Читать книгу Australian Affairs: Taken: Taken Over by the Billionaire / An Unlikely Bride for the Billionaire / Hired by the Brooding Billionaire - Miranda Lee - Страница 16

CHAPTER NINE

ANDY’S PARENTS WERE as lovely as their home. Jess had been half-expecting that they would be snobbish, since they were wealthy and owned a winery. But they were anything but. Whilst obviously well-educated and well-spoken, both of them were very down to earth and welcoming, insisting immediately upon introduction that she call them Glen and Heather.

Afternoon tea had been set up in the main living room which had French doors leading out onto the veranda. Heather explained that it was a little too breezy today to have it out there, a wind having sprung up seemingly out of nowhere.

Jess had just finished her cup of tea and was popping a second delicious mini muffin into her mouth when a nearby phone rang. Not the ring tone of a mobile. The unmistakable sound of a landline.

‘Do excuse me,’ Heather said, moving over to a long sofa table which rested against the wall and on which sat a phone, along with some very nice pieces of pottery.

Jess tried not to listen but it was impossible once she heard Heather make a sound which was halfway between a gasp and a groan.

‘Oh, my dear, that’s most unfortunate,’ she said to whoever she was talking to. ‘So what are you going to do? Yes, yes, I’ll get Andy for you right away.’

Andy’s attention must already have been grabbed because he jumped up immediately and rushed to take the phone from his mother. It didn’t take Einstein to realise he was talking to his fiancée and that something had gone wrong. Heather, thank God, quickly enlightened the rest of them.

‘Catherine’s matron of honour has been rushed to hospital with a threatened miscarriage. Anyway, she’s okay, but she has to stay in bed for at least a week and can’t be at the wedding tomorrow. She’s naturally very upset. Catherine is too. I suppose she’ll just have to move the other bridesmaid up to be opposite you, Ben. It means it will be a very small bridal party, but what else can she do?’

Murphy’s Law had struck, was Jess’s immediate thought. And cruelly. She felt terribly sorry for them all, but especially the bride.

‘She could always put Jess in her place,’ Ben suddenly suggested.

Jess threw him a horrified look. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Ben. Andy’s fiancée doesn’t even know me.’

‘In that case, we’ll take you over to her place and she can meet you,’ he said in his usual taking over fashion. ‘She only lives next door. It’s not an ideal solution, Heather,’ he said, turning his attention to Andy’s mother, ‘but it is a solution.’

‘Well, yes, I…I suppose so,’ Heather said before Jess could object again. ‘It would also make Krissie feel better. She thinks she’s spoiled her best friend’s wedding. Not to mention the wedding photos. Catherine was only having the two bridesmaids and now she’s down to one.’

‘It’s a perfectly sensible solution,’ Glen said with typical male pragmatism. ‘Andy!’ he called out. ‘Ben here said Jess would be willing to take Krissie’s place, if it’s all right with Catherine.’

Jess held her breath whilst Andy explained Ben’s suggestion to his bride.

‘She’s Ben’s new girlfriend,’ Andy went on when he was obviously asked for further explanation. ‘Her name is Jess. They only met recently. Over some business deal in Sydney. Anyway, Ben got his rental car totalled by some drunk and Jess offered to drive him out here… She’ll look great in the wedding photos.’

Jess cringed, not sure now if she wanted the bride to say yay or nay. Still, it wasn’t as though she wouldn’t have been at the wedding anyway. And if it made everyone a bit happier… After all, weddings were supposed to be happy occasions.

Andy turned to face Jess. ‘She says thanks heaps for the offer. Says you’ve really saved the day, but she would still have to see you asap. Something about whether the dress would fit you or not. It might need altering. Krissie was pregnant, after all.’

‘Fine,’ Ben said, standing up. ‘Tell Catherine we’ll be over straight away.’

After Andy relayed Ben’s message, he shot his friend a droll look. ‘She says I’m not allowed to come. Something about my not being allowed to see any of the dresses before the big day.’ He rolled his eyes and placed his hand over the phone. ‘Women! Truly.’

‘No sweat, Andy. Tell Catherine we’re on our way.’ Taking Jess’s hand, Ben pulled her to her feet, made his excuses to an understanding Glen and Heather, then steered Jess from the room.

‘Make sure you’re back for tonight, Ben,’ Andy threw after them.

‘Will do,’ Ben threw back.

Jess resisted resorting to belated objections on the way out. What was done was done.

‘Don’t be angry with me,’ Ben said as they climbed into their respective seats in the SUV.

‘I’m not,’ Jess said with a somewhat resigned sigh, then started the engine. ‘But it might be an idea if you didn’t always presume I would do whatever you wanted. A girl likes to be consulted first.’

He seemed startled by her stand. Clearly, he was used to women kow-towing to him all the time.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I was just trying to fix things for Andy.’

‘Yes, I know that. That’s why I’m not angry.’

‘Good. But I will try to be more thoughtful in future. Right, you just turn left when we hit the main road and it’s the next driveway along. Catherine’s parents own a horse stud. Racehorses.’

‘So they’re rich too?’

‘Not as rich as Andy’s folks. But, yes, they’re well off.’

‘Do you have any poor friends?’

Ben hesitated before answering.

‘Not many,’ he said.

‘I thought not,’ she said drily. Rich people mixed with rich people. She was the odd one out here.

‘There’s the driveway,’ he said, pointing.

This one was more impressive than Andy’s driveway, with a huge, black iron archway connecting the tall brick gateposts with the name ‘Winning Post Stud’ outlined in red. The road itself—which was concreted rather than tarred—was lined with white-painted wooden fences behind which grazed the most beautiful horses Jess had ever seen, some of them with foals at foot. She wasn’t a horse person herself but her father liked a flutter on the races and she always had a bet on the Melbourne Cup every year. Often won too, which piqued her dad considerably, since she knew next to nothing about form. Mostly she just picked names that she liked.

The house itself was similar in style to Heather and Glen’s but genuinely old, made of stone rather than wood. It was also two-storeyed with iron lacework on the verandas and lots of chimneys.

Jess parked outside the large shed behind the house.

‘Before we go in, exactly what did you tell Andy about me?’

‘I said you were a marketing consultant I’d met connected with Fab Fashions. But I did let him think we’d met a week or so back, not this morning.’

His reminding her that they’d just met today startled Jess. It underlined just how far they’d come in a few short hours. She should have been more shocked, she supposed. But she was beyond shock. When she shook her head in a type of confusion, he leant over and brushed his lips over hers.

‘Don’t stress the small stuff, Jess,’ he murmured against her quivering mouth. ‘Just go with the flow.’

When his head lifted she blinked up at him. He wasn’t a flow, she realised. He was a raging current which threatened to carry her out to sea and leave her there, like so much flotsam.

‘Ah, here’s Catherine, and presumably the other bridesmaid, come to meet us,’ Ben said and reached for the door handle.

With an effort, Jess pulled herself together.

Catherine turned out to be a right sweetie. Late twenties, Jess guessed. Above-average height, with an athletic figure and blonde hair. Possibly not a natural blonde, but it suited her. She was very attractive with blue eyes and a warm, friendly manner. Nothing bitchy or snobby about her at all. Jess didn’t like her bridesmaid nearly as much, perhaps because she made eyes at Ben from the moment she made an appearance. Her name was Leanne and she and Catherine had gone to boarding school together at some college in Bathurst, along with Krissie, who was the only one of the three friends who’d married so far.

‘The teachers at school called us “the unholy trinity”,’ Catherine said, smiling.

‘We were a bit naughty,’ Leanne trilled.

‘I can’t believe that,’ Ben said, annoying Jess with his flirtatious tone. If he was trying to make her jealous, then he was being successful!

After a little more idle chit-chat, Jess and Ben were led inside the house, where they refused offers of another afternoon tea from Catherine’s harried-looking mother. Her name was Joan, a handsome woman, but way too thin, with anxious eyes.

‘We just had afternoon tea at Andy’s place,’ Ben explained.

‘I see,’ she muttered, then gave Jess a frowning once-over. ‘You’re a lovely looking girl, dear, but I don’t think you’re going to fit into Krissie’s dress.’

‘I don’t think so either,’ Catherine agreed. ‘Luckily, she’s about the same height as Krissie, but I’d say she’s a good size smaller. Krissie’s put on some weight since getting pregnant. But no worries, Mum. At least she’s not too big. There’s nothing Doris could do to make the dress bigger, but making it smaller is not so much of a problem.

‘Doris is a lady in Mudgee who does alterations for Mum and me,’ she explained to Ben and Jess. ‘I’ll give her a call once I know what needs to be done. Meanwhile, we should go upstairs and try the dress on post haste. Then I’ll ring her. No, no, you stay down here, Ben,’ Catherine added when he went to follow them. ‘You’re not allowed to see the dresses either. You might tell Andy about them and that’s bad luck. Mum, take Ben into the living room and put the TV on.’

It rather amused Jess to see the look on Ben’s face. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being told what to do, especially by women. Most of them probably said yes to him all the time. Jess realised it would do Ben good if she rejected him tomorrow night. But she couldn’t see that happening. She would kick herself if she let him go back to America without spending at least one night with him.

Not knowing what it would have been like would haunt her for ever!

‘Don’t worry,’ Catherine said in a conspiratorial whisper as she led Jess up a large, curving staircase, a reluctant Leanne in their wake. ‘He won’t go anywhere whilst we’re gone.’

Jess laughed. ‘Well, he can’t, can he? He can’t drive.’

‘Gosh, that must be hard for him. I know Andy would die if he couldn’t drive. Is Ben badly hurt?’

‘Only his ego,’ Jess replied.

‘He’s very sweet,’ Leanne defended from behind them. ‘And very rich.’

‘Is he?’ Jess said casually.

‘You said his dad was a billionaire, didn’t you, Catherine?’

‘That’s what Andy told me,’ Catherine confirmed.

Jess shrugged. ‘Well, that’s his dad, not him.’

‘But he’s an only child,’ Leanne persisted as Catherine led Jess into her bedroom, which was huge.

‘I’m not interested in Ben for his money,’ she said a bit sharply.

‘Are you serious about each other?’ Catherine asked.

‘We’ve only just met, but we like each other a lot I think…’ Jess replied. She didn’t want anyone thinking she was that easy. She didn’t like thinking she was going to be that easy.

Catherine smiled over her shoulder. ‘Well, let’s get this dress on and see what has to be done.’

The dress was pale-pink chiffon lined with satin, strapless in style with a seam straight under the bust from which the skirt fell in feminine folds to the floor. It was a sweet dress—not Jess’s usual style, but surprisingly it looked good on her, the pale pink suiting her strong colouring. It was not a colour she ever chose for herself, thinking she needed bolder colours.

The dress was too large in the bust line, however. The bodice was just too wide. It needed to be taken in at the side seams which would be a time-consuming job; both the chiffon and the lining would have to be carefully unpicked before being resewn. Thankfully, it was the right length, Krissie obviously being of a similar height to Jess. And, whilst the matching shoes were half a size too large, it was better than them being too small.

Catherine tipped her head to one side as she looked Jess over. ‘It actually looks better on you than it did on Krissie. But I won’t be telling her that,’ she added with a quick smile. ‘She feels bad enough as it is. Anyway, I’ll just give Doris a call. She altered my wedding dress for me a couple of weeks ago when I lost weight. I’m sure she won’t mind, since it’s an emergency.’

But as it turned out Doris was in Melbourne visiting her sister.

Murphy’s Law at work again, Jess thought silently as she took off the dress and put her own clothes back on again. But at least she could do something about the dismay which had already entered the bride-to-be’s face.

‘It’ll be all right, Catherine,’ she said soothingly. ‘I can fix the dress. I know exactly what to do. And, before you ask, I have my trusty sewing machine sitting in the back of my four-wheel drive.’

Both Catherine and Leanne gaped at her.

‘But…but…’ Catherine stammered, not looking too certain about Jess’s offer.

Jess smiled reassuringly. ‘You don’t have to worry. I’m a very experienced dressmaker. It was my profession before I went into marketing,’ she added, backing up Ben’s little white lie. ‘I made this jacket myself, you know, and I think it’s a pretty good design.’

‘You can say that again!’ Catherine exclaimed. ‘I’ve been envying it ever since you arrived.’

‘Me too,’ Leanne gushed. ‘Floral jackets are very in this spring.’

‘But tell me something, Jess,’ Catherine said, looking puzzled. ‘Do you always travel around with your sewing machine?’

Jess realised immediately she could hardly say that, until fate had stepped in and changed everything, she’d been going to do some sewing whilst she was stuck in a motel room for most of the weekend.

‘Lord, no,’ she said, laughing. ‘I simply forgot to take it out of the car after I did some sewing at a girlfriend’s place last weekend. How lucky is that?’ As little white lies went, it wasn’t too bad, except that it made Jess realise she didn’t have girlfriends the way Catherine did. When she’d left Sydney to come live on the Central Coast she’d drifted away from all the female friends she’d made at school. She did see a couple of them occasionally but they weren’t in her life on a regular basis. In truth, she didn’t actually have any female friends now that Colin had debunked, her recent social life having been more his mates and their girlfriends.

Jess had never thought of herself as being lonely before. She did have a large family, but suddenly she envied Catherine her girlfriends.

Still, she didn’t entertain her negative feelings for long, vowing instead to do something about her lack of girlfriends once she got back home. Maybe she would join a gym. Or a sports club of some kind. She’d been good at basketball at school, her above-average height giving her an advantage. Yes, she’d join a basketball club. For females only. Jess suspected that after Ben went back to America she would want a spell away from male company for a while.

Her heart lurched at this last thought but she steadfastly ignored it.

‘How about I drive Ben back to Andy’s place?’ she suggested. ‘Then come back and get stuck into the dress? It could take a couple of hours. I don’t want to rush things. I want to get it right.’

Catherine beamed at her. ‘Jess, you are a life saver! You must stay here for dinner,’ Catherine added. ‘Then afterwards we can have a little hen party of our own. I mean, there’s no point in your returning to Andy’s place. He and Ben are going out on the town in Mudgee tonight. A few of their mates from uni are staying at a motel there, so they’re having a big get-together. I did tell Andy not to stay out too late or do anything seriously stupid, but you know Aussie men when they get a few beers into them. Ben might sound like an American these days, but he’s an Aussie boy through and through.’

Jess didn’t agree with Catherine on that score. Ben was nothing like any Aussie boy she’d ever met.

‘At least the wedding’s not till four-thirty,’ Catherine added. ‘So they have time to recover.’

‘Where is the wedding, Catherine?’ Jess asked.

‘We’re having it outside in Mum’s rose garden, with a celebrant officiating. And the reception will be in a marquee set up on the back lawn. It’s due to go up first thing in the morning. Once that’s done, the wedding planner and her lot will swoop in and set everything else up.’

‘You booked a wedding planner?’ Jess said, surprised. She would want to plan her own wedding right down to the last detail.

‘Gosh, yes. I knew it would be a nightmare if I did it. Mum would want to help, but the poor love gets in a flap over the least little thing. The lady I hired has been fantastic. She’s arranged everything, right down to the cars and the flowers. She even took me down to Sydney and helped me choose the dresses. Not that it’s a large wedding. Only about a hundred guests. This business with Krissie and her dress is the first hiccup there’s been.’

‘Is the weather forecast good for tomorrow?’ Jess asked, worried that Murphy’s Law might raise its ugly head again at the last minute. She was beginning to be a serious believer.

‘Perfect. Warm, with no rain in sight. Okay, let’s get ourselves downstairs and I’ll reassure Mum whilst you drop Ben back at Andy’s. But don’t be away too long,’ she added, flashing Jess a knowing smile. ‘No hanky panky, now. Keep that till after the wedding.’