Last-Minute Bridesmaid Page 8

  ‘Not at all. I am singularly incapable of moving outside my area of expertise. Which makes your achievement even more impressive.’

  He lifted his tumbler of melted ice and raised it in a toast. ‘Congratulations, Kate. Running your own business takes a huge amount of work. Running two is extraordinary. All credit to you for taking that kind of risk. It seems that you have the better of me—I shall have to work extra-hard to keep my part of our deal.’

  Then he shook his head before Kate could reply and chuckled. ‘And now you have made me feel guilty about stealing you away from your work for a whole weekend.’

  The tumbler slid back into its holder and Heath narrowed his eyes and tapped his finger against his full lips. ‘This creates somewhat of a problem. How on earth am I going to make it up to you and give you a weekend to remember? Any suggestions?’

  SIX

  Kate gently pushed at the heavy oak door and poked her head around to see if this room was the library.

  It was the fourth door that she had tried since leaving her palatial bedroom and en suite bathroom, which was bigger than her entire apartment and workshop combined. It had to be here somewhere and it certainly wasn’t on the ground floor—they were huge public rooms intended for people who liked to live in style!

  Thank heavens for the lovely housekeeper who had apologised many times that Alice and Charles could not be there in person to welcome her but they were delayed at the airport waiting for a flight. But she had strict instructions to show Miss Olivia Scott and Mr Heath Sheridan to their rooms the moment they arrived.

  Kate had blustered out an explanation that she was here instead of Olivia but it had caused such confusion that after a few minutes she had given up and decided to go with the flow.

  She stood on the wide wood-panelled gallery with the oil paintings of the Jardine family through the ages and glanced from side to side in the echoing silence of this ancient space.

  The wide double doors at the end of the corridor with the ornate carving over the archway had to be the library.

  She strode down the red handmade carpet and stretched out her hand to push open the door a little further. Then pulled it back again.

  The knot which had formed in the pit of her stomach since those last few minutes in the car before they’d arrived ballooned into a football of tangled nerves and feelings and expectations.

  That peculiar anxious feeling had taken root the moment Amber had asked her to make the bridesmaids’ dresses for Heath in the first place.

  And now she was actually here. At Jardine Manor! This was so surreal that she didn’t know whether to laugh with happiness that she had pulled it off or cry because she knew that this could be the one single event that proved to her parents that she was not some pathetic joke and butt of all their jokes.

  She had Heath to thank for all of that. So maybe, just maybe, she could lighten his load in some way and bring back his smile again while she was here? It was supposed to be a happy family occasion after all and who knew? With a bit of luck she might see a glimpse or two of the real Heath underneath his smart black suits?

  Swallowing down her apprehension, Kate took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back, her chest out and her chin high.

  Time to get the Heath and Kate show on the road.

  The heavy door swung open with barely a creak and she strode inside.

  Heath was sitting at a desk in front of a wide square window which flooded light into the dark wood-panelled library with its long floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Huge tomes, which had probably never been opened for years, filled the middle and upper shelves and, on the lower shelves, magazines and atlases and popular fiction.

  All the books were behind glass to keep out the dust and she had to resist the urge to throw open every single one of those glass doors and let the air into the pages.

  Didn’t he know that paper and leather needed to breathe like humans?

  But then, this wasn’t his house. It was Alice Jardine’s home and Heath would never do anything so impertinent as to try and rearrange her library.

  ‘Ah. There you are,’ she said with a smile. ‘A girl can get lost in a place this big. Hello, handsome,’ she said, trying to lighten his mood. He dragged his gaze from his laptop and turned towards her and his brown eyes locked onto hers and instantly the smile from his mouth reached those eyes and her heart leapt.

  So what if she had to play the joker when he was around?

  Every time she saw him, her reaction was exactly the same and the passage of time didn’t seem to make a spot of difference.

  He was still the best-looking man she had ever met. And the only one who could make her toes curl up inside her shoes.

  And when he looked at her like he was now? As though he was actually pleased to see her? She was right back into crush mode. Heath Sheridan truly was the complete package.

  She blinked a couple of times and covered up her embarrassment by peering at the books on the nearest shelf. She stepped back, waved her arms around and gave a half twirl. ‘Have you seen this place? It’s amazing.’

  * * *

  Heath crossed his arms and watched Kate skip up the circular staircase to peer at the leather-bound volumes which filled the lower levels of the heavy floor-to-ceiling bookcases.

  ‘Cool.’ Kate turned and looked at him over her shoulder. ‘Would you mind if I brought a sleeping bag and moved in? I could have such fun here and you probably wouldn’t notice in a house this big. Look at this library. I am drooling just at the sight of all of these books.’

  She half twisted around towards him at the waist and pointed at her lower lip. ‘See. Drool.’

  He tutted. ‘You look very fetching and there is no drool at all. Now please come down before you fall. Amber would never forgive me if you had an accident in those shoes.’

  ‘This is true,’ she replied, scrambling down from the step. She sat gracefully on the top rung, knees together, and tilted her head to one side before saying with a smile in her voice, ‘You might have warned me that the Manor was actually a real, live Elizabethan manor house. I felt as though I should be paying an entrance fee for the guided tour. Does Alice actually live here? I didn’t think people owned houses like this any more.’

  ‘The Jardines bought the Manor several generations ago and yes, Alice definitely lives here.’

  Heath paused then stood up and walked around the table so that he could look out at the garden and the gravel driveway beneath the library window. ‘Speaking of which, I thought I heard a car pull up.’ His voice dropped even lower and softer. ‘And there is the lady herself.’

  Kate strolled forward and stood shoulder to almost shoulder and followed his gaze. A tall man and a slim middle-aged woman were walking across the path from the flower beds towards the house. Her arm was around his waist and they were laughing and chatting away contentedly.

  ‘Oh. Is that them?’ Kate asked, peering over the stone window ledge. ‘How sweet. They look like a lovely couple.’

  The air between herself and Heath instantly dropped a few degrees in temperature and she could actually see his body bristle, his breathing fast and heavy.

  ‘Yes, indeed they do,’ he whispered in a low voice that was so laden with sadness and regret that she thumped his arm with the flat of her hand.

  ‘Hey. Cheer up. They are family. This reminds me. Amber says hello. And when are you going to come out to India to spend time with her and Sam?’

  ‘India?’ he replied and turned back to his desk, her distraction technique a complete success. ‘I might be able to get away early next year when I complete this current assignment.’

  She nodded. ‘Amber and I both know what that means. Next year, as in never.’ Then she sniffed. ‘She would love you to go out and ride elephants and eat coconuts and try out some of those academic ski
lls on the girls. It would be great! Unless, of course...’ she ducked down below his chin level ‘...you are sulking and feeling a teensy bit redundant. A girl still needs her big older ex-stepbrother now and then, you know. That never gets old.’

  His eyebrows lifted and his shoulders moved into a small shrug. ‘Is it that obvious?’ he replied. And the honesty and openness of those few words tugged at her heart strings and pulled her in even closer.

  Kate stood back to full height. ‘Only to people who know you and who notice these sorts of things.’

  ‘Well, that cuts down the options. She is happy. And nothing could please me more. It’s just that I suppose I got used to sorting things out for her. And now she has Sam Richards to do that.’

  ‘Well, that’s nonsense. You’ll still be her favourite stepbrother. But if you have any spare time, perhaps you could hire yourself out. Stepbrother for hire. One careful owner. Reasonable condition. Could last for years if fed and watered.’

  ‘Think I would get many takers?’ He smiled and her little heart lifted at the same time as the corners of his mouth.

  ‘Absolutely. In fact, you’ll be able to meet her real dad’s new family at Amber’s wedding. All girls and all gorgeous. Won’t that be fun?’

  He snorted and started flicking through the papers on the table. ‘I don’t think that my idea of fun is quite the same as yours.’

  ‘Fun? Now there’s a thought. This house is gorgeous and perfect for a wedding, but so far I haven’t heard any plans to have fun this weekend. Well, I am here and I am listening, so fire away. What does Heath Sheridan in his best man suit plan to do to kick off the proceedings with a bang?’ Kate pressed the fingers of her right hand to the left side of her top, where she imagined her heart should be. ‘And don’t worry. Any naughty family secrets will be safe with me.’

  Heath slumped back in his pedestal chair and whirled around to face her, open-mouthed.

  ‘Naughty family secrets? Where did that come from?’

  ‘Well,’ Kate leant forward and fluttered her eyelashes at him, ‘Amber did tell me about some off-the-wall expressionist paintings that you insisted on taking her to see at one time.’

  ‘It was a passing phase. Like strawberries dipped in white chocolate. I moved on. Anything else?’

  ‘Strawberries dipped in chocolate. Now you are talking my sort of language. That sounds delicious—and is now officially added to my must-try list. But you’re avoiding the question. Out with it, Sheridan. What do you do for fun these days?’

  ‘Sorry to disappoint you, Kate, but I spend most of my time chained to the computer. If I have a free weekend I might take in a gallery or the occasional theatre or a local restaurant. That is my idea of fun. So can we move on now so I can get back to organising this wedding? The remaining guests will be here in a few hours.’

  ‘Not a chance, Sheridan,’ Kate hissed and slipped into the gap between Heath and the desk so that she was blocking his view of the screen.

  ‘You still owe me a dance from a high school party. Remember that?’

  His fingers stilled on the paperwork and he glanced sideways at her, his gaze burning into her face as though looking for something, but when he spoke his voice was gentle and there was a spark in his eyes which illuminated his whole face with an inner glow.

  Kate inhaled sharply through her nose.

  There he was.

  There was the real Heath. Saskia had been right. There was the man who she had fallen in crush with. He was still there. And still capable of making her melt with one look.

  Heartbreaker Heath was back in town!

  She would have collapsed with relief if she wasn’t already sitting down.

  ‘High school? I’m surprised that you still remember that.’

  Remember? Forgetting was the problem.

  He was watching her now, waiting for an answer. But to tell him the truth would reveal how important that dance had been to her and that would be bad news for both of them.

  ‘Of course. In fact, Saskia, Amber and I would be prepared to give you excellent references. This could come in handy if you should ever choose to change direction and go into the male escort business. Now, don’t look at me like that. You never know.’

  ‘I think I shall keep that one for a last resort.’ He coughed, his neck a lovely shade of red.

  With that, she slipped down from the desk and rearranged her top and jacket.

  ‘Righty. Time to go and meet my hosts. I suppose I had better get my story straight before I march in to say hello. What, exactly, did you tell Alice about me when you broke the bad news about Olivia?’

  Heath started fiddling with the power cable on his laptop. ‘Sorry, what was that?’

  ‘Heath,’ she whispered with a questioning lilt at the end of the word, and stood directly in front of him and peered into his face.

  ‘Oh, no. I don’t believe it,’ she gasped and slapped the table. ‘I can see it in your face. You haven’t told them, have you?’ She flung her arm out towards the door. ‘They are still expecting your Olivia to turn up. Aren’t they? No wonder the housekeeper kept calling me the wrong name.’

  She half closed her eyes, planted a fist on each hip and stuck her chin out at him.

  ‘Heath Sheridan, I could strangle you. You have had three days to call, text, email, fax and maybe even send a carrier pigeon. But, no. And don’t you dare say that it slipped your mind—because I saw those spreadsheets just now and every tiny detail of this wedding is right there in black and white. And sometimes highlighted in red.’

  She was shouting now, totally in his space and almost touching and did not care.

  Her finger prodded Heath twice in the chest. ‘Talk to me, Sheridan. Because you had better have a very, very good reason why I shouldn’t pack my bags and head back to London this very minute. Because I will. I mean it.’

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, Olivia,’ a sweet musical voice said from behind her shoulder and Kate whipped around to see the same smiling middle-aged woman she had spied outside, strolling across the library floor to meet them. ‘I was so looking forward to finally getting to meet you. Heath, darling, won’t you introduce us?’

  Heath darling seemed to stretch his back several inches taller, his jaw made of ice and stone. ‘Good morning, Alice. How nice to see you again. Of course. I am sorry to say that Olivia couldn’t make it so my friend Katherine Lovat has agreed to take her place. I believe that you two have already spoken. Kate was responsible for those superb bridesmaid dresses.’

  He glanced down at Kate with a look of pure steel. ‘So, if you will excuse me, I will go and catch up with my father. We have a few last-minute business matters to clear up before the fun starts. I’m sure that you ladies have a lot to talk about.’

  * * *

  ‘Of course it was Charles’s idea to have the wedding at the Manor. I’m afraid that I embarrassed myself by crying for at least an hour after he proposed. We have waited so long for this moment, but I didn’t dare hope that we could make it happen. I had already refused him twice, but somehow I just knew. This was the right moment.’

  ‘Charles proposed before? Oh, how romantic. I have to know—why did you turn him down? Cold feet?’

  Alice smiled and shook her head. ‘Cold son. Charles tried to reconnect with Heath so many times over the years and I didn’t want to come between them, even if it meant being apart. Did Heath mention that we’re having a dinner party after the wedding rehearsal this afternoon? I do hope that it will help to break down any awkwardness.’

  Kate finished off a mouthful of the most delicious chocolate cake before taking a sip of tea and shaking her head. ‘Not a word. You see, this is what happens when you leave boys in charge. They don’t pass on the essential details. As for the proposal? Crying for an hour is nothing. I would cry for a week! It
sounds very romantic.’

  Alice grinned and loaded up her plate with another slice of cake. ‘You’re very sweet. Charles says the same thing, but after the past few weeks? I can see now why other people pay wedding planners.’ She licked the icing from her cake fork. ‘I thought it would be simple to hold it here with just a few family members and friends to help celebrate, but I had no idea how complicated the whole thing could be.’

  ‘Complicated?’ Kate repeated and shuffled forward to top up the teacups.

  Alice hummed slightly and popped a large piece of cake into her mouth.

  Kate took the hint. ‘Ah. Heath. I know, but he does care. Amber adores him, and I’ve known him for years. It just takes a while for him to get used to things. Everything will be fine, and I’m sure that he’ll give you a marvellous welcome into the Sheridan family.’

  Alice put down her cup and smiled at Kate, then brought her knees up and curled up on the sofa. ‘Heath hates me,’ she whispered, and gave a small shoulder shrug when Kate tried to deny it.

  ‘There’s a lot of history which he hasn’t told you about. You see, Heath’s mother, Lee, was a very good friend of mine. We were at high school together and then at art college in London. Lee was lovely,’ Alice said with a really warm smile, ‘and I couldn’t want for a better friend. We made the effort and stayed in touch over the years. I used to go to Boston several times a year teaching art classes, and Lee used to come to London for girlie weekends. It was great and we had the best fun.’

  The smile faded. ‘It broke my heart when she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. We had so little time together at the end, so I put my life on hold and moved to Boston for a few weeks. Does that sound crazy to you?’

  Kate reached out and took Alice’s hand in hers. ‘Not in the slightest. I have two wonderful friends, Amber and Saskia. I would do anything for them. Anything. I understand completely. I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m sure that she was grateful that you were there but it must have been horrific. That was so brave of you.’