His Most Exquisite Conquest (9 page)

He wanted to share a deep, abiding love with a woman.

As his father had with his mother.

He needed more time with Lucy to know if she was
the one
he’d been waiting for.

If she wasn’t, he would let her down as lightly as he could.

She might see him as a frog, but he sure as hell wasn’t a gross cane toad!

CHAPTER TWELVE

L
UCY
COULDN
’
T
HELP
fretting over the impact of Ellie’s decision. The goodbyes after lunch had a strained edge to them, and Harry had called up Jack to drive her and Michael to the jetty in the golf buggy, not choosing to do it himself. She sensed he couldn’t see the back of them fast enough, and Lucy was sure he’d be very quickly demanding more explanation from Ellie. He was no longer wearing the expression of a winner.

Michael was harder to read. He chatted to Jack on the way to the jetty in a normal manner, and he held her hand, which was comforting. Jack helped him cast off, and it wasn’t until they had left the island behind that Lucy plucked up courage enough to ask, ‘Do you feel Ellie has let you down, Michael?’

He made a rueful grimace. ‘I can’t say I understand her reason for resigning, but every person has the right to choose what to do with their life. I won’t argue with that but...she’ll be a hard act to follow. It’s going to be difficult finding someone to fill her shoes.’

Lucy tried to explain how Ellie might feel. ‘I think it has to do with her turning thirty. And the apartment is paid for now, so she doesn’t have to feel responsible about keeping a roof over our heads. If you’ve got that security you can afford to cut free a bit. I guess that’s where she’s at, Michael.’

He shot her a quizzical look. ‘I wondered if it had anything to do with us being connected.’

Lucy shook her head. ‘Ellie says not.’

‘You asked her?’

‘Yes. It just seemed too coincidental somehow. Although I had cleared it with her yesterday morning—like, whatever happens between you and me shouldn’t affect what she and Harry could have together. The same should have applied to her job. I told her I’d just pick myself up and move on if it came to us parting.’

His mouth twitched with some private amusement. ‘You would, would you?’

‘Not easily,’ she said archly, pleased that he wasn’t grumpy. ‘But I would. It’s not good to hang on to things that have to be put behind you.’

He laughed, took one hand off the steering wheel of the motor launch and reached out to draw her into a hug. ‘That’s my Lucy!’ he said warmly, and dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘I love the way you look at things.’

Love...
Her heart drummed with happiness.

On the work front he was definitely put out by Ellie’s resignation, but there was no overflow of negative feeling onto what they had together. He was still a prince to Lucy. She laid her head contentedly on his shoulder and sighed away all her inner angst.

‘Thank you for a wonderful weekend, Michael.’

He planted another kiss on her forehead and gave her a tighter hug. ‘
You
made it wonderful.’

Pure bliss! Michael had passed this test with flying colours. The only nasty little niggle remaining in her mind was the possible fallout between Ellie and Harry. Lucy
wanted
him to be her sister’s prince.

Later that evening, after Michael had left her apartment, she headed straight into Ellie’s room to email her. The great thing about modern technology was the common practice of using shorthand texting that cut out a lot of letters in words. Lucy could manage this simplified communication fairly well, though Ellie could get the gist of any garbled stuff she typed, so it wasn’t a problem, anyway.

She kept it short.

M & I R OK. R U & H OK?

As soon as she woke up the next morning she rushed to the computer hoping for an answer. A new message popped into the inbox and yes, it was from Ellie. It opened with a smile sign, which instantly put a smile on Lucy’s face, then the confirmation:
H & I OK.

Still two princes, Lucy thought happily, and the week passed brilliantly without anything happening to put even a slight crack in that sweet belief. It gave her more confidence about going to the ball with Michael. She was sure he would smooth over any shortcomings she might have in the company of his friends.

On Saturday he took her out to lunch, saying they probably wouldn’t be fed until quite late tonight so they might as well enjoy a good meal early in the afternoon and have plenty of energy for dancing. He drove them to the Thala Beach Lodge, which was located between Cairns and Port Douglas and perched on top of a steep hill with magnificent views of the coast and sea.

The restaurant was open-air, with high wooden ceilings and polished floorboards, and their table for two overlooked the rainforest that covered the hillside down to the beach. Lucy once again covered up her dyslexia, remarking to the waitress that everything on the menu looked marvellous, and asking what were the most popular choices. That made it easy to pounce on the coconut prawns, followed by a chocolate fudge brownie with pistachio nuts, roasted banana and butterscotch sauce. This time it was Michael who chose to have ‘the same’, which gave Lucy a pleasant sense of complacency about her disability.

Maybe he would never notice it, or by the time he did, hopefully he wouldn’t care about it, because there was so much that was good between them.

Like enjoying this delicious lunch together.

Like making love back in her apartment until she had to chase Michael off so she could do all she had to do to look her absolute best for the ball.

Lucy didn’t own a ball gown. She had thought of borrowing one of the costumes from the dance studio where she’d worked, but decided the competition creations might look out of place in a crowd that was bound to be sophisticated. In the end, her tangerine bridesmaid dress seemed the best choice. It was a simple, long, figure-hugging shift with a knee-high split at the back for ease of movement. The square neckline was low enough to show the upper swell of her breasts—definitely an evening gown look—and the straps over the shoulders were linked by three gold rings.

With the honey-tan tone of her skin, blond hair and brown eyes, the tangerine colour looked great on her, and the garment was spectacular enough in itself not to need much dressing up—just gold hoop earrings, her slimline gold watch, the gold bangle Ellie had given her on her twenty-first birthday, the gold strappy sandals that were perfect dancing shoes, and a small gold handbag for essential make-up repair items.

She washed and blow-dried her hair, twirling it up into a topknot, and using a curling wand on the loose tendrils that dangled down from it. She kept her make-up fairly subtle, carefully highlighting her eyes and cheekbones, wanting to look right for the company she was to be in tonight, but she did gloss her tangerine lipstick. The dress demanded it and she wanted to look right for herself, too.

Certainly Michael had no problem with her appearance. When he arrived to pick her up he took one look at her and shook his head in awe, murmuring, ‘You take my breath away.’ Then he gave her a sparkling grin, adding, ‘Not for the first time!’

She laughed. ‘You do the same to me.’

He was always stunningly handsome, but dressed in a formal dinner suit he was truly breathtaking. Excited simply to be with him, Lucy stopped worrying about other people. She was going to dance all night with this beautiful, fantastic man and have a wonderful time.

However, her exhilaration was inevitably overtaken by nervous tension as they entered the casino ballroom, the need for Michael’s friends to find her acceptable rising with every step she took. She tried to reassure herself with the fact that Sarah and Jack Pickard had liked her, but they had been an older couple, probably not as inclined to be as critical as a peer group.

The table Michael led her to was half occupied. They obviously weren’t the first of the party to arrive, nor the last. The men stood as Michael started the introductions, and Lucy did her best to fit the names she had memorised to the faces. These were the three married couples he’d told her about, and they eyed her with interest—a new woman on the scene.

‘Where did you meet this gorgeous lady, Mickey?’ one of the men asked.

‘She burst in on me at work and I instantly decided...’ his eyes twinkled at Lucy ‘...I needed her in my life.’

Her heart swelled with happiness at this public declaration.

‘Ah! A business connection then,’ his friend concluded.

‘You could say that. Though my connection to Lucy now extends way beyond business.’ He gave her a hug. ‘I’m here to dance her off her feet tonight.’

They all laughed. One of the women archly commented, ‘He is a very good dancer, Lucy. If you can’t keep up with him, hand him over to me.’

‘No chance!’ Michael told her. ‘Lucy has done the dance studio thing. I’m out to prove I can match her.’

‘Well, you look like a good match,’ another woman remarked, smiling at both of them.

Lucy no longer felt tense and nervous. They were all looking at her in a friendly manner, willing to accept her into their company. Michael had set them on that path with his admiring comments, and they were happy to go along with him. Like a true prince, he’d made the situation easy for her, and she had no trouble carrying on a conversation with these people, using the information he’d given about them to focus on their lives and interests.

Once the band started up, he swept her off to the dance floor. He had great rhythm and was so sexy, Lucy could barely contain the excitement he stirred in her. Dance followed dance. He challenged her with intricate moves and she challenged him right back. Other couples made more room for them on the floor, standing back to watch and applaud their display of expertise. It was wildly exhilarating and they were both breathless when the set ended and they made their way back to the table.

The rest of their party had arrived. More introductions were made. Lucy was on too much of a high to feel nervous about them. Besides, they were all grinning at them, with one commenting, ‘You two are hot, hot, hot! That was a sizzling performance on the dance floor.’

Michael laughed. ‘I’ve never had a partner like Lucy.’

‘And he’s so good I’m only just still on my feet,’ she said, sliding her arm around his waist and leaning into him as though close to collapse.

He hugged her shoulders and glanced inquiringly at the men. ‘Who’s pouring the champagne? My lady needs a refreshing drink.’

Champagne, dancing, fun company, the burgeoning hope that Michael might see her as a partner in every sense... Lucy realised the concern about being a Cinderella at this ball was completely wiped out. She felt like a princess. Not even a clash with Michael’s ex in the powder room could dim the stars in her eyes.

The unexpected confrontation with the beautiful brunette was not pleasant. Lucy was refreshing her lipstick at the vanity mirror when the woman beside her turned to face her with a spiteful glare.

‘Just who are you?’ she demanded.

Startled, Lucy retorted, ‘Who are
you?
’

‘Fiona Redman.’

The name meant nothing to Lucy. ‘So?’

‘Michael Finn was mine until a month ago,’ she spat out. ‘I want to know if you’re the reason he dropped me.’

‘No. I’ve only known him for two weeks.’

She gnashed her teeth over that information, her dark eyes glowering meanly at Lucy. ‘Well, don’t expect to keep him. He’s notoriously fickle in his relationships. Business always comes first with him.’

Lucy made no reply. She was recalling Michael’s description of this woman as too self-centred.

‘He might be as handsome as sin and great in bed, but he’ll just use you and toss you away like all the rest,’ the woman jeered.

‘Thank you for warning me,’ Lucy said politely, and made a quick escape, smiling over her mother’s old saying, ‘the soft word turneth away wrath.’ It had always worked for her, putting people off their rants. It was obvious that Fiona Redman was as jealous as sin, having lost ‘her catch’, and Lucy was not about to let her spoil this brilliant night with Michael.

He
hadn’t let Jason Lester spoil anything between them.

What they had together was special. It had nothing to do with anyone else. Michael’s past relationships simply hadn’t proved
right,
just as hers hadn’t. As far as Lucy was concerned, a small future with each other remained shining brightly at this point in time.

* * *

Michael had taken the opportunity to visit the men’s room while Lucy was in the ladies’, not wanting to lose any time together. He was washing his hands when another guy claimed his attention, sliding a highly provocative comment at him.

‘I see you’ve snagged the best piece of arse in Cairns.’

Michael frowned at him. ‘I beg your pardon.’

‘Luscious Lucy.’ This was accompanied by a leer. ‘Great for sex. Pity she’s such an airhead. I enjoyed her for a while. I’m sure you will, too. But trying to put some order into her mess of a mind wore me out.’

The control freak, Michael thought.

The guy flicked water off his hands and made one last rotten comment. ‘She should keep her mouth for what it’s good at.’

He walked out, leaving Michael untroubled by the ‘airhead’ tag, but disturbed at having Lucy described as ‘the best piece of arse in Cairns.’ It made him recall Jason Lester’s remark that she’d slept with half the men in the city. Michael didn’t believe this was true, certain that Lucy had more discrimination than that, yet it once more raised the question of how many men she had pleasured in the past, and how she had learnt to give so much pleasure.

He told himself it didn’t matter.

He revelled in her uninhibited sensuality, her utterly spontaneous response to the sexual chemistry between them. He was glad she was like that, and however it had come about should not concern him. Apart from which, the disparaging comments had come from men Lucy had rejected—men who were missing out on what they wanted from her.

Michael returned to their table, determined to banish the niggles about her past. If she was hiding things she didn’t want him to know...so what? He liked what he had with her in the present, and wasn’t about to mess with it.

She was already seated, her lovely face alight with interest in the conversation amongst his friends. He took the empty chair across the table from her for the sheer pleasure of watching her smiles, the dimples flashing in her cheeks, the golden twinkles in her sherry-brown eyes, the slight heave of her perfect breasts when she laughed.