TWELVE
Twelve
‘That went surprisingly well,’ Tate said as they moved slowly around the dancefloor a few hours later. After the wedding service, there’d been photos, not with the backdrops the bride had been hoping for, but Gisele and the photographer had managed to come up with some clever workarounds that would be just as stunning.
‘All things considered,’ Bel said. She had been in a dreamlike state since they’d started dancing. Pressed so close to him, her head fitted perfectly against his neck and each time she breathed in she caught the scent of his aftershave, warm and a little spicy. She could feel the heat of his hand on the small of her back through the thin material of her dress, and if she closed her eyes and tried really hard, she could almost imagine they were completely alone, just the two of them moving to the music.
‘You took my breath away when you walked down that staircase earlier,’ Tate said, moving his lips closer to her ear.
A row of goosebumps ran down her arm and a giddy sensation of longing filled her. She felt like Cinderella at the ball—happy and excited and desperately ignoring the fact she was a complete intruder. When everyone else went back to their usual lives, so would she, and all that would be left was a beautiful, sad memory.
‘Hey? What’s wrong?’ he asked, easing back so he could see her face.
‘Nothing. Sorry.’
‘It’s not nothing. Tell me?’
‘This is going to end tomorrow. I knew it would,’ she added quickly, ‘but I just didn’t expect it to come around this fast. I’m not ready for it to be over.’
‘It doesn’t have to be.’
‘It kind of does,’ she said. ‘You live on the other side of the country.’
‘Come with me.’
‘What?’ Bel chuckled nervously.
‘Fly back with me. You said you’ve never been to Western Australia. Now’s your chance.’
‘I can’t just … leave,’ she said, battling to not let a surge of excitement derail her logical train of thought.
‘I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. Come with me. Be spontaneous. Live a little.’
As her brain began listing the million sensible reasons why she couldn’t , her heart began replaying all the lonely nights she’d spent lying in bed, dreaming up scenarios to escape, not one of them anywhere near as tempting as the man who held her in his arms.
She wanted to have new experiences and adventures. She wanted to live . She wanted to go out into the world and just … do something. But could she? Dare she?
In true Larkin style, a helicopter arrived to whisk her and her groom away. She made a grand departure with all the fanfare of a celebrity, albeit a Wessex celebrity. Before long, the groom’s family had also enlisted the help of Gisele and her extensive resources to, quote, ‘Get us outta here!’
Tate and Bel made their escape to her room, eager to be alone.
‘You are so beautiful,’ Tate murmured against the side of her neck as he trailed kisses along her skin.
Bel still had trouble handling his flattery. She wasn’t used to someone telling her she was beautiful, and it didn’t feel real. She felt like an imposter and his compliments made her uncomfortable, even though this was what she’d wanted—a man’s undying attention.
He unwrapped her like a present, allowing the dress to cascade to the floor so she could step out of it, leaving her clad only in two strips of delicate lace. He feasted his eyes on her hungrily before making short work of removing them.
Bel found herself observing the scene as though it came straight from a book—there was a finesse about his movements—so confident and sure. She almost didn’t have to contribute; each time she went to help take something off or move in a certain way to assist him, he gently lay her back and shook his head. He liked to take the lead … like any hero would, she reminded herself. Like Jax did.
His earlier offer replayed in her mind. Why would she give something like this up? He was her dream, quite literally, come true. As his mouth continued to do the most delectable things to her body, Bel let go of her remaining inhibitions. There would be plenty of time later to overthink every minute detail. Right now, she only needed to live in the moment and feel. And it was feeling freaking amazing.
It had been two days since the wedding, and the rain had finally stopped. The water had receded enough to reopen the roads and Bel was pretty sure there had never been a more relieved exodus of people in the history of Wessex.
Back at Bel’s place, Emma was staring at her, open-mouthed, her spoon poised halfway above the sugar bowl as she made their coffee. ‘You’re what?’
Bel bit back the rush of nervous excitement. ‘I’m going with Tate, for a week.’
‘To Western Australia?’ Emma said. ‘On the other side of the country?’
‘Yes. That one,’ Bel said dryly. Some of her excitement faded at the look on her friend’s face. ‘I really like him, Em.’
‘You don’t even know this guy,’ Emma said. ‘It’s only been a week.’
‘I admit it’s been pretty fast, but I …’ Bel let out a frustrated groan as she searched for words that wouldn’t sound ridiculous to Emma. ‘I think he’s my soulmate.’
‘But you’ve only. Known him. A week!’
‘I get how it sounds. When I say it out loud, I hear the crazy too, okay? But what I feel is completely different. He was sent to me, Em. I know you don’t believe in all that stuff, but I do, and I’m telling you, sometimes the universe puts things in our path for a reason. This is the push I need to actually do something. And weren’t you the one who was always telling me I should leave? Find a man?’
‘Yes, but I didn’t necessarily mean a complete stranger who lives on the other side of the bloody continent!’
‘You can’t choose where love lives.’
‘I thought that was the whole point of you conjuring up your dream man? So you could choose?’ Emma shot back.
‘Yeah, well, I forgot to add his location in there, so I guess that’s on me,’ Bel said snarkily. With some effort, she softened her tone. ‘I know it’s a bit of a shock, but this feels right, Em. I don’t want to sit here and wonder what if I’d gone when he asked me. You know? There’s been too many what-ifs in my life. I’m only going for a week. Who knows, I might get there and hate it, but at least I’ll have something exciting to remember.’
‘It’s all happened rather fast,’ Emma said, frowning.
‘I know. And I know you’re only looking out for me, but I need you to be happy for me right now. I’m going,’ Bel said in a quiet voice, holding Emma’s gaze firmly.
‘Okay,’ Emma said with a resigned shake of her head. ‘But you’d better keep your phone location app on. I’ll be keeping a close eye on it.’
‘Stalkerish much?’
‘You’ll thank me if he turns out to be a serial killer,’ she muttered.
‘Thank you,’ Bel said, hugging her.
‘For what?’
‘Always looking out for me. I do appreciate it, you know.’
‘I know. And I do want you to go and have fun. I guess I’m just worried that it’ll be too much fun and you won’t come back.’
‘If it is, isn’t that a good thing too?’
‘Yeah. It is. Okay,’ Emma said, rolling her eyes. ‘Fine. Go on a holiday with your drop-dead gorgeous book-cover model and have lots of wild, hot sex. Don’t worry about me over here, doing the dishes and washing clothes all day. I’ll be fine .’
‘Oh, you love it. Stop complaining. I’ll be back before you know it.’
‘You’d better be.’
Two days later, after clearing out the fridge and switching everything off, Bel pulled the front door shut behind her and let out a deep breath.
She took one step off the front verandah, then another and another until she reached Tate’s smiling face as he held open the car door. She braced her shoulders and resisted the urge to turn around and take one last look. It’s only a week.