Never The Bride(20)

'I am, but a little glitz and glamour is nice from time to time,' I confirmed, feeding him a strawberry this time, then licking some stray juice off his lower lip.

'Could you ever see yourself leaving the country, living somewhere like this?' he asked.

'The Domville?'

'No, a big city like New York.'

'No way!' I scoffed immediately. 'I think it would be like London, fun for a while, but then the noise and hustle and bustle and constant crowds would get on my nerves. And can you see me taking Sumo for a walk on his skateboard here?'

'Hmmm,' he responded, picking up his flute of champagne with a frown on his handsome face.

'Oh God, you weren't  … ' I felt myself starting to panic. Was he asking me to move here, and I'd just unknowingly shot him down? 'Was that a subtle proposition? As I'm not good with subtle. I've lived with Sumo's gas for too long, and as you know, subtle isn't his style. He goes for the smack-you-in-the-face method of subtlety, just like that time he redecorated Georgie's salon brown. So if you were – '

'Hey, take a breath,' Miller laughed, putting his fingers over my lips. 'I wasn't trying to be subtle, I wasn't trying to be anything. It's just being back together reminds me how much I've missed you, and sometimes I try and imagine where we're going to end up, that's all.'

'I've missed you too,' I mumbled against his fingers.

'So, how is the little guy?' Miller asked, changing the conversation. But I was sure he was as aware as I was that it was one conversation we couldn't avoid forever. Not if we didn't want to have an ocean separating us for all eternity. 



'Should I wait, or see you up there,' he asked as he shrugged on his navy jacket and tugged the white cuffs of his shirt down. I looked up at the girl doing my hair and make-up.

'I'll be done in ten minutes,' she responded.

'Go up then,' I suggested, licking some drool from my lower lip. He looked so hot in his suit. 'I'll find you.'

He flashed me a smile and one of his sexy winks, and I swore I heard my helper sigh breathlessly. I was getting used to that reaction from women when they saw my man. She gave me a sexier, smoky-eyed look ready for the evening and turned my straight hair into some kind of movie starlet's, with tumbling waves and body. I gave her a tip and went to twirl in the mirror, thinking I didn't look half bad. By the time I made it back up onto the roof terrace, everyone was milling around with champagne and nibbles. I spotted Miller over in the corner, talking to none other than my sworn nemesis, Fi-Fi. Well, if she hadn't been before, she was now.

I headed over, wishing I'd learned some kung-fu moves so I could flip her up into the air and smack her down on her arse, then pin her to the floor until she screamed for forgiveness. The two of them were oblivious to me as I approached, seeming to be in the middle of a heated debate, so I swiped a glass of champagne from one of the waiters and stayed a discreet distance, but within earshot. I felt like 007 on a secret mission, and idly wondered why there wasn't a female 007. Bond, Abbie Bond. No, didn't really have the same ring to it.

'Stop trying to deny it, Fi. I've spoken to half a dozen people who all confirmed you stepped on her dress deliberately. I don't know what you thought you'd achieve by humiliating her in public, not to mention the stress you caused Annabelle, but if this was some sort of ploy to make me ditch Abbie and come running into your arms, you're sadly mistaken.'

'You're telling me you're happy with that  …  that  …  bore? Squeaky-clean Abbie, the stuffy accountant? She has no idea how to satisfy a man like you, Miller.'

'Well, she does. It's not all about appearances, Fi, and the sooner you realise that and grow up, the happier you'll be.'

'Haven't you changed,' she sneered, as I stepped back a few paces when someone blocked my view of them. 'There was a time when you'd have accepted any offer.'

'That was the old me, I've changed. Maybe it's time for you to as well.'

'Have you changed, Miller, I mean really changed? Does she even have any idea of the kind of sexually active man you were? Does she even know who you are?'

'She knows me better than most,' Miller stated firmly.

'That's not saying much though, is it? You always kept your cards close to your chest. I wonder if I went and had a chat with her about who you really are, though, about what you've hidden from her, how would she feel about you then?'

'I'm warning you, Fi,' Miller growled, and I frowned, wondering what she was talking about. 'Stay away from her!'

'So, she doesn't know. Well, well, well. I wonder how Miss Perfect, Miss "It's wrong to tell lies, Fi-Fi" Carter, will react when she finds out the very man she's trusted has been lying to her all along. I might just have to go and whisper the truth in her ear.'

I gasped as I watched her put her hand on Miller's chest and move closer, pressing herself against him as she licked her lips. My God, she was like a lioness, sizing up her next meal. I was so close to marching over and slapping her, but I wanted to know what was going on. What had Miller lied to me about? What was he hiding from me? I suddenly felt sick.



       
         
       
        

'Back. Off,' Miller warned, reaching up to grip her wrist.

'Make me. You know what I want, what I've always wanted, Miller. You,' she added breathlessly, making me grit my teeth. I put up my palm and blew out a harsh "Sssshhhh" as someone came to make polite conversation with me, receiving a startled look in response.

'Even if you were the last woman on earth, Fi, my answer would still be no. And you're right, I haven't been honest with her, but that was something I was going to rectify tomorrow anyway, because she deserves to know the truth. You know why? Because unlike all of you gold diggers who came after me knowing exactly who I was, she fell in love with me without having a clue. I'd take a thousand Abbie Carters over one vapid, vacuous whore like you.'

I gasped at the same time as Fi-Fi, then winced as she ripped her hand from his grasp and slapped him sharply across the face before stalking off. Miller rubbed his cheek as he frowned, then turned to scan the crowd and saw me standing there, my mouth ajar.

'How much of that did you hear?' he demanded as he marched over to me.

'Enough to know that you've been honest with me about your feelings for me, but also enough to know that you've apparently lied to me about who I'm dating.'

'Damn it,' he muttered, wiping his hands up over his face and into his hair. 'It's not what you think, and what I was going to share with you tomorrow isn't some deep, dark secret that would have you fleeing from me in horror, but I'm worried that you're going to hold it against me for not being upfront with you.'

'Then maybe you should tell me and let me decide for myself,' I suggested as I set down my empty glass. 'Until I know, I can't gauge how I'm going to react, but I hate lies and I'm feeling a bit let down right now if that's what you've done.'

'Not exactly,' he replied, taking my hand as he led me to a section of the garden that wasn't quite as crowded. 'I think the phrase is "economical with the truth."'

'Are you married?' I asked, my stomach churning as I waited for his response. That would kill me, to find out I'd unwittingly become "the other woman."

'No.'

'Engaged?'

'No,' he replied, a little more firmly.

'Seeing anyone else?'

'No.'

'You're transgender?' I shot back.

'No!' he exclaimed.

'An ex-serial killer?'

'Again, no. And how do you become an ex-serial killer?'

'I don't know, I'm thrown as you've not been honest with me and I've no idea about what.' 

'How about you just let me tell you?' he huffed, full of exasperation.

'Well, I'm not getting any younger, just spit it out,' I suggested.

'I don't just design video games, Abbie. I'm the Davis of the August Miller Davis Corporation, better known as AMD,' he stated, then folded his arms across his chest as he waited for my reaction.

'Ermmm, great?' I offered. His brow furrowed into a puzzled frown. 'Sorry, is that supposed to mean something to me?'

'Yes,' he chuckled, shaking his head with a look of astonishment on his face. 'It's the reason women tend to throw themselves at me.'

'Oh my God, you're a stripper! Your group AMD rivals The Chippendales!'

'No!' he laughed, his shoulders shaking violently as he tried to contain himself. 'See, this is part of the reason I love you, Abbie. You have no idea who I am. You're with me for me, the man, not the business mogul.'

'You're a mogul? Fancy. So this is your big secret, you own a business or something?' I asked, the overwhelming feeling of relief at it being nothing untoward calming me.

'Or something,' he chuckled with another disbelieving shake of his head. 'Just when I thought I couldn't love you any more, you prove me wrong. I'm August Miller Davis, founder and owner of the largest gaming company in America.'

'Your first name is August?' I giggled.

'That's what you're taking from that statement?' he asked, looking surprised.

'So you're worth a few bob, is that what you're telling me?'

'Who's Bob?'

'It's a phrase, like  …  bucks. You're worth a few bucks?'

'Yes,' he said slowly, elongating the word. 'A few  …  billion bucks.'

'Billion?! Damn. I've got to end this relationship right now then, I only like to date penniless losers. Now that I know you're a billionaire, this is never going to work out.'

'Abbie,' he scolded, yanking me to him and lifting me up off my feet to plant a kiss on my lips. 'You're not angry that I kept this from you?'