The Outback Wedding Takeover

Mitch cursed himself for reminding her of the man she planned to marry. ‘I promised Ric I’d take care of you, Kathryn,’ he quickly pressed.

She shook her head slightly, heaved a sigh, then ruefully conceded, ‘And I promised him I’d go with you.’

‘Is that such a hardship?’ he half-mocked.

She grimaced. ‘I’m sorry. I guess I sound ungracious. It’s very kind of you to offer me the hospitality of your home.’

‘It’s not about kindness, Kathryn,’ he whipped in, hating the remote politeness of her words.

‘I know.’ She flashed a wry glance at him. ‘It would be easier if you were more…’

‘More what? I’ll try to oblige,’ he promised, attempting to tease her out of her withdrawal.

‘Older, fatherly, ugly, or just plain obnoxious,’ she threw at him in an exasperated rush.

His heart danced with sheer joy. She was admitting an attraction. Beyond any doubt now. A wicked grin broke out. ‘I can certainly be obnoxious if it will make you feel more comfortable.’

She laughed, a nervous little gurgle. ‘I don’t think play-acting will do it. In fact…’ Her eyes were seriously curious. ‘…I’d like you to tell me about yourself. Your family. You mentioned a married sister.’

She wants to know me.

Normally Mitch didn’t talk about his personal background. Who he was now—a barrister building a formidable reputation with every court appearance—seemed sufficient in itself for most people. If it wasn’t, he simply declined to give out information that was none of their business. Yet it was different with Kathryn. He only had this one night to forge a bond that would hopefully overshadow whatever she had with her fiancé.

So he told her about Jenny, how she’d taken on the responsibility of caring for their disabled mother after their father had deserted them, how they’d managed on a social services pension, supplemented by handcrafts done by his mother and whatever Mitch could earn from a paper-boy run and cleaning cars—any jobs he could get after school hours. Tutoring had paid well, when he’d got older.

They’d been a tight-knit little family. Jenny had eventually trained as a nurse and married a doctor who currently had a practice at Gosford, on the Central Coast. Their mother had died of a stroke soon after the wedding, six years ago. Jenny now had a son and a daughter, both beautiful children.

He didn’t mention the rape or the assault that had taken him to Gundamurra. That was deeply private, both to him and Jenny. Neither of them ever spoke of it. She’d moved past it, was happy in her life, and Mitch was content with that. Though he’d never forget it himself. One day he might tell Kathryn…if they ever reached that point of intimacy.

The taxi pulled up in front of his house. Woollahra was an old suburb of Sydney, fashionable now because of its proximity to the city centre, but most of the houses were of terrace construction, as they were in Surry Hills which had been considered almost a slum area with very cheap rentals in his boyhood. Though that had changed, too, for the same reason—close to the CBD, renovations upgrading the real estate.