Consequences

Part 4

"How do you know them?" Doug asked Rhianna, intrigued by the connection. He couldn't help but be intrigued by the look of utter contentment on her face.

"When I was a junior doctor, Marina was a student, and I was her mentor for her first round. We've been friends since then."

"And her sister?"

"Belle?" Rhianna queried, and when Doug nodded she said, "I don't know her. Not really. I've met her a few times. But just in passing. I know Marina better." She tipped her head to the side to study him carefully, "So how do you know them?"

"I don't."

"You don't?" Rhianna blinked in surprise.

Doug shook his head. "Never met them." He replied bluntly, his lips turned down in frustration. None of this made sense. How could anyone possibly want to get engaged to him, sight unseen. He imagined that when this particular Soujour D'Sa did see him, she'd ensure it was a short engagement.

"You don't." Rhianna repeated, then looked across at her husband for clarification. He said nothing. So she flicked a look at Mick, who simply shrugged in utter bemusement. Rhianna turned back to face Doug, "Ok. Well that clears it all up." She smiled wryly.

"I said that." Mick told her with a smug wink.

"I've never met them." Doug shook his head, as he tried, not for the first time to make sense of this situation. "The whole thing is mental." He watched as Rhianna continued to gently rub her stomach gently. She looked absolutely content. He was anything but.

"This is really odd." Rhianna mumbled as she thought about the announcement in the paper. There was no way Belle would get engaged to someone she didn't know. And it was highly unlikely that anyone would seriously play such a prank on a well respected family and up and coming businessman.

"So who put the notice in the paper?" Jethro asked quietly and tried to work out the possible options.

He knew Doug and his brother quite well, knew that Ryan was a superb hacker, had been since he'd turned ten. That's how he had initially got involved with Doug and Ryan. Ryan had hacked into one of Jonathon's systems, and he'd been detected. As Ryan was just fifteen, Jonathon hadn't wanted to press charges, but he put Jethro, who was training in law, onto them. Eventually Doug and Ryan had agreed to Jonathon's terms rather than face prosecution. When Doug started the business, Jethro was his first contact. He needed a lawyer. That was ten years ago. And over the last 10 years Jethro and Doug had become friends as well as business associates. The ten years had also shown Jethro just how capable Ryan was when it came to technology. He knew it would have been very simple for Ryan to track the electronic trail.

"They did." Doug stated with a fair degree of animosity. It had been worrying away in the back of his mind for the last few hours. Why would that family announce an engagement between the eldest daughter and a man they had never met? Must be a mistake. He'd even done a search on line for Douglas Hawke, just in case there were numerous men of that name around. None lived in New Zealand. He'd looked at the options for some of the names that came up, and figured they were even less likely to be engaged to Ms Isabelle Sojour D'Sa. Nothing made sense.

Doug was convinced that it was a practical joke. Someone had obviously seen him and decided it would be funny to pair him with a beauty. An ugly man from the wrong side of Auckland with a stunning woman from the upper reaches of Wellington society. But then he'd asked Ryan to do a check. He'd find the etrail behind the announcement. And he did.

"Who?" Rhianna asked.

"The Sojour D'Sa family." Huffed Doug in a disgruntled voice. Rhianna thought it made him sound sweet, but his expression was anything but sweet.

"What?" Rhianna shook her head in disagreement.

It was highly unlikely that the Sojour D'Sa family would announce an engagement to someone they hadn't even met. They would have to be mad, and Rhianna knew the family was anything but that. Something wasn't quite right. The trouble was, given Doug's expression he was clearly convinced that the Sojour D'Sa family were responsible for the announcement.

"Doug that's ridiculous. If you haven't met her, why would they do that? I know them. Well Marina. They wouldn't announce an engagement." Then Doug's statement registered, she turned to study Doug and narrowed her eyes at him as she asked in puzzlement, "And how do you know they put it in?"

Jethro glanced across at Doug, saw the serious expression, and knew that Doug was sure of his facts. "Rhianna, if Doug says they did, they..."

"How would he know?" She demanded again as she considered the options. She saw Jethro and Doug share a silent conversation. She knew a bit about the history between Doug and Jethro business and personal relationship. She knew that Jethro had helped Ryan when he was young and stupid!

"Take it from me. He does." Jethro said flatly.

Rhianna chewed her lower lip, wondered whether to push for more information, then glanced first at Doug and then her husband, and decided, rather reluctantly, that she'd let it pass. For now. She had ever intention of asking her husband about this later. When they were on their own. "Ok. But that doesn't make sense." She looked across at her husband, "You've met Belle. She would not get engaged to a guy she doesn't know, even if he is a lovely man."

Jethro choked on his whisky. Doug grinned. Mick snorted.

"Doug lovely?" Jethro threw his wife a skeptical look. "That's an oxymoron. Doug Lovely." It never failed to amaze him that his wife simply didn't see people as just their appearance. Doug had scars on his scars. His nose was broken. Doug, had probably had his nose broken several times, in fights. His face was probably best described as mangled. Not exactly ugly, given the hewn character and the raw edginess, but far from picture perfect. Nowhere near lovely.

"Yes. Obviously." Rhianna patted Doug's thigh again rather absent-mindedly as she smiled at Doug. Jethro narrowed his gaze, "Even Sandy said he's sexy." Rhianna told Doug with a glorious smile.

Doug's grin widened. He'd met Rhianna's sister at Jethro and Rhianna's wedding. She was with her husband who seemed to be joined to her hip. Of course he'd met the couple since. What had always amazed him, was the fact that both sisters saw beyond his scars and broken nose. He was probably one of the ugliest people he knew. Yet the sisters treated him as if he was one of the most handsome.

In any case his looks had never been a problem for him. Strangely enough he had never had a problem with women. The scars and the broken nose didn't appear to put them off.

Rhianna reached for Doug's hand and squeezed it gently as she said, "I agreed."

"Ok, that's it. Switch." Jethro told his friend. Mick laughed. He'd wondered how long Jethro would tolerate Rhianna touching Doug, even if it was in a platonic way. Jethro smiled as he advised, "As your lawyer, I am telling you to move away from my wife!" Jethro came and stood in front of Doug, waiting for him to vacate his current spot.

"Idiot." Doug muttered, gave Rhianna a quick kiss on the cheek just to annoy Jethro, and then Doug got to his feet and took the armchair Jethro had vacated. "A, she's unlikely to fancy a man as ugly as me, and b, she loves you, God only knows why." Doug grouched as he put his glass on the side table.

Jethro smiled and plopped down in the space recently vacated by Doug, "A, she married an ugly man, me. And b, she loves me because..." He looked at Rhianna, shrugged as he considered why such a beautiful, understanding, thoughtful, clever, loyal, loving woman would love him exactly as he was, "beats me. But I thank God for it every day."

Rhianna gently stroked her husband's thigh, felt his thigh harden and smiled with complete conviction. "I love you because you are you."

Without even thinking about it, Jethro braced an arm on the armrest beside her, and his other hand on the head rest, and then leaned in to kiss his wife. He felt her lips curve into a smile as their lips touched.

Jethro pulled away, smiled at his wife, and was just about to inch back when she grabbed his shirt front and hauled him back for another kiss.