The Greek's Bridal Bargain. Melanie Milburne

      ‘Yes, darling?’ Glenys straightened and gave her an absent look.

      Bryony rolled her lips together and, taking a breath, took one of her mother’s thin hands in hers, the tendons on the back reminding her of the struts of an umbrella.

      ‘You do want me to marry Kane, don’t you?’

      Glenys gave her a watery smile. ‘I know you don’t think much of him but he’s doing us all a favour by marrying you.’

      ‘You make me sound like some sort of white elephant you can’t wait to get rid of,’ Bryony said indignantly.

      ‘I don’t mean to, darling, but your father has…’ She inserted a little choked sob. ‘Your father hasn’t been the same since Austin…left us.’

      Bryony felt like screaming with frustration.

      Why couldn’t anyone in her family say the words?

      Austin had died.

      He hadn’t passed away.

      He hadn’t left.

      He’d died.

      She sighed and, reaching out, gave her mother a consoling hug, catching sight of herself in the mirror opposite, the outfit she was wearing making her look like a meringue without the cream and strawberries.

      ‘I hate this dress.’ She released her mother and began stripping off the gown. ‘I want something simple and elegant. Is there nowhere in Sydney where I can find what I want?’

      She found it in Paddington.

      It was cream, it was long and voluminous, it was elegant—it was perfect.

      Even if her groom wasn’t.

      He rang that night as if he’d somehow sensed she’d found what she was looking for.

      ‘Hello?’

      ‘Hello, Bryony.’

      She pursed her lips sourly. ‘Who is it?’

      ‘You know who I am, so stop playing games.’

      ‘I’m not playing games. I just wish you’d identify yourself when you call.’

      ‘Don’t you have caller ID?’

      ‘I still like to know who is speaking. Numbers mean nothing to me.’

      ‘You’re definitely your father’s daughter then.’

      She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

      She heard the rustle of papers before he spoke. ‘Your father has made the most God-awful mess of things. There are creditors breathing down my neck as we speak.’

      She wasn’t sure how to respond. Should she thank him for what he was doing, even though he was taking away her freedom by doing it?

      ‘I had no idea…’

      ‘No, I imagine not,’ he said. ‘Are you doing anything right now?’

      She tried to think of something that could be legitimately occupying her time at seven-fifteen in the evening but she’d already washed her hair that morning.

      ‘No…’

      ‘Good,’ he said. ‘I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.’

      ‘But—’

      The receiver buzzed in her hand for the second time in twenty-four hours. She put it back in its cradle and stared at her reflection in the mirror, wondering why it was that her mouth suddenly felt the urge to smile.

      Bryony opened the door fourteen minutes and twenty-one seconds later to find Kane standing there dressed in a black dinner suit, his thick hair still showing the grooves of a recent comb.

      ‘Ready?’

      She nodded, not sure what to expect but resigned to go along with whatever he had planned.

      ‘I have tickets,’ he said once they were in his silver Porsche.

      ‘What for?’

      He gave her a quick inscrutable glance as he turned over the engine, ‘The ballet.’

      She turned back to the front of the car and hustled her thoughts together.

      The ballet?

      He was taking her to the ballet?

      She toyed with the catch on her evening purse. ‘I didn’t have you pegged as a ballet man.’

      ‘I like a good dance as much as the next man.’

      She had to force herself not to look his way. ‘I must admit I can’t quite imagine you prancing around in a leotard.’

      His laughter washed over her like a soft rain shower.

      ‘No, but I can definitely imagine you doing it. I’ve seen you many times.’

      She swivelled her head to look at him. ‘You’ve seen me? Where?’

      Kane expertly manoeuvred the car into a tight space between a Fiat and a Volvo a short walking distance from the Opera House.

      ‘At Mercyfields in the ballroom.’

      She sat back in her seat in shock.

      He’d seen her?

      He’d seen her pretending to be the next bright star of the ballet world, when all the time her knee was telling her it was time to quit her dream of professional dancing.