Читать книгу Taken by the Millionaire: Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded - Kate Hardy - Страница 13

ON SUNDAY, Alex drove Isobel to the little market town in the Cotswolds where they’d grown up. They’d arranged to meet their parents at the local hotel, along with Alex’s sister Saskia and her husband Bryn and baby Flora. Alex’s twin sisters, Helen and Polly, were both away for the weekend, but he’d said wryly that their parents wouldn’t wait any longer for them to turn up as an engaged couple—if they didn’t go to the Cotswolds, their families would come straight to London and besiege the flat.

The second they walked into the dining room, their respective mothers spotted them and started waving. And it was a good ten minutes before the hugs and the congratulations and the official inspection of the engagement ring were over.

‘What a welcome,’ Isobel said, smiling as she sat down.

‘Well, of course! This is a celebration. It’s not every day my daughter gets engaged.’ Stuart made what was clearly a pre-arranged signal to the waiter, who immediately brought over champagne.

‘Getting engaged to the boy next door after all these years. It’s so romantic,’ Marcia said, smiling at them.

Saskia rolled her eyes. ‘This is Alex we’re talking about, Mum. Your son doesn’t do romance.’

‘Of course I do,’ Alex protested.

No, he didn’t, Isobel thought. But they were meant to be putting on a show for their parents, so she didn’t correct him.

He nudged her. ‘Bel, tell them how we got engaged.’

She smiled. ‘He hijacked my talk on Roman beauty—came strutting up in a toga, told everyone all about betrothal customs, and then put the ring on my finger.’

‘You got engaged in the museum?’ Anna asked.

‘It was romantic,’ Alex protested.

‘That’s so you, Alex,’ Marcia said ruefully.

‘And so Isobel, too,’ Anna added, laughing. ‘You’ve got a rival for my daughter’s affections in her job, you know, Alex.’

He laughed. ‘You could say the same about me. But we’ll put each other first, won’t we, Bel?’

‘Of course,’ she chipped in.

‘So you bought her a Roman betrothal ring and you had a Roman engagement.’ Saskia raised an eyebrow. ‘Does this mean you’re going to have a Roman wedding, too?’

Isobel groaned. ‘Don’t encourage him, Saskia.’

‘No. It’ll be an ordinary civil wedding,’ Alex said. ‘Close family only. As in you lot plus Helen and Polly and their husbands and the boys.’

‘Well, congratulations,’ Stuart said, raising his glass. ‘And welcome to the family, Alex.’

‘Thank you,’ Alex said, smiling.

‘Welcome to the family, Bel,’ Tom echoed, raising his own glass. ‘We’ve always thought of you as family anyway, but it’s good to make you officially one of us.’

Isobel swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Thank you. I think I’m going to cry.’

‘No, you’re not.’ Alex, who’d made sure he was sitting next to her, scooped her onto his lap and wrapped his arms round her waist, holding her close.

‘So have you set a date or anything?’ Saskia asked.

‘No,’ Alex admitted, ‘but as we’ve known each other for years, there’s not much point in having a long engagement. As it’s a small wedding, it won’t take long to organise—so are you all busy in three weeks’ time?’

Isobel almost choked on her champagne. ‘Alex, I can’t possibly organise a wedding in three weeks!’

‘But I can,’ he said. ‘I’m twiddling my thumbs for the next month until I start my new job. Three weeks to the wedding, a week’s honeymoon—and this will give me something to do in the meantime and keep me out of mischief.’ He smiled. ‘Actually, it’ll be fun.’

‘Why does that set all the alarm bells ringing in the back of my head?’ Isobel asked.

‘Because you know what my brother’s like,’ Saskia said. ‘He could be planning anything.’

‘Alex, maybe we’d better wait until you’ve been in your job for a few months,’ Isobel suggested. And it would buy her some time, too. So she could find the right moment to tell him about what had happened with Gary. Explain about the miscarriages. She was marrying him under false pretences as it was. She couldn’t do it under double false pretences.

‘No, he’s got a point,’ Anna said, surprising Isobel. ‘You’ve known each other for years. Why wait? And a summer wedding will be lovely.’

‘I think so, too,’ Marcia said. ‘Don’t worry that he’s going to go over the top, Bel. We’ll keep him under control—won’t we, Anna?’

‘Absolutely,’ Anna said. ‘I foresee daily phone calls and updates.’

‘I’ll text you,’ Alex said, laughing at the horrified look on his mother’s face.

Saskia dug him in the ribs. ‘Don’t be mean. You know Mum hardly ever switches her mobile phone on and gets in a knot over texting.’

‘All right, all right. Daily updates. In a phone call,’ Alex promised.

‘I think we need a toast,’ Marcia said, beaming. ‘To Isobel and Alex. And may they have a very long, very happy married life.’

‘Isobel and Alex,’ everyone echoed.

Alex bent his head to whisper in Isobel’s ear, ‘Stop worrying. It’s all going to be fine.’

‘No snogging at the table, you two,’ Saskia directed. ‘Let the poor girl go back to her seat, Alex. It’s lunchtime. Flora’s been really patient but if we don’t feed her in the next ten seconds she’s going to start screaming.’

‘Just like her mother,’ Bryn said.

Alex laughed. ‘You can say that again.’ He lifted Isobel’s hand, kissed her palm and folded her fingers over the place he’d just kissed. ‘As my little sister’s being bossy …’

‘Yes, dear.’ Isobel fluttered her eyelashes at him, laughed and slid off his lap to reclaim her seat.

It was the perfect lunch. Everyone was laughing and talking and smiling, and Isobel’s heart gave a funny little throb as she thought how much she loved all the people there.

Including Alex.

But Alex didn’t feel the same way about her. If she wasn’t very, very careful, she was going to get her heart broken all over again. And this time she wouldn’t be able to put the pieces back together.

Isobel was really quiet on the way home, Alex noticed.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

‘Yes, of course.’

But her smile was fixed rather than genuine. He reached across to take her hand and squeeze it. ‘No, you’re not. What is it? The wedding?’

She sighed. ‘Yes.’

‘Going to tell me about it?’

‘I’ve been married before,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve done the church and the partying and it all went wrong.’

‘Because you trusted in love,’ he said. ‘This time, we’re going for something that lasts—we like each other and we get on well, so it’ll work. And I can guarantee this wedding’s not going to be anything like your first one.’ He slid her a wicked look. ‘For a start, the groom will be wearing an Akubra.’

‘You’re kidding!’

Oh, he loved this. She was so easy to tease. ‘You don’t want me to wear my Hunter stuff? OK. We’ll make it a Roman do and I’ll sweet-talk Rita into lending me that toga again.’

‘Alex …’

He could hear in her voice that he’d just pushed her over the edge into worrying again. ‘I was teasing, Bel. As our mothers are both keeping an eye on me, I can’t do anything too outrageous, can I?’

‘I suppose not,’ she admitted. ‘Though I’d be happier if you actually planned it with me.’

‘Bel, you’re up to your eyes at work. The last thing you need when you get home is to have to go through all the hassle of choosing this and booking that and seeing if there’s an alternative if we can’t have our first choice.’ He rubbed the pad of his thumb across the backs of her fingers. ‘Whereas I’m not officially at work for another month. I don’t have anything pressing to do, so it makes sense for me to be the one making the arrangements and chasing things up. And, actually, I’d get a huge kick out of giving you a surprise wedding. A day to remember for all the right reasons.’

She swallowed hard. ‘Alex, I really need to talk to you about something.’

‘Bel, it’s going to be fine,’ he said softly. ‘I’m not going to plan anything you’ll hate. Just trust me.’

‘I do trust you. It’s not that. It’s …’ She sighed. ‘Now isn’t the right place. But there’s something you ought to know. About me.’

‘Your divorce never came through properly?’

She shook her head. ‘No, that’s sorted. Gary made sure of that when his—’ for a moment, her voice cracked ‘—when his partner became pregnant.’

‘So there’s no legal bar to us getting married. Good. So do you want a church wedding or a civil wedding?’

‘I’m divorced,’ she reminded him. ‘I can’t marry in church.’

‘You could still have a blessing, if you want one.’

‘Civil’s fine. And something quiet, Alex. Not a media circus.’

‘It won’t be a media circus,’ he promised. ‘So the mums and Saskia are coming to help you find a wedding dress, next weekend?’

‘Yes.’ She dragged in a breath. ‘But this is all happening so fast.’

‘Relax. We have three weeks. And whatever I say about loathing admin, I’m actually quite good at organising things. I’m not going to skimp any of the little details—or anything major, come to that.’ He gave her a sidelong look. ‘So I take it you’re not going for the meringue dress?’

‘Been there, done that.’

‘That’s a no, then.’ He paused. ‘Tell you what would look good. A little shift dress—you know, like the one Audrey Hepburn wears in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’

‘A black wedding dress?’

‘No.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I was talking shape, not colour. White would be good, because it would go with your flame-coloured veil.’

‘What flame-coloured …’ She groaned. ‘Oh, no. Saskia put the idea in your head. We’re not having a Roman wedding and I’m not wearing a flame-coloured veil.’

He pursed his lips. ‘It’d look stunning in the photographs.’

‘Alex!’

He laughed. ‘All right, all right. I’ll leave the dress up to you. But just remember the mums and my sister will all be sworn to absolute secrecy about the finer details, so when you go shopping there’s no point in even asking them what I’m planning.’

‘You’re impossible.’

‘If what I have in mind is doable, you’re going to enjoy it, I promise you that much.’

She was silent for a while, and he was aware of her fidgeting next to him.

‘All right. What now?’

‘Nothing.’

He sighed. ‘Bel, don’t pull that girly stuff on me. What’s the matter?’

‘Are you at least going to tell me where we’re going on holiday?’

He noted her choice of word: holiday, not honeymoon. Good. So she wasn’t about to go sentimental on him. ‘Nope.’

‘So how do I know what to pack? Or if I need any vaccinations?’

‘You don’t need any vaccinations—and we’re not going anywhere that involves mosquitoes or even the tiniest possibility of malaria. As for packing … wear what you want.’

She sighed. ‘Will you at least tell me if it’s going to be cold or hot?’

‘Better than that. I’ll pack for you.’

She growled in frustration. ‘I hate you.’

‘No, you don’t. Just humour me, Bel. I want to do something nice for you—and I like giving surprises.’

‘I don’t like receiving surprises.’

‘Because you’re a control freak,’ he teased.

‘I’m not. You’re a steamroller.’

‘Insulting me isn’t going to make any difference. I’m still not going to tell you anything.’ He chuckled. ‘Though you could try seducing it out of me.’

‘Maybe I’ll do a Lysistrata on you,’ she fenced.

He got the reference to the ancient Greek play immediately. ‘Go on a sex strike? You can try, honey.’ His luck was in, because there was a lay-by ahead. He signalled, parked the car, then removed his seat belt. ‘But that’s not going to work.’

‘Oh, really?’ She lifted her chin at the challenge.

‘Really. Let me show you why.’ He undid her seat belt, yanked her into his arms, and kissed her. Teasing, nibbling kisses along her lower lip until she gave in and opened her mouth, letting him deepen the kiss. He slid one hand underneath her top, stroking her skin in the way he knew she liked; she slid her arms round his neck and drew him closer.

He moved one hand up to cup her breast, rubbing the pad of his thumb against her hardening nipple through the lace of her bra, then broke the kiss.

‘That,’ he said softly, ‘is why a sex strike wouldn’t work. Because it’s good between us, and your body knows it. Right now, your nipples are hard, just as right now I’m hard for you and I really, really want to be inside you.’

Her cheeks flamed. ‘So you’re saying I’m easy?’

‘No. Just that it’s good between us.’ He stroked her face. ‘And if it makes you feel any better, I’m not going to be very comfortable while I’m driving us home. Right now, I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to carry you out of the car, lay you down on the nice soft grass and wrap your legs round my waist.’

She shivered, and he knew she wanted it, too.

‘But as having sex in public could get us arrested, I’ll go for option two.’

‘Which is?’

‘To drive home as fast as possible without getting a speeding fine. And then I’m going to take all your clothes off. And then …’ He gave her a wicked grin. ‘Then I’m going to make you beg.’

She scoffed. ‘In your dreams, big boy.’

He kissed her again. ‘No, honey. In ours.’