Page 12 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Silently, Lucy offered a spare hair tie from the several snapped around her wrist. Justine ignored the gesture, leaning in the doorway and looking at the three of them. Rosie promptly hopped up and offered her seat, and Justine accepted with a queenly grace, as though it was no more than her due. Bryce and Lucy both caught Rosie’s eye-roll behind Justine’s back and had to stifle chuckles.

“So how long will it take to get to the resort?” Justine asked.

“About another twenty minutes,” Bryce answered her. “This is a fast hydrofoil boat; we’re travelling at over thirty knots. You’ll be able to see Sunfish Island shortly, once we pass through the channel between those two islands there.”

“And you work there too, hm?” Justine queried.

“Yes, I’m the resort’s diving instructor.”Here comes the interrogation, he thought, and wasn’t disappointed as Justine began to pepper him with questions.

“Justine,” Lucy interrupted after a few minutes. “Mum. Leave it out.”

“I’m just curious, darling! You haven’t so much as whispered Bryce’s name, one might almost think you were ashamed of him.” Justine was wearing large designer sunglasses which completely covered her eyes and did a fair job of obscuring her facial expression, but Bryce was pretty sure her eyes were boring into him like lasers.

“Absolutely not,” Lucy denied, and then she ducked her head. “To be honest… I’ve been having trouble believing that it’s real. That I’m not just living in some fantastic dream.”

Bryce saw Justine’s mouth soften, and knew she was falling for it. It really was a spectacular bit of acting on Lucy’s part, and completely believable considering Lucy’s lack of self-confidence —largely caused by Justine putting her down, he thought.

“I’m the one who’s living my dream, angel,” he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss against her brow again.

“Well,” Justine said after a moment of silence. “I can see the two of you are quite sickeningly in love.”

She’s genuinely falling for it, Bryce thought. He saw the corner of Lucy’s mouth turn up, wondered if she was smiling on the other side too. She didn’t say anything, though, so he stepped into the breach.

“Your daughter’s an incredible woman, Justine. I know how lucky I am, believe me.”

“Huh.” Juliet shook her head slightly, and Bryce realized the only reason she was doubtful was her poor opinion of Lucy’s charms.

“One look at her and I was slavering like a dingo in a drought,” he said humorously, deliberately playing up his Australian twang, “but it was when I got to know her and realized how smart she was, I knew I was sunk.”

Lucy pinched the outside of his leg lightly, a prearranged signal which meant ‘you’re overdoing things’. Bryce disagreed.

“Girl of my dreams,” he said, deliberately making his voice low and husky as he stroked Lucy’s cheek lightly, pretending to forget Justine’s presence entirely.

Lucy’s eyes were very green and bright as she looked up at him. Perhaps she was trying to give him a stern glare, tell him to tone things down, but she’d pursed her lips to do it and suddenly all he could think about was kissing her again, more deeply than the brief peck he’d given her earlier. He forgot Justine’s presence for real as Lucy’s lips parted just slightly.

* * *

The way Bryce was looking at her made Lucy catch her breath. She was trying to glare him into silence, tell him he was overdoing things and Justine would smell a rat, but the husky tone in his voice and the heat in his eyes made it impossible to even think of being annoyed with him.

In fact, all she could think of was the way his lips had felt on hers. And of how much she wanted him to kiss her again.

Bryce’s gaze dropped to her lips, and his own parted, the tip of his tongue darting out to moisten his upper lip. His head lowered towards hers, slowly, giving her time to back away if she wanted to. Lucy’s eyelids drooped as she felt his warm breath against her mouth, already anticipating the heat of his kiss…

“Jeez, get a room, you two!” Justine said, laughing.

Lucy flinched back instinctively, her eyes flying wide and her face flushing red. “I, ah…”

“I see exactly how it is,” Justine said dryly. “The two of you are so wrapped up in each other, you forgot I was even here.”

“Yes,” Bryce said, and he sounded a little puzzled. “Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Lucy sneaked a quick sideways glance at him, but he was rising to his feet and she missed seeing the expression on his face.

“We’re coming around the point of the island now. The jetty’s just ahead,” Bryce told Justine as he headed to the prow of the boat and picked up one of the mooring lines, preparing to help dock the boat.

“I know there’s a lovely suite reserved for you,” Lucy told Justine brightly. “Jill pulled some strings to get you an upgrade.”

“I assumed I’d be staying with you… but I suppose you and Bryce are living together anyway.”

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