'I want to apologise for the way I behaved earlier,' he said grimly as he stared down at her fixedly, his face rigid and taut. 'It was unforgivable—'
'Oh, no. You were upset,' she broke in quickly, her voice too high. 'I shouldn't have interfered; I know that, but—'
'Miriam, let me say what I have to say without you trying to exonerate the inexcusable.' He took a long, deep breath as though he found her overwhelmingly exasperating, and she lowered her eyes quickly as a little shaft of pain pierced her through. 'Not that I don't appreciate it.' His voice was a study In icy control. 'But I was way out of line when all you were trying to do was help. I've seen Barbara and Craig—' her gaze shot up to his face and clung there, wide-eyed '—and we've been talking for more than an hour. You were right, Miriam; I think they really do have something going for them.'
'You do?' The relief almost made her giddy. 'You told them that?'
He nodded slowly. 'I extended the olive branch and Craig was gracious enough to accept it so all is peace and harmony again, OK? So there's nothing for you to worry about. You were worrying, weren't you?' he added softly. She nodded quietly and his mouth twisted slightly. 'Well, you can stop now. Barbar
a is going to marry her prince and live happily ever after. I haven't ruined things for her.'
I wasn't worrying about Barbara, she told him silently as she gazed up into his dark face. At this moment I couldn't care less about Barbara and Craig or the whole caboodle—can't you see that? Are you really so blind?
'Thank you, Miriam.' His voice was so quiet now that she was almost lip-reading, but the look on his face rent her heart. 'I know you were concerned about Barbara but you stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life. I didn't want to hurt her, you know, or either of them.'
'I know.' She could hardly get the whisper past the lump in her throat.
He nodded slowly, almost dragging his eyes from her face as he backed a step before turning and walking swiftly up the corridor to disappear through the door at the top into the hall.
Oh, Reece. She leant against the wall as hot tears flowed fast and salty down her face. Reece, Reece, Reece…
CHAPTER EIGHT
In spite of her emotional turmoil, sheer physical exhaustion guaranteed that Miriam was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow that night. Mitch and the others had stayed until ten, which meant that everything was back on schedule. She had planned to have the freezers full, the fridges stocked and most of the preliminary work completed that night, leaving Friday free for setting up the big hall and the thousand and one last-minute preparations essential in a massive undertaking like this.
She slept deeply, to dream frantic dreams involving giant wedding cakes with two legs that ran away as soon as they were about to be cut, hundreds of guests arriving to no food and an empty hall, Barbara screaming and fighting Craig as she shouted that Reece had been right all along and she didn't want to get married, and, over all the tangled, weary mess, the brooding presence of a tall, silent man breathed dark confusion and despair.
Waking was a sweet relief, and Miriam sat eating her breakfast at six o'clock as she gazed out of the window into a garden transformed into a sparkling winter wonderland, unable to bear staying in that dark, nightmarish world a minute longer.
A host of birds were pottering hopefully on top of the thick snow, darting bright, inquisitive glances at the house and fluttering onto the frozen birdbath now and again in search of a drink. They couldn't have made a more pointed request for food, and Miriam dressed quickly after defrosting a loaf of bread in the microwave and filling a large container with hot water.
As she opened the door at the end of the corridor the cold air made her gasp, and she stood for a moment breathing in the icy sweetness before plodding round the side of the house with her gifts. The early-morning sky was a river of gold and pink, colouring the snow with a luminescent quality all its own, and everything was quiet and absolutely still.
After melting the ice Miriam filled the birdbath with clean water, which lay gently steaming in the freezing air, and then cleared a patch of ground for the bread, scattering small pieces in a wide circle before moving away to a snow-covered bench at the side of a large bush and brushing herself a seat.
She sat for a long time watching the birds feed as the sky changed to a pearly white, not thinking of anything but the scene in front of her and letting the quiet peace of the morning blanket her mind. She pulled the hood of her old duffle-coat even further over her face as the icy air began to freeze her nose, and then jumped violently as a deep male voice sounded just a few feet away.
'What on earth are you doing out here?' She looked over to where Reece was standing and felt the familiar jolt to her heart as she took in the sight of him in the clear crystal air. He was dressed in jeans and a waist-length, bulky grey jacket, its collar up round his neck and his head bare to the elements. His impressive height and lean body were accentuated in the pale white surroundings, his maleness a tangible thing as his eyes narrowed in enquiry.
'Nothing.' She indicated the birds who had scattered at his voice and were now fluttering back in ones and twos. 'The birds were hungry.'
He raised his hands and she noticed for the first time that he was carrying a large fruit-cake and a container of water. 'I know.' He smiled ruefully. 'The little blighters are used to their morning feed. I think they'd come knocking on the door if I was late.'
'You feed them every day?' she asked in surprise as a warning bell began to ring in her mind. Don't do this to me, she thought silently as she watched him smile that heart-stoppingly attractive smile before walking over to join her. I don't want to find out fresh things to make me love you more; I can't cope as it is. I don't want to know that you are capable of caring about hungry birds; this just isn't fair.
'In the winter.' He sat down beside her on the bench and she felt her body tense at his closeness as he stretched out his long legs in front of him. 'In the summer they fend for themselves.' He glanced at her, his eyes reflecting the silver-white sky overhead. 'You look like Little Red Riding Hood in that get-up.'
'Except it's brown.' She smiled unsteadily and then her heart thumped crazily as he raised a lazy hand and flicked back her hood, causing her hair to tumble about her shoulders.
'Now it's red.' He lifted a handful of thick, silky hair in his fingers and rubbed each strand thoughtfully as it slipped back to settle in soft waves around her face. 'You're beautiful, Miriam, so beautiful. How many men have told you that?' She stared at him unblinkingly, unable to speak. 'Did he tell you how lovely you are?' he asked with sudden roughness.
'Who?'
'The guy you loved.' The sudden heat that flooded her face brought his mouth into a tight, straight line. 'Or is it love?' he asked grimly. 'Do you still care for this moron, Miriam? Is that why you don't want anything to do with me?'
'Reece—' She put out a hand almost placatingly as she stood up abruptly. She could take most things with a smile but this was beyond her. 'I don't want to talk about it.'
'I could make you forget him.' He stood with her, his height and breadth intimidating as he looked down at her, his handsome face fierce and harsh. 'You know we could be good together; you feel it like I do.'