Australian Outback Kings / The Cattle King's Mistress / The Playboy King's Wife / The Pleasure King's Bride (21 page)

“Samantha?” His eyebrows shot up. “Since when has Sam become Samantha?”

“You'll see,” Elizabeth replied knowingly, piquing curiosity.

“A glass of champagne for you, Mum?” Jared asked.

“No, thank you. I just came to check that you're all ready and nothing's amiss.”

“Do we pass inspection?” Nathan asked with an amused, confident smile.

For a moment, he reminded her so strongly of Lachlan on their wedding day, she choked up, nodding her approval to cover the emotional block.

“What am I going to see?” Tommy drawled, his voice laced with scepticism. “Has Miranda waved some magic wand over Sam?”

“Could I have a private word with you, Tommy?” Elizabeth asked.

“I've got the ring.” He patted his trouser pocket. “I know all the duties of a best man. You can trust me to carry them out. And despite whatever barbs Sam chooses to sling at me, my speech thanking the bridesmaid will be all you'd want it to be. Does that cover it?”

“Not quite. Please…just a few minutes of your time,” Elizabeth insisted, gesturing to the adjoining lounge room.

With a much put-upon roll of his eyes, he heaved himself off the bar stool, then wickedly broke into a song and dance. ‘“Oh, we're going to the cha-a-apel, going to get ma-a-arried…'” And to his brothers' huge merriment, swept Elizabeth into a dance hold and whirled her into the adjoining room with all the panache of the playboy image he'd cultivated.

And what did that cover? Elizabeth had often wondered. She didn't believe he had a lust for many women. To her mind, it was more a restless search for someone to answer needs that Sam wouldn't or couldn't answer. Or a pride thing, proving other women found him readily desirable. But it wasn't giving him what he truly wanted. Elizabeth was certain of that.

“So…” he said, bringing her to a halt beyond ready earshot of the others. “…what's on your mind?”

She caught her breath, wishing she didn't have to dampen the devilish twinkle in his eyes. But she loved Tommy too much to let him hide his deep-down needs behind a wall of frivolous fun.

“It's Nathan's wedding day,” she started.

He made a mock frown. “I truly am aware of that fact.”

“Yes…well, I'd like it to be a very happy occasion. No bickering or snide little cracks.”

He raised his eyebrows in a show of innocence. “I am the very soul of pleasure on tap.”

“Then show that soul to Samantha for once, Tommy. You heard Nathan. He won't ask it directly of you but I shall. Give the fighting a break. Be kind, generous…”

His face closed up.

“Tommy, I am just asking you to treat her as you would any other woman. Don't mess this up.”

“Mess what up?” he demanded coldly.

“This day. You're older than she is. And God knows you've had enough experience of women to handle the situation with finesse. She's nervous. She's afraid…”

“Afraid?” His eyes flashed derision. “Sam's never been afraid of anything.”

“You think I'm a fool, Tommy? You think I'm just talking to hear myself speak?”

He glanced away, breath hissing out between his teeth.

“I'm telling you she doesn't have her usual armour today,” Elizabeth drove on. “I'm telling you she's vulnerable. And if you hurt her, Tommy…it would be very, very wrong.”

“I have no intention of hurting Sam,” he grated.

She reached out and squeezed his arm. “I hope you take very great care not to. For your sake. And hers,” she said quietly.

His gaze swung back, eyes blazing a fierce challenge. “You think it's all my fault?”

The banked passion behind those words told Elizabeth more than Tommy had ever told her…the long-burning frustration of his relationship with Samantha Connelly. But there was nothing to be gained by placing blame anywhere. Raking over the past wouldn't help. She had to appeal to the man he was now, the man who still wanted what could be…if the ground was shifted.

“No,” she answered, her eyes holding his with love and understanding. “I simply trust you're big enough…and I know you are, Tommy…to rise above it today. To give of yourself without asking or expecting a return or a reward. Just to give…because giving is what today is about.”

His mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Okay. You have a deal. For what it's worth.” His eyes gently mocked as he added, “But you must know Sam's bound to make tatters of any gift from me.”

“Then the fault will indeed be all hers. Thank you, Tommy.”

“Oh, I'll be having the pleasure of being a martyred saint,” he rolled out in an Irish lilt, a resurgence of devilment in his eyes.

She smiled. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

His face softened. “You don't have to. You've always been on my side when I've needed you. And to simply say thank you is totally inadequate. But thanks all the same, Mum.”

Elizabeth had never had any hesitation in throwing family money behind Tommy's enterprises, the small planes and helicopter charter business which he'd called KingAir, the wilderness resort that bore the same name as the cattle station, King's Eden, since it had once been a part of it.

He'd had a great need to prove himself, away from Nathan's big shadow, Nathan who was born to be the cattle King and wear his father's shoes. Tommy had to be his own man, and he was, very much his own man now, solidly successful in his business life.

But his personal life…he envied the love Nathan had found with Miranda. Elizabeth had seen it in his eyes on the night of their engagement party and knew he craved the same kind of love…to be accepted and respected and loved for the person he was inside.

“Let's have a happy day, Tommy,” she said, knowing he would respond to her appeal for peace with Samantha.

“Sure, we will. The happiest of days. Especially for Nathan.”

For you, too, Elizabeth willed. “I must go back to Miranda. Everything else is in order?”

“Running like clockwork. Don't worry. We're onto the countdown now and everything will go brilliantly.”

“I hope so.”

He tapped her cheek in tender affection. “It's all right. You have my promise. I'll keep smiling in the face of the tiger.”

“Thank you, Tommy.”

It was with a lighter heart that Elizabeth returned to the bride. She'd done what she could to set up a harmonious situation. What might come out of it was up to Tommy and Samantha now.

The bridesmaid and the best man.

A wedding.

Surely they would feel what was missing from their lives and make an effort to leap over the barriers between them and grasp this chance. Pride simply wasn't worth the loss of love.

CHAPTER THREE

A
T PRECISELY
3:45, as scheduled, Tommy and Nathan stepped off the homestead verandah, leaving Jared behind to escort Miranda down the aisle in place of the unknown father who'd played no part in her life. She had no family, but she was not to walk alone. Never again alone, Nathan had sworn.

They walked down the path to where a white pergola had been erected, framing the front entrance opening. On either side of it the old bougainvillea hedge was a mass of multicoloured bloom on this fine Saturday afternoon. Shade cloth had been spread over the top of the pergola to hold off the hot sun while Miranda and Sam waited there to make their entrance. Tommy and Nathan slid out past the white lattice gates which would hide the bridal procession from view until The Moment.

A long strip of red carpet had been laid across the road, bisecting the large circular lawn in front of the homestead and leading straight to the white gazebo which had been set up at the other end of it. The whole area was shaded by magnificent old trees, the wide spread of their branches interlacing, providing the best protection for the three hundred guests, most of whom had flown in from all over Australia.

Many were already seated on the white chairs which had been laid out in a church pattern, the bulk of them facing the gazebo, but with two sections parallel to it—special sections reserved for the resort and station staff with their families on one side, and on the other, the Aboriginal tribe which had been tied to King's Eden from its beginning over a hundred years ago.

This was undoubtedly the biggest Outback wedding ever held in the Kimberly, Tommy thought, smiling to himself at the idea of another King legend in the making. There were many of them from the old days, but this…this was something else and he was proud to have had a big hand in it with KingAir flying in many of the guests and his resort providing the accommodation. Nathan couldn't have managed such a gathering on his own.

As they strode down the red carpet aisle together, a buzz of anticipation ran through the crowd. Those who hadn't taken their seats moved to settle down for the long awaited ceremony. Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy noticed Janice Findlay lingering on her feet, watching him, probably wanting his attention to turn her way.

It was over between them, as far as he was concerned, so he gave her no encouragement. He hoped she wasn't going to try reviving their affair today. The problem with Janice was she drank too much, fun when she was only tiddly but no fun at all when she bombed herself out.

If she made some kind of scene in front of Sam, the fat would be in the fire. Sam would undoubtedly let fly with caustic comments and he'd have to weather them, in keeping with his promise to his mother. He willed Janice to target some other guy at the wedding. His patience and good humour were going to be tested enough, keeping Sam sweet, though he doubted that was even remotely possible. There was no honey in her nature to start with.

Vulnerable?
Well, maybe Miranda had put her in high heels and she was scared of wobbling up the aisle or tripping over herself. Sam would certainly hate looking less than competent. She probably felt like a fish out of water in female finery, having prided herself on mastering a man's world from the day she was born a girl instead of a boy.

It was to be hoped she didn't fall flat on her face. He wouldn't wish that humiliation on her, not in front of this crowd and right at the beginning of the wedding, though she was damned good at dishing out humiliation herself. Not only was she a first-class expert at one-upmanship, she nitpicked everything he did, as though she always knew better. The exasperating part was that too often she proved she was right.

Which annoyed the hell out of him.

One of these days he was going to get the better of Sam Connelly. But, given his promise to his mother, today was not the day. Unless…

A smile twitched at his lips. What if he gave her the full playboy charm treatment on this auspicious occasion…bridesmaid and best man? Shower her with compliments. Keep pressing to do whatever would make her feel happy. Focus on her needs and desires. In short—bewilder, bewitch and bedazzle. He broke into a chuckle at the thought of clipping Sam's claws, one by one.

“What's amusing you?” Nathan asked.

“You may not be the only winner today, big brother,” he answered with a grin.

Nathan looked about to pursue the point, but the pastor hailed him, breaking away from a group of guests he'd been chatting to and joining them as they reached the gazebo. With any private conversation diverted, Tommy contented himself envisaging various scenarios between him and Sam, where she would be left floundering under a barrage of unquenchable charm.

The sight of his mother emerging onto the red carpet aisle jolted his mind back onto the job of getting this wedding under way. He signalled to Albert and the other tribal elder, Ernie, to take their seats on either side of the gazebo. Out they came from amongst their families, carrying their didgeridoos—the long wooden instruments highly polished for the occasion—and with great dignity, settled themselves ready to play.

His mother reached the top of the aisle and held out her arms in a gathering gesture. With great excitement, the children streamed out from their shaded seats, all the girls under twelve years old from the station families, and two boys from the Aboriginal community. They were all puffed up with self-importance as they lined up in front of the gazebo, the boys in front, their sleek brown bodies daubed in ceremonial patterns, and both of them carrying a tribal spear, six girls in pairs behind them, looking very cute in frilly lilac dresses, white socks and shoes, little white daisies circling their hair, and carrying pretty white baskets filled with rose petals.

His mother had a few quiet words with them. There was much earnest nodding. Then off they went down the aisle, the girls positioning themselves at their allotted intervals, the boys marching straight for the white lattice gates which they were to open at the first long note from the didgeridoos. As soon as the boys were in place, his mother took her seat.

“Ready?” Tommy couldn't resist shooting at Nathan.

“Ready,” he replied in a heartfelt tone.

Tommy gave the nod to Albert and Ernie, and unaccountably felt a soaring anticipation himself as the ancient Aboriginal instruments started their deep, rhythmic thrum, calling up the good spirits from the Dreamtime to bless this union with longevity and fertility. It was a sound that seemed to reverberate through the heart, linking everyone to an earth-beat as old as time itself.

In unison, the boys opened the gates wide…and out stepped…Sam?

Disbelief seized Tommy's mind.

Sam…looking like some stunning model from a fashion magazine?

A shower of rose petals dotted his vision for a moment but then she walked past them without the slightest wobble in her step. She was carrying herself straight and tall, just as his mother did. Tall? Her hair was up! The mop of bouncy red ringlets wasn't a mop anymore. It was sleeked back from her face and tamed into a sophisticated arrangement on top of her head, gleaming like burnished copper, and set off with a lilac rose nestled artistically to one side.