Noah’s eyebrows pulled together. ‘You don’t like reading?’
‘Not particularly.’
Noah crossed his legs at the ankles and folded his arms. ‘So, what do you read? Tatler and Heat?’
And there he went, making assumptions. ‘If I don’t like going out in society why would I want to read about it? Actually, snob, my favourite authors are Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway. Harper Lee, John Steinbeck—all the classics.’
‘But you just said that you don’t like to read.’
Yeah, but not that I don’t love books. She did love books—devoured them by the bucket load. Except that along with the paperback she bought the audio book, so that she could read along. Truthfully, she frequently just opted to listen and not read.
Morgan flipped Noah a look and saw that he was looking very confused. Right, time to change the subject before he probed a little deeper. She wasn’t ready—probably would never be—to tell him about her dyslexia. It wasn’t something she believed he needed to know— now or ever.
‘I have a list of this month’s events that I need to attend,’ Morgan said, picking up the piece of paper she’d printed earlier from the email she’d received from Helen. She walked over to Noah and watched as he speed-read the document. Lucky man.
‘Ballet? Uck. A ball? Save me... But I can handle the art exhibition; I really like Davie’s work.’
‘You know Johnno’s art?’ Morgan asked, surprised.
Noah folded his arms and tipped his head. ‘Now who’s being a snob? I went to his exhibition in London. Fantastic.’
‘Do you have any of his pieces?’
‘Duchess, I could only afford to look—not buy.’ Noah drawled. ‘Maybe one day. Anyway, my partner can’t find my tux in my flat. I think it’s at the cleaners and has been for the last six months.’
‘You left your tux at the cleaners for six months?’
‘I’ve been in and out of the country and I forgot, okay? My tux wasn’t high up on my list of priorities. So when do I need a tux by...?’ He looked at the piece of paper she’d handed him. ‘Crap! Tonight?’
‘Yep.’ Morgan laughed at his look of horror.
‘Jeez, give me some warning next time.’ Noah grumbled.
‘Hey, I’m the one who has to decide what to wear, do my hair, shoes, jewellery. Make-up. You just have to put on a tux. Big deal,’ Morgan shot back. It took work to look like the Moreau heiress people expected to see. A designer dress, stunning salon hair, perfect make-up. The right jewels for the right dress.
‘Yeah, but I have to get a tux and get into character...you know...work out how I’m going to pretend to have the hots for you. It’s a difficult job, but someone has to do it.’
She was so distracted by the humour dancing in his eyes that it took a while for his words to make sense. When they did she blushed from head to toe and her fist rocketed into his bicep. It made all the impact of a single drop of rain falling in the desert.
‘Jerk!’
‘Was that supposed to be a punch?’ Noah asked, and grinned as she shook her fingers out. ‘Wuss. So, are you going to stay here for the rest of the afternoon while I go and buy myself a tux? Can I trust you to do that?’
Morgan shoved out her lower lip. ‘Maybe.’
Noah’s face hardened and his mouth flattened. ‘You leave this building without me and there will be hell to pay, Duchess.’
Morgan pulled in a huge breath. She didn’t mind him calling her Duchess, but not in that cold, bossy voice. ‘I’m not an idiot, soldier. I won’t leave until you get back. And if you weren’t being such a jerk I’d tell you that if you went across the road to that very famous store over there—’ she looked past him and pointed her finger towards the renowned corner shop ‘—in the men’s department there is a salesperson named Norman. In his sixties, bald. Tell him I sent you and he’ll sort you out with what you need.’
Morgan was surprised when Noah leaned over and placed his cool lips, very briefly, on her temple. ‘Thanks.’
Morgan watched him walk away, and he was at the door before she realised that kissing her was out of bounds too. ‘Hey, no kissing!’
Noah tossed her a grin that had her blood pumping. ‘Just practising for later. Do some work, Duchess, you have a ball to organise.’
Morgan wrinkled her nose. Sad, but true.
* * *
Being a bodyguard pretending to be her latest conquest sucked, Noah thought a couple of hours later in the ballroom of the Park Hyatt, half listening to Morgan as she talked ‘ball’ to a society matron with a pigeon-egg-sized diamond in her wrinkly cleavage. Doing it with a twitching groin made the situation a thousand times worse.
It was her dress, Noah decided, taking the smallest sip of the glass of whisky he’d been nursing for hours. Moss-green and strapless, it fell from her breasts and skimmed her hips. At first glance it almost seemed demure, slightly bohemian, off-beat. Then she moved and the long slit to one side exposed most of a slim thigh and his blood belted south. That thigh was smooth and silky, and even sexier because nothing covered it except perfect, perfect skin.
Funny and interesting... She was a killer combination. Bright as anything too. She picked up sarcasm, nuances, innuendo and irony, and he could read humour, annoyance and interest as the emotions flickered into her eyes. She’d been fêted all evening and he now realised what she’d meant when she’d said that the Moreaus were welcome everywhere. Conversation stopped when she joined a group, male tongues fell to the floor, women smiled and tried not to look jealous, and she was constantly and persistently asked about the ball.
‘How do we get personally invited to the ball?’
‘How much do you think we have to bid to secure a ticket?’
‘Do you have a theme yet?’
‘Do remind your mother that we served together on the blah-blah-blah committee and worked together on the meh-meh-meh project.’
Didn’t these people have any pride?
But Morgan just smiled, changed the subject and moved on to another group if the person was too persistent.
‘Don’t you think so, Noah?’ Morgan asked, and Noah sent her a blank look.
Morgan’s lips lifted, and he knew by the gleam in her eye that she knew his thoughts were miles away.
‘That this year’s ball is going to be utterly amazing?’ she clarified.
‘Uh...yes...’
Wrinkly cleavage leaned across Morgan and showed him far more of what he didn’t need to see. ‘So, how long have you two been dating?’ she demanded.
Oh... Noah looked at Morgan and waited for her to answer.
‘We’ve known each other a long time, Vi,’ Morgan said softly, her eyes on his mouth.
The twitch turned to an ache.
‘Well, he’s a lot better that a lot of those other creatures you’ve dated, Morgan.’
Morgan’s lips lifted with amusement and she tipped her head. ‘You don’t think he looks too bodyguardish? All “don’t mess with me or I’ll wipe the floor with your face”?’
‘Sitting right here,’ Noah reminded them.
‘Is that a bad thing?’ Vi demanded. ‘He does have very nice shoulders.’
‘Mmm...and a nice butt.’
Noah glared at Morgan and lowered his voice. ‘Morgan...enough.’