don’t believe in marriage.’
‘How do you know that?’
Lizzy thought of all the beautiful women who had been out with Tye and then appeared in the gossip columns, complaining about his coldness, his selfishness, his callous refusal to commit to a relationship. It had always been a wonder to Lizzy that they could all sound so aggrieved by their failure to turn a heartless recluse into a party-going romantic. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t have known exactly what to expect.
‘I’ve read about you in the papers,’ she admitted.
‘Oh, the papers!’ Tye didn’t even bother to conceal his sarcasm. ‘It must be true, then!’
‘Isn’t it?’
He shrugged. ‘Let’s say that I have trouble understanding what all the fuss is about.’ His disparaging glance swept the woolshed. ‘Weddings are all the same,’ he told her contemptuously. ‘Everyone looks the same; everyone says the same thing. The same tired old rituals every time. The dress, the photographs, the speeches, the bouquet.’
He sneered at the flowers that Lizzy held in her hand, and she pulled them protectively closer to her. ‘I love all the wedding traditions,’ she said with a defiant look. ‘If I ever got married, I’d have the lot!’
‘But what’s the point?’ Tye asked, and Lizzy could practically see his lip curling at the idea of her in a long white dress.
‘You can cut all the cakes and toss all the bouquets you want,’ he went on, ‘but it won’t change the fact that when it comes down to it marriage is a transaction like any other, and the moment one party thinks it’s not getting its fair share of the deal the whole thing falls apart. Before you know where you are, all the people who forked out for a wedding present are being sent notices about the divorce!’
‘You’re just a cynic,’ Lizzy accused him.
‘A realist,’ he corrected her.
‘Marriage isn’t a transaction! It’s about love and commitment and sharing.’
‘You’re just a romantic,’ mocked Tye.
‘Why do people always sneer when they say that?’ demanded Lizzy hotly, forgetting that she had accused him in exactly the same tone of voice. ‘There’s nothing wrong with believing in love!’
Tye shook his head. ‘It never fails to amaze me how otherwise intelligent people persist in the starry-eyed belief that a wedding is the beginning of happy-ever-after! Haven’t you ever come across the statistics about divorce in those papers you read?’
‘Of course I have,’ she said with dignity. ‘That’s why you should wait until you’re absolutely sure that you’re marrying the right person. And “wait” does seem to be the operative word,’ she added, only half joking. ‘I’m thirty-three, and I’m still waiting! I should never have agreed to be Ellie’s bridesmaid.’ She looked glumly down at the flowers. ‘You know what they say—three times a bridesmaid, never a bride.’
‘Don’t despair,’ said Tye, irony and something else that she couldn’t identify in his voice. ‘You caught the bouquet.’
‘I don’t think it counts if it’s thrown straight at you.’ Lizzy sighed, and then blushed slightly as she caught Tye’s eye. He obviously had her down as a desperate thirty-something. She really must make an effort to sound more positive.
‘Anyway,’ she hurried on, ‘I’ve decided that I’m not getting married until I know it’s going to be perfect, and in the meantime I’m concentrating on my career.’
‘Ah, yes.’ He smiled sardonically. ‘The professional woman. Did you say that you were in PR?’
‘Yes. I’m a freelance consultant,’ she said grandly, hoping that Tye wouldn’t guess that her efforts to establish herself had so far amounted to precisely nothing.
‘There can’t be much scope for public relations around here,’ he commented.
Lizzy shook her head so that the blonde hair bobbed around her face. ‘No, I don’t think anyone in Mathison even knows what PR stands for! I live in Perth,’ she explained. ‘I’ve only come home for Ellie’s wedding, and I’m going back on Monday.’
‘I see.’ For some reason Tye was studying her with a new kind of interest. ‘Are you busy at the moment?’
‘I’ve got several projects in the pipeline,’ she said with feigned nonchalance.
Her project for Monday involved buying the paper and scanning it for a job—any job—that would pay her bills and mean that she didn’t have to go crawling back to her old boss to ask for her old job back. No need to tell Tye Gibson that, though.
‘I don’t suppose you know of anyone who might be interested in a…special assignment?’ he asked casually.
Lizzy stared at him. ‘You’ve got a job?’
‘I guess you could call it that.’
There was a distinctly dry note to his voice, but Lizzy was too excited to notice. Tye Gibson might not be the most popular boss in the world, but there was no doubt that GCS was a hugely prestigious company. If she could put GCS in her portfolio, clients would be queuing up to employ her as a consultant.
‘What kind of a job?’ she asked, trying desperately not to sound too eager.
Tye hesitated slightly. ‘It’s highly confidential,’ he told her. ‘I don’t want to give too much away until I’m sure I’ve got the right person.’
Confidential? That sounded promising. Lizzy moistened her lips. ‘As it happens, I’ve got a window coming up,’ she said airily. ‘I might be interested.’
The cool grey eyes studied her, and she forced herself to meet his gaze calmly. ‘We’re talking about an important position,’ he said eventually. ‘I need somebody with the right instincts.’
Lizzy bridled at his dubious expression. ‘I’m completely professional!’
‘Professional is easy.’ Tye waved a dismissive hand. ‘I’m looking for someone who isn’t afraid to stand out from the crowd. Someone with ambition. Someone who’s prepared to do anything to get the job done.’
‘I’m all of those things,’ she assured him.
‘Are you? I asked around about you earlier, and all anybody would tell me was that you were a nice girl. Now, there’s nothing wrong with nice girls, but they don’t last long in a competitive commercial situation. I think you’re too nice for me,’ he told her bluntly.
‘Not always.’ Lizzy was dismayed. It looked as if the fantastic opportunity that had arisen so unexpectedly was already fading from her grasp. Working for GCS would be the end of all her problems, she thought grimly. She couldn’t let it go.
‘It’s my sister’s wedding,’ she said crisply. ‘Of course I’m being nice today, but I’m quite different when I’m at work.’
Tye looked unconvinced.
