His voice was deep and resonant and his claim sounded quite plausible and yet Ally found that she couldn’t believe him. She had never considered herself to have telepathic insight, but this man’s eyes were so fiercely fixed on hers that she knew straight away that he was seeking her out. And the knowledge held her, standing before him, mesmerised by his height, his strong, handsome face and his piercing blue eyes which looked exactly as if they had been made from summer skies.
As those eyes continued to explore every detail of her face, she struggled to speak. ‘Poor Lucette’s come down with flu,’ she said. ‘She’s devastated to miss the show.’
‘So that’s what happened.’ He looked away briefly and then his eyes found hers once again. ‘You are—’ he began and then cleared his throat as he corrected himself. ‘Your designs are absolutely exquisite.’ With a sweeping gesture, he indicated the racks of her clothes. ‘The simple lines ...’ He paused, apparently lost for words.
‘And neat silhouettes?’ she supplied, her lips curled in sudden amusement.
He grinned then, a cheeky grin that totally transformed his face. ‘OK, I read your comments in the catalogue. But honestly, I like the dress you’re wearing best of all.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied. It was certainly not the first ime she had received a compliment, but most of the praise that came her way was delivered with such a pracised smoothness that it smacked of insincerity and slipped over her like an old, warm blanket that she took for granted. This evening her heart pounded erratically in espouse to his clumsy admission and she stared back at he sun-tanned, ruggedly handsome face knowing that she had never met a man like him. In contrast to her world of image-makers and haute couture, his masculin ,ty seemed to be stripped of all pretension.
He frowned and she was surprised at the way his gaze iropped to his work-toughened hands as if he were sudienly shy. With a totally unexpected jolt of disappointment, she thought, soon he’ll say it was a pleasure to meet me and then he’ ll be gone.
In the awkward silence, she looked back at him, taking in his broad shoulders, thick, black hair, rugged features and vivid blue eyes and wondered how someone who embodied the fantasies of half the women on the planet could make such a hash of what was clearly meant to be i simple pick-up.
‘We haven’t really met you know,’ she heard herself saying a little too eagerly. ‘You haven’t even told me your name.’
He grinned again and visibly relaxed, his strong fea ures turning so sunny that for a moment Ally thought the technical crew were playing tricks with the lighting.
‘I’m Fletcher Hardy, Lucette’s cousin. In Melbourne on business. I actually came to admire Lucette’s work.’ She half expected him to trot out something trite about ending up admiring the designer instead, but to her relief he didn’t. Instead he asked, ‘When do you finish here?’
‘I’m afraid I’ve got to do my duty out there first.’ She grimaced, pointing to the ballroom. ‘Meet the press, that sort of thing.’
He pulled a face. ‘You have my sympathy. I’ve had a day of that sort of thing myself.’
‘Really?’ She looked at Fletcher Hardy contemplatively. ‘Now let me guess. You do something in the outdoors. A ski instructor? No, the press wouldn’t bother you about that. Perhaps a mountaineer? Are you about to conquer something generally considered unconquerable?’
Fletcher laughed, throwing back his head and drawing sharp glances from others in the room, then he looked her over slowly and said softly and with wicked audacity, ‘I’d say I might be in with a chance.’
The ripple of excitement that raced up her spine shocked Ally. This cousin of Lucette’s was losing his shyness with breathtaking speed.
‘I never was much good at guessing games,’ she said quickly to cover her sudden self-consciousness. But she didn’t mind his cheek. She’d never before felt such an immediate connection with another person, especially a man. No one else, on first meeting, had accelerated her heartbeat to such a heady, scampering pace. ‘You’ll have to remain a mystery for now,’ she added. ‘I really must go to this party. Why don’t you join us?’
‘Sure. Lead the way.’
Ally was aware of many eyes watching as Fletcher followed her into the cocktail party. As they helped themselves to champagne cocktails, Derek Squires, the baldheaded, much-tattooed designer rushed over to them.
‘Darlings,’ he crooned.
‘Hello, Derek. I’d like you to meet Fletcher Hardy.’
‘And hello-o, darling,’ smiled Derek, eyeing Fletcher with open interest Fletcher nodded politely.
‘How’s it all going?’ Ally asked.
‘Just keep me away from that dreadful woman,’ shuddered Derek.
‘Who’s that?’
‘Phoebe Hardcastle. She had the cheek to criticise my lovely blue lipstick. Said my girls looked half drowned.’ He trembled in horror. ‘She has the creative imagination of a fruit fly.’
‘She certainly can be very cutting,’ agreed Ally, flashing a quick glance at Fletcher to see how he was reacting to the conversation. His eyes were wide with interest.
‘She has no understanding of fashion flair. Stupid cow.’
‘Now let’s not get too critical of cows,’ cut in Fletcher. ‘They’re my stock-in-trade.’ Both Derek and Ally looked at him curiously, waiting for more explanation. ‘I raise cattle,’ he said with a shrug.
‘Oh, how awful for you,’ murmured Derek, backing off hurriedly.
Ally smiled, her grey eyes dancing as she looked up at Fletcher from under her thick, dark lashes.‘ I knew you did something in the outdoors.‘
‘Ally Fraser,’ boomed a commanding voice from behind them. ‘Spare me a minute or two if you please.’
An alarming-looking woman with bright red hair, thick spectacles and a heavy jaw pushed her way next to Ally.
‘Oh, Phoebe. How are you this evening?’
‘Tolerable, dear. But I’ve deadlines to meet. Can you answer a couple of quick questions?’
Ally shot Fletcher a swift, mildly apologetic glance and nodded. ‘Fire away.’
‘What I want, darling,’ the redhead began, shoving a small tape recorder under Ally’s nose, ‘is for you to sum up in a nutshell...who you’re trying to appeal to...who you expect to wear your clothes...who is going to connect with them.’
‘But I’ve told you all that many times,’ Ally protested.
‘New show, new comments,’ the journalist shot back, her eyes hard and unsympathetic.’
‘Very well,’ replied Ally after only a moment’s hesitation. ‘I think my clients are people who are looking for value...for something contemporary, but with classical elegance as well...’
She felt a strong hand pat her heartily on the back and looked up to catch Fletcher winking at her.
There were more questions which Ally answered as best she could, but the whole time she was terribly con scious of the way Fletcher’s hand stayed there, resting on her bare shoulder. Her skin beneath the warm hand tingled deliciously in response.
‘And are you planning to launch a range of perfumes, like some of the other more successful designers?’ Phoebe was asking.
Ally wavered. This was something she had been considering, but it was too soon to talk about it.
‘Good question,’ cut in Fletcher. ‘And when we have the answer to that, you’ll be the first to know. We’ll give you an exclusive, but for now we have another engagement.’
‘Who are you?’ spluttered