Save the Date
Page 31
His thumb slid across her jawline, over her chin. Her lips parted, the sensations near on driving her wild. He swallowed. He was saying all the right things, wasn’t he? She closed her mouth again.
‘If it helps, I destroyed the file. I read no more than the part that he had a family while he was with you.’
She swallowed, the memory coming back to her. She’d read the whole file. She hadn’t been the first woman Joseph had tried to trick into polygamy. No doubt, she wouldn’t be the last. Somehow, the bastard kept sliding through the cracks.
‘He had a wife and child in Hong Kong,’ she said, pressing into his hand, squeezing her eyes shut. ‘Another in the Philippines. He was a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel. And his professional life wasn’t much better.’
She tried to stay mad at Taylor. Did she believe that he hadn’t read the rest of the file? The look that flickered across his face showed that he didn’t know all of it. She felt her body grow weary as a cheer erupted from the reception hall. She couldn’t keep doing this. Couldn’t keep fighting. But she didn’t want to be hurt again. He slid his hand down her arm and lifted her fingers to his lips. He kissed them softly, holding her gaze, starting a flutter in her belly.
‘I’d never do that to you.’
‘How do I know?’
He squeezed her hand, considering her words. A flicker of mischief appeared in his eyes, and his lips curved into the smile she’d dreamed of so much over the last six weeks. She was damned if she did, damned if she didn’t, wasn’t she?
‘You could always have Phil investigate me.’
She frowned at first, but couldn’t hold back the laughter when the words sunk in. She wasn’t sure if it was an after-effect of the wine, or the heaviness of their discussion, but that one sentence lifted the mood. He held her hand against his lips again, refusing to let her go. She didn’t want him to, anyway.
‘So, what do you say, Andie? Do you think you could forgive me one day?’
She shrugged, scrunching her nose up, all while he tugged her closer with his free hand. ‘I think there’s a good possibility,’ she teased. ‘If you’re on your best behaviour.’
‘You little minx,’ he said, pulling her into a hug. He held her tightly, like he’d lose her if he let her go. She breathed him in, memorising his scent again. ‘One more thing,’ he added. She looked up at him. ‘Remember how I said ten days was too long?’ She nodded, her eyes narrowing. ‘It’s been six bloody weeks, Andie.’
Her heart skipped a beat. ‘I know.’
‘That’s too long to be away from someone you love.’
Her breath caught at the base of her throat. He pulled her back now, looking into her eyes with an intensity that she hadn’t seen before. Sure, she’d seen lust in those eyes, mischief. Anger, even. But … love? She forced herself to start breathing again, but her breaths were short, choppy. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode.
‘I love you, Andie. I was just too afraid to admit it.’
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her tenderly. It felt like a breath of fresh air had filled her lungs, easing the ache through her body, filling a space in her heart that she didn’t even know was empty.
Taylor Ballin loved her.
He pulled her closer, each kiss filled with emotion, deliberation. Love. She let him in, met his intensity with a kiss of her own. Pouring as much of her heart and soul into it as she could. It wasn’t hard to do. She could feel every defence that she’d built around herself tumbling down. Every dream of her happily ever after flaring back to life. All this time, when she’d been waiting for a knight in shining armour, she should have been looking for a certain grey-eyed, dark-haired businessman in a strapping suit. One that fit him perfectly, if she said so herself.
He reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled her close. She breathed him in again, happiness filling her heart. Despite the mess they’d been through, this felt too right to ignore. She took a shaky breath to muster up the courage and looked up at him. He smiled. His heart-flipping, panty-dropping smile that she’d been unable to forget.
‘I love you, too.’
Her heart soared at the admission. It was too easy loving him. The last six weeks had been too hard. There was no denying the truth.
She loved Taylor Ballin.
And he loved her.
His smile widened further, and he lifted her, kissing her once again and spinning her around. She could feel his smile against her lips, and was sure he could feel hers. When he lowered her back to the ground, she took in another big gulp of air. She felt dizzy, happy, and she knew it wasn’t just the wine talking.
‘So, does this mean we’re back to exclusive-casual?’ she teased.
He groaned, pulling her close, and leading her further into the vineyard for a romantic walk under the stars. ‘I’ve never regretted a word more than I’ve regretted that one.’
‘Exclusive?’
‘Casual.’
‘Oh.’
‘How about,’ he started, kissing the top of her head as they walked, ‘we just stick with exclusive and see where it leads us?’
She looked up at him, an eyebrow lifted. ‘Fully exclusive?’
‘Lay it on me, Andie Gray,’ he said, his eyes flickering. ‘Give me everything you’ve got.’
Her cheeks were starting to ache from her smiles. She wedged a finger between his ribs, laughing when he seemed particularly ticklish there. ‘You may wish you never said that.’
‘With you? Never. I have to ask though,’ he said, turning her towards him once more. ‘Why did you have a history of postponing your reservation here?’
Her smile widened. ‘Well, it all started many, many years ago …’
She told him about the wedding she’d gone to as a child, how she’d always wanted a perfect wedding at this particular vineyard. She told him everything, not leaving anything out. If she wanted to trust him with all she had, she needed him to trust her too, right? It was easy, telling him everything. Though he’d teased her when she said she’d reserved the day, with or without a man present, his smile said he wasn’t freaked out.
They walked and talked for hours, catching up on all they’d missed out on over the past six weeks. And, well, everything. She told him she’d taken his advice on getting financing for the car she liked, and he told her about giving up drinking altogether. The longer they talked, the nicer it felt. And the more her stomach told her it was right.
‘So, have you rebooked this place for two years’ time?’ he said, nudging her shoulder with his. She shoved him.
‘I hadn’t decided. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have the chance again. Besides, I’m not sure I want the pressure anymore.’
‘I get it,’ he said, tilting his head to the side as though he thought otherwise. ‘I mean, I hear the new owner of this place is a pretty decent guy. I’m sure he’d pull some strings for you if you ever changed your mind.’
‘I don’t know the new owner,’ she said solemnly.
‘Yes, you do.’
She looked up at him, studying his face in the moonlight. Mischief. It took her a moment to register what he was saying. She only knew one person rich enough to buy this place. ‘You?’ He nodded. ‘When?’
‘The process all started some time before I met you.’ He squeezed his arm around her shoulder. ‘Just remember, the favour ends if it’s with another guy.’
He held her gaze with a smouldering heat filled with promises. Promises she had no doubt he would follow through with.
‘Is that so?’ she teased.
‘It wouldn’t be so bad, would it?’
Being married to Taylor Ballin? The thought sent excitement shooting through her veins. Yes, she could grow used to waking up every morning next to this magnificent specimen of a man. Feeling his touch, his kisses. Seeing his smile, hearing his laugh. Growing old together.
No, it wouldn’t be bad at all.
‘But in the more immediate future,’ he said, a twinkle in his eyes. ‘How a
bout that do-over?’
Thanks for reading Save the Date. I hope you enjoyed it.
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ISBN: 9781867214885
Title: Save the Date
Copyright © 2020 by R.J. Groves
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 13/201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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