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CHAPTER ONE
‘NOW I’otten’
As the narrowed tawny eyes swept over her in warest desire to bare her s to a proposed
‘No’ As the hard, penetrating gaze caold silk of her hair the tall, beautifully dressed man in front of her shook his head slowly ‘I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten’ He smiled a slow, predatory smile
She had felt in her bones that this would happen! History had aitself at tih to let Joanie persuade her to coently lifted her s her violet-blue eyes up to ly
It was in that er and eiven life, there was no stopping it ‘Well, landsakes, sure I do, honey’ She forced her nor the accent of a Southern belle, the tone a good few decibels louder than normal ‘Mary-Lou Dixon at your service, honeychild, and I do mean service’
She saw the shock register for a brief nificently, taking the hand she held out to him with practised ease ‘Are you with anyone?’ he asked politely ‘I didn’t see—’
She interrupted hi her thick eyelashes with an obviously flirtatious flick of her head ‘Well, sweetiepie, ya surely don’ think little ole led again, squeezing his handhis atte in a poke!’
‘Quite’ The unusual gold-flecked eyes had a slightly dazed glaze to the round the crowded room in hopes of rescue
Not yet, hter with difficulty You’re going to squirer yet ‘Now ah just knoanna hear all about little ole me’
She was still holding his hand and he seened himself to the fact that he ell and truly button-holed, for the moment
‘Now do ya know much about the deep South, honey?’ she asked loudly as she pulled herself into his side, taking his arood deal longer than two minutes
‘I’m afraid not,’ he said quietly, the polite smile stitched on his face with noble fortitude
Thank goodness for that, she thought delightedly, drawing on all the old filraphic picture of spoilt, ebut oh, so enjoyable, she thought silently, to fool such a self-satisfied !
She had slowly drawn even closer as she had talked, engineering herself into the circle of his ar side-on, and, just as she was deciding, reluctantly, that she really would have to let hi theht with irritation
The girlfriend? Her irlfriend was here? Pay-off tiht coldly
As the woman moved towards the up into the closed stony face with a sweet little smile of satisfaction He hadn’t liked the last few minutes, he hadn’t liked theuests now’ She laughed prettily ‘But before ya go, honeychild’ She had reached up and drawn the a, taking his lips in a fir looked most enjoyable ‘To thank you for such a truly lovely party,’ she o just as the woman reached their sides
‘Alex?’ She left the to the surface threatened to overflow She couldn’t believe he had sed the outrageous parody so cohtfully, in the world of mindless lackeys and shameless sycophants that he inhabited she doubted if anyone had ever tried to actually repel the great man!
Alexander Cade Her lip curled as she thought of his name Millionaire a hundred tiood looks and a lifestyle to match She pictured the tall, muscled body clothed i—unusually long—rich, shining brown hair cut expertly to lie into his neck in a style that e man but on hiht nose and hard square jaw
‘Handso for ure across the far side of the roo with his back towards her, probably, she suspected gleefully, because he was terrified of catching her eye again ‘And I haven’t finished with you yet, Mr Cade, not by a long chalk!’
‘Talking to yourself, Fabia?’ Joanie’s soft brown eyes were crinkled with laughter as she tapped her friend on the shoulder ‘I know you didn’t want to coht but there must be someone in all this lot to catch your fancy?’ She waved expansively at the huge ballroom
‘Youand Joanie gave a little sigh of resignation ‘And where have you been anyway? You’ve missed all the fun’
‘Fun?’ Joanie’s plump face expressed her bewilderment ‘What fun? And I’ve been in the loo for half an hour I should never have had that seafood in the nurses’ dining-room at lunchtime’
‘Oh, Joanie’ Fabia sone expression on Joanie’s face She loved this friend dearly but at times she was sure she had been sent to this earth with the express purpose of providing her life with a little extra turht, for instance