Harlequin Romance September 2013 Bundle: Bound by a BabyIn the Line of DutyPatchwork Family in the OutbackStranded with the Tycoon

by Kate Hardy

  Not that she needed a man to fix her problems, of course. She was perfectly capable of doing that herself, thank you.

  But it would be nice if one offered, just once.

  Raising her gaze, she saw that the chest was topped by an almost unbelievably good-looking face. Dark hair brushed back from tanned skin. Golden-brown eyes that glowed above an amused mouth. A small scar marring his left eyebrow.

  Hang on. That scar was familiar. She knew this man. And she should probably stop staring.

  ‘Is there a problem with your reservation, madam?’ he asked, and Luce blinked.

  ‘Um, only that it doesn’t seem to exist.’ She glanced back at the reception desk to discover that the blonde, rather than assisting the next guest in the queue, was practically hanging over the counter to get in on their conversation.

  ‘Daisy?’ The man raised his scarred eyebrow at the blonde.

  Luce definitely recognised that expression. But from where? A conference? A lecture? Somebody’s ex? Hell, maybe even from TV? One of those reality shows about real life in a hotel? Except Luce didn’t usually have time to watch such programmes. But the subconscious was a funny thing. Maybe his image had been imprinted on her brain, somehow, in eerie preparation for this moment.

  ‘There’s no reservation in her name, sir, and the hotel’s fully booked tonight. I tried the usual places, of course, but everyone’s booked out.’

  For the first time Daisy sounded helpful and efficient. Obviously this guy was someone who mattered. Or Daisy had a huge crush on him. Or, most likely, both. After all, Luce could tell from the way he stood—feet apart, just enough to anchor him firmly to the earth—that this was a man used to the world bending around him rather than the other way round. And really, even with the scar—especially with the scar, actually—what young, healthy, straight woman wouldn’t feel a certain ping of attraction to him?

  Except Luce, of course. She had too many bigger things to worry about to waste time on attraction. Like where she was going to sleep that night. And who the hell he was.

  Luce frowned. So annoying. Normally she was good at this stuff. Of course the man hadn’t given any indication that he recognised her, so maybe she was wrong. Or just less memorable than he was.

  Suddenly Luce was rather glad she couldn’t put her finger on his identity. How much more embarrassing would it be to have to explain to him how he knew her while he stared at her blankly? Much better to get this whole interaction over with quickly. She’d probably figure out where she knew him from when she was on the train back to Cardiff on Thursday morning, by which time it wouldn’t matter anyway.

  ‘What about the King James Suite?’ he asked.

  Luce was amused to see Daisy actually blush.

  ‘Well, I didn’t think... I mean...’ she stammered.

  Luce, seeing her chance, jumped in. ‘You thought I couldn’t afford it?’ she guessed. ‘Firstly, you really shouldn’t make such assumptions about your guests. Secondly, since you lost my reservation I’d expect that a free upgrade would be the least you could do. So I’m very interested to hear your response to the gentleman’s question.’

  Arms folded across her chest, just like her grandfather used to do when he was disappointed in her, Luce stared Daisy down and waited for an answer. This was it, she was sure. The moment her luck turned for the day and she got to spend the night in the best luxury the Royal Court Hotel had to offer. Never mind the gin and tonic—she was having champagne in the bathtub at this rate.

  Daisy, redder and more flustered than ever, turned wide blue eyes on her boss. ‘But, Mr Hampton, sir...I didn’t offer her the King James Suite because you’re staying there.’

  Mr Hampton. Ben Hampton. The memory fell into place just as Daisy’s words registered.

  Luce winced. Apparently her day wasn’t improving after all.

  * * *

  Ben Hampton couldn’t keep from smirking when he saw his potential suite-mate roll her eyes to heaven and turn folded arms and an accusing stare on him. This was going to be fun.

  Five minutes earlier he’d been about to head out for the evening when he’d seen the brunette holding up the reservations queue in the lobby. His first instinct had been to intervene, to get things moving again. Being one half of the ‘sons’ in the Hampton & Sons hotel chain meant that he fixed things wherever he saw them. He kept the guests happy, the staff working hard and the hotel ticking over, wherever he happened to be staying at the time. That was his job: keep things moving. Including himself. But of course staff evaluation was also important, his brother Seb would have said, and this had looked like the perfect opportunity to observe how the Royal Court’s reception staff dealt with a difficult guest.

  So he’d stayed back, trying not to look as if he was loitering behind the ostentatious golden Christmas tree in the lobby, and watched. He’d heard the woman give her name as Lucinda Myles and a jolt of recognition had stabbed through him. Lucinda Myles. Luce. They’d teased her about that, hadn’t they? Such an absurd nickname for someone so uptight. Ben knew from six months of dating her university roommate that Luce Myles had been the twenty-year-old most likely to be doing extra course reading on a Friday night, while the rest of them were in the pub. And he’d been able to tell from three metres away that she was still the most tightly wound person he’d ever met.

  Luce had vibrated with irritation and impatience, just as she had whenever he and the girlfriend had emerged from their bed at noon on a weekday. Ben frowned. What had her name been, anyway? The girlfriend? Molly? Mandy? Hell, it had been eight years ago—even if six months was something of a relationship record for him. Was he supposed to remember the name of every girl he’d ever dated? But Luce Myles...that wholly inaccurate name had stuck with him down the years.

  Casually, he’d turned his head to get a better look at her. Dark hair, clipped at the back of her head, had revealed the creamy curve of her neck down to her collarbone, shoulders, tense under her sweater. The heel of her boot had been tapping against the marble as she waited for Daisy to finish calling around for a room Ben knew wouldn’t exist. She’d been knotted so tight she might have snapped at any moment, and he’d wondered why—passing acquaintance aside—he was even vaguely interested in her. Yes, he liked a woman who knew what she wanted, but usually she wanted a good time—and him. Lucinda Myles didn’t look as if she’d gained any conception of what a good time was in the last decade, let alone a desire to have one.

  In fact, he’d realised with a jolt, he knew exactly what she looked like. That permanent frown etched in her forehead, the frustration around her eyes—they were familiar. He’d seen them on his mother’s face often enough.

  But that hadn’t explained his sudden interest. He’d studied her closer and eventually decided it was her clothes. Despite the ‘stay away’ vibes her demeanour gave out, her clothes were just begging to be touched. Straight velvet skirt in the darkest plum, a navy sweater that looked so soft it had to be cashmere. Even her sensible brown boots were suede. She certainly hadn’t dressed like that at university. Ben appreciated fine fabrics, and the sight had made his fingers itch to touch them.

  He’d wondered what she had on underneath.

  A woman couldn’t wear clothes that strokeable if she didn’t have something of a sensual nature under them. Even if she didn’t know it was there yet. Maybe Lucinda Myles had an inner sensuality just begging to be let out after all these years. Ben had thought he might like to help her with that. For old times’ sake.

  Daisy had returned to report on the utter lack of available hotel rooms in the local area, and Luce had moved away—which simply didn’t fit in with Ben’s plans. So he’d stepped forward and suggested the King James Suite, which had had the added bonus of enabling him to watch Luce’s face when she realised who she’d be sharing with.

  Except her reaction wasn’t quite what he’
d been expecting.

  There’d been no sign that she recognised him, for a start, which was a bit of a blow to the ego. He liked to think he was a fairly memorable guy. But then, he’d grown up in eight years. Changed just as she had. Would he have recognised her without hearing her name? Probably not. So he could forgive her that. No, the cutting part was that instead of flushing red or widening her eyes, like Daisy did, or even giving him a glimpse through her armour of tension and irritation like any other woman would have, Lucinda Myles had winced.

  Winced. At the prospect of spending the night with him.

  Daisy’s eyes grew wider than ever and Ben decided it might be better for his reputation—and ego—if they moved this conversation elsewhere.

  ‘Before you get entirely the wrong idea about my intentions,’ he said, angling an arm behind Luce to guide her towards the bar, ‘I should point out that I’m the owner of this hotel rather than an opportunistic guest. Ben Hampton, by the way.’ A slow blink from Luce. Recognition? Ben pressed on anyway. ‘And you should also know that the King James Suite has two very finely appointed bedrooms.’

  Luce pursed her lips and eyed him speculatively before giving a sharp nod. ‘Buy me a gin and tonic and you can explain exactly what you did mean by propositioning me in that manner while I try and find somewhere else to stay tonight.’

  It wasn’t entirely what he’d intended, but it would do. It would give her time to remember him, or for him to introduce himself all over again. And getting her even more tightly wound than usual would only make it more glorious when she fell apart under his touch.

  CHAPTER TWO

  LUCE SMIRKED AT Ben Hampton’s retreating back and wondered what on earth had possessed the owner of a luxury hotel like the Royal Court to offer to share his suite with a complete stranger. Unless, of course, he remembered her, too. In which case, why hadn’t he just said so? She was pretty sure Ben Hampton had never suffered from the sort of crippling embarrassment that sometimes held her back even now. He certainly hadn’t when he was twenty.

  Ben Hampton. Of course it was. She remembered that same scarred eyebrow raised at her over the breakfast table—a subtle mocking of the fact that while he and Mandy had been out having fun she’d been in studying. Again. They’d never been friends, never had any real meaningful conversations. Not even that last night, at another of his dad’s swanky hotels for Ben’s twenty-first birthday. She hadn’t known him and she’d never cared to. The little she’d observed of him had told her his entire personality, and from what she’d seen today he hadn’t changed. He still expected the world to bend to him and women to fall at his feet, just as he always had. And she still refused to do either. They were worlds apart—maybe even more so now than they had been at university.

  So why offer her his room? For old times’ sake?

  Not that she’d be taking him up on the offer, of course. Especially if he didn’t know who she was. Still, she had no reservations about acquiring a free drink from the exchange, while she worked on finding alternative accommodation.

  Pulling out her phone again, Luce saw she had another message. Great. She dialled her voicemail and prepared to decipher her mother’s rambling.

  ‘Lucinda? Are you there, darling? No? Are you sure?’

  A pause while Tabitha Myles waited to see if her eldest daughter was simply pretending to be an answering machine. Listening, Luce closed her eyes and shook her head a little.

  ‘Well, in that case, I suppose I should...maybe I should call back later? Except Tom did ask... You see, the thing is, darling, Tom’s decided he should spend Christmas Day with his new girlfriend. Vanessa. Did he tell you about her? She sounds delightful. She has two children, I understand, and you know how Tom loves children... Anyway, since he won’t be with us on Christmas Day we thought it might be nice to have a family dinner at the house on Christmas Eve so we can all meet Vanessa! Won’t that be lovely? I think this could be a real step forward for him...after everything. And you always say the house still belongs to all of us, really. Dolly says she’ll come too, as long as you’re making your special chocolate puddings. I told her of course you would. And you can invite that lovely man of yours along. Been ages since we saw Dennis. Anyway, so that’s that sorted. Friday evening, yes? See you then, darling. Lovely to talk to you. Bye!’

  Fantastic. It was Monday afternoon and she was stuck in Chester at the conference until Thursday morning, assuming she found somewhere to stay. What the hell was she supposed to cook that was worthy of Tom’s tentative first steps out of depression and into the world of love and went with chocolate pots for Dolly? Maybe she could amend her supermarket order if she could get online. Which just left getting the house in a state Tabitha could tolerate, explaining once again that Dennis was not her boyfriend and writing her conference report. Not to mention the completed draft she’d promised her publisher of her first book. The university did like its lecturers to publish.

  ‘Looks like I’ll be working on the train,’ she muttered to herself, tugging her organiser from her bag to start a new ‘To Do’ list. She saved Tabitha’s message and her voicemail moved swiftly onto a harried conference organiser, apologising profusely for a ‘slight confusion’ with the hotel booking arrangements. Luce could hear the poor girl’s boss yelling in the background.

  Sighing, Luce deleted the message. So, still homeless. Maybe she should call it quits and head back to Cardiff. She’d already given her lecture. And, interesting as the rest of the conference looked, it wasn’t worth going without a bed for. Except her ticket was non-refundable, and the walk-up price would be astronomical. But if it meant she could just go home it might be worth it.

  Her phone buzzed in her hand and Luce automatically swept a finger across the screen to open the e-mail. The cheery informality of Dennis’s words set her teeth on edge from the first line.

  Dr Luce! Bet you’re living it up in Chester. Don’t forget my summary on tomorrow’s lecture, will you? D.

  See? Things could be worse. Dennis could have come to Chester with her. Fortunately he was far too important and busy to spend time away from the university. That was why he sent Luce instead. Of course now she had to attend a really dull lecture on his behalf and take notes, but that was a price worth paying for his absence.

  Tossing her phone onto the table, Luce scanned the bar to see where Ben had got to with her drink. She needed to formulate a plan to get through the next week, and that would definitely be easier with an icy G&T in her hand. Except it didn’t look as if she’d be getting it any time soon.

  At the bar, Ben Hampton had his phone clamped to his ear and was smiling at the redhead in the short skirt who’d claimed the barstool next to him. Typical. What did she expect from a man who offered to share his suite with a woman he barely knew? As if she needed further evidence that he hadn’t changed since university. His sort never did. Luce remembered well enough Mandy stomping into the flat at two in the morning, more than once, wailing about how she’d caught Ben out with another woman. Remembered the one time he’d ever shown any interest in her at all, when Mandy hadn’t been looking. Did he? she wondered. He’d been pretty drunk.

  Luce narrowed her eyes as she observed him. But then he turned, leaning against the bar behind him, and raised that scarred eyebrow at Luce instead of at the redhead. A shiver ran across her shoulders and she glanced away. She really didn’t have time for the sort of distractions Ben’s smile promised. She had responsibilities, after all. And she knew far, far better than to get involved with men like Ben Hampton. Whatever game he was playing.

  Take responsibility. Take control. She had to remember that.

  Without looking up again, Luce grabbed her organiser and started planning how to get through her week.

  * * *

  Ben ignored his brother’s voice in his ear and studied Luce instead. She was staring at her diary, where it rested on h
er crossed legs, and brushed an escaped strand of hair out of her eyes. Her pen was poised over the paper, but she wasn’t writing anything. She looked like a woman trying to save the world one ‘To Do’ list at a time. His initial impression had definitely been right, even if he hadn’t seen her in nearly a decade. This was a woman who needed saving from herself.

  Not my responsibility, though, he reminded himself. Not my fix this time.

  ‘So, what do you think?’ Sebastian asked down the phone. ‘Is it worth saving?’

  ‘Definitely,’ Ben answered, before realising that Seb was talking about the Royal Court Hotel, not Lucinda Myles. ‘I mean, yes—I think it’s worth working with.’ The Royal Court was a relatively new acquisition, and Ben’s job for the week was to find out how it ticked and how to make it work the Hampton & Sons way. ‘You stayed here, right? Before we bought it? I mean, you must have done.’

  ‘Dad did,’ Seb said, his voice suddenly darker. ‘I have his report, but...’

  It was hard to ask questions about the room service and the bathroom refits when the old man was six feet under, Ben supposed. ‘Right—sure. And there were concerns?’

  ‘Perhaps.’ Seb sounded exactly as their father had, whenever he hadn’t said something that mattered. Keeping information from his youngest son because he didn’t trust him to step up and do his job. To take responsibility for making things right.

  Ben had hoped Seb knew him better than their father had. Apparently not.

  Perhaps that was just what happened when you spent your childhood in different boarding schools. With five years between them, Ben had always been too far behind to catch up with his talented older brother. He’d always wondered what life had been like for Seb before he came along.