Chapter 37
37
S am glanced at her watch, knowing she should head back to the chapel, yet reluctant to leave the tranquillity of the river.
She took a deep breath, filled with a sense of calm she rarely found anywhere else. The outback had a similar effect on her, though she quickly pushed that thought from her mind. It reminded her of Budgeree and dredged up a host of memories best forgotten.
As she stood and brushed down her skirt, a shadow fell across her.
“Hello, Sam.”
Her head snapped up at the sound of Dylan’s voice and she almost collapsed back onto the bench.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
She stared at him in disbelief, hardly recognising the dishevelled man before her. What had happened to the suave, sophisticated Dylan Harmon she’d been stupid enough to fall in love with?
This man bore little resemblance to the confident billionaire, with dark circles under his eyes indicating a lack of sleep, his suit crumpled, the top button of his shirt undone, and his tie awry. She’d never seen Dylan like this and for a brief moment she hoped he’d missed her as she much as she’d missed him over the last week.
“Please, Sam, I need to talk—”
“You’ve wasted your time.” She shook her head, steeling her nerve not to give in like her inner voice, the one who wanted to wrap her arms him, urged her to do.
“I don’t think so.” His lips set in a stubborn line. “There’s too much that needs to be said.”
She squinted, wishing she hadn’t left her sunglasses in the car. The last thing she needed was for him to read the hope, the yearning, in her eyes.
“I thought you said it all in Melbourne.” She folded her arms, remembering his accusations and the way he’d crushed her heart. “Besides, aren’t you nervous I might be out to steal your precious fortune?"
“Not my finest moment.” He grimaced as he sat and patted the seat next to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a princess?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Who told you that?”
She perched on the edge of the bench, as far away from Dylan as possible. She could already smell his familiar cologne and her traitorous body responded in ways it shouldn’t.
“My mother told me.”
He paused, as if gathering his thoughts, and she resisted the urge to reach over and smooth away the frown permanently etched in his brow.
“Why didn’t you tell me? And why the name change? Why work for me?” He shook his head, confusion clouding his eyes. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Guilty as charged. She should’ve never involved him in her scheme to make her parents see sense.
“If I told you my history, I wouldn’t have been hired. And I needed the job, desperately.”
“But why? You have all the money in the world.” He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“It wasn’t about the money.” She took a steadying breath, hoping he would understand. “I’ve told you about my parent’s expectations?”
His slight nod encouraged her to continue.
“It went deeper than that. They were so caught up in the orthodox traditions of their heritage, they made my life hell growing up. I had to buck the system and the only way I could think of was to prove to them I could make it on my own, without their influence or money.”
Despite her explanation, she caught the puzzled gleam in his eyes.
“Then why mention marriage to me?”
Sam knew she’d have to be extremely careful in answering his question if she didn’t want to reveal too much about her true feelings.
“What you overheard that day was a joke. Ebony was in on the plan from the start, which is why she gave your mother a false reference. She also knew I lied to my parents and told them the reason I headed to Melbourne was to further a relationship with you. I was merely discussing that with her.”
An uncomfortable silence ensued and she wished he would say something, anything, to break the growing tension.
“What about the rest?”
“The rest?”
She pretended not to understand the question, when she knew exactly what Dylan referred to and the memory set her heart pounding.
“What happened at Budgeree, between us. Was that part of an act too?”
He’d given her the perfect opportunity to end it, right here, right now.
All she had to do was reach for a final white lie and answer his question in the affirmative, and he’d walk out of her life for good.
He’d accepted her explanation for lying to him about her work, but which man would tolerate a woman faking affection when it came to the bedroom?
She opened her mouth to say ‘yes’ but couldn’t do it. Despite everything that had happened, and her week of self-indoctrination ‘you don’t love him’, she couldn’t lie to him again.
“Sam?”
She heard the uncertainty in his voice and it undid the last of her fleeting resistance.
Looking up, she stared him straight in the eye.
“No, that wasn’t an act.”
His eyes darkened to almost-black. “Then what was it?”
No matter how much she loved him, she couldn’t admit it. So what if he’d come here? He still hadn’t told her why and she’d be damned if she made a complete fool of herself by admitting her feelings.
“I was attracted to you from the start, like I told you. We’d been flirting for a while, we’d kissed a few times, so it seemed natural to take it to the next level.”
“That’s it?”
She schooled her features into a mask of indifference and shrugged. “What else could it be?”
He paled beneath his tan and she almost felt sorry for him. “Uh… I thought you might have feelings for me.”
“Feelings?”
She laughed, a bitter sound that did little to soothe the pain in her heart. Seeing Dylan again had resurrected her barely suppressed love; hearing him talk about feelings was too much.
“Come on, Dylan, we both know that would be disastrous.”
“Why?”
“We’re too different.” She waved a hand between them. “I’m trying to escape the shackles of my family, you’re so wound up in family responsibilities you can’t see straight.”
His eyes widened a fraction, drawing her into their seductive depths. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
And in that moment, Sam knew how to put an end to the heartache.
“Your attachment to Budgeree borders on obsessive. From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that you’re carrying some huge chip on your shoulder because of your dad. Is that why you’re so protective of the Harmon fortune?”
She’d done it; hit him where he was most vulnerable. Surely he’d leave her alone now?
He stood and thrust his hands in his pockets, anger radiating off him in waves, unable to meet her gaze.
“Sorry to have bothered you.”
“No bother. See you round.”
He didn’t respond and she watched him walk away, her heart breaking all over again.