Billionaire's Road Trip to Forever
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Michelle Douglas
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CHAPTER ONE
THEY WERE THROUGH the ‘dearly beloveds’ and on to the ‘if any person can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together’ part of the marriage service, and just for a moment Bree’s heart beat a little harder and faster in the hushed silence of Brisbane’s Anglican cathedral. Well, as hushed as the crowded pews for the society wedding of the year would allow.
Noah might be about to make a mistake of monolithic proportions in marrying Courtney Fraser, but it was a little late to be standing up and pointing that out.
Could you imagine everyone’s faces if she did, though?
She barely managed to suppress a shudder at the thought, but she couldn’t suppress a sigh. Not that she had any real reason to object to the marriage, just gut instinct. And she doubted the Anglican minister officiating would consider that as ‘just cause’.
Deep breaths, Bree. Paste on a smile.
It was just...seeing Noah about to make such a huge mistake had everything inside her protesting. She’d known Noah since she was a bratty eight-year-old. He was her twin brothers’ best friend. She no more wanted to see him make such a mistake than she would them.
She glared at Blake’s and Ryder’s backs now. They were Noah’s groomsmen—they had responsibilities! Why hadn’t they taken Noah aside and talked sense into him...or at least grilled him to make sure this was what he really wanted?
She blew out a silent breath when nobody stood up to make a Jane Eyre-esque pronouncement to call a halt to the wedding. She pressed her hands together and hauled in a breath. Given the current divorce statistics, this marriage wouldn’t be an irreversible mistake.
Oh, but what a wealth of pain and upheaval a divorce would cause all concerned. She wanted to weep at the thought of it.
‘Stop fidgeting,’ her mother murmured. ‘You’re making me nervous.’
Enough, she berated herself. It was time to stop being Miss Doom-and-Gloom, time to stop thinking such ugly thoughts. It wasn’t as if she were a relationship expert or anything. Maybe Noah and Courtney would have a gloriously long and happy marriage and bless the day they’d met forever. She hoped so. Noah deserved to be happy.
Bree lifted her gaze from the happy couple to the stained-glass window and zoned out. In roughly five hours, as soon as she could politely and legitimately absent herself from the afternoon reception, she’d be on the first leg of her road trip—a road trip that was going to utterly change her entire life.
Her fingers started to ache and she glanced down to find them clenched in her lap. She flexed them, and swallowed. It was normal to find change a bit intimidating, right?
What about downright terrifying?
She dragged her attention back to the service in time to see the bride—an utter vision in white—push back her veil. ‘I need to speak to you—’ she pointed to the minister and then the bridal party ‘—in the vestry. Now.’
Bree blinked. Say what? Courtney had kept her voice low, but it still carried to the second pew where Bree sat.
The minister hesitated for two beats before silently gesturing for the bride to precede him to the small room off to the right. The rest of the bridal party followed with varying expressions of bewilderment and concern. Bree couldn’t see Noah’s face, but the tight set of his shoulders and uncompromising line of his back made her wince.
A murmur that all too quickly became a quiet roar went around the church. Bree exchanged glances with her parents, but they each remained silent. Nearly five minutes passed before a stern-faced Ryder stalked out and...
Dear God. Her brother was making directly for her.
‘Bree, you’re needed.’ His eyes burned into hers trying to send her some secret message. ‘Can you...?’
She rose and followed only because she couldn’t think of an excuse to refuse. Not for the first time, she wished she hadn’t come to the wedding, wished she’d made her excuses. Except this was Noah. She couldn’t not attend Noah’s wedding.
It felt as if every eye in the church—and there must’ve been over two hundred sets of them—was on her as she made what felt like the mile-long journey to the vestry. She supposed it would be awfully poor form to bolt out through the side door and get an early start on her road trip. Change might be scary, but this? Ooh, she had a feeling this was going to be truly awful.
Or not. Maybe this was just a minor hiccup.
The tension in the vestry squeezed her chest tight. Noah’s pallor and the way he clenched his jaw had her own jaw aching in sympathy. As soon as Ryder closed the door behind them, Courtney swung to her. ‘You don’t think I ought to marry Noah, do you?’
Whoa. Wait! What?
‘That’s why you refused to be my bridesmaid.’
Courtney was going to dump Noah. At the altar? It took what felt like a full minute to find her voice. ‘I politely declined your request to be bridesmaid because nobody wants to be paired in a bridal party with one of their brothers. But more importantly,’ she added when Courtney snorted—it was the oddest thing to hear such an inelegant sound emerge from an archetypal vision of bridal loveliness. ‘More importantly,’ she forced herself to continue, ‘I’m Noah’s friend, not yours.
‘I mean, I’m sure we could be friends,’ she added with unholy haste. In another dimension, perhaps. Or in a galaxy far, far away. ‘But I’m of the firm belief that, on the wedding day, the bridesmaids should be there for the bride and only the bride, not as some kind of support or sop to the groom.’
For the entire time she spoke, Bree could feel the force and weight of Noah’s gaze—as if by sheer force of will he could compel her to make things right. She didn’t want to let him down. But she couldn’t make things right until she knew what on earth was wrong.
‘Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place, then, instead of blathering on that you weren’t sure you’d have the time or if you were even going to be in town for the wedding?’
She lifted a reluctant shoulder. ‘I thought it sounded politer than the truth,’ she mumbled. ‘Besides, I had a feeling you only asked me to make Noah happy and, excuse me, but I’m always going to pass on playing the role of the pity bridesmaid.’
Courtney inclined her head as if acknowledging a hit. ‘You still haven’t answered my original question, though. You don’t think I should marry Noah, do you?’
It was Bree’s turn to snort, and she made sure it was twice as inelegant as Courtney’s. ‘No way am I weighing in on that. No one can make that decision except you and Noah.’
What was Courtney trying to do—turn Bree into the bad guy here? She’d pass on that role too, thank you very much.
‘Why the hell are you having second thoughts now?’ Noah ground out, his eyes blazing in the pallor of his face.
Bree winced. His every muscle was clenched so tight he shook. It made him look angry, belligerent, but she knew better. All of that mad tension hid panic...and probably a world of pain.
The finger he pointed at Courtney shook. ‘I asked you to marry me over a year ago. You said yes over a year ago. You’ve had over a year to change your mind.’
He dragged a hand down his face and Bree’s heart throbbed. Courtney couldn’t do this to him. She just couldn’t.
With what looked like a superhuman effort, he lifted his head. ‘Look, wedding jitters are normal but...’
Courtney folded her arms over her tightly laced bodice. ‘But?’
‘But this is crazy. And don’t you think it’s a bit...overdramatic?’
He spread his hands as he spoke, but something inside Bree froze as she stared into his face. Her stomach tightened, and she backed up until she was out of the circle. She scrutinised his face and then Courtney’s and slowly lowered herself to a chair.
Courtney’s laugh held a note of hysteria. ‘What if we’re making a mistake? Doesn’t that worry you?’
Bree’s heart caught. Was she the only one who could see the sudden vulnerability in those china-blue eyes? Or was everyone else blinded by the vision of picture-perfect bridal perfection?
‘We can talk about this later,’ Noah hissed. ‘We have over two hundred guests out there who are waiting to see us get married.’ His hands clenched. ‘Not to mention the press. The wedding reception is booked and a veritable feast awaiting, not to mention the plan for the honeymoon. I don’t know what else you want me to do. I’ve agreed to everything you wanted.’
It was only because she knew him so well that Bree recognised how he bit back the expletive chafing through him. Silently she said it for him, Courtney, he’s agreed to every damn thing you wanted.
He went on to name all the manifold delights they had waiting to share with their guests at the wedding reception, and the secret European location they’d chosen for their honeymoon and had so been looking forward to. He listed the myriad things they had to look forward to in their shared life when they returned home from their honeymoon. A shared life full of potential, purpose and privilege.
He spoke of holiday houses in Palm Springs and an apartment in Sydney, named the best grammar schools for the three children they planned to have, mentioned the awards and accolades they’d win in their glittering and magnificent careers. ‘Courtney, sweetheart—’ he spread his hands, his expression bewildered ‘—this is dream-come-true stuff.’
Bree swallowed the sigh welling through her. He made it sound amazing.
‘We’ve talked and talked about this,’ he continued, ‘planned everything down to the smallest detail. I have every intention of doing all I can to make every single one of your dreams come true. Why have second thoughts now?’
It sounded like the most amazing dream.
Except for one thing.
He spread his arms wide. ‘What have I missed? What else do you want?’
‘Oh, yes! You’re giving me so much.’ Courtney threw up her arms. ‘And what do you get in return?’
He stared. ‘I get to marry you. I get the life I just described. What more could I want?’
Bree leaned forward on her chair, suddenly and achingly hyperaware. Say it, she urged silently. Say it.
‘I get to be married to the smartest, most beautiful woman I know. A woman I never in a million years imagined would ever marry me.’
‘I’m not some damn trophy you get to hold aloft, Noah!’
His mouth opened and closed but not a single word emerged.
Bree waited, her heart thumping. But still he didn’t say it. For the briefest of moments her and Courtney’s gazes collided. Courtney kinked an eyebrow and Bree found herself slumping.
Noah didn’t love Courtney.
And Courtney had only just realised that.
Bree couldn’t blame the other woman for running as fast from Noah as she could. But why the heck couldn’t she have come to this decision last week? Or even yesterday?
Courtney pressed her fingers to her temples. ‘Noah, let’s postpone the wedding so we can talk...work through a few things.’ She dragged in a breath so shaky it made Bree think she was only holding it together by a thread.
The expression on Noah’s face told them all what he thought about that idea.
Courtney’s throat bobbed as she swallowed, her hands tightly clenched at her waist. ‘It’s just a delay. If you really love me...?’
Two beats of silence passed.
‘Or, how’s this for a plan?’ Noah widened his stance. ‘We get married right now.’ He pointed back the way they’d come. ‘We have a church full of guests, the caterers are booked, and everything is in place for your whole damn dream wedding.’
Courtney’s eyes flashed. ‘But it’s not your whole damn dream wedding.’
‘I don’t care about the wedding. I just want to marry you!’
‘Fine, marry me in a month, then!’
A terrifying smile stole across Noah’s lips then and Bree’s heart clenched at the self-loathing she recognised in his eyes, though she wondered if anyone else recognised it as such.
‘If you loved me...’ His lips twisted into a bitter smile. ‘Here are the options, Courtney. Marry me now...’
‘Or?’
‘Don’t marry me at all.’
Bree closed her eyes. A man in love didn’t give those kinds of ultimatums.
Courtney’s lips twisted. ‘My dream wedding perhaps, but not my dream groom. I’m sorry, Noah, but I can’t marry you.’
He’d gone so pale it made Bree’s stomach churn. He could fix this so easily.
All he had to do was tell Courtney he loved her!
But the fact that saying the words didn’t even occur to him spoke volumes. She wanted to drop her head to her hands. What a God-awful mess.
To Noah’s credit, he didn’t beg. He kept his chin high and his eyes hard. ‘You’re certain about this?’
‘A hundred per cent.’
‘And let me guess—’ his nostrils flared ‘—you’re going to walk out and leave me to clean up the mess?’
Courtney hesitated, before turning to the minister. ‘Are any of the wedding party required to go out there and explain that the wedding has been cancelled?’
‘Absolutely not. In fact, I can do it with far less fuss and uproar than anyone else. And to be frank, I’d rather my church not be turned into a circus.’
Noah’s lips twisted. ‘The press are going to have a field day with this.’
‘Then I’m leaving through the side door now.’ Courtney picked up her skirts. ‘I’m sorry to do this to you, Noah, but it really is for the best.’
‘Wait.’ Bree found herself on her feet. ‘I have a bit of a plan. We all know the two of you are going to be pursued by the media.’ Not just pursued, but probably hounded. ‘Why don’t the two of you leave—?’
‘Separately,’ Courtney snapped.
‘That message has been received loud and clear,’ Noah bit out through white lips.
Bree swallowed and started again. ‘While you two slip away, separately, the rest of the bridal party can assemble back out there—’ she hitched her head in the direction of the church ‘—as if the wedding is going to go ahead. It’ll buy you both a little time to leave the church unhindered.’
Noah drew himself up to his full height of six feet one inch and the coldness in his eyes sent a shiver down Bree’s spine. ‘I’m not a coward, Bree. Courtney might be happy to make her little announcement and dash away, but I’m more than capable of going out there and facing the music, even if she isn’t.’
Ooh, really bad idea. Especially when he was this angry. One look at his face and nobody in the church would blame Courtney for bolting. The press would go to town on him.
If Noah chose to annihilate Courtney’s character in public, Bree wanted him to make the decision with a clear head, not this fury. She moistened her lips. ‘It’s not about being capable, Noah. It’s about not feeding a media frenzy.’
‘She’s right, dude,’ Ryder said. ‘The two of you either go out there to make the announcement together or not at all.’
Courtney’s eyes widened. ‘I’m not going out there.’
Ryder’s lips twisted. ‘Which is exactly what I’d expect of you...now.’
‘Back off, hotshot!’
Hallelujah. The maid of honour could actually speak. Bree felt as if the only one doing any talking besides the bride and groom had been her.
‘Why should it be your face that’s splashed across the newspapers in the morning or on the TV this evening?’ Bree said over the rising tide of voices. ‘Let them drag out an old picture of the two of you and speculate to their hearts’ content. You don’t owe them anything.’
‘And who’ll cancel everything that needs cancelling?’ Noah demanded.
‘Goldilocks here and I will take care of all that.’ Ryder gestured towards the maid of honour. ‘You don’t have to worry about a thing.’
She saw the exact moment Noah registered that whatever he did in the next few minutes would have repercussions on the company he and Ryder had built from the ground up. He could wilfully destroy his own reputation—and the company’s—or he could go into damage control.
‘I agree with your friends,’ the minister said. ‘This is the wisest course of action.’
Noah swore, making them all flinch.
‘Do you have your car keys?’ Ryder shot at Bree.
She nodded, blessing the fact she’d brought her clutch purse with her to the vestry and hadn’t left it on the seat beside her mother.
‘Take him straight to Mum and Dad’s.’
Her? Why her?
‘Whatever you do, don’t take him to his apartment. The press will be swarming all over the place in an hour.’
Well, doh. But—
‘Blake and I will try and delay them for as long as we can.’
Damn. Her brothers still had a role to play in all of this. One glance at Noah’s pinched lips and the dangerous glitter in his eyes and she knew she couldn’t let him go off by himself. Heaven only knew what he’d do.
‘Go now,’ Ryder whispered in her ear, pushing her in the direction of the door.
Refusing to give herself any time to think, she grabbed Noah’s arm and towed him through the side entrance. Beneath the material of his tux, his arm was rock-solid muscle. Unbidden, a little shiver shook through her. Did Courtney know what she was doing, what she was giving up?
The woman was an idiot on so many levels. And yet Bree couldn’t blame her for refusing to marry a man who didn’t love her.
‘Are you pleased with yourself?’ Noah snarled as she drove her hatchback away from the church.
Uh-huh. Male logic at its best, no doubt. She understood his need to lash out, though. And as she was the only one currently available...
‘Ecstatic,’ she murmured, doing her best to keep her attention on the road rather than the bristling hulk of masculinity beside her. They said a woman scorned was a scary proposition, but perhaps they’d never seen a jilted groom. Bree would put them on a par.
‘You had it in your power to convince Courtney to marry me and yet you refused to do it. Why would you serve me such a bad turn?’ His brow pleated. ‘Hell, Bree, I thought we were friends.’
His words cut her to her marrow, and she ran an orange light. ‘Of course we’re friends.’
‘Then why would you destroy all my chances of happiness? You knew marrying Courtney is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.’
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘I know you’re feeling bad at the moment, Noah—hurt, angry, betrayed. But I refuse to take the blame for this. If you couldn’t convince her to marry you, I don’t see what hope you think I had.’
‘All you had to say was that you thought we were well suited!’ His voice rose. ‘All you had to do was tell her we should get married!’
‘You wanted me to lie?’ They weren’t the words she meant to say, but they were the ones that burst from her mouth.
‘This is what it looks like at your apartment complex at the moment.’
Ryder handed Noah his phone and Noah grimaced. Talk about a media circus.
He closed his eyes. Everything ached. His temples pounded. His jaw throbbed. His throat burned with the effort of holding back all the ugly words he wanted to spew forth. His hands and shoulders ached at how tightly he clenched the one and braced the other.
And inside his chest an ugly gaping darkness lay in wait to claim him.
‘Believe me, you don’t want to go back there at the moment.’
‘What’s it like at yours?’ he asked, handing back the phone. Ryder was his business partner and best man. His friend would be considered fair game—guilty by association—and Noah hated to have brought this furore to his friend’s door as well.
‘It’s being staked out by a few hacks but nothing on this scale.’
But if Noah showed his face there... He shook his head. He wasn’t bringing the slathering hordes to Ryder’s doorstep.
‘You can couch surf at mine,’ Blake offered.
Blake shared the ultimate bachelor pad with two of the firefighters he worked with—but there was no room there, there’d be no privacy...and he couldn’t face all the false jollification they’d rally for his benefit.
He understood it. He appreciated it. But he couldn’t face it.
‘Nonsense,’ Janice Allenby said. ‘You’re staying here with us, Noah. We have plenty of room and we’d love to have you.’
A little gentle non-intrusive mothering from Mrs A would certainly help soothe the savage beast, but neither she nor her husband, Colin, needed the hassle of the media camped outside their front door. Janice was a high-profile public servant while Colin was a well-respected ophthalmologist. They were busy, hardworking people and he wasn’t repaying their unremitting kindness with that.
It would kill him if they ever came to regret taking him under their wings. They’d all but adopted him when he’d moved to the area as an eleven-year-old—had even had brief custodial stints when his parents had been...otherwise occupied.
‘Or,’ Bree put in and then stopped.
They hadn’t spoken since their harsh words in the car. He owed her an apology. And maybe she owed him one as well. He frowned. He wasn’t sure about that, though. Maybe she’d had every right to say what she’d said.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case were, she’d brought him inside, rustled him up a pair of jeans and long-sleeved T, before sitting him at the kitchen table and handing him a beer. She’d sat on the other side of the table sipping a soda. It had been weirdly soothing—a bubble of quiet—before the rest of the Allenbys had raced in and the bubble had burst.
He dragged a hand down his face, suddenly feeling a hundred years old. When had everything become so complicated? When had it all gone to hell in a hand basket? How the hell had he not seen what had happened today coming?
He’d not had a single inkling that anything was wrong. Courtney’s pronouncement had totally blindsided him. Just when he’d thought he was about to get everything he’d ever wanted.
When he pulled his hand back to his side and glanced up, something in Bree’s eyes—the same colour as the milk chocolate she loved—gentled. ‘Or,’ she repeated, glancing at her watch, ‘I’m leaving on my road trip in two hours.’
Very slowly, he straightened. What was she saying?
She dragged in a breath as if to bolster her resolve. ‘You’re welcome to tag along if you want.’
She shook her head and then rolled her eyes towards the ceiling as if she couldn’t believe she’d just made the offer.
He frowned. ‘Thanks, Bree, but I don’t think—’
‘Hold on a moment! Think about it.’ Ryder swung to Noah, punching a fist into his hand. ‘It could be the perfect solution. It’s the last thing anyone would expect and, therefore, the last place anyone would think to look for you.’
Her father wrapped an arm around Bree’s shoulders. ‘Nice thinking, sweetie.’
It touched him the way the Allenby family wanted to protect him from the fallout of today’s debacle. He couldn’t avoid it forever, they all knew that—eventually he and Courtney would have to make some kind of public statement—but they’d do all they could to buy him some breathing space first.
And they were right. He needed a time out. His brain had shut down and he couldn’t make sense of anything. God only knew what he’d say if cornered by the press at the moment.
And for the sake of his and Ryder’s company, Fitness Ark, he couldn’t afford to make a statement before thinking through what he was going to say very carefully first.
‘It’d ease my mind to know Bree wasn’t travelling alone,’ Janice said.
‘Mum.’ Bree rolled her eyes again.
Blake shrugged. ‘At least it’ll give you someone to share the driving with.’
‘As I’m not driving longer than six hours on any given day, that won’t make much difference.’
‘Ah, but with the two of you, you’ll be able to go further faster,’ Ryder said.
‘I don’t want to go further faster. I want to take my time.’ She glared at Noah as if he’d just agreed with her brother. ‘And I’m not changing my mind about that.’
This trip of hers—a road trip to Tasmania—was mighty mysterious. Not to mention out of character. Sure, Bree had flown to Hobart several times over the last few years to visit her best friend, Tina. But that had only been for the odd long weekend.
Why drive when she could fly? Why would someone who was always on the move suddenly decide she needed to slow down?
Whenever questioned Bree just said the road trip was the break she needed before knuckling back down to work and thinking about the next phase of her life.
Due to The Plan, they all knew the next phase of Bree’s life consisted of starting up her own physiotherapy practice. She’d been working hard towards that goal for the last seven years.
Still, a month-long road trip to Tasmania seemed too...random.
Why hadn’t she chosen two weeks on a beach in Barbados? Or a month in Italy and France? She was up to something—and he knew he was using it as a displacement activity to take his mind off what had happened earlier in the day—but tagging along would help him solve that particular mystery.
And it would get him out of town. While he had zero enthusiasm for a road trip, it was better than the alternative—staying put and hiding from the press. ‘I’m happy to take things slow, Bree,’ he found himself saying.
A bad taste filled his mouth then. He had no right to invade her privacy or to spy on her or force a confidence she wasn’t ready to share. ‘Are you sure about this?’ He searched her face. ‘It’s a really kind offer and one I don’t deserve after what I said to you in the car on the way over here. I owe you an apology for that.’
She dismissed that with a wave of her hand. ‘It’s forgotten already. You were upset. Understandably so.’
Bree had always had a big heart. The three of them—he, Ryder and Blake—had teased her mercilessly when they’d been growing up. But whenever they’d been down, it had always been Bree that they’d turned to.
‘I need to warn you there’s going to be a lot of singing to ABBA. I have multiple playlists at the ready.’
That made him smile. Ever since the Mamma Mia! movies she’d been ABBA-mad. ‘Can I negotiate for a little Creedence Clearwater Revival?’
It was one of their ongoing jokes and an oblique reference to the Die Hard franchise. Mamma Mia! was all well and good, but it had nothing on Die Hard 4.
She laughed and for no reason at all some of the weight that pressed him flat lifted. ‘I’m sure I can manage some Creedence, but no thrash metal.’
He was long past his thrash-metal days.
‘Noah,’ she said softly.
He glanced up.
‘If you decide to come along, I want you to know you can jump ship at any time. You don’t have to go all the way to Hobart.’
That was true. ‘I could probably lose myself in Sydney for a few days. No one will be expecting to see me there.’ It would give him a breather and mean he’d only be cramping Bree’s style for part of her journey.
He hauled in a breath and nodded. ‘Thanks, Bree. If you’re sure I won’t be cramping your style, then I’d like to accept your very kind offer and tag along.’
‘Right, well...’ She glanced at her brothers and then at him. ‘All we need now is to pack you a suitcase.’
Damn it. He couldn’t go back to his apartment. ‘I’ll have to buy something on the road.’
‘Not necessary,’ Ryder said. ‘I grabbed the suitcase you’d packed for your honeymoon before that monster of a maid of honour tore off in the bridal car.’
His honeymoon... He should be getting ready—
‘Also,’ Bree said in her bossy tone, ‘you don’t get to drive at all today.’
His head came up. ‘I’m perfectly capable of driving. I’ve been jilted, not crippled, and—’
She pointed at the beer he held. ‘That’s your third and it’s not even lunchtime yet.’
Damn! She was right. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had a beer this early in the day. ‘Fine, whatever. What time did you want to set off?’ He did his best to keep the scowl out of his voice.
She consulted her watch again. ‘In an hour and a half.’
Why couldn’t they leave now? He wanted away from this scene of defeat and humiliation as fast as possible. He opened his mouth, but shut it again when he recognised the stubborn light in her eyes. She wouldn’t budge.
‘We’re having lunch before we leave, and you’re putting something in your stomach besides beer, that’s non-negotiable.’
He ground back a sigh. She was setting the ground rules—going on as she meant to continue. She was the boss and he was merely a passenger. He scowled at her. He couldn’t help it. But then his scowls had never had the slightest impact on her. He swung to Colin. ‘Do you mind if I jump on your treadmill for half an hour?’
‘Knock yourself out, son.’
He was barely out through the door, only partway down the hallway that led downstairs to Colin’s home gym, before Bree’s entire family jumped on her with varying bits of advice.
Folding his arms, he leaned against the wall and listened. It was probably beneath him to eavesdrop, but today he simply didn’t have the strength to fight his baser instincts. Today he couldn’t cope with any more surprises.
‘You need to keep a close eye on him.’
‘Don’t let him get too morose.’
‘And don’t let him jump ship—at least not for the next two days.’
‘I want daily updates.’
‘And, darling, please make sure he eats something every day. We don’t want him getting sick on top of everything else.’
This wasn’t fair. All this pressure they were putting on her. He appreciated their support, but he couldn’t ruin her holiday. She hadn’t had a proper holiday in six or seven years, and while he might be throwing himself a big pity party, he had no right to drag Bree into the middle of that. She had big plans—they all knew that—and he’d be the lowest of the low if he inadvertently derailed them. He’d never forgive himself.
‘But get him rolling drunk tonight. If he passes out he won’t have to think about what happened today and—’
‘Enough!’ Bree’s voice cut through the directives and general mayhem. ‘I know what happened today was awful. I know it has to be a terrible blow for Noah. But he’s a grown-up. And he’s not an idiot. None of you have the right or any reason whatsoever to believe he’ll do something stupid.’
Noah’s head came up.
‘I am not a nursemaid and I’m not going to order Noah around like he’s a child. We’re going to head south, put some distance between us and Brisbane’s tabloid press, and sing loudly to whatever takes our fancy. We’ll stop when we want to stop, and eat when we want to eat.’
Sounded like a brilliant plan to him.
‘Also, I am not drinking beer and bourbon. But I’ll sip a glass of Shiraz while Noah does if he decides he wants to drink beer and bourbon.’
Drinking beer and bourbon sounded like a hell of a good plan too.
‘No more,’ she said when everyone started talking at one another again.
Noah shot downstairs to the home gym before someone caught him listening. Bree had it all under control.
Blake and Ryder cornered him in the foyer after lunch where he was waiting for Bree so they could finally leave this mess of a day behind them.
‘You sure you’re okay with this plan, buddy?’ Ryder asked. ‘If you’d rather hunker down here at Mum and Dad’s...?’
He shook his head. ‘That would send me stir crazy and you know it. At least driving will give me the illusion of doing something.’ And heading somewhere. Even if it was a lie and his life was stuck fast in a deep rut and he was spinning his wheels in the same spot.
Ryder grimaced.
Noah’s gut clenched. ‘What?’ Was there more bad news?
‘I know this isn’t wholly within your power, but I’d appreciate it if you could keep Bree’s name out of the papers for as long as the two of you travel together.’
‘Hell, Ryder, it’s not my plan that Bree be named in any fashion at all—before, after or in between.’
His friend raised his hands. ‘I know. I know. Just thought I’d mention it.’
Hell, if the press linked them together... His gut churned. He could just imagine the salacious headlines. ‘You have my word.’
‘You know, mate...’ Blake leaned against the wall ‘...it’d be great if you could get a heads-up on what this trip of Bree’s is about. She’s been as closed as a clam.’
Bree appeared at the end of the corridor, but her brothers had their backs to her and didn’t see her. He met her eyes briefly, though he couldn’t make out their expression. He recalled what she’d said about him earlier. Her words hadn’t made him feel like a victim. They’d made him feel strong. ‘In case you guys haven’t noticed, Bree’s a grown-up now. I’m not prying into her private business. If she wants you to know what she’s up to, she’ll tell you.’
When he met her gaze again, she was smiling.
