The Unintended Fiancé (Captured by Love Book 4) (23 page)

“I guess so, then we can ask them all to leave so we can make love.”

“Shh,” she said with a giggle, pulling away and turning to her friends, who flung their arms around her with delight.

The housewarming party went for longer than intended, having turned into an engagement party and a celebration for Vivian’s charity, which would be getting a good sum from the losers of their betting game. Frankly, though, she couldn’t wait to be alone with Brad. She cuddled closer to him on the bench they were sitting on.

“We should get rid of them soon,” Brad whispered in her ear.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Let’s start giving everyone hints,” he said, surveying their guests. “Hey, have you noticed how Gavin seems to have taken a special interest in Leo?”

“Yeah. Do you know he and Tash used to go out five years ago?”

“Gavin and Tash?” Brad asked in surprise.

“Yup.”

“Aha! So it’s Tash,” Brad murmured.

“What do you mean?”

Brad shrugged. “I think there’s still something there—for Gavin, anyway. He talked about not believing in getting back with an ex, but sounded like he was covering something up.”

“Oh,” she said, suddenly feeling sorry for Gavin. “But Tash is already going out with Leo.”

“Yeah,” Brad said a little sadly. “Anyway, I think I’ll bet on Gavin for the next round of our little Captured by Love game. It might give him some luck.”

She smiled at him fondly. Proudly.

“What’s that look about?” Brad asked.

“You turning into such a romantic and wanting your friends to find love.”

Brad smiled. “It’s all your fault. You did this to me.”

“I can do a lot more to you in the bedroom,” she whispered in his ear.

Brad grinned, giving her a heated look. Then he stood up and clapped to get their guests’ attention. “Everyone, thank you all for coming.”

###

T
hank you for reading!

The Unforgettable Ex
is the next book in this series and, yes, it’s about Gavin and Natasha. Release date for this book is not yet set in concrete, so if you’d like to be notified by email when
The Unforgettable Ex
will be available, please
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I don’t send out a lot of emails—only cover reveals, release date notifications, and chapters one and two of upcoming books before they are officially published. You can also easily unsubscribe at any time.
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*

T
he
Captured by Love
series started with Lucas and Jade’s love story. To get your copy of
The Unwilling Executive (Captured by Love Book 1)
, please click
here
.

*

I
f you’re up-to-date with the
Captured by Love
series, you might want to check out the steamy
Time for Love
series, which features the love stories of the Carmichael brothers, Zach, Jeff and Greg, as well as two other hunky heroes. Lucas Renner-Bilton—The Unwilling Executive, and Rick Donnelly—The Unyielding Bachelor, also appeared in that series as supporting characters. (Lucas is in book 3, and both Lucas and Rick are in book 5).

To enjoy the first chapter of Zach Carmichael and Rebecca Andrew’s story in
Forever (Time for Love Book 1)
, please turn the page.

Rebecca Andrews and Zach Carmichael

CHAPTER ONE

E
xtremely lucky. How else could Rebecca Andrews describe what she should be feeling for the new work offer she’d recently received? But somehow, she couldn’t muster the same excitement that radiated from her friend and colleague Sarah Daley.

“I understand why you’re not ecstatic about this, Bec, but I still think you should grab it with both hands,” Sarah said, her wide eyes magnifying the intensity of her belief.

Rebecca thanked the server, who placed two mango smoothies on their table, before responding to Sarah. “I know. But the client is
Magda Carmichael
.”

“Yes. I know that’s a big deal for you. But you love Magda, don’t you? She’s asked for us. She doesn’t want anyone else to go with her.”

Sarah, one of Rebecca’s four best friends whom she’d known since primary school, had been ready to pack her bags from the moment they got the call from their nursing agency. They had both been personally selected by Magda Carmichael—a very wealthy and absolutely sweet lady—to be her private nurses during her month-long holiday aboard one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world.

“You have to go with me, Bec,” Sarah pleaded. “We’ve both never been on a cruise before, and we’ll get to visit some exotic Asian cities. It’ll be fun!”

“Fun?” Rebecca said with a laugh. “We’re not being hired to have fun. We’re being hired to work, remember?”

“I know. But we won’t be working twenty-four/seven. That’s why they want the two of us there, so we could work on shifts looking after Magda. We’ll still have some private time to enjoy what promises to be an incredible trip.”

“I do wonder why she needs two nurses with her?” Rebecca mused. “She’d fully recovered from her hip replacement surgery, and according to the agency, she’s not currently suffering from any illness or injury.”

“She’s almost eighty, Bec. Magda and her family probably prefer to have two professionals with her on the cruise in case something happens. Besides, she could very well afford to pay for our salary
and
our trip.”

Yes, the Carmichaels could certainly afford those and much more. Magda Carmichael’s late husband was a self-made multi-millionaire who’d founded The Carmichael Corporation, one of the biggest property development companies in Australia. Now Magda’s three grandsons looked after the various interests of the company, which extended to wineries and eco-tourism.

“I wonder who else would be accompanying her apart from nursing staff?” Rebecca asked. “I’m sure she wouldn’t be going on a holiday like that by herself.”

“You mean you want to know if Zach will be going,” Sarah said softly. “You said you’re over him.”

“I am. But that doesn’t mean I want to bump into him again,” she responded, ignoring the pinching in her chest that still happened every time she thought of Zachary Carmichael, Magda’s oldest grandson.

“It’s none of our business and it would be rude to ask. Besides, I can’t imagine Zach accompanying his grandmother on a cruise for a month even if he’s very fond of her.” Sarah leaned across the table with a serious look. “Bec, you know it’s time you let go of whatever feelings you still feel for Zach—even the bitterness and regret. And do you really want to say no to Magda?”

Rebecca sighed. Magda Carmichael was the nicest, kindest, most generous client she’d ever worked with. When she and Sarah were hired as Magda’s physical rehabilitation nurses while Magda recovered from her hip replacement surgery after an accidental slip in her bathroom, Magda had treated them like family, not paid personnel. She’d often wondered if the fact that Magda didn’t have granddaughters was the reason she’d grown attached to her and Sarah. At twenty-eight, both she and Sarah were close to the ages of Magda’s three grandsons. Zach was the oldest at thirty-two. His younger brothers Jeffrey and Gregory were thirty and twenty-nine.

“You know I can’t say no to Magda,” she admitted.

“Yay! You have to tell the agency you’re accepting the job, then you have to advise Magda’s personal assistant that you’re going so she can arrange your travel documents,” Sarah said excitedly. “I’ve already emailed her my details that she’s asked for.”

“Okay. I’ll email her when I get home.”

“Make sure you do it as soon as you walk through your door. The ship leaves in ten days. I’m sure she’d need time to organise everything.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” she said with a laugh.

“Hey, girls!”

Rebecca and Sarah greeted their three other best friends Brenna Ward, Amanda Payne and Gemma Aldwin with a kiss on their cheeks.

“You look super excited, Sarah. What’s up?” Brenna asked.

Sarah gleefully told the newcomers their news.

“Oh my God!” Gemma exclaimed. “I really, really should go back into private nursing. What the hell was I thinking giving it up?”

“You know teaching piano is your main love,” Rebecca quipped. “Anyway, if I change my mind about taking it on, you’re welcome to take my place.”

“Why would you change your mind?” Amanda asked.

“Did I tell you the client is Magda Carmichael?” Sarah interjected.

“Ohh,” the other ladies said in unison, their mouths forming a perfect ‘O’.

“I see why you’re not that keen on this, Bec,” Gemma said softly.

Rebecca put on a nonchalant expression. “Well, I very much doubt Zach will be on the cruise. But even if I see him again, so what? It’s been seven months since we broke up. Besides, it didn’t take him long to replace me with Miss Universe-Australia.”

Her eyes stung. Damn it. She should be over the whole thing by now. Why was she so slow in moving on?

“Hey,” Brenna said softly, running a comforting hand on her arm. “He’s not worth one salty tear, remember?”

She nodded, trying to regain composure. It was hard to stay unaffected when talking about Zach—the only man she’d ever loved. They’d had an incredible four-month relationship that had started not long after she and Sarah were hired to help Magda recover from her surgery.

It was a passionate affair that they’d kept under wraps. The Carmichaels were a favourite subject for gossip magazines and paparazzi, and privacy had become something the family guarded with jealousy. Plus, while there were no written rules about dating relatives of clients, Rebecca’s nursing agency would have frowned if they found out she was dating a Carmichael. She loved her job and didn’t want to jeopardise it.

Unwanted memories of the moment when she’d told Zach she loved him filled her mind. Yes, it was more than silly of her to expect an ‘I love you’ back from him, but when he hadn’t said it, she’d been so shattered.

She did try to contain her disappointment from his lack of response, understanding that saying ‘I love you’ wasn’t something someone like Zach would say willy-nilly. But she’d gotten scared. According to some of the articles about him, he had a habit of changing girlfriends every six months or so. Somehow, she’d managed to convince herself that Zach was preparing to dump her.

Her friends had suggested that she had a fear of abandonment that stemmed from her childhood experiences with her parents. That was probably true. But knowing that didn’t stop her from acting out of fear. She’d decided to break up with Zach before he could do it to her.

Zach had tried to make her change her mind and had said he just needed more time to figure out his feelings. But all his words had done was prove to her that Zach had only enjoyed her as a sexual partner. He didn’t
love
her, and it was simply too painful and scary for her to stay with him with that belief.

She frowned at the pain emanating from her chest. Crazy how she still hurt after all the time that had passed. But lingering regret about her actions kept her tethered to thoughts of what might have been.

“Are you okay, Bec?” Sarah asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” she lied.

Brenna shook her head. “We know that look on your face. It’s called remorse. How many times do we have to tell you that you did the right thing?”

“Breaking up with the man I was dating because he wasn’t ready to say ‘I love you’ back to me?” Rebecca said wryly. “Yeah, great move. I should have been more patient.”

“But what you did was totally understandable.”

“What if all I had to do was wait a little bit longer? He wouldn’t have asked me to go on a business trip with him if he hadn’t cared about me, would he?”

“Haven’t we had this conversation many times before?” Sarah asked with an eye roll. “Have you forgotten that just one week after you’ve told him it was over, he’d started dating Miss Universe-Australia?”

Rebecca sniffed as she recalled the magazine article that claimed Miss Universe-Australia was dating one of Sydney’s most eligible bachelors—Zachary Carmichael. There were even photos of them in a restaurant, and another while they were coming out of a theatre, with the woman’s hand tightly holding on to Zach’s arm.

No, it hadn’t taken him long to replace her.

“You girls are right. I should stop beating myself up for what I did. For all I know, it saved me from a worse heartbreak that would be harder to recover from.”

Thank God that apart from her best friends, no one else knew about her past relationship with Zach. She doubted Zach would have told anyone. She was just a fun diversion to him—as his actions had proven.

She was especially grateful that Magda had no idea about it. She was sure Magda wouldn’t have asked for her services if she’d found out.

“Zach’s moved on, Bec. Seriously, it’s time you did too,” Brenna said gently.

“Yes,” she said with conviction. To show her friends she meant it, she picked up her phone and called the nursing agency to let them know she was available to work for Magda Carmichael.

*

“Y
ou girls have to pack some cocktail dresses,” Gemma said. “Let’s go shopping tomorrow. At least the three of us who’d be left here on land can share some of the excitement with you before we wallow in jealousy.”

“Great idea,” Sarah said.

“You’ll want new swimsuits as well,” Amanda said. “Get a couple of really sexy ones. You never know who you might meet in those places.”

“Hey, we’re there to work!” Rebecca exclaimed with a laugh.

“Doesn’t hurt to be prepared. You’ll kick yourself if you bump into a hunk there and you don’t have anything sexy with you. And remember our group New Year’s resolution?”

“Yes,” Rebecca answered with an eye roll.

“Say it,” Gemma said.

Rebecca sighed theatrically. “This year, all five of us will make time for love. We won’t let our busy schedules or other lame excuses get in the way of making the first move on hot, decent men who aren’t afraid of long-term commitment. I still don’t know where we’ll find them, though,” she added sceptically.