Page 90 of Doc Defence

Standing beside Clara as she married the love of her life, Hel marvelled at the situation her friend found herself in. Marrying one of Hollywood’s leading men in the Australian bush.

While they took their vows, to avoid staring at Frost—which is what she wanted to do—she surveyed the crowd. The whole pub quiz team was there, a few doctors and nurses from work. A group of what she assumed were Clara’s more distant relatives.

And then there were Taylor’s friends, who were a very glamorous bunch. She saw a heap of faces she recognised, including Devon LaSalle, who was the lead actress from Dreamless Sleep, the movie Taylor had been shadowing Clara to research.

Even though she tried so hard, her eyes kept finding their way back to Frost’s, and in the end, she stopped trying to avoid his gaze and stared back at him.

The sensible part of her brain attempted to make a comment, to tell her he was leaving, but the words Clara had said rang around in her head. This was her chance to have one perfect date with him, and she wanted it too badly to refuse it now.

Hel tuned back in when the celebrant said, “You may now kiss the bride.”

She joined in the clapping and cheering when Taylor took hold of Clara and dipped her backwards before he kissed her. Clara clutched onto his shoulders and kissed him back with enthusiasm.

Oh no, Hel knew it was their wedding, but she did not need to witness this amount of ‘public displays of affection’ between the two of them, and neither did the guests. After thirty seconds, she leaned forward and tapped Clara on the shoulder.

Clara opened her eyes, realisation dawning in them, and she pulled away from Taylor, a blush rising up her cheeks. He turned his head to look at their guests and began to laugh, straightening them both back up again. Smoothing down Clara’s hair, he lifted the hand with the ring on it and kissed her knuckles.

And swoon. Hel froze mentally. Had she said, swoon, in her head? She really should get a grip. Her eyes found Frost’s, and she heard herself think it again.Swoon.

Giving herself an internal eye-roll, she managed to only look at Frost twice for the rest of the ceremony. Okay, maybe it was six times. Okay, she stared at him constantly and wasn’t even ashamed to admit it.

And the best bit was that he stared straight back at her. He was surrounded by Hollywood glamour, and he seemed to only have eyes for her.Swoon.

That time, the eye-roll made it to the outside, and when she finished rolling her eyes, she blushed when she noticed the photographer taking photos in her direction, she hoped her very unattractive face-pulling hadn’t been caught on camera.

CHAPTER 31

FROST

Whenheturnedtosee Hel standing in the aisle, his breath caught in his throat.

Her hair was a wild mass of curls with flowers woven through them. She wore a stunning green dress. No, that wasn’t the right word. It wasn’t a dress, it was a gown. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

When she finally saw him and their eyes locked, his heart began to thunder in his ears, and his lips quirked up into a smile. He dimly heard the music playing and wondered if she should be walking down the aisle. But she wasn’t moving, she was just staring at him.

There seemed to be some kind of discussion between the three women, and Hel glanced at Clara, then back at him, her confusion plain on her face.

Maybe he shouldn’t have come? He had been nervous when Clara phoned and asked him to come to her wedding, but she had been persuasive, and he hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to spend one more day with Hel. So here he was at a Hollywood wedding in the Australian bush. Life was sometimes very bizarre.

He lifted an eyebrow in question, a small, hopeful smile quirking the corner of his mouth up. Holding his breath, he waited for her response. She nodded and smiled at him.

He released his breath in a whoosh and grinned broadly. How had Clara described it? That’s right. One perfect day. They didn’t get to be together, but they could have one perfect day before he left. This was going to be their perfect day, the memories of which would have to last him a lifetime.

His heart soared when Hel and Sadie continued their walk down the aisle, closely followed by Clara and a man he assumed was her dad.

For a second, he wondered how he would feel if Hel was walking towards him, then reminded himself this was one perfect day. Nothing more, nothing less.

The ceremony was probably beautiful, but he only had eyes for the redhead standing off to the left of the bride, and he sighed in satisfaction when Hel’s gaze stopped darting around the people sitting in the clearing and settled on him, a smile tugging at her lips.

He chuckled along with everyone when Hel tapped Clara on the shoulder to stop the kiss from getting uncomfortable. That was a couple who were very, very in love.

When the ceremony finished, Clara and Taylor dashed down the aisle together, laughing as the guests threw flower petals at them. Hel and Sadie rushed in their wake, giggling, clearly not expecting the exit from the ceremony to have been so rapid.

Frost felt a little out of place, not really knowing anyone, but suddenly, he wasn’t alone anymore, Gloria was right next to him.

“Frost. It’s so wonderful to see you.” Gloria leaned forward and presented her cheek for a kiss.

He took her hint and dutifully bent down to give her a chaste kiss. His eyes widened slightly as he was pretty sure she murmured, “If only I was twenty years younger.”

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