by Lucy Clark
‘The wealthy have their own set of rules and heaven help anyone who dares to stand up to them or go against them.’
‘Ain’t that the truth.’ His words were filled with heartfelt honesty and as Reggie looked into his eyes she saw that perhaps, just perhaps, there was a possibility that Flynn really understood what it was she was trying to say.
‘So where are your parents now? I can’t remember what happened.’
‘They’re dead.’ The words were said with no emotion, no relief, no bitterness, no pain. ‘When my father realised he couldn’t buy off the solicitor, he and my mother left the country for Spain.’
Flynn rolled his eyes. ‘No extradition.’
‘Exactly. They lived there for almost two years, in perfect luxury, before dying in a boating accident.’ She frowned, her voice dropping just a little. ‘I wasn’t sad when I was told of their deaths. Instead, I demanded to see the bodies—just to make sure.’
‘You did? It wasn’t…traumatic?’
‘I’d just started medical school, so I’d seen my fair share of cadavers. Besides, I’m not meaning to sound callous but I needed to know if it was true. To help me come to terms with the horrific things they did to me, I needed to see their cold, dead bodies on that slab.’ She looked away from him. ‘I’m sorry if that sounds harsh but—’
‘I understand, Reg. Those people weren’t your parents, they were the monsters who had made your life a misery.’
Reggie jerked her head up in surprise. ‘Yes. Exactly.’
‘You had to be sure it was really over.’
‘And it was. I identified their bodies and with Elika’s help organised for their cremations. There was no funeral, no wake, no chance for people to “honour” those monsters.’
Flynn rubbed his hands along her shoulders, knowing he shouldn’t be at all surprised at the inner strength this woman possessed. He gazed down into her eyes. ‘You are incredible, Reg. So strong and always so happy and bubbly and yet you’ve been through so much pain. How did you cope?’
‘Well, for a start, I found some wonderful friends at medical school. Sunainah, Bergan and Mackenzie have all been through their own pain and anguish and somehow, although the four of us are incredibly different, we bonded because we all understood what it was like to be a victim.’
‘And it’s a friendship that’s as strong and as true over twenty years later.’
‘Yes.’ She smiled, thinking of the way she and her friends had stuck together through thick and thin…and how they’d all managed to find the man of their dreams, that one special person they could always rely on, no matter what. The smile started to slide from her lips as she gazed up at Flynn. Was he her one special person? The one she could rely on, no matter what?
She’d thought so once before but he’d let her down. Was it possible she could take a chance again? Put her heart out there? Would Flynn hurt her again, especially now that he knew the truth about her past? He was looking at her as though she was the most wonderful, most special and most precious person in the world to him. Was that real?
He’d mentioned the attraction between them being still as strong…possibly stronger than before and he’d been right. When he put his arms around her, she felt as though she’d come home. When he kissed her, she felt as though her entire world was filled with sparkles and rainbows and pure happiness. When he gazed down into her eyes, as he was doing right now, her heart constricted and her breathing became shallow, wanting him to look at her that way always, to support her always, to love her always.
Could they try again?
‘Reg, you are special to me. I hope you believe that.’
‘I want to,’ she whispered.
‘Then do it.’ He cupped her face and smiled at her before dipping his head to brush his lips lightly across hers. Reggie closed her eyes, wanting to absorb every sensation he was evoking within her, wanting to lose herself in the pleasure and happiness only Flynn could give her. They’d been so good together all those years ago. Perhaps now they could be better. She parted her lips to deepen the kiss but Flynn edged back. ‘Reggie?’
‘Mmm?’ she sighed, her eyes still closed.
‘There’s just one thing I need to know.’ There was a tentativeness in his tone and she immediately looked at him, worry piercing her.
‘What?’ She searched his beautiful blue eyes and instinctively realised what it was he was still confused about. ‘The money?’
‘Yes. Your father, from what I can recall, was worth a lot of money.’
‘He was. He left it all to my mother, expecting her to outlive him. She, however, hadn’t made a will and as their daughter I inherited it all.’
‘You did?’
‘I did.’
‘So…you’re wealthy?’
She shook her head. ‘No. I didn’t want a penny. I signed the entire fortune over to Elika, the solicitor who helped me, the one person who I knew was unlikely to be corrupted. Then I changed my name. My past was gone. Erased. I had a clean slate and I could start again.’
‘Wait.’ He eased back and held up one hand. ‘Let me get this straight. You gave the entire Fox-Wallington fortune away?’
‘Yes.’
‘But that would have been…billions.’
‘Wealth corrupts.’ She tried to edge away from him but he immediately put both his hands on her shoulders again.
‘But what about medical school?’
‘What about it? I did what normal people do. I accepted government funding to pay my university fees, found a cheap place to live and worked all sorts of jobs in order to have enough money to eat.’
‘And this solicitor, Elika, what has she done with all that money?’
‘Ever heard of the Moffat Drop-in Centres?’
‘For teens and abused children?’
‘Yes, as well as children and teenagers living on the street, or those who are having a hard time. There’s a centre here in Maroochydore that Bergan and Richard do a lot of work with.’
‘That’s you?’
‘No. That’s Elika, the solicitor. Well, she’s more of a businesswoman nowadays and well into her sixties, but she’s still making a difference and the drop-in centres are just the tip of the iceberg. She works with various organisations both in Australia and overseas to help people in need.’
‘You just gave all that money away?’
‘Why wouldn’t I? As far as I was concerned, it was blood money and, besides, it had never brought me happiness. All I’ve ever wanted was to be normal. A normal girl, doing a normal job, living a normal life.’
‘Wow.’ He shook his head in wonderment.
‘What?’
‘You’re…so strong.’
‘It took me years to piece myself back together, to figure out who I wanted to be as an adult, and with the help of my friends I think I’ve done a pretty good job.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this all those years ago?’
‘Because it’s also taken me years to learn who to trust. It’s not an easy thing for me to do and, for the record, I had planned to tell you everything the day after we became engaged, but—’
‘But I broke it off.’ He closed his eyes, unable to believe how ridiculously stupid he’d been back then. ‘And I turned out to be yet another wealthy person you couldn’t trust.’
‘That’s how I saw it.’
‘But, for the record, Reggie—and I’m not trying to defend my actions back then or justify my behaviour—I wasn’t corrupted by money. I was corrupted by guilt. I didn’t marry Violet because my father threatened to cut me off without a cent. I did it because my mother was dying and it was the one thing that would make her happy, to see her son happily settled.’
Reggie looked up into his eyes and for the first time since they’d been talking reached up and brushed her fingers across his cheek. ‘You loved your mother.’ It was a statement because she could see clearly in his eyes, hear it in his voice.
‘I did. Very much.’
‘Y
ou wanted to make her happy in her last days.’
‘Yes, but I let myself get pressured into doing something I should never have done. I resent that now.’
‘But you’re not that man anymore. I can tell. You’re stronger now. You’re more…you.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not explaining that well.’
‘No. You’re right. I am different.’ He gave her a cute, lopsided smile. ‘Perhaps these six years apart haven’t been a total waste of time.’
‘Perhaps we both needed to do some more growing up.’
‘Exactly. I’ve found the courage to change, not because anyone’s told me to but because I needed to, for myself. I needed to find out who I was, without my parents, without Violet and without any other pressure.’
‘And have you?’
The smile on his lips increased as he shifted towards her, his arms coming about her waist to draw her near. ‘Yes. It took me a while to realise it, that I needed to change my life because I wasn’t happy.’
‘It can be the most difficult thing in the world to do, to take a stand and follow your heart, to do what you know is right.’
‘Yes.’ He smiled at her. ‘And now I need to do what I know is right, to follow my heart and kiss you once more, Reg.’
Reggie loved hearing those words from his mouth and as she sighed against him she couldn’t help but raise one teasing eyebrow. ‘Only once more?’
His grin widened as he settled her into his arms. ‘I like the way you’re thinking.’ And with that he lowered his head and claimed her mouth in a kiss filled with passion and promise. Exactly what those promises might be she had no idea, but for now she was more than happy just to go with the fact that she’d managed to work up the courage to tell Flynn about her past…and he hadn’t rejected her. He’d understood. He’d supported her. He’d accepted.
He was also doing the most wonderful and delectable things to her mouth, tantalising and teasing her senses. The love she knew had never died welled up in her heart, bursting forth with delight throughout her entire body. She loved Flynn. She always had but she knew of old that to love someone didn’t necessarily mean there would be a happy ending.
Still, he knew just how to hold her, just how to kiss her, just how to drive her completely crazy with longing. He knew that rubbing small circles at the base of her spine caused tingles to explode within her. He knew that pressing sweet butterfly kisses along her cheek, towards her ear and then down to her neck made goose-bumps break out over her entire body.
He knew that whispering words of delight, telling her just how attractive he found her, how he was drawn to her, how he couldn’t get enough of her, all drove her almost to distraction.
Soon she was light-headed and swooning, leaning against him for support as her knees started to give way. Within another second Flynn had scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the lounge. He sat down, settling her in his lap, his arms shifting to hold her tightly, his mouth not leaving hers for an instant.
Reggie sighed against him, unable to believe she was finally back here again, back in his arms, back where she’d yearned to be for so very long. Flynn was here. Her Flynn, and he was kissing her exactly as he had during all her dreams about him.
‘Mmm,’ she moaned as he continued to wreak havoc with her senses. She could feel his restraint, feel he was trying to keep things soft and steady, not wanting to scare her away, but didn’t he realise that she didn’t scare easily? She wanted him. Couldn’t he feel that?
The fact that he was taking things slowly was only making her desire for him increase and when he eased his mouth from hers to trace her lips tantalisingly with his tongue, knowing how the action drove her crazy, his breath mingling and blending with hers, Reggie thought her heart would burst.
‘Flynn,’ she breathed. ‘I want you.’
‘I know.’ He kissed her cheek.
‘This can’t be wrong. Not a second time.’
‘No.’ He kissed her other cheek.
‘Shouldn’t we go…somewhere a little more comfortable?’ the words were a husky whisper as he continued to kiss her neck, Reggie tilting her head to the side to grant him all the access he desired.
‘No.’
Reggie’s eyes flew open, his one-word answer like a stylus scratching its way across a record. ‘No?’
‘No,’ he repeated, his voice thick with repressed desire.
She shifted so she could look at him better and as She did so he seemed to take it as a sign to remove her from his lap and to settle her next to him on the lounge. ‘Flynn?’ She swallowed over the confusion even she could hear in her voice.
‘Reg, I don’t want to rush things.’ He bent and kissed her lips as though needing her to know he was still very much on board with what was happening between them. ‘This time we need to take things slowly.’
‘Because we didn’t take things slowly last time?’
‘Exactly. And…’ he brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek and then pushed some of her dark, spiky locks behind her ear ‘…you deserve better. With everything you’ve confessed to me, plus with everything that’s happened in the past few days, I think we’re definitely starting to move way too fast again. Don’t you?’
Reggie stared at him, unable to believe the words were coming out of his mouth. How was it possible he could be even more wonderful, more considerate, more chivalrous than she remembered? He cared about her. He really cared about her and he was willing to prove that by slowing things down. She opened her mouth to agree with him but found the words were stuck behind the bubble of emotion, so she nodded instead.
‘I was wondering, just this morning, how you were able to deal with your home burning down so easily, how you could just accept the fact and not wallow and cry and scream, as you most certainly have every right to do, but now…’ Flynn brushed his thumb over her lips before bending and mimicking the same action with his lips ‘…with everything you’ve been through, you’ve built up an amazing resilience to things beyond your control. That, my beautiful Reg, is an amazing quality and you have it in spades. You just pick yourself up and keep on moving forward and I want you to know just how much I admire you.’
‘Oh, Flynn.’ She couldn’t believe he was saying such nice things to her and quickly fanned her face with her hand, needing to lighten the atmosphere around them with a touch of humour. It worked because he smiled warmly in response. ‘You say the sweetest things.’
‘I meant every word.’
She dropped the pretence for a moment and nodded. ‘I don’t doubt it.’
‘Good, because I think the next thing we should discuss is getting some sleep—me upstairs, you downstairs and, no, that isn’t a euphemism or meant as a double entendre.’
Reggie laughed; the sound lighter and freer than she could ever remember hearing before. Flynn removed his arm from around her shoulders, then stood and pulled her to her feet. He held her hand as he walked her to her room. ‘Make free use of the bathroom. I’ll use the en suite.’
‘OK.’ She stood at the door to her room and looked up at him. She smiled then stood on tiptoe and kissed him. ‘Who said chivalry was dead?’ she asked rhetorically.
‘Taking things slower is a good thing.’
‘Yes.’
‘We deserve the time to really get to know each other again.’
‘Yes.’
Flynn smiled and took her hand in his, raising it to his lips. ‘Sleep sweet, Reg.’ Then he bowed from the waist and headed up the stairs, blowing her one last kiss from the top. Reggie couldn’t help but giggle as she entered the room, sighing romantically.
‘Oh, Flynn, you really do know how to make a girl feel special,’ she whispered, and it was so true. She could trust him. He was showing her that by not rushing into things. He cared about her and it was still a little difficult for her to get her head around that realisation. Was it possible that this time they’d be able to really move forward with their life together? A normal life together? After all, wa
sn’t Flynn the most perfect man for her?
Surely, with everything they’d discussed tonight, there was no way he’d ever hurt her again. Right?
CHAPTER TEN
FROM THE NEXT morning, even though they hadn’t specifically discussed it, they appeared to be back together. When Reggie had come into the kitchen for breakfast, Flynn once more having already made the coffee and toast, he’d crossed to her side, given her a hug and brushed a light kiss across her lips.
‘Good morning,’ he’d said, smiling warmly at her.
‘Morning,’ she’d returned, before hugging him back, unable to believe how wonderful it felt to be so familiar with him again. He drove them to the hospital but still kept his distance in front of their colleagues, which she was happy about because she wasn’t ready for everyone to be staring and gawking at them when she was still trying to figure things out.
He took her shopping for clothes and shoes and all the other little things She needed, not appearing bored by any of the shops they visited or insisting she shop at the most expensive places. She modelled clothes for him, twirling and laughing and smiling and trying to remember when she’d last been this happy. Her car was returned from the garage and he insisted she leave it in his garage, parking his own car in the driveway.
The little girl, Lola, who had been attacked by the shark, was starting to make progress with her recovery and while it would indeed be a long journey, all the surgeons involved in her care were happy with the way her body was coping with the trauma.
Things were also building up for the hospital’s Christmas auction and Reggie and Mackenzie spent quite a bit of time finalising the details.
‘One of the outpatient ward clerks signed me up for the bachelor auction that very first morning I was in Outpatients,’ Flynn told Reggie when she noticed his name on the sign-up sheet.
‘But you’re not a bachelor anymore,’ she felt compelled to point out.
‘Well, technically I am as I’m not married.’
‘But we are in a…relationship…’ She looked at him with concern. ‘Aren’t we?’
Or did he just think their time together was a fling? Something to keep him occupied during his six months at the hospital? Had she grasped the wrong end of the stick again? Did she feel more for him than he felt—
