The Bridesmaid's Baby

A brand-new duet by RITA
^®
Award-winning author Barbara Hannay

Pregnancy is never predictable, and these two stories explore the very different experiences of two friends, Mattie and Lucy. Follow their steps to marriage in these two very special deliveries.

Expecting Miracle Twins

Mattie Carey has put her dreams of finding Mr. Right aside to be her best friends’ surrogate.

Then Jake Devlin steps into her life. He’s cheeky, charming, intriguing and gorgeous—but it’s
so
not the right time for her to fall in love….

September 2009

This month:
The Bridesmaid’s Baby

Old friends Will Carruthers and Lucy McKenty are thrown together again as best man and bridesmaid at Mattie and Jake’s wedding, where unresolved feelings resurface. Their biological clocks might be ticking—but a baby together so soon is the last thing they expect!

“I’ve been thinking about your baby proposal,’ Will said.

“Will, it wasn’t a proposal. You know I didn’t mean it.”

With a distinct lack of haste, he said, “But is it such a bad idea?”

Lucy’s mouth fell open. Surely he wasn’t serious? “Of course it’s a bad idea. It’s crazy.”

“You really want a baby,” he said quietly. “You said so last night, and you’re worried you’re running out of time.”

Now it was Lucy who didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her heart had risen to fill her throat. She’d never dreamed for a moment that Will would take her flippant comment even half seriously.

This was her dream—to have Will’s baby. Okay, maybe the dream also involved Will falling madly and deeply in love with her, but surely half a dream was better than none?

Dear Reader,

Just as I finished writing
The Bridesmaid’s Baby,
my son’s wife gave birth to not one, but two darling girls, Milla and Sophie, identical twins. They are the sweetest little heroines, and their safe arrival was a wonderful thrill for all of our family. For me it was also the perfect way to end my project BABY STEPS TO MARRIAGE.

It’s been a huge pleasure for me to write two linked books, and I’ve had such fun making the dream of a much-wanted baby come true in two quite different stories.

In
The Bridesmaid’s Baby,
which is Lucy and Will’s story, I had the extra pleasure of sharing Mattie and Jake’s wedding with you. It was lovely to revisit the heroine and hero from
Expecting Miracle Twins
and to let you see that the babies, Jasper and Mia, are thriving.

In Lucy and Will’s story, I was also able to explore one of my favorite romantic themes—friends to lovers—and to set their romance in the idyllic country town of Willowbank, where Lucy and Will, Mattie, Gina and Tom had all grown up.

As you can imagine, Willowbank and these characters are now incredibly special to me, as are the dear little babies. I can already imagine a new generation…and who knows where that will lead?

I hope you enjoy Lucy and Will’s journey to marriage and parenthood.

Warmest wishes,

Barbara

A
PARTY
was in full swing at Tambaroora.

The homestead was ablaze with lights and brightly coloured Chinese lanterns glowed in the gardens. Laughter and the happy voices of young people joined the loud music that spilled out across the dark paddocks where sheep quietly grazed.

Will Carruthers was going away, setting out to travel the world, and his family and friends were sending him off in style.

‘Have you seen Lucy?’ Mattie Carey asked him as he topped up her wine glass.

‘I’m sure I have,’ Will replied, letting his gaze drift around the room, seeking Lucy’s bright blonde hair. ‘She was here a minute ago.’

Mattie frowned. ‘I’ve been looking for her everywhere.’

‘I’ll keep an eye out,’ Will said with a shrug. ‘If I see her, I’ll let her know you’re looking for her.’ He moved on to top up other guests’ glasses.

But by the time he’d completed a circuit of the big living room and the brightly lit front and side verandas, Will still hadn’t seen Lucy McKenty and he felt a vague stirring of
unease. Surely she wouldn’t leave the party without saying goodbye. She was, in many ways, his best friend.

He went to the front steps and looked out across the garden, saw a couple, suspiciously like his sister Gina and Tom Hutchins, kissing beneath a jacaranda, but there was still no sign of Lucy.

She wasn’t in the kitchen either. Will stood in the middle of the room, scratching his head and staring morosely at the stacks of empty bottles and demolished food platters. Where was she?

His brother Josh came in to grab another bottle of bubbly from the fridge.

‘Seen Lucy?’ Will asked.

Josh merely shook his head and hurried away to his latest female conquest.

A movement outside on the back veranda caught Will’s attention. It was dark out there and he went to the kitchen doorway to scan the veranda’s length, saw a slim figure in a pale dress, leaning against a veranda post, staring out into the dark night.

‘Lucy?’

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere,’ he said, surprised by the relief flowing through him like wine. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I had a headache.’ She spoke in a small, shaky voice. ‘So I came outside for a bit of quiet and fresh air.’

‘Has it helped?’

‘Yes, thanks. I feel much better.’

Will moved beside her and rested his arms on the railing, looking out, as she was, across the dark, limitless stretch of the sheep paddocks.

For the past four years the two of them had been away at
Sydney University, two friends from the tiny country town of Willowbank, adrift in a sea of thousands of strangers. Their friendship had deepened during the ups and downs of student life, but now those years were behind them.

Lucy had come home to start work as a country vet, while Will, who’d studied geology, was heading as far away as possible, hurrying overseas, hungry for adventure and new experiences.

‘You’re not going to miss this place, are you?’ she said.

Will laughed. ‘I doubt it.’ His brother Josh would be here to help their father run Tambaroora. It was the life Josh, as the eldest son, was born to, what he wanted. For Will, escape had never beckoned more sweetly, had never seemed more reasonable. ‘I wish you were coming too.’

Lucy made a soft groaning sound. ‘Don’t start that again, Will.’

‘Sorry.’ He knew this was a sore point. ‘I just can’t understand why you don’t want to escape, too.’

‘And play gooseberry to you and Cara? How much fun would that be?’

The little catch in Lucy’s voice alarmed Will.

‘But we’re sure to meet up with other travellers, and you’d make lots of friends. Just like you always have.’

Lucy had arrived in Willowbank during their last year at high school and she’d quickly fitted into Will’s close circle but, because they’d shared a mutual interest in science, she and Will had become particularly good friends, really good friends.

He looked at her now, standing on the veranda in the moonlight, beautiful in an elfin, tomboyish way, with sparkly blue eyes and short blonde hair and soft pale skin. A strange lump of hot metal burned in his throat.

Lucy lifted her face to him and he saw a tear tremble on the end of her lashes and run down her cheek.

‘Hey, Goose.’ He used her nickname and forced a shaky laugh. ‘Don’t tell me you’re going to miss me.’

‘Of course I won’t miss you,’ she cried, whirling away so he couldn’t see her face.

Shocked, Will reached out to her. She was wearing a strapless dress and his hands closed over her bare shoulders. Her skin was silky beneath his hands and, as he drew her back against him, she was small and soft in his arms. She smelled clean like rain. He dipped his head and her hair held the fragrance of flowers.

Without warning he began to tremble with the force of unexpected emotion.

‘Lucy,’ he whispered but, as he turned her around to face him, anything else that he might have said was choked off by the sight of her tears.

His heart behaved very strangely as he traced the tears’ wet tracks with his fingertips. He felt the heated softness of her skin and when he reached the dainty curve of her tear-dampened lips, he knew that he had to kiss her.

He couldn’t resist gathering her close and tasting the delicate saltiness of her tears and the sweetness of her skin and, finally, the softness of her mouth. Oh, God.

With the urgency of a wild bee discovering the world’s most tempting honey, Will pulled her closer and took the kiss deeper. Lucy wound her arms around his neck and he could feel her breasts pressed against his chest. His body caught fire.

How could this be happening?

Where on earth had Lucy learned to kiss? Like this?

She was so sweet and wild and passionate—turning him on like nothing he’d ever known.

Was this really Lucy McKenty in his arms? His heart was bursting inside his chest.

‘Lucy?’ Mattie’s voice called suddenly. ‘Is that you out there, Lucy?’

Light flooded them. Will and Lucy sprang apart and Mattie stared at them, shocked.

They stared at each other, equally shocked.

‘I’m sorry,’ Mattie said, turning bright red.

‘No, it’s OK,’ they both protested in unison.

‘We were just—’ Will began.

‘Saying goodbye,’ Lucy finished and then she laughed. It was a rather wild, strange little laugh, but it did the trick.

Everyone relaxed. Mattie stopped blushing. ‘Josh thought you might like to make a speech soon,’ she told him.

‘A speech?’ Will sounded as dazed as he felt.

‘A farewell speech.’

‘Oh, yes. I’d better say something now before everyone gets too sloshed.’

They went back inside and, with the speed of a dream that faded upon waking, the moment on the veranda evaporated.

The spell was broken.

Everyone gathered around Will and, as he looked out at the sea of faces and prepared to speak, he thought guiltily of Cara, his girlfriend, waiting for him to join her in Sydney. Then he glanced at Lucy and saw no sign of tears. She was smiling and looking like her happy old self and he told himself everything was OK.

Already he was sure he’d imagined the special magic in that kiss.