Borrowed Bachelor

‘My friends—most people—call me Maddy,’ she added, and looked at him expectantly.

‘Maddy?’ For the briefest moment, his eyes gleamed, but Maddy couldn’t be sure whether the spark was stirred by irritation or interest.

‘You’re lucky,’ she said, determined not to be put off by his reticence. She shook water away from the stems. ‘This is my last bunch.’

He made no response as he followed her to the counter and with deft, sure movements she wrapped clear Cellophane dotted with jaunty yellow spots around the bouquet. ‘That should cheer the patient up! I’ve pinned the Cellophane over at the top to keep the rain out.’

As she handed him the flowers, a figure huddled inside a shiny red raincoat dashed into the shop, spilling raindrops.

‘Maddy! You’re just the person I need.’

Maddy recognised the woman with bright blonde hair and felt her smile vanish with the speed of a light switch being flicked on. ‘Cynthia? I—I haven’t seen you for ages.’

And haven’t missed you one jot, she would have liked to add. Cynthia Graham was one of her least favourite people.

Cynthia didn’t respond. Her heavily made-up eyes were scanning the fresh flowers frantically. ‘Oh, no! There are none here!’ she wailed, and shot a startled look at Maddy. ‘Don’t you have any blue irises?’

Her annoyed glance swept over Rick, taking in the wallet he’d just extracted from his hip pocket and the bunch of irises he gripped in his other hand. Her eyebrows rose in consternation. ‘Have you bought them? Have you taken the last bunch?’

‘I’m sorry, Cynthia,’ Maddy interrupted quickly. ‘Just as soon as I’ve attended to this gentleman, I’m sure I will be able to help you find something else suitable.’

She was aware of Rick Lawson’s gaze darting from one female to the other.

‘But I wanted them for Byron,’ Cynthia explained impatiently.

‘Byron?’

This time it wasn’t just the smile that left Maddy’s face. She felt a cold sweat break out and her shoulders slumped. What on earth did her ex-fiancè have to do with Cynthia? An ice-cold sense of premonition swamped her and she clutched the counter for support.

But even as her mind floundered she sensed that Rick Lawson was getting edgy, standing impatiently waiting to pay for his flowers while this tense exchange took place. She cleared her throat in an attempt to finish serving him when Cynthia interrupted.

‘Maddy, didn’t you know about Byron and me?’ Her crooning voice was loaded with pseudo-concern and insincerity and she cast a sly glance over her shoulder to Rick, before continuing. ‘I hate to be the one to tell you this, sweetie, especially when you were so sure you were going to marry the dear boy, but since he broke off with you—well, I’m afraid he’s fallen madly in love with me.’

‘He’s what?’ A thick, painful sob rose in Maddy’s throat.

‘Byron and I are engaged.’

Lifting a shaking hand to her mouth, Maddy tried to ward off a hollow wave of nausea. She felt giddy. And so embarrassed to have a stranger like Rick Lawson overhearing Cynthia’s shocking news!

He’d feigned disinterest by turning his back on them and, with arms folded across his chest, he was staring at something on the ceiling.

Somehow, the sight of that broad, resentful back urged Maddy to pull herself together, but it took every atom of her willpower. ‘I’m so happy that you’re happy, Cynthia,’ she chirped, in what she hoped sounded like a spontaneous response. Then she added defiantly, ‘But don’t worry about me. I’m well set up now.’

Cynthia’s fair eyebrow arched in disbelief and Maddy’s hands clenched. Flustered, she rushed on. ‘I have a new boyfriend.’ She nodded quickly towards Rick’s turned back. ‘He’s just moving in today.’ The enormous lie doubled the pace of Maddy’s heartbeats.

Cynthia’s face pulled into an expression of grudging approval mingled with self-centred disappointment. Maddy couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction.

But Rick had clearly had enough. With a burst of annoyance, he turned, scowling, shoved his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans and dropped the bunch of irises back on the counter. ‘Here, you buy them,’ he growled at Cynthia. ‘I can get them another day. My friend’s going to be in hospital for a long time.’

Maddy struggled frantically to think clearly. ‘Are you sure? You don’t have to…’

‘No, look, really,’ Rick demurred, raising his hands to ward off any protests and backing towards the shop door. It was clear he wanted to get out of the place. ‘It really isn’t a big deal.’ He flashed them both a teeth-gritted version of a smile before striding quickly out of the shop.

‘It’s very kind of you,’ Maddy called after him.

As he disappeared, Cynthia’s eyes narrowed. ‘You can easily get him some more if he’s about to move in with you, can’t you?’ she asked.

Maddy looked at her blankly. Then she blushed. ‘Yes. Yes, of course I can. It’s not a problem. Give my regards to Byron.’

And she held herself together until Cynthia walked out of the shop door clutching her irises. But as soon as the other woman had gone she snatched up the empty bucket that had held the flowers and stomped to the little room at the back of the shop where she thumped it down with a loud crash.

Damn Cynthia! Double damn Byron!

After six weeks, she’d thought the scars were finally healing. But now…Byron engaged again? To Cynthia Graham? How could he?

How could she?

But Maddy knew the answer to that. Cynthia Graham had been an old rival since high school. Anything Maddy could do, scheming Cynthia would always do better, if it killed her…

It was a pattern so old, Maddy knew she shouldn’t be surprised that it had been repeated once again. Cynthia Graham had always wanted everything she ever wanted, whether it was getting into the netball team, or winning an art prize. And later she managed to date just about any boy Maddy ever went out with. She should have known Cynthia would chase after Byron.

And now look at the mess she’d made of things. She’d panicked and become so desperately flustered that she’d let Cynthia think Rick Lawson was her boyfriend. Thank heavens he had no idea. There was already a woman in his life he cared deeply enough about to want to buy her flowers.

That was another thing. This friend of Rick Lawson’s was sick in hospital and surely she deserved those flowers much more than Byron!

She could picture Rick visiting his friend. He would present her with the bright bouquet—bending low to her hospital bed to give her a kiss. It would be a touching scene. He was so very nice-looking—especially when he smiled. And she could imagine how pleased the patient would be to see him.

Maddy tried to pinpoint where she’d seen Rick before. There was something strangely familiar about his face and his name. Early this morning, he’d made several trips past her window carting up his luggage through the rain. But bulging backpacks and high-tech camera equipment seemed to be the sum total of his belongings.

She shrugged as she reached for the phone while running her finger down the list of other florist outlets taped to the wall beside her small desk. Whoever he was, he had dashed into her shop like a man on a desperate mission. He’d taken great pains to select exactly the right flowers. And then he’d gallantly surrendered them to Cynthia, as if they hadn’t mattered at all.

Maddy stared through the small window in the shop’s back wall. The rain, so unseasonal for sunny Brisbane, was still streaming down outside. She didn’t really fancy heading out into such miserable weather, but the least she could do was find Rick Lawson a replacement bunch.

At six-thirty, Maddy rapped a confident knock on her new neighbour’s door and summoned her brightest smile as it opened. But her smile wavered as she encountered grey eyes regarding her warily, as if she were casing the joint, or at the very least trying to sell something.

When Maddy thrust a bunch of irises forward, Rick merely frowned. ‘Good evening,’ she began, trying not to sound too hesitant. ‘I managed to get some more irises and I thought I’d deliver them as soon as possible in case you were going back to the hospital tonight.’

‘Thanks,’ he muttered as he accepted the bouquet. Maddy felt her eyes widen. He wasn’t exactly rude, but there was certainly something exceedingly guarded about his expression.

‘It was no trouble,’ she offered. ‘The Golden Wattle in Adelaide Street had plenty of these flowers to spare and…seeing we’re neighbours…’ Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Rick was staring at the bunch of flowers, a deep frown drawing his brows low.

‘I’m very sorry about the tussle over the flowers this afternoon.’ Maddy tried again. ‘I hope your…um…the patient—I hope she wasn’t too disappointed.’

‘Sam?’ The tanned skin around the grey eyes crinkled and Maddy thought she caught a hint of a smile. ‘It wasn’t a problem.’

She bit her lip uncertainly. Why was this stranger making her feel so inadequate? She had always considered herself to be very good with people. While her successful business had always depended on her skills in public relations, she’d gone out of her way to be on friendly terms with her neighbours as well. Life was much more comfortable that way.