‘But I don’t get it,’ Fiona said. ‘Jeremy’s in banking, not books.’
‘Well, he’s in books now,’ Alice said ruefully whilst wishing that he weren’t. What a pity Kenneth had to come down with a cold.
‘Strange,’ Fiona mused. ‘Still, I suppose he can afford to be in anything he wants to be in. The Barker-Whittle family is seriously loaded. They’ve been in merchant banking forever.’
‘You seem to know a lot about them.’
‘Yes, well, as I said, Melody became obsessed with the man for a while and made it her business to find out everything she could.’
‘Anything else I should know about him before tonight?’ Alice asked.
‘Not really. Just don’t believe a word the silver-tongued scoundrel says. And don’t go agreeing to go out with him.’
Alice almost laughed. As if.
‘That’ll be my cab,’ she said when her phone pinged. ‘Now you have a nice time tonight, Fiona, and don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Jeremy Barker-Whittle won’t even get to first base.’
Fiona didn’t look so sure. Alice recalled her friend’s worried expression when she walked into the foyer of the hotel a couple of minutes past seven. Fiona had a right to be worried, came the instant stomach-tightening thought.
Jeremy Barker-Whittle was already there, sitting on one of the guest sofas, talking to someone on his phone. She knew it was him, despite the presence of several other males in the foyer. None of them, however, was wearing a black dinner suit. And none fitted the image she’d already formed in her mind of what one of London’s most infamous playboys would look like. When Fiona had been talking about him, Alice had automatically pictured one of her favourite movie stars who’d made his reputation by playing rich bad boys. Jeremy Barker-Whittle was almost a dead ringer. Very handsome with an elegance to his face and clothes that could not be feigned. He had money written all over him, the kind of man whom other men envied and women craved.
Alice didn’t crave him, but his looks certainly set her heart racing. She scooped in a deep breath, glad that he hadn’t noticed her yet. It gave her the opportunity to gather her wits and her defences. And to look him over without being observed. His mid-brown hair was slightly wavy; it fell from a side part to his collar, a single lock flopping sexily across his high forehead. His nose was strong and straight and his eyes a sparkling blue. Yes, they actually sparkled. At least they did when he glanced up and spied her standing there, looking at him. He immediately put his phone away and stood up, smiling as he came over to her, bringing her attention to his mouth, with its sensual lower lip and dazzlingly white teeth. Now her stomach did a little flip-flop, reminding her starkly of her vulnerability to men who looked perfect but invariably were not.
‘Please tell me that you’re Alice,’ he said with that incredible voice of his. Like rich dark chocolate, it actually made her name sound sexy. Which was a minor miracle. She’d always hated her name, thinking it girlish and old-fashioned.
It was difficult not to respond to his practised charm, but she managed to control herself, tapping into the reserved façade that she always used around men of his ilk.
‘I am,’ she admitted coolly, having resisted the unwise impulse to smile back at him. ‘And I presume you’re Mr Barker-Whittle?’
WHOA! THOUGHT JEREMY. He wasn’t used to women being this cool to him, especially women who looked like Alice. It rattled him for a moment. But only a moment, his mind searching for some reason why she might be in a negative frame of mind where he was concerned. All he could think of was the way he’d described himself as a crusty old bachelor. Maybe she didn’t like being deceived. She’d been warm enough to him over the phone, whereas now she was all ice.
The corner of his mouth twisted at his own pun on her name. Alice. All ice. Very funny, Jeremy. Now see if you can use some of the infamous Barker-Whittle charm to warm up Miss Ice Princess a bit, or the evening ahead is not going to be as enjoyable as you anticipated.
Which was a shame, given that he was partial to slender, cool-looking blondes, especially ones with gorgeous blue eyes and mouths just made for sin.
‘Please, call me Jeremy,’ he insisted as he subtly looked her up and down. ‘No one calls me Mr Barker-Whittle, not even Madge. Especially not Madge,’ he added with a laugh. ‘By the way, Madge said that we should offer two character names to auction off, not just one,’ he invented. ‘If that’s all right with you.’
‘What? Oh, yes. Yes. That would be...great. Thank you.’
He’d thrown her a little, which was exactly what he’d wanted to do. For a split second she was the Alice he’d talked to on the phone. Sweet and grateful. But then that chilly mask slipped back into place.
Not that Jeremy was giving up. He had all evening to accomplish the thawing of Alice. If nothing else, he would enjoy the challenge. After all, it wasn’t every day that a member of the opposite sex challenged him, especially single ones. He’d duly noted the lack of rings on either hand, a sure sign that she was neither married nor engaged. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t have a boyfriend or a partner. Though surely any boyfriend or partner worth his salt would have accompanied her here tonight. If one existed and he’d made a deliberate choice not to come, then the fool deserved to lose out. On second thought, however, Jeremy doubted there was some man waiting in the wings. That air of touch-me-not that she had about her would not encourage the average modern male.
Jeremy smiled wryly at the knowledge that he was far from average, or in the slightest deterred in his pursuit of the gorgeous Alice. She’d sparked curiosity in him from the first moment he’d heard that cut-glass voice of hers. Now that he’d met her, his curiosity was joined by desire, Jeremy resolving not to rest till she agreed to go out with him.
‘You were going to show me the layout in the ballroom,’ he reminded her. ‘But first, let me take your coat...’
* * *
Panic churned in Alice’s stomach at the thought of taking her coat off, of exposing more of herself to this man’s far too sexy gaze. If he thought she hadn’t noticed the way he’d looked her over, he was sadly mistaken. Alice knew men found her attractive. It was a burden most blondes with nice figures and pretty faces had to put up with. Fortunately, these days, she didn’t attract too much male attention, always going to work with her hair pulled back, no make-up on and wearing jeans. Tonight, however, she was looking her very best. Silently, she cursed Fiona for lending her this revealing dress, plus spraying her with all that expensive perfume. The make-up she only had herself to blame for. But at the time, she hadn’t known she’d be spending the evening in the company of a man who could make her want to be different from the woman she’d become.
At least she’d put her hair up, though not into its usual scraped-back ponytail. It was fashioned into a sleek sophisticated bun, worn slightly on one side, the latest style for formal occasions. Still, better than it being down. Pity about the dangling diamanté earrings she’d chosen to wear, however, and which swung against her bare neck when she walked. Alice contemplated telling him she would keep her coat on but he was already moving behind her and, really, she could hardly go all night with a calf-length coat flapping around her legs. Without glancing over her shoulder at him, she reached up to push the coat back off her shoulders—it wasn’t the kind that had buttons—sucking in sharply when she felt his fingertips brush over the nape of her neck. A shiver ricocheted down her spine as the coat slid down her arms, presumably into his waiting hands. She was too shaken to turn and look. Too shocked.
What kind of power did this