Regency Romance: An Intriguing Invitation (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (9 page)

''I guess so. Where are we going now?''

''I'm taking you to your apartment and then for dinner with Alison and me, and tomorrow I'll come and
take
you to work. There's a lot to do in the next few weeks. We've got some exciting stuff coming up.''

''Great,'' Amber said as she ducked down behind the dash.

''What's the matter?''

''Sorry. It's the
traffic; it
's on the wrong
side,
and I thought we were going to hit that car.''

Joe laughed. Welcome to England, they like to do things differently here.''

Amber hadn't seen Joe for a long time, not since she was about thirteen. She remembered him as a dashing young man, tall and dark skinned with whiter than white teeth and a love of cigars and fast cars. He'd gone to university with her father and moved
to England
to open up a Trans-Atlantic PR agency. Since then, the
agency
had expanded and now had clients from all over the world.

They drove to an apartment block in
Knightsbridge
, one of London's most affluent areas. Amber couldn't believe how luxurious her apartment was.

''Are you sure Joe? This place must be worth a fortune, I'm sure you could get loads of cash by renting it out,'' Amber said. She was standing in the middle of a huge lounge that overlooked Kensington Park. She loved the highly polished antique parquet and the sash windows.

''I'll rent it out after you've gone back to the States. For now, I hope you enjoy it. I promised your father I'd look after you.''

''Well thanks, it's beautiful.'' Amber wandered into the bedroom and noticed that the bed
was already made
. She looked in the en-suite bathroom and imagined herself soaking in the huge bath after a hard day's work.''

Amber was more than pleased Joe had thought about her welfare. She'd been expecting to stay in some
grotty
student apartment, the sort of place she'd become accustomed to over the last four years while at Yale.

On the way to Joe's apartment in Belgravia, Amber closed her
eyes, at least,
three
times
and waited for the worst to happen. As her heart pounded, she told herself to darn well get used to the traffic because she was making a fool of herself.

Amber remembered Alison as being tall and slender, and the most elegant of her
parents’
female friends. When Alison opened the door, Amber thought she was even more glamorous than she remembered.

''Amber, hi. It's so
nice
to see you. Wow, you've  grown into a
really pretty
young lady.''

''Thanks. Great to see
you,
Alison.''

''Drink?'' Joe asked when they reached the lounge. Alison sat down next to Amber and crossed her shapely legs.

''Yes please darling. Amber?''

''I think I will, it's been a long journey.''

''We're very pleased your here,'' Joe said. Alison patted Amber's hand and clutched it to her.

Alison and Joe made Amber feel at
home,
and she began
to really look
forward to her stay in England. She'd learned so much about the tiny islands and was eager to find out more.

Amber had to scramble the next morning to be ready on time. She'd slept incredibly well and pressed snooze more times than she cared to remember. Eventually, though, there were only thirty minutes left before Joe was to pick her up.

Joe's eyes opened wider than usual when he saw Amber in her business suit. She wore a skirt just above the knee, and a matching jacket with an elegant white blouse. He looked at her never ending legs and began to think
vulgar
thoughts.

The office was a collection of rooms in a very smart building in Piccadilly. Joe handed Amber over to a young woman called Josephine, a leggy blonde with a thick northern accent.

''Josephine graduated from Cambridge last year. She works with one of our most important clients, Rushmore United, England's premier soccer team,'' Joe said. Amber was pleased to see Josephine give her a welcoming smile. From that moment, she knew they would get on well.  ''By the way, they call soccer, football here. So please refer to
it as
football or they'll think you're a stupid yank,'' Joe said. He strode to the door and left the two ladies to get on with it.

''Hi Amber, it's nice to meet you. You've started on just the right day. This evening we're going to a party.''

''Oh, perhaps I should have worn a dress,'' Amber said.

''Don't worry, we'll get you kitted out this afternoon. I thought we could spend the morning chatting about what we do here, and perhaps nip out for a coffee and get to know each other.''

''Sound's great. You know, I think I'm
really
going to enjoy myself here.
Everyone has made me feel so welcome.''

Amber learned that Joe's company had a contract to do all the PR work for Rushmore United. Josephine was the key account
manager,
and Amber was to be her assistant. Over coffee in a small cafe, in a side street just off Piccadilly Circus, Josephine explained about the function they were going to attend that evening.

''It's the fiftieth anniversary of Rushmore winning their first European Cup, and tonight there will be a reception and a dinner for ex-players, current players, management, and some carefully selected members of the press.''

''Sounds interesting, but I don't know anything about soccer, sorry football.''

''You don't have to. It's your first day, just shadow me. Be careful, though, there are some super hot players on their team,'' Josephine said with a grin. ''One, in particular, Rod Stevens. I'd jump in front of a train if he told me to.''

Amber raised her eyebrows and grinned. She liked
Josephine; she
was down to earth and honest. In PR, she'd expected some more bitchy type.

*****

The Grosvenor Hotel was used to hosting events of this nature, and everything was in place by the time Josephine and Amber arrived. There were a lot of paparazzi outside waiting to snap photos of players past and present.

''Danny, hold on. Danny
look
this way please,'' the photographers shouted as Danny got out of the team bus. He squinted, the lights piercing the darkness and lighting up his face in flashes of brilliant white light.

''Sods nearly blinded me,'' Danny said to Rod as they walked into the hotel.

''You shouldn't be such a good looking guy then should you?'' Rod quipped. ''Ah, here's Josephine,'' he added a hint of lust in his voice.

''Tell you what mate, I bet you a grand you can't get her into bed tonight,'' Danny said.

Rod flashed Danny a look of disdain. ''Do you think I'm a complete imbecile?
Of course,
I'll get her into bed, piece of cake, you might as well give me a grand now.''

''No. You know the deal. Knickers first, money afterward, okay?''

''Okay.
Knickers
at breakfast,'' Rod said.

The two players each took a glass of orange juice and wandered over to Josephine. ''Hello Rod,'' Josephine said a slight hint of a blush coming over her cheeks. ''This is Amber, she's here to help me out.''

''Hi Rod, nice to meet you,'' Amber said.

''An American, great,'' Danny exclaimed.

''This is Danny Constance, he plays for England,'' Josephine said.

It wasn't often men were much taller than Amber, but he was. Her initial impression of him was that he looked like a cheeky boy, lost in the big world. ''Hi Danny, nice to meet you.''

Danny looked into her eyes as he shook her hand, and then down to her breasts which
were beautifully encased
in the black dress she had bought that afternoon. Amber noticed what he was looking at and strangely
quite
liked the attention.

''Where are you from in the States?'' Danny asked.

''New York. Have you ever been there?''

Danny looked down at his patent leather shoes and shook his head. ''No. I hope to go one day, though. Manhattan
looks
so
unbelievable; we
haven't got anything like that here.''

''Manhattan is just a jungle of concrete. There are many nice things to see in the US. We have beautiful nature.''

''I've heard of the Grand Canyon,'' Danny said.

''Do you know, I've never been there.''

''I expect one day when my career comes to and end I'll go to play in the states. I'll take you there. How about a helicopter ride?''

Amber laughed at his
cheeky
proposal. ''I'd love to.''

''I thought Americans were supposed to be loud and brash, but you're not. You're.....''

''What?'' she asked impatiently.

''You're refined, graceful. You're beautiful.'' Amber's faced turned fiery red. ''And you blush easily,'' he added with a grin.

Amber shuffled from one foot to the other. ''You're a very handsome
man,
and
I'm not used
to receiving such heartfelt compliments.''

''There are plenty more where that
came from
. I'm a cheeky
Londoner; we
say what we
think,
and
I think you're
as fit as hell.''

''Fit?'' she asked.

''In England, we say a girl is fit when we mean she's beautiful.''

''Oh. I thought you were referring to my athletic prowess,'' Amber said as she looked deep into his eyes. She began to play with her hair and stepped a little closer to him.

''I'm sure you're very athletic when you need to be,'' he said, pushing the conversation the direction he wanted it to go.

''Stop or you'll make me blush again.''

A bell
rang,
and people began to
leave the
reception area and head into the dining room. ''Bloody bell. I was just
beginning
to enjoy myself,'' Danny said. ''Oh well, I suppose I'd better go.''

''I
suppose you
should,'' she said
equally
as disappointed that the conversation was coming to an end.

''Come on Danny,'' Rod said pulling his arm.

''See you after dinner?'' Danny asked.

''I'd like that,'' Amber replied.

Dinner was a long drawn out affair. There were speeches by old players who re-lived the match all those years ago. Danny listened with interest for as long as he could, but soon his thoughts were with the leggy American. He looked
for
her but didn't see her. He craned his neck and looked to the back of the room. She was sitting with Josephine on the last table next to the door. She saw him looking and
waved; he
acknowledged her wave with a movement of his head.

''He's fit isn't he?'' Josephine said.

''Fit? Ah yes. He's very fit.''

''He likes you, I can see. Do you know how
rich
these young guys are?''

''No idea.''

''Two hundred and fifty grand a week, pounds not dollars. That's a million a month sterling, so in your money about one point seven million dollars a month.''

''That's ridiculous. For kicking a ball?'' Amber said in amazement.

''It's a bit obscene if you think about it. A
fireman
only gets twenty-five grand a year. That puts it into perspective.'' Josephine took a gulp of wine and Amber noticed she was a little drunk.

''Crazy,'' Amber said. She looked across at the back of Danny's head and smiled to herself. She liked him. She didn't know why. Was it his cheeky disposition, his stunning looks or the way he complimented her without inhibition? Maybe she was just charmed by his English accent. Whatever, I might as well enjoy
it, she
thought

Finally, the speeches stopped. The band leader introduced himself and his colleagues and began to play some dance music that was popular fifty years ago. A lot of older players took their wives to the dance floor and soon it was full.

Amber saw Danny deep in conversation with a Spanish looking man. She wanted him to look around at her, but he didn't. The conversation became
animated,
and Danny stood up and kicked his chair over. When he stormed out of the room, Amber instinctively stood up and followed him.
He
turned left and walked through the revolving front door onto the street. As he sucked in the night
air,
his face was lit up again by the photographers.