Moonlight Mirage: Bandicoot Cove 2 (14 page)

Loving.

She’d loved him to within an inch of his life. She’d even told him how she felt in explicit terms, while
he’d
kept his cards close to his chest. What had he been waiting for? An engraved invitation?

No, he’d been waiting for verification. Like Hayley’s love was a contract he needed notarized before he committed to going ahead with the deal.

Wood, you are one grade-A fucking moron.

Every instinct was screaming for him to run after Hayley and admit what an idiot he’d been. But her final words gave Mitch pause.
Protect me now, please. Let me go.
Was he supposed to ignore that plea? Or would she get even more riled that he hadn’t respected her wishes?

How could he have reached the age of thirty-bloody-four and still not know a damn thing about women?

Although he’d just scored extremely low on a relationship IQ test he hadn’t even been aware he was taking, he was still smart enough to know he was out of his depth. If he went ahead alone, chances were he’d stuff things up further. Picking up the hotel phone, he dialed a few numbers.

When his call was answered, he launched straight into it. “How did you get my sister to marry you?”

“Mitch?” Aidan asked. “Is this some last-minute attempt to voice an objection?”

“I have no objection. Anyone can see you’re good for McKenzie. I need to know how you made her see that.”

“I didn’t make her see anything. She saw for herself—eventually. It took a couple of decades.”

Mitch groaned. “I can’t wait that long. I’ve already wasted enough time.”

“Okay. Any chance you’ll tell me what this is about—or should I ask
who
it’s about?”

Mitch hesitated. He’d been so careful all these years never to let Mack know anything untoward had happened between him and Hayley. The way Aidan and Mack were sewn at the hip recently, telling Aidan the truth might be tantamount to revealing all to Mack as well. “I’d rather not say yet.”

There was a definite smirk in Aidan’s voice. “It’s Hayley, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“From Mack.”

“She
knows
?”

“She told me that Hayley’s had a huge crush on you since she was a teenager.”

Mitch closed his eyes, pain and regret moving through him. His voice croaked. “She has?”

Aidan chuckled knowingly. “Yeah. The sight of you punching on with her plus one at my buck’s night leads me to believe it’s become contagious.”

“And incurable.”
A crush.
It was an apt description. Mitch’s chest felt like it was being slowly squeezed by a boa constrictor. “Aidan, I’m a good manager. Good enough to know when to seek advice from an expert. My sister is a real handful, sort of a dope about men.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You being the notable exception,” Mitch said. “Although, as you said, it did take her over twenty years to figure out she was supposed to be with you.”

“You’re right, she is kind of a dope.”

There was such affection in the other man’s voice that Mitch was reassured anew that his sister was pledging her life to the right man. “My point is, Mack can be a real hard case at times. Willful, single-minded, prone to temper tantrums. But somehow you got her. I need you to tell me how you did that.”

“I’d love to tell you there’s a surefire three-step program, but it doesn’t work like that. A lot of it’s luck.”

Mitch sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”

“And I almost died in a fire, which made me acknowledge I couldn’t live without her anymore.”

“I’d rather bypass that part, if it’s all the same to you.”

Aidan chuckled. “Fair enough. Tell you what, come over to room twenty-two. The guys are all here. Maybe between all of us we can come up with a game plan.”

Knowing he needed all the help he could get, Mitch did exactly that.

Chapter Ten

Hayley took a seat in the row second from the back. The wedding was due to begin in a few minutes. She could see Mitch sitting in the front row of white chairs that had been arranged on the beach. Even that scant glimpse of him, the afternoon sun slanting across his blond head and his wide shoulders, made her heart go wild.

She clutched her purse tight, her knuckles whitening. Every instinct she possessed willed her to run to him, jump on his lap and promise to do anything he wanted, anything, as long as they could be together—including cut off all contact with Ty.

Not that it was necessary now. Ty had beaten her to the punch. He’d departed by seaplane early that morning, leaving behind nothing but a note scrawled on the hotel stationery.

We can’t hang out anymore, not if you want to do this thing with Wood for real. You deserve someone who can love you with all he’s got, and you know I was never that guy. Not your fault, babe. My failing.

Mitch is nuts about you so stop fooling around and do your best to make it work. Love doesn’t come along every day, Hales. Don’t let it go. T.

As though sensing the weight of her riveted gaze on his back, Mitch suddenly turned. While Hayley had donned sunglasses to hide her red-rimmed eyes, Mitch had not. The swelling around his left eye had begun to turn purple, and there was a nick on his chin as though he’d cut himself shaving. But it was the raw emotion on his face when he caught sight of her that made her breath catch. The same torment going on inside Hayley was reflected there. The last few hours apart had been as harrowing for him as they had been for her.

By the time she’d gotten back to her room that morning, Hayley had barely been able to control her sobs of anguish. Finding Ty’s note hadn’t helped, but his words had eventually penetrated her fevered thoughts.
Stop fooling around.
Hayley realized that was exactly what she had been doing. Ambling along with Ty in a relationship they both knew was heading nowhere, using it to test Mitch’s feelings, pretending she didn’t love Mitch with every fiber of her being because she was afraid he didn’t feel the same.

She’d been playing games with life, and with love. That wasn’t how a mature person behaved. If she was going to move forward with Mitch—and she had to find a way to do that or walk around with half her heart missing for the rest of her life—she had to behave like a woman, not like a silly girl who didn’t know who she was or what she wanted. Mitch was the kind of man who would respond well to specific requests, not emotional outbursts.

All Hayley had to do was negotiate for what she wanted—to know how he really felt about her, to be a priority in his life—and be specific and unemotional about it.

Tell that to your racing heart and your sweaty palms.

After holding hers for long, poignant seconds, Mitch’s gaze flickered to the seat beside her. Hayley had taken an aisle chair next to a woman she’d been introduced to the other night as Aidan’s great aunt Alberta. When Mitch looked back at Hayley, she easily interpreted the question in his eyes.

She shook her head to indicate that Ty wasn’t with her.

The relief on his face was obvious. Remorse jabbed Hayley in the chest. What a stupid argument she’d started. If the situations had been reversed that morning, she would have been outraged if Mitch had blithely suggested popping off to visit an ex-lover, no matter what his reasoning. Afraid of the depth of her feelings, Hayley had grasped any excuse to escape and had ended up hurting Mitch, as well as herself.

Hayley’s determination to be unemotional started to crumble bit by bit as someone began playing
I’m Yours
on an acoustic guitar. Everyone turned to look as Mack’s bridesmaids, Kylie, Bianca and Sienna, all strolled down the aisle together, each wearing a simple bottle-green shift dress. Behind them walked Mack, radiating happiness as she approached her soon-to-be husband.

Aidan and Mack’s love for each other was so real. What she felt for Mitch was real, and she’d treated it with the utmost disrespect the last few days. Hayley pressed a hand to her chest as though that could soothe the ache. What if he didn’t forgive her?

Be specific, be clear. Be less emotional, Hayley, not more.

“Today we have gathered in this place of natural beauty to be joyful, in celebration of the relationship of McKenzie and Aidan,” the celebrant began. “By their commitment to marry each other, they are saying yes to love, yes to a future, yes to…”

Her heart in her throat, Hayley let her gaze fall on Mitch. He wasn't watching the ceremony going on right in front of him. His attention was on her.

Her heart catapulted against her sternum. She couldn’t tear her gaze off him. The celebrant’s words as she continued to talk about the preciousness of deep love became little more than background noise as Mitch mouthed two unexpected words.

I’m sorry.

Hayley burst into spontaneous tears, her choked sob so loud the celebrant stopped midsentence. The entire bridal party and all the assembled guests turned to look at her.

In the front row, Mitch shot to his feet. “Are you all right?”

Mortified, Hayley managed to get herself under control enough to mutter, “I’m sorry.
I’m
sorry,” she repeated, looking directly at Mitch. She glanced around at the other guests, her face turning hot. “I always cry at weddings. Please, ignore me.”

Mitch moved as though to head toward her, but his brother Mason stopped him. “Relax, will you? You can talk to her later. Sit down, for chrissakes.”

Mitch looked at Hayley, who made a motion for him to sit. Only then did he take his seat once more.

Clearing her throat, the celebrant began again.

“Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people…”

Once again, Hayley’s gaze sought Mitch’s. She found him watching her, concern evident in his expression. He was going to get a crick in his neck if he didn’t stop craning his head around like that. Sending him a watery smile, Hayley pressed a hand to her chest and mouthed the words, “
My fault.”
Then she circled her finger around her ear to indicate she knew she was crazy.

His expression softening, Mitch shook his head. He touched a fist to his chest and made a circular motion to indicate… What? She made his heart go pitter-patter? He had heartburn?
What?

Then she watched his lips form the words,
“I love you so much.”

Hayley stopped breathing. Emotion welled in her chest, like a bubble trying to burst. She wet her lips.
“Are you sure?”

With a lopsided smile to indicate how ridiculous her question was, Mitch nodded.

The tears began flowing afresh, but this time Hayley managed to stifle them by biting down on her knuckles.
He loves me.
The emotion on his face confirmed the words he’d mouthed. As Aidan and Mack spoke their vows to each other, Hayley let the knowledge flow through her, make her feel lighter than a bird lifted by the wind.

At last the celebrant introduced Mack and Aidan to the gathering as Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. Hayley stood and applauded along with everyone else. She watched as Mitch kissed his sister and shook Aidan’s hand. She waited while he whispered something to his parents, who both turned briefly to look at her, surprise on their faces.

Then he started striding in her direction.

Unable to keep her feet still, Hayley ran, meeting him halfway up the aisle Mack had so recently walked down. She flung herself into his outstretched arms, closing her eyes on a happy sigh when they tightened around her fiercely.

Mitch rasped in her ear. “I’m crazy about you, Hayley Bryant.”

“I’m crazy about you too. I love you.”

“You know you’ve ruined it for everyone.” The comment came from Mitch’s brother Mason, who clapped Mitch on the shoulder as he walked by. “We were so looking forward to the show.”

Hayley pulled back and eyed Mitch. “Show?”

Mitch sent his brother the evil eye as he scampered off. “They all had me convinced I had to make a grand gesture. The subject of serenading you at the reception came up in conversation.”

Hayley laughed. “You wouldn’t have done that.”

“I would have.” His gaze misting over, Mitch tucked a strand of hair behind Hayley’s ear with fingers that trembled slightly. “If that’s what it was going to take, I was going to do it.”

Everything inside Hayley melted. “You really do love me, don’t you?”

“Completely, utterly. I’m yours, sweetheart—if you’ll have me.”

“Oh I’m definitely going to have you.” Hayley smiled. “Vigorously and often.”

Mitch chuckled and bent down to kiss her, his lips moving languorously over hers. His arms were still wrapped tight around her, like he didn’t want to let her go.

But Hayley didn’t feel in the least bit trapped or overwhelmed. She had never felt so safe, so anchored, yet at the same time, so light, so joyful.

So free.

“I had a list of demands,” Hayley said.

“Did you, now?”

“Well, requests, really. I was going to negotiate for what I needed, like a thorough professional. I thought you’d appreciate it.”