It was Bree’s turn to snort, and she made sure it was twice as inelegant as Courtney’s. ‘No way am I weighing in on that. No one can make that decision except you and Noah.’
What was Courtney trying to do—turn Bree into the bad guy here? She’d pass on that role too, thank you very much.
‘Why the hell are you having second thoughts now?’ Noah ground out, his eyes blazing in the pallor of his face.
Bree winced. His every muscle was clenched so tight he shook. It made him look angry, belligerent, but she knew better. All of that mad tension hid panic...and probably a world of pain.
The finger he pointed at Courtney shook. ‘I asked you to marry me over a year ago. You said yes over a year ago. You’ve had over a year to change your mind.’
He dragged a hand down his face and Bree’s heart throbbed. Courtney couldn’t do this to him. She just couldn’t.
With what looked like a superhuman effort, he lifted his head. ‘Look, wedding jitters are normal but...’
Courtney folded her arms over her tightly laced bodice. ‘But?’
‘But this is crazy. And don’t you think it’s a bit...overdramatic?’
He spread his hands as he spoke, but something inside Bree froze as she stared into his face. Her stomach tightened, and she backed up until she was out of the circle. She scrutinised his face and then Courtney’s and slowly lowered herself to a chair.
Courtney’s laugh held a note of hysteria. ‘What if we’re making a mistake? Doesn’t that worry you?’
Bree’s heart caught. Was she the only one who could see the sudden vulnerability in those china-blue eyes? Or was everyone else blinded by the vision of picture-perfect bridal perfection?
‘We can talk about this later,’ Noah hissed. ‘We have over two hundred guests out there who are waiting to see us get married.’ His hands clenched. ‘Not to mention the press. The wedding reception is booked and a veritable feast awaiting, not to mention the plan for the honeymoon. I don’t know what else you want me to do. I’ve agreed to everything you wanted.’
It was only because she knew him so well that Bree recognised how he bit back the expletive chafing through him. Silently she said it for him, Courtney, he’s agreed to every damn thing you wanted.
He went on to name all the manifold delights they had waiting to share with their guests at the wedding reception, and the secret European location they’d chosen for their honeymoon and had so been looking forward to. He listed the myriad things they had to look forward to in their shared life when they returned home from their honeymoon. A shared life full of potential, purpose and privilege.
He spoke of holiday houses in Palm Springs and an apartment in Sydney, named the best grammar schools for the three children they planned to have, mentioned the awards and accolades they’d win in their glittering and magnificent careers. ‘Courtney, sweetheart—’ he spread his hands, his expression bewildered ‘—this is dream-come-true stuff.’
Bree swallowed the sigh welling through her. He made it sound amazing.
‘We’ve talked and talked about this,’ he continued, ‘planned everything down to the smallest detail. I have every intention of doing all I can to make every single one of your dreams come true. Why have second thoughts now?’
It sounded like the most amazing dream.
Except for one thing.
He spread his arms wide. ‘What have I missed? What else do you want?’
‘Oh, yes! You’re giving me so much.’ Courtney threw up her arms. ‘And what do you get in return?’
He stared. ‘I get to marry you. I get the life I just described. What more could I want?’
Bree leaned forward on her chair, suddenly and achingly hyperaware. Say it, she urged silently. Say it.
‘I get to be married to the smartest, most beautiful woman I know. A woman I never in a million years imagined would ever marry me.’
‘I’m not some damn trophy you get to hold aloft, Noah!’
His mouth opened and closed but not a single word emerged.
Bree waited, her heart thumping. But still he didn’t say it. For the briefest of moments her and Courtney’s gazes collided. Courtney kinked an eyebrow and Bree found herself slumping.
Noah didn’t love Courtney.
And Courtney had only just realised that.
Bree couldn’t blame the other woman for running as fast from Noah as she could. But why the heck couldn’t she have come to this decision last week? Or even yesterday?
Courtney pressed her fingers to her temples. ‘Noah, let’s postpone the wedding so we can talk...work through a few things.’ She dragged in a breath so shaky it made Bree think she was only holding it together by a thread.
The expression on Noah’s face told them all what he thought about that idea.
Courtney’s throat bobbed as she swallowed, her hands tightly clenched at her waist. ‘It’s just a delay. If you really love me...?’
Two beats of silence passed.
‘Or, how’s this for a plan?’ Noah widened his stance. ‘We get married right now.’ He pointed back the way they’d come. ‘We have a church full of guests, the caterers are booked, and everything is in place for your whole damn dream wedding.’
Courtney’s eyes flashed. ‘But it’s not your whole damn dream wedding.’
‘I don’t care about the wedding. I just want to marry you!’
‘Fine, marry me in a month, then!’
A terrifying smile stole across Noah’s lips then and Bree’s heart clenched at the self-loathing she recognised in his eyes, though she wondered if anyone else recognised it as such.
‘If you loved me...’ His lips twisted into a bitter smile. ‘Here are the options, Courtney. Marry me now...’
‘Or?’
‘Don’t marry me at all.’
Bree closed her eyes. A man in love didn’t give those kinds of ultimatums.
Courtney’s lips twisted. ‘My dream wedding perhaps, but not my dream groom. I’m sorry, Noah, but I can’t marry you.’
He’d gone so pale it made Bree’s stomach churn. He could fix this so easily.
All he had to do was tell Courtney he loved her!
But the fact that saying the words didn’t even occur to him spoke volumes. She wanted to drop her head to her hands. What a God-awful mess.
To Noah’s credit, he didn’t beg. He kept his chin high and his eyes hard. ‘You’re certain about this?’
‘A hundred per cent.’
‘And let me guess—’ his nostrils flared ‘—you’re going to walk out and leave me to clean up the mess?’
Courtney hesitated, before turning to the minister. ‘Are any of the wedding party required to go out there and explain that the wedding has been cancelled?’
‘Absolutely not. In fact, I can do it with far less fuss and uproar than anyone else. And to be frank, I’d rather my church not be turned into a circus.’
Noah’s lips twisted. ‘The press are going to have a field day with this.’
‘Then I’m leaving through the side door now.’ Courtney picked up her skirts. ‘I’m sorry to do this to you, Noah, but it really is for the best.’
‘Wait.’ Bree found herself on her feet. ‘I have a bit of a plan. We all know the two of you are going to be pursued by the media.’ Not just pursued, but probably hounded. ‘Why don’t the two of you leave—?’
‘Separately,’ Courtney snapped.
‘That message has been received loud and clear,’ Noah bit out through white lips.
Bree swallowed and started again. ‘While you two slip away, separately, the rest of the bridal party can assemble back out there—’ she hitched her head in the direction of the church ‘—as if the wedding is going to go ahead. It’ll buy you both a little time to leave the church unhindered.’
Noah drew himself up
to his full height of six feet one inch and the coldness in his eyes sent a shiver down Bree’s spine. ‘I’m not a coward, Bree. Courtney might be happy to make her little announcement and dash away, but I’m more than capable of going out there and facing the music, even if she isn’t.’
Ooh, really bad idea. Especially when he was this angry. One look at his face and nobody in the church would blame Courtney for bolting. The press would go to town on him.
If Noah chose to annihilate Courtney’s character in public, Bree wanted him to make the decision with a clear head, not this fury. She moistened her lips. ‘It’s not about being capable, Noah. It’s about not feeding a media frenzy.’
‘She’s right, dude,’ Ryder said. ‘The two of you either go out there to make the announcement together or not at all.’
Courtney’s eyes widened. ‘I’m not going out there.’
Ryder’s lips twisted. ‘Which is exactly what I’d expect of you...now.’
‘Back off, hotshot!’
Hallelujah. The maid of honour could actually speak. Bree felt as if the only one doing any talking besides the bride and groom had been her.
‘Why should it be your face that’s splashed across the newspapers in the morning or on the TV this evening?’ Bree said over the rising tide of voices. ‘Let them drag out an old picture of the two of you and speculate to their hearts’ content. You don’t owe them anything.’
‘And who’ll cancel everything that needs cancelling?’ Noah demanded.
‘Goldilocks here and I will take care of all that.’ Ryder gestured towards the maid of honour. ‘You don’t have to worry about a thing.’
She saw the exact moment Noah registered that whatever he did in the next few minutes would have repercussions on the company he and Ryder had built from the ground up. He could wilfully destroy his own reputation—and the company’s—or he could go into damage control.
‘I agree with your friends,’ the minister said. ‘This is the wisest course of action.’
Noah swore, making them all flinch.
‘Do you have your car keys?’ Ryder shot at Bree.
She nodded, blessing the fact she’d brought her clutch purse with her to the vestry and hadn’t left it on the seat beside her mother.
‘Take him straight to Mum and Dad’s.’
Her? Why her?
‘Whatever you do, don’t take him to his apartment. The press will be swarming all over the place in an hour.’
Well, doh. But—
‘Blake and I will try and delay them for as long as we can.’
Damn. Her brothers still had a role to play in all of this. One glance at Noah’s pinched lips and the dangerous glitter in his eyes and she knew she couldn’t let him go off by himself. Heaven only knew what he’d do.
‘Go now,’ Ryder whispered in her ear, pushing her in the direction of the door.
Refusing to give herself any time to think, she grabbed Noah’s arm and towed him through the side entrance. Beneath the material of his tux, his arm was rock-solid muscle. Unbidden, a little shiver shook through her. Did Courtney know what she was doing, what she was giving up?
The woman was an idiot on so many levels. And yet Bree couldn’t blame her for refusing to marry a man who didn’t love her.
‘Are you pleased with yourself?’ Noah snarled as she drove her hatchback away from the church.
Uh-huh. Male logic at its best, no doubt. She understood his need to lash out, though. And as she was the only one currently available...
‘Ecstatic,’ she murmured, doing her best to keep her attention on the road rather than the bristling hulk of masculinity beside her. They said a woman scorned was a scary proposition, but perhaps they’d never seen a jilted groom. Bree would put them on a par.
‘You had it in your power to convince Courtney to marry me and yet you refused to do it. Why would you serve me such a bad turn?’ His brow pleated. ‘Hell, Bree, I thought we were friends.’
His words cut her to her marrow, and she ran an orange light. ‘Of course we’re friends.’
‘Then why would you destroy all my chances of happiness? You knew marrying Courtney is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.’
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘I know you’re feeling bad at the moment, Noah—hurt, angry, betrayed. But I refuse to take the blame for this. If you couldn’t convince her to marry you, I don’t see what hope you think I had.’
‘All you had to say was that you thought we were well suited!’ His voice rose. ‘All you had to do was tell her we should get married!’
‘You wanted me to lie?’ They weren’t the words she meant to say, but they were the ones that burst from her mouth.
* * *
‘This is what it looks like at your apartment complex at the moment.’
Ryder handed Noah his phone and Noah grimaced. Talk about a media circus.
He closed his eyes. Everything ached. His temples pounded. His jaw throbbed. His throat burned with the effort of holding back all the ugly words he wanted to spew forth. His hands and shoulders ached at how tightly he clenched the one and braced the other.
And inside his chest an ugly gaping darkness lay in wait to claim him.
‘Believe me, you don’t want to go back there at the moment.’
‘What’s it like at yours?’ he asked, handing back the phone. Ryder was his business partner and best man. His friend would be considered fair game—guilty by association—and Noah hated to have brought this furore to his friend’s door as well.
‘It’s being staked out by a few hacks but nothing on this scale.’
But if Noah showed his face there... He shook his head. He wasn’t bringing the slathering hordes to Ryder’s doorstep.
‘You can couch surf at mine,’ Blake offered.
Blake shared the ultimate bachelor pad with two of the firefighters he worked with—but there was no room there, there’d be no privacy...and he couldn’t face all the false jollification they’d rally for his benefit.
He understood it. He appreciated it. But he couldn’t face it.
‘Nonsense,’ Janice Allenby said. ‘You’re staying here with us, Noah. We have plenty of room and we’d love to have you.’
A little gentle non-intrusive mothering from Mrs A would certainly help soothe the savage beast, but neither she nor her husband, Colin, needed the hassle of the media camped outside their front door. Janice was a high-profile public servant while Colin was a well-respected ophthalmologist. They were busy, hardworking people and he wasn’t repaying their unremitting kindness with that.
It would kill him if they ever came to regret taking him under their wings. They’d all but adopted him when he’d moved to the area as an eleven-year-old—had even had brief custodial stints when his parents had been...otherwise occupied.
‘Or,’ Bree put in and then stopped.
They hadn’t spoken since their harsh words in the car. He owed her an apology. And maybe she owed him one as well. He frowned. He wasn’t sure about that, though. Maybe she’d had every right to say what she’d said.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case were, she’d brought him inside, rustled him up a pair of jeans and long-sleeved T, before sitting him at the kitchen table and handing him a beer. She’d sat on the other side of the table sipping a soda. It had been weirdly soothing—a bubble of quiet—before the rest of the Allenbys had raced in and the bubble had burst.
He dragged a hand down his face, suddenly feeling a hundred years old. When had everything become so complicated? When had it all gone to hell in a hand basket? How the hell had he not seen what had happened today coming?
He’d not had a single inkling that anything was wrong. Courtney’s pronouncement had totally blindsided him. Just when he’d thought he was about to get everything he’d ever wanted.
When he pulled
his hand back to his side and glanced up, something in Bree’s eyes—the same colour as the milk chocolate she loved—gentled. ‘Or,’ she repeated, glancing at her watch, ‘I’m leaving on my road trip in two hours.’
Very slowly, he straightened. What was she saying?
She dragged in a breath as if to bolster her resolve. ‘You’re welcome to tag along if you want.’
She shook her head and then rolled her eyes towards the ceiling as if she couldn’t believe she’d just made the offer.
He frowned. ‘Thanks, Bree, but I don’t think—’
‘Hold on a moment! Think about it.’ Ryder swung to Noah, punching a fist into his hand. ‘It could be the perfect solution. It’s the last thing anyone would expect and, therefore, the last place anyone would think to look for you.’
Her father wrapped an arm around Bree’s shoulders. ‘Nice thinking, sweetie.’
It touched him the way the Allenby family wanted to protect him from the fallout of today’s debacle. He couldn’t avoid it forever, they all knew that—eventually he and Courtney would have to make some kind of public statement—but they’d do all they could to buy him some breathing space first.
And they were right. He needed a time out. His brain had shut down and he couldn’t make sense of anything. God only knew what he’d say if cornered by the press at the moment.
And for the sake of his and Ryder’s company, Fitness Ark, he couldn’t afford to make a statement before thinking through what he was going to say very carefully first.
‘It’d ease my mind to know Bree wasn’t travelling alone,’ Janice said.
‘Mum.’ Bree rolled her eyes again.
Blake shrugged. ‘At least it’ll give you someone to share the driving with.’
‘As I’m not driving longer than six hours on any given day, that won’t make much difference.’
‘Ah, but with the two of you, you’ll be able to go further faster,’ Ryder said.
‘I don’t want to go further faster. I want to take my time.’ She glared at Noah as if he’d just agreed with her brother. ‘And I’m not changing my mind about that.’
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