Best Man And The Runaway Bride. Kandy Shepherd

pond scum after all. Not that I ever really thought you were.’ It was a small white lie. She’d thought him pond scum by association. But when he’d picked her up and run with her in his arms, Max had redeemed himself in her eyes. There was still his media reputation as a love cheat but that had nothing to do with her.

      ‘No. But he proved to be particularly unpleasant.’ Should she offer to pay for plastic surgery on his nose? Perhaps not. He might be insulted. Besides, she hadn’t been the one to swing that punch.

      She looked up at him. ‘I’m sorry if—’

      He caught her arm. ‘Can we move somewhere more private? I don’t want an audience.’

      She followed him to a quieter part of the beach, taking care not to trip over the mooring ropes that snaked along the sand. Max stopped under the shade of a spiky-leaved Pandanus tree. She slung off her backpack and placed it by her feet. A backpack was best for carrying shopping to keep her hands free when hopping on and off boats. ‘I’m sorry for being confrontational,’ she said. ‘I associated you with Alan. Even though you were so kind about helping me.’

      He nodded in acknowledgment of her apology. He looked so good with that beard. ‘So why are you here if not to track me down for Alan?’

      ‘Why does anyone come to tropical islands?’ he said. ‘But I don’t want people to know I’m here on vacation. I’d appreciate it if you kept it quiet.’

      ‘How long are you here for?’ she asked. Most people only stayed a few days. There wasn’t a lot to do if you weren’t into surfing or snorkelling.

      ‘Two weeks.’

      Nikki didn’t know whether to be concerned by his reply or not. Only her family and very closest friends knew where she’d fled to six months ago. She’d prefer to keep it that way.

      He indicated her backpack. ‘What about you? Are you here just for the day?’ He didn’t have to say I hope so. She could see it on his face, hear it in the tone of his voice.

      ‘I live here.’ There was no way she could conceal it.

      ‘What?’ She could take his alarm as an insult. But their last meeting hadn’t exactly led to sunshine and moonbeams for him. The media had been ruthless in their pursuit of him after the scandal of the wedding. Determined to drum up a romance, at the very least an affair, between the runaway bride and the best man. She’d run all the way up here. He’d been left in Sydney to bear the brunt of the intrusive attention.

      ‘Do you remember I said I had a plan?’

      He nodded.

      ‘Well, I didn’t. I escaped up here the day after the wedding to stay with my Indonesian friend while I thought about what to do. She was a boarder at the girls’ school I went to in Sydney. We’ve been great friends ever since. She’d come to Sydney for the wedding, one of my bridesmaids, and I went home with her. I knew she’d keep my whereabouts secret. What I didn’t know was that she was pregnant and suffering severe morning sickness that went on and on. She and her husband run a hotel here. I stayed to help her. And I’m still here.’

      He shrugged. ‘The island is small. Just four kilometres long, I believe. But large enough so we can stay out of each other’s way,’ he said.

      ‘True,’ she said. ‘I promise to keep your whereabouts secret if you do the same for me.’

      ‘Done,’ he said. His shoulders visibly relaxed. She hadn’t realised how tense their chance meeting had made him. If it weren’t for what she had dragged him into six months ago she might feel hurt by his aversion to her.

      ‘Where are you staying?’ she asked. ‘So I’ll know which resort to steer clear of.’

      ‘The Big Blue Bungalows in Frangipani Bay,’ he said.

      Nikki’s mouth went suddenly dry and her heart sank somewhere below sand level. She couldn’t look at him. ‘It...er...might be difficult for you to avoid me. That’s the hotel run by my friend Maya and her husband, Kadek. Not only do I work there, I live there.’