The Man Ban - Nicola Marsh Page 0,7

pain.

Big, bold, loud Alec had swanned through life like nothing bothered him. He’d openly adored Lydia but hadn’t spent a lot of quality time with her; instead, he’d been at work or hanging out with his mates in their man caves. Yet when her parents were together they were happy. For as long as she could remember her parents entertained, their house constantly filled with people and laughter and food, heady stuff for an only child. She’d basked in her parents’ love, proud of their solid marriage.

What a farce.

“You’d tell me if you knew anything, wouldn’t you, love?”

If her mother was dating again, the last person she’d tell was her father. “How about I pop in tomorrow for a visit, Dad?”

“I’m playing golf all day. Maybe during the week?”

“Sure thing.”

She liked how her dad tried to keep up his routine—beers in the man cave at a mate’s house on a Friday night while watching the footy, takeout fried chicken night with his coworkers on a Monday, golf every Sunday—but she could tell he was doing it by rote rather than real enjoyment.

“Call me if you need me, Dad, okay? Anytime.”

“Thanks, love. Bye.”

He hung up, leaving her with the same heavy feeling in her gut she hadn’t been able to shift since her folks had broken the news to her.

She may have had some dating disasters in her time, but nothing had shaken her belief in love and commitment as much as learning the parents who she’d thought idolized each other were separating.

Nobody had cheated or been abusive. They’d simply drifted apart; at least, that’s what her mom had said. Harper thought there was more to it but hadn’t delved; not when she believed the stress of being pulled in two directions, supporting both parents, had triggered the vitiligo, and she didn’t need further angst. Selfish, maybe, but her world had tipped on its axis the day her parents separated, and a couple of months later when Colin had dumped her after she’d revealed her true self to him . . . she knew then she had to start taking better care of herself, and a self-imposed man ban was part of that.

So what was it about Manny Gomes that had snuck under her carefully erected guard?

What she’d done may have been immature, but she knew she wouldn’t have gotten so riled up unless it had mattered what he thought of her. Disparaging her food styling had really hit home, and rather than walking away as she normally would’ve done, she’d gone down the path of game playing?

Definitely not her style, and she intended to avoid the dastardly doc for the remainder of the night.

She wandered back into the hall and looked around for Samira and Pia. They’d vanished from the small table where they’d been chatting earlier, and Harper caught sight of them on the dance floor with their husbands.

Rory and Dev had their arms wrapped around Samira’s and Pia’s waists, the women’s wound around their husbands’ necks, and both couples were staring at each other so intently the band could’ve stopped playing and they wouldn’t have noticed.

And in that moment, standing on the outskirts of a wedding with five hundred people dancing and laughing and drinking, Harper had never felt so alone.

6

Manny caught sight of Harper standing at the back of the hall, her wistful gaze watching the people on the dance floor. She looked . . . lost, forlorn, and he experienced another twinge of guilt.

He hadn’t meant to disparage her job. He’d sounded like a pompous idiot, and while getting a cream facial for his troubles had been extreme, he’d probably deserved it. Though he’d rather focus on what had preceded her impulsive action.

That kiss had blown his mind.

He hadn’t been celibate since he’d graduated med school. Before that he hadn’t had a lot of time for dating. But since, he’d more than made up for it. Long shifts and exhaustion didn’t make for relationships, so he enjoyed the fleeting nature of his encounters instead. The women he dated knew the score and he had a few names in his cell, friends who were bonking buddies, fellow medicos who didn’t have time for the complications of a relationship either.

Which meant he’d kissed a lot of women over the years, so what was it about Harper that had captured his attention so thoroughly?

“Why are you fixated on that girl?”

Trust Izzy to notice his interest in Harper. His grandmother had an inbuilt radar for an available woman within a