Read Online A Case For Trust by Gracie MacGregor - Free Book Online

scan the Audi’s luxurious surrounds.
    The cockpit felt like she imagined a racing car felt; not cramped, exactly, but nevertheless very … cosy. She became aware of Matt’s hands, moving competently between the leather-hugged steering wheel and the gearstick, occasionally brushing dangerously close to her knee, and had to remind herself to stop staring at the softly curling hairs that caught the light as his wrist flexed and straightened on the gearstick. Instead she turned her attention to the gadgetry on the dashboard, which was suitably intimidating in its complexity. If they hadn’t been moving, she might have wondered if the engine was even running, so quiet and insulated was the interior. The soothing, mellow sax music from the sound system was crystal clear. Funny; she wouldn’t have picked him for a jazz connoisseur. She’d have thought he’d be more a contemporary classical type. Arvo Pärt, perhaps, with all those screeching, sophisticated, relentless violins.
    She felt disconcertingly close to the ground, and as they came to a stop at some traffic lights, looked up into the admiring eyes of the driver of the towering four-wheel drive beside them. He winked at her and she blushed, turned her head away, found another set of eyes regarding her from the opposite direction and was suddenly carefully examining her fingernails below Matt’s impervious gaze.
    â€˜Tell me about this wedding you’re doing,’ Matt ventured. ‘Or is that breaking your client confidentiality?’
    Pippa inhaled deeply. It sounded like a neutral question; was he calling a truce?
    â€˜The soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Jackson were childhood sweethearts,’ she began. ‘They wanted to marry, but they were from different religions, and Lily’s parents wouldn’t hear of her marrying outside her own church. They planned to elope but were discovered, so her parents shipped her off to Perth to separate them. They each ended up marrying someone else, but they never forgot each other. She returned to Brisbane only a few months ago, after her husband died, and in one of those wonderful coincidences that never seem like coincidences at all, she ran into Patrick at the library. He was also widowed, and he carried her books for her and bought her a cup of tea, which turned into lunch, and they picked up as if they’d never been apart. They’re the most delightful couple, both nearly eighty, and when you see them together you can’t help but believe they’re soulmates, that they were put on this earth to complete one another …’
    Pippa stopped mid-thought; she’d suddenly remembered where she was, who she was talking to. She chanced a glance at Matt’s face; caught the remains of a frown smoothing forcibly into his customary severe blankness. He said nothing, and the silence following the cessation of Pippa’s voice seemed to her to bounce around the leather confines of the car.
    â€˜Anyway,’ she started again breathily, ‘they’ve waited a long time to be married, which was why I was so upset that I might not get there on time. I mean, of course, I’m always worried about being punctual, but it’s extra important today …’
    She trailed off again. She was gabbling. He’d think her even more of an idiot, if that were possible. Heavens, his stony silence was as uncomfortable as his impertinent questions. She deliberately focused on her breathing, on calming her agitated nerves, on the wedding ceremony ahead, and was startled when he finally spoke.
    â€˜Why did they choose you?’
    â€˜I beg your pardon?’
    â€˜The old couple. How did they come to choose you? I’d have thought they might have wanted a more … mature … celebrant, somebody closer to their own age, their own experiences.’
    Pippa shrugged. ‘Word of mouth. Patrick’s granddaughter attended a wedding I did a couple of months ago.