Best Man and the Runaway Bride

by Kandy Shepherd

  ‘So I’m being allowed to move up to the next grade?’ he said, with just a touch of sarcasm.

  ‘If you put it that way,’ she said. ‘Obviously, you’re a really good swimmer and experienced at snorkelling. But you understand why I had to see for myself. Safety is paramount.’

  ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘At the time I felt insulted by your refusal to believe me but—’

  ‘Insulted? I didn’t mean—’

  ‘I know.’ The smile dimmed. ‘I guess I might have to get used to people questioning my skills at anything but tennis.’

  She frowned. ‘I’m sure that’s not going to happen.’

  ‘It will. It has. Taking a new turn in life is never straightforward.’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ she said, thinking of the way her own life had gone since she’d made that fatal decision in the car on the way to her wedding. How she couldn’t stay hiding on this island for ever. How maybe one day she might trust a guy enough to consider a relationship. But not now. And certainly not with a man she’d have to share with thousands of adoring fans who hung posters of him in their bedrooms. A man trumpeted in the media as a love cheat. Much as she might want him. ‘But I’m sure with your skills and contacts, you will be successful in whatever you choose to do. I... I’ll watch your new career with interest.’ From a distance.

  ‘I’ll keep you posted,’ he said politely. But she suspected he didn’t mean it. How likely would it be that their very different paths in life would cross again after his two weeks on the island were up?

  She looked across to the boat. ‘Wayan has put the ladder down so we can easily get back on board. Crystal Bay is quite a way away. We have to go around Nusa Ceningan, which is even smaller than Lembongan, then around to the east coast of Nusa Penida, which is the largest of these three islands. Nusa means island, by the way.’

  ‘How did I not know about this fabulous place?’ he asked as he effortlessly pulled himself up out of the water and onto the boat.

  She averted her eyes from the sight of his gorgeous, near-naked back view. Eyes off the best man, she had to remind herself yet again.

  * * *

  Max didn’t feel much like talking in the boat on the way back from Crystal Bay. The water there had been everything Nikki had promised. More. As he’d swum in that underwater paradise he had realised for the first time since the accident he had felt happy, relaxed, and living in the present rather than angsting about the past or worrying about the future.

  He’d enjoyed a non-competitive sport, swimming with Nikki for fun, not seeing her as a rival he had to beat at all costs. To crush his opponent had been his mindset for so long he’d found it difficult to switch out of it enough to enjoy a sport for sport’s sake. That had been his only motivation during the gruelling year of full-time rehab. To focus both physically and mentally on getting back in shape so he could win again. The pressure had been so intense the knowledge that he wouldn’t compete again had led to an immense let-down. Followed by an immediate drive to find a new direction in life that didn’t hang on numbers on a scoreboard.

  But today he’d forgotten all that. Thanks to Nikki.

  Nikki was relaxed, easy-going, non-judgemental. He had soon realised she wasn’t a particular fan of tennis, or of him as a tennis player—and he was okay with that. More than okay. She knew of him, but he suspected he hadn’t really been much on her radar until he’d turned up as best man for her groom at her wedding. He felt he didn’t have to prove anything to her, to be someone he was no longer.

  Today they’d slipped into an easy companionship, swimming together, marvelling at the same beauty of the underwater world that revealed itself to them. In sync. Obviously, she was a kindred spirit in the water. And out of it? He had an overwhelming urge to find out.

  Now she turned to him. ‘Have you done any scuba-diving?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not interested. I don’t want to be fussed with all that equipment. I’ll stick with snorkelling where I’m in control.’

  ‘I can see that point of view,’ she said. ‘However, there are deeper waters around these islands I’m sure you’d love that can best be appreciated by diving. The island is a good place to learn.’

  ‘That rather depends on who my teacher would be,’ he said. His eyes caught hers in an unspoken question.

  She met his gaze full on, unblinking. ‘I can recommend a good dive school.’ There wasn’t a trace of flirtation in his snorkelling guide’s voice. She apparently had no interest in him as anything other than an inconvenient client foisted upon her by a misunderstanding. A happy misunderstanding from his point of view. Obviously not from hers.

  ‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ he said, determined not to reveal any trace of disappointment. ‘In the meantime I want to snorkel as much as I can while I’m here. Can I hire Wayan and his boat to be on standby for every day of my stay? I’d pay the full day fee, of course, whether I use him or not.’

  Her eyebrows rose. ‘No one has ever asked that before. But I guess it could be arranged. We’ll have to ask Wayan.’

  ‘What about my guide?’

  She stilled. For a long moment she looked back at him. He was so intent on her face as he waited for her reply he was barely aware of the constant spray, the rhythmic slap of the water on the hull as the boat navigated the rougher waters of the open sea on the way back to Frangipani Bay.

  ‘I’m not for hire, nor can you keep me on retainer. I might go out on the water with you if it suits my schedule. If not I can arrange for a different guide.’ There was a distinct chill to her voice that had nothing to do with wind cooling them in their wet swimwear.

  ‘I don’t for one moment think you’re for hire. I don’t know what your arrangement is with your friends who run the hotel. But today has been...special for me. I doubt it would have been that special with another guide.’

  ‘Thank you. I really enjoyed it too. You were great to swim with.’

  She hadn’t given him any indication that she felt anything at all for him beyond that. Except, perhaps, annoyance that he was on the island at all. Even further annoyance that he had crashed Mr James’s boat trip. But she was too professional to show it.

  He leaned a little closer. Not that he thought Wayan could hear him but it was important his words weren’t snatched away by the breeze. ‘Nikki. I enjoy your company. I like you.’

  She flushed and dropped her gaze, seeming to fixate on her discarded swim fins on the floor of the boat. ‘I...er... I like you too.’ The flutter of her lashes, the slight stutter made her words sound like a major admission. Max was surprised at the relief he felt. But he could almost see the cogs in her brain wondering where this was leading.

  He considered his words. ‘This vacation is shaping up to be the best I’ve had in a long time.’

  She looked up. ‘That’s really good to hear. Maya and Kadek will think so too.’

  He shook his head impatiently. ‘I don’t mean that. Well, yes, I do. The resort is great. The island is wonderful. But what I’m trying to say is that today is all thanks to you. And I want to spend more time with you.’

  Her eyebrows raised in alarm. ‘But we agreed—’

  ‘Yes, we did. But out here, on this boat, in this water, the media and all the scandal seems so far away. It’s like we’re operating on a different clock with different rules for the way time passes.’

  ‘Jam karet,’ she said. ‘“Rubber time”, they call it here.’

  ‘There’s a name for it? Jam karet.’ He rolled the unfamiliar words around on his tongue. Thought about what it meant to someone who had always been ruled by timetables, obsessed with punctuality. Could there be a different way for him? ‘That’s not a concept that would fit my old life. But here... I get it. Yeah, I like it.’

  ‘Me too. Although I was so strung out when I first got here it took me a while to get my head around a differ
ent attitude. Now, I hope I’ll take some of that relaxed feel back with me when I return to frantic Sydney.’

  ‘What about we relax our attitude here? Out on the water, actually in the water, no one has recognised me—or you. I haven’t seen a flicker of recognition from anyone, tourist or local.’

  She assessed him through narrowed eyes. ‘I think it’s the beard. Even in the days you’ve been here it’s grown. You look different. Maybe not to one of your rabid fans, but to a casual observer.’ She shrugged. ‘As for me, blonde Australian women are a dime a dozen in Bali.’

  As she sat next to him, her damp hair a wild tangle, the imprint of her mask still around her eyes and nose, her cheeks reddened by windburn, he had never seen a more attractive woman. ‘Women like you are not a dime a dozen anywhere, let me reassure you of that.’

  That won him a self-deprecating smile. ‘Thank you, it’s very sweet of you to say so. But you being seen here, or me being seen isn’t a problem. It’s if we’re seen together that there could be trouble.’

  ‘The longer I’m here, the less I’m believing it,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘This island is hardly party central. Not a place where paparazzi are popping out of the undergrowth.’

  ‘Perhaps not,’ she said slowly.

  ‘Maybe it’s a good place to spend time with a person you like.’

  ‘I guess it could be,’ she said, not sounding very convinced.

  He angled himself closer to her, injected a note of urgency into his voice. ‘I’d like to spend some time with you, Nikki. More snorkelling, tomorrow perhaps. Maybe lunch today.’ He glanced down at his waterproof watch. ‘I’m grateful for those nuts and snacks you brought on board with you. But right now I’m starving.’

  She sighed and he could see her conflicting thoughts play across her face. ‘During those weeks after the wedding I felt ill every time I opened my laptop. The things that were said about me, about you. I wish there wasn’t so much at stake if we were to be discovered enjoying each other’s company by the media. No matter how innocent it might actually be.’

  Innocent. Was that the right description for his feelings towards Nikki? They certainly weren’t platonic. In fact, they were growing less innocent each minute he spent in her company. He wanted more time with her, more opportunities to get to know her.

  Max wasn’t used to giving into impulse or emotion. The times he had let his feelings rule had led him into trouble. The worst had been his reaction to the unprofessional opponent who had been taunting him both on and off court in an effort to break his concentration. He’d escalated from the professional to the personal. The final insult had been a snide comment about the doubt over the paternity of his former girlfriend’s child. During that all-important game his sudden surge of anger in reaction to the guy’s smirk had made him forget tactics, forget self-control and smash the guy with everything he had—resulting in the injury that had ended his career.

  But there was something implacable about this impulse to be with Nikki. Something that urged him not to hold back for fear of possible consequence. That his time here with her was limited and the opportunity to act on that impulse might never come again.

  Back there in the water with her he’d felt something he didn’t think he’d ever felt before. Not just appreciation of her beautiful body, gliding through the water with effortless grace. Of her spirit, her beautiful smile. There’d been a harmony between them, as if he and she together were meant to be. Now he felt compelled to grab the chance to see if she felt in any way the same.

  He found himself urging her to a course of action when only days before he’d been pressing for the opposite. ‘If we’re discreet. If we’re careful. If we both wear hats and sunglasses—like everyone does here anyway—I’m happy to risk a lunch together. Maybe down at the mangrove end of the island. It seems quieter there.’

  ‘I know a wonderful family-run restaurant there,’ she said. ‘Small, rustic but the food is incomparable.’

  ‘Sounds perfect,’ he said. ‘Count me in.’

  But the tone of her voice led him to believe there could be a ‘however’ coming and he wasn’t wrong.

  ‘However it’s a risk,’ she said. ‘And not one I’m ready to take.’

  Something made him wonder if she was referring to something altogether different from the risk of exposure by the media. There was something in her eyes he couldn’t read. Wariness? Fear? Surely not fear of him?

  His spirits plummeted. He hadn’t realised how much he was counting on her saying yes. But as he started to plan his next strategy for winning her over, he realised she hadn’t stopped speaking.

  ‘But I’ll think about it,’ she said slowly, weighing out the words. ‘I need some time.’

  Despite the urge to want to ask her every five minutes if she’d thought about it yet, he and Nikki spent the rest of the boat trip back to Frangipani Bay in silence. He gave her the space she’d asked for. He knew it was a big ask. A turnaround. There was still risk they might be discovered, that his worst nightmare of press intrusion might rear up again. But there was a greater risk of future regret. He had ten days left on this island in near proximity to Nikki. After that it was highly likely he would never see her again.

  By the time the boat headed into Frangipani Bay she still hadn’t said a word—yea or nay. But he held his tongue. Until they had to slip back into the pretence that they hadn’t known each other before this day.

  As Wayan anchored the boat in the shallow waters. Max took off his life jacket and handed it to Nikki.

  ‘I need to stay on board the boat,’ she said. ‘Tidy the life jacket, talk with Wayan.’

  ‘Have you thought about what I said?’ He realised he was holding his breath for her answer.

  She paused, then slowly nodded. ‘Your time on the island is short. I... I think I might regret it if I don’t take the opportunity to...to get to know you a little better.’

  He let out his breath in a whoop of relief, stopped short of punching the air. ‘Yes! Lunch. Now. Nikki, I—’

  She put up her hand to stop him. ‘Not lunch. But I have a thought for dinner tonight. Don’t make any other plans.’

  ‘Right,’ he said. Having got her this far, he wasn’t going to argue.

  ‘You might get a call from Maya. If so, just do as she suggests.’

  He made a mock salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  She laughed. ‘Now, Mr James, I suggest you thank your boatman and your guide for a great day’s snorkelling and get off the boat.’

  His instinct was to hug her. But common sense told him that would not be the right move. She had met him more than halfway. The next move had to come from her. He thanked both Wayan and Nikki, jammed on his hat, put on his sunglasses, picked up his kit bag of snorkelling equipment and got off the boat. He waded through the water and onto the beach without looking back.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Max did indeed get a call from Nikki’s friend Maya. She apologised for not having made contact earlier and invited him to come to her house at the back of the resort complex for six p.m. to meet her and her husband Kadek.

  Max was intrigued. Was this an invitation to have dinner with them and Nikki? If so, he had mixed feelings. Yes, it was one way of seeing her again safe from the public gaze. But he would so much rather see her one to one. No chaperones. Just him and her. Alone and getting to know her better. Anticipation shivered up his spine. When had he last felt this way about spending time with a woman? Not just a woman. This woman.

  The friend who had warned him that he might get bored in Nusa Lembongan could not have been further from the mark. Max hadn’t experienced a moment’s boredom since he had seen Nikki step off that boat and back into his life.

  He arrived at Maya’s house promptly at six. Although finding himself seduced by the concept of jam karet, he wasn’t yet won over. Punctuality was
deeply ingrained in him. The house sat in its own garden behind the last row of bungalows. He entered through traditionally carved wooden gates into a stone courtyard complete with lush greenery, a water feature and eye-catching Indonesian artefacts.

  A petite, lovely dark-haired woman in an elegant, traditionally inspired top and wrap skirt in a batik print greeted him with a welcoming smile. ‘Hi, I’m Maya. So pleased you could come.’ She introduced him to her husband, Kadek, tall, handsome in a high-collared white shirt over a boldly patterned sarong type garment. In this kind of heat, Max thought, a sarong would be a good idea. He’d always dressed conservatively, never knowing when a photo of him might be snapped by paparazzi. He must ask Kadek about the best type for a Westerner to wear.

  ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you both,’ Max said sincerely. Maya had obviously been a true friend to Nikki; that predisposed him to like her.

  ‘We’ve kind of met before,’ Maya said. ‘I was one of Nikki’s bridesmaids but I couldn’t make it to the rehearsal so you might not recognise me.’ She spoke perfect English with a distinct Australian accent.

  Max narrowed his eyes as he thought. ‘I think I remember seeing you getting out of the car with the other bridesmaids at the church. But I was watching out for the bride.’ Already the bride had been running late and he’d been edgy.

  ‘You did a great job on rescuing Nikki from that dreadful man. Her friends thank you for that.’

  ‘Uh, yes,’ he said, uncertain as to where this was going. Where was Nikki?

  Maya laughed. ‘You’re probably wondering what you’re doing here. Come on through.’

  She and Kadek led Max through to an open living area with a polished stone floor scattered with bright rugs and traditional Balinese wooden carved furniture. But it was the carved wooden settee, piled with colourful cushions, that drew Max’s attention.

  Nikki sat in the centre, cradling a tiny, dark-haired baby. She looked up to greet him and her eyes were still warm with a doting kind of love that had obviously been directed at the baby. ‘You’re here,’ she said. She got up, baby still in her arms. ‘Meet Putu, Maya and Kadek’s firstborn son.’