“I bid one hundred thousand dollars, for one date, with the stunningly beautiful woman on stage.” Then he turned his head to pin Stephen with a challenging glare. “Unless of course someone raises the bid, in which case, I’ll raise mine as well.”
Lucie bit her lip while she waited for Stephen’s reaction. After several moments of looking between her and Reid, he finally shook his head. Lucie blew out the breath that had been burning her lungs as Sandy announced Reid the highest bidder. It was either that or the woman just found out she won a trip to Disney World. It was hard to tell with the excitable, high-pitched, mile-a-minute way she was talking.
Whatever the cause for Sandy’s excitement, Lucie wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were glued to the devilishly handsome man walking toward the stage as the band struck up their first song of the evening.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he held out his hand. Her body moved without encouragement from her brain, as if the simple act of holding out his hand affected her with a gravitational pull she had no hope of fighting.
But she preferred to think of it as avoiding a scene if she were to throw a drink in his face, which is what she really wanted to do. Right? Of course right.
The moment her hand slipped into his, an almost imperceptible tingling sensation traveled up her arm and spread through the whole of her body. Without speaking a word he led her onto the dance floor where couples started to gather. He pulled her into his body, fitting her against him as though they were two halves of the same whole. One large hand slid around, settling at the base of her spine and warming her skin through the thin material of her dress. The other held her hand in a proper dance hold level with his shoulder.
As they swayed to the music, Lucie fought her duplicitous impulses of kissing him madly and stomping on his foot before exiting the ballroom.
“You just spent an awful lot of money to get something you claimed you didn’t even want,” she finally said.
“I know.”
She studied him, trying to solve the puzzle without having to ask for the answers, but the normal clues were absent. There was no smug smile. No jaw muscle jumping in irritation. Not a disapproving frown or even a challenging hitch of one brow. For the first time ever, Reid Andrews was utterly unreadable.
“Why?”
“Because you refused to take my calls, and I know you’re too honorable to back out of a date that some poor schmuck has shelled out an exorbitant amount of money for.”
Averting her eyes she said, “So this is all fun and games to you. That’s comforting.”
“Hell, no, this isn’t a game.” With the tips of his fingers he brought her face front and center. “I had to see you. Damn, I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
Air. She needed air.
Spinning on her heel she weaved an erratic path through the dancing couples to where she knew French doors opened onto a large patio and manicured gardens. Lucie expected he’d follow her, but she didn’t care so long as she got away from the crowd and their prying eyes. She refused to break down in front of her colleagues and their guests.
Pushing through the doors she inhaled the bouquet of floral scents deep into her lungs before letting it out as she crossed to the large three-tiered fountain at the entrance to the gardens. Crossing her arms over her middle she held tight as though she could prevent losing herself to her own emotions.
She heard the gravel crunch under his shoes as he came to stand behind her, but he remained silent as she watched the water cascade in front of her. When he finally spoke, his low voice coiled around her body, adding strength to her embrace, easing some of her tension. “That dress looks stunning on you. You’re the most magnificent woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Lucie said nothing. She couldn’t even if she’d wanted to. Her throat was locked up tight. She heard a slight scratching sound, like sandpaper, and pictured him rubbing his jawline.
“I regained my belt. I beat Diaz.”
“I know,” she said softly.
No matter how many times she told herself she wouldn’t watch his fight, she’d known anything short of nuclear war wouldn’t prevent her from seeing it. Sitting on her couch with her knees drawn into her chest and her teeth gnawing the hell out of her lip, Lucie had observed every excruciating moment. Of course it’d been too much to ask for a quick bout. No, she’d been subjected to almost three full rounds of watching Reid take blows and kicks to his head and body that looked like they could take down a gorilla. Thankfully, he gave just as good as he got, and in the third round he managed to knock out his opponent with a spectacular head kick.
She’d never been so relieved in her life. Or so proud.
Stop daydreaming and say something, damn you. She cleared her throat and said what she supposed was the logical response. “Congratulations. You’re once again the champion…just as you wanted all along.”