The Bridesmaid's Baby Bump (12 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

D
INNER
AT
THE
royal castle of Montovia was a very formal affair. Luckily Eliza had been warned by Gemma to pack appropriate clothes. From her experiences of dinners at the castle before the wedding she knew that meant a dress that would be appropriate for a ball in Sydney. Thank heaven she still fitted into her favourite vintage ballgown in an empire style in shimmering blue that was very flattering to her pregnant shape.

Still, when she went down to dinner in the private section of the palace that was never opened to the public, she was astounded to see the level of formality of the other guests. She blinked at the dazzle of jewellery glinting in the lights from the chandeliers. It took her a moment to realise they were all members of Tristan and Gemma’s bridal party. Tristan’s sister Princess Natalia, his cousin with his doctor fiancée, she and Andie, other close friends of Tristan’s. Natalia waved when she caught her eye.

‘It’s a wedding reunion,’ Andie said when Eliza was seated beside her at the ornate antique banqueting table.

‘So I see. Did you know about it?’ Eliza asked.

‘No. Gemma didn’t either. Apparently when Tristan knew we were coming to visit he arranged it as a surprise. He invited everyone, and these are the ones who could make it. Obviously we’re the only Australians.’

‘What a lovely thing for him to do,’ Eliza said.

Gemma was glowing with happiness.

‘Very romantic,’ said Andie. ‘Gemma really struck husband gold with Tristan, in more ways than one.’

It was romantic in a very heart-wrenching way for Eliza. Because the most important member of the wedding party was not here—the best man, Jake.

Bittersweet memories of her last visit to the castle came flooding back in a painful rush. During the entire wedding she’d been on the edge of excitement, longing for a moment alone with him. How dismally it had all turned out. Except for the baby. Her miracle baby. Why couldn’t it be enough to have the baby she’d yearned for? Why did she ache to have the father too?

What with being in a different time zone, Eliza was being affected by more than a touch of jet-lag. She also had to be careful about what she ate. The worst, most debilitating attacks of nausea seemed to have passed, but she still had to take care. She just picked at course after course of the magnificent feast—in truth she had no appetite. As soon as it was polite to do so she would make her excuses and go back up to her guest suite—the same luxurious set of rooms she’d been given on her last visit.

After dessert had been cleared Tristan asked his guests to move into the adjoining reception room, where coffee was to be served. There were gasps of surprise as the guests trooped in, at the sight of a large screen on one wall, with images of the wedding projected onto it. The guests burst into spontaneous applause.

Eliza stared at the screen. There was Gemma, getting ready with her bridesmaids. And Eliza herself, smiling as she patted a stray lock of Gemma’s auburn hair back into place. The images flashed by. Andie. Natalia. The Queen placing a diamond tiara on Gemma’s head.

Then there were pictures at the cathedral. The cluster of tiny flower girls. The groomsmen. The best man—Jake—standing at the altar with Tristan. Jake was smiling straight at the first bridesmaid coming up the aisle.
Her.
She was smiling back at him. It must have been so obvious to everyone what was going on between them. And here she was—without him. But pregnant with his baby.

Her hand went to her heart when she saw a close-up of Jake saying something to Tristan. The image was so large he seemed life-size. Jake looked so handsome her mouth went dry and her heart started to thud so hard she had to take deep breaths to try and control it.

She couldn’t endure this. It was cruel. No one would realise if she slipped away. They were all too engrossed with the photographs.

She turned, picked up her long skirts.

And came face to face with Jake.

It was as if the image of him that had so engrossed her on the screen had come to life. Was she hallucinating? With a cautious hand, she reached out and connected with warm, solid Jake. He was real all right. She felt the colour drain from her face. He was wearing a similar tuxedo as he was in the photo, but his smile was more reticent.
He was unsure of his welcome from her.

‘Jake...’ she breathed, unable to say another thing. She felt light-headed and swayed a little.
Please. Not now.
She couldn’t pass out on him again.

‘You need some fresh air,’ he said, and took her arm.

She let him look after her.
Liked
that he wanted to look after her. Without protest she let him lead her out of the room and then found her voice—though not any coherent words to say with it.

‘What...? How...?’

‘I was in London when Tristan called me about the wedding party reunion. I got here as soon as I could when I heard you were in Montovia.’

Eliza realised he was leading her onto the same terrace where they’d parted the last time they’d been in Montovia. Not quite the same view—it must be further down from that grand ballroom—and not a full moon over the lake either. But a new moon—a crescent moon that gave her a surge of hope for a new start.

She took another deep, steadying breath. Looked up at him and hoped he saw in her eyes what she was feeling but was unable to express.

‘Jake, I’m asking for a third chance. Will you give it to me?’

* * *

Jake prided himself on being able to read Eliza’s expressions. But he couldn’t put a label on what he saw shining from her eyes. He must be reading into it what he longed to see, not what was really there. But he took hope from even that glimmering of emotion.

‘Of course I give you a third chance,’ he said hoarsely. He’d give her a million chances if they brought her back to him. ‘But only if you’ll give
me
a third chance.’

‘Third chance granted,’ she said, a tremulous edge to her voice.

He pulled her into his arms and held her close, breathed in her sweet scent. She slid her arms around his back and pressed closer with a little sigh. He smiled at the feel of her slender body, with the distinct curve of his baby resting under her heart.
His baby. His woman.
Now he had to convince her—not coerce her—into letting him be her man.

He looked over her head to the dark night sky, illuminated only by a sliver of silver moon, and thanked whatever power it was that had given him this chance to make good the wrongs he’d done her.

‘I’ve missed you,’ he said, not sure how to embellish his words any further.

‘I’ve missed you too. Terribly.’

He’d flown back to Brisbane after she’d left him at the lawyer’s office. His house had seemed empty—his life empty. He’d longed to be back with Eliza in her little house, with the red front door and the dragonfly doorknocker. Instead he’d tied her down to a contract to ensure his child’s presence in his life and in doing so had driven her away from him.

Over and over he’d relived his time with her in Port Douglas. The passion and wonder of making love with her. Thought of the real reason he wanted to spend millions to relocate his company to Sydney. The overwhelming urge to protect her he’d felt as he’d held her hand in the ambulance and soothed her fears she might lose the baby she’d longed for.
His baby.
The incredible gift he’d been able to give her. The baby was a bonus. Eliza was the prize. But he still had to win her.

Eliza pulled away from his arms but stayed very close.

‘Jake, I don’t hate you—really, I don’t.’ The words tumbled out of her as if she had been saving them up. ‘And I don’t think you’re a bullying thug. I...I’m really sorry I called you that.’

He’d always known he’d have to tell her the truth about his past some time—sooner rather than later. Her words seemed to be a segue into it. There was a risk that she would despise him and walk away. But he had to take that risk. If only because she was the mother of his child.

He cleared his throat. ‘You’re not the first person to call me a bully and a thug,’ he said.

She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘When I was fifteen years old I came up in front of the children’s court and was charged with a criminal offence. The magistrate used just those words.’

‘Jake!’

To his relief, there was disbelief in her voice, in the widening of her eyes, but not disgust.

‘I was the leader of a gang of other young thugs. We’d stolen a car late one night and crashed it into a shopfront. I wasn’t driving, but I took responsibility. The police thought it was a ram-raid—that we’d driven into the shop on purpose. In fact it was an accident. None of us could drive properly. We didn’t have a driver’s licence between us—we were too young. With the pumped-up pride of an adolescent male, I thought it was cooler to be charged with a ram-raid than admit to being an idiot. It was my second time before the court so I got sentenced to a spell in juvenile detention.’

Eliza kept close, didn’t back away from him in horror. ‘You? In a gang? I can’t believe it. Why?’

‘Things weren’t great at home. My grandfather, who was the only father I’d ever known, had died. My mother had a boyfriend I couldn’t stand. I was angry. I was hurting. The gang was a family of sorts, and I was the kingpin.’

‘Juvenile detention—that’s jail, isn’t it?’

‘A medium security prison for kids aged from eleven to sixteen.’

She shuddered. ‘I still can’t believe I’m hearing this. How awful for you.’

He gritted his teeth. ‘I won’t lie. It
was
awful. There were some really tough kids in there.’

‘Thank heaven you survived.’ Her voice was warm with compassion.

She placed her hand on his cheek. He covered it with his own.

‘My luck turned with the care officer assigned to me. Jim Hill. He saw I was bored witless at school and looking for diversion.’

‘The school hadn’t realised you were a genius?’

‘They saw me as a troublemaker. Jim really helped me with anger management, with confidence-building. He showed me I had choices.’ Jake smiled at the memory. ‘He knew I hungered for what I didn’t have, after growing up poor. Jim told me I had the brains to become a criminal mastermind or to make myself a fortune in the commercial world. The choice was mine. When my detention was over he worked with my mother to get me moved to a different school in a different area, further down the coast. The new school put me into advanced classes that challenged me. I chose to take the second path. You know the rest.’

Eliza’s eyes narrowed. ‘Jim Hill? The name sounds familiar.’

‘He heads up The Underground Help Centre. You must have met him at the launch party.’

‘So you introduced him to Dominic?’

‘Jim introduced
me
to Dominic. Dominic was under his care too. But that’s Dominic’s story to tell. Thanks to Jim, Dominic and I already knew each other by the time we started uni. We both credit Jim for getting our lives on track. That’s why we got him on board to help other young people in trouble like we were.’

‘How have you managed to keep this under wraps?’

‘Juvenile records are sealed when a young offender turns eighteen. I was given a fresh start and I took it. Now you know the worst about me, Eliza.’

* * *

Jake was such a tall, powerfully built man. And yet at that moment he seemed to Eliza as vulnerable as his fifteen-year-old self must have been, standing before a magistrate, waiting to hear his sentence.

She leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. It wasn’t time yet for any other kind of kiss. Not until they knew where this evening might take them. Since they’d last stood on this terrace together they’d accumulated so much more baggage. Not to mention a baby bump.

‘That’s a story of courage and determination,’ she said. ‘Can you imagine if someone ever made a movie of your life story?’

‘Never going to happen,’ he growled.

‘Well, it will make a marvellous story to tell your child one day.’

‘Heavily censored,’ he said, with a hint of the grin she had got so fond of.

She slowly shook her head. ‘I wish you’d told me before. It helps me understand you. And I’ve been struggling to understand you, Jake.’

To think she had thought him superficial. He’d just been good at hiding his wounds.

He took both her hands in his and drew her closer. ‘Would it have made a difference if I’d told you?’

‘To help me see why you’re so determined to give your child a name? Yes. To make me understand why you’re so driven? Yes. To make me love you even more, knowing what you went through? Yes. And I—’

‘Stop right there, Eliza,’ he said, his voice hoarse. ‘Did you just say you love me?’

Over the last days she’d gotten so used to thinking how much she loved him, she’d just blurted out the words. She could deny it. But what would be the point?

She looked up into his face, saw not just good looks but also his innate strength and integrity, and answered him with honesty. ‘Yes, Jake, I love you. I fell in love with you...I can’t think when. Yes, I can. Here. Right here on this terrace. No. Earlier than that. Actually, from the first moment. Only you weren’t free. And then there was Port Douglas, and I got all tied up in not wanting to get hurt again, and...’

She realised he hadn’t said anything further and began to feel exposed and vulnerable that she’d confessed she’d fallen in love with a man who had never given any indication that he might love
her
.

She tried to pull away but he kept a firm grip on her hands. ‘I...I know you don’t feel the same, Jake, so I—’

‘What makes you say that? Of
course
I love you. I fell in love with you the first time I was best man to your bridesmaid. We must have felt it at the same moment. You in that blue bridesmaid’s dress, with white flowers in your hair...’

‘At Andie’s wedding?’ she said, shaking her head in wonder.

‘At Dominic’s wedding,’ he said at the same time.

He drew her closer. This man who wanted to care for her, look after her, miraculously seemed to love her.