The Bridesmaid's Baby Bump. Kandy Shepherd

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СКАЧАТЬ of the bridal party, had walked slowly down the aisle of a centuries-old cathedral and watched their friends make their vows in a ceremony of almost unimaginable splendour. Now they were celebrating at a lavish reception.

      She’d danced a duty dance with Tristan, then with Dominic. Jake had made his impatience obvious, then had immediately claimed her as his dance partner. The room was full of royalty and aristocrats, and Gemma had breathlessly informed her which of the men was single, but Eliza only wanted to dance with Jake. This was the first chance she’d had to spend any real time with the man who had made such a lasting impression on her.

      She sighed a happy sigh, scarcely realising she’d done so.

      Jake pulled away slightly and looked down at her. Her breath caught in her throat at the slow-to-ignite smile that lit his green eyes as he looked into hers. With his rumpled blond hair, strong jaw and marvellous white teeth he was as handsome as any actor or model—yet he seemed unaware of the scrutiny he got from every woman who danced by them.

      ‘Having fun?’ he asked.

      Even his voice, deep and assured, sent shivers of awareness through her.

      ‘I don’t know that fun is quite the right word for something so spectacular. I want to rub my eyes to make sure I’m not dreaming.’ She had to raise her voice over the music to be heard.

      ‘It’s extraordinary, isn’t it? The over-the-top opulence of a royal wedding... It isn’t something an everyday Australian guy usually gets to experience.’

      Not quite an everyday guy. Eliza had to bite down on the words. At thirty-two, Jake headed his own technology solutions company and had become a billionaire while he was still in his twenties. He could probably fund an event like this with barely a blip in his bank balance. But on the two previous occasions when she’d met him, for all his wealth and brilliance and striking good looks, he had presented as notably unpretentious.

      ‘I grew up on a sheep ranch, way out in the west of New South Wales,’ she said. ‘Weddings were more often than not celebrated with a barn dance. This is the stuff of fairytales for a country girl. I’ve only ever seen rooms like this in a museum.’

      ‘You seem like a sophisticated city girl to me. Boss of the best party-planning business in Sydney.’ Jake’s green eyes narrowed as he searched her face. ‘The loveliest of the Party Queens.’ His voice deepened in tone.

      ‘Thank you,’ she said, preening a little at his praise, fighting a blush because he’d called her lovely. ‘I’m not the boss, though. Andie, Gemma and I are equal partners in Party Queens.’

      Eliza was Business Director, Andie looked after design and Gemma the food.

      ‘The other two are savvy, but you’re the business brains,’ he said. ‘There can be no doubt about that.’

      ‘I guess I am,’ she said.

      She was not being boastful in believing that the success of Party Queens owed a lot to her sound financial management. The business was everything to her and she’d given her life to it since it had launched three years ago.

      ‘Tristan told me Gemma organised the wedding herself,’ Jake said. ‘With some long-distance help from you and Andie.’

      ‘True,’ said Eliza.

      Jake—the ‘everyday Aussie guy’—was good friends with the Prince. They’d met, he’d told her, on the Montovian ski-fields years ago.

      ‘Apparently the courtiers were aghast at her audacity in breaking with tradition.’

      ‘Yet look how brilliantly it turned out—another success for Party Queens. My friend the Crown Princess.’ Eliza shook her head in proud wonderment. ‘One day she’ll be a real queen. But for Gemma it isn’t about the royal trappings, you know. It’s all about being with Tristan—she’s so happy, so in love.’

      Eliza couldn’t help the wistful note that crept into her voice. That kind of happiness wasn’t for her. Of course she’d started out wanting the happy-ever-after love her friends had found. But it had proved elusive. So heartbreakingly elusive that, at twenty-nine, she had given up on hoping it would ever happen. She had a broken marriage behind her, and nothing but dating disasters since her divorce. No way would she get married again. She would not risk being trapped with a domineering male like her ex-husband, like her father. Being single was a state that suited her, even if she did get lonely sometimes.

      ‘Tristan is happy too,’ said Jake. ‘He credits me for introducing him to his bride.’

      Jake had recommended Party Queens to his friend the Crown Prince when Tristan had had to organise an official function in Sydney. Tristan had been incognito when Gemma had met him and they’d fallen in love. The resulting publicity had been off the charts for Party Queens, and Eliza would always be grateful to Jake for putting the job their way.

      Jake looked down into her face. ‘But you’re worried about what Gemma’s new status means for your business, aren’t you?’

      ‘How did you know that?’ she asked, a frown pleating her forehead.

      ‘One business person gets to read the signs in another,’ he said. ‘It was the way you frowned when I mentioned Gemma’s name.’

      ‘I didn’t think I was so transparent,’ she said, and realised she’d frowned again. ‘Yes, I admit I am concerned. Gemma wants to stay involved with the business, but I don’t know how that can work with her fifteen thousand kilometres away from our headquarters.’ She looked around her. ‘She’s moved into a different world and has a whole set of new royal duties to master.’

      Eliza knew it would be up to her to solve the problem. Andie and Gemma were the creatives; she was the worrier, the plotter, the planner. The other two teased her that she was a control freak, let her know when she got too bossy, but the three Party Queens complemented each other perfectly.

      Jake’s arm tightened around her waist. ‘Don’t let your concern ruin the evening for you. I certainly don’t want to let it ruin mine.’

      His voice was deep and strong and sent a thrill of awareness coursing through her.

      ‘You’re right. I just want to enjoy every moment of this,’ she said.

      Every moment with him. She closed her eyes in bliss when he tightened his arms around her as they danced. He was the type of man she had never dreamed existed.

      The Strauss waltz came to an end. ‘More champagne?’ Jake asked. ‘We could drink it out on the terrace.’

      ‘Excellent idea,’ she said, her heart pounding a little harder at the prospect of being alone with him.

      The enclosed terrace ran the length of the ballroom, with vast arched windows looking out on the view across the lit-up castle gardens to the lake, where a huge pale moon rode high in the sky. Beyond the lake were snow-capped mountains, only a ghostly hint of their peaks to be seen under the dim light from the moon.

      There was a distinct October chill to the Montovian air. It seemed quite natural for Jake to put his arm around her as Eliza gazed out at the view. She welcomed his warmth, still hyper-aware of his touch as she leaned close to his hard strength. There must be a lot of honed muscle beneath that tuxedo.

      ‘This СКАЧАТЬ