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‘Hopefully I can give you time to sort yourself out, get rid of that despair that sneaks into your eyes when you think no one’s looking.’
‘What?’ She stared at him. He was too astute for her good.
‘Something’s worrying you and I don’t think it’s all about Jason.’ He held up a hand. ‘It’s all right. I’m not asking you to talk about things you’d rather not, just letting you know I’m here for you any time you want to unload.’
Run, Kelli, run. Now, while you can. Before your heart decides he’s the one for you.
She didn’t know how to answer, couldn’t tell him her hang-ups, her need to find her own way before joining up with someone for life.
The silence grew between them, not uncomfortable, but not endearing either. Finally Mac gave her a lopsided smile. ‘So are we engaged or not?’
No. He read her too easily. Forewarned was forearmed, wasn’t it? There was something warm and comforting about being with a man who understood her. She could enjoy the fantasy and relax over the weekend knowing she was safe from the digs about Jason. Tempting. Too tempting. ‘Yes,’ she answered before she allowed all those pesky doubts and honesty factors to change her mind.
Mac straightened up, giving a tight little laugh as he reached to pull on his seat belt. ‘That’s that, then. I’ve just got engaged and I don’t know what to say.’
‘Hardly how I imagined it to go either.’ Nothing like when Steve proposed. Roses, champagne, a rock on a ring. Clichés in hindsight. Kelli elbowed the door open. ‘But thank you for offering to be my partner, engaged or otherwise. I’m starting to look forward to the weekend. I adore my brothers and this is a special occasion.’ She sighed at the imagined sight of the guys all dressed up in their tuxes and Billy’s eyes filled with love for his lady, his second chance at happiness. ‘I promise to make sure you have a great time.’
‘As long as they don’t want to draw pistols at dawn I’m sure I can get through without too much stress.’ This time the smile was soft and genuine, and for her.
Too many of those and she would be in trouble. Mac’s smiles, gentle and warm, were hidden treasure. They wound around her, bolstered her courage to do the things she wanted for herself. Including going to the wedding with him. Come next Monday she’d probably be regretting this, but, hey, she could make the most of what Mac was giving her.
‘The guys aren’t monsters, just overprotective of me.’ They’d been the ones to take retribution on the bullies at the private school. They’d also dropped by the new school to show solidarity if anyone was thinking she might be a pushover—which she was. But instead of their getting people’s backs up the girls in her class had become firm friends so that they’d get invited home and could spend time hanging with her brothers.
‘Glad to hear it,’ Mac growled. ‘One more thing. I don’t have your phone number. Nor you mine. Fiancés probably should be able to get in touch with each other.’
‘Fair enough.’ She rattled off her number then waited for Mac to text so she had his. ‘Done.’ Slipping out of the vehicle, she smothered a yawn. It had been a huge day. ‘See you at work.’ A great way for a newly engaged woman to say goodnight to her fiancé.
‘Goodnight, Kelli.’
The engine started but Mac didn’t pull away until she’d let herself in the front door of the house. Admirable, but a hot kiss would’ve gone a lot further.
‘Bleeding heck, what have I done?’ she whispered, her shoulder hard against the doorframe as she watched the tail-lights of Mac’s four-wheel drive disappear around the corner. Jumped in the deep end of a monster pool with weights on her feet, that was what.
* * *
Mac concentrated on driving, nothing else. He couldn’t let anything into his mind or he’d lose focus and go through a red light or cross the middle line or something equally dangerous.
Dangerous? That was exactly where he was at with Kelli. With her warmth, and sense of fun, and stunning looks, and, damn it, everything about her, she threatened all his barriers, undermined his need to stay self-contained, uninvolved, out of another relationship. He’d had the ultimate love with Cherie. A man didn’t get that twice. And if by some twisted stroke of fate he did, he’d be on tenterhooks for the rest of his life waiting for the axe to fall again.
Focus, driving only, remember?
He’d smiled when Kelli had explained her brothers were protective of her. Because it was great there were people to guard her back. Not because he couldn’t help himself and had to let those warm feelings out. Not that.
Relief rocked him. Kelli wasn’t interested in this guy Jason. She hadn’t run for the hills when he’d offered to be her partner. Was she keen on him? A little bit? Well, she’d stayed in the car when he’d suggested the engagement thing. Went to show she wasn’t thinking straight because it really had been one of the wackiest ideas he’d ever come up with.
Toot, toot. A car sped past, the occupants waving fists at him.
He glanced around. So much for concentrating on driving. The four-wheel drive was stopped in the middle of an intersection, the indicator flashing for left when he needed to go right. Thankfully it was well beyond midnight and the traffic was light to non-existent now that those unhappy fist-wavers had gone past.
Do I tickle your keys, Kelli?
She hadn’t been shy in coming forward that night in Sydney, had kissed him as fiercely as he’d kissed her. It had been a one-off night, brought on by too much champagne and watching their friends all gooey-eyed for each other. Had to have been, or his world was slowly tipping off its axis.
They were about to spend a weekend together at another wedding celebration, under the microscopic watch of people who cared for Kelli. Could they pull it off, or would it soon become obvious he was a fraud? All he asked was that if the family learned the truth they went easy on him because technically he was on their side.
That need to protect was alive and kicking, with Kelli in its sights, whatever the cost to himself.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘LET’S GET YOU to X-ray,’ Kelli told the middle-aged woman sitting awkwardly on the bed, grimacing with pain whenever she moved. ‘You do need to breathe occasionally, you know,’ she added gently.
‘How can I, when it makes my ribs shift?’ Holly muttered.
‘Bit tricky, eh?’
‘Stupid ram. What was his problem anyway?’
‘You didn’t see him coming?’ Kelli waited for Holly to ease herself upright.
‘Never had cause to worry with this ram before. Every now and then we get a bolshie one and know to stay well clear until we find a place for him on a farm somewhere, but Angus has always been so docile.’
‘You should’ve brought him in here for a check-up too. Could be something’s got him in a twist.’ Kelli chuckled.
‘My husband’s taking him to the vet once he’s got me back home. At least he put me first,’ she joked. ‘What happens if my ribs are broken?’
Kelli sucked air through her teeth. ‘You’re not going to like this but plenty of rest so as not to jar those ribs.’
‘That’s not happening.’ They headed along the corridor to the elevator bank. ‘Painkillers?’
> ‘Absolutely.’ Kelli punched the button for the second floor. ‘Do you have another job apart from looking after the sheep at Cornwall Park?’
‘We spend a lot of time helping on our son’s farm in Karaka. His wife is disabled and requires a lot of care. I’m more patient with the stock so I’m kept outside.’
‘Families, eh?’ Kelli had yet to break the news to her parents that she was ‘engaged’, and was wondering if it would be best to keep that gem on hold, only to be used in extreme circumstances. They now knew she was bringing Mac, but nothing more. Reluctance at fibbing railed against the need to be able to enjoy Billy’s wedding.
There was a lot more to Mac than she knew about. Like what had caused him to fall into that dark place he’d mentioned? She was starting to see past that barrier he kept in place, especially at work. He’d obviously been hurt and naturally wanted to protect himself from it happening again. Had a woman he loved dumped him? Or did his pain go back further, to childhood or his teen years? He wasn’t one for putting anything about himself out there, so to have told her as much as he had said that he trusted her. Which meant she couldn’t press for more info, had to wait until he was ready to share. Another sigh. She’d take this one day at a time.
After the elevator whisked her patient away Kelli returned to the counter to see who was next. It was pointless spending time thinking about what made Mac tick. The answers weren’t here, at work, or if they were she wasn’t seeing anything other than his medical skills and caring nature. If she was going to learn more about her fiancé she’d have to ask him some pointed questions. Not that he’d likely answer them.
‘Take a break,’ Stephanie told her before she reached the counter.
‘I’ll be in the cafeteria, too,’ Mac informed the head nurse, who immediately locked her gaze on Kelli and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Almost. Not quite. ‘What was that about?’ Mac asked.
‘Ask Stephanie,’ Kelli retorted and dived into her bag for the salad she’d put in there earlier.
‘Best not.’ Mac opened a bag of crisps as they walked out of the department and offered them to her.
