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Bridesmaid Says, ''I Do!''
Barbara Hannay
Bridesmaid’s To-Do List:a) Smile and pretend to love your hideous dress b) Be patient as your best friend turns into Bridezilla c) Do not fall for the groom! Thrilled to be Bella’s bridesmaid, Zoe throws herself into her duties.But meeting the groom himself, stop-and-stare-sexy farmer Kent Rigby, ruins everything… What happens when you find the man of your dreams and he belongs to someone else?
Praise for Barbara Hannay
‘Barbara Hannay’s name on the cover is a sure-fire
guarantee of a good read.’
—www.cataromance.com
‘Stories … rich with emotion and chemistry.
Very layered and lifelike characters …’
—RT Book Reviews
‘Barbara Hannay will take you on
an unforgettable journey …’
—www.cataromance.com
About the Author
Reading and writing have always been a big part of BARBARA HANNAY’s life. She wrote her first short story at the age of eight for the Brownies’ writer’s badge. It was about a girl who is devastated when her family has to move from the city to the Australian Outback.
Since then, a love of both city and country lifestyles has been a continuing theme in Barbara’s books and in her life. Although she has mostly lived in cities, now that her family has grown up and she’s a full-time writer she’s enjoying a country lifestyle.
Barbara and her husband live on a misty hillside in Far North Queensland’s Atherton Tableland. When she’s not lost in the world of her stories, she’s enjoying farmers’ markets, gardening clubs and writing groups, or preparing for visits from family and friends.
Barbara records her country life in her blog, Barbwired, and her website is at www.barbarahannay.com
Also by Barbara Hannay
Molly Cooper’s Dream Date
A Miracle for His Secret Son
Executive: Expecting Tiny Twins
The Cattleman’s Adopted Family
Expecting Miracle Twins
The Bridesmaid’s Baby
Her Cattleman Boss
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
Bridesmaid Says, ‘I Do!’
Barbara Hannay
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
I wish to remember those who suffered the devastation of
the Queensland floods in January 2011.
Many homes and lives were lost
in the very places where this story is set.
CHAPTER ONE
IT BEGAN on an everyday, average Monday morning. Zoe arrived at the office punctually at eight forty-five, clutching her takeaway coffee, a necessary comfort when facing the start of the working week. To her surprise, her best friend Bella was already at work.
Bella was usually a bit late, and as she’d just spent another weekend away visiting her father in the country Zoe had expected her to be later than ever. This Monday morning, however, Bella was not only at her desk early, but she had a huge grin on her face. And she was surrounded by a semicircle of excited workmates.
She was holding out her hand as if she was showing off a new manicure. No big surprise. Bella had a thing for manicures and she often chose very out-there nail polish with an interesting assortment of decorative additions.
But as Zoe drew closer, curious to check out her friend’s latest fashion statement, she saw that Bella’s nails were painted a subdued and tasteful taupe. And they were not the focus of everyone’s attention.
The grins and squeals were for a sparkling ring.
On Bella’s left hand.
Zoe’s cardboard coffee cup almost slipped from her suddenly weak grasp. She managed to catch it just in time.
She was stunned.
And a bit stung, too.
Struggling to hang on to her smile, she hastily dumped the coffee and her handbag on her desk and hurried over to Bella.
She told herself she was misreading this. Bella couldn’t be engaged. Her best friend would most definitely have told her if wedding bells were in the air. Zoe knew for a fact that Bella wasn’t even dating anyone at the moment. Together, they’d been commiserating about their date drought, and they’d talked about trying for a double date online.
They’d even considered going on an overseas holiday together—a reconnaissance tour, checking out guys in other countries. Deepening the gene pool, Bella had called it during one of their regular Friday nights together.
Admittedly, for the past three weekends in a row Bella had travelled to her country home on the Darling Downs, and Zoe had been beginning to wonder what the attraction was. Bella had said she was worried about her widowed father, which was totally understandable, as her dad had been in a miserable slump for the past eighteen months ever since her mum died.
Bella had also mentioned her close and supportive neighbours, the Rigbys, and their son, Kent—literally, the boy next door, whom she’d known all her life.
Was something going on with this guy? Had he given Bella this ring?
Bella hadn’t breathed a hint about a romance with anyone, but it was abundantly clear that the sparkle on her friend’s finger was most definitely a diamond. And the name on her lips was …
‘Kent Rigby.’
Bella was grinning directly at Zoe now, an expectant light shining in her pretty green eyes.
‘Wow!’ Zoe managed, squeezing her cheek muscles to make sure she was smiling and not still looking like a stunned mullet. ‘You’re engaged!’
Bella dipped her head ever so slightly, as if she was trying to read Zoe’s reaction, and Zoe cranked her smile another notch while she hunted for the right things to say. ‘So— does this mean you and the boy next door have taken the plunge after all?’
She was trying not to sound too surprised, and she hoped she looked happy. She certainly didn’t want the entire office to realise she was totally clueless about her best friend’s romance.
Just in time, she remembered to give Bella a hug, and then she paid due homage to her ring—a solitaire diamond, very tasteful, in a platinum setting, and appropriately delicate for Bella’s slim, pale hands.
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Zoe told Bella with genuine honesty. ‘It’s perfect.’
‘Must have cost a bomb,’ commented one of the girls behind her in an awed voice.
Eric Bodwin, their boss, arrived then and an awkward hush fell over the office until someone piped up with Bella’s happy news.
Eric frowned, dragging his bushy eyebrows low, as if an employee’s impending marriage was a huge inconvenience. But then he managed to say ‘Congratulations,’ with a grunting nod in Bella’s direction, before he disappeared into his private den.
He’d never been the type of boss who chatted with his staff, so everyone was used to his gruffness. Nevertheless, his dampening presence put an end to the morning’s excitement.
The semicircle of onlookers melted away. Only Zoe remained, her head so brimming with a thousand questions she was reluctant to go back to her desk. And she couldn’t help feeling a tad put out that Bella had never confided in her.
‘Are you all right, Zoe?’ Bella asked cautiously.
‘Of course, I’m fine.’ Zoe touched Bella’s ring finger. ‘I’m stoked about this.’
‘But you didn’t reply to my text.’
‘What text?’
‘The one I sent you last night. Just before I left Willara Downs, I texted you with my good news.’
‘Oh?’ Zoe pulled a sheepish face. ‘Sorry, Bell. I took myself to the movies last night, and I turned my phone off. Then I forgot to switch it back on.’
‘Must have been a good movie,’ Bella said dryly, but she was smiling again.
‘It was. A lovely, mushy romance.’
Bella rolled her eyes, but they grinned at each other and Zoe was ridiculously pleased that she hadn’t been left out after all.
‘Meet me at The Hot Spot at lunchtime?’ Bella asked next.
‘Absolutely.’ The busy little café on the corner was their favourite, and a meeting today was top priority.
Back at her desk, however, Zoe’s spirits took another dive as she came to grips with the reality of Bella’s startling news. She was losing her best friend. Bella would move back to the country to live with Kent Rigby and that would be the end of her close friendship—their mutual support over office grumbles, their lunchtime chats, their Friday night cocktails and joint shopping sprees.
It was definitely the end of their overseas holiday plans. And it was very puzzling that Bella had never confided in her about Kent. What did that say about their supposedly close friendship?
Glumly, Zoe retrieved her phone from her handbag and flicked it on to find two unread messages—both from Bella.
At 6.35 p.m. last night:
The most amazing thing! Kent and I are engaged. So much to tell you. B xx
And then at 9.00 p.m.:
Where r u? Gotta talk. x
Zoe winced. If she’d been available for a heart-to-heart chat last night, she’d know everything now and perhaps she’d understand how this engagement had happened so quickly.
Instead, she had to get through an entire morning’s work before she received a single answer to her thousand and one questions.
‘You’re getting married?’
‘Sure.’ Kent pitchforked fresh hay into the horse stall, then angled a meaningful glance to his mate Steve who leaned on the rails, watching. ‘Why else would I be asking you to be my best man?’
Steve’s eyes widened. ‘So you’re dead-set serious?’
‘I’m serious.’ Kent grinned. ‘Getting married isn’t something to joke about.’
‘I guess it isn’t. It’s just that we all thought—’ Steve stopped and grimaced.
‘You all thought I’d carry on playing the field for ever,’ Kent supplied.
‘Maybe not for ever.’ Steve’s grin was sly. ‘But heck man, you never gave the impression you were planning to settle down just yet, even though plenty of girls have tried their hardest.’
Kent’s jaw tightened as he thrust the pitchfork back into the hay bale. He’d anticipated Steve’s surprise—and yeah, maybe his disbelief—but his friend’s reaction still rankled. It was true that he’d dated plenty of girls without getting serious. In the past. But those days were over now. He had responsibilities to shoulder.
Steve’s ruddy face twisted into a baffled smile, and he scratched at the side of his sunburned neck. ‘Crikey.’
‘You’re supposed to say congratulations.’
‘Of course, mate. Goes without saying.’ Balancing a booted foot on the rail, Steve leaned into the stall, holding out his hand. His eyes blazed with goodwill. ‘Congratulations, Kent. I mean it. Bella’s an ace girl. She’s terrific. The two of you will be a great team.’
He shook Kent’s hand.
‘Thanks.’
‘I shouldn’t have been so surprised,’ Steve added, accompanying the words with a shrug. ‘It makes sense. You and Bella have always been like—’ He held up a hand, displaying his index finger and forefinger entwined.
Kent acknowledged this truth with a nod and a smile. He and Bella Shaw had been born six months apart to families on neighbouring properties. As infants they’d shared a playpen. As youngsters they had joint swimming and riding lessons. They’d gone to school together, travelling into Willara each day on the rattling school bus, swapping the contents of their lunch boxes and sharing the answers to their homework.
From as far back as Kent could remember, their two families had gathered on the banks of Willara Creek for regular barbecues. Their fathers had helped each other with shearing or mustering. Their mothers had swapped recipes, knitting patterns and old wives’ tales.
When Kent was just six years old, Bella’s dad had saved his life …
And now, with luck, Kent was returning the favour.
