important, so he’d stepped up to the mark and helped her get there sooner. He’d realised that reuniting with her mother was not quite so looked forward to. So he’d moved in to protect her.
The ground at her feet suddenly felt less like Tarmac and more like jelly.
And then she realised that Elyse was still talking.
‘Hannah never mentioned she was bringing a plus one, but of course we’ll make room—right, Virginia? Hannah’s so secretive about her life in Melbourne—the yummy celebrities she meets at all those TV parties and the guys she’s dating. We can get all the goss from you instead!’
‘No, no, no,’ Hannah leapt in. ‘Elyse, Bradley’s not here to—’
‘You are coming to the wedding,’ Virginia insisted, stepping smack-bang between Hannah and her boss. ‘The accommodation is six-star. The food to die for. Cradle Mountain is the most beautiful spot on the entire planet. Bar none. You simply cannot come to Tasmania without experiencing her raw beauty for yourself. In fact it’s just the kind of place you should set one of your little shows.’
Hannah shook her head so hard she whipped herself in the eye with a hunk of hair. She slid into the fray and grabbed Bradley by the elbow, practically heaving him out of the clutches of her wily relations. ‘Bradley’s not here for the wedding. He’s here on business. He doesn’t even have a minute to spare and stand around here nattering. Do you, Bradley?’
‘I couldn’t possibly impose so last-minute,’ was his response.
She glared up into his eyes to find he was refusing to look at her. Then he shifted his stance, so that her hand slid into the all too comfortable crook of his elbow. Heat slid slyly down her arm.
She tried to pull away. He only clamped down tighter. Then he smiled at her, a quicksilver gleam in his deep, smoky grey eyes.
Her heart tumbled in her chest and she slipped her hand free. Oh, God. Oh, no.
She should never have compared him with rhinestones, or tight pink cardigans, or fruity cocktails with little umbrellas in them. He wasn’t protecting her. He was punishing her!
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Virginia said, linking her hand through his spare elbow. ‘Great-Aunt Maude left word last night to say she’s entirely sure she’s come down with consumption.’
Elyse rolled her eyes. ‘For the engagement party it was malaria. Apart from the hypochondria she’s the perfect great-aunt. She sends gifts ahead of time!’
Virginia turned towards the terminal and tugged Bradley in her wake. Hannah, as always, had no choice but to follow.
Virginia was saying, ‘So there’s a spare meal already paid for.’
Elyse, who had taken Bradley’s now free other elbow, said, ‘And the gift’s taken care of too! We’ll just pencil your name alongside Great-Aunt Maude’s on the card. She’ll never know. You won’t be sitting with Hannah, as she’ll be with Roger all night. But you seem like a man who can take care of himself.’
Hannah rolled her eyes. When they settled back into their normal position she realised Bradley was frowning at her.
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