Convenient Brides (39 page)

He looked down at her face nestled against his shoulder, and could feel her gentle curves against him, and found himself feeling protective.

He laid his head back, careful not to disturb her, and examined with some surprise what had transpired this evening. He had actually articulated the thought that had come to him several times down the years—that they get married for Simon’s sake. Little to know that he was now questioning how much of it had to do with Simon, and questioning his difficulty in seeing past marrying her for all the wrong reasons. Although, he reflected with a tightening of his mouth, there was one wrong reason she didn’t even know about.

But if he was questioning his motives, what of hers?

He looked down at her sleeping so peacefully in his arms.

There was no doubt she responded to him physically but would she, could she fall in love again? With him? Because, he acknowledged, unless they got it right, all other considerations aside, they might not benefit Simon at all. In other words, he would have to go out of his way to make Simon’s mother happy, if that was what he wanted to achieve for Simon himself.

He looked down at Ellie again as she moved slightly but didn’t wake. And there was, of course, his thoughts ran on, his part in Tom King’s son, a boy he was growing more attached to by the day, being fatherless…

Ellie woke up in her bed the next morning, still fully clothed although her shoes had been removed.

She sat up suddenly, then it all fell into place. But a
glance at her bedside clock saw her scatter bedclothes left, right and centre; she’d slept in and had a bare half-hour to get Simon off to school and herself off to work.

But Brett was already up and Simon was dressed and ready for school, calmly eating his cereal and fruit as she flew into the kitchen, still buttoning up her blouse.

She skidded to a stop, eyed the situation and said lamely, ‘Oh.’

‘Hi, Mum! You look a bit frazzled.’

And Brett, whom she had no idea how to face, put a cup of tea down in her place at the table with a mur-mured greeting.

‘Thanks.’ She slid into her chair and sipped the tea gratefully. She was never much good for anything until she’d had a cup of tea in the morning. ‘Uh…how come you two are up so bright and early?’

‘We’ve been for a jog and a swim,’ Simon said virtuously. ‘You should try it.’

‘I…maybe I will one day.’

Brett sat down. He wore his usual attire for work, moleskins and a checked shirt, and as usual he looked alert and altogether too much man for any woman to have to cope with at that time of the day. ‘Guys,’ he said casually, ‘I have to go away for a few days. Think you’ll manage without me?’

‘Sure.’

‘Definitely!’

Simon and Ellie spoke at the same time with Ellie being the most emphatic of the two and Brett flicked her a quizzical little look.

‘Where to?’ Simon enquired.

‘A board meeting of a company I’m involved with in Sydney. I’d actually forgotten about it until I got a call from someone last night. And while I’m down there I
have a few other things to do but I’ll be back on Thursday.’

Ellie said airily, ‘Not a problem. We’re used to being on our own, aren’t we, kid?’

Simon saluted her. ‘You gotta admit it’s nice to have a man around the place, though, Mum.’

‘Oh, I do—lunch!’ Ellie got up distractedly.

‘All taken care of,’ Brett said. ‘And I’ll drop Simon off at school—when you’re ready, mate.’

‘I’ll just clean my teeth. Meet you in the car! Bye, Mum!’

Brett waited until Simon was out of earshot, then he came over to where Ellie was standing looking shell-shocked. ‘I’m sorry about this,’ he said quietly. ‘I did forget all about it.’

‘That’s OK.’

‘Is it?’ There was a humorous little glint in his eyes.

She twisted her hands together. ‘About last night.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Nothing happened—that you weren’t aware of.’

She bit her lip. ‘I didn’t mean that. But I…got a bit carried away again.’

‘No, Ellie,
we
got carried away again. It’s almost becoming a habit with us.’

She said bravely, ‘What about the rest of it?’

‘Maybe…’ he paused ‘…a few days apart isn’t such a bad idea. To get things into perspective?’

A flash of amusement made the golden flecks in her eyes more noticeable. ‘You’re suggesting I “think” about it?’

A cheeky tiddly-pom sounded on the hooter of Brett’s Range Rover, courtesy of Simon.

‘I did hesitate to use that word,’ he conceded gravely, ‘in case you felt like screaming. But—why not?’

Ellie took a breath. ‘All right, but I’m not promising anything,’ she warned.

‘Of course you’re not!’ he said bracingly. ‘In the meantime, your son is getting impatient. So,
hasta luego, muchacha
!’

Ellie looked surprised, then her lips quivered. ‘And the same to you,
muchacho
.’

Unfortunately, the next few days proved to be incredibly busy as not one but two colleagues were laid low by a gastric bug doing the rounds, thereby doubling her work-load. It was a busy week for Simon as well with the school swimming carnival approaching, the end of year school play and the cricket season was under way.

Therefore he needed an enormous amount—or so it sometimes felt—of transporting to and from the school pool, the school hall, the cricket field, not to mention the making of his costume for the play—he was to be a trooper in a Ned Kelly saga.

‘I suppose it could have been worse,’ Ellie muttered to herself one evening. ‘He could have been Ned Kelly—then I’d have had to come up with a tin and metal costume.’

‘I tried out for Ned Kelly,’ Simon commented, over-hearing her. ‘But I’m not so sure he was the hero every-one seems to think he was.’

‘He was a bush ranger,’ Ellie agreed. ‘But circum-stances, they claim, made him one.’ She put down the jacket she was sewing buttons onto and concentrated more closely on what Simon had said. ‘Did you knock back being Ned Kelly? Because you’re not sure he was such a hero?’

‘Yep.’

‘You didn’t tell me that!’

‘I was afraid you’d accuse me of un-Australian inclinations.’

Ellie blinked, then started to laugh. ‘You are a char-acter, Simon. To be honest, I’ve never felt quite comfort-able with Ned Kelly myself. So I’m glad you decided to stay on the side of the law.’

Later, however, on her own and getting ready for bed, Ellie reflected that, for ten, Simon was unusually per-ceptive and enquiring of mind. Which brought her face to face with the issue of his schooling and the short hop to the issue of marrying Brett Spencer.

She changed into a cotton-knit nightshirt and stretched wearily before she climbed into bed and pulled a pillow into her arms for comfort. But, tired as she was, her imagination took wings. It would be no penance to take Brett into her arms night after night, it would be sheer bliss, she thought, and moved restlessly as her body reacted to her thoughts.

And she knew enough now to know that it would be no penance for him to make love to her. But forever? she wondered. Or, would it one day turn to duty and, if so, how could she bear that?

Yet, are there
forevers
for anyone? she wondered. And what about Chantal Jones? Wasn’t he attracted to her as well?

The next morning, she had a later start, thanks to her laid-low colleagues being back at work, and the subject of Chantal came up in the form of Dan paying her a visit. A chastened, supremely embarrassed Dan.

‘You don’t have to explain,’ she said as she poured him a cup of coffee and told him to sit down. ‘I quite understand.’

‘I do, Ellie,’ he insisted. ‘I don’t know what came over me!’

Ellie studied his earnest expression. ‘Dan,’ she said slowly, ‘I hope you aren’t still hoping that you and I—’

‘Ellie—’

‘No, listen to me, Dan, I’m not for you and that’s the way things are.’

‘I just didn’t want you thinking badly of me. But I guess most men would get in a bit of a flutter over someone like Chantal,’ he said slowly. ‘I mean—it doesn’t really mean anything and, anyway, heaven alone knows who the right guy is for her, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be me.’

Ellie grimaced inwardly at these revealing, less-than-flattering sentiments, did he but know it, but she returned resolutely, although obliquely, to the main issue. ‘How much leave have you got left, Dan?’

‘Two weeks.’

‘Good, because there’s no reason on earth that you mightn’t be just the right guy for Chantal and you’ve got a bit of time to put it to the test.’

He stared at her with his mouth open. ‘Ellie—’

‘Dan, really,’ she said firmly, ‘
I’m
not for you. But you’ll never know about Chantal unless you give it a try.’

‘How…?’ He cleared his throat. ‘How would you go about it? If you were me?’

‘I think,’ Ellie said seriously, and thought rapidly at the same time as she controlled an insane desire to laugh, ‘persistence might be the key with Chantal. And I think she might like a good time—you do know she’s…a dancer?’ There was sudden anxiety in Ellie’s eyes.

‘Yes—remember, she told us about the revue she’s in?’

Ellie relaxed although she couldn’t remember if the word ‘topless’ had featured. ‘Of course. But I think she would also appreciate a fairly subtle approach—keep trying, in other words, but don’t be too obvious.’

Dan sat up, looking like a new man. ‘I’ll do it! But just remember, Ellie, if ever you need a friend, give me a call.’

Her gaze softened. ‘Thanks, Dan.’

When he’d left, she put her hand to her mouth and wondered wildly what she’d let him in for, not to mention Chantal. Well, she was pretty sure Chantal could take care of herself but…She heaved a sigh and wondered instead what Brett would make of her meddling.

Then she stood up and tossed her head. Who gave a damn? They were both grown men.

‘So?’

It was Friday again, Brett had been delayed in Sydney and he’d got home just in time for dinner. Simon had had his earlier and was at a rehearsal.

And Ellie had blinked when he’d come in the back door. She’d never seen him so formally dressed, in a dark suit, a grey and white pinstriped shirt, a charcoal and green tie, and he’d taken her breath away.

He’d shed his jacket and tie and sat down at the kitchen table where she’d just started her dinner—home-made lasagne—and asked his one-word question.

‘Uh…hi!’ Ellie said, and after an uncertain start rushed on, ‘I hope you made sure that no woman sitting next to you switched overnight bags.’

He glanced at the bag he’d dropped to the floor wryly. ‘No chance of that. She was eighty if she was a day.’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t get too blaseé, Brett.’ She bit her lip and wondered where she was coming from—out to make
him aware of how attractive he was? Or talking from fright because of the effect he’d had on her and because she hadn’t decided anything?

‘So?’ he said again. ‘How’s it going?’

She breathed a discreet sigh of relief. ‘Fine. Well, incredibly busy.’

He served himself some lasagne. ‘How so?’

She explained, causing him to look at her rather narrowly, then get up and open a bottle of wine.

And her eyes widened as he placed a glass beside her plate and murmured, ‘You look as if you could do with it.’

‘How am I looking?’

He studied her simple apple-green top and cargo shorts, then her face and eyes. ‘A bit stressed out. What you need is some relaxation. Such as Delia’s party tomorrow night.’

Ellie grimaced. ‘I’d forgotten all about it.’

‘I don’t know much about women,’ Brett Spencer said then with a most wicked little glint in his grey eyes, ‘but as an antidote to stress mightn’t all the trappings of a party help?’

‘What exactly do you mean by all the trappings?’

He shrugged. ‘A new dress, a visit to the beauty parlour perhaps, a lazy afternoon—I’ll do all Simon’s trans-porting—then a night of good food, good music and a bit of fun?’

Ellie closed her eyes and visualized it all even though she knew that the feminist part of her soul should be outraged, and that Brett Spencer knew too much about women for
her
good.

‘There’ll have to be explanations of why we’re sharing the same house—I don’t think I could cope,’ she said simply.

‘Why don’t you leave all that up to me?’

‘But what…how will you explain it? I mean, then we have to go into whose child Simon is—don’t you see how difficult it all is for me?’

He shrugged. ‘Ellie, this will not be the Spanish Inquisition. We don’t have to say a word on any of those subjects. But it so happens that Delia has a child from an earlier relationship.’

‘Oh!’

He smiled slightly. ‘The world has moved on from the days when that kind of thing was taboo, Ellie.’

‘I know that, but the biggest problem of all,’ she soldiered on, ‘is going out as a couple when nothing is resolved between us. You seem to think it can be on the basis of two kisses, I don’t—’

‘Two very pleasurable kisses.’

‘Maybe.’ She moved restlessly, then squared her shoulders with more spirit than she actually felt.

‘What exactly are you looking for, Ellie?’ he said slowly. ‘A declaration of undying love from me?’

‘Of course not.’

His eyes flickered and she had the sensation of being on dangerous ground, although she didn’t exactly know why. She swallowed and pushed her plate away frustratedly.

‘Look, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill. But if you are still divided on the benefits of marrying me…’ he paused and eyed her until she started to colour ‘…the more we see of each other in different situations, the more it might help you to make an informed judgement.’

‘Why do I get the feeling that’s another twisted bit of logic?’ she murmured and got up to clear the dishes.

But he got up too and detained her with a hand on
her wrist. ‘We could always stay at home and carry on where we left off the other night,’ he said softly, and glanced significantly down at her breasts beneath the apple green top.

And his lips twisted into an absent smile as her nipples started to push against the cotton knit.

‘I’d appreciate it if you didn’t…do this to me,’ she said with an effort.