Secret Words (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 1)
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Authors: Miranda P. Charles
Secret Words
(Secret Dreams Book 1)
By Miranda P. Charles
Copyright
©
2013 Miranda P. Charles
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded or distributed in any form without the express permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, locations, organisations and events described in this novel are either products of the author's imagination, fictitious or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to any event, locale or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Other Books by Miranda P. Charles
CHAPTER ONE
"No, no, no!" Jasmine Allen cried softly as she stared at the bold handwritten 'Out of Order' sign stuck to the door of the ladies' bathroom. Hoping against hope that a prankster put up the notice, she twisted the knob. Locked.
Damn it!
Had she known that the car trip to Sydney's Royal National Park would take more than two hours, courtesy of the broken-down truck that created a traffic jam on the main highway, she wouldn't have drunk all that lemon and ginger tea for her sore throat before they left her sister's home.
She squinted at the map someone pinned to the door showing the directions to the nearest available ladies' room. It indicated it was about a five-minute walk away. But with her bladder close to bursting, she didn't have five minutes.
Well, there's the men's room,
she thought desperately.
She walked around the small red brick building that stood amongst gum trees and chirping birds, hidden from the view of the picnic area where her sister Jessa, her fiancé Rob, and their friends were gathered for Rob's birthday.
She tried to listen for sounds from inside the men's restroom but couldn't hear anything. With fingers crossed that no one was inside, she cautiously placed her hand on the door to push it.
She let out a short yelp as the door was yanked open from the inside. Her eyes opened wide as they landed on a dark-haired man whose blue eyes stared back at her in horrified surprise.
Jasmine's mind went blank, forgetting for a moment why she was there. There was no other way to describe the man in front of her. He was a total hunk. She gaped at him for a long second, until her body reminded her she needed to go.
Now.
"I think the ladies' room is around the corner to your right," Mr. Hunk said, seemingly recovered from his shock.
"It's out of order," she squeaked as she shoved him out of the way and ran for one of the cubicles.
Relief flooded her as she let go, followed by a sense of acute embarrassment. Did she just rudely push someone so she could go to the toilet? In the men's room? She felt her face burn. The fact that the guy she jostled was mega-hot and attractive didn't help her dignity and sense of femininity.
She finished her business and crept out of the cubicle, relieved that no one came in while she was there and disappointed that Mr. Hunk was gone. Well, what was she expecting? That he'd wait around for her?
She thought of blue eyes that belonged to a handsome face as she washed her hands. Maybe he was here on a picnic, too. If he used this particular bathroom, he must be hanging around close to her group's spot. Didn't her sister say they chose this part of the park because it was a lot quieter? A smile formed on her face at the possibility of bumping into him again.
The sound of male voices coming from outside prodded her to hurry up and leave the room she wasn't supposed to be in. She hastily turned towards the door, eager to get out, when she felt her left foot slip from underneath her.
"Oww!" She landed on her butt awkwardly, her arms thankfully managing to stop her upper body and head from hitting the floor.
Gingerly, she braced herself up and tried to stand. Pain shot up from her ankle and her face contorted in an ugly wince just as the door flung open. To her delight and chagrin, there he was again. Mr. Hunk.
How freaking embarrassing!
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Uh, I think so. I didn't notice the puddle."
"Here, let me help you up." Her knight in sexy blue jeans leaned down to give her a hand.
She smiled her thanks as she accepted his assistance.
"Ahem," a voice intruded, causing her to look away from Mr. Hunk's handsome face to find a middle-aged man poking his head inside the restroom.
"Excuse me. May I go in now?" the man asked.
"Yes," Mr. Hunk answered. "Thanks for waiting."
She gave her new friend a quizzical look.
"I told him not to go in until you came out," he explained.
"You were guarding the door for me?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. I thought you might need a little privacy while you invaded the men's room," he said with a teasing grin.
"Thanks. That's very kind of you."
"No worries. There's not many people around in this part of the park and a pretty girl like you shouldn't be found in the men's room. It always pays to be careful," he said quietly, then turned his head towards the cubicles. "Not that I think you're dangerous, sir," he called out loudly to the older man.
"I understand," the other guy responded.
"Aahh," she cried softly as she put weight on her left foot.
"Your ankle?" her knight asked.
"Yes, I must have sprained it." Her eyes watered from the pain and the predicament she found herself in. She prayed her ankle wasn't too bad. Her sister's wedding was next week and she didn't want to be a limping bridesmaid on the day.
"Where do you need to go?" he asked.
"To the sink first. I need to wash my hands again."
Her heart raced as a muscular arm went around her waist as he helped her hobble to the washbasin.
"Why don't I help you walk back to wherever you need to be?" he offered. "You probably shouldn't be putting much weight on that foot."
"How do I know
you're
not dangerous?" she asked with a smile that conveyed she was joking. She felt safe with him already. But was that being too naive?
He laughed out loud. "How about I introduce myself first? My name's Kane and I work for Krand Architects. I'm definitely not an axe murderer."
"Where's your proof?" she asked with a mock frown.
He took his wallet from his back pocket and fished out a business card. "Here. See? Ar-chi-tect," he said with exaggerated enunciation as he pointed to the title 'Director and Head Architect'.
She chuckled at his playfulness and snatched the card from him. "Glad to meet you, Kane … Summers? Are you related to Faye Summers?"
"Yes," Kane replied in surprise. "I'm her oldest brother."
Oh.
She checked him out with new eyes. She could now see the resemblance between him and Faye—one of her sister's best friends—especially their blue eyes and the fact that they were both extremely good-looking.
"And you are …?" Kane prodded.
"Oh, I'm Jasmine Allen."
He lifted his eyebrows. "You're Jessa's younger sister?"
"Yes."
He grinned at her. "Well, then, now you know for sure I'm not an axe murderer. You live in Melbourne, right? When did you arrive?"
"Yesterday. I'm here for five weeks."
"Wow, that's a good length of time to be away from work. What do you do?"
"I'm a corporate trainer. My boss wants me to consider moving here to Sydney to fill a position that will be vacant in three months. Since I have plenty of annual leave up my sleeve, I thought I'd take it now so I could see if I'd like living in Sydney while I house-sit for Jessa and Rob when they go on their honeymoon. Plus, I also wanted to come early for Rob's birthday. Speaking of which, we should head back to the party."
As Kane escorted her out of the men's room, she tried to hide the wince that formed on her face. She was in more pain than she would like to admit.
"Do you think I should carry you?" Kane asked tentatively.
"Ah, no. I think that would be too awkward," she replied, her cheeks turning pink. The thought of being in his arms heated her up all over and made her heart pound hard. This guy was doing crazy things to her system.
"Okay," Kane said. "But you shouldn't use your left foot at all until you've had it checked by a doctor. Hang on to me and I'll help you hop along with your right foot."
"Thanks." She put her right arm around his shoulders as he kept a tight grip around her waist and held her against his side.
Whoa, this position won't help me cool down. Not at all.
"I hope I can walk all right by next week," she babbled, keen to distract herself from her ridiculous physical reaction to this man. "I wouldn't want to ruin Jessa and Rob's big day by being on crutches during their wedding."
"I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you don't do silly things while your ankle's healing," he consoled her.
Yes, just continue to hold me and I'll be fine.
She decided not to respond in case something totally inappropriate came out of her mouth.
Jasmine exhaled her disappointment when they neared the place where the rest of their group was busy barbecuing, chatting and laughing. Kane Summers would have to let go of her soon.
She couldn't understand it. Why this intense attraction? He might be one hell of a looker, but he was just one of the many handsome guys she knew. What made him the most magnetic of them all?
"Nearly there," Kane said.
She wanted to swoon at the husky tone of his voice. Instead, she forced herself to focus on keeping her left foot raised while she hopped with her right.
"Jaz! What happened?" She looked up to see Jessa's worried face.
"I slipped and sprained my ankle," she answered.
"Oh, no! Are you okay? Where did you slip? In the bathroom?"
"Yes," she responded in a small voice.
Their group gathered around them, wanting to see what was wrong.
"It's just a sprained ankle, guys. Please don't worry," Jasmine pleaded.
"Maybe we should take you to a doctor," Rob said.
"Rob, seriously, I'm fine. I'll just put my foot up and relax. Please carry on with your party. You'll only make me feel bad if you fuss over me."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Please." She looked around with embarrassment as about fifteen pairs of eyes stared at her. She didn't even know who a few of the others were. She had run straight for the bathroom as soon as they got there.
Fortunately, Jessa remembered to make the introductions before shooing her friends back to what they were doing. "It's all right, guys. We got this," Jessa said.
Kane led her to the nearest bench and helped her sit down. He squatted before her, gently picked up her left foot and took off her shoe. He lightly caressed her swollen ankle and oddly enough, his touch made it feel a little better.
"Do you girls know how to treat a sprained ankle?" he asked Jessa and Faye, who stood on either side of him.
"You need to put ice on it and bandage it up," his sister responded. "But I don't think we have bandage."
"We have ice!" Jessa went to the portable drink cooler and gathered ice cubes. When she walked back to them, Kane held out his hand for the cubes, wrapped in a tea towel.
"You want to do this?" Jessa asked in surprise.
"Sure. I'm already holding her foot," Kane responded, taking the makeshift ice pack from Jessa.
