Rebecca Winters - Cherish Collection January 2014 (Books 1-12)

For several minutes she stood there, trying to get used to this other self, stranded in a bleak world.

* * *

In his office Jackson made a hurried phone call to Janine at the hotel.

‘Just to let you know that Freya’s all right,’ he told her. ‘I’ve brought her home with me.’

‘Oh, Jackson, thank you!’ she exclaimed. ‘There are such rows going on. Amos is fit to do murder. So are your brothers.’

‘I thought so. Freya needs to be well away from that. Don’t worry, I’ll keep her safe.’

‘How kind you are. She’s so lucky to have you!’

He gave a silent groan. If Janine knew the full story she’d be saying something very different. It was no use telling himself that he was essentially innocent. Dan had been seeking something that would trigger him into action and Jackson’s thoughtless words had done the trick. Now the beautiful bride was alone and humiliated, staring into an empty future.

‘Ask her to call me when she can,’ Janine said. ‘But as long as she’s with you I know she’s all right.’

He made a polite reply and hung up. For a moment he stayed tense and still, wishing he was anywhere in the universe but here. The click of the door made him look behind him to see Freya, clad in jeans and shirt, bearing no resemblance to the dazzling creature who’d come down the aisle in expectation of bliss.

‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s have something to eat. There’s a Chinese restaurant nearby that delivers. You like king prawns with black pepper, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but how did you know?’

‘It was the first thing I learned about you when we met six years ago. My father and your mother were just beginning to talk about marriage and the four of us had an evening out in a restaurant. But then some of Dad’s business contacts turned up and he simply forgot about the rest of us.’

‘We made a run for it,’ she remembered. ‘There was a Chinese place a few yards away.’

‘And we had a good time there,’ he said. ‘Lots of laughs. Right—prawns it is.’

He made the call and the food arrived a few minutes later. Briefly they were both absorbed in serving it and getting settled at the table, but then she uttered the words he’d been dreading.

‘Jackson, I want you to tell me what really happened.’

‘But I’ve told you—’

‘I mean the bits you’ve left out. Oh, please don’t pretend you didn’t. What you said in the church was the polite version. It had to be, with all those people listening, but I really need to know. Dan got this far and then he suddenly backed off. There has to be a reason, and I think I know what it is, but I need to hear you say it.’

‘You—know what it is?’ he said cautiously.

‘Are you afraid I won’t be able to cope? Don’t worry. I’m not going to burst into tears and weep all over you. But, however painful the truth is, knowing it is better than wondering. Was it something I did wrong?’

‘No, nothing like that.’

‘Then I guess I know the answer, and I can see why you don’t want to tell me.’

‘Can you?’ he said with growing alarm.

‘Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? Something happened to make him realise that he couldn’t go through with it.’

‘Don’t—jump to conclusions,’ he said uneasily while his mind whirled. Surely she couldn’t have guessed what had really happened?

‘There’s only one thing it can be.’ She took a deep breath. ‘When you were on the way to the church you and he got talking and—and—’

‘And what?’ he forced himself to say, inwardly cowering.

‘He told you he’s in love with someone else, didn’t he?’

Jackson’s relief was so great that he nearly dropped his spoon. Perhaps he was going to get off more lightly than he deserved.

‘I think she must have called him before he left,’ Freya went on. ‘And on the journey he realised that he loved her too much to marry me.’

‘No, he didn’t say anything like that. He just lost his nerve.’

‘Oh, please, I know you’re being kind, but this isn’t the moment for kindness. It’s the moment for truth, however brutal. There’s another woman, isn’t there?’

‘Not that I know about,’ he said firmly. ‘But if that were the answer isn’t it better for you to escape him now? If you’d found out after you were married it would have been a bigger disaster.’

‘Would it? Perhaps I might have seen her off. If he’d chosen me over her—’

‘Freya, listen to me. If a man can act like this on the way to his wedding then he’s only interested in himself and you’re better off without him.’

‘Maybe I’ll feel like that one day.’ She sighed. ‘But it’s hard to imagine now. I’ll always remember how it felt to walk down the aisle, looking for Dan, sure that he’d be watching for me. I was so happy—and such a fool. When you came towards us I was delighted to see you. But then—there was nothing but emptiness. I was going to build my life around Dan, and suddenly there’s no life to build. Oh, I’m sorry. I promised I wouldn’t embarrass you.’

‘I’m not embarrassed. Say anything you want to. But listen to me. One life may have vanished, but there’ll be another one—and it will be better.’

She gave a slightly hysterical laugh. ‘You think I should be glad this happened?’

‘Not right now, but in years to come you’ll see that it was for the best that you got rid of him.’

‘But I didn’t. He got rid of me. He threw me aside like a piece of unwanted waste.’

‘You mustn’t think like that. You’re worth a thousand of Dan. How could you ever have thought yourself in love with him?’

‘Because right from the first moment I knew he was going to be special to me. My whole life changed just because he existed. It was as though the world had suddenly opened up. And everything was different—more exciting, more wonderful. When he proposed to me I was sure I’d never be unhappy again.’

Jackson drew a long, hard breath. It would be so simple now to tell her that Dan’s proposal had just been a defiance of Amos. But her heart had already been broken once, and he flinched from the thought of breaking it again.

‘He let you down,’ he growled. ‘He’s not the man you thought him.’

‘And I’m not the woman he really wanted. I can’t hide from that. But I’ll survive—with your help. Thanks for everything today.’ She made a wry face. ‘Even the bits that made me mad at you.’

‘Sorry I had to come on so strong. I didn’t want to pull you around, but—’

‘I didn’t give you any choice, did I? If you’d let me run off down the road—well, where would I be now? I’ll swear you’re the best brother I’ve ever had.’

‘Since you don’t have any brothers I’m not sure how to take that.’

They laughed together, both sounding shaky.

‘And just think of the price you’re going to pay.’ She sighed again. ‘This is going to give Amos ideas again.’

‘About pairing us off, you mean? I guess so, but don’t worry. You have nothing to fear from me.’ He took her hand and assumed a theatrical tone. ‘Freya, I give you my word, nothing will ever make me marry you. Let thunderbolts and lightning descend, I will still declare: Not her. Anyone but her.’

‘Just be sure you say it to Amos and make it convincing.’

‘You too. We’ll have to persuade him that we can’t stand the sight of each other.’

‘I’ll try, but it’ll be hard. Right this minute you look like the nicest man in the world.’

‘That’s a delusion,’ he said self-consciously.

‘If you say so.’

‘I do say so. If you knew what a swine I really am you’d sock me in the jaw.’