At her reply, Joe’s face fell briefly before he covered it up with a smile, an expression that fooled neither of his companions. Nick instinctively knew Hero’s reply had been influenced by his own presence. The look on Joe’s face twisted at his insides.
‘OK,’ Joe agreed.
Hero leant over and touched the young man’s face gently. ‘But I’ll see what I can do. I’m sure I can steal a few days away, and I promise to bring the books then. How’s that?’
Joe’s brave smile turned to one of genuine pleasure and he beamed it around as he took the lid of the box that Hero had now filled with upturned word tiles and shook it around to mix them up.
‘Sure you don’t want to play?’ Joe asked again.
Nick smiled and shook his head, then stood and walked off in the direction of the stables. As he walked, he mused over the exchange – how Hero hadn’t looked at him once throughout the conversation, how eager she had been to settle Joe, and the gentle touch she had laid on Joe’s cheek. What surprised Nick most of all was that he’d found himself wondering how that touch would feel on his own skin.
As Joe shuffled the letters, Hero lifted her eyes and watched the retreating figure of Nick Webster as he strolled away. As he’d sat close beside her on the little wicker sofa, the clean smell of soap had drifted on the air and she could still smell it now. She didn’t know if it lingered for real or just in her mind. Nick Webster unnerved her. She couldn’t read him. He was edgy. Dangerous. An unknown quantity. Hero didn’t like unknown quantities. She liked exactness. She was glad he hadn’t taken up sweet Joe’s offer to play Scrabble with them. She was glad that he had gone, even more so knowing that part of her had wanted him to stay.
***
‘So, this time tomorrow, you’ll be Juliet Webster.’
Pete’s mother was almost bouncing up and down with excitement as they sat at the dinner table. Although she worshipped her two boys, Gill had always wanted a little girl. Unfortunately, complications had set in after Nick’s birth and the requisite surgery meant that further children were no longer an option. In Juliet, Gill was finally getting the daughter she had always wanted.
Juliet leaned over and took Gill’s hand. ‘Then there’ll be two of us!’
‘Oh hell!’ Jack groaned with a tease.
Hero watched, smiling at Jack’s comment as Gill’s tumbled around in her mind. Mrs Webster. No longer a Scott. No longer in England. No longer just hers. Hero looked at Juliet and felt her heart swelling as the happiness emanated from every fibre of her sister’s being. Although having her move halfway around the world wasn’t what Hero would have chosen for her, Pete was definitely the sort of man she would have. Pete was handsome, kind, witty, and would clearly walk through fire for his fiancée. If Hero had to lose her sister, she was glad it was to someone like him – and at least she’d had the sense to fall for him and not his rather younger brother.
Hero slid her eyes across to Nick. The brothers certainly had some similarities. Nick was also tall, had the same dark hair cut in the same short way, a warm smile and liquid brown eyes topping a strong, muscular body. It was a combination that Hero was sure must have swept many a girl off her feet and into his bed. His bed? The last thought popped uninvited into her mind, and Hero blinked, stiffening in her chair as she mentally forced the unsettling thought back out.
The slight movement across from him caused Nick to glance at their guest. He’d done his best to try and like her – although his brother had disagreed on that point. Nick had shrugged the criticism off. He didn’t appreciate that snooty attitude she had, and whenever he thought maybe he’d misjudged her, he’d turn back only to find that same look of indifference on her face. Pete had defended her, saying there was more to her than that, and that Nick had to give her some leeway, citing her kindness and attention to Joe as an example. Nick had to concede on that point, but he was still wary. What was her motivation in the time she spent with Joe? Was she going to go back and tell all her friends about the charity case she’d taken on? Was it all some forward planning for yet more attention? Nick’s jaw tensed at the thought that anyone would try and use Joe in that way. But as much as he’d thought about this, there was something in her face, in her touch that night he’d joined them as they played board games, that made him hesitate. If she was putting all that on, then she ought to go land a movie deal, because it had looked pretty damn genuine to him.
Still, putting that aside, they lived in completely different worlds. Nick’s involved other people and, as far as he was concerned, Hero’s only involved herself, perhaps Juliet, and now Joe. When it came to those two, she certainly gave the appearance that nothing was too much trouble. Anyway, the sooner she went, the better he’d feel. As a rule, Nick knew he was pretty easy on people, so having to work at something like this was a new experience, not to mention distracting. He was looking forward to getting station life back to its normal routine.
Hero moved again as she mentally tried to push the unexpected and entirely unwanted thought of Nick Webster naked in a bed out of her mind. Her gaze lifted as she did, and she found that very man watching her. She stopped mid-shift. Even with her make-up and the soft lighting of the dining room, Nick could see it. She was blushing. A smile slid onto his lips. This might be fun. He sat back in his chair, tipping it until it balanced on the two back legs.
‘I reckon with me being best man and you being chief bridesmaid, we probably ought to have at least one dance together tomorrow.’
Hero smiled back sweetly, wondering if it was bad that she was secretly hoping his chair would tip over, just to wipe the smug look off his face.
‘Oh, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of women clamouring for your attention already, Nick.’
‘Probably,’ he agreed languidly, his broad shoulders lifting in a shrug, ‘but I’m sure I can make space for you.’
Hero’s eyes widened in disbelief at his arrogance. Under the table, he got a hard kick from his older brother. Pete knew Nick was only winding her up, but it was obvious to everyone this wasn’t a game Hero Scott had ever played.
Make space! She could have slapped him.
‘Well, I’m sure that’s very kind of you but I wouldn’t want to cramp your style.’ She purposefully kept the tone light. Only two more days and she’d be gone, back to civilisation and her own world. She ignored the fact that, for some reason, she didn’t feel as happy about that as she probably should have. But on the plus side, it did mean she only had two more days to put up with Nick Webster and his judging looks and suppositions about her and her life. For Juliet, Hero was prepared to be civil and play along with his silly little game.
Nick shrugged and smiled as he bounced the chair back onto the floor, garnering a reprove from his mother about the furniture as he did so. He apologised politely to her with a smile, then glanced back to their guest. She was listening to his brother rattle on about her sister. Nick smiled to himself. No matter how well she covered it, he’d got a reaction. Maybe there was hope for Hero Scott after all.
***
Hero was enjoying the wedding celebrations far more than she had expected to. What she was most thankful for was the fact that hardly anyone seemed to know, or care, who she was, outside of being the bride’s younger sister. The relief in that alone was almost like a physical burden had been lifted. The only attention she’d felt unsure about was from one of the waitresses. A blonde, busty woman of a similar age to her, she guessed, whom she recognised as a barmaid from the local pub. Hero had noticed a few looks come her way from that direction when she’d been into town with Juliet. Her stomach tensed at the thought of this woman posting something on social media about her being here. Hero had always been so careful to protect Juliet’s identity. The world could judge her, but her sister was entirely out of bounds. The world’s obsession with social media had definitely made protecting her more difficult but, so far, Hero had managed it. The last thing she wanted now was someone