Читать книгу The Australian's Bride - Алисон Робертс - Страница 10

‘MORE champagne, Susie?’

‘Go on, then.’ Susie held her glass out. ‘It’s not as if I have to walk home, is it?’

‘You don’t even have to ride your bike. We can just pour you into the lift. Star’s dad did us a favour, really, didn’t he?’

‘You and Mike should have had the penthouse suite. It’s ridiculous having me rattling around in there by myself.’

‘We’ve got a room that opens into the pool complex. It’s perfect. We went swimming in the dark last night. Very romantic. There was no one else around. We could have swum naked if we’d wanted to.’

‘And did you?’ Susie gave her best friend a suspicious glance and then her jaw dropped. ‘You did! You’re a wicked woman, Emily Poulos.’

‘It was Mike’s idea.’

Susie felt the need to change the subject from romantic midnight swimming. ‘This place is enormous, isn’t it? We must have a hundred people at this function and it’s completely separate from the rest of the guests.’

‘I hear a bit of juggling went on. This room is the hub of the convention centre and there’s a medical conference on this weekend.’

This was a nice, neutral topic. ‘Anyone from Crocodile Creek at the conference?’

Emily shook her head. ‘It’s very specialised. Epidemiology.’

Susie smiled. ‘Skin…right?’

Emily laughed. ‘No. Causes of diseases and stuff. Hey, you made a joke!’

‘What’s so unusual about that? You trying to tell me I’m no fun to be around?’

‘No.’ Emily touched her arm in a gesture that spoke of long familiarity and close friendship. ‘It’s just…I don’t know…I got the feeling something was bothering you yesterday. You were very quiet when we were coming over to the resort.’

‘I was still steaming over the way Alex had been treating his daughter, that’s all. I thought he was a complete jerk.’

‘Was?’ Emily eyed her over the rim of her water glass. ‘Past tense?’

Susie shrugged. ‘I guess I was wrong. He’s OK.’

Emily’s eyebrows shot up. ‘OK? He’s gorgeous!’ She turned her head to give the top table a deliberate stare and her sigh was wistful. ‘Maybe it’s being Greek that does it. They do the tall, dark and handsome thing so well, don’t they?’

‘Hmm. Don’t try and set me up, Em. The man lives in Sydney. If he’s not already spoken for, he probably has every single socialite in the city after him. And he already has a family. I want my own kids, remember?’

Emily made a sound that suggested she understood. She would, too. Susie knew she had spent her share of time considering all the reasons why nothing would happen between herself and Mike. Plus, she was a woman. What was it about being a woman that could make you feel attracted to a man and then get a sudden insight into all the pitfalls a future together could produce? It was crazy.

Mind you, it had worked out rather well for Emily and Mike, hadn’t it?

The two women were silent for a minute, watching the gathering. The other people at their table were all engrossed in their own conversations and the noise level was growing steadily as coffee and exquisite petits fours were being served to mark the end of the dinner. Around them, people were leaving their allocated table seating and starting to mix. A five-piece band was setting up at one side of a small dance floor.

The subdued lighting did nothing to dampen the glitter of this occasion. Silverware and crystal caught the light and sparkled on the white linen tablecloths. The women sparkled in their gorgeous dresses and jewellery and the men were all in black tie, which always seemed to automatically increase their attractiveness. Or maybe it was the champagne. Whatever. Susie couldn’t help sneaking another glance at the front table herself.

Charles was there, of course. So was the mayor of Crocodile Creek, their member of parliament and George Poulos, who had spearheaded the huge support that had come from local businesses for the building of the new medical centre. Partners were also present…or supposed to be. There was an empty seat beside Charles.

‘Where’s Jill?’ Emily wondered aloud.

‘She’ll be with Lily. Did you hear she had to have a lumbar puncture this morning?’

‘Yes. I flew back to Crocodile Creek with Mike when he took those urgent samples.’

‘I thought you didn’t like helicopters?’

‘I don’t.’

Susie grinned. ‘But you like Mike enough to get over it, right?’

‘Right.’ But Emily’s smile faded. ‘Lily couldn’t really have meningitis, could she? It’s too awful to imagine.’

‘I hope not. Alex seemed to think he was just being careful and doing the test to rule it out, but she looked pretty sick.’

‘You’ve seen her?’

‘I had to help with the lumbar puncture. Alex asked me to.’

‘Did he, now?’

Susie had to steer the conversation away from Alex. Why did everything seem to get pulled back to that man? ‘Did you know that Jill and Charles are officially engaged now?’

‘Sophia said something but she’s always trying to marry people off. I didn’t take too much notice.’

‘She’s got this gorgeous ring. Really unusual. An opal instead of a diamond.’

‘I’m really pleased. Just a bit surprised, I guess.’

‘Why? I think they’re perfect for each other.’

‘Yes, but do they think that?’

Susie sighed. ‘Charles did say it was just a marriage of convenience. For Lily’s sake.’

‘Maybe they think it’s the sensible thing to do, seeing as they’re practically living together.’

Susie drank another mouthful of her wine. ‘God, I hope I never get married because it’s the “sensible” thing to do.’

‘You won’t,’ Emily promised. ‘The right guy is going to come along and you’ll get married because you’re hopelessly in love. You’ll see.’

Susie’s gaze strayed back to the top table again.

Alex, like Charles, was alone as far as female companionship went.

Alone… Available?

Susie drained her glass of champagne and eyed the bottle in the silver ice bucket. It was still more than half- full. She looked at Emily’s glass. The flute didn’t appear to have been touched.

‘You’re not keeping up with me, here, Em. What’s the story?’

‘I just don’t feel much like drinking alcohol tonight.’

The sinking feeling in Susie’s gut was too intense to ignore. ‘Oh, my God…you’re pregnant, aren’t you?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Emily’s eyes shone with joy. ‘Maybe. Hey, what’s the matter?’

Susie shook her head, trying to blink back stupid, stupid tears. She had got this out of her system the other night, hadn’t she?

‘I was going to tell you.’ Emily was frowning now, her joy replaced by concern for her friend. ‘Honestly, you were going to be the first person to know. It’s just that I haven’t even done a test yet. I’m only a couple of days late and…’

Susie blinked harder. She tried to smile. ‘It’s great news, Em. I’m so happy for you.’

‘Could have fooled me.’

Susie tried again, stretching her smile. ‘You’re not going to believe this, but Hannah’s pregnant, too. She rang the other night. Tuesday it was…’ Susie sucked in a breath to try and stop herself babbling. ‘She’d only just done the test. You’ll probably be due at the same time. They’ll be like…like twins…’ The effort of sounding happy was too much. Susie picked up the starched linen napkin that matched the tablecloth, screwed it into a ball and pressed it against her mouth.

Emily had been listening quietly, her eyes huge. Then she put her arm around Susie. ‘Oh, hell! I didn’t even think. You’re the one that’s always wanted a family. Hannah’s the career girl. And now it’s me.’ Her arm tightened. ‘Do you want to escape for a bit? Go for a walk or something?’

‘No. I’m fine.’

‘Your nose is dripping. Have you got a hanky?’

‘No.’ Susie sniffed inelegantly.

‘Use the napkin.’

‘Ooh, gross!’ But it made Susie smile. ‘I’m OK, really,’ she said a moment later. ‘I just feel a bit left out, that’s all.’ She took another deep breath. ‘OK, so I’m jealous. I’m sorry, Em.’

‘Don’t be stupid. It’s me who should be sorry. It’ll happen for you, you know. Like I said, some gorgeous guy is going to come along and before you know it, you’ll be knee deep in nappies.’

‘Ha! I haven’t even met anyone I’d want to date in months, let alone marry.’

‘Alex looks perfectly datable to me.’

‘There’s no point in dating when it’s got no chance of going anywhere. I’m getting too old for games like that.’

‘What’s happened to that girl who persuaded her twin to have her first-ever one-night stand—to see what having the best sex in her life might be like? To try a playboy because they’re the ones who’ve had the most practice?’

‘She’s grown up,’ Susie said sadly.

Or maybe she’d just been hurt too many times. You got carried away by physical attraction and the next thing you knew you were in love with some guy who had never had any intention of making a relationship permanent. Or even long term. No wonder she had a personal crystal ball that revealed the future so easily when it came to men. Especially men like…Alex.

‘Best thing that Hannah ever did, though, wasn’t it?’ Emily persisted. ‘She let herself go enough to have a fling with someone she fancied, and look where she is now. Married to him. Having his baby.’

‘Don’t remind me. I’m going to be everybody’s aunt. They’ll all come to visit mad Aunty Susie who lives all by herself with a zillion cats.’

Emily’s nudge was not gentle. ‘Get a grip,’ she instructed. ‘Distraction is what you need, and don’t try and tell me that Alex Vavunis couldn’t distract you. I’ve noticed how often you’ve been looking at that table.’

‘I’ve been watching Charles. He’s looking a bit stressed, don’t you think?’

‘Liar!’

Susie had to smile back but it was disturbing to think it might have been so obvious. She’d tried to stop but her eyes had simply refused to obey instructions and kept travelling to catch another glimpse. Eye candy.

And this particular variety seemed to be addictive.

Had Alex noticed? The thought made her cringe. It also made her drag her gaze away from Emily to look over her shoulder. To her horror, Alex was a lot closer than the last time she’d seen him.

‘He’s coming over.’ Emily’s stage whisper was delighted. ‘The music’s started. I’ll bet he’s going to ask you to dance.’

It was the last thing Susie needed right now.

Or was it?

With every step he took towards her, she could feel the curl of that overwhelming attraction increase. By the time he was ten feet away, it was hot enough to be melting something deep within her. If she danced with Alex, she would be closer than she’d been to him so far. Dancing involved touching. A lot of touching.

Almost as much touching as…

Oh, help!

Susie didn’t need to consider using the starched napkin as a handkerchief any more. She needed a fan!

The threat of tears was long gone. So was any thought of feeling sorry for herself. Maybe Emily had been right and she needed the distraction that dancing with Alex would provide.

It would be fun. Exciting. A chance to remind herself how much pleasure life had to offer instead of crying in a corner, feeling as if it was all passing her by.

Susie found herself rising to her feet.

Smiling at Alex.

Wordlessly taking his outstretched hand in her response to the invitation to dance.

Letting him lead her, hand in hand, onto the dance floor.

He’d been waiting for this moment for what seemed like for ever.

Alex had spotted Susie the moment she’d arrived for this function. Somewhat to his surprise, the whole room full of people hadn’t stopped enjoying their pre-dinner cocktails and introduction session and turned to stare at her. She certainly looked stunning enough to stop traffic.

Soft waves of golden blonde hair, loose and shining under the artificial lights. A delphinium blue dress that was a perfect match for her eyes and made of some soft, clingy fabric that emphasised every delicious curve of her body. Tiny shoulder straps looked like blue spaghetti and the hem of the dress was uneven. It had pointy bits that hung below her knees, but when she moved it swirled, revealing tantalising glimpses of those long, tanned legs.

He couldn’t get near her, dammit! At first he’d been stuck in an excruciatingly boring conversation with a self-important politician.

‘The cyclone damage was in the millions. Made sure I got out and inspected every bit of it myself. Plenty of photos in the papers to prove that.’

Alex had caught a hint of blue between the black suits surrounding him. He’d put a finger under his bow- tie and loosened it just a little.

‘I saw pictures of what happened to the medical centre here,’ he’d murmured. ‘Devastating.’

‘Nearly destroyed the old bridge and cut the main hospital off from the town and the rest of Australia, for that matter. I’ve made a pledge to the people to get a new bridge built. Have to see if I can get old George on side. His business would go down the drain if the bridge went west.’

The mayor of Crocodile Creek was still wearing his gold medallion, although he’d discarded the rest of his official robes in the wake of the ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches of the afternoon. He seemed to want to repeat his speech, verbatim, to Alex.

‘We might be in the far north and outside the location of what many people consider civilisation, but if you’re unfortunate enough to get sick or injured in these parts, you can be sure of getting the best care that medicine has to offer. Even if it happens when you’re on a tropical island holiday.’

People were starting to move towards their allocated tables. Susie was going with her friends, Mike and Emily and another two couples. It seemed like one of the only tables with an uneven number. Was she here alone? Was she, in fact, single and…available?

Was it too soon to consider taking his jacket off? Did anyone else in this room feel that it was far too warm despite the air-conditioning?

Introductions to his other table companions, George and Sophia Poulos, spelt the end of any chance in the very near future of getting near Susie. Sophia was in transports of delight on discovering his nationality.

‘My boy!’ she cried, reaching up to pat his cheeks. ‘Come. You must sit beside me. Tell me about your village. Your family. You must come to the Athina before you go home. As our guest, of course. Greek food. Greek music. It will be just like home….’

It was alarmingly like home already. Sophia could have been one of his mother’s sisters. Or any woman in his home town. Hellbent on organising his life. Raising his child. Telling him exactly what he should be doing and how he should be feeling.

Well intentioned, of course, but totally suffocating and tiring to control. Claiming independence by moving as far away as he could had been the best thing Alex had ever done. The only way forward.

He could see Sophia now as he led Susie towards the dance floor. The older woman was tugging excitedly on her long-suffering husband’s arm. Pointing in Alex’s direction and talking non-stop. Delivering a verdict, no doubt, on his choice of partner. He could almost hear it. She would lament the fact that Susie was not a ‘nice Greek girl’ but within a breath or two she would be cooing about the beautiful babies that could eventuate.

It was almost enough to take away the pleasure of finally satisfying his desire to touch Susie.

Almost.

As they reached the dance floor, Susie turned and came into his arms. There was a question in her eyes as she looked up and caught his gaze. An expectation. That it was simply curiosity about his ability to dance felt too shallow. The chemistry going on here was far more powerful than that. Alex felt as if he was standing on the edge of an emotional precipice.

Where was the self-control he prided himself on so much in such areas of his life? Sucked into the ether somehow. Non-existent. Gone to the same place as that barrier that should have kept Susie from getting this close. It was too late now. There was no way he could step back.

He didn’t want to. He wanted to dance. To touch this woman and move with her, the music flowing around them. And the moment they started moving, a whole new dimension opened. Susie was either naturally gifted or she had taken more than a few dance classes. The way her body moved was like touching the music he was hearing. As they grew more used to each other, he found it effortless to lead her. To provide the foil to let her interpret the music exactly the way she wanted to. To step and twirl and dip until she was laughing from the sheer joy of it and the hem of her dress was swirling high enough to reveal glimpses of smooth brown thighs.

Dancing was not going to be enough. They could dance until dawn and it still wouldn’t be enough. How soon would this function wind up?

How soon could Alex offer to escort Susie back to her suite?

Why hadn’t it occurred to Susie that Alex would dance as well as everything else he did in his life?

Or how dangerous it had been to accept that invitation?

Dancing was a revelation. It could tell you so much about the person. About their finesse, consideration of others, self-confidence. Even the need to control. It could be an exploration of someone’s personality that could tell you far more than you might consciously recognise.

It was also a potent fuel. Dangerously inflammable. It was probably one of the fastest routes to falling in love ever invented, and Susie was, quite literally, being swept off her feet.

Falling in love with a man who made her feel like no man had ever made her feel.

Beautiful. Talented. Something to be cherished.

Experience had shown her that a man’s talents on the dance floor could be correlated rather closely to his talents in the bedroom. By the end of the evening, hesitating for more than a moment when Alex offered to escort her upstairs required enormous self-control.

She did try a little harder when they reached the door of the penthouse suite.

‘Is someone with Stella? Are they expecting you back?’

‘No.’ Alex was standing very close as Susie fumbled with the room card. ‘She’s staying in the dormitory tonight. They were having an evening of ghost stories and she said she didn’t want to sleep in a room on her own after that. Here, let me do that for you.’

The door swung open but Susie didn’t move. She looked up at Alex.

She didn’t want to sleep in a room on her own, either.

In fact, sleeping wasn’t on any desirable agenda.

For the longest moment, their gazes were locked. Slowly—with infinite care—Alex reached up and brushed a strand of hair from Susie’s cheek. Having completed their task, his fingers hovered for a heartbeat. And then another. And then those fingers went into the hair at the back of Susie’s head. Cradling her skull as he bent and touched his lips to hers.

A brief, gentle kiss. Just enough to make every nerve ending catch fire with a heat that was white hot. His eyes closed for only a second. Susie knew that because her own flew open in response to the intensity of the heat being generated and she found herself looking into black pools like the ones she had seen last night.

Pools she knew it would be easy to fall into.

She wanted to fall. No. She already had.

This was it. A wordless question, and she had no words with which to answer it.

None were needed. Alex saw exactly what she wanted him to see. He took her hand and led her inside the suite, pushing the door softly closed behind them.