Ain't Misbehaving (11 page)

“Charlotte can’t gallivant around town while you’re ill.”

“Hearing about Charlotte’s dinner will give me something to look forward to.” Gran closed her eyes, her breaths harsher now.

“I’ll give you a report tomorrow,” Charlotte promised. “I’ll send in a nurse on my way out.”

Worry cast a heavy weight on her shoulders for the rest of the afternoon. She couldn’t get excited about a date—the first one she’d had in months—when Gran was so sick. But she couldn’t beg off either because Gran had made it plain to both her and Elizabeth she expected a report the following day.

She spent the unexpected free time spring cleaning the lounge and preparing dinner. After making a vegetable bake and a large salad for her stepmother and sisters’ dinner, she mixed a batch of cupcakes. Once they’d cooled, she pulled out her piping bag and decorated them, making each one unique.

Her stepsisters arrived home, and Charlotte retreated to her room to change. With limited wardrobe choices, she went with her black skirt again, adding a castoff pale blue blouse she’d remade to look modern. She decided to leave her hair loose but applied a little more makeup than she had for her interview.

The doorbell rang at two minutes to seven. Charlotte picked up her black handbag and slipped her feet into a pair of black heels.

“Ash, what are you doing here?” Jenny recovered from her shock with style. “Come in. Would you like a drink?”

“No, thanks. Ah, Charlotte. You look lovely.”

Charlotte joined them in the entrance hall, a laugh slipping free when she spied Jenny’s gaping mouth.

Ash grinned at Charlotte. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her firmly on the mouth, despite their audience. “Are you ready?”

One kiss was all it took. The slow burn of desire simmered through her, and she realized she’d been fooling herself. The wretched man had burrowed under her skin like a nasty parasite the second she clapped eyes on him at the ball. While the feminine part of her enjoyed the attention, she knew it could only be fleeting. Their lives were too different. He had everything and she…she had nothing.

But that would change, she told herself. One day.

“You’re going out with her?” Jenny found her voice.

“I am,” Ash said. “We’re going out to dinner.”

“But what about our dinner?” Jenny asked.

Ash’s dark brows rose, and Charlotte spoke before he could voice his disbelief. “There’s a vegetable bake in the oven and I made a salad. It’s in the fridge. There are cupcakes for dessert.”

“Cupcakes?” Ash’s eyes blazed with interest. “Could I have one?”

“I thought you wanted to leave at seven?”

“I have time to get a cupcake. Maybe we could get two and have them for supper?”

“Supper?” Jenny said sharply. “How long have you two known each other?”

“Okay,” Charlotte said, accepting the inevitable. Rachel was in the kitchen or she had been. She led Ash through to the kitchen, aware of his hand at the small of her back. He smelled like a decadent treat, his spicy scent bringing back memories of their torrid lovemaking. A shiver worked through her, weakening her limbs. She stumbled and he caught her against his side.

“You okay?”

She nodded without meeting his eyes.

“Rachel, this is Ash. Ash, my other stepsister, Rachel.” As she spoke she walked to the pantry and grabbed a plastic container large enough for two cupcakes. “Here they are. Which ones would you like?” She’d gone with a steampunk theme after reading Gran an excellent steampunk romance, written by an Australian author. Small fondant cogs and top hats decorated some of the cakes. Others bore fob watches while she’d frosted another with a vampire in a billowing black cloak.

“You did the decorations?” Ash asked after inspecting the cakes.

“Yes. I…yes.” There was no need to tell him the task had filled the hours she’d normally spend looking after Gran.

“They’re amazing, Charlotte. I’ll take these two,” he said pointing.

The warmth in his tone made her all too aware of the way her clothes draped her body, pushed to mind how his tongue felt licking along the folds of her sex. But the intrigued expression on Rachel’s face and the mounting anger in Jenny now that her stepsister had regained her wits dragged Charlotte back to the present. She picked up one cake decorated with a clock face and another with a hat and cogs and closed the lid on the container.

“Are you ready to go?” Ash asked.

She jerked her head, in a hurry to leave. She’d known going out with Ash would cause tension, and Jenny was showing signs of an impending explosion.

Ash guided her outside to his sedan. It wasn’t a showy vehicle, but one intended to blend with the other cars on the road. He waited for her to settle in the passenger seat before closing the door. She set the cupcakes on the floor in the back, hoping they wouldn’t move around too much.

“I’ve picked a restaurant I haven’t visited much in the hope I won’t be recognized,” he said. “I want to enjoy our dinner without pressure from outside forces.” He backed out of the drive. “I thought of having dinner at my home, but I didn’t want to scare you. Do you enjoy Mediterranean cuisine?”

“I don’t know, but I adore trying new foods.”

“Good.” His reply held approval and counteracted some of the angst unsettling her stomach. “How long have you lived in Remuera?”

“All my life. My father remarried when I was in my teens and we moved into Elizabeth’s house. He died in a car accident a few years later.”

“I have a house in Mission Bay.”

Not surprising he lived in an exclusive part of the town. “Do you overlook the water?”

“I do,” he said. “We’ll have dinner there next time, and you can tell me what you think of my vista.”

Charlotte shot him a look, her brows rising in suspicion. His soft chuckle confirmed her thoughts. If he had his way, she’d see only one room. “Do you have a sea view from your bedroom?”

“As it happens I get a great one from my bed.”

“I’m not going to bed with you.”

“Why not? We’re good together.”

Too good. He made her dream of happy ever after, but she couldn’t let him sweep her off her feet. Nothing but hard work awaited her because she refused to ape her stepsisters, only interested in snaring a rich man to keep them in comfort. No, she wanted an independent life where she was answerable to no one. The freedom to work all night on her art projects and to eat whenever and wherever she desired.

“I agreed to dinner,” she countered, shying away from the subject of sex. A change of subject would help. “Can you tell me about the projects I might be working on?”

“John will have you helping his team of designers. You’ll do a lot of grunt-type work at first while he assesses your talents and decides what you’re capable of. As junior you’ll have to make coffee and collect lunches, run errands.”

“Pretty much what I do now,” she said drily.

“You said at the interview you look after your grandmother.” Ash pulled into a parking building in Newmarket.

“Yes.” She was caregiver, cook and chief cleaner too. A real drudge, but not something she intended to share with Ash.

“Who will look after her while you’re working?”

The sticky question. “I’m not sure. We haven’t discussed alternatives yet.”

“Do you mind walking? There’s never any parking in this area, and I find it’s easier to park here.”

“No problem. It’s a nice night.”

Spring was giving way to summer, the blossoms on the trees starting to fall to the ground in carpets of pink, vibrant green leaves unfurling in their place.

Ash took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers in silent challenge. At first touch, tension slithered through her, but he behaved as if holding hands was natural and gradually she relaxed. It was a treat being away from the house, away from her responsibilities with someone who sought her company. The last thing she wanted was to argue and spoil the outing.

“What made you decide to start your own design company?”

“I didn’t have any experience and no one would employ me.” He gestured at his scars without discomfiture. “I knew I could do the work and do it well. I decided to back myself and did my first few jobs for free, setting up shop at my Dad’s house and targeting Mom and Pop businesses that had never advertised before. After a couple of lucky breaks, I started attracting paying clients and went from there.”

He made it sound easy when nothing in life came without effort. She wished she had the guts to move from under Elizabeth’s thumb and strike out on her own. With her it came down to lack of support and money, and the fact she didn’t feel as if she could leave Gran. Elizabeth would put Gran in a home, and Charlotte knew Gran would loathe a rigid routine and the loss of her freedom.

Their table was ready when they entered the flower-bedecked restaurant. Charlotte savored the fragrance drifting from the pots of roses at the entrance and saw the owners had placed single pink blooms in vases on every table. A man playing a guitar sat in one corner, a glass of beer at his elbow to soothe his throat between songs. He sang about summer and the beach, the rough tones of his smoky voice grabbing the attention of more than one female customer.

The waiter guided them to a private table in an alcove, and after handing them menus, he bustled away to get the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Ash ordered.

Ash reached for her hand and ran his thumb over the back with a seductive and distracting stroke. “I know you’re worried, but you won’t see much of me at work.”

“But the other employees will know you’ve taken me to dinner. Jenny is sure to mention it to her girlfriends. They’ll talk.”

“You don’t get on well with your stepsiblings?”

“We’re quite different,” Charlotte said, going for tact while removing her hand from his grasp. Jenny couldn’t keep a secret if she tried.

Ash opened his menu, glanced at it and set it aside. “Did you enjoy the ball?” His eyes twinkled while his lips quirked upward at the corners.

Charlotte’s pulse did a bump and grind as memories rushed over her. “Are you asking about the dancing or the sex?”

He chuckled. “Both. Personally, the sex was a highlight for me. I’ve dreamed about you ever since. I especially enjoyed the tiny hitch of sound you made when I thrust inside you.”

“Are you ready to order, sir?” The waiter flicked a rapid glance at Ash before concentrating on his order pad.

Charlotte bit her lip. Had he overheard their conversation or was he responding to Ash’s scars? She peeked at the waiter and saw he wasn’t paying attention to her. It was Ash’s appearance that was throwing him.

“Charlotte, would you like me to order for you?” Ash didn’t react to the waiter’s discomfort.

“Please.” She closed her menu and caught the waiter’s expression when he glanced at her. “Everything sounds good.” Oh drat. He
had
heard everything and was wondering why she was with Ash. Charlotte glared at the man, and he focused on his order pad again.

“We’ll take the mixed
meze
, a Greek salad, the marinated leg of lamb and the lemon chicken please.” As he spoke, he trapped her hand in his again.

“Thank you, sir.” The waiter smiled but couldn’t make himself meet Ash’s gaze.

Anger flashed through Charlotte at his rudeness, but Ash didn’t seem to notice. He’d probably dealt with much worse. Heck, the newspapers called him
The Beast.
As much as she wanted, Charlotte didn’t comment on the slight. Instead she grinned at him. “Gran is right. You have very pretty eyes.”

His hand tightened around hers. “Not bedroom eyes?”

“Huh! I don’t need to stroke your ego. The way I hear it you have women lining up to jump into your bed.” They’d ogled him in his Zorro costume at the ball. She frowned a little, thinking about the gossip columns and the countless women in their designer gowns. Why was he paying attention to her?

His teasing air faded as he skewered her with his sharp gaze. “I’m not a player. I used to take advantage of women throwing themselves at me when I was younger, until I realized they were after my money and five minutes of fame in a women’s magazine.”

Another thought occurred and it rankled. “Did you pick this restaurant because of me?”

“Yes.” He seemed to read her thoughts because he continued. “Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte. I’m not ashamed of being seen with you. I chose this restaurant because the food is excellent and the trendy people haven’t discovered it yet. I wanted you to myself.”

Her stomach bucked under his intense scrutiny. “I can’t go out with you again.” She shouldn’t have come out with him in the first place, but Gran… She’d do anything to make Gran happy. She averted her gaze, unable to say what she needed to say while looking at him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix business and pleasure. I don’t want your other employees to resent me or accuse me of receiving favoritism.”

Ash studied her for a long moment and couldn’t fault her words. He didn’t like the idea of gossip spreading through Marlborough Media either, except now that he’d found her he couldn’t ignore his fascination. Something elusive about her called him, made him think of a future, and that had never happened before. “Let’s just enjoy the meal and let the future take care of itself. Do you like cooking?” She relaxed at the change of topic, just as he’d intended.

“I do, although my stepmother and stepsisters aren’t very adventurous. We eat a lot of salad.”

“You’re not on a diet?” He didn’t try to hide his horror.

She laughed, unwinding even more. “Thankfully neither of my stepsisters has decided to diet for summer yet, but I’m sure conversation and meals will center on bikinis soon.”

“I’ll sneak you some chocolate,” he said. “You do like chocolate?”

“What woman doesn’t?”

He leaned back in his chair, soaking in the pleasure of her grin. “It’s a pity you’ve decided we’re not going out together again. I have a jar of chocolate body paint and a selection of brushes in my pantry. The idea of licking it off your breasts is very appealing.”

Silent censure emanated from her as her fingers toyed with her wineglass. “That’s not the sort of chocolate I had in mind.”