‘Oh, my goodness!’ Harriet exclaimed. ‘You owned the WOW wine bars? That’s amazing! Emily and I go to the one in town all the time. They’re so cool.’
‘They are indeed. But we didn’t own any of them in the end. We sold the ones we originally owned years ago. We just owned the franchise.’
‘So, that’s what you were doing in London recently? Selling the franchise?’
‘Yes.’
‘I did wonder what business interests you had over there.’
‘Well, now you know.’
Harriet fell silent for a long moment before turning to look at him. ‘Do you mind if I ask why you three boys decided to stay bachelors in the first place? I mean, I know most men these days don’t rush to the altar, but they usually want to settle down eventually. It seems strange that all three of you wanted to stay single so much that you actually formed a club.’
‘Look, it was just a bit of fun to begin with. We were all pretty sloshed at the time. Though underneath the fun we all had some serious reasons for embracing bachelorhood. Sergio was still bitter over his father marrying a gold-digger. Jeremy was anti-marriage due to the number of divorces in his family. As for myself... I’d vowed on my mother’s deathbed to spend my life making enough money to make sure no one had to suffer what my family did. Making that sort of money—and making a difference—is hard. I didn’t see myself ever having the time or the energy to marry and have children of my own. Remaining a bachelor suited my goals.’
Or, it had...
Alex could not ignore the fact that he’d reached his goals now. So maybe it was time to change his mind about staying a bachelor. Maybe it was time to face his inner demons and admit to himself that all he’d just said to Harriet was just rubbish. The truth was, he was afraid of falling in love. Afraid of ending up like his pathetic father.
It was a crazy fear. Irrational, really. Other than in looks, he was nothing like his father. But fear was not always logical.
He gazed into Harriet’s lovely face and wished he could be more like Sergio. Fearless and brave when it came to matters of the heart. But he was more like Jeremy, tainted by life’s negative experiences, wary of feeling anything too deeply.
‘What are you thinking?’ she asked.
‘Just how lovely you are,’ he returned.
Her smile was wry. ‘You shouldn’t lie to me, Alex. You weren’t thinking that at all.’
‘You’re right. I was thinking that it’s rather sad that the Bachelor’s Club is no longer relevant. It was a seriously fun club to belong to.’
‘No doubt. But I think your Bachelor’s Club is past its use-by date, Alex.’
‘Only for one of us, Harry. Jeremy and I will soldier on.’
Her lips pursed. ‘I have a feeling I won’t like this Jeremy.’
Alex had to smile. ‘Yes, you will. Everyone likes Jeremy.’
Chapter Nineteen
THE CAPTAIN HAD just announced their descent into Milan when Alex turned to her.
‘I didn’t want to say anything earlier,’ he said. ‘I wanted you to enjoy the flight and not stress over anything, but Jeremy is going to meet me at the airport. Whilst I’m in Milan, I’m to be whisked off to some tailoring establishment to have a fitting for my suit for the wedding, after which we have to pick up Sergio at his factory, then drive down to Lake Como together.’
Harriet’s heart sank. She didn’t want to meet any of his rich friends, especially this Jeremy character.
‘But won’t that be awkward? How are you going to explain me?’
‘I’m not,’ he replied. ‘We won’t leave the plane together. You can go first. I know I said we were going to take the train down to Lake Como together, and I was going to see you safely booked into the hotel before I left you, but that was before Jeremy insisted on meeting me.’
Harriet could feel panic setting in. She was a confident girl travelling by train around Sydney, but to travel alone in a strange country was daunting.
‘Stop worrying,’ he said, seeing alarm in her face. ‘I’ve booked you a hire car which will take you from the airport to the hotel door. The driver will be waiting for you in arrivals, holding up a card with your name on it. He’ll help you with your luggage and so forth. I asked for a driver who spoke good English so that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Now, stop looking at me like that.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like I’m abandoning you in a strange land.’
‘Sorry. I know it’s not your fault.’
‘I’ll ring you when I can. Or text you if I can’t.’