The Hot-Headed Virgin. Trish Morey

had to turn away.

      She felt herself being thrust back in her seat as he floored the throttle—the atmosphere crackled with tension and her stomach gave a funny little quiver when he drawled, ‘We’ll see.’

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      Two days before the wedding Mia visited Agnes at the palliative-care unit. She had deliberated over it for days, wondering if it was wise to see the old lady without Bryn present, but the temptation to find out more about his background from the person who knew him best was far too tempting to resist. She didn’t tell Bryn about her intention to visit his great-aunt the night before when they’d had dinner together in yet another of Sydney’s premier restaurants. For days after their terse exchange when she’d threatened to go to the Press he had been distant and formal with her in private, although whenever they were in public he acted the role of attentive fiancé with his usual and somewhat unnerving expertise. For all his charming smiles and spine-tingling touches when others were looking, Mia knew he was still angry with her, and she also knew, if she was truly honest with herself, she really couldn’t blame him. He wanted his great-aunt’s last weeks of life to be as happy as possible, and she had threatened to jeopardise his plans, with what would appear to him a callous disregard on her part for what his great-aunt would feel on hearing such a revelation.

      The nurse on duty led the way to Agnes Dwyer’s room and, after announcing to the old lady she had a visitor, she gave Mia a quick smile and closed the door on her exit.

      ‘Mia, my dear, what a wonderful surprise! How lovely to see you,’ she greeted her with a warm smile. ‘I thought you’d be far too busy organising your wedding to take time out to visit me.’

      Mia came towards the bed and held out the bright red, orange and pink gerberas she’d brought with her. ‘These are for you…I thought you might like something colourful for your room.’

      ‘They’re gorgeous, my dear. What a lovely gesture. Most people give me dull, old-lady-type flowers. I’m fed up with lavender and lily of the valley. These are marvellously cheery. I’ll get the nurse to put them in water. Now, come and tell me how the wedding plans are going.’ She patted the bed beside her. ‘Sit next to me here…go on, I won’t bite.’

      Mia perched on the edge of the bed and the old woman reached for her hand. ‘I was hoping you’d come to visit me,’ she said. ‘Bryn comes in twice a day but I wanted to speak to you privately.’

      ‘Y-you did?’

      ‘Yes,’ Agnes said. ‘I thought it would be nice for us to have a little woman-to-woman chat.’

      ‘Oh…’

      A small silence fell into the room. Mia could hear the rattle of a tea trolley further down the corridor, and further away the sound of a relaxation CD playing in another patient’s room.

      Agnes finally spoke. ‘Bryn won’t be an easy man to live with, Mia. I feel I should warn you, since it’s really my fault you’re rushing into marriage so quickly. You haven’t had time to get to know him properly. I know you love him, that’s more than obvious, and he very clearly is devoted to you, but you might find things tough going once the first rush of love passes.’

      Mia remained silent, her heart doing a funny hit-and-miss beat in her chest.

      ‘I always knew it would take a very special woman to melt the ice around Bryn’s heart,’ the old woman said. ‘He’s been so guarded for so long. He has never let his emotions rule his heart before. I’m so very glad he found you.’

      ‘Thank you…’ Mia said softly, her eyes falling away from the unwavering gaze of Bryn’s only relative.

      ‘You see, Mia, Bryn has never really come to terms with his parents’ death…’

      ‘It was an accident, wasn’t it?’ Mia inserted into the silence.

      ‘Yes, but it wasn’t really anyone’s fault,’ the old woman said. ‘The young driver of the car that hit my nephew and his wife head on lost control on a bend. He’d only had his licence a short time. He wasn’t speeding and the inquest found that no alcohol or drugs were involved. It was just one of those accidents that wouldn’t have even happened if Bryn’s parents had driven past just a few seconds later.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘It’s hard to imagine how different things would have been just for the sake of a few seconds…’

      Mia swallowed the lump of emotion clogging her throat. ‘You’ve given up so much for Bryn…’

      ‘Yes, that’s true, but he needed me and I was happy to step into his parents’ role. He was such an unhappy little boy. What Bryn needed was his parents, but due to circumstances beyond our control he could never have them. He has harboured such ill feeling towards that poor man for most of his life. Forgiveness is something he finds very hard. I guess you could call him stubborn.’ She gave Mia a little smile. ‘No doubt you’ll come up against his strong will from time to time.’

      ‘I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it,’ Mia said. ‘I’m pretty strong-willed myself.’

      ‘You will need to be, my dear. Bryn can be a wonderful friend but a powerful and deadly enemy. But I am sure with your gentle love you will be able to help him let go of the past and find it in himself to forgive.’

      ‘I’ll do my best,’ Mia promised.

      Agnes gave her hand a little squeeze. ‘Are you excited about the wedding?’

      ‘Um…nervous really…’

      ‘That’s understandable. It’s been such a rush.’ She gave a little sigh. ‘I wish I had more time allotted me, then you would have had more time to prepare for your life together. It doesn’t seem fair for you to be fast-tracked into marriage without the time to plan things properly.’

      ‘It’s fine…really,’ Mia reassured her. ‘It’s what Bryn and I both want.’

      ‘You know, Mia, I was in love once,’ Agnes said softly. ‘It happened late in life; I was so excited. We were going to be married but when Bryn’s parents were tragically killed my fiancé wasn’t keen on having an instant family. He gave me a choice. It was either him or Bryn.’

      ‘And you chose Bryn…’

      ‘Yes. But then I had to act as if I was no longer in love with my fiancé. It took some doing, I can assure you, especially when after a few months he married someone else and had a child with her. I was heartbroken but I had to carry on.’

      Mia felt the sting of tears at the backs of her eyes for what both Bryn and his great-aunt had been through. How had she coped with losing the man she loved? And how had Bryn as a child so small and defenceless coped with such a terrible loss without it leaving permanent scars?

      ‘Bryn shut down emotionally after his parents died,’ Agnes went on sadly. ‘I tried to ease him out of it but I’m afraid he resisted all my attempts to get him to talk about it. It was as if his parents had been permanently erased from his mind. He never mentioned them. He still doesn’t. Even the photos I kept about the place would disappear without explanation. I gave up in the end.’

      ‘He speaks so fondly of you…’

      ‘Yes, he’s a darling, but as I said you’ll have your work cut out for you. I never thought he’d ever settle down. No one did. It’s a miracle it happened while I was still alive to see it.’

      Mia moistened her lips self-consciously. ‘Yes…it is…’

      ‘I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see him so happy at last,’ the old woman went on. ‘I am so excited about the wedding. I am living for the day.’

      Mia gave a tight swallow. ‘So am—’ Her words faded as a tall figure suddenly appeared in the doorway.

      ‘Is this a private meeting or can anyone join in?’ Bryn asked as he entered the room.

      ‘Bryn,