The Virgin Bride (The Australians) by Miranda Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

I’ll never love you while Dean’s here in my heart, no matter how much I might want to.’
    Jason sucked in a sharp breath. He had guessed that was what might be troubling her. But still…hearing her say the words hurt far more than he could ever have imagined. He supposed at the back of his mind he’d hoped that eventually she would learn to love him, as he was sure he would learn to love her. He might still be in love with Adele at the moment, but he believed time would definitely cure that particular wound.
    Time…
    Of course! That was the crux of all his problems with Emma, he realised on a wave of relief. Time.
    She might believe with all her heart in what she was saying, but that was now, this very minute, tonight, not tomorrow, or next month, or next year. Young love could be very intense, but young love,like a young plant, didn’t survive indefinitely without being fed and watered. In the end it withered and died.
    When Ratchitt didn’t come back, Emma’s love for him would wither and die as well, replaced by a new love, for her husband. Emma was too sweet and caring a person to deny affection if he was kind and attentive to her.
    When she placed her crumpled serviette beside her plate on the table, he reached across and took her hand in his. She immediately stiffened under his touch, but he persisted, stroking the length of her fingers with gentle fingertips. ‘You let me worry about what kind of wife you’ll be to me,’ he said softly. ‘It’s my job to make you happy, Emma. I think I can do that. In fact, I—’
    He was startled when she snatched her hand away and put it back in her lap. ‘I don’t want you touching me like that,’ she snapped, but would not look at him. There was a high colour in her cheeks which he found encouraging.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ he said, though he wasn’t sorry at all.
    Perhaps his lack of sincerity echoed in his voice, for her eyes swung back to glower at him. ‘Don’t ever say sorry to me when you’re not! And don’t ever, ever say you love me when you don’t!’
    He was stunned by her attack. He hadn’t known she had that kind of spirit. Or such a temper!
    â€˜All right,’ he agreed, still a bit shell-shocked.
    Her fierce expression suddenly sagged, as did her shoulders. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m being a right bitch.’
    He almost smiled. She had no idea what a ‘rightbitch’ was really like. Adele would eat her for breakfast.
    â€˜Why don’t we stop apologising to each other,’ he said, ‘and eat up our dinner? You said you liked Chinese, remember? That’s why we came here, and not that nice little Italian restaurant down the road.’
    â€˜I should have let you have your way,’ she said as she toyed with her meal. ‘I don’t have much of an appetite lately. Do you like Italian food an awful lot?’
    â€˜Love it. But I also like Chinese, as well as German, French, Asian, Thai and Japanese. Fact is, I like food, period. As long as I don’t have to cook it.’
    â€˜Normally, I love to cook,’ she said.
    â€˜That’s good.’
    Her glance was sharp. ‘I haven’t said I’m going to marry you yet, Jason,’ she reprimanded rather primly.
    â€˜I can live in hope, can’t I?’
    Her face clouded. ‘They might be false hopes.’
    â€˜I’m willing to risk it.’
    She stiffened in her chair. ‘You don’t think he’ll ever come back, do you?’
    â€˜If he loved you, nothing would have kept him away. There again, if he loved you, he would not have done what he did in the first place.’
    â€˜You’re so black and white,’ she said, and sighed. ‘I know what Dean did was wrong. And I can’t condone it. But I also know he loved me. That’s what makes everything so hard. Knowing that.’
    â€˜I