Although her aunt was all of a fluster, Lara played it down. ‘I don’t want to go; I don’t want to get involved,’ she declared firmly.
Helen shook her head. ‘Bryce will never hurt you.’
Maybe not! But why take risks? And yet even as she thought this Lara heard herself say, ‘I suppose one date will do no harm.’
‘It will give you a chance to get to know him properly,’ reassured the older woman with a pleased smile. ‘If I was twenty years younger I’d marry him myself.’
‘Who’s talking about marriage?’ demanded Lara, eyes sparking indignation.
Helen grinned. ‘I simply wanted to let you know what a good catch he is.’
‘I came here to get over one man, not get hooked by another,’ she retorted, cross with her aunt for letting her imagination work overtime.
But when Bryce came, looking devilishly handsome in grey linen trousers and a blue short-sleeved shirt, Lara couldn’t stop her heart quickening. Her head told her not to get involved, to be wary every step she took, but there was no escaping the fact that he was an exciting male who aroused her in every way possible.
Not that it meant anything. Roger had thrilled her in the first few months of knowing him, and she really had thought she was in love—until she’d discovered what he was like. Her husband had stifled her feelings and emotions. He had used her. He’d made love when he’d wanted to, when he’d felt like it, her own needs and desires never entering into it. For all she knew Bryce could be the same. She daren’t risk it.
For her date Lara wore a pale blue sundress with shoestring straps and a ballerina-length skirt, her corn-gold hair tied back in a blue scrunchie, wisps of fringe softening her hairline. Her only concession to make-up was a touch of lip gloss and mascara. She didn’t need anything else. Already her colour was heightened, her eyes bright with anticipation.
Bryce’s smoky grey eyes made a slow, thorough inspection. ‘You look stunning,’ he said softly.
Lara swallowed and tried to appear nonchalant. ‘This old thing, I’ve had it for years.’
‘Whatever, the colour suits you. Hi, Helen, I promise to take good care of your niece.’
‘I know you will,’ said Helen with a fond smile. ‘Lara has a key so you don’t need to bring her back early on my account.’
Lara frowned. ‘I will be early, Helen.’
‘As you like, dear. Now you two run off and enjoy yourselves.’
Bryce’s car was an old black Ford and as he opened the door for her Lara couldn’t help remembering the day she had climbed into Roger Lennox’s car. She’d been so pleased with herself. Nothing had warned her of what was to come. She was more wary now, more attuned to the way a man’s mind worked. She had no intention of making the same mistake twice.
To her delight Bryce took her to Darling Harbour, to a seafood restaurant overlooking the water. It was magical. A myriad lights shone around them—from the buildings, from the boats, from reflections in the water, from the indigo, star-hung sky. It was perfect.
A night for romance! Lara shivered at the thought.
‘Tell me about this guy who let you down so badly.’ Bryce had ordered pre-dinner drinks and they’d chosen from the extensive menu.
She closed her eyes, not really wanting to talk about anything that would spoil this moment in time.
But Bryce was insistent. ‘You said he was a control freak. In what way?’
Lara shrugged. ‘He was a wealthy man but not a generous one. I had to account to him for breathing almost. He chose my friends, what I wore, what I did. He sold my car and kept making excuses for not buying me another, so I was trapped in the house unless he took me out. We lived miles from anywhere, not even on a bus route.’
‘And you had no inkling before you married him?’
‘I was swept off my feet. He owned the company I worked for. He indulged me; I was flattered; I was blinded by love.’ Change that to greed, she added silently, and it would be about right. She hadn’t been able to see any further than the pound signs. It was something of which she was now deeply ashamed. On the other hand it could have worked out, if Roger had been different. ‘Now it’s over and I don’t want to talk about him. It’s a part of my life I’d prefer to forget.’
‘Do you still love him?’
‘No!’ Lara’s answer was swift and fierce.
Bryce crooked a dark brow. ‘It seems to me that you’re not letting yourself forget him. He’s there all the time, haunting your thoughts. You need a friend, someone to take you out of yourself, someone to confide in, laugh with, and enjoy the real pleasures of life.’
‘And you’re proposing that you should be my friend?’ she said with derision. It was laughable. Bryce Kellerman didn’t want to be her friend. Her lover perhaps. It was there in the way he looked at her, the way his eyes devoured her body. Were they the pleasures he was talking about? Friend? Huh! Who was he trying to kid?
‘I am,’ he said, his tone serious, ‘if you’d let me.’
But it would be hellishly hard. How could he be a platonic friend to a woman as sexy and desirable as Lara Lennox? It would be well-nigh impossible. He’d spent the last few days in some kind of hell. Should he see her again or shouldn’t he? He’d been let down so many times that he was almost afraid to let himself care for anyone else. It was an odd feeling to be afraid when he’d made such a success of his business life. But for Lara’s sake he was prepared to give it a go. She needed her faith restored in mankind.
At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
She looked at him long and hard, her blue eyes probing his. ‘I’ve never had a male friend. I didn’t think it possible. I always thought that sex would rear its ugly head somewhere along the line.’
Ugly? Sex? It was the most wonderful and natural thing in the world. Obviously her husband had screwed her up on that score as well. He drew in a steadying breath, hiding the anger he felt, the questions he still wanted to ask.
‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ he said. ‘Lots of women have male friends.’
‘I don’t know any.’
‘You don’t have to know them, Lara. Simply take my word for it. So what’s your answer?’ He held his hand out across the table. ‘Friends?’
He thought she was going to refuse, had virtually resigned himself to never getting to know this stunning woman any better, decided he’d be better off for it, when slowly, and with obvious reluctance, and a great deal of courage, she slid her hand into his.
‘Friends,’ she agreed huskily. ‘Nothing more.’
‘It’s a deal.’ He enclosed her hand in both of his, feeling a desperate need to lean across the table and kiss her, seal their pact properly. Instead he looked deeply into her troubled eyes. What a beautiful shade of blue they were, cobalt perhaps, rich and unconsciously sultry, beckoning him without her knowledge.
His male hormones wreaked havoc. What had he done? How could he go through with this? And how could he not? This woman had captivated him from the word go.
It was with great difficulty that he released Lara’s hand. He could feel her stiffening, getting ready to pull away, perhaps even regretting her decision. He smiled, a wide, friendly safe smile. ‘You won’t be sorry.’
‘I hope not.’ She fired the words at him, a warning glitter in her eyes. ‘Because I have no intention of letting another man mess me around. If you hurt me, Bryce Kellerman, if you go back on your word, you’ll find me a very