Fool Me Once

by Karly Lane

  ‘I’m sorry I jumped down your throat,’ she said softly. ‘You confuse me.’

  ‘No more than you confuse me, I’m willing to bet,’ he said with a reluctant half-smile. ‘We don’t have to go to Hawaii.’

  She saw a lingering sadness in his eyes.

  ‘You just can’t throw things like that at me. We’re different that way. You don’t give money a second thought, but I have to. I don’t come from a place where people just decide to head to Hawaii for a few days. Shannon and I had been planning that trip to New Zealand for a year.’

  He lifted his hands from where they’d been resting by his sides and settled them on her hips. ‘You’re right. I should have thought it through a little better. Sorry, I acted like a spoilt brat,’ he said. ‘For the record, I’m not one of those people who decides to go to Hawaii for a few days either—normally. I can’t even remember the last time I went anywhere for a holiday.’ He shrugged. ‘It was my attempt to play the knight in shining armour for you. I could tell you were disappointed about the New Zealand trip and I wanted to do something nice for you.’

  She gave a rueful grin at that. ‘Flowers or chocolate didn’t cross your mind?’ she asked dryly.

  He gave a slow nod. ‘In hindsight, I guess that would have worked a lot better.’

  Georgie felt her smile slip as she looked down into his face. Under her hands she could feel his cheekbones, the strong lines of his face. She saw the vulnerability the words had cost him.

  ‘I want to go to Hawaii with you, if you still want to go,’ she said.

  Something flickered to life in his eyes.

  ‘I miss you so much when you’re not here,’ she whispered, and shook her head. ‘Trust me to fall in love with a city boy who lives so far away.’

  His hand had been stroking her hip on one side as she’d been talking, but it stopped when she’d finished. He stared at her warily.

  ‘You have?’

  She smiled slowly. ‘Well, I googled my symptoms: lack of concentration, heart palpitations, bouts of sadness … and it gave me a few suggestions: atrial fibrillation, diabetes, Lyme disease or lovesickness. I’m leaning towards the latter.’ His smile made her heart rate speed up again, which only proved her point.

  ‘I’m crazily, stupidly, head over heels,’ she said with a long sigh before leaning closer to kiss him once more, and this time his lips moved under hers hungrily.

  When he tried to take control, she eased back and shook her head, resuming the kiss and setting the pace. She smiled against his mouth when he gave an impatient groan as she deliberately kept the kiss deep and slow. She reached down and pulled the hem of her shirt up over her head then dropped it on the floor, holding his smouldering gaze. She leaned forward, dodging his mouth and planting open-mouthed kisses along the tanned skin of his wide neck, taking small nips and sucking gently, feeling the tremor that ran through him as he tipped his head back, further surrendering to her ministrations.

  ‘You’re killin’ me,’ he groaned when she moved against him slowly.

  ‘You won’t die, you big baby,’ she told him smugly as she swung her leg off, standing to remove the rest of the clothing that was in the way, before lying back on the lounge and pulling him down with her.

  ‘Although, you may think you’ve died and gone to heaven,’ she told him, trying to keep a straight face.

  ‘And you reckon my pick-up lines are bad?’

  ‘Really? That wouldn’t do it for you?’ she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  ‘You could read a grocery list and it’d do it for me,’ he told her bluntly.

  ‘Good to know,’ she murmured, running a hand down his side, before dipping lower and ending any more conversation.

  Eleven

  Hawaii was so much more than she’d ever dreamed it would be. The spectacular sunsets, white beaches and the lush tropical surroundings were like a balm to her soul. They spent their first couple of days on the beach and driving around the island, exploring at leisure. It was her first overseas trip and she was loving every minute of it.

  Her thoughts did sometimes stray to Stoney Creek, although she tried to forget about work and embrace all the new experiences she was having. Calculating the time difference, she took the opportunity to make a quick call while Michael went down to discuss something with the front desk, dialling the home number and watching the resort room door nervously.

  ‘Stoney Creek Station,’ Matt’s voice sounded on the other end, and Georgie felt a wave of homesickness wash over her.

  ‘Hi. It’s me.’

  ‘Georgie? Hey. How’s the trip? Everything okay?’

  ‘Everything’s fine, trip’s been awesome so far. I was just ringing to see how things are going back there.’

  ‘Yeah. No worries, all good. Had a bit of rain last night.’

  ‘That’s great.’

  She’d been counting on follow-up rain for the feed she’d planted to get them through winter. Well, that was one less worry. She listened as Matt went on to give her a rundown of the jobs he’d finished and the things that were still left on his to-do list.

  ‘Okay, well, I guess I better let you get back to it. Sounds like you’ve got it all under control as usual. Thanks Matt, I know it was a bit sudden and all …’

  ‘No worries. Everything’s fine here.’

  They said their goodbyes and Georgie was just putting her phone down on the bedside table when Michael opened the door.

  ‘You couldn’t help yourself, could you?’ he said, grinning at her as he crossed to the bed.

  ‘I was just—’

  ‘Checking in,’ he finished.

  ‘I really miss Stoney Creek. I miss my horses and the cattle.’

  ‘Hawaii’s not doing it for you?’ he asked.

  ‘It is. It’s beautiful,’ she added quickly. ‘But I guess I’m just a country girl at heart. I don’t think I’m cut out for the travelling life. I don’t know how people can leave and backpack around a country for months on end.’

  ‘To tell you the truth, I’m happier when I’m home too.’

  ‘But you travel pretty regularly?’

  ‘When I have to. But if I can get out of it, I do. Brent usually jumps at the chance, so I’m lucky that way.’ He put his hand out and tugged her to her feet, circling his arms around her waist. ‘Do you want to go home early?’

  Georgie smiled. ‘We’re only away ten days, I think I’ll survive. But thank you anyway.’ He really was the most thoughtful man.

  The phone call home had done the trick in easing her homesickness. Over the next few days she was excited as they drove up to the top of a volcano and wandered through small beachside villages. Looking down at their entwined hands, Georgie couldn’t even remember the last time she’d spent this much time alone with one person in, well … ever really. Matt didn’t count. They worked together, but not always side by side, and he had his own place where he spent his downtime. She meant this twenty-four hours a day kind of togetherness. Come to think of it, they were pretty much joined at the hip—whenever they were together, they were touching. They held hands or lay close together … it should have felt claustrophobic, but it didn’t.

  In another week or so they’d be back in Australia and what then? They hadn’t spoken about the future. He couldn’t stay away from his business indefinitely. How long would they be able to continue the long-distance relationship?

  She tried to picture a day without him there and felt empty. She gave herself a swift shake. You’re a grown woman. You survived just fine without anyone in your life before Michael. But the pep talk only made her feel sad. She didn’t want to do fine without him. She’d miss him. Terribly.

  ‘Everything okay?’ he asked as they pulled their little red convertible up in front of yet another beautiful beach, the late afternoon sun slowly beginning to dip below the horizon.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said, forcing a smile. ‘I was just thinking how fast this is all going. We’ll be back home soon.’

 
‘Yeah. We will.’

  She swallowed nervously and chewed her lip a little. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to juggle this thing long-term. I mean, you can’t keep leaving your office indefinitely.’

  He kept his gaze on the smooth bay before them, but she sensed a sadness lingering between them. ‘Yeah, I think Brent’s ready to quit if I don’t go back to the office and at least show my face pretty soon.’

  ‘Well, we knew it was only a matter of time,’ she said, feeling helpless. What was there to say? They lived in different states. She supposed they could take turns visiting each other, but realistically she knew the distance would ultimately take its toll on the relationship. It wasn’t as simple as flying from one city to another. She lived in the sticks and it still required a long drive to reach the airport. Soon the novelty would wear off and the visits would get further apart.

  The sunset was spectacular, but its beauty was dimmed as they both seemed lost in their thoughts. An end was coming, and it hurt all the more because neither of them wanted it.

  They were almost through their first week away, and with the end of their trip fast approaching, they walked hand in hand along the beach, the sky a riot of orange, red and yellow. Suddenly Michael stopped walking and turned to look down at her.

  ‘Georgie, I know this is crazy, but I can’t walk away from you after we leave here. I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but I give you my word, we’ll figure it out.’ He paused. ‘Marry me.’

  Georgie stared at him, speechless. The sand, cool beneath her bare feet, reminded her that she was standing upright and had not, in fact, been hit by a truck as she initially suspected.

  Marry him? He was asking her to marry him? The empty feeling that had come over her when they’d discussed the holiday coming to an end was replaced with surprise, excitement, hope. ‘I … this is …’ Unbelievable? Insane? ‘Yes.’

  For a moment she wasn’t sure she’d actually said it out loud, but as his face lit up with that heart-stopping sexy grin she knew she must have, and instead of blind panic at what she’d just done, all she felt was … contentment. Having never had the slightest need or desire to think about getting married overseas, she was amazed at how easy it was. They didn’t need to show anything except a driver’s licence to apply for a marriage licence and it was approved on the same day.

  For such a momentous event, it seemed extraordinarily easy. Their ceremony was simple, elegant and the single most beautiful moment of her life. While Georgie had assured Michael she was happy to attend a registry office for the ceremony, he wouldn’t hear of it. Instead he spent the better part of two days organising for a ceremony on a secluded beach. The only thing she had to do was find a dress.

  She’d browsed shop after shop and tried on more dresses in a single day than she’d worn in a lifetime, and still she had no idea what she was going to be married in. She missed Shannon. Not for the first time, regret filled her. How could she get married without her best friend by her side? But they’d agreed it would be too difficult to get Shannon and Brent over here on such short notice. She’d all but given up looking for her dress when, as she wandered through a market, a sarong caught her eye. The long white silk with shells and crystals sewn along the hem was simple yet stunning. She immediately bought it. The resort’s hairdresser preformed a miracle and created the most amazing hairstyle Georgie had ever worn in her life, and the makeup artist transformed her into someone she barely recognised as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She’d given the smiling Hawaiian woman strict instructions not to use too much makeup. She wanted to look natural, and she’d done exactly as she’d been asked. Georgie knew she hadn’t used copious amounts of makeup—she’d been watching, anxiously, the whole time—and yet, staring at herself now, she couldn’t believe the beautician had managed to turn her into the sophisticated, beaming woman staring back at her.

  Michael, dressed in a loose white linen shirt and black pants, looked like every woman’s fantasy come to life. As she walked towards him down a red carpet laid on top of the white sand, her heart swelled with love. Nothing could make her regret this decision, she thought to herself as she felt the magnetic pull. Not one single thing.

  Georgie felt as though she’d stepped into an alternate universe. She figured Michael was well off, but nothing had prepared her for the reality of it. As though they weren’t already enjoying a honeymoon in Hawaii, for their actual honeymoon Michael hired a private yacht. It was utter bliss. They spent long, leisurely hours making love and soaking up the warm sunshine, exploring private beaches when they managed to drag themselves away from their bed, and feasting on fine food and wine. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced.

  She was too scared to ask how much her engagement and wedding ring had cost. She looked down at them now and caught her breath as the square-cut diamond sparkled in the sunlight. She had to be dreaming. This couldn’t be her life.

  ‘Happy?’ Michael asked close to her ear.

  ‘Yes,’ she said after a brief silence, before turning to face him. ‘Yes, I am.’

  She thought she saw a flash of relief follow her words, but why would he even doubt she was happy? ‘Are you?’

  The solemn look he levelled at her made her heart skip a beat.

  ‘I never imagined I could be this happy, Georgie.’

  Georgie saw the absolute truth in his eyes, yet she couldn’t help but feel there was something sad, a shadow of sorts, hovering beneath his happiness. ‘Are you worried about how fast this all happened? About what your family will think?’

  He shook his head and gave a wry grin. ‘I’m not worried—but I’m not looking forward to the lectures. They’ll get over it.’

  ‘I’m not sure Shannon will. Maybe we should have waited until she could at least be our witness.’ Shannon was not going to be happy … in fact, Shannon was going to be furious.

  ‘I don’t regret it, Georgie. This was about us, no one else. Shannon and Mum and anyone else who might have their nose out of joint will just have to suck it up and get over it.’

  ‘I’m not sure your mum should be told to suck it up,’ she told him dryly.

  ‘You don’t know how persistent that woman has been over the last few years in trying to marry me off. Trust me, if nothing else, I can be spared the torture of being forced to endure surprise guests joining us at family dinners and accidental meetings with single daughters of her friends.’

  ‘I see. So I was just a means of getting your mother off your back?’ she said, lifting an eyebrow.

  ‘Yep. It was all part of my genius plan. Go to a B&S ball, find a woman, whisk her off and marry her just to stop my mother’s matchmaking attempts.’

  ‘Hmm, so you were scouting out a suitable bride all that time before I came along to save you?’

  He chuckled and pulled her closer. ‘You did save me,’ he said, looking into her eyes, his face turning serious. ‘You have no idea just how much.’

  ‘Maybe we saved each other,’ she said quietly. For so long she’d only had the farm and her dreams to keep her company, but now she had Michael. They were a family. The shock of that thought felt as though it stopped her heart midbeat. A family. The one thing she’d been too scared to think about for so long.

  She tried not to dwell on how much she missed being part of a family. She was never truly alone—Shannon’s family had as good as adopted her and she’d never had to spend a Christmas or Easter alone since her father had died. She sometimes felt guilty when she thought about her parents and how it’d been before her mother passed away. Compared to the Sinclairs and their loud, friendly teasing, life in the Henderson household had been very subdued. Her parents had both been quiet people, and there’d been a lot of years where her mother had been unwell and had needed to take things easy, so Georgie had learned to entertain herself a lot and let her mum sleep. Finances had always been tight, but she’d enjoyed the quiet and she was happy enough with just the three of them. She’d talk her dad’s ear of
f in the ute as they checked water troughs and fence lines, and he’d give the required grunt or make an interested sound—just enough to fill in the gaps—but she’d never really been sure whether he was listening to her or just tuning out. Still, he must have enjoyed their time together or he wouldn’t have taken her along with him as often as he did.

  Now she was married and she would have her own family.

  The past few weeks felt as though they’d been happening to someone else, as though some other part of her had suddenly decided to take over her life and say yes to things the old part of her would never have agreed to. Maybe Shannon had been right after all. Maybe she had spent far too long shut off from the rest of the world and this was what happened when you opened up—you started taking risks and throwing caution to the wind. She should be panicking about it, but she wasn’t. As crazy as this all seemed, there was nothing inside her screaming that she’d just made a huge mistake. All she felt was intensely happy.

  Twelve

  While her arrival into Sydney should have been somewhat of a letdown as reality hit, for Georgie it was anything but. Coming home was the beginning of a new chapter for her. She’d left the country a single, albeit besotted woman and returned a married, even more besotted wife, ready to start her new life.

  There was so much to work out. She’d tried to broach the subject with Michael several times since the wedding, but he had shut her down each time, telling her there was plenty of time to deal with all that after they got home. And he was right, they only had a handful of days away to enjoy and they had gone all too fast.

  They spent two nights in Michael’s family’s apartment near Darling Harbour, no less, before Michael had to fly back to his Brisbane office and head off a crisis, preventing their planned trip to meet and surprise his family with their news.