Bought: One Bride(10)

But she wasn't happy. She'd wanted to be perfect.

A swift glance at her bedside clock now showed two minutes to eight. She  almost wished Richard would be late. She still had to put some perfume  on, plus her earrings, if she could decide which ones looked best. The  pearl drops, or the gold. She held a different one up against each ear  but wasn't sure. Neither looked quite right, perhaps because the  camisole was beaded.

The shop doorbell ringing made up her mind for her. Neither.

"Oh, God," she muttered as she shoved her feet into the ivory high heels  that had been bought to go with the outfit, and which hadn't seen the  light of day since. The same with the ivory evening bag. Sweeping it up  from her bed, she headed for the stairs, totally forgetting the perfume  till she reached the bottom. Too late, then. She could see Richard  standing outside the shop window, not wearing a dinner suit, but looking  sensational all the same in a superbly tailored black suit with one of  those collarless shirts underneath. A steely grey, it was, the same  colour as his eyes.                       
       
           



       

Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and swept the door open.





Richard hadn't known quite what to expect. He knew girls of Holly's age  tended to dress sexily these days, especially on a Saturday night. He'd  seen them around town, wearing short tight skirts and even skimpier  tops. Anticipating this, he'd teamed his new black suit with one of the  trendier shirts Joanna had bought for him, and which he'd never worn. He  hadn't wanted to look like an old fuddy-duddy next to his  twenty-six-year-old date. It had been different when he'd taken the  women out from Wives Wanted. They'd all been older.

When Holly emerged onto the pavement, dressed elegantly and very  modestly, Richard breathed a sigh of relief. With that delicious body of  hers nicely covered up, he wouldn't suffer too much physical torture  this evening.

When he'd been showering earlier, his aroused body had regretted his  earlier reassurance that he would keep his hands off. A lot of people  went to bed on their first date these days, he tried telling himself. It  wasn't frowned upon, nor seen as evidence of loose morals.

In truth, Richard liked it that Holly wasn't a flirt or a sexpot. As he  watched her lock the door then turn to face him he decided he couldn't  have his cake and eat it too.

"You look lovely," he said. "Blue suits you."

"Thank you. You do, too. I mean … you look very handsome."

Her blush was delightful, and perversely provocative. When the time  came, he was going to thoroughly enjoy taking this innocent to bed.

And she was a relative innocent. Not a virgin, of course. He understood  Holly had undoubtedly slept with Dave, and probably other boyfriends  over the years. Girls who looked like Holly didn't stay virgins for  long.

But she lacked the kind of sexual confidence that had oozed from Joanna. That was why Holly didn't flirt. Or dress to tease.

More and more Richard believed he'd found the right girl to marry. All  he had to do now was make sure Holly would say yes, when he asked her.  Which meant he had to make her fall in love with him. Or think she had.

The restaurant he'd chosen to take her to tonight was a good start,  Richard reasoned as he opened the passenger door of his navy BMW.  Nothing impressed women as much as an intimate dinner by candlelight in a  five-star establishment. This place had certainly impressed the first  of his dates from Wives Wanted.

High up in a building overlooking Circular Quay, Hal's Hideaway  restaurant had everything. A magnificent view. A relaxing ambience.  Discreet, but prompt service. A wonderfully diverse menu. And a cellar  to die for.

"So where are you taking me?" she asked once they were on their way.

"To a restaurant in town, overlooking the harbour."

"What kind of food do they serve? I mean, is it Italian, or Chinese, or what?"

"The cuisine is international."

"Oh, dear, it sounds posh."

He smiled. "It is posh. But you don't have to worry. You look absolutely gorgeous."

"I look like I'm going to a wedding."

"Not at all. You look divine."

She laughed. "You know how to make a girl feel good, I'll say that for you, Richard."

He aimed to make her feel even better by the time the night was out.  They chatted away amiably during the twenty-minute drive into the city,  but by the time he'd parked the car in one of the spots especially  reserved for Hal's clientele, then steered her up to the restaurant,  she'd gone all quiet and stiff.

"I've never been to a place like this," Holly whispered after they'd  been settled by the maître d' at one of the best tables in the house.  Next to one of the wide windows that gave an uninterrupted view of the  opera house and the bridge. "I won't have a clue what to order," she  added with worry in her voice as she glanced at the menu, which was,  admittedly, a bit daunting.

"Would you like me to order for you?" he offered. "I've been here before and I have a pretty good idea what the chef does best."

Her eyes showed relief. "Yes. Yes, I think that would be a very good  idea. I'm not a fussy eater. I'm sure I'd like anything you like."

Let's hope so, Richard thought privately as his flesh stirred and his mind filled with the things he'd like to do to her.

"What about the wine list?" he went on. "Is there anything on it you especially prefer?" And he held it out to her.

When she took it, he noticed that she didn't have painted nails. Neither  was she wearing jewellery, or perfume. Whilst this pleased him  tonight-her lack of feminine artifice showed she didn't have any secret  agenda where he was concerned-Richard was already looking forward to the  nights when she would wear nothing else for him but perfume. She would  look magnificent naked, he thought as his eyes surreptitiously raked  over her. He could see her now, stretched out on top of his blue satin  quilt, her dark hair spread over his pillows, her soft brown eyes  slumberous from his lovemaking.                       
       
           



       

"I can't believe these prices," she said as she studied the wine list, a  frown on her pretty forehead. "I do like wine, but I always buy it at a  discount liquor shop. I've never paid more than twelve dollars for a  bottle. I know they bump up the prices in these fancy restaurants, but  there isn't a bottle here under seventy-five dollars. Most are over a  hundred! Some of them are over two hundred!"

One of which his first date from Wives Wanted had chosen, Richard recalled.

"They're specialist wines," he told her, "from wineries all over the  world. You won't find them on any shelf in liquor shops, especially  discount ones."

She handed him back the list. "I'm sorry, Richard, but I wouldn't feel  comfortable drinking wine at fifteen dollars a glass. That's outrageous.  No wonder they didn't put any prices on the meal menu. I'll bet the  food here costs a bomb as well."

Richard felt gratified that his character assessment of Holly had been  correct. She was nothing like Joanna, or any of the women he'd dated  from Wives Wanted. "Why don't you let me worry about the prices, and the  choices? You just sit back and enjoy."

She opened her mouth, possibly to protest further, but then closed it  again with a resigned shrug. "All right. I guess I can manage to ignore  my suburban mentality for one evening. It will be something to tell my  grandchildren about one day."

Richard smiled. He could live with that, provided they were his grandchildren as well.

The evening progressed nicely from that point. Holly seemed to  relax-even if Richard didn't entirely. Difficult to be totally relaxed  when he felt so aroused. But he discovered lots more to like about Holly  during their four-course meal and almost two bottles of wine. She was  remarkably well read, and even played bridge, which would make her  popular with his mother. Apparently, her father had taught her and they  had played together at a local bridge club. She also liked to keep fit  and went to a gym three or four nights a week.

Richard thought of the many hours he'd spent in the private executive  gym at the bank since he'd buried Joanna, working out his bitterness.

In future, he would work out for a different reason. To look good for  this delightful girl. And to be extra fit. He wanted his body to be able  to keep up with his mind.

And his mind had him making love to Holly for hours on end.

Midnight rolled around before he knew it. The waiter offered them a  complimentary cognac to follow their after-dinner coffee, but Richard  declined. Although Holly had consumed more than half the wine, a cognac  would surely tip him over the driving limit. So he ordered another  coffee and they sat talking for another half an hour before he called  for the bill.