Outback Sisters (19 page)

He grinned down at her as they stepped inside and she couldn't help thinking again how lovely his smile was when he decided to use it. So far, the weekend wasn't panning out at all how she'd expected or hoped, but she told herself that at least she had Angus to keep her company while Logan tried to help Frankie create another cake. She had to admit her new boyfriend was a superhero—he'd driven a shaking Frankie all the way to Kalbarri with Simone and Angus following in the other vehicles. Then he'd instructed them to look after her while he made some ‘inquiries'.

Simone and Angus had plied Frankie with a stiff drink and her breathing had almost returned to normal by the time Logan came back and informed them that he'd come up with a plan. At first Frankie had resisted, but they'd convinced her that Logan's proposition was better than the alternative: telling Stella and Adam they wouldn't have a wedding cake.

‘Well, hello there.' Aunty Esther's voice jolted Simone from her thoughts and she turned her head to meet her aunt's scrutinising gaze. ‘This must be Logan?' She looked Angus up and down as if he were a model in a men's clothing catalogue. Approval was evident in Esther's smile. Simone suspected her aunt had already had a few drinks, but she was the mother of the groom, so who was going to stop her?

‘Actually, no,' she said, grabbing hold of Angus's hand, both as a show of comfort and also so he couldn't turn and run, as it looked like he wanted desperately to do. She'd promised Logan she'd look after him tonight. ‘This is Angus. Logan's brother.'

‘Oh?' Esther's brow creased. ‘Where's Logan then?'

‘Um …' Simone racked her brain for a good excuse, cursing herself for not coming up with this stuff before they entered.

‘He had a last-minute deadline come up,' Angus informed her, extracting his hand from Simone's and offering it to Aunty Esther. ‘But I'm sure you'll meet him tomorrow.'

‘Okay then,' Esther said, smiling again as her hand was enveloped by Angus's massive one. She blushed a little and Simone couldn't blame her—both the brothers had that effect. ‘What about Frankie then? I haven't seen her yet?'

‘She has a migraine,' Simone said, thinking quickly. ‘She's gone to bed in the hope it'll be gone by tomorrow.'

‘That's terrible.' Aunty Esther frowned again. ‘Maybe we should take her some dinner?'

‘No! I'll go check on her later,' Simone blurted. ‘I think she just needs rest.'

Esther nodded, apparently satisfied with this scenario. ‘Well then, time you come and meet the clan, Angus.'

As Esther gestured for them to follow her, Simone and Angus exchanged a look of relief. ‘Thanks,' she whispered to him. ‘Frankie would be appalled if everyone found out the truth.' They'd threatened Harriet and Grace with a fate worse than death if they so much as breathed a word to anyone about the cake disaster, but both girls seemed to have forgotten the drama the moment their grandma's car had rolled into the resort car park.

As Simone's mum and stepdad lived in Perth, the girls didn't see their adored grandmother as often as they liked, so they were overjoyed to be rooming in with Ruth and ‘Grandad Graham'. Simone hadn't seen either of the girls for a couple of hours but was relieved to find them both now sitting at the long table with the rest of her family and the bridal party; Harriet looked far less sullen than she usually did and Grace slurped happily on a glass of Coke.

Everyone sitting at the table looked up when Simone and Angus arrived.

‘Hi all,' Simone said, waving. Ruby, the only one of her friends who had met Logan, looked confused. ‘This is Angus,' Simone explained, ‘Frankie's date for the wedding. Unfortunately Frankie has a migraine and can't join us tonight and Logan, my … boyfriend—' the word still felt odd on her tongue, ‘—has some unexpected work to do.'

Although Simone knew Angus wasn't very comfortable in social scenarios, he was the perfect guest as she went around the table introducing everyone. ‘You've met Aunty Esther, this is her husband, Dave, and beside them is Drew and Ruby.' She paused for handshakes and greetings to be exchanged. ‘On the other side we have Faith and Monty—our friends who moved south—and the blushing bride, Stella and my ratbag cousin, Adam, who also happens to be the groom.' Angus smiled, looking like he was trying to remember all their names.

‘And last but not least,' Simone said, gesturing between Adam and Stella, ‘is Heidi. She's chief flower girl tomorrow and daughter of the bride.'

As Angus grinned at Heidi, she launched herself from her seat and rushed around the table to give him one of her famous hugs. Simone couldn't help but admire his lovely arms—strong, tanned and muscular from outdoor labouring—as they enveloped the little girl. She'd always had a thing for arms.

‘It's a pleasure to meet you,' Angus said.

Heidi giggled and stepped back slightly to look at him. ‘You Aunty Simmo's boyfriend?' she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Everyone laughed and Angus's cheeks flushed red, only just visible through his beard. ‘No. We're just friends,' he said.

‘I be your friend too?'

Angus ruffled the ringlets atop Heidi's head. ‘I'd like that very much.'

Simone and Angus took their seats in the middle of the long table—Angus next to Monty and Simone next to her mother. Heidi immediately crawled onto Angus's lap. Stella tried to lure her back but she fervently refused and Angus didn't appear too flummoxed by it all. They ordered dinner and then various conversations sprouted around the table as they drank wine and beer and waited for their meals. Heidi stayed on Angus's lap, colouring in her Disney Princesses book as he discussed farming and the upcoming harvest season with Adam, Monty and Uncle Dave. He appeared in his element with these born-and-bred farmers and Simone loved hearing his passion as he spoke about his and Logan's property.

When the waitresses brought out the dinner, Stella convinced Heidi to sit back with her, and as they all began to eat, conversation around the table turned to tomorrow's big event.

‘I hope the weather holds out,' Ruby said, biting her lip. ‘The forecast is for rain in the afternoon.'

‘So we'll get a little wet.' Stella shrugged one shoulder and looked at Adam. ‘So what. It'll still be perfect.'

A smile stretched across Adam's face and he leaned across Heidi and kissed Stella full on the lips. Everyone cheered and even Heidi beamed. Just looking at these two, you could tell how perfect they were for each other. Both tanned, fit and gorgeous, they looked good together but it was so much more than that. They made each other smile in a way no-one else did, they finished each other's sentences, and when they looked at each other, it was like they shared a secret from the rest of the world.

Simone couldn't help but watch, a wistful sigh escaping her mouth as she silently acknowledged sparks didn't fly like that when she and Logan kissed. His lips were soft and sweet but they didn't cause her heart to skip a beat. Were they flogging a dead horse or did she just need more time? She couldn't help feeling slightly relieved that he'd be otherwise engaged tonight when they were supposed to be taking the next big step in their relationship—especially after she'd told everyone about her plans at the hens night. How Frankie, Stella, Faith and Ruby would laugh if they knew how much she was dithering over this decision.

Maybe she just needed to go for it, throw caution to the wind and leave her head behind when she took him into the bedroom?

‘You okay?' Angus leaned towards her and she caught a whiff of some delicious scent wafting off him; something exotic and enticing that she swore had a hint of dark chocolate. Her spine tingled but she made a concerted effort not to inhale deeply and let it consume her.

‘Sure,' she lied. ‘Are you?' After all, he was the one who didn't know anyone.

He nodded. ‘This lot seem like a good bunch, and Heidi said I could help colour in one of her pictures after dinner.'

Simone laughed at the idea of Angus bent over a colouring book. He really was not at all like Logan portrayed him. ‘Thanks for agreeing to come to the wedding with Frankie. No-one likes to be alone at these things.'

‘I wonder how they're doing?' Angus asked, his voice still low.

‘Probably a lot better than if we were there offering assistance,' she replied.

His lips quirked upwards. ‘I hear you are almost as bad a chef as me.'

She smiled back. ‘I think it's safe to say I'm probably much worse.'

Not long after that, Heidi returned to her new best friend, climbed back up into his lap and resumed her colouring in. As promised, she handed Angus a pencil and instructed him to ‘help'.

Simone took a sip of her wine and tried to focus on the conversations going on around her, rather than staring at Angus and Heidi. It was adorable the way he interacted with her, speaking as if she were his equal and asking her opinion on which colour he should use next. And if he'd looked sexy before, he looked even more delicious when his face adopted an expression of deep concentration and he tried not to colour outside the lines. She couldn't help smiling—it was easy to see how he'd have made an awesome surrogate dad for his little sister, but it was sad that he'd never had the opportunity to father his own children. Again she thought of the fiancée who had left him, and wondered why.

Across the table, Ruby and Stella were discussing what time they all needed to be up to get ready tomorrow morning. ‘Well, the hair and make-up lady is arriving at seven-thirty,' Stella said.

On the other side, Simone's mum and daughters were trying to work out what movie they would watch tonight and she tried to make the right noises for each suggestion.

‘I think I'll get an early night,' Graham said when a recent romantic comedy was decided on.

‘You gonna watch too, Mum?' Grace asked.

Ruth jumped in, ‘Your mum needs to get an early night as she'll be up at the crack of dawn for hair and make-up.'

Harriet grinned, seemingly pleased with the news her annoying mother wouldn't be joining them. Simone struggled not to feel disheartened by the fact her oldest daughter would rather hang out with anyone but her.

Ruth met her eye and winked over the top of the girls' heads. Not privy to the cake disaster, she still thought Simone and Logan would be sharing a room that night. Instead Simone faced the prospect of going to bed all alone, with not even Frankie next door to talk to. While it would give her another night to rally her courage before taking the next step, it did feel a bit of a let down after all the anticipation. Sighing, she picked up her glass of wine and took a big gulp.

* * *

Frankie stood in the immaculate kitchen the resort manager had generously offered them and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to start hyperventilating again—she had serious work to do. The afternoon had been a whirlwind: the kangaroo, the cake disaster, meeting Angus and not feeling the instant attraction she was hoping for, then Logan coming up with his plan to save the day.

Which brought them to this moment.

The sexiest guy on the planet, the man she'd been trying to forget since the kiss in her café and who was now going to save her butt, was standing before her, his shirt sleeves rolled up ready to work. She couldn't help glancing down to admire his smooth, tanned, muscular forearms. She squeezed her lips together to stop from whimpering at the sight.
Work, work, work
. She repeated the word in her head, hoping if she thought it enough she'd remember that was the only reason she now faced the prospect of a night alone with Logan Knight. Her insides quivered at the thought and she stood there gawking at him like some mute idiot.

‘Shall we get started?' he asked, breaking the awkward silence that had descended the moment they'd ushered Simone and Angus out of the kitchen.

‘Yes,' she managed, hoping there wasn't drool on her chin. ‘Good idea.'

Logan surveyed the stuff they'd bought that afternoon. They'd cleared out the local IGA of baking supplies and although whatever they created wouldn't be quite the same as the cake she'd dedicated the last two weeks of her life to making, he'd promised her it'd be something spectacular.

‘I'm so sorry about this,' she gushed for what had to be about the fifth time in the last hour. Tonight was supposed to be his big night with Simone and she'd hijacked it.

He shrugged one delectable shoulder and hit her with a smile so potent she almost lost her balance. ‘Stop apologising. Now, don't be shy about ordering me around. I'm at your service. This is your gig. I'm just the hired help.'

Frankie swallowed as her mind snagged on his declaration. What would he do if she told him she needed him to work in his underwear? She imagined he'd wear snug, black boxers and …
No!

She shook her head—self-loathing and guilt squeezing her heart—she shouldn't be imagining
that
at all. He was here with Simone. Her sister, her best friend.

‘Okay!' The determined tone was as much for herself as for him. ‘First things first—making the cupcakes. I'll start the first batch. Can you turn the oven on and get the patty pans sorted? And then you can start on the stand.'

It had been his idea to make a cupcake tower and when she'd pointed out that they didn't have any kind of stand, he'd promised her a solution for that as well. He'd bought some thick card from the newsagent, several rolls of aluminum foil, ribbon and a sixpack of little glasses. She been dubious but he'd told her to trust him and really, what choice did she have?

‘Yes, sir.' He nodded and saluted her, his silliness making her laugh as he dug out the silver patty pans. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she'd first imagined—and maybe spending some real time with him would help her see past his incredible looks and the memory of his lips on hers the first time they'd met. She valued her relationship with Simone more than anything in the world and she knew it was wrong to be thinking about her sister's boyfriend in this way.