Page 26 of Best Laid Plans

But father her baby?

That was even crazier than the way he’d felt when he’d danced with her tonight at the wedding. It was the kiss on the veranda revisited. He’d been caught out by unexpected emotions, by an inappropriate desire to get too close to Lucy.

Every time she’d stumbled against him, he’d wanted to keep her close. He’d wanted to inhale the clean, rosy scent of her skin, to touch his lips to hers, right there, in front of the wedding guests.

Thank heavens he’d had the sense to stop dancing before things got out of hand.

But it didn’t really make sense that he was feeling this way about Lucy now. Why would he want to play second fiddle to the memory of his brother?

If he’d wanted Lucy as his girlfriend, he should have grabbed the chance before she got to know Josh, when they were at university. Problem was, he’d been too distracted by the sheer numbers of girls at Sydney uni and he’d wanted to play the field.

And truth be told, when he thought about those days, he had to admit that whenever he’d made a move in Lucy’s direction she’d adroitly held him at a distance. She’d insisted that she was his buddy, not his girlfriend.

And yet, she’d fallen for Josh quite easily and Will knew that was exactly why he mustn’t think twice about her crazy suggestion.

Lucy loved his brother. She’d been about to marry his brother and to have his brother’s baby.

Did he honestly think he could make amends by stepping in as a substitute?

The question teased him as he steered the truck over a single lane, wooden bridge that crossed Willow Creek. He felt the familiar, sickening slug of guilt he always felt when he thought about Josh and remembered the row they’d had on that last fateful morning before he died.

That was what he should have talked about last night. He should have confessed his role in Josh’s death.

Oh, God. The mere thought of telling Lucy the truth caused a savage jolt in his chest. She would hate him.

He couldn’t take that risk.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE NEXT day, Sunday, dragged for Lucy. She wasn’t on call, so apart from checking on her patients, including the python who was recovering nicely, she couldn’t distract herself with work.

She collected her car from the Carey’s and spent a happy half hour discussing the wedding with Mattie’s mum over a cup of tea. In the afternoon, she took her dogs for a lovely long walk along Willow Creek, but they weren’t good conversationalists, so she was left with far too much time to brood over the huge gaffe she’d made during last night’s conversation with Will.

She couldn’t believe she’d actually asked her schoolgirl crush to help her to have a baby. Talk about a Freudian slip!

What must Will think of her?

Why in heaven’s name had she blurted out such a suggestion when she’d once been engaged to Will’s brother?

The question brought her to a halt, standing at the edge of the creek, staring down into the clear running water. She remembered the happy times she’d spent here with Will, panning for gold or sapphires. How excited they’d been over the tiniest speck of gold or the smallest dull chips of dark glass that were sapphires.

She’d never once let Will see how much she’d loved him. She’d been too scared to risk losing him by telling him how she felt.

She was so totally lost in thought that she was startled when her dogs began barking suddenly.

‘Stop that, Harry’ she called. ‘Seamus, what’s the matter?’

Then she heard the snap of twigs and the crunch of gravel underfoot. Someone was coming along the track.

‘Come here,’ Lucy ordered, but to her dismay, the dogs ignored her. Their tails kept wagging and they yapped expectantly as a tall figure came around the bend.

It was Will.

A flare of shock burst inside her, as if someone had lit a match.

Will looked surprised, too, but he seemed to recover more quickly. He smiled, while Lucy’s heart continued to thump fretfully.

‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he drawled.

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