Confessions of a Bad Bridesmaid (7 page)

Edward was silent. His jaw worked frantically. Olivia moved closer and wrapped her arm around his biceps, somehow knowing that he needed comfort. He looked down at her and Olivia saw sadness in his eyes.

‘What is it?’ she asked softly.

Slowly, carefully, Edward pulled his hand out of his pocket and reached for her face. Olivia stood still, waiting for his touch, anticipating the gentle feel of his fingers on her skin. Gently his cold fingers stroked her cheek as his gaze trailed over her face, down the curve of her neck and back again. His hand looped around her ear and his eyes locked with hers. Hard.

‘Edward, what is it?’ she whispered.

His gaze broke and he took his hand away and looked at the statue. Olivia felt as if he’d torn something from her.

‘Nothing.’ His voice was raw. He shuffled before taking her hand and leading her further into the maze.

ELEVEN

It took them
more than an hour to get through the maze. They figured out all the fables, laughed at the stupid ones and tried to find the hidden meaning of the tricky ones. Edward held her hand the entire time, and when they reached the other side the first spots of rain fell.

They started to run until Olivia spotted the flags of the castle and the large stone building looming ahead of them. She was stumbling in her big gumboots and her feet slipped, but Edward grabbed her around the waist to stop her from falling. She was laughing as he scooped her off the ground and barely felt the rain as it turned into freezing sleet against her skin.

Edward was so close and his body was so warm. He’d lifted her high enough so that her mouth was level with his. She could feel his breath warm against her lips, and when she lifted her eyes she saw something that shocked her.

He wanted her.

He wanted to kiss her.

She didn’t think.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her lips to his and forgot to think or breathe. All she did was feel. His lips pressed hard against hers. Her lips tingled and her body heated until she forgot the wind and the ice and the cold and felt a blast of fire flood her veins. Then he opened his mouth and a rush of emotion made her whimper. He was kissing her back. Really kissing her back.

He tilted his head to get better access and she pushed closer to him, winding her fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck. He tasted like beer and smelled like soap and she couldn’t think of anything but him. The muscles in his shoulders were hard as she moved her arms around them. The roughness of his stubble against her top lip and the deep groan he made when she nipped at his bottom lip made her body shiver.

But then, as he had last night, he pushed her away. Let her drop and pushed at her shoulders. His eyes blazed and his lips were swollen.

‘What? What is it?’

‘Olivia. I’m sorry. I can’t.’

‘Can’t what?’

But he didn’t answer her. He just let go and stepped back.

He didn’t want her. He’d been caught up in the rain and the romance of the maze and he didn’t want her after all. After all the mistakes she’d made she’d thought she’d be used to rejection by now. But his rejection seemed to bite hard.

‘Can’t what? Can’t kiss me? Or don’t want anyone to see you kiss a girl like me.’

‘Olivia. You’re behaving like a child. We can’t just...do this.’ His eyes flashed.

‘A child! Me? I’m not the one who sees the shiny toy and wants to play with it but doesn’t want to buy. I’m not the one who breaks the string, Edward. That’s you.’

‘You don’t understand. It’s Will’s wedding and I...’

‘And you
what
? What difference does it make where we are? Stop making excuses. You don’t want to kiss me because you don’t think I’m good enough for you. Isn’t that right?’

‘No, that’s not right.’

‘Then what is it?’

She watched his face. Pieces of ice were getting caught in his eyelashes. His lips were turning blue. She felt her hair damp across her face. She probably looked a mess. Nothing like Perfect Penelope. How could she compete with perfection? She’d been a fool to think someone who looked like him, who was as interesting as he was, would be interested in her. Loopy Livvie.

She didn’t wait for his answer. She dodged around him and ran all the way up the lawn and into the warmth of the house.

* * *

Things had become way out of hand. For the first time in a long time Edward felt out of control and he didn’t know what to do. He tipped the glass in his hand and the ice clinked. What was always going to be a difficult weekend was now more complicated than ever.

Why the hell had he kissed her? He knew the answer to that. She was beautiful. And funny and sweet and charming and sexy as hell. But he still shouldn’t have kissed her. She was Fiona’s best friend—the Maid of Honour. Could he be any more obvious? And Will had been her first choice. It might have been her here, marrying his brother, if Fiona hadn’t turned up. He took another sip of his Glenfiddich and enjoyed the burn as it snaked down his throat. He had enough to contend with in his mother and his father and Bunny and the Blenheim Blowhards without throwing Olivia into the mix.

Anyway, he should have been working—not traipsing the countryside indulging in the attentions of a pretty girl. But when they’d walked near the maze he hadn’t been able to help himself. James had been on his mind since he’d arrived. Especially since his mother seemed so lost this weekend. He’d wanted to go there—but somehow he couldn’t. Until Olivia was with him.

When he’d kissed her neck earlier he’d felt her shock. She’d trembled beneath his lips as if afraid that their tentative friendship had been ruined. He’d thought taking her to the maze might repair the damage he’d done. He didn’t want to fight with her—quite the opposite. He wanted to be closer to her.

‘Which is exactly why I need to stay away from her,’ he mumbled to himself as he took another slug of whisky.

He wondered where she was. Probably downstairs with Bolton-Smythe and his wandering hands. Laughing and flirting and wearing one of those short dresses of hers.

He heard laughter in the library as he got closer. Bunny could be heard hooting at something and the dull tones of Hugo—or was it Casper?—rang out across the hall. He knew she’d be in there.

He shouldn’t go in. He should try and get some work done, check on his mother. Find his father. But he didn’t. He went into the library. They were all sitting around his father’s prized Egyptian alabaster offering table.

Bunny saw him first. ‘Ed—there you are! Come on—deal him in, Casper. Poker, darling.’

‘Not Ed. I’ve fallen into that trap before. He’ll rob us all,’ grumbled Casper unsociably.

‘No, don’t deal me in. I’m not playing. I’ll just watch.’ Edward saw Olivia at the table but he avoided her eyes. She didn’t say anything and didn’t look up at him either.

He found a seat at the other end of the room and picked up a book that was sitting nearby and pretended to read.

A hoot came from the table. ‘You’ve lost again, Fiona. Terrible luck.’ Bunny laughed and dealt the cards again. ‘Are you playing this time, Olivia, or are the rules still too confusing for you, dear?’

Edward resisted the urge to stand. He wanted to see what Olivia would say to Bunny’s obvious provocation. He almost hoped she’d cry and leave the room. Deep down, though, he knew that even if she did it was almost certain he wouldn’t like her any less.

Olivia’s face reddened. ‘I think I’ve figured it out, Bunny.’

‘Excellent. How about we make this more interesting, then?’

Casper’s high-pitched voice chimed in and the muscles in Edward’s neck tensed.

‘What do you have in mind, Casp?’

‘Strip poker, obvs.’

Bunny’s horsey friend sucked in a gasp. ‘Casp, no. Strip poker is for sad weirdos and women who wear kitten heels.’

‘Then it’s perfect for you, Rosie.’

Rosie laughed a very loud and annoying bray before turning her gaze onto Edward.

‘How about you, Ed? Do you want to play strip poker?’

She tossed her hair off her shoulder and gazed at him in a way he was sure she thought was seductive.

‘No, thanks.’

‘They don’t play strip poker in the provincials, Casper.’ Hugo stood and lit his cigarette. ‘They’d scare the wildlife.’

Edward didn’t miss Hugo’s pointed look towards Olivia and Fiona. Or the muffled laugh from Bunny. Apparently neither did Olivia.

‘Strip poker sounds fun. Deal me in.’

Her chin was up. That bravado she brought out whenever she was nervous was back. He wanted to tell her not to play their game. But he didn’t. He glanced at Olivia. Tonight she had on a tight black dress and not much else, and her hair was pulled up on to the top of her head.

Sitting to Olivia’s right was Will, and Edward wondered if his brother had ever touched her. Or kissed her. His blood burned at the thought. Edward’s leg started to jiggle, so he stood and paced to the other end of the room.

‘What have you got, Olivia?’ asked horsey Rosie sweetly.

Olivia blanched. Edward suspected she didn’t play much poker.

‘Ahhh...’

‘C’mon, love. Throw down your cards. We haven’t got all night.’ Hugo was irritable. He was probably losing and worried everyone would laugh at his third nipple.

‘Well, I fold,’ announced Bunny with a flourish of cards.

‘Good—we’ve already seen everything you have, Bunny. Time to see some new blood.’ Casper’s eyes were set on Olivia as everyone hooted at his not-very-hilarious comment.

Edward pushed his teeth together. Hadn’t he told that idiot he didn’t want to see his face for the rest of the weekend?

Olivia laid out her cards. A pair. Not good. Fiona threw in two pairs. A roar went up and they all beat the table and called for Olivia to ‘take it off’. She smiled nervously and Edward was sure she could see his heart beating through his chest. There wasn’t much to take off. She only had on the dress and a pair of shoes.
Please choose the shoes
, he begged.

She made a show of standing up and his mouth went dry. The dress fitted her curves perfectly. She turned around and Edward started to panic—but his eyes didn’t leave Olivia. If she took her dress off he’d stop her. He couldn’t let anyone else see... Wait. What was he saying? She didn’t belong to him, he reminded himself. She could show anyone. He had no rights to her.

His shoulders tightened again as she turned and smiled at them all.

She reached up and unhooked her great big dangly earrings, smiled, and put them in the centre of the table.

Casper grumbled and the others laughed and Edward felt the tension leave his body. But it jacked up again when they dealt out another round. This time it was Bunny’s turn to take something off and she quickly whipped off her top. No one blinked.

Will lost and removed his tie. Fiona lost and her shoes went into the centre. Olivia lost again and her shoes were placed on his father’s antique table.

Then they played another round after Casper had filled Olivia’s wine glass right to the top. There were only two players left. Casper and Olivia. What the hell would she take off this time? There was nothing left but that dress. He could hear the grandfather clock tick loudly as he waited.

She lost.

He saw the look in Casper’s eyes. He’d been watching her closely all night, laughing at her jokes and putting his greasy hand on her leg from time to time. Edward felt like punching him.

‘Oh, come on, nobody’s looking. Just take your dress off. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time.’

Bunny’s friend Rosie laughed hysterically at Bunny’s terrible joke.

‘Enough. You don’t have to do it, Olivia.’ Edward’s gruff voice echoed through the large room. Everyone turned to face him. Finally he felt Olivia’s eyes on him and he stared at her. That familiar defiant tilt lifted her chin. Her pretty mouth became a tight white line.

‘I’m perfectly able to pay my debts,’ she ground out.

Casper licked his lips and it took every ounce of control in Edward’s body not to hit him.

Olivia snaked a hand down the back of her dress and wriggled. What was she doing? She put another hand in her sleeve and wriggled again. Then, in seconds, she pulled her black lacy bra off and threw it on the table. Her breasts sank a little lower in her dress and he could clearly see the outline of her nipples. Standing to attention. Begging to be kissed and licked and—God help him—sucked.

He had to walk away. This woman was trying to kill him.

‘Deal me in.’

Everybody stopped talking to look at him.

She
didn’t look at him, but picked up her cards.

‘Call.’ Her voice was soft and seductive but still she didn’t look at him.

Edward looked at his cards. Four of a Kind. He couldn’t lose. Unless someone had a Straight Flush. But that was unlikely.

There were only three of them left. Olivia, Will and himself.

Olivia looked him square in the eye and he felt as if he’d been hit. His eyes shifted to those heavy breasts that bounced when she moved. He wasn’t going to last much longer.

He spread his cards out on the table.

Will tossed his useless cards into the middle of the table. Olivia stood solid, but she was bluffing. He could tell by the tightness of her lips—she had nothing. Slowly she fanned her cards out.

Straight. She’d lost.

TWELVE

With her eyes
locked on his, Olivia stood. Edward stopped breathing. Her eyes weren’t covered in that black stuff, like last night, but they were blazing blue. Bluer than he’d ever seen them. With her eyes still on him she moved her sensual body until she was standing up with her hands on her hips.

‘You win,’ she said. ‘I’ve got nothing else. You’ll have to have my dress.’

She turned and her fingers reached for her zipper. Everyone was silent. Edward’s gaze zeroed in on her back. He felt as if there was only the two of them in the room. She slowly pulled the zipper down, exposing her smooth tanned skin inch by excruciating inch. Further down it went, until the dress fell off one shoulder. She held it up but kept pushing the zip down.

All he could hear was his own breathing. His trousers pulled across the front and he had to push his legs wider apart to allow for the extra length that was now there. He felt harder than he ever had in his life. Rock-hard. When he saw a telltale dimple in the small of her back he jumped up, almost knocking the damn table over in the process.

‘Stop.’

She turned her head.

‘What for?’

‘I have a deal for you.’

‘What kind of deal?’

‘Double or nothing. If you win you get to make me do anything you want until midnight.’

She lifted an eyebrow. ‘Like what?’

‘Anything.’ He wanted her to lift that zipper. He could hear Casper’s heavy breathing beside him. ‘Want me to strip naked and go in to dinner? I’ll do it.’

‘Oh. My. God. That’s brilliant!’ howled Bunny. ‘Yes, do it. Make him bark like a dog every time Dad tells someone off.’

‘What if I lose?’

‘Then
you
have to do what
I
say.’

She considered him, her eyebrow cocked and those blue eyes on fire. Then she zipped up her dress and sat down.

‘Deal.’

Never had a game of poker been so serious in the Winchester house. The cards were dealt, drinks poured. Everyone sat in coiled anticipation. Edward’s palms were damp. He could win this.

Olivia’s eyes were unreadable. She smiled and set her cards down.

‘Call.’

He flipped his cards over. A Full House. She could beat it. But she wouldn’t. Her eyes flickered with confusion. Then she flipped her cards over and his brain froze.

Four of a Kind.

She’d won.

The room went up in hoots of laughter.

But Olivia wasn’t smiling. She stood slowly—a seductive movement that heated his blood.

‘Well, what do you want?’ he asked.

‘Follow me.’

* * *

Olivia had spotted the conservatory on her way back that afternoon. It was located at the rear of the house and was filled with leafy plants and colourful flowers. She wanted to be alone. With Edward.

Inside the conservatory it was warm. The heaters overhead glowed, trying desperately to warm the foreign flowers. At one end sat two chairs that could be laid right back and Olivia headed for them. Edward followed. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to him—and she definitely didn’t know what she was going to make him do tonight.

Relaxing into a chair, she realised that she could see straight through the roof. But there were no stars out tonight. Edward silently sat next to her and she sneaked a look at him. The long column of his neck was tilted and the lump in his throat stuck out. She longed to touch him. To run her fingers along his neck and over his hard shoulders, down the mounds of his chest and to his stomach. But he wouldn’t want that. She looked up at the ceiling again.

‘So—what’s my punishment to be?’

‘I haven’t decided yet. Something embarrassing. And humiliating.’

‘Sounds fair.’

They were silent for a while as the tension surrounding them started to crackle. Olivia needed to defuse the situation. If Edward suspected what she was feeling right now she was sure he’d leave. And she didn’t want him to do that. Not again. Not now they were alone.

‘What do you do, Edward—for a living—exactly?’

Olivia felt his deep brown eyes warm her skin.

‘I work for the Treasury. I look after Fiscal Policy and Statistics.’

‘Wow. That sounds exciting,’ she teased.

He looked up, craning his neck back. The angles of his cheekbones stood out against the warm light of the heaters. ‘What do you do? Besides going to parties and having a good time?’

Olivia flinched. Was that how he saw her?

‘I work in insurance. Well, I do now. Before that I sold real estate, and before that I was in marketing.’

‘The Artful Dodger?’

He was teasing her. She did feel a bit as if she was dodging. She laughed. ‘Something like that.’

They fell into silence again.

‘What’s going on here this weekend?’ she asked quietly after a time.

‘It’s called a wedding. When two people meet and fall in love...’

‘No.’ She threw him a wry look. ‘With you. What’s going on with you...and me?’

Edward’s eyes met hers. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You seem so angry at me. Then you’re all lovely and nice. Then you’re angry again. Is there something in particular I’ve done to annoy you, or is this your usual personality?’

She wondered if he’d tell her the truth. She wondered if he’d say that he was annoyed because she was trashy and throwing herself at him and that he actually couldn’t stand her. Or would he be his usual polite self and lie?

He turned back to the ceiling. ‘I don’t know, Olivia. I’m not myself this weekend. You should probably just ignore me.’

She felt the anger rise in her. Edward had ridiculed her, lectured her, put her to bed, kissed her neck and held her hand while walking through a love maze. And now he’d lost to her in a poker game. She was going to get the truth out of him one way or another.

‘You should try being more honest.’

His head snapped around to look at her. ‘Honest? Says the girl who smothers herself in slap and dresses like a hooker when she’s nothing like that at all?’

Olivia blinked. ‘I do not
smother
myself in slap.’

‘You wear too much make-up.’

She thought about that for a second. Make-up did a lot to hide her imperfections—and what was she supposed to do? Expose her ugliness to everyone? If he knew what lay underneath that make-up he might not be so keen for her to take it off. But then...he’d seen underneath, hadn’t he? When he’d taken her make-up off. Maybe that was why he kept pushing her away. He knew what he would have to face in the morning.

She turned to the sky and her stomach felt heavy. Her heart felt heavy and her arms were heavy at her sides. ‘Everybody has something to hide,’ she said.

‘What are you hiding, Olivia? Why are you the perpetual party girl? Why do you feel the need to throw yourself at dropkicks like Bolton-Smythe?’

Olivia sat up. ‘Throw myself? I have not thrown myself at anyone.’

Edward sat up too, and faced her. ‘But you don’t tell them to leave. You tolerate them. Why?’

He was angry. She could see it in the lines in his forehead and the way his hands gripped the side of the lounger. Angry? Why would he be angry? Unless he was... No. He couldn’t be jealous. He didn’t want her. He couldn’t. But maybe Edward was one of those men who didn’t like to lose. Perhaps he just wanted to be the one to score with the easy Aussie chick first.

She stood up and moved slowly until she was right in front of him, her breasts level with his lips. She only had to push a little closer and he’d be able to place his lips around her nipple and suck. The idea made her shiver. She needed to stay in control. She was going to teach him that she wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Slowly Olivia dragged her hands up past her hips and over the curve of her breasts until she reached her hair. Then she pulled out the pins and let her hair fall down in a long curtain that surrounded her shoulders. His lips parted and his eyes locked with hers. Hard.

‘What game are you playing, Olivia?’

‘No game.’ She smiled, moving closer, so his lips were mere inches from her breasts. ‘I’m just trying to get you to be honest with me.’

Honest? The woman wanted
honest
? What he honestly wanted to do was drag her over to the wall, lift her barely-there dress up and take her. Like a wild animal.

He loosened his grip. This was getting out of control. She knew how he felt and she was teasing him—taunting him. She had no intention of giving herself to him. Once this weekend was over she’d move on to the next party. He and his broken family would be forgotten. Time to take back control.

Carefully he lifted his hands, letting them slide over her hips and dip into her waist. Then he pushed harder to feel the sides of her breasts, before cupping them and flicking his thumb over her now-hard nipples. She gasped and her arms fell to her sides. That was better. He was in charge now.

‘Tell me about your life in Australia, Olivia. Tell me about your family. Tell me why you’re here and why you play so many silly games.’

He heard the shake in her voice when she spoke but he still didn’t let go, flicking her nipple again when she hesitated.

‘I have a sister. A very beautiful, very talented sister.’ She stopped talking so he flicked again. Then she went on in a rush, ‘Ahh... She plays tennis for Australia. She’s tall and beautiful.’

He didn’t say anything. Just waited for her to continue. His hands stayed where they were even though he longed to massage her soft breasts.

‘And then there’s my mother. And that’s it. Just the three of us.’

‘What about your father?’ he demanded.

‘He died when I was twelve. He had a heart attack on the front lawn, mowing the grass.’

Edward let his hands drop to her waist and held her there. He hadn’t been expecting that. ‘Olivia. I’m so sorry.’

He knew exactly what she was going through. And he knew how something like that could change a person for ever.