A Royal Wedding(80)

Much better! In fact it was positively regal.

Time to shout about Simon’s good news from the rooftops. Starting with one very special little lady. Her sister Gemma—who would want to know everything!

Simon pulled on a faded T-shirt bearing the name of a pop group nobody here would know, and peeked through the blind of his hotel room window. The sun was already low on the horizon, but this was the first time he had felt able to escape the bustling crowds and constant banter from reporters and other volunteers which had followed him all day. The conference had become a hotspot for anyone looking for a human interest story to fill a gap in a news report or magazine around the world—and today it was his turn to be in the spotlight.

He had been hijacked—and he had to put up with it. No matter how much he squirmed inside when the cameras were pointing at him. He was prepared to act out his part and do his bit. His village community and the project were all that mattered. Not him.

Molly had dug out an old photograph from the tribal meeting when he had first worn a toga and added it to the press release at the very last minute. Embarrassed did not come close!

Simon cringed at the mental picture of poor, unsuspecting readers opening their newspapers at breakfast tables and on tube trains on the way to work back in England and finding that horrific image staring back at them.

Of course Molly Evans had done a wonderful job in the PR department—that was her job—and Kate had backed him up every step of the way. But by the end of the formal presentations he had felt as though the village chiefs who had recognised his commitment to building their future and offered him this amazing honour had become lost in the rush to focus on him and his unique story instead of theirs.

He didn’t blame the press for being interested—he would be too. But there were only so many times he could tell his personal story without making himself out to be some sort of hero. Which was so very far from the truth it was ridiculous.

If they only knew that he was the last person in the world he would have called a hero.

If they wanted to know what sacrifices he had made to be here then all they had to do was ask Kate O’Neill. The only person who truly knew every one of his many faults.

He had spent most of the day looking out of the corner of his eye for a glimpse of a blonde-haired girl in a grey suit.

And she had been everywhere—working, doing her job with elegance and panache!

Katie handing out conference goodie bags and notes from the four presentations that had followed the welcome session. Katie standing alongside Molly as they chatted to local government health department officials about the projects her company sponsored in Ghana. Katie introducing Paul to other charity organisations who had the resources they needed so desperately, giving him moral support when he faltered.

Katie. The girl who had been his Katie. Setting up meetings and printing out press releases and project proposals for the decision-makers. She probably hadn’t realised that he was watching her, professional IT person in action, just as he had always imagined she would be. Intelligent, quick, dedicated and charming in her high-heeled executive shoes and smart grey suit. The company should be proud of what she’d achieved today.

He certainly was.

Simon closed his eyes and raked his fingers back through his hair.

Oh, Katie. As if his life was not in enough turmoil. The last thing he needed right now was Katie O’Neill turning up, just in time to stir up the past and take him back to a place where he had been so lost.

One thing was clear—he needed fresh air and to feel the wind on his face before he could brave a tight shirt collar, the stuffy conference dinner that evening, and all the extra media attention that would come with it.

The sun was an orange ball of stunning flame in a sky of the deepest azure blue with apricot streaks by the time Simon slipped down the stairs and out through a side door to the path leading to the shoreline.

He had always loved the sea. And so had Katie. The day after their second-year exams had finally been over he had shared a magical week away with Katie at a beach cottage in Dorset that his mother had rented from a friend for the whole of the summer. They had spent their days swimming and sunbathing, followed by barbecues and moonlit walks along the beach. And their nights …?

Simon stopped and closed his eyes for a second, reliving those heady nights of young love and the simple joy of waking up with Katie in his arms and a smile on his face. The sex and the intimacy had been so mind-bogglingly amazing they had changed his life.

He had never been happier.