Emma Darcy - Australia - In Bed with a Bachelor

‘How come you’re not sharing Mother’s Day with your own Mum, Jake?’ Eddie suddenly asked.

‘I would be if she were still alive, Eddie,’ he answered ruefully.

‘Oh! Sorry!’ He made an apologetic grimace. ‘Hope the bereavement isn’t recent.’

‘No.’

‘Guess I’m lucky I’ve still got mine.’ He leaned over to plant a kiss on Alicia’s cheek.

‘Yes, since you’ve always been a mother’s boy,’ Costarella sniped.

There was a flicker of fear in the look Alicia darted at her husband. Jake imagined she had been a victim of abuse for so long, she felt helpless to do anything about it.

‘I’ve been admiring the very artistic centre-piece for the table,’ he said, smiling at her to take the anxiety away. ‘Are they flowers from your garden, Alicia?’

‘Yes.’ Her face lit up with pleasure. ‘I did that arrangement this morning. I’m very proud of my chrysanthemums.’

‘And rightly so, Mum,’ Laura chimed in, wheeling the traymobile into the dining room. ‘They’re blooming beautifully.’

She served the lemon-lime tart with dollops of cream to everyone, continuing her praise of her mother’s talent for horticulture.

Jake watched her. She was beautiful. And smart. And so lushly sexy, temptation roared through him, defying the reservations that had been swimming through his mind.

As she resumed the seat beside him, he turned to her, his eyes seeking to engage hers with what he wanted. ‘I’d like to see this garden. Will you show it to me when we’ve finished lunch?’

Startled, frightened, recoiling. ‘Much better for Mum to show you, Jake. It’s her creation.’

‘He asked you, Laura,’ Costarella immediately bored in. ‘Not only should you oblige our guest, but your mother has already shown Eddie around the garden. She doesn’t need to repeat herself, do you, Alicia?’

‘No, no,’ she agreed, her hands fluttering an appeal to her daughter. ‘I’m happy for you to do it, Laura.’

Caught.

She had to do it now whether she wanted to or not.

Jake aimed at sweetening the deal for her. ‘I’m interested in seeing it through your eyes. You can tell me how it fits your concept of landscape design.’

‘Okay! I’ll flood you with knowledge,’ she said tartly.

He laughed. ‘Thank you. I will enjoy that.’

Surrender under fire, Jake thought, but no surrender in her heart. It made for one hell of a challenge…their walk in the garden. The adrenaline charge inside him wanted to fight her reluctance to involve herself with him, yet that same reluctance gave him an out from Costarella’s heavy-handed matchmaking…keeping the more important mission on track, without distraction.

He would make the decision later.

In the garden.

LAURA told herself it was just a job she had to take on and get through—escort Jake around the garden, bore him to death with her enthusiasm for built environments and deliver him back to her father, who had announced his intention to watch a football game on television in the home theatre.

Eddie helped clear the table, following her to the kitchen to have a private word with her as they stacked the dishwasher. ‘You’re the main target today, Laura. No doubt about it now,’ he warned. ‘I’d say Dad wants Jake as his son-in-law.’

‘It’s not going to happen,’ she snapped.

‘He’s a clever guy. Been playing all sides today. And I’ve been watching you. You’re not immune to him.’

‘Which made it very stupid of you to tell him what I thought.’

‘Obvious anyway. Believe me, a guy like that knows women think he’s sexy. He would have had them vying for his attention from his teens onwards. Just don’t say yes to him.’

Easy for him, sitting on the sidelines, Laura thought savagely. ‘What if I want to?’

Eddie looked appalled.

‘He is sexy,’ she repeated defiantly, fed up with being put on the spot.

He grimaced. ‘Then make damned sure you keep it at sex and don’t end up hooked on him. The way Mum is should be warning enough for you.’

‘I will never be like Mum.’

He shook his head. ‘I wish she would leave him.’

‘She can’t see anything else. Better play a game of Scrabble with her while I’m doing my duty with Jake. She likes that.’

‘Will do. That’s a lot more fun than duty.’

Laura heaved a deep sigh, trying to relax the tension tearing at her nerves. ‘I don’t want to want him, Eddie.’

He gave her a look of serious consideration. ‘Go for it if you must. You’ll always wonder otherwise. Sooner or later he’ll turn you off and I think you’re strong enough to walk away.’

‘Yes, I am,’ she said with certainty.

‘But you’d be better off not going there.’

‘I know.’ She made a rueful grimace. ‘Maybe he’ll turn me off out in the garden.’

‘Unlikely.’

‘Well I won’t be falling at his feet, that’s for sure. And you let Mum win at Scrabble, but don’t be obvious about it.’

‘No problem.’ He grinned his devil-may-care grin. ‘Let’s go and fight the good fight.’

She grinned back at him. ‘The gay bit was good.’

He laughed and hugged her shoulders as they returned to the dining room, where he immediately put their plan into action. ‘Better get out the Scrabble, Mum. Since you beat me last time, I want a return match, and heaven help me if I’m swamped with all vowels again.’

‘I’ll leave you to your game,’ her father said good-humouredly, rising from his chair, smiling at Jake Freedman. ‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy my daughter’s company.’

‘I will,’ he agreed, rising to his feet, as well, ready to take on the garden seduction scenario.

Resentment suddenly raged through Laura. Jake Freedman was playing her father’s game, but she didn’t have to. He wasn’t her guest. It was after three o’clock. Lunch had gone off reasonably well. The trickiest part of being together for Mother’s Day was over. Her father was sparing them his presence. His wrath wouldn’t fall on all of them if she didn’t remain polite to the man. She could put Jake Freedman on the spot, instead of being the target herself.

She smiled at him. ‘Let’s go.’

He accompanied her outside, making easy conversation to start with.

‘Was it your mother’s pleasure in her garden that led you to your choice of career, Laura?’

He seemed genuinely curious and she didn’t mind answering him. ‘Partly. Nick probably had more influence, the creativity he uses to generate Mum’s pleasure.’

‘Who’s Nick?’

‘The gardener and handyman Dad employs to maintain everything, but he actually does more than maintain.’

‘Like what?’

‘He thinks about what will delight Mum and does it. Like the solar lights he’s just put around the rock-pool. I’ll show you. It’s over this way.’

He strolled beside her, apparently content to bide his time, ensure she was relaxed with him. Which was totally impossible, but at least he didn’t know it and wouldn’t know it until he made a move on her.

‘A waterfall, too,’ he remarked as they came to the pool.

‘Yes. It makes a soothing sound. Most people enjoy sitting near falling water…fountains in a park. Also reflections in water. The lights placed around the pool shimmer in it when it’s dark.’

‘Does your mother come out here at night?’

‘Sometimes. Though she can also see this part of the garden from her bedroom window. What’s really special is how Nick lit up the figurines of the Chinese water-carriers coming down the rocks at the side of the waterfall. There’s another light at the back of the pot-plant below them. It bathes them in a ghostly glow. Quite a wonderful effect.’