Page 12 of Journey to You

She’d become like Richard, caring about appearances even at the end when she was screaming inside at the injustice of being lied to and cheated on for so long, while shedding appropriate tears at his funeral.

That has been the worst, behaving like a hypocrite who gave a damn that her lying, cheating spouse had died, when in reality, all she’d felt was bone-deep relief.

Ethan stood, moved around to her side of the table, and crouched down beside her. He slid an arm around her waist while tilting her chin to look him in the eye with his other hand.

“I know who you are, Tam. You’re an incredible woman with the world at her feet.” He brushed her cheek in a gentle caress that had tears seeping out of the corners of her eyes. “Don’t you ever forget how truly amazing you are.”

With emotion clogging her throat and tears blinding her, she couldn’t speak let alone see what was coming next, so when his lips brushed hers in a soft, tender kiss, she didn’t have time to think, didn’t have time to react.

Instead, her eyelids fluttered shut, her aching heart healing a little as her soul sang with the sheer joy of having a man like Ethan Brooks on her side.

His kiss lingered long after he pulled away, long after he stared at her with shock in the indigo depths of his eyes, long after he murmured, “You’re special, that’s who you are, Tam.”

A small part of her wanted to believe him. A larger part wanted to recreate the magic of that all-too-brief kiss, because for the first time in forever, she felt desired.

The largest part of her recoiled in horror as she realised she’d been kissed by the last man she could get close to.

Ever.

Five

Ethan focussed on the tour guide as he droned on about Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the Winds. Structurally, the place dazzled, like a giant candy floss beehive with tiers of windows staggered in red and pink sandstone.

Architecture usually fascinated him—he personally oversaw every restaurant he purchased around the world for position as well as aesthetics—but while the guide pointed out the white borders and motifs of Jaipur’s multi-layered palace, he snuck glances at the woman standing next to him, apparently engrossed in what the guy had to say.

As the train had wound its way from New Delhi to the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur overnight, he’d been awake, hands clasped behind his head, staring at the ceiling for hours. Long, endless hours, replaying that brief comforting kiss and cursing himself for being a fool.

He’d rushed things. The result? Tam’s barriers had slammed up, shutting him out, obliterating what little ground he’d made since she’d forgiven him for crashing her trip.

What a moron.

Ever since he boarded the train he’d been edgy, unfocussed, displaced; and he hated feeling like that, like he had no control.

Everyone labelled him a control freak and he didn’t mind. Control gave him power, impenetrability, and confidence things would work out exactly as he planned; at total odds with his childhood, where no amount of forethought could give him the security he’d so desperately craved.

When he first landed in this intriguing, cosmopolitan, jam-packed country, he’d had a clear goal: to seduce Tam.

He wanted her, had always wanted her, but had stayed away for business reasons. Richard had been the best chef in Australia and Ethan had needed him to cementAmbrosia’sreputation. Nothing got in Ethan’s way when his most prized possession was at stake, not even a beautiful, intelligent woman. He hadn’t needed the distraction at the time, had been hellbent on makingAmbrosiaMelbourne’s premier dining experience. He’d succeeded, thanks to Richard’s flamboyance in the kitchen and a healthy dose of business acumen on his part.

But a small part of him always regretted that Tam may have been the one that got away.

His attraction to her from the start had been strong but he’d subdued it, focussing on business and little else, gritting his teeth as he watched Richard charm his way into her good graces with ease. It had been painful, watching their relationship unfold before his eyes, having a front row seat to their fairytale romance.

But the more he got to know Richard, the more he suspected Tam had got more than she bargained for with the egotistical narcissist she married, and he hadn’t been sorry when he died.

Now, nothing stood in his way with Tam. Discounting his stupid over-eagerness, that is.

He snuck another sideways glance at Tam, wondering if her intent focus on the tour guide was genuine or another way to give him the cold shoulder.

She wasn’t like other women he’d dated. Everything, from her reluctance to respond to his flirting to the lingering sadness in her eyes, told him she wouldn’t take kindly to being wooed.

He hoped to change all that.

“This palace is some structure, huh?”

She finally turned towards him, her expression cool, her eyes wary. “Yeah, it’s impressive.”

She pointed at one of the windows. “Don’t you think it’s amazing that all the royal women of the palace used to sit behind those windows and watch the ceremonial processions without being seen?”

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