Annnnnnnd now it’s gone.
A dessert buffet had been laid out, and Bel collected a plate and served herself a piece of pavlova. She carried it past the other bridesmaids, holding her head high as she ignored the pursed lips.Shefitted into her dress. If they were worried about eating for the next few days, then that was on them.
Bel sat on the sofa, eating her dessert and ignoring the fact she was once again left hanging like a shag on a rock as the others laughed, drank and danced around her. As she reached to place her empty plate on the table, Bel suddenly felt something snap.Oh no.
She forced herself not to instantly grab hold of the top of the dress and risk drawing attention.Stupid silicon thingies.She could feel her right boob slowly beginning to slide downwards, the sticky cup surrendering what little support it had been giving.
This is not happening.She had to get to the bathroom to try to salvage the situation, but she didn’t want to stand up and make things worse.
‘Is everything okay?’ Bel looked up into a pair of curious blue eyes.
Her gaze roamed across Tate’s broad face and perfectly sculptured cheekbones.Christ, he is beautiful.
‘Bel?’ he asked, sounding slightly more concerned. It was enough to snap her from her trance.
‘I’m fine … I just—’Do not tell this man that your bra has given out under the weight of your stupid boobs. ‘—have a slight wardrobe malfunction situation.’
‘I see,’ he said, lifting an eyebrow slightly as his eyes briefly dropped to where she held her arms protectively across her chest. ‘Come with me.’ He put a hand out and helped her to her feet, before wrapping an arm around her waist and tucking her close to his side as he led her acrossthe room, to where two other couples were dancing. Tate pulled her in against his body and Bel automatically placed her arm around him and her hand into his, her chest now firmly pressed against his, effectively hiding her torso from the others.
Her previous discomfort was immediately replaced by a sizzling sensation of heat where their bodies connected, and she forgot all about her earlier dilemma. She was in Jax’s freaking arms! No, she quickly amended, Tate, not Jax. This wasn’t some fictional hero from a book. This was an actual, warm blooded, real man. And he was holding her in his arms, moving her across the floor as they swayed to the gentle, romantic music playing on the stereo. All of a sudden, they were close to the doorway and then, before she knew it, Tate was releasing her to walk swiftly down the hallway to a powder room. ‘There you go,’ he said, as she continued to stare up at him, too unable to snap out of the fairytale moment to immediately register where they now were.
‘Oh,’ she mananged. ‘Thank you.’
‘Do you want me to wait out here for you?’
‘Oh. Um, no, thank you. I should be fine.’ She was not fine. Her heart was pounding like she’d run a marathon and her legs felt decidedly jelly-like. Already she missed the warmth of his body.
‘I’ll see you back in the drawing room, then,’ he said and bowed his head slightly. He actually bowed his freaking head, like some rakish hero from a Victorian romance.
Bel closed the door of the powder room and leaned her back against it, closing her eyes as she felt an idiotic grin fill her face. He was everything her foolish romantic heart could ever dream of, and he wasreal.
She opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bright and her face was flushed. She still didn’t recognise the woman looking back at her with those well-shaped eyebrows and thick eyelashes that made her eyes seem extra big, an effect amplified by her lack of heavy glasses.
‘New me. New beginning,’ she repeated softly. She could do this. She could step into this new life and be someone else for the next few days. It wouldn’t last—reality would inevitably come crashing in—but, for right now, she could embrace the change and live out a fantasy, then have something to remember once it was all over.
She managed to fix the support issue, but she feared the solution would only be temporary and decided it wasn’t worth the risk of staying too much longer. The party was winding down when she returned anyway, with couples breaking off to talk quietly or dance.
Bel poured herself a coffee from the silver pot sitting on a warmer, then gave the assortment of pastries and after-dinner treats a cursory glance, selecting a dainty custard-filled tart with real flower petals scattered on top. She was trying to decide if she should pick them off when a now familiar voice spoke up from beside her.
‘Apparently they’re edible,’ Tate said quietly. He reached across her, took a number of the tarts and placed them on his plate. ‘I heard the caterer telling your aunt earlier.’
Bel glanced at the plate he was filling with sweets. ‘You must be the only one here who isn’t counting calories.’
‘Life’s too short to count calories.’ He nodded down at her own plate approvingly as she added another item. ‘I like a woman who isn’t afraid to eat.’
‘I love to eat,’ she said, sounding ridiculously eager, then bit down on the inside of her cheek.Just don’t talk!There was less chance of embarrassing herself that way.
‘I figured as much. You were the only woman at the table who cleaned her plate.’
Oh God. He’s been watching me eat? Has everyone else been doing the same thing?
‘Like I said, I appreciate a woman who isn’t afraid to eat more than a salad,’ he said, as though sensing her alarm.
‘I like to think that Uncle Stan’s sheep didn’t die for nothing,’ she quipped.
His chuckle sent a pleasant trickle of warmth down her spine. ‘Do you mind if I sit with you?’
Mind? She was practically jumping out of her skin at the prospect of having more time alone with him. ‘Of course not.’I want to have your babies.The wayward thought made her start slightly, and she had to grip the coffee cup so as not to spill it. Christ, she hoped she hadn’t said that out loud. A swift glance at him didn’t detect any surprise or disguston his beautiful face, so she assumed she hadn’t. Then again, maybe he was used to women offering to reproduce with him. ‘How are you finding Wessex?’ she asked. ‘I’m assuming it’s a lot quieter than Sydney?’
