“And I can take that as a compliment.”
“You’re meant to be at the Women’s Institute floral art show this afternoon.”
“I’ll go to most events at which I’m required, but making idle chitchat with Martha Belmonte and her rose brigade, who are industriously intent on pawning off their daughters on me, is out of the question. I loathe those affairs.” He folded his arms across his chest as if to protect himself.
He just might need to protect himself, because she wasn’t about to give in. Again hope fired. Give in? Give up?
“Besides,” he said, “I asked you to cancel it.” The hope in his voice resonated, and her mouth curved with satisfaction that she’d found the exact angle she needed.
“Well, you see, there’s a slight problem. I was about to cancel when your sisters arrived, so luckily I didn’t.”
“Luckily?”
“Why, yes, darling.” She enjoyed the opportunity to make him squirm. “This is a lesson in tit for tat. You go to the rose show, and I’ll go with your sisters.” She’d definitely cornered him, and it felt darn good. “No buts about it. Either you go, or I won’t go with your sisters.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Tough. That’s the deal. Call it revenge. You go smell the roses, or you’ll need to explain to your sisters why I won’t go shopping with them.”
“You’re blackmailing me?”
“As you said, I’m learning.” She rested her hands on her hips, her smile broadening. “So what’s it going to be?” Say no. Please say no.
Lucas’s gaze narrowed. “You’ve left me with no choice.”
“Not if you want me to be your arm candy, you don’t.”
“Okay, I’ll go.”
Damn it. He wasn’t meant to say that.
Chapter Five
Roses, for heaven’s sake. Smell the roses.
Lucas shook his head. He couldn’t believe how he’d capitulated so easily.
Actually, it had been on the tip of his tongue to outright refuse, but he made the mistake of glancing toward the doorway where his sisters waited.
Hell had no fury like his sisters if he’d refused, and, in turn, Cassie declined their shopping expedition.
Thankfully, he’d seen sense.
Now, with Cassie departed with his sisters, he had some time alone to contemplate the way his life seemed to be spiraling.
He sat staring out at the view from his office, his fingertips resting against each other as he contemplated his morning. At the top of his thoughts was the question of how Cassie’s hands would feel caressing his bare skin, while what he should have been considering was how he would explain to his father when this charade ended.
But the trouble was he desired Cassie. He wasn’t sure when it had snuck up on him. But it had. Big-time.
Okay, so he was sidestepping the truth. He did know. When his lips touched hers, something happened inside him. Something also screamed, Stop, don’t go any further, you’ll get burned. But no way could he stop. He wanted to hold her, touch her. Kiss her.
All morning, he’d wanted to call her into his office and say let’s make this real, because real had become exciting for the first time in a very long time.
But his brain and body warred. What the hell was he thinking? She was his PA, not some woman he’d pick up and put down at whim. But that was exactly what he was doing, just as he had done to all the women in his life. Those women, however, were playing their own game and were equally obvious about it.
Cassie had made kissing fun again. Fun? The word even sounded strange to his chaotic brain. For so long, he’d simply been going through the motions, dating beautiful women because it was assumed he would. Never once had commitment entered his conscience. And now? Now, he didn’t know. Taking respite in the solitude, his breathing eased and eyelids closed. Weeks. He only had weeks to sort this out.
Damn it. Lucas opened his eyes. Somehow he had to find a way long-term to convince his father he could manage without a wife—at least for now. One day, maybe, but he wouldn’t be pushed.
But how?
As he ruminated on the conundrum of his life, a woman’s voice shattered the moment and pierced the silence. Lucas sprang from his seat. He strode to the closed door of his office and yanked it open. He spied his bodyguard.
“I tried to stop her, Your Highness, but she sure is persistent. Says she’s family.”
Family?
He should have been furious at such a slipup in security. Today’s world meant high security was vital. Instead, he gave a curt nod to the bodyguard. “I can manage, Carlos.”
The guard didn’t look too certain, but witnessing Lucas’s determination, he offered a swift nod and retreated, though Lucas knew the guard would be within earshot. It was the way Lucas liked it. Security was paramount, but as far as he was concerned, it was to be seen and not heard, unless vital.
Arms folded across his chest, Lucas checked the time on his Rolex. He’d promised Cassie he would attend the rose show. He couldn’t back out. He would get rid of this visitor quickly.
The bottle-blonde woman stood beside Cassie’s desk. She appeared to be in her late forties, though the telling early wrinkles around her neck suggested she was, in fact, older. He recognized her clothing as costing several thousand dollars, and her hair and makeup were styled to perfection. Too perfect. Very plastic. She offered him a blindingly white smile.
He’d been approached too many times to count by women who wanted something. One look at this woman, and he knew she was no different. Older, yes, but the same nevertheless. “What are you doing here?”
The woman bowed low. “Your Highness.”
A heavy sigh swathed in disappointment rumbled from Lucas. Definitely no different. She would want money. Lots of it. Or a favor. They all did. “I asked you what you’re doing here. These are private offices.”
She stepped closer, forcing him to inhale her perfume—too much, too strong and very expensive.
“Let me introduce myself.” She held out a hand. While covered in enough diamond rings to sink a ship, none of the glittering jewels could disguise the fine wrinkles of age. Lucas mentally recalculated her age.
“I’m Blanche Drummond, Cassie’s mother.”
His jaw dropped. “Mother?” He straightened, fisting his hands in his trouser pockets.
“We…ah…haven’t seen each other for a while. I’ve been recuperating in Switzerland.”
No doubt. Lucas narrowed his gaze on her, trying to find a similarity to Cassie. He found nothing and breathed a sigh of relief. “Your surname,” he said, indicating the difference.
“Remarried.” She waved a jeweled hand in the air.
Cassie had mentioned her mother’s husbands and lovers, and Lucas couldn’t stem the fleeting thought that she’d probably scored a diamond per husband. He stared at her. God, did he know this type of woman. But Cassie? My Cassie? “What can I do for you, Ms. Drummond?”
“I won’t beat around the bush, Your Highness.”
He wasn’t surprised by that admission. Women like her were notorious for going for the jugular to get what they wanted.
“Cassie has landed herself quite a catch in you, and you see, I’m ah…how shall I say…bored with my current state of affairs.”
“Affairs as in plural?”
“Oh, nothing so tawdry, Lucas, darling,” she said, dropping that same bejeweled hand on his sleeve as she edged closer, unaware of her transgression in royal protocol. “My daughter has done so well in getting herself ahead in this world. She’s very clever in capturing you.”
Clever?
His gut churned.
“Why, I could hardly believe it when I saw her photograph with you in the newspaper. However, you see, I need a change.”
Here it comes. “What is it you want, exactly?”
“And you want to attend all the parties and events, I presume?”
Her eyes widened, though not one inch of her face wrinkled. Just as he thought. The woman was as plastic as a Barbie doll. “Oh yes, that would be delightful.” She leaned forward as if she were to whisper to him, and instinctively Lucas rolled back on his heels. “Cassie said you would come through.”
Suspicion clawed across his skin. Shit! Not again. He’d thought… “Did she?”
“But I must say, I am a bit surprised she landed you. I mean, my daughter is very bright, but not exactly…”
Lucas’s gut clenched into ever-tighter knots. “What?”
For a hint of a moment, Blanche actually blushed, then quickly swept aside any embarrassment as she effortlessly refocused. Nothing would put Cassie’s mother off, and Lucas couldn’t help wondering if it was in Cassie’s DNA too. She’d not refused his kisses nor declined their charade. Oh, she’d made a good refusal…at first, even walking out, then putting in her rules. Then there was her comment about money not being a problem, and Blanche stating Cassie was clever in catching him.
“Cassie is a bit plain.”
Plain? Lucas snapped to attention. “Your daughter is a beautiful and intelligent woman.” He tried to imagine plain. The image of her the night of the gala swamped his memory. No, she’d been nothing like plain that night. She’d glowed in her simple evening gown. Women at the gala were dressed in jewels to rival a ransom. Cassie hadn’t needed them. Her skin was creamy soft and her lips were glossed with the slightest of color, but it had been the curve of her neck and a tendril of loose hair brushing against it that had captured him. He wanted to be that hair, to caress her skin. Then he’d kissed her, and that glow had wrapped him in a chrysalis.
He was lost.
Blanche Drummond shrugged her designer-clad shoulders. “I tried to teach her all I know, but I must admit I never realized my daughter would set her sights so high. I’m impressed. You’re a rich and powerful man, and royal, a prime catch. She must have learnt something from me after all.”
Set her sights? Cassie? Capture him?
Disillusionment burgeoned. He’d thought Cassie different, but was she really just like all the rest?
Lucas reached inside his jacket pocket, withdrew a business card and quickly scribbled a phone number on the back. “Phone Gustav. He’ll arrange whatever you need.” He passed the card to Blanche.
Bejeweled fingers curled around the card, and she emitted a simpering sigh. “Everything? Oh, how wonderful. I knew I could rely on her.”
Blanche had what she wanted and didn’t hang around, thankfully, which unfortunately left Lucas alone with his thoughts. He tried to reason through his disillusionment regarding the one person he thought he could trust, but the memory of catching Cassie on the phone with someone and discussing money replayed.
Then there was Blanche. Funny how Cassie’s mother turned up just after her daughter agreed to “help him out”.
Questions whirred through his brain, and the thought that he might have misjudged Cassie tore deeply. He had trusted her, something he didn’t do easily. But this certainly was a first—mother and daughter.
So what did Cassie want?
Renowned for his quick judgments in business, Lucas prided himself on never being wrong. Until now. Until Cassie.
And that annoyed the heck out of him. But he’d find out what her game was, and this time, he’d be prepared. If Cassie thought she could play him, reel him in, she would be totally mistaken. He didn’t like being taken for a ride.
His game had changed. Cassie was definitely not averse to his kisses, and the thought of having her in his bed while their charade played out seemed to be rather fortuitous to him.
Lucas glanced once more at his watch. Damn it. Now, however, it was time to go and smell the roses.
Chapter Six
The sisters knew how to shop, and by early afternoon, they’d scoured virtually every designer store the city boasted, and since San Torrevna was frequented by the rich and famous, that proved to be a considerable number. It was a whirlwind Cassie never wanted to repeat.
By four p.m., she was barely able to keep upright as a painful throb slammed into her skull, and, pleading a migraine, she headed home.
The moment she stepped over the threshold, she dumped her carry bags, grateful to shut out the world. Dropping onto her chintz-covered sofa, she slipped off her shoes and rested her legs on the buttoned ottoman.
Silence. Perfection. Bliss.
Her eyes closed and her breathing calmed. All she had to do was relax. It would be over soon. Four weeks, that was all. How difficult could it be?
The tune of the William Tell Overture echoed from her cell phone and forced Cassie to move when all she wanted to do was sleep. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized Lucas’s number.
“Finished?” he questioned the moment she answered. “Or are you starting round two?”
“Heaven forbid.” The thought sent a wave of horror rippling through her. “And how was your afternoon?”
“If you google my social engagements, you’ll see I attended the rose show. Tea roses seem popular this year.”
Cassie smiled, delighted her plan had worked. “Nice to know you followed through.”
“You thought I wouldn’t?”
She had wondered.
“I’ve a cocktail engagement at the Carlton Laurelle. Business connections and their wives from Britain. I’ll pick you up.” At her hesitation, he cut into her thoughts. “No buts, Cassie. Be ready.”
“Another order?”
“You agreed. The papers are having a field day.”
The phone went dead before she had a chance to respond, though, given Lucas’s mood, there’d be little chance she could change his mind. Again she wondered why she’d agreed to this idea in the first place.
Because of hope.
She wondered too if that hope was entirely futile.
Cassie eyed the pile of designer bags—dresses, shoes, gowns, anything and everything his sisters thought she should have, with more to be delivered. She hated to think of the cost, but Marina assured her it was Lucas’s duty to make sure his prospective bride looked the part.
She abhorred being in debt to him, which was a trait definitely not in her mother’s DNA. Blanche didn’t care who bought her things, just as long as they did, and the things were expensive.
Just thinking of her mother caused a wave of sadness to wash through Cassie. She loved her, just not her lifestyle.
With leaden feet she hauled herself from the cushioned sofa and took the bags to her bedroom where she reverently hung each item up in her wardrobe.
Cocktails. Investors. In two hours.
Deciding she needed rejuvenating from her shopping expedition, she soaked in the bath until she had to get out; otherwise, Lucas would arrive and she’d be naked.
Naked—and Lucas.
A frisson of heat pulsed the length of her body. His skin and hers, together. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she tried to focus on the charade and not on the heat that his mouth on hers generated. She had to forget the dream. Fairy tales didn’t exist. Not in her life, anyway.
With little time to spare, she went to her closet and stared in awe at the vast array of beauty hanging there. She ran her fingers over silks and satins, unabashedly admiring the structure and fine detail that had gone into making every single perfect piece exquisite. Tonight the world would believe she was Lucas’s fiancée and that she was ready to walk down the aisle. Tonight the lie mattered, and she wanted…what exactly? To make him proud? Just the thought of it elicited a shivery ripple of nerves. But what about when it ended? She rubbed her arms, whic
h, despite the warmth of her robe, were chilled and dotted with goose bumps.
As she stood at the open wardrobe doors for at least five minutes, her avowal not to be tempted warred inside her, and her gaze shifted back more than once to the purple velvet dress.
Should she?
Withdrawing the garment from the wardrobe, she slid her fingers over the lush fabric, relishing the texture as she held it to her cheek. Tiny amethyst crystals had been sewn along the scooped neckline in several rows, and as she held the dress up under the glow from her small bedroom chandelier, the beads sparkled like diamonds.
Enticed beyond her ability to resist, she decided just this once she would wear something so beautiful it took her breath away. She wanted to be beautiful…for Lucas. But she wouldn’t get hooked, she reminded herself. Not like Blanche.
Before she could change her mind, she donned the garment, and for few minutes, she simply gazed at her reflection and took it all in—how the purple played against her creamy skin, the slightly cut-away neckline baring her shoulders and highlighting just the right amount of décolletage. She looked…beautiful.
Would Lucas think so too?
With the weather still warming to spring, she decided on fine black stockings held up by a lacy garter. While she normally dressed to blend in, beneath her bland exterior, luxurious silk underwear had become her secret passion. She might have worn a “mask” on the outside, but inside what she wore was her secret.
She did a quick sweep of the hairbrush through her hair and clipped it up into a chignon with loose curls framing her face, then applied light makeup, but slightly more on her eyes so that they appeared almost smoky.
Slipping her feet into black satin shoes with heels that could easily break the neck of even a tightrope walker, she stood, grazing her hands down her sides, stomach churning as she heard the sound of a car draw up outside. She grabbed her beaded evening purse and a pashmina threaded with gold silk, but instead of heading for the door, she stood still for a few seconds and concentrated on her breathing.
Relax. It’s just a game.
Two nights ago, she’d been manipulated into going out with Lucas. Two nights ago, it had been all about business, and it still was. Nothing more.
The Bachelor Prince Page 7
