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“I thought you were on honeymoon,” Belinda said.
“I was.” Julia sniffed. “Until I found out about your kidnapping—on the news.” She cast a glare over her shoulder at her husband, Joe, who was talking with John. “He knew and he didn’t tell me.”
“I was protecting you,” Joe said with a shake of his head.
“I’m not talking to him. I might never again,” Julia said, which was a worry, as she was the most stubborn person Belinda knew. If anyone could pull off a threat like that, it was Julia. “When you back the car into a bollard, it’s okay not to tell your wife. When her sister’s kidnapped and then lost in the jungle—you tell your wife. It isn’t rocket science.”
“Belle,” her father boomed, and like the Red Sea, her family parted to allow him access to her. “Never again, you hear me? My heart can’t take it. Never again.” He blinked back tears as he wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug.
“Can’t breathe,” she joked.
There was a growl. “Step back, Mr Collins. She only woke up and she’s still fragile.”
John. Watching over her. Protecting her from her family. He was woefully misguided, although very sweet.
“Listen here, Mr Beast,” her father said. “I’ll damn well hug my daughter any time I like.”
John didn’t like that one bit. He opened his mouth to protest, but Joe put a hand on his arm and shook his head. “Family,” Joe said. “Just go with it.”
John stepped back, but he clearly didn’t like it. He looked a little lost, and a lot alone, out there on the edge of the room while Belinda was surrounded by people she loved. She held out a hand for him. “Come here,” she said.
He was by her side in a second, holding her as though she were a lifeline. Her father watched the interaction with a frown before looking at John.
“You and I are going to have a little talk about your intentions towards my daughter,” he said.
“Dad,” Belinda said.
She briefly wondered if she should fake a fainting episode to clear the room and head her father off, but her family knew her too well and wouldn’t be fooled.
John stared her father down. “I have nothing to hide. I intend to stick to her like glue for the rest of my life.”
Belinda’s mother gasped, her grandmother feigned a swoon and Alice got stuck into a box of chocolates someone had left beside her bed.
“In what capacity?” her father demanded. “Her bodyguard? Her lover? Her husband? What?”
“Now I’m wishing I was still in the jungle,” Belinda whined as she looked up at John. “Don’t answer him. It’s none of his business.”
“It’s an easy answer, baby,” he said, his eyes still on her dad. “The answer is all of the above. I’m going to be her bodyguard, lover and one day, her husband.”
Belinda’s mouth fell open. “You can’t know that.”
“Baby, we had an intense start. We saw the worst of each other. We know more about each other than some couples know after years together. So, yeah, I can know what I want.”
“You haven’t even said you love me. How can you talk about marriage when nobody’s mentioned love?”
“I was kinda hoping for some privacy for that part.”
“Too late now,” her grandmother said as she dug into the chocolates with Alice.
Belinda glanced around the room to see everyone watching them. She swallowed hard. “I see what you mean.” As much as she loved her family, she wished they were far, far away right now.
The door opened and her brother strode in. He saw she was awake and came straight to her. He took her free hand in his. “Belle, I am so sorry about the press.”
She blinked at him. “What about the press?”
He looked at her for a heartbeat, then flashed his killer smile. “Nothing. No worries. I’m glad you’re okay.” He pulled her in for a quick hug before heading over to lean on the wall. He looked pleased, as though he’d managed to get away with something. Belinda made a mental note to find out what, after she regained some energy.
She must have looked like she was fading, because John shooed everyone back and fluffed her pillows. He handed her a glass of iced water, then placed a pillow under her damaged knee. She couldn’t take her eyes from him; she was mesmerised by the way his muscles flexed as he cared for her. When she did eventually drag her eyes away, she found all of the women in her family grinning at her, and the men scowling.
