The Virgin Bride (The Australians) by Miranda Lee Page B

news! Wait till I tell—’ She broke off and looked guilty. ‘I mean…how long do I have to keep this a secret?’ she asked painfully.
    â€˜Do you think you might manage till Monday? That’s when I’m going to take Emma shopping for a ring.’ Whichever doctor took Saturday surgery had Monday off.
    â€˜I guess I could,’ she said, if a little unhappily. ‘But what if Emma tells someone herself beforehand?’
    Jason almost laughed. What a terrible disaster that would be. Poor Nancy—to have a scoop and have to sit on it!
    He thought about the situation and relented. ‘Oh, all right, Nancy. Just let me pop over to the shop andlet Emma know I’ve told you, then you can tell whomever you like.’ In truth, he’d already rung Emma once this morning, to make sure she hadn’t changed her mind overnight. She hadn’t, but had sounded a bit dazed still. She was going to cook him dinner that night, but that was half a day away. A personal visit ASAP would clearly not go astray.
    She was just opening the shop when he arrived, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him, before turning a little worried. ‘Is there anything wrong?’ she asked.
    â€˜Not at all. Shall we go inside, or shall I kiss you right out here in the street?’
    Her look of shock-horror amused him. ‘There’s no use thinking you an keep our engagement a secret here in Tindley, Emma,’ he said, smiling. ‘Nancy already knows. I told her.’
    â€˜You told her! But why?’
    â€˜Because I want everyone to know. Don’t you?’
    He could see by her face she didn’t, and his happy mood immediately deflated. ‘What’s the problem?’ he demanded to know, his ego wounded. ‘You’re afraid Ratchitt will somehow get to hear you’re marrying another man?’
    She didn’t deny it, and he had difficulty controlling his temper. Taking her elbow, he shepherded her into the privacy of the shop. The last thing he wanted was all of Tindley to overhear their arguing.
    â€˜Look, Emma,’ he muttered once they were safely alone. ‘I thought we had this out the other night. The man’s a rotter. And he isn’t coming back. When will you get that through your head? Stop being a masochist, for pity’s sake, and give yourself a decent chance at happiness.’
    Her eyes flashed at him. ‘You think I want him to come back now?’
    â€˜Yes, I do. I think you’re fixated on the creep and you won’t be happy till you see him again. One part of me wishes he would come back, so that you could see just what you’ve been pining for. My guess is you’ve romanticised Ratchitt for far too long. If I knew where he was, I’d send him a damned wedding invitation.’
    She paled. ‘You wouldn’t.’
    â€˜Too right I would. You think I’m frightened of him? I’d pit myself against the Ratchitts of this world any day, and I know who’d come out on top. Stack us up side by side, Emma, and love or no love, I know who you’d choose in the end!’ His voice softened when he saw how stricken she was looking. ‘He’s low-life, darling. You deserve a lot better than that.’
    â€˜You…you called me darling,’ she said shakily.
    â€˜And so you are,’ he crooned, and drew her into his arms. She went willingly, her mouth soft beneath his. He kissed her just long enough and hard enough to make her breathless, and to show her just why she’d agreed to marry him. When he released her, she looked up at him with gratifyingly enslaved eyes. If he felt a tiny stab of guilt for using her blossoming sexuality to his own selfish advantage, then he argued it away in his mind. He was the man for her, wasn’t he? He would make her happy, not Dean Ratchitt.
    â€˜Now, let’s have no more foolish talk,’ he saidfirmly. ‘I’m going to marry the loveliest