The Wedding Bargain

In response, Shanal shuddered. “No, I can’t. I...I just can’t.”

Raif reached past her to unlock his front door, then gestured for her to precede him. The incongruity of the situation struck him. He’d always imagined bringing a bride back here to his home one day—just not exactly like this. But if she wanted to get away from Burton, then the least Raif could do was let her freshen up before she headed off to...wherever it was she planned on going from here.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Some water, please.”

She followed him into the open-plan living area, her heels clicking and the multilayered skirts of her gown making a swooshing sound on the hard surface of the tiled floor. In the kitchen, he poured her a glass of mineral water from the fridge and handed it to her. She took a long drink.

“Thanks,” she said, putting the glass down on the granite countertop with a click. “I needed that. Now where are you taking me? We can’t stay here.”

Taking her? What made her think he was taking her anywhere? She’d asked him to get her away from the wedding. He’d done that. Surely that was where his involvement began and ended. Not that he was unwilling to help her, but she’d always been so aloof toward him, had always kept him very firmly at a distance. Why would she be depending on him now? It was so unlike her.

Shanal obviously realized what he was thinking. “I’m sorry, that was presumptuous of me. What I meant was, can you help me to get away for a bit? I’m kind of stuck.”

She held her arms out from her dress in a gesture of helplessness. She was right. She was stuck, and in what she was wearing right now. She didn’t even have a purse with her.

Raif studied her carefully. Her face was stretched into a tight mask of strain and her eyes had the look of a frightened animal. Even though this shouldn’t be his problem right now, he racked his brains for something he could do to help her—somewhere she could go to get away from this whole mess. Ethan had chosen a fine time to marry his long-time fiancée, Isobel, and head away on a honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean, Raif thought uncharitably. A smile twisted one side of his mouth as an idea bloomed in his mind.

“How about a cruise?”

“A cruise?” Shanal looked surprise.

“Yeah. On a riverboat. I have a friend who has just re-engined and refurbished one of his fleet. He was moaning about not having time to run the motor in before it gets repositioned farther up the Murray. A nice, slow trip up the river sounds like just what you need and you’d be doing Mac a favor by getting some hours on the engine, as well.”

“How soon can we leave?”

“You’re serious? You want to do that?”

She nodded.

“Let me make a call.”

He stepped out of the living area and into his office on the other side of the hall. He checked his phone. Yup, there were several messages, most of them from the same number—Burton Rogers. He deleted those without listening. Let the guy simmer in his own juices for a while. He frowned a little when he recognized Shanal’s parents’ number. He’d have to let them know she was okay, but first he needed to contact his friend.

Now, where had he put Mac’s contact details... Aha! Raif spied the business card his friend had given him when they’d last caught up for a drink in Adelaide, and keyed the number into his phone. A few minutes later it was all set.

Shanal was standing at the large bifold glass doors that faced the vineyard when he came back into the room. She’d slid his jacket off her shoulders and had pulled the last of the pins from her hair, leaving it to cascade down her back like a long, wavy black river of silk. His hand itched to reach out, to touch her hair, to stroke it. Stupid, he told himself. The persistent physical attraction that had ignited back when he was a schoolboy continued to simmer beneath the surface, but he knew better than to act on it. Shanal herself had taught him that lesson. He’d gotten this far through his life without setting himself up for another smackdown like the one she’d dealt him twelve years ago, and he certainly wasn’t going to set himself up for one now.

“You okay?” he asked.

She sighed, her body wilting from its strong stance. She shook her head. “No, I’m not. I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay after this.”

“Hey, of course you will. I’ve spoken to Mac and he’s happy to make the boat available. With the school holidays over it’s pretty quiet for him right now, so you can take all the time you need. It’ll be good for you, the perfect getaway. You’ll have time and space to think, and when you come back you can tackle what happens next with a fresh mind.”