Bridesmaid Says, ''I Do!''

In Kent’s case, his commitment was binding on all kinds of levels, and there was no going back. No regrets. He was a man of his word.

Besides, if he was rational about this, there wasn’t even anything particularly special about Zoe Weston. Her brown hair and blue eyes and slim build were nice enough, but her looks were average. Surely?

The imagined attraction was merely a blip, and now he could put it behind him.

That settled, Kent took a deep, reassuring draft of beer, pleased to realise he’d been overreacting.

It wasn’t as easy as Zoe had hoped to relax while sitting beside Kent on his veranda. She found herself crossing and uncrossing her legs, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass, or sneaking sideways glances at her host’s stare-worthy profile. Hardly the behaviour of a perfect bridesmaid.

Desperate to stop this nonsense, she jumped to her feet and leaned on the veranda railing, looking out at the parklike sweep of gardens that stretched to a timber fence, and fields of golden crops and grazing animals.

Concentrate on the wedding—not the groom.

Casually, she asked, ‘Are you planning a garden wedding, Kent?’

He looked surprised, as if the question had caught him out, but he responded readily enough. ‘An outdoor ceremony would be great and the weather forecast is promising. What do you think?’

Rising from his chair, he joined her at the veranda’s edge, and once again Zoe was struggling to ignore his proximity. Now there was the tantalising whiff of his cologne to deal with as well.

She concentrated on the lawns and banks of shrubbery. ‘A garden wedding would be perfect. Would you hire a caterer?’

‘That’s one of the things we need to discuss this weekend. But Bella’s a bit … distracted.’

‘Yes, her dad’s health is a big worry for her.’

Kent nodded, then let out a heavy sigh.

‘You’re worried, too,’ Zoe said, seeing the sudden tension in his face.

‘I have to be careful what I say around Bella, but I’m angry with her dad.’ Kent sighed again. ‘Don’t get me wrong. Tom Shaw’s a wonderful guy. In many ways he’s been my hero. But his wife died eighteen months ago and he dropped his bundle. He started drinking heavily, and now he has the beginnings of heart failure.’

‘From drinking?’

‘From drinking and generally not looking after himself.’ Kent’s hand fisted against the railing. ‘Bella’s beside herself, of course.’

‘I hadn’t realised his health was so bad,’ Zoe said with concern. ‘Poor Bell.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Kent spoke quietly, but with unmistakable determination. ‘I’ll look after her. And I’m damned if I’ll let Tom kill himself.’

Wow, Zoe thought. Kent had sounded so—so noble; he really was Bella’s knight in shining armour.

And clearly he was happy in that role. He was turning to Zoe now with a smile. ‘Bella said you’re going to be a great help with the wedding.’

‘I—I’m certainly happy to do all I can to help.’

‘She claims you’re a fabulous organiser and list-maker.’

‘I suppose I can be. I’ve never organised a wedding, but I quite like planning our office Christmas party. A smallish wedding won’t be too different.’ To Zoe’s dismay, her cheeks had grown very hot. She shot a quick glance out to the expanse of lawn. ‘I imagine you’d need to hire tables and chairs.’

‘Yes, definitely.’

‘And table cloths, crockery, glassware et cetera.’

‘I dare say.’ Kent flashed a gorgeous crooked smile. ‘If you keep talking like that you’ll land yourself a job, Zoe.’

And if he kept smiling at her like that she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.