Haunted Ever After (6 page)

As darkness fell, Lorena lit some candles and refused my attempt at turning on the main lights. She checked her watch. It was the third time she’d done it in the last ten minutes.

‘Why do you keep looking at your watch?’ I asked.

‘Huh? No reason.’

Liar. Five minutes later when I got settled on the velvet couch with another cocktail, the reason rang the doorbell.

* * *

‘Surely not the photographers again?’ I asked, twisting sideways to peer over the back of the couch to the front door.

‘Nope. You sit right there, hun, I’ll get it.’ Lorena said with a cheeky grin.

What did she have planned now? Maybe it was a limousine driver to take us to a fancy club? Only there weren’t any fancy clubs out here in the country, unless you counted the Barron Springs Pub, which was probably a few points shy of fancy.

Lorena opened the door slowly, and a man stepped in and placed his black winter coat on the coat rack. He was wearing blue scrubs and a surgical mask.

Huh? Someone from work? Maybe we were really having a surprise party and Lorena had invited all my work colleagues.

‘Are you okay, Lorena? It’s not the baby is it?’ I asked, suddenly concerned that maybe there was some problem she hadn’t told us about.

She laughed. ‘Oh hun, there’s no problem with me at all. This is Ty.’ She ushered him further inside. ‘That gorgeous young thing over there is Sally, the bride-to-be,’ she said, pointing my way.

Oh God. Was this an intervention? She
had
caught me talking to myself in the bedroom. Though it wasn’t
really
to myself. And I had been acting a bit strange and saying weird things thanks to Red. But maybe Red didn’t really exist after all and I was actually hallucinating and they could all tell, and Dr Ty was here to whisk me away to the psych ward.

Although the room was dark, apart from the ambient glow of candlelight, I could see strong cheekbones above his surgical mask as he walked towards me. He was also wearing protective goggles, like the ones I wore when I had to assist in a delicate potentially blood-spattering procedure at work. Maybe I, or all of us, were infected with some rare virus and he was here to quarantine us.

Confusion and a bit of fear raced through me. Ty stood dominantly in front of me. Golly gosh. They probably sent the strong one to carry me away and prevent me from resisting. Maybe there was a whole team of elite, muscular doctors waiting outside to ensure we didn’t escape. Or to move in if we retaliated. Like a medical SWAT team.

‘Sexy Sally,’ he said in a low, growl of a voice.

What on earth? What kind of doctor speaks to someone like that?

His mask shifted slightly, as though he was smiling underneath it, and he turned away and pulled something from the medical bag he was holding. Lorena assisted him with God-knows-what in the corner, and when he turned back around, music blared from the iPod dock and I jumped in fright.

The catchy, rhythmic beat pounded in my ears as Ty strode towards me, and slowly, a realisation grew inside. Then it hit me like a whack to the head when he bent forward slightly and pulled at his surgical pants, ripping them off.

‘Woohoo!’ Lorena yelled, and Mel clapped and started dancing.

Oh my God. Ty was no doctor. He was a stripper! Lorena hadn’t listened to my requests to have a dignified hen’s party and had cheekily gone out and booked some raunchy entertainment! My eyes darted in her direction and I gave her a look that said ‘You didn’t!’ and she returned it with one that said ‘I sure as hell did, honey bunch!’

My mouth gaped as the candlelit glow reflected off the tight cords of his muscular thighs. He moved seductively in front of me and swung his stethoscope around in a circle like he was a cowboy about to lasso a criminal. Or me.

I covered my burning face with one hand, trying not to look at the fine specimen in front of me. What would Greg think! This was
so
not me, and wasn’t this sort of like…
cheating
, just a little? He’d promised he wouldn’t have a stripper at his buck’s night tonight and I’d agreed the same.

Ty grasped one of my artificial ringlets and extended it, then let it spring back to my face. I kept my hand hovering across my eyes, only slightly peeking through so as to not be completely anti-social. He was only here for a quick performance, right? Five, maybe ten minutes, and then he’d be on his merry way and I could get back to the normality that was my bridal weekend, with a ghost in tow?

The beat of the music picked up and the room took on the ambience of an intimate nightclub. Mel was now dancing barefoot on the coffee table, and Ty moved and swayed next to her, which only made her dance more. Georgie stood nearby with a drink in one hand, fanning her grinning face with the other.

I took a deep breath, though it only enhanced the sensation of tension in my chest. My heart beat faster as Ty came back towards me. He did some dance moves along to the music that were actually quite good. He had rhythm and speed and power. Shame he had to waste his dance ability on a career as a stripper.
I bet he has an ego the size of his
…

Whoa! He tugged at his shirt and it ripped right off, exposing a six-pack that Mel would probably give up alcoholic six-packs for. And the pecs, oh my God, the pecs! I could bounce coins off them! Not that I would ever do such a thing. But wow. My Greg wasn’t in bad shape but he wasn’t exactly Thor either. But this guy…was he even human? Surely no one’s body could look that good.

Ty moved with enough confidence to give Georgie a run for her money. He was practically naked except for his skin-hugging black trunks, surgical mask and goggles, and surgical shoes, which looked weirdly out of place on a body like that. His body gyrated and popped and locked in a stylish, sexy way that dancers did on music videos. With each rhythmic pop of his pelvis he jumped closer, his body a few inches from mine as I huddled with a cushion on the couch.

‘Oh yeah, work it, Doctor!’ Mel yelled, and for a fleeting moment I wondered where Red was. Why wasn’t she getting in the way? Surely she would have a field day with this!

As I became aware of a masculine scent of expensive cologne, my face burned hotter, and Ty finally kicked off those sensible shoes with their protective plastic cover that looked like a shower cap for feet. I looked at his feet to divert my eyes from his, um, the rest of him, and my heart skipped a beat. It was dark, but not dark enough that I couldn’t make out the slight swelling and discolouration of bruising on his left toes.

Oh my goodness gracious me.

I cautiously glanced up at his face and he lifted the goggles from his head, followed by the mask, revealing the perfectly proportioned face of the man whose toes I’d run over with the trolley in the supermarket.

‘You!’ I flung my hands over my face.

He stopped dancing and pulled my hands away, peering into my eyes, then turned. ‘Would you mind turning on the light for a sec?’ he asked Lorena, who obliged, and also turned the music down.

The dim, ambient environment switched to the harsh awkwardness of reality, as recognition hardened Ty’s face. ‘You’re the dangerous shopper from the supermarket,’ he said, and his stance changed from seductive and confident to stiff and uncomfortable.

‘I’m not dangerous. I didn’t see you, that’s all.’

‘That’s
him
?’ Georgie asked, and Mel laughed like a hyena. It was almost as bad as Red’s laugh.

‘Um, what’s going on here?’ Lorena asked.

I stood and straightened my dress, which felt way too short, though I wasn’t showing as much flesh as stripper guy. ‘I sort of, um…’

‘She did this,’ he said, plonking his bruised foot on the coffee table, ‘with her shopping trolley.’

‘Today?’ Lorena’s eyes widened, and we both nodded.

‘It was an accident, but he didn’t have the decency to accept my apology.’

‘You were practically racing that thing, you’re lucky no bones were broken. I might have had to cancel work tonight.’ He put his foot back on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest, making his pecs bulge even more, not that I was looking.

I crossed my arms too, but nothing bulged on my end. His pecs were bigger than my tiny buds for boobs. ‘Oh, well that would have been a
huge
shame,’ I said with a strong tone of sarcasm.

‘Yes, if you must know, I had three more parties wanting to book me for this time tonight. I had to turn them down. I’m quite in demand, you know.’ He raised his chin.

‘I can’t imagine why.’ I crossed my arms even tighter. What an egotistical idiot.

‘I can,’ Mel muttered, then laughed again.

Ty grabbed his pants from the floor and reattached the velcro, then stepped into them. ‘I think I should go. Thanks for inviting me, Lorena, but it’s best if I end the show a little early.’

Lorena approached him. ‘Oh, no need for that! Sally was just a bit surprised, weren’t you, Sal? I’m sure you can both forget what happened today and just enjoy the night, yeah?’

‘Thanks, but I think the mood has passed for this bride-to-be.’ He looked at me with strong, brown eyes.

‘What makes you think I was even in a
mood
? As if I’m some floozy who goes weak at the knees at the sight of a good-looking, half-naked man with muscles the size of mountains?’
Oh God. What was in that cocktail? I don’t normally speak like that!

Ty smirked. ‘Ah, so you think I’m good-looking, eh?’

‘No, it was just a figure of speech, I didn’t mean it!’

‘You said good-looking, sunshine. That’s pretty straightforward to me.’

I diverted my gaze from his, as my cheeks burned hotter.

‘He is good-looking Sal, admit it,’ Mel said. ‘You
are
good-looking, Ty.’

He smiled at Mel, then grabbed his top, but Lorena grasped hold of it too. ‘Why don’t you stay and finish your performance. No need to waste a night of work.’ She turned and grabbed her handbag from the side table. ‘Here, I’ll pay you double.’ She held up a wad of cash.

‘Go Lorena!’ Mel whooped.

Ty was about to put on his top but hesitated.

‘Here, it’s yours.’ Lorena came over and shoved it in Ty’s doctor’s bag. ‘Now, you two shake hands and forget about your little altercation, and Sally, let the man do his thing. You only have one hen’s night, remember? And what happens in Barron Springs…’

‘Stays in Barron Springs!’ Mel exclaimed.

‘She’s right, Sal. No use getting worked up over a little accident.’ Georgie shoved another cocktail in my hands. ‘Sit back and relax, enjoy the night.’

I looked at Ty and he dropped his top. ‘Fine with me,’ he said.

I lifted the drink to my mouth and tipped my head back, then held out my hand. ‘Fine. But only because Lorena went to the trouble of booking you. You better make it worth her money.’
Oh no, what did I mean by that?
Surely he wouldn’t remove anything more than what he already had, would he? That would be plain wrong. I couldn’t let him, and I hoped to God he wasn’t
that
kind of entertainer. Hopefully he’d just do some fancy dance moves and leave the nakedness part out of it.

Ty grasped my hand and I flinched a little. Despite the chill in the air his hand was warm. Warm and smooth. He gave it a firm shake.

‘Truce?’ he said.

‘Truce.’ I nodded.

‘Yay!’ Mel flicked off the lights and took the liberty of turning the volume up on the music.

Ty gently pushed me onto the couch, as though he was about to climb on top of me. ‘Does somebody need an examination?’ he asked, and my friends cheered. ‘Or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?’

I flicked my hand as if to say ‘no thanks, I’m good’, but in an instant his stethoscope was on my chest.

‘Breathe in,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Breathe out…’ He moved the stethoscope around the top of my chest, and then put it down the back of my dress, and I shivered at the cold touch of metal. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll warm you up.’ He knelt in front of me and lifted a high-heel from my foot.

‘What…what are you doing?’ I stiffened.

He ignored my question and put my bare foot against his bare chest, rubbing and massaging it with his firm hands. ‘I could get you back for the trolley incident, but I’m not one to hold a grudge.’ He winked.

I wasn’t going to let a petty incident ruin my evening but I couldn’t quite get rid of the embarrassing sensation crawling up my spine.
A complete stranger is rubbing my foot!
Barring a professional masseuse, this shouldn’t happen to an engaged woman, should it? What would Greg be doing right now? Probably enjoying a super-expensive bottle of wine at the golf retreat and chatting business.

No, he shouldn’t be getting this personal with me, I should put a stop to it. I’ll just politely remove my foot from his hold and…
Oh God…oh wow…how on earth is he doing that?
My foot was practically having an orgasm. A footgasm. Was that even possible?

Ty smiled as he rubbed and pressed, probably knowing too well the magic his hands were casting. He must be using some kind of acupressure technique. Fancy a stripper knowing that. Strangely, my body softened a little and I let him do his thing, even though I felt like a terrible wife-to-be.

When he’d had his way with my foot he placed it gently back in the shoe, then stood and ripped off his pants for the second time that night. His body moved with the music as though his muscles were controlling the tempo. There was no doubt about it, this guy could dance. Whoever said dancing was a girly pursuit for guys hadn’t seen Ty. He oozed masculinity, confidence, and —
gulp
— sexiness, and his performance was in no way cheesy. It was classy. And professional. And…I think I’ve had too much to drink. I shook away the hint of desire creeping throughout my body like a pack of stealthy field agents.
Greg. Think of Greg
. He’s my man, he’s my fiancé, and Ty is just some light entertainment to satisfy Lorena’s urge to create the ideal hen’s party.

‘Wipe that drool from your face, girlfriend!’ My body stiffened as Red sat next to me.

‘Go away,’ I hissed through pursed lips.

‘What, and miss this show? I’ve been practically comatose back there in the corner from the shock of all this beauty.’ She eyed Ty with intense eyes of desire. ‘Mmm… Now I
really
miss being alive.’ She floated towards him and moulded her body to his as he swayed.