Taking the biggest gamble of her life? Definitely.
Of course there was never a pen when she needed one, but a rummage down the side of the sofa finally delivered the goods, and with a shaking hand Tabitha held the contract and added her signature beneath Zavier’s—not quite with flourish but with definite determination.
There were a million reasons she should have said no to Zavier, and only one truth. The simple fact that she loved him was the real reason Tabitha said yes.#p#分页标题#e#
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘WE’VE put you in here.’ Marjory Chambers flung open the shutters. ‘I know you and Zavier will probably think it old hat, but until you’re married at least I’ve put you in separate rooms. Jeremy wouldn’t hear of anything else.’ Marjory gave her an engaging smile, misinterpreting the look of relief that flooded Tabitha’s face as she pointed to a door. ‘Of course the rooms are adjoining, so what you get up to is your business.’
Everything about today felt surreal. She expected grandeur after the wedding, but the Chambers holiday home was practically a mansion. There was nothing dark and stately about it, though. Wall-to-wall floorboards, huge white walls littered with black and white photos, sumptuous white leather couches and artefacts each meriting more than a cursory glance. If this was their holiday home heaven only knew what their main residence must be like. Her bedroom jutted out onto the ocean, its vastness glittering before her, the bay view to end all bay views.
‘Jeremy’s having a lie-down, but we’ll be having drinks on the patio at seven before dinner. He can’t wait to say hello. But please, Tabitha, feel free to come down before then—make yourself at home. I know this last month can’t have been easy on you, with Zavier being away, but it’s over now, he’ll be here within the hour and finally we can get on with this wedding. Now, do you want me to look after your dress? Zavier simply mustn’t get even a glimpse; you’re going to look stunning.’
Marjory was so nice, so disarmingly friendly, that as Tabitha unzipped her suitcase—new, of course—and passed her the wads of tissue paper that contained the lilac dress and shoes Zavier had sent her, she was suddenly assailed by the biggest wave of guilt.
‘I brought you these chocolates.’ She hadn’t known what to bring. What did you give to someone who’d got everything? No doubt there was a cellar bursting with the finest wines, which had ruled out anything Tabitha could pick up at the local supermarket, and anticipating gardens trimmed and manicured to perfection had made flowers seem rather paltry. So she had settled for chocolates—wasn’t that what everyone did? And not the usual half-kilo slab that she occasionally treated herself to. Tabitha had splurged on the best she could find in the department store. They had cost a small fortune; hopefully she’d get a taste!
Thrusting the package at Marjory, Tabitha felt a blush spread over her cheeks.
‘I didn’t know what to get.’
She was taken back by the sparkle of tears in Marjory’s well-made-up eyes.
‘Oh, Tabitha, you’re such a dear thoughtful girl.’
Tabitha shuffled her feet. ‘I know it’s not much.’
She was enveloped in a hug within Marjory’s heavy scented bosom. ‘They’re perfect, and so are you…’ Her voice trailed off as the sound of tyres crunching on the gravel broke the moment.
‘Aiden is here!’ Marjory exclaimed, but the excitement she reserved for Zavier was noticeably absent. ‘I must go and welcome him. Won’t you come down?’
Tabitha politely declined; another lecture from Aiden was the last thing she needed right now. ‘I’ll stay and unpack, if you don’t mind.’
‘But the staff will take care of that.’ Marjory’s voice softened then. ‘Silly me. You’ll want to spend some time getting ready for Zavier.’
As Marjory rushed from the room Tabitha set about unpacking, and finally, when every last thing had been put away, when she had fiddled with her hair long enough and rouged her cheeks, sprayed scent over every inch of her body, there was nothing else to do. Nothing but wait with mounting trepidation for the crunch of gravel that would bring her future husband to her side. Since the day she had met him, since the day he had burst into her life, knocking her sideways with his sheer presence, he had dominated every facet of her life. As surely as any major trauma he had inflicted more drama, more emotion than she had ever experienced to date. Though her days had been filled with work, with time spent sorting out her grandmother, explaining her sudden wedding to her stunned friends, the practicalities had been a breeze compared to the torturous mental abacus that had overwhelmed her: counting the weeks, the days, the nights, the hours until she saw him again.#p#分页标题#e#