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Mattie hesitated and, for a moment Bridget thought she was going to say something. But then her friend seemed to pull her shoulders back and roll her eyes.
‘Ghosts from the past.’ She shrugged, back to her usual self. On the outside at least. ‘Gotta shake them off. Maybe I should try something crazy too, just so you’re not alone.’
‘It’s fine.’ Bridget plastered a bright smile on her face and tried to look earnest. ‘Actually, I’m looking forward to tonight.’
‘Liar!’ Mattie laughed softly, reaching for the door handle and pulling it open as the thrum of music spilled out into the street. ‘I know you’d be ten times more at home in some aid post in a disaster area. And a hundred times more confident. You can handle rebels and guerrillas in the middle of some refugee camp thousands of miles from home, Bea.’
‘You make me sound a lot cooler than I really am...’ Bridget wrinkled her nose.
‘You are cool, Bea. But the fact that you’re practically quaking at the idea of meeting a bunch of my army buddies, not to mention my thorn-in-my-side big brother, isn’t so cool. In fact, it’s daft.’
‘I know that, too,’ Bridget admitted.
Although, to be fair, it was meeting Hayden that was worrying her most. Mattie might grumble about her brother—also an army officer—but there was absolutely no mistaking the fact that she loved him without reservation. How many times had she lamented the fact that their respective army careers meant they didn’t see each other—or their retired army brigadier father—enough?
And then, as if on cue, the doubts began creeping in. As familiar and painful as ever.
Bridget gritted her teeth and tried to shut them out, but it was impossible.
What if Hayden didn’t like her? What if he told Mattie that she wasn’t good enough to be Mattie’s friend?
Stop it, you’re not fourteen any more.
She wasn’t that kid who all the cool kids pointed at and laughed at. The one whose father was a fraudster and a conman.
‘Good. So, fun,’ Mattie said firmly, oblivious to the sudden turmoil in Bridget’s mind. ‘Good, clean fun. Then back to the serious stuff tomorrow, okay?’
‘Okay.’ Bridget paused then returned Mattie’s gentle smile with a rather sheepish one of her own. ‘I’m ready.’
‘Still a lie, but more convincing.’ Mattie grinned. ‘Trust me, Bea, we’ve been through this, they’re a nice bunch and they’ll love you.’
With that, her friend ducked into the club, leaving Bridget to follow, coming to an abrupt halt for a moment as a heavy wall of heat and sound hit her with such a wallop that for a moment she forgot how to breathe.
She watched Mattie accept the two proffered welcome jelly shots from the girl at the door, then let her friend place one in her hand.
‘Open your mouth, pinch the container, and swallow.’ Mattie demonstrated. ‘Wow. Now, they are strong!’
Closing her eyes and sending out a silent prayer, Bridget followed suit. It slid down her throat surprisingly smoothly, the taste sweet but with a kick nonetheless. Then Mattie grabbed her hand and plunged them both into the gyrating bodies.
Like Alice down the rabbit hole.
And whether it was the crowd, the music or the insanely strong shot, Bridget found her body heating up and her brain beginning to loosen its grip just a fraction. People bumped her—or perhaps she bumped them—and swept her along, as if her feet weren’t always quite touching the ground.
She was almost grateful when Mattie came to a stop in front of a small, friendly looking group who erupted into shouts and laughs, all of them jostling a little in their obvious eagerness to greet their friend. And before she realised it, they were turning to acknowledge her, too. Warmly, but not too over the top. Mattie had been right, her friends were a nice bunch, and this was actually...fun.
Right up until the moment when Mattie gave a low cry and hurled herself past Bridget.
‘Hayd. You’re here.’
Bridget turned, amused, but instead something jolted through her. Like a shock of electricity. Her body didn’t even feel like her own any longer or, if it did, she certainly didn’t have any control over it. Instead, all she could do was stand there, frozen in place like one of her teenage nightmares, her eyes struggling to refocus. To take it all in.
So, this was Mattie’s brother, the infamous Major Hayden Brigham. He wasn’t at all how she’d pictured him.
Then again, she wasn’t sure how she’d pictured him. Good looking, certainly, since Mattie had never made any bones about that fact, but Bridget had put it down to indulgence on the part of a loving sister. Hayden was apparently a very eligible bachelor—and what was more, he knew it—so he didn’t sound at all her type. If she actually had a type, that was. Still, she’d thought she’d been fully prepared for meeting him in person.
But she’d been wrong. In truth, surely nothing could have prepared any woman for the reality of meeting the guy in person.
He wasn’t just good looking—such a description was too pedestrian for a man like Major Hayden Brigham. He was...arresting—magnificent—and if there was a perfect specimen of male beauty, it was him.
