WORTH THE RISK

It wasn't until she’d landed in Olkfield after the long-haul flight from Nemford, pale from all the recycled air and a bit drunk from the mess of time zones, that it occurred to Lady Alexia Graham — commonly known to her friends and family as Lexi, to worry about her welcome.

“Don’t be silly,” she told herself, astonished by the raspy sound of her own voice in the too-bright corridor, lost somewhere deep in the Olkfield Airport. “It’s Tyler.”

And the one thing she knew to be true, no matter what else happened or how life kicked her around, was that Tyler Connelly was always happy to see her. Always. That was why she always kept her visa to enter Olkfield current. On the off chance she might pop off down under and visit the man who’d been her best friend since their university days.

In all the years since Tyler had moved to Olkfield, she’d never done it. But here she was at last. Wilted straight through, but here.

Lexi had packed light, mostly because she’d been in denial about what she was doing. She’d thrown a few things in a shoulder bag in her flat in Central Nemford, that was all, because she wasn’t taking a trip. She’d set off on a happy little lark and could as easily have simply wandered about Nemford for a while, playing tourist. Maybe she’d pretended that was exactly what she was doing.

Though she didn’t usually head off to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city with her passport in hand. She was being spontaneous, and that felt weird only because Lexi was rarely spontaneous. Make that never. But she was an engaged woman now and her life was changing, and there was no time like the present to do things she’d never done before—because she never would again.

She certainly wasn’t running from anything, she assured herself as she made it through customs and immigration and officially entered Olkfield for the first time. Everyone deserved a little time to themselves before getting married. An engagement ought to come with a bit of reflection and preparation, surely, before standing up before all and sundry and making vows to become legally bound forever.

But thinking about her own impending marriage was depressing, so she busied herself with finding and hiring a cab when she wasn’t sure she had access to her own brain. It was possible she’d left it somewhere in Nemford.

Once she located a taxi and climbed in, she directed the driver to take her to Tyler's address. Assuming he still lived in the house he’d bought on the coast, south of Olkfield proper. Lexi doubted he would have moved without telling her. They texted all the time. When Tyler had bought this place, right after what he’d called his wee start up went public, he’d sent her pictures.

‘Just bought a nauseatingly posh bachelor pad, complete with ocean views,’ he’d written. ‘Guest room always available, should you find