Ally. At her stall, serving a customer. The light breeze ruffled her brown curls and she wore a T-shirt with The Giftorium emblazoned across it in old-fashioned script. She looked a bit tired but pleased, like she’d had a long but profitable day.
Damn. She had no idea what was about to hit her.
Chapter Eight
The muscles in Ally’s lower back cricked as she bent over to record her latest sale in her notebook, but she didn’t mind the discomfort. Making another sale was far too satisfying. Brandon’s organically shaped glass vases were proving hugely popular at this festival. She’d have to ask him for more stock soon. Maybe he could make more large ones this time. They’d been the first to sell, and they pulled in a bigger profit.
Still engrossed in her satisfied musings, she glanced up to see a woman bearing down on her with a determined air. The woman was about her age but far better dressed. Crease-free linen pants and matching blazer, an Hermès scarf casually knotted around her neck, fine silver earrings, a fall of straight ash-blond hair grazing her shoulders, discreet makeup. Cool gray eyes drilled straight into Ally’s.
Ally straightened the edges of her T-shirt and put on her saleswoman’s smile. “G’day. Can I help you with anything?”
The woman looked Ally up and down without a word, her expression remaining stony. Okay, Ally thought. Not a potential customer. Maybe a disgruntled one?
“Are you Ally Griffin? The owner of The Giftorium?” The woman’s voice was as frosty as her face.
Ally frowned. She wasn’t used to this kind of attitude, and she didn’t care for the supercilious tone. Still, she kept her voice pleasant as she answered, “That’s me. And you are?”
The woman pursed her lips and opened them, but before she could speak a familiar figure appeared next to her.
“Hi, Ally.”
Ally blinked at Nate. What was he doing here, and why did he look so on edge?
Not giving her a chance to reply, he turned to the mysterious woman. “Hi, Paige.”
Just in time Ally stopped her jaw from dropping. “You’re Paige Kerrigan?”
The woman sniffed before giving her a tight nod. Ally drew in a breath and studied her with fresh eyes. So this was the woman Seth wanted to marry, for real this time. She couldn’t help comparing herself to her replacement and quickly concluded they were so unalike they might as well have come from different planets. Strange, considering they’d grown up just a few kilometers apart.
Nate spoke. “Paige, do you think this is a good idea?”
Paige’s coral lips compressed into a mutinous line. “Do you think it was a good idea for Seth to hide this”—she flicked her fingers at Ally as if she’d just scraped something disgusting off her shoe—“from me?”
“Excuse me,” Ally burst out. “Don’t talk as if I’m not present. If you have a problem with his past, why aren’t you confronting Seth?”
“He’s in Sydney.” Paige threw up her hands in exasperation. “Most convenient for him! I only found out about you this afternoon from a friend. I couldn’t believe it, so I rang him up and demanded the truth.” She halted, blinking fiercely, cheeks sucked in. “Damn him! Why would he want to hide something so important from me? Shouldn’t I know I’m not his first fiancée? God, the embarrassment. I must look like such a fool.”
The vague throb of sympathy that had welled up in Ally at the sight of Paige fighting back tears died down as she realized the woman was more upset about being humiliated than the fact he’d hidden something important from her.
“That’s for you and Seth to discuss.” Nate laid a restraining hand on Paige’s jacket sleeve. “You won’t accomplish anything here.”
Shaking off his hold, she glared at him, her silver earrings winking in the sun. “What about you? I suppose you’ve been secretly urging Seth not to marry me, either.”
“I haven’t done anything like that.”
But she didn’t appear to hear him, sweeping on bitterly, “I always suspected you didn’t like me. Well, I don’t care! You’re not going to ruin my wedding.”
“No one’s trying to ruin your wedding, Paige.”
“And you?” She turned on Ally. “Are you plotting all sorts of ways to get back at Seth?” She swallowed a few times, her mouth pulling down at the corners. “I guess I can’t blame you for wanting to exact your revenge.”
Ally shook her head. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not planning to sabotage your wedding. I mean, what could I possibly do?”
“Lots of things,” Paige huffed. “You could ring up the local newspaper or one of those current affairs TV programs. Or you could crash the wedding and try to humiliate me in front of my friends and family.”
Ally covered her mouth to stop her gaping. Did Paige really think she was that deranged? She almost wanted to laugh. “Sounds like a good storyline for a movie, but no, I’m not planning to do anything like that.”
Paige’s eyes narrowed to slits. “So you’re definitely over Seth?”
Ally didn’t even pause. “Yes, I am.”
“And you don’t mind us getting married here in Burronga?”
Ally glanced at the giant engagement ring sparkling on Paige’s finger and realized Seth and Paige could get married in her shop if they wanted. It didn’t make any difference to her. She lifted her head and smiled. “Of course not.”
It wasn’t Paige she looked at, but Nate. He smiled back at her, his eyes curiously lit.
“I had to check, of course. Seth wouldn’t tell me anything about you, so I didn’t know what to expect.” Paige sniffed, still scrutinizing Ally. Her stance relaxed, as though what she saw reassured her, and she waved a lazy hand at the laden table. “So you sell this giftware, do you?”
“Sure. Can I interest you in anything?” Why not, Ally thought impishly. Paige owed her.
“I hardly think so. I found one of your shopping bags stashed in Seth’s car with a couple of the most frightful sweaters in it. I can’t think what induced him to buy them.”
Ally suppressed a chuckle. “But Seth picked those out himself for you and your mother. He wanted something special. He’d be so hurt if you didn’t wear them.”
“Oh, heavens.” Paige looked so appalled Ally almost felt sorry for her. Paige flicked her hair and tweaked her silk scarf. “I’d better leave you to your selling.” Shoulders straight, she swiveled on her heel and strode off.
“Phew,” Nate whistled as soon as Paige had disappeared. “You handled that well. I thought for sure there’d be fireworks.”
Tilting her head, she responded lightly, “Is that what happens when your current girlfriends bump into your exes?”
“I don’t try to cover up my mistakes, so leave me out of it. Are you sure you’re okay? Paige can be pretty abrasive.”
“You heard what I said to her. It was all the truth.” A group of boys ran past, balloons clutched in their hands. One of them let go of his, and Ally watched the bright red balloon sail off into the sky. That was how she felt: light, effervescent, released.
But when she glanced back at Nate, it felt as if he were tugging on her string. She wasn’t floating free anymore; he was pulling her back toward him. When she looked at him, everything else faded, and all she could focus on was him. He’d dressed differently today, more casually. In chinos and a blue shirt. But he still appeared smart and businesslike. Nice, very nice. The blue highlighted his tan, made his eyes all chocolatey.
She didn’t want to be attracted to Nate, but it seemed as inevitable as gravity.
“What are you doing here today?” she asked to make conversation.
“Checking out some of the landscaping stalls to see how they promote themselves.”
“So you’re serious about restarting your brother’s business?”
“I am. I’m devoting the next six months to getting it up and running before I start doing some part-time financial consulting work as well.”
“You’ve got some serious competition around here.” She nodded at the nearby stalls. “Most of these guys operate a fair-sized business. They have proper offices and staff.”
“Mmm. I’m thinking of getting my own office space soon.”
Something about the way he said that caught her attention, triggering a ripple of anxiety. “Your own office space? You mean…you want my shop space?”
“No, not your shop,” he said quickly—too quickly.
“Huh.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Then my apartment upstairs?”
“I’m not going to ask you to leave,” he replied, still too quickly.
But she could tell he’d thought about her apartment. She guessed it would easily convert into office space, and knowing Nate’s business acumen it wasn’t surprising he was thinking big already. She shuffled the vases again. “You don’t have to tiptoe around my feelings. If you want the apartment, just give me a month’s notice.”
“I don’t want your apartment,” he insisted with a sigh. “And you’d better stop fiddling with those vases before you break one.”