Fiona Lowe - Australian Bachelors - Outback Heroes - Top-Notch Doc, Outback Bride / A Wedding in Warragurra / The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride

‘I reckon the flights will be back to normal in the morning,’ Brian said. ‘Are you guys right to get a taxi? I’ve got to go through a couple of checks with the safety crew.’

‘Sure,’ Matt said. Giving Kellie a follow-me nod, he led the way outside to the taxi rank.

Kellie could feel every person’s eyes on her as she stood beside Matt in the queue. An older couple in front had even made a point of stepping away from her, their wrinkled brows frowning in disapproval as they’d taken in her dishevelled appearance.

She felt Matt’s broad shoulder brush against her. ‘Ignore them,’ he said in a low voice.

She looked up at him and asked in an undertone, ‘Do I smell?’

His expression contained a hint of wryness. ‘I’ve smelt worse.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘That’s very reassuring.’

A flicker of a smile lit his gaze. ‘Believe me, you’ll feel like a million dollars after a shower and something to eat,’ he said, as he led her to the next available taxi.

It was a short trip to the hotel, where the receptionist at the front desk smiled apologetically at Matt’s request for two rooms. ‘I’m terribly sorry, sir, but we only have one room available.’

Matt frowned. ‘One room?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ she answered. ‘With so many regional flights being cancelled at short notice, we filled up very quickly.’

‘I don’t mind sharing a room,’ Kellie piped up helpfully.

Matt’s frown brought his brows almost together as he looked down at her for a moment.

‘It’s only for one night,’ she said, conscious of the receptionist’s speculative look.

‘It’s a queen-sized suite,’ the receptionist chipped in. ‘But if you would like a roll-out bed brought in I can organise Housekeeping to have one delivered to your room.’

‘Yes,’ Matt said. ‘That would be very much appreciated.’

‘We’re not a couple,’ Kellie explained.

‘Brother and sister?’ The receptionist took a wild guess.

‘No,’ Kellie said with a little laugh. ‘I’ve already got five brothers. The last thing I need is another one.’

The receptionist smiled as she handed Matt a form to sign. ‘It’s room four hundred and twenty-five,’ she said. ‘You’ll need your swipe card. I hope you enjoy your stay.’

When the doors of the first available lift opened Kellie stared in dismay at her reflection in the mirrored wall at the back. ‘Oh, my God!’ she wailed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me I looked like this?’

Matt reached past her to press the button for their floor. ‘You don’t look that bad,’ he said with what he hoped was an indifferent look.

She groaned as she rubbed at the smear of blood over her right cheek with the bottom of her top. ‘I look like an extra from a horror movie,’ she said. ‘The least you could have done is said something. No wonder people were staring.’

‘Yes, well, they probably weren’t staring at your face,’ Matt said dryly, doing his level best not to stare at the strip of tanned and toned abdomen she had exposed by lifting her top to clean her face.

She let the top fall back down. ‘What do you mean?’

He put an arm out to hold the lift doors open. ‘I think that rip in your shorts is getting bigger,’ he said. ‘I hope for the sake of your dignity there’s a complimentary sewing kit in the room.’

Kellie clutched at her behind and felt the lace of her knickers. ‘Oh, no!’

‘Don’t worry,’ he said, leading the way down the hall. ‘There’s no one about. This is our room right here.’

Our room.

Matt felt himself flinch as he said the words. Those words … How many times had he and Madeleine used them over the years? Our first date, our love, our engagement, our future …

He stared at the swipe key in his hand, wondering if he should have tried another hotel. Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? It wasn’t as if the whole of Brisbane would have been booked out. There were numerous hotels all over the city and even if some of them were beyond the health department budget, he could have paid for a couple of rooms himself.

‘Hurry up!’ Kellie said at his side. ‘Open the door. I don’t want anyone else to see like me this.’

He drew in a breath and opened the door, but before he could reach for the light switch she had rushed past him and headed straight to the bathroom.

While she was in the shower someone from Housekeeping arrived with a roll-out bed, which, once it was set up, shrank the space to give the room an alarmingly intimate feel.

Matt swung away and looked out of the window, trying not to think of Kellie’s naked body standing under the shower next door. His whole body felt tense, his blood surging to his groin at the thought of spending the night in the same room as her with less than a metre of space to separate them. He was angry at himself, angry that he was allowing sheer animal attraction to override his common sense.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of Madeleine, but her features seemed less defined, blurry almost, as if she was slowly but inexorably moving out of focus. He clenched his fists and tried to recall the scent of her perfume but even that, too, had drifted out of his reach.

‘I’m all done,’ Kellie said as she came out of the bathroom.

Matt slowly turned from the window, his lower belly kicking in reaction at the sight of her in one of the hotel’s fluffy white bathrobes, her wet hair loose about her shoulders, the fresh orange-blossom fragrance of the shampoo and shower gel she had used filling his nostrils.

‘I’ve washed out my things and left them to dry over the shower screen,’ she said. ‘I hope they won’t be in your way while you shower.’

‘Right …’ he said, moving past her. ‘Er … do you want to have a look through the room-service menu? It takes them about forty minutes to deliver it. You can order for me.’

‘What would you like?’ she asked.

Matt wasn’t sure he could even admit that to himself without another pang of shame slicing through him. ‘Anything,’ he said. ‘Surprise me.’

Kellie frowned as the bathroom door closed and locked behind him. After a moment or two she let out a little sigh, reached for the room-service menu and started reading.

Matt told himself he wasn’t even going to look at the tiny pair of black lace knickers hanging over the glass shower screen, but as he blindly reached for the bath gel they fell off and landed at his feet. He waited a beat or two before bending to pick them up, his fingers almost of their own accord squeezing the moisture out of them.

He hung them back up with careful precision and quickly finished his shower, but somehow the thought of Kellie standing where he was standing just minutes before, the water coursing over and caressing her slim form, unsettled him far more than he wanted to admit.

She was sitting with her legs curled underneath her on the roll-out bed, reading a tourist brochure, when he finally came out of the bathroom. She looked up and smiled at him in that totally engaging way of hers and informed him, ‘I’ve ordered you a steak with kipler potatoes and green vegetables. Is that OK?’

His stomach grumbled in anticipation. ‘That’s perfect,’ he said as he rubbed his wet hair with his towel. ‘What are you having?’

‘I couldn’t decide between the barramundi fillets with mango chilli salsa or the chicken with pesto and pine-nut stuffing or the loin of lamb with rosemary and garlic.’

He tried not to stare at the soft plumpness of her mouth. ‘So … what did you decide?’ he asked.

She tilted her head at him. ‘What do you think I chose?’

‘The fish,’ he said, feeling an involuntary smile pull at the corners of his mouth. ‘Definitely the fish.’