Skye pushed through the doors, desperate to escape. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time with the man. She could hardly look at him for the wrenching ache in her chest, the sting behind her eyes and the torturous secret that stabbed her heart like a shard of glass.
He could never know.
Nick tore his gaze from the doorway.
He rolled his neck, massaging the muscles. It was only natural for him to react to her. She was even more beautiful than when they’d met four years ago. She was all woman now. And didn’t he know it.
Her rich curves made his hands itch and just the thought of her full breasts, hidden beneath her white blouse, shot bolts of desire through his body.
Memories of trailing kisses over her smooth olive skin clawed at him, her deep red lips fired his blood and her sweet voice…Cripes, how had he ever let her go?
‘Please sir, keep still.’
Nick stood motionless.
Her dark hair had grown. It was no longer a chic bob but long and sweeping, pulled back with wisps escaping and framing her gorgeous face.
Nick clenched his hands by his sides. He still had a thing for her!
Any wonder? Nick rubbed his jaw. She was the one that had got away.
At least she had the decency to look embarrassed about running into him. Cripes. After what she had done to him, it was amazing that she could look him in the face.
He hadn’t seen a ring on her finger. Maybe the bastard that had stolen her away from him hadn’t come up with the goods. Maybe he’d dumped her.
Nick smiled. That would be justice for all the months he’d tossed, sleepless, in his bed alone.
‘Kindly stand still, sir.’
Nick looked down at the thin man hemming his trousers. He would have preferred one of the girls. He looked over to Pete who was chatting up the young blonde hemmer, and across to Tony, who was struggling to win a smile from the redhead.
Nick looked at the door. He’d prefer Skye at his feet, begging forgiveness…
He had really thought they’d had something magical.
Four years…it seemed like yesterday. They’d been clicking on all fronts. She’d understood his commitment to his career, could talk with him, and make his body wild in the bedroom. She was all he had ever wanted in a woman.
For six months they’d been together—it had felt like no time at all, as if he’d been cheated—then she was gone.
He hadn’t realised she’d been seeing someone else. He should have guessed. He had sort of felt that she had been slipping away in those last weeks. The more time they’d spent together talking about what he wanted in life the more she had seemed to distance herself from him.
He had thought it had been just a mood, or a phase. He clenched his fists by his sides. It had been another man.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He never wanted to experience that sort of pain again.
He shrugged, trying to douse the fire deep in his body, trying to still his pounding heart and push the image of her wide, dark eyes from his mind. And the rest of her beautiful body.
He still had it bad. Cripes. Even after all these years…
He straightened tall and threw out his chest. He was older now, and a hell of a lot wiser. He knew what he wanted and what he didn’t. And he didn’t want to be haunted by Skye Andrews any more.
He was going to get that two-timing vixen out of his mind, body and heart, once and for all.
‘All finished, sir,’ the man at his feet stated dryly, getting to his feet and shooting him a far-from-pleased look. ‘Finally.’
‘Thank God.’ Nick strode to the changing room, tearing the tie from his neck and flicking open the buttons on the jacket and the waistcoat.
Because he wasn’t finished with Skye Andrews, not by a long shot.
CHAPTER THREE
SKYE gripped the phone tightly, her mouth dry. ‘Tara, have you been in touch with Bridal Creations?’
‘Not lately,’ her older sister responded matter-of-factly.
‘Weren’t you going to snaffle one of their planners?’ Skye crossed her fingers. Please say yes. Please let her say she has her. Please say she didn’t have to put up with Nick Coburn in her face for the next couple of weeks.
She bit her lip, the reality seeping into her. As if a new girl could jump right into an ongoing wedding—she was delusional. She was stuck with the guy.
There was a tinge of hope for her—if the new planner teamed up with her and did the Harrison-Brown wedding with her then she could be Skye’s assistant, and deal with the best man while Skye dealt with the bride and groom.
‘I am thinking about it,’ Tara said coolly. ‘But there are several issues to consider when enticing an employee away. The main one being if she shows no loyalty to them, what chance is there that she’ll show loyalty to us?’
‘Money talks,’ Skye blurted.
‘And money invariably costs. More and more.’ Tara paused as though she was considering. ‘I’ll have to think of a way to entice her to work for us that goes beyond just a pay-packet.’
‘Think faster.’
‘Have you got a problem?’
Skye paused. She’d successfully kept the identity secret of the man who had changed her life years ago. Tara hadn’t needed to know all the details then, and definitely not now.
Skye knew exactly what her sister would do and there was no way she wanted her bull-headed sister crashing into Nick and throwing accusations around and making demands…
She shivered. She didn’t want a lecture from her sister either and Tara was damned good at those, having been in charge of the family’s business for over three years.
Skye sighed. ‘Just taking on Mum’s wedding client on top of—’
‘I’ve got everything else under control, Skye. I have two weddings of my own on the go, as you know, but Maggie and I will take care of all the bookings and follow-ups with everyone but the clients themselves.’
Skye sagged back in her chair. ‘But you don’t know—’
‘You’ve documented your progress well.’
‘I have?’ She sat a little taller. Praise from her older sister was rare, but then, having a man like Patrick in her life made a big difference. It was amazing what a little love could do.
‘So don’t panic. I spoke to Mum just an hour ago. She has every confidence that the Harrison-Brown wedding will go off without a hitch if she’s not back on board before the fateful day,’ Tara stated dryly. ‘Oh, and she sounds terrible so please don’t hassle her unless absolutely necessary.’
‘Sure.’ Skye stiffened. There was no way on earth she could talk to her mother about this. She was worse than Tara when it came to being bull-headed. ‘I don’t foresee any problems.’
‘Good.’
Skye rang off. No problems. Except that the man she’d walked out on four years earlier was back in her life!
Breathe. Just breathe. There was no reason to panic. She would hardly see the guy, probably didn’t need to see him at all. She nibbled her lower lip. She could probably avoid the man completely until the rehearsal and the wedding.
She strode to the window and stared out at the busy street. Was one of the cars outside his? Had he gone yet? Had he had his fitting done, taken off that amazing tux, and gone