Читать книгу In Bed With...Collection - Emma Darcy - Страница 37

SUNNY was not the least bit nervous about introducing Bryce to her family. She was happily looking forward to it as she settled herself to sleep away some of the hours on the long flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. Travelling first class gave her much more leg room to make herself comfortable and the wider seat took away the sense of feeling cramped. She tucked the airline blanket around her, sighed contentedly and closed her eyes.

‘Sweet dreams,’ Bryce murmured indulgently, leaning over from the seat beside her to drop a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled. He made her feel loved. During their whole honeymoon, which Bryce had extended to ten days, he had made her feel loved, and she knew now that she loved him. The words had not been spoken but that didn’t matter. The feeling was there, which meant nothing was missing from their marriage…except a baby…and since she may well have conceived already, Sunny was not going to let that concern weigh on her mind.

She had such good memories to dwell on; action-packed days, touring the rim of the awesome Grand Canyon, cruising Lake Powell, hiking the trails through the breathtaking beauty of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon—well named, her husband had jokingly declared—and absolutely blissful nights, revelling in the sensual pleasures of intimacy.

Her sleep on the plane was deep and untroubled. She awoke with a sense of well-being that stayed with her until the plane circled over Sydney before landing. The view of the harbour, the great Coat-hanger bridge, the gleaming white sails of the opera house, the sparkling blue of the water…it suddenly grabbed her heart and gave it a twist. This was home. What had she done, abandoning it for a host of unknowns?

A rush of strong emotion brought tears to her eyes. She blinked rapidly to drive them back. It was silly to let a familiar view get to her like this. People were more important than places. She had Bryce. And right on that thought, he reached across, took her hand, and gently squeezed it.

‘A touch homesick?’

‘It’s just so beautiful,’ she excused.

‘Yes, it is. One of the most beautiful cities in the world,’ he said warmly. ‘We will be back, many times, Sunny.’

She flashed him a watery smile. ‘It’s okay. I do want to be with you, Bryce.’

He nodded and interlaced his fingers with hers, reinforcing their togetherness. There were times when he seemed ruthlessly intent on not allowing anything to shadow it.

He had arbitrarily dismissed the idea of staying in her Sydney apartment, booking an executive suite at the Regent Hotel for the duration of their visit. Sunny suspected he didn’t care to be anywhere Derek had been, but he argued comfort and the fact that it would complicate her task of clearing everything out and ending the lease. Which was true enough.

She was thankful she and Derek had maintained separate apartments, never actually living together. At least she didn’t have the complication of dividing up possessions. That would have been really messy. They had never swapped door keys, either, which was probably just as well, given their bitter parting. Sunny saw no problems in doing what had to be done today.

Although they had left Los Angeles on Wednesday night, crossing the dateline meant they were arriving in Sydney on Friday morning, and they’d be flying out again on Sunday. A packing company had already been lined up to help her at the apartment. Bryce wanted to spend the day in the Sydney headquarters of Templar Resources and he offered to collect her personal belongings from the office where she had worked.

This, Sunny realised, neatly avoided any unpleasant encounter between her and Derek, so she had agreed to the plan, but she did regret missing the opportunity to say goodbye to the people she had been friendly with. Though they were mostly men who would probably side with Derek, she argued to herself. Since her life was now with Bryce, it seemed wiser to simply stay out of the situation.

The plane landed safely at Mascot Airport. A limousine took them to the Regent Hotel. They had time to freshen up, eat a light second breakfast, and go over their plans for the day in case something had not been thought of. Satisfied that everything was in hand, Bryce left for head office and Sunny took a taxi to her old neighbourhood in the suburb of Drummoyne, only a short trip from the centre of the city.

It was strange, moving around the apartment she had occupied for the past four years, wondering what to do with everything she had collected here. There was no point in taking anything but clothes, photo albums and those personal possessions which were especially dear to her. Having spent the last day before their flight to Sydney at Bryce’s home in Santa Monica, Sunny was only too aware that it wanted for nothing.

Bryce had advised sending her surplus stuff to a charity but she didn’t feel right about that now. It was like irrevocably sweeping out her past—everything that had made up her life before she had gone to Las Vegas. It seemed like saying none of it had any value anymore—all she’d worked for over many years. To just get rid of it because Bryce could provide more and better…it simply didn’t sit well with her.

While she waited for the packing people to arrive, she telephoned her mother, letting her know what was happening and asking if there was anything she would like from the apartment. To Sunny’s intense relief, her mother suggested sending everything to her. It could be stored in the garage and the whole family could pick and choose what they could use.

‘Better we keep it for you,’ her mother added. ‘You never know, dear. You might not be happy living so far away in another country.’

‘Mum, I’m married,’ Sunny protested.

‘Yes, and I’m sure you’re wildly in love. I truly hope this marriage works out wonderfully for you, Sunny, but…it was rather hasty, dear. And he is an American, not…well, not what you’re used to. If sometime in the future you want to come back home…’

‘I’m not thinking like that, Mum.’

‘I understand, dear. I’d just feel better about it if we keep things for you.’

Insurance against some unforeseen future?

Sunny frowned. Did she herself feel that? The idea warred with her sense of commitment, yet…who could really know what the future held? All she knew was that keeping her things did make her feel more comfortable.

‘Okay, Mum. The boxes should arrive this afternoon.’ Her mother and sisters lived at Quakers Hill, on the western outskirts of Sydney, not more than an hour away if the truck went there directly. ‘Will you be home to direct where they’re to be stored?’

‘Yes, I’ll be home. What time can I expect you and Bryce tomorrow?’

‘What time do you want us there?’

‘In time for morning tea. Say ten-thirty? I’m cooking your favourite carrot cake this afternoon.’

‘Thanks, Mum. That’s great! We’ll be there soon after ten.’

‘If you’ve got the time, Sunny, call your sisters, too. They’re dying to chat to you.’

‘I’ll try. ’Bye for now.’

With the storage decision made, Sunny threw herself into sorting out what clothes she should take with her now, and what was to be boxed up and sent to her. As arranged, two men from the packing company turned up at ten o’clock and were amazingly efficient at their job; wrapping breakables, grouping things for easy labelling, even boxing the furniture in thick cardboard so nothing could be damaged.

By one o’clock the apartment was completely cleared. The men even carried the suitcases she’d packed down to her car for her. She drove to the local shopping centre, had a quick lunch, then dropped into the real estate agency which handled the lease of her apartment. After handing in her keys there, arranging for cleaning and settling what was owing, Sunny only had one item left on her business agenda—returning the company car which had been part of her salary package.

It was easy, at this point, to simply follow Bryce’s advice. She returned to the hotel, had her luggage sent up to the suite, and instructed the concierge that the car was to be picked up by the Templar Resources company. Having now completely dismantled her previous life in Sydney, Sunny suddenly felt drained. Jetlag, she told herself, and retired to their suite to sleep it off.

Except sleep eluded her and she remembered she hadn’t yet called her sisters. Or any of her old girlfriends! She started with Alyssa who wanted to hear all about her honeymoon and bubbled on about how marvellous it must be to have a really wealthy husband who could just do what he wanted without counting the cost.

‘Bryce does work, too, you know,’ Sunny said dryly. ‘A CEO doesn’t have a lot of leisure time. This was our honeymoon, Alyssa.’

‘Yes, but let’s face it, Sunny. Derek couldn’t have given you all that. And talking of work, did you know he’d resigned from Templar Resources?’

Sunny frowned over that piece of information. ‘How could I know when I’ve been out of the country? And how do you know, Alyssa?’

‘Nadine found out. She felt sorry for him and called him.’

‘I wish she hadn’t done that.’

‘Well, you were engaged to him for months, Sunny. Your whirlwind marriage to Bryce was a bit of a shock.’

‘Derek spent every spare minute in Las Vegas gambling. Plus time he should have spent at the conference, too. Did he tell Nadine that?’ Sunny demanded sharply, annoyed that her youngest sister had gone behind her back to Derek, instead of waiting for her to come home.

‘Hey! I didn’t do it,’ Alyssa protested. ‘I just thought you might want to know Derek had left your husband’s company. Pride, I guess.’

A niggle of concern made Sunny ask, ‘Has he got a job somewhere else?’

‘He said he was going to work for the opposition. Beat Templar Resources at their own game. He was angry. You can’t exactly blame him.’

Yes, I can, Sunny thought, remembering how he had ignored and neglected her in favour of roulette and blackjack and whatever other games he’d played.

‘After what he did in Vegas, resigning was probably the best move he could make. He was well on the way to inviting being sacked, in my opinion,’ she remarked stonily.

‘That bad, huh?’

‘Yes. I just hope he can stay out of casinos and get his life together again.’

‘You still care for him?’

‘No. Derek killed off any caring when…’ She stopped, shying away from the ugly memory of the confrontation in the MGM lobby. She took a deep breath before firmly stating, ‘I really don’t want to talk about Derek, Alyssa. That’s over.’

‘Okay. That’s fine with me,’ came the quick reply. ‘I’m really looking forward to meeting Bryce tomorrow.’

‘Good. We’ll be at Mum’s about ten. See you then, Alyssa.’

Still vexed over Nadine’s action, Sunny had no inclination whatsoever to call her other sister. Nadine could wait for tomorrow for whatever fuel she wanted for more gossip. She spent a couple of happy hours telephoning her long-time girlfriends, telling them her news, giving them her new address in Santa Monica and promising to keep in touch. The contact lifted her spirits. She wasn’t cut off from her old life. It was simply a matter of making adjustments.

Bryce came back from the office in good spirits, too, pleased with the meeting he’d had with the managing director, and the business being done in this branch of Templar Resources. They had an early dinner and talked over what position Sunny could take on in the Los Angeles office, discussing various exciting options.

All in all, Sunny went to bed that night a happy woman, and her happiness with her new husband was shiningly evident at the family gathering the next day. Bryce’s personal charisma was so powerful, doubts about her hasty marriage were obviously squashed within minutes, wariness switching almost instantly to pleasure in his company. Even her brothers-in-law were impressed, keen to ask Bryce’s opinion on anything and everything.

He was especially good with her sisters’ children, paying kind attention to the toddlers when they demanded it. Sunny was highly gratified that he fitted in as one of the family, though she doubted Bryce was used to sitting in an ordinary middle-class home, nor having the kind of rowdy lunch her family engaged in.

‘Well, he’s certainly something,’ her mother acknowledged, when the four women were in the kitchen cleaning up after a very elaborate and celebratory meal. Her eyes twinkled delighted approval as she gave Sunny a hug.

‘A hunk plus!’ Alyssa agreed, rolling her eyes appreciatively.

‘Yes, I can see why Derek got his nose out of joint when Bryce stopped him from seeing you,’ Nadine dryly commented.

Sunny gave her an exasperated look. ‘Bryce didn’t stop Derek from seeing me. Derek waylaid us and did his nasty best to turn Bryce against me. Which, I’m thankful to say he failed to do.’

Nadine grimaced. ‘I meant the night before when Derek followed your luggage to the MGM Hotel. He wanted to make up with you, and Bryce blocked him out.’

Sunny’s mind whirled, remembering Bryce had left her in the bath, saying he’d been called down to the lobby to deal with an urgent problem. Derek…demanding to see her? Wanting to right the wrongs between them?

What had Bryce said to him?

Was this why Derek had been so virulent the next morning? So virulent, she had agreed to marry Bryce then and there!

‘To be faced with Bryce…’ Nadine went on with a shrug. ‘…poor Derek simply wasn’t a match for him.’

‘No, he’s not,’ Sunny grated. ‘And I wish you’d drop the subject of poor Derek, Nadine. I was running a very poor second to his gambling addiction before I even met Bryce.’

‘Sorry. I just meant…well, I’d choose Bryce, too.’ She grinned to smooth over her gaffe. ‘Who wouldn’t?’

It was a question Sunny kept asking all afternoon—who wouldn’t?—but the sparkle had gone out of the day for her. Bryce hadn’t exactly lied about Derek’s first foray to the MGM Hotel, but he had certainly omitted telling her. She might not have chosen to see Derek that night, but Bryce had clearly removed any choice, ruthlessly removed it, intent on keeping her with him until…until she married him.

Why?

Not out of love for her.

He needed a wife to please his father.

Kristen was demanding too much.

He preferred Sunny…the bargain basement bride!

It was difficult to keep up a facade of happily wedded bliss while this inner torment churned through her, but Sunny managed it. Pride made her keep pretending everything was perfect, though she barely kept her own tears at bay when her mother got teary at their leave-taking. It was an enormous relief when the chauffeured limousine pulled away from her cheerfully waving family and she could relax back in the plushly cushioned seat and close her eyes.

‘Exhausted?’ Bryce asked sympathetically.

‘Yes,’ she muttered, keeping her eyes shut, not wanting to look at him.

As he had in the plane, he took her hand, interlacing their fingers in a possessive grip. Sunny raised her lashes a little to stare down at the linked hands, at the emerald ring glinting up at her. She was married to this man, committed to having a family with him. If she didn’t have his love, at the very least she needed honesty from him.

‘I thought the day went well,’ he commented.

‘Yes, you handled my family brilliantly.’

It was what he’d said of her meeting with his father. He’d probably handled her brilliantly, too, all along, from the moment he decided she should be his wife instead of Kristen.

‘It wasn’t hard. They’re nice people.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’

‘Need some quiet time now?’

‘Yes.’

He said nothing more until they walked into their hotel suite and the door was closed behind them. Sunny was working herself up to confront him with what Nadine had told her when he softly asked, ‘Want to tell me what’s wrong?’

The question hit all the raw places in Sunny’s heart. She swung on him, words shooting out of her mouth in a bitter spurt. ‘What? So you can fix it, Bryce?’ Her eyes hotly accused as her tongue ran on. ‘You’re very good at that, aren’t you? Fixing things to be how you want them.’

‘And you, Sunny,’ he said in a calm, quiet tone. ‘I care very much about how you want them, too.’

‘You have no right to decide that for me, Bryce,’ she retorted fiercely, inflamed by his air of unshakeable control.

He lifted his hands in appeal. ‘What have I decided without discussing it with you?’

‘Derek! You stopped him from seeing me and didn’t even tell me he’d come to try for a reconciliation.’

His face visibly tightened. The green eyes flared with violent feeling. ‘You throw him up at me? A man who knew you so little he could abuse you in terms that I knew were false on just one day’s acquaintance with you?’

‘How do I know you didn’t give him reason to think those things, Bryce? To get rid of him so you’d have a clear running track for what you wanted.’

‘Your relationship with him was finished.’ He hurled an arm out in savage dismissal. ‘You acted on that. Why wouldn’t I act on it?’

‘He came to see me. Not you. You had no right to…’

‘You gave me the right by being in my suite, my bath…’ His eyes glittered with angry possessiveness as they raked her up and down. ‘…my bed!’

Sunny clenched her hands, fighting the sexual power he projected. ‘You didn’t own me, Bryce.’

‘You were with me,’ he asserted, his eyes burning that undeniable truth straight through her defences. ‘Why would I let a drunken fool whom you had rejected, violate the intimacy you were sharing with me?’

Her mind spun on one point she hadn’t known. ‘He was drunk?’

‘And creating trouble.’

‘Trouble because you wouldn’t let him see me,’ she shot at him, determined not to get distracted from the main issue here.

‘He had lost the right to demand anything of you, Sunny.’

The mention of rights exploded any gain he’d made with his picture of a drunken Derek. She stormed around the suite, putting distance between them, seething at his arrogance in making that judgment. Which he’d clearly made to suit his purpose.

Never mind that she’d been hurt by her belief that Derek seemingly hadn’t even noticed her absence that night. Bryce hadn’t cared about her feelings, except in so far as making them more positive towards him. She swung around to accuse him of it, noting he hadn’t moved. He stood tautly watching her, channelling all his energy into working out how to achieve his ends this time.

‘The truth is…you weren’t going to give him any second chance, were you, Bryce?’

‘He’d had his chance with you and blew it,’ he grated.

‘That was for me to decide.’

She saw him gather himself, shoulders straightening, his formidable chest lifting, strength of mind emanating powerfully from him as he stepped towards her, his gaze holding hers with mesmerising intensity.

‘What are you telling me, Sunny? You would have had him back?’

It was a pertinent question, challenging where she stood as he closed on her. Sunny’s chin lifted defiantly. Just because she had married him didn’t mean she would overlook how he had dealt with possible opposition.

‘I’ll never know now, will I?’ she flung at him. ‘I didn’t hear what he had to say.’

Bryce kept coming, relentlessly determined on his will prevailing. ‘You heard him the next morning,’ he pointedly reminded her.

‘Yes, I heard him.’ Her heart was pounding. He was so big, so indomitable, and one perverse side of her liked the fact he wouldn’t be beaten. Yet he shouldn’t have taken her choice out of her hands. ‘And I wonder now what you said to him the night before.’

‘I told him we were negotiating a new position for you in Los Angeles and I didn’t care to have our discussion interrupted,’ came the imperturbable reply.

‘Did he fight that?’ she instantly queried, knowing she would have fought, as she was fighting now for integrity in her relationship with Bryce.

‘Yes.’ Contempt flashed into his eyes. ‘He lied, claiming you were his fiancée, which I knew you no longer were. I faced him with the lie and told him you were free to contact him at any time…if you wanted to.’ His hands curled around her upper arms, pressing his truth. ‘But you didn’t want to, Sunny. You wanted to be with me.’

‘I thought there was nothing left with Derek,’ she argued, resenting the way he was boxing her into a corner.

‘He’s not worth the candle you’re burning for him, and you know it,’ he insisted. ‘You liked what you had with me. You wanted it.’

Her eyes warred with the blazing certainty in his, yet she couldn’t deny the wanton desire he stirred in her. ‘What I’ve learnt from this, Bryce, is that you play to win,’ she bit out angrily. ‘Whatever it takes, you play to win.’

‘You’re right. I do play to win,’ he conceded with ruthless intent. One hand slid up and tangled in her hair at the nape of her neck. ‘That’s the kind of man you married, Sunny.’

She couldn’t bring herself to move or even protest. Her mind screamed it was wrong to feel excited by the electric energy swirling from him, yet her whole body was tingling, and when he spoke again, his voice seemed to throb through her bloodstream.

‘I wanted you as my wife. I got you as my wife. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep you as my wife.’

Then he kissed her.