A Bride for the Runaway Groom

by Wilson, Scarlet

  ‘Good. Can we get out of here now?’

  She pivoted on her heels, her dress bouncing out around her. He could see several eyes in the room on her. She really didn’t have any idea just how pretty she was, or what a statement her older-style dress made. It was like having Doris Day in the room with them. He couldn’t help the smile that spread from one ear to the other.

  It was official. This was the Rose effect.

  ‘What about cakes? We haven’t looked at cakes yet...’ Her voice drifted off as her hand trailed against silver and pink heart balloons in a wide arch next to her.

  The bridal show must have just finished as people started to surge through the entrance towards them. Rose stumbled on her square-heeled shoes and fell into the display balloons, dislodging them and making them drift free from their anchor and rise up all around her.

  For an instant the whole room held its breath as two hundred balloons escaped their tethers and started floating and bobbing free. Will could see the horror on her face and grabbed her hand as he stifled a laugh and pulled her towards one of the open garden doors.

  It was infectious. Rose started laughing too as they burst from the doors, out into the grounds as several balloons escaped around them.

  Behind them there were squeals and bedlam. But Will couldn’t have cared less. The fresh air of freedom was just too much as they ran across the grass together to where the cars were parked.

  The last thing he saw was a pink and silver balloon floating in front of them as they dashed to the car.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ROSE WAITED NERVOUSLY as the phone rang. She was regretting her suggestion big time right now. ‘Hello?’

  The voice was sharp at the end of the phone.

  ‘Hi, there. This is Rose Huntingdon-Cross. I’m looking for Melissa Kirkwood.’

  ‘Violet’s sister? What on earth do you want?’

  She cringed at the instant recognition. Melissa was the bride who had been jilted at the altar. She was always going to be the most difficult.

  ‘I’m phoning you because I’m doing some charity work for Will Carter and his homeless charity.’

  There was a hiss at the end of the phone. ‘Don’t even say his name to me!’

  It came out with such venom that she was actually taken aback. Although her brain was telling her to stay calm, her tongue just went into overdrive. ‘I’m sorry to upset you. It’s just—I thought you might be interested in this. We’re contacting all of Will Carter’s ex-fiancées to see if they would be willing to participate in a charity event. All you’d be required to do is put forward some kind of trial or dare that you’d like Will to do, and it will go to a public vote with all proceeds going to the charity.’ Her mouth was gaining momentum like a steam train. ‘You can be as horrible as you like with the dare or trial. Pick something you know he would hate to do.’

  Oh, no. Had she actually just said that out loud? It was too late. Her PR head had gone into salvage mode. She couldn’t take it back now.

  There was silence at the end of the phone and a deep intake of breath. Rose’s heart thudded in her chest. Part of her wanted Melissa to refuse, the other needed her to say yes. ‘We’ve already negotiated a deal and coverage with the national press—and there will be television interviews, too. So you’ll be able to show the world how you’ve moved on.’

  Please let her have moved on, prayed Rose. Will had described some of his exes as a little fame hungry and eager to be in the spotlight. Hopefully the temptation would be too much.

  ‘Just how hideous can I make his dare?’ The voice had developed a calculating edge.

  ‘As hideous as you like. At the end of the week’s voting he will have to carry out the one with the most public votes.’

  She could almost hear Melissa’s brain ticking at the end of the phone. ‘I need a day to think of something suitable.’

  ‘Absolutely no problem at all. How about I call you back on Tuesday and set up an interview with the press for you then, too?’

  Best to kill two birds with one stone. She really didn’t want to have prolonged conversations with any of Will’s exes. No matter how curious she was about the collection of women. Once she’d made the initial phone calls she was backing out of the limelight and letting the momentum carry the whole thing forward. The newspaper editor had loved it, and one of her favourite morning TV presenters had already agreed to interview all the women on TV.

  The tone in Melissa’s voice had changed. It was almost as if her brain was currently contemplating exactly what she could plot. ‘Tuesday will be fine.’ The phone went down with a click and Rose gulped.

  She made a mark on the list in front of her. One down. Three to go.

  * * *

  ‘Rose? Rose, are you there?’

  Will’s voice echoed down the corridor and his head appeared around the corner of her bedroom door. He was clutching something in his hand and looking a little wary.

  By the time she’d finished the phone calls she was exhausted and had adopted the starfish position on her bed. She hadn’t moved for the last twenty minutes and didn’t have any intention of moving any time soon.

  She turned her head. ‘If you ever get engaged to a crazy woman again you and I are never talking.’

  He winced. ‘You’ve done it? You’ve called them all?’

  He didn’t wait to be invited in. He just crossed her room in long strides and sat down at the edge of her bed.

  Her head flopped back. ‘I’ve called them all and you owe me—big time.’ She turned on her side and rested her head on her hand. ‘Where on earth did you find them?’

  He frowned. ‘Don’t be like that. All of them have good points. I’m just not their favourite person.’

  Rose laughed. ‘Oh, you can say that again. Just wait till we find out what the trials are on Tuesday. I have the feeling that some of these ladies will spend the next two days plotting.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘Not some. Just one of them.’ His fingers drifted over and touched the edge of her trousers. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt any of them. Things just got out of hand.’

  Rose pushed herself up the bed. ‘Once or twice I might let you off with. But four times. Do you never learn your lesson?’

  ‘Looks like I’m about to.’ There was something about the way he said the words. He was pretending to be flippant. But the atmosphere had changed quickly around them. She might be relaxed around Will, but it didn’t deplete the buzz of electricity she felt whenever he walked in the same room as her.

  She sighed. ‘What’s that?’ She pointed to the curled-up newspaper in his hand and flopped back onto the bed.

  ‘Yeah, about that.’ Will flopped back onto the bed next to her.

  The corners of her lips turned upwards. ‘We’ve been in this position before.’

  He smiled, too. ‘I know. I remember. I even have the scar to prove it. I’m just hoping I’m not about to earn another one.’

  She wrinkled her brow. ‘Why would you do that?’ It was disconcerting having those dark blue eyes just inches from hers. This was exactly what waking up next to Will Carter would feel like. All six feet four of him just inches away. That rogue thought was doing strange things to her stomach.

  He moved a little bit closer. She could see the tiny freckles on his nose, feel his warm breath on her cheek and certainly smell his fresh aftershave. Her senses were scrambled. Was he about to kiss her?

  ‘I think your PR campaign has just taken off in an unexpected way,’ he whispered as he unfurled the newspaper.

  She was muddled for a sec. The kiss wasn’t coming. Her eyes tried to fixate on the coloured picture on the front of the red-top newspaper.

  The effect was instantaneous. She sat bolt upright just as the text sounded on her phone.

  The photo look
ed staged. It was just too perfect. Rose with her Doris Day–style dress and blonde hair streaming behind her and Will in his casual shirt and trousers. But it was the expressions on their faces that gave everything away—they were laughing and the elements of pure joy shone from their faces, in perfect unison with the pink and silver heart-shaped balloons escaping into the sky behind them.

  If Rose worked in PR for the movies, she would have paid a fortune for a shot like this.

  But it was the headline that took her breath away. Has the Runaway Groom finally found his bride?

  ‘What?’ She snatched the paper from his hands. ‘What on earth is this?’

  Will opened his mouth to speak but nothing sensible came out. ‘I’m not sure... It’s just a picture... It will blow over in a couple of days.’

  The paper was crumpling beneath her fingers. Rose worked in PR. She knew exactly how big this was. She also hated the fact it was her face staring back at her from the front of the newspapers. It brought back horrible memories of a few years ago when she’d made every front page. She’d hated every second of that and never wanted to repeat it again. ‘How many, Will? How many calls have you had this morning?’

  He flinched. ‘About a dozen.’

  ‘A dozen!’ She was shrieking and she couldn’t help it. If it was any other girl—any other girl in the world right now photographed with Will—she’d be doing a happy dance. This would be a great kick-start for the publicity for the homeless charity.

  But it wasn’t any other girl. It was her. And she hated the fact this could blow out of proportion. Hated the fact it was her in the headlines. How ironic. She hated the media but had learned how to use them to her advantage. Maybe this was a wake-up call for her? Maybe she’d started to get a little complacent?

  Something twisted inside her. ‘Violet,’ she breathed.

  Will’s cool hand touched her arm. ‘I called her. She laughed. And warned me off again.’

  ‘She laughed?’ Rose could feel the waves of panic washing over her. She hadn’t even hinted to Violet the thoughts that were clamouring through her head about Will. How on earth could she? She couldn’t make sense of them herself. The last thing she wanted to do was tell her sister she was falling for the Runaway Groom.

  ‘All those calls I made this morning. Just wait until your exes see this. They’ll think I’m next on your hit list. They’ll think I’m just doing this because you’ve sucked me in.’

  ‘Sucked me in how?’ His voice was low and tinged with anger. He reached over and grabbed the newspaper from her hands. ‘You know what they say about this—today’s news, tomorrow’s chip paper. It’s a photo snapped by someone at the wedding exhibition yesterday. There’s nothing we can do about it.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘If you go to a public place there’s always a danger you’ll get papped. You must be used to it.’

  He had no idea. No idea what had happened a few years ago and how it had changed everything for her. Changed how she felt about herself. Changed how she thought her parents felt about her.

  She took a deep breath and tried to think logically.

  He was making sense but she couldn’t even acknowledge it. ‘But this is a disaster. What happens when I phone those women back? What if they refuse to participate because of this?’ She pointed at the paper again. She hadn’t even read the whole article. ‘I mean, it’s all rubbish.’

  ‘No. It isn’t.’

  She turned quickly to his voice. Will was still lying on the bed. He reached up his hand and pulled her back down next to him.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ She couldn’t help the tremble in her voice. They were back in their original position. Lying on the bed next to each other with only a few inches between their faces.

  ‘Rose, stop pretending that nothing is happening between us. We both know that it is.’ He lifted his finger and touched the side of her cheek, oh, so gently. She shivered. She couldn’t believe he’d actually just said it. Acknowledged it out loud.

  She wasn’t going crazy. She wasn’t imagining things. He felt it, too.

  But he’d felt it four times before. History proved that. She didn’t want to be number five.

  This was the one and only time she’d felt like this.

  Part of it was horrible. Last time she’d felt this vulnerable was after her friend’s death when she’d been splashed all over the media.

  Rose had learned quickly it was better to be the person to try and control the PR, than the person in the PR.

  And the more her feelings grew for this guy, the more she questioned herself and her ability to trust her instincts. What had happened three years ago had affected her more than she’d ever realised. She would always regret leaving her friend. She would always regret the fact she hadn’t hung around when there was even a possibility that Autumn could have put herself in harm’s way. She’d spent the last three years playing the if only game.

  And she couldn’t afford to do that any more. She had to live in the real world.

  And only her parents really knew that she’d been aware of Autumn’s drug-taking. What would Will think of her if he knew the truth? If she revealed all her flaws to him?

  ‘Why couldn’t you just be an ordinary guy?’ she whispered.

  Will smiled. He was so much more laid-back about this. He didn’t seem to have a single problem trusting his instincts—and that was probably part of the problem. What was more he didn’t have a shadow of doubt in his eyes. Not like the clenched hand she currently felt protecting her heart.

  ‘Why couldn’t you just be an ordinary girl?’

  He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. She was scared to move at first. Acknowledging it was one thing. Seeing where it might take them was entirely another.

  But everything he did was completely natural. From edging closer so their bodies were touching, to his hands wandering through her hair and around her face and neck. Each kiss was designed to lead on to the next. To make her want more. And she did. So much more.

  All the sensations in her body were on fire. As if Will had more than one set of hands and they were currently skimming her erogenous zones as if he were reaching out and kissing and caressing each one in turn.

  Rose pulled back sharply.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Little creases appeared around his eyes.

  ‘I don’t know. I’m just nervous. I’m not sure about any of this.’

  ‘What part are you not sure about?’

  Her hand was resting on his bicep. She could feel the heat of his skin through her palm. Every sense in her wanted to run her hand up under the short sleeve of his shirt and feel more.

  ‘I’m not a spotlight kind of girl, Will. I agreed to help you with the PR but I don’t want PR for myself.’

  She felt him suck in a deep breath. ‘I’m afraid with me it might be part of the package. We could release a statement about your parents’ renewal. That would explain why we were there. They may well leave you alone after that.’

  Forget about it. Forget about everything. Act on impulse, Rose, and just kiss him the way you really want to.

  But she couldn’t. For Rose this was all about control. Since her friend’s death she’d become a control freak. It was why she did the job so well for the band. Nothing left to chance.

  Now people were taking pictures of her she didn’t know about. Pictures of her that told the whole world exactly how she felt about Will.

  And the whole world exactly how he felt about her.

  It was like a jolt—and probably just as well she was already lying down.

  Her silence had obviously worried him. ‘Am I overstepping the mark, Rose? Do you want me to leave you alone?’

  ‘No.’ It was the first concrete thought in her head.

  She was so confused right now. She didn’t want to b
e the next girl to be swept along in the flurry of love that surrounded Will Carter.

  She wanted a chance to be normal. To be just Rose and just Will. Two people that were attracted to each other. The electricity sparking between them was everywhere. But while this was all new to her, every precautionary bone in her body kept reminding her it wasn’t for Will.

  And no matter which way she looked at it—it hurt.

  ‘I can’t be number five.’ Her words came out solidly. Definitely.

  Will looked sad as he shook his head. ‘You’re not number anything. You’re Rose.’ His hand touched her cheek again. ‘Can’t we see where this relationship takes us?’

  ‘But that’s just it, Will. You don’t have relationships. You have engagements, wedding plans and then nothing. You’re a commitment-phobe—even though you can’t see it for yourself. I can’t set myself up for that. I don’t want to start a relationship that won’t ever go anywhere.’

  ‘That won’t happen, Rose.’ She’d expected him to say something different. She’d expected him to crack a joke about her being way too keen and these things being years away. He couldn’t possibly know the surge of terrifying emotions in her chest.

  She could see him trying to find the words and the thought he was trying to placate her made her wish the ground would open up and swallow her. Even saying those few words had been too much. She should have known better. She shouldn’t even have acknowledged anything between them.

  ‘This is different.’ His words were unexpected. But she just couldn’t let herself believe them—no matter how much she wanted to.

  ‘I bet you’ve said that before.’

  The wave of hurt on his face was obvious. And even though she should probably want to take the words back, she just didn’t. It had to be said. Will’s reputation had gone before him. It didn’t matter that her own experience of him felt entirely different. For all she knew, all the other girls had thought that, too.

  Will sat up on the bed as her phone beeped again. ‘I don’t know how to show you this is different, Rose. I don’t know how to explain.’