Читать книгу The Australian Affairs Collection - Margaret Way - Страница 28
ОглавлениеJESS’S HOME WAS bigger than Ben had expected, a two-storeyed, family-sized house in blond brick, with the biggest shed that Ben had ever seen sitting in a nearby paddock. A workshop, obviously, plus garaging for the hire cars. Two of the three massive roller doors were open and Ben could glimpse several cars within. The land around the house was bigger than he’d expected too, at least five acres. It was a lovely looking property with well-tended gardens, rolling lawns and enough trees to give privacy and shade.
Jess drove her SUV off the driveway onto a large square of gravel by the side of the house, the clock on her dash showing five to four as Ben climbed out. Jess had explained on the way that the barbecue wouldn’t start till five-ish, so they had some time before her brothers and their families descended upon them.
‘What a lovely place,’ he said straight away.
Jess smiled. ‘We like it. Mum will be in the kitchen, preparing the salads. You can meet her first. This way…’
‘I presume that’s the office,’ he said as he walked past a converted double garage which had sliding glass doors at the front with ‘Murphy’s Hire Car’ in big, black letters engraved on it.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That’s mostly Mum’s domain. I help out when Mum’s shopping or plays bowls or just needs a break. Mum, we’re here,’ Jess called out as she opened the front door.
A woman appeared at the end of the hallway, light behind her forming the silhouette of someone much shorter than Jess, and somewhat plumper.
‘Goodness, but you made good time. I didn’t expect you till four-thirty at least.’
When she came forward, Ben saw her more clearly. She looked nothing like Jess, being short, with ash-blonde hair and blue eyes. Attractive for her age, though.
‘Hello, there,’ she said, smiling as she looked him up and down. ‘You must be Ben.’
‘And you must be Mrs Murphy,’ he replied, stepping forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Lovely to meet you.’
Jess could not believe the look on her mother’s face. It was the kind of look you saw on the face of a female fan of a rock star. Truly!
‘Oh, don’t call me that.’ Her mother fairly simpered at him. ‘Call me Ruth.’
Jess gained some satisfaction in the thought that he wouldn’t charm her father so easily. Joe Murphy was a tough nut to crack. He wasn’t going to be impressed by a New Yorker who’d never had dirt under his fingernails in his life.
‘In that case, Ruth,’ Ben said, flashing those brilliant white teeth of his, ‘would you kindly point me to the nearest bathroom?’
Her mother didn’t point. She escorted Ben herself to the small powder room next to the family room, leaving Jess standing there in the hallway like some shag on a rock.
Jess sighed, then trudged upstairs to use the toilet in the main bathroom. By the time she made it downstairs, Ben was ensconced on one of the kitchen stools, chatting away happily to her mother whilst she worked on the various salads.
‘That’s a terrific new name Ben’s come up with for Fab Fashions, isn’t it?’ she directed at Jess as she joined them.
‘Fantastic,’ Jess agreed, at which Ben slanted her a narrow-eyed glance. Had he heard the slight sarcasm in her voice?
‘You might get your job back there soon,’ Ruth rattled on.
‘You never know, Mum. I presume Dad’s in the shed working on that blue Cadillac?’
‘Yes, the seats finally came yesterday. He’s been working on them all day.’
‘I think I should take Ben out to meet Dad before the others get here, don’t you?’
‘Oh, but I just put the kettle on for a cup of tea. Ben says he likes tea more than coffee. Same as me.’
‘We won’t be long, Mum,’ she said, then gave Ben a look which brooked no protest.
He slid off the stool and followed her back down the hallway and out of the front door.
‘You are bossy and controlling,’ he said as she marched in the direction of the shed with him in her wake.
‘And you’re a serial charmer,’ she snapped.
He laughed. ‘Better than being a serial killer.’
‘I suggest you curtail that silver tongue of yours with my sisters-in-law. The Murphy men are known to be extremely jealous.’
‘What about the Murphy women?’ he threw at her.
‘Them too. So watch yourself.’
‘I like your being jealous.’
‘Of course you do. It suits your male ego, which is insufferably large.’
‘So will something else be if you keep that up. I get turned on by feisty women.’
She gave up at that point, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat.
She was glad that her father chose that moment to walk out of the shed, wiping his hands on a towel as he did so.
‘I thought I heard someone,’ he said, coming forward. ‘You must be Ben,’ he said, and held out his hand.
Ben shook it, thinking that this was where Jess got her striking looks. Joe Murphy was one handsome fellow, with thick black hair sprinkled liberally with grey and the deepest, darkest brown eyes, which at that moment were surveying him with considerable thoughtfulness.
‘So, how did your weekend go?’ he asked Ben, not Jess. ‘The wedding go off okay in the end?’
‘It was close to perfect,’ Ben said. ‘Jess here was marvellous, the way she stepped in. You heard about what happened, did you?’
‘Oh yes, Ruth told me all about it. Look, I just have to finish a job here and I’ll be over to clean up and get the barbecue ready. You ever cook on a barbecue, Ben?’
‘Lots of times,’ he said. ‘I was brought up here in Australia.’
‘No kidding; I didn’t know that. So that’s how your best friend turned out to be Australian.’
‘Yep,’ Ben said, sounding more Ocker by the minute. ‘We went to school together in Sydney.’
‘Fancy that.’
‘So, what’s this job you’re doing, Mr Murphy? Can I help?’
‘I doubt it. I’m just putting some new seats into an old Cadillac convertible I bought. The kids like to hire cars like that for their graduation night.’
‘My dad collected vintage cars at one stage. Which model Cadillac is it?’
Jess could not believe it when they went off together, talking cars. Spluttering, she whirled and stormed back to the house, only just managing to have her exasperation under control by the time she reached the kitchen.
‘Where’s Ben?’ her mother asked straight away.
‘Helping Dad with the Cadillac, would you believe? I’ll have tea, though, if you’re making it.’
‘Can you get it yourself, dear? I really need to go spruce myself up a bit. I can’t wear this old thing when we have a guest like Ben.’
‘He’s just a man, Mum, not some movie star.’
‘Well, he looks like a movie star. I know you said he was handsome, Jess, but he’s beyond handsome, with that smile and those eyes. I’ve never met a man quite like him. I dare say you haven’t either. He makes Colin look very ordinary. And I thought he was good-looking.’
When Jess sighed, her mother gave her a sharp look.
‘Did something happen with Ben over the weekend that I should know about?’
Jess kept a straight face with difficulty. ‘Like what?’
‘You know what, girlie.’
‘I think, Mum, that my sex life is my private business, don’t you?’
Her mother looked at her for a long moment before smiling an understanding smile. ‘Of course it is. You’re a grown woman. But let me just say that I don’t blame you, love. If I were thirty years younger I would have done exactly the same thing.’
Jess stared after her mother as she walked off. She’d been expecting the third degree, or disapproval, or something! She certainly hadn’t expected her mother’s reaction to Ben to be so blindly approving. Couldn’t she see that her daughter’s leaping into bed with such a man was fraught with danger to her happiness? She should have been warning her off him, not saying she would have done exactly the same thing!
Jess sighed. The man was a devil all right. With way too much sex appeal. And way too much charm. Even her father liked him. No doubt her whole family would fall under his spell in no time flat.
Still, if they did, she would at least be able to relax a bit and enjoy the barbecue instead of being on tenterhooks all the time. This last weekend might have been exciting but it hadn’t exactly been relaxing!
