Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire(31)

Maggie shook her head. “That’s up to Luc to tell you. I’ll send a couple of my girls over on Saturday, help you get ready, do your nails, that sort of thing.” She leaned across and kissed Lia on the cheek, and then she was gone.



…



Lia sat, curled up on the cream leather sofa going over what Maggie had said, when Luke arrived home. He was dressed in a dark business suit and appeared cool and remote.

“So how did your day go with Maggie?” he asked.

“Fine, I liked her. We found a really beautiful gown and a whole load to talk about.”

Luc raised an eyebrow.

“She said you were precocious,” Lia said to his unspoken question. He smiled a slow, reminiscent smile, and her eyes narrowed. “Just how precocious were you, Luc?”

He took off his suit jacket, flung it on the back of the chair, and sank down opposite her, his long legs stretched out, his head against the back of the seat. He was lost in thought for a moment then he looked at her. “I lost my virginity to Maggie on my fifteenth birthday.”

Lia gasped. “She must have been old enough to be your mother.”

“I think she was around thirty at the time. She was beautiful, experienced, and generous. What more could a boy ask for?” He smiled. “She taught me a lot.”

“Do you and she still…”

“Sleep together? No.”

He got up and poured himself a drink. “You want one?”



Lia shook her head.

“I’ll see you at dinner then.” He took his drink and disappeared into his office, leaving Lia alone to brood. But not for long. Thirty minutes after Luc arrived, the doorbell rang. When Luc didn’t emerge from his office, she went to answer it herself. Her mouth fell open when she saw who was standing on the other side.

“I went to see Kelly,” Pete said. “She gave me this address. She said you were staying with a friend.” He peered around the opulent hallway, his eyes widening.

“She’s staying with me,” Luc said from behind her. Lia swung around; she hadn’t realized Luc had emerged from his den. He came up close behind her and slipped a hand around her waist, pulling her against him in a gesture that was blatantly possessive. Lia felt the heat of him through the thin silk of his shirt.

“The security guard phoned up from the lobby, otherwise your employer wouldn’t have gotten this far,” Luc whispered in her ear. The rush of his breath against her skin gave her goose bumps.

The two of them eyed each other up and down like two stallions sniffing over the same mare.

Pete appeared shocked at the arm around her waist. “I just wanted to check that you were okay. And we need to talk about that business we discussed. I’ve cleared it with the bank.”

“Come in,” Lia said. She pulled out of Luc’s embrace and took a step toward Pete. Luc’s eyes bored into her, but she ignored him as best she could and led Pete into the sitting room. Luc followed and stood lounging against the wall inside the door, arms folded across his broad chest, watching them.



“Well,” Lia said after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence. She was doing her best not to squirm under the intense scrutiny of two sets of eyes. “It’s lovely to see you, Pete.”

“Er, yes.” Pete looked around him in obvious amazement.

Luc pushed himself off from the wall. He smiled, a smooth sophisticated smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m being remiss as a host. Let me get you both a drink. Scotch okay?”

Not waiting for an answer, he strode across the room and poured three drinks. He took two across, handed one to Pete, then put the other in Lia’s hand, closing her fingers around the glass. He went back for his own, and took a sip as he continued to watch them.

When nobody else said a word, he turned to Pete. “I’m having a party next Saturday night,” he said. “We’ll be announcing our engagement. Perhaps you’d like to come. I’m sure Lia would like to have an old friend present.”

“Announcing your what?” Pete whirled around to face Lia. “You’re engaged? Since when?”

She opened her mouth to deny it, and Luc shot her a sharp, warning glance.

“It was sudden,” Lia said weakly. She hated Luc for mentioning it like that; Pete was clearly shocked, and she glared at Luc. “Luc, I’d like a word with Pete. Alone.”



“No.”

“I wasn’t asking,” she said.

Luc looked at her in amazement. She got the distinct impression that he wasn’t used to people standing up to him and wasn’t sure how to react. “I’ll be in my office.”

“Who is he, Lia?” Pete asked when the door shut behind Luc.