‘I often wondered what it would have been like to have a brother or a sister.’
She looked at him. ‘It must have been very hard growing up without your parents.’
‘It was. But I learned to cope. My great-aunt did the best she could but I wasn’t the easiest person to be around at times.’
‘Do you have any photos of your parents?’
‘I guess I have them somewhere.’
‘Why don’t you have them out on show?’
‘I’m not the sentimental type,’ he said. ‘It’s in the past and I’m only interested in the future.’
Mia decided to step out on a limb. ‘Your great-aunt said you used to hide any photos of your parents when she put them out. Why did you do that?’
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