Australian Affairs: Taken

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.’

CHAPTER TEN

‘ARE YOU SURE you can do this, Jess?’ Ben said as Jess sped down the driveway. ‘I mean, altering a dress can’t be the same as making one from scratch.’

‘It won’t be any trouble. Gran did a lot of alterations and I used to help her. I earned my first pocket money that way.’

‘You are full of surprises, aren’t you?’ he said, smiling over at her. ‘A good person to have around, I would imagine. I dare say you can cook as well.’

Jess shrugged. ‘I’m not bad. Mum’s better, though. Can you cook? Or is that a silly question?’

‘Not at all. I think all men should be able to cook a bit, especially ones who live alone. I can make a mean omelette, and my mushroom risotto has received several compliments.’

Jess laughed. ‘I dare say it has.’ She could imagine Amber gushing over every single thing he did. She could hear her now: Oh, Ben, darling, you are so clever. And talented. And handsome. And rich.

No, no, Amber wouldn’t actually say that last bit. She would not be as obvious as Leanne. Or as envious. Because Amber would have money of her own. Jess was sure of it.

His sideways glance was sharp. ‘Do I detect some sarcasm in that remark?’

Her returning glance was brilliantly po-faced. Or so she thought.

‘Not at all.’

He chuckled. ‘You little liar, you. You enjoy taking the Mickey out of me.’

‘That’s a very Aussie saying. Maybe you’re not as American as you sound.’

‘What’s wrong with being American?’

‘Absolutely nothing.’ It was his being a filthy rich American that was the problem.

‘You’re not going to sleep the night at Catherine’s place, are you?’ he asked abruptly.

Jess frowned at this question. ‘I wasn’t planning to, but what difference would it make if I did? You’re going out and from what I gather you’ll be home very late.’

‘I just want you to be there in the morning. I want to have breakfast with you and talk to you some more.’

‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘But do try to be quiet when you get in. I’m going to be tired after doing that dress. I don’t want to be woken by drunken revellers.’

‘I have no intention of getting drunk tonight,’ he surprised her by saying. ‘I don’t want to be hung-over tomorrow, thank you very much. I have plans for tomorrow night which require me to be fit and well.’

‘Oh,’ she said, and for the first time in her life Jess blushed. But it wasn’t the blush of embarrassment, it was the blush of heat. Sexual heat.

‘Don’t miss Andy’s place,’ he said.

‘What? Oh, God, I forgot where I was for a moment.’ She glanced in the rear-view mirror as she braked sharply before turning into Andy’s driveway.

‘Thinking of tomorrow night?’ he asked in a low, oh, so sexy voice.

Jess refused to act rattled by him, even though she was. ‘But of course,’ she said, her cool tone a total contrast to the inferno raging inside her.

Ben should not have been surprised by her bald honesty. Jess didn’t play games. But Ben had games very much in mind for tomorrow night. He didn’t want sex with her to be over quickly. He wanted to savour it. To savour her. He also wanted the love-making to last and last and last.

‘How many lovers have you had, Jess?’

‘Not as many as you’ve had, I’ll bet,’ she countered, thinking he had a hide to ask her that. ‘Now, could we stop talking about sex?’ She reefed the car to a ragged halt. ‘You sit here whilst I go get Andy, and I’ll explain things, then find out where this guest cottage is. And, before you object, you’re not fooling me by pretending you can get in and out of your seat without some pain in your shoulder because I know differently. So just be a good boy and sit still for a while.’

She didn’t give him a chance to come back with some witty riposte because she was off in a flash, running up the side steps of the house, leaving Ben to ponder just how good a boy he was going to be tonight. And he wasn’t talking about at the stag party.

The temptation to come home early was acute. He could easily make some excuse pertaining to his car accident—claim a crippling headache from the concussion, or an appallingly painful shoulder. It was sore, but nothing to write home about.

No, he decided in the end. He would wait. Waiting often made the sex better. And Jess would be even more inclined to be thoroughly seduced.

Tomorrow night would be a first for him in more ways than one. His first wedding. His first brunette. The first girl in a decade who didn’t seem overly impressed with his being Morgan De Silva’s son and heir.

Now, that really would be a first!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE GUEST COTTAGE was cute and quite a long way from the main house, set on a smaller hill and surrounded by trees. Made of weatherboard, it had a pitched iron roof, covered porches front and back and a hallway which cut the cottage in two. On the left on entering was a lounge followed by a dining room and then the kitchen. On the right were two bedrooms separated by a bathroom, followed by a utility room and walk-in pantry. All the rooms were delightfully furnished in comfy, country-style furniture which was probably newer than it looked. Apparently, it had once been a miner’s cottage, and had been on the property when Andy’s parents had bought the place.

Andy had shown them the way to the cottage personally, which was a relief to Jess. Nothing like a third person being present to prevent Ben doing something which she didn’t want him to do. Not yet, anyway. If truth be told, she was terrified of that moment when he would stop the talk and walk the walk, so to speak. She’d always thought herself quite good at sex but, on a scale of one to ten, she doubted she came much above a five. She would hate it if he found her a disappointment.

She quickly put her overnight bag in the smaller of the two bedrooms, insisting that Ben have the front room with the queen-sized bed, since he was too big for a single bed. He didn’t argue, just sat down on the side of the bed and bounced up and down, as though testing it for comfort. Andy carried Ben’s things into the room whilst Jess hovered in the doorway.

‘I’ll come back with some more provisions shortly,’ Andy told them. ‘Some stuff for breakfast. There’s already white wine in the fridge, and red wine in the cupboards, along with coffee, tea and biscuits, etc. But I’ll bring down some fresh bread, eggs and bacon.’

‘Well, I won’t be here,’ Jess returned before he could escape. ‘I have to get back to Catherine’s. I won’t be back till late tonight.’

‘Oh, right. I forgot. I also forgot to thank you for what you’re doing, Jess. Catherine rang me and told me about the dress. You are one clever girl, isn’t she, Ben? Fancy being able to sew like that.’

‘She’s amazing,’ Ben said.

Jess just smiled, awake to his many compliments.

The moment they were alone Ben gave her a narrow-eyed look. ‘You won’t be staying in that bedroom tomorrow night.’

She glowered at him, never being at her best when men started ordering her around. ‘Maybe I will,’ she bit out. ‘If you start acting like some jerk.’

That sent him back in his heels. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I run my own race, Ben. I don’t like men telling me what to do and when to do it.’

‘Is that so?’

Ben stood up and strode over to her, taking her firmly by the shoulders and pulling her hard against him. She didn’t struggle, or protest. Just stared up at him with wide, dilated eyes. Ben could actually feel her galloping heartbeat. She thought she didn’t like to be ordered around, but he knew that a lot of strong-minded women liked their lovers to take charge.