she said smoothly, her sweet voice even.
‘Thanks.’ Rick wanted to kick himself for his faltering, for the lack of his usual cool detachment, for his body’s traitorous response to her, and for the enticing mystery she offered.
Hell, for the first time in six months he was regretting forfeiting bachelor life for Kasey’s scheme. ‘Thank you for taking the time to see me, but I have to get back to the others,’ he said smoothly.
‘Bye.’
Rick lurched out of the doorway and strode down the hall. He had to get away from the disturbing woman before he did something he’d regret.
He hadn’t expected this. Not at all. How on earth had Thomas Steel even found the woman? He didn’t even know that proposal planners existed…What next?
He weaved his way into the throng of his employees, concentrating on the task at hand, trying to push the woman from his mind.
The planner had been a surprise. A tall, lovely one that had tested him. Cripes, and what a test! Rick dragged in a long deep breath. But she was finished and over.
She was not part of the plan.
CHAPTER TWO
‘YOU are like the stars in the starry heavens. Like the water is to the wet flowers. Like a dream I want to have for ever.’ He swallowed and shifted his weight on his knees. ‘I would be honoured…I would be thrilled…I want you to be my wife.’
She shook her head slowly.
‘You’re like a rose…a bird I want to hold, like a Porsche with shining bodywork—’
‘I don’t think so…’ she said gently.
‘But—’
Tara bit her lip, looking down at her client, her chest tight. ‘Maybe you should go home and think about it some more?’
He shook his head. ‘No. I have to practise. I know you don’t usually help with the words themselves, but I’m so hopeless when it comes to this sort of stuff.’
‘You’re doing—’
‘No, I’m not.’ Mr Faulkner looked up at her, his face creased in pain. ‘I really need you to hear it and help me get it right.’
Tara nodded.
He sucked in a deep breath. ‘I want you. I want to keep you. I want to wake up to your smiling face in the morning, and hold you tight every night. Be my wife. Please.’
‘It could work…’ Tara stood up and approached the poor guy, still kneeling, still staring at the chair where his sweetheart would be for the real thing.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want it to just work, I want my proposal to rock her world.’
Tara stared at him. He was barely as old as she was. How did he think at twenty-six that he knew what he wanted? How did he know that he’d found his soul mate? That sharing a life with someone else was going to make his better?
‘Get up and stretch for a bit,’ she offered, looking down at her notes, unable to meet his eyes. ‘You’re doing…well.’ And at least he was into it, unlike Mr Keene.
Patrick Keene. What a hunk, if you liked that clean-shaven, strong jawed, short back and sides, office dweller look. Tara tapped her pen against her lips. He did it well, even if the colour scheme of his clothes was a little out there.
She should have expected him to say no. The man was obviously sitting on top of the world with his gigantic office in one of Sydney’s largest buildings, in that tailor-made suit that hugged his wide shoulders and accentuated his height and power.
He hadn’t seemed like the type of man to seek assistance for anything, let alone a proposal.
She bit the end of her pen and stared out of the window to the parked cars on the side street. She often fantasised about what a rich and influential client could do for their business. In the few hours from when Mr Steel had come to see her, until the moment she had laid eyes on Patrick Keene, she’d thought it was finally coming true.
The family business of Camelot would have thrived from the compliments Steel would have given their services, become a bustling hub of activity, everything that she planned it to be, just far sooner.
Pulling together her family’s talents, Tara had promised both her sisters and her mother all the security and success they were looking for. And with her at the helm she was sure their fledgling business would be a winner.
They’d just have to manage without Patrick Keene.
Did Patrick know that Miss Steel was the one? She turned around and looked at the young man mouthing words silently to the chair, practising. This guy couldn’t seem to find the words that expressed what it was about his partner that touched him deeply enough for him to consider spending the rest of his life monogamously with her.
Did Mr Faulkner really believe she’d be smiling every morning? That she’d want him to hold her every night? After the third baby arrived, after he’d been out with the boys, after he’d forgotten to put out the trash again, or after he’d come home late from work for the umpteenth time without an explanation….
Tara strode back to her desk, breathing short and fast. She straightened the papers, lined up the telephone to the edge and rearranged the pens in the cup.
‘We’ve been at this for an hour. I guess I’ve tortured you enough, Miss Andrews?’
Tara swung to face the man.
He stood up and straightened his trousers, his brow furrowed. ‘I’m not going to give up, you know.’
She nodded. ‘I think it would be good for you to work on it at home for a few days.’ She walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a poetry book. ‘You might find it helpful to read this and make notes about which words represent what you feel about your girlfriend.’
‘Poetry?’ He dug his hands deep into his pockets, nodding slowly, then slipped into his suit jacket and took the book. ‘It couldn’t hurt.’
Tara glanced at her watch and headed for the door. ‘At least we have all the rest of the arrangements sorted out for you. You can give me a call and I’ll organise things for you, or you can do it yourself. You’ve got all the information.’
‘I have to get the words right first,’ he said tightly.
‘And you will.’ She opened the door wide, offering him a smile of encouragement. ‘I’ll see you next Thursday.’
Tara closed the door after him, sagging against the timber. What had she got herself into?
When she’d first introduced the proposal planning she’d expected to be planning the venue, the flowers, the music and lighting—something not much different to helping her mother and her sister, Skye, with the wedding planning. But listening to the words themselves…no. It was the last thing she’d considered doing.
She
