Counterfeit Love (3 page)

Lucy laughed to show she was joking, but Byron studied her seriously. ‘I don’t know if I was looking for you – but I’m sure glad I found you,’ he said.

Lucy felt the temperature in the bar rise as Byron held her gaze.
He
was definitely flirting now. She fumbled for a follow-up question. ‘Why?’

Lucy immediately regretted her question. The tension between them unravelled and Byron’s face relaxed into a friendly smile. ‘I’m glad I found you so I can buy you a drink.’

‘Yes, of course,’ Lucy replied quickly. ‘I’m sitting over there with a friend. Come and join us?’

Lucy gestured to the bench where Charlotte and the others were sitting. Her flatmate responded with a little wave, not even hiding the fact that she’d been spying on them. Byron seemed to spend several seconds looking in Charlotte’s direction before he nodded. ‘Sure thing.’

He turned towards the bar, allowing Lucy to flee to the security of the table.
Since when did I become so awkward around cute guys?
She pushed her shopping bag to the floor and sat down heavily next to Charlotte.

‘Wow. Fast work!’ Charlotte winked. ‘What’s going on with that luscious guy?’

Lucy shrugged. ‘I saw him at the Art Bar and then he just showed up here and offered to buy me a drink. So, I said yes!’

Charlotte screwed up her nose. ‘There has to be more to it than that. You don’t normally let random guys buy you drinks. What is it – you think he’s got some useful background on an upcoming merger?’

‘Well … let’s hope so!’

Charlotte laughed. ‘You’re such a reporter.’

Lucy had known since the age of eight that she wanted to be a reporter. A story she’d written about a dangerous slippery slide at her neighbourhood playground was published in the local paper, and she was hooked. Since then she’d put everything into realising her dream of working for a television news network in Asia. She’d always felt like that was where she was meant to be – where everything was happening. It also helped that she spoke three Asian languages.

Guys, on the other hand, had never really been part of Lucy’s plan – and sometimes they were just plain inconvenient. At uni she dumped guys before they got too serious, because she didn’t need anyone putting demands on her. After all, she had her studies to think of.

Now, it was Lucy’s job that was foremost in her mind. If she got involved with someone, he had to be the right type – a help to her career, not a distraction.

Lucy was genuinely scared of the misshapen, chaotic and inevitably destructive affairs that her flatmate seemed to go in for: crazy in love one week and insane with despair the next. How Charlotte managed to get her job done with all of that going on, Lucy had no idea. And why she kept picking up the pieces of her broken heart only to let someone else smash them to bits again was a total mystery.

Lucy saw her own heart for what it really was: a vital organ, not something to be tossed about randomly. But since Byron had walked into the bar, things had become a whole lot less predictable than she was comfortable with.

‘I have a nose for a story, and not much else. What can I do?’ Lucy joked. But she knew it was only half true. She could be very frosty at times, especially when a guy showed an interest in her, but there was definitely a thaw taking place as she watched Byron at the bar waiting to be served.
How strange he showed up at the bar like this. It’s almost like fate.

Lucy was surprised at her own thoughts. She didn’t actually believe in fate. She often teased Charlotte for reading horoscopes, and mocked her for the way she alternated between Western astrology and Chinese superstitions according to whichever one suited her purpose. The way Lucy saw it, surely no-one’s life was already mapped out before they had lived it; it was just laziness to think so. But it just seemed so bizarre that Lucy’s and Byron’s paths had crossed twice in one night.
Is it just coincidence or is there more to it?

‘Do you think he’s my type?’ Lucy asked her flatmate.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. ‘I don’t know if he’s any good for your career. But he sure is cute.’

Lucy let her eyes settle on Byron. He seemed different from the other guys she’d met in Hong Kong. There were plenty of hot guys around, but they were all a bit too self-assured. This guy had something edgy about him – cute, but fidgety, looking around, playing with a coaster on the bar.
Definitely plenty going on in his mind
, she thought.

Lucy hoped he’d be worth getting to know, that he’d have some kind of story to tell. But as she studied him, Byron turned and flashed her that lopsided grin again, and Lucy felt her insides quiver. Lucy wondered what it would be like to lose herself in his tanned arms, to forget herself for a day, to put aside her professional ambitions and just see where things went, to sample a little craziness – whether he was the right type of guy or not.

‘So I’m guessing he’s here on business,’ Charlotte said as they waited for Byron to return from the bar.

‘He’s too young to be here on business,’ Lucy said. ‘He can’t be much more than twenty-two or twenty-three. I’d say he’s a new recruit – a banker, or maybe a lawyer.’

Charlotte frowned. ‘In the Art Bar on his own. In Lan Kwai Fong alone. On a Friday night? Not very likely. Maybe just a tourist.’

Lucy nodded. Her friend could be right. It didn’t make a lot of sense for a guy his age to be on his own in a bar, unless he was just there on holidays. He might even be a student en route to his Chinese course in Shanghai or Beijing. Lucy felt a tingle of excitement at the idea that Byron might be just making a brief visit to Hong Kong. A holiday fling might be just what she needed – a perfect way to have some fun without getting tied down.

‘Looks like we’re about to find out his story,’ Lucy said as Byron manoeuvred his way towards the table. He arrived carrying three mojitos and a smile that was enough to disarm an entire army of ice queens. Lucy felt herself relax as he sat down, handed her a drink and put another in front of Charlotte.

‘Thank you very much.’ Charlotte smiled at Byron and then gave Lucy an encouraging nod. Lucy knew why – Charlotte was a big fan of chivalry. She spent her life looking after other people and always appreciated someone else making an effort for her.

‘Byron, as in the poet?’ Charlotte asked after Lucy had introduced them. ‘Cool name. It suits you.’

He nodded. ‘My mother’s a tragic romantic.’

‘And you?’ Charlotte asked.

‘More tragic than romantic,’ he smiled.

Lucy’s skin prickled at the comment. It sounded like Byron was flirting with Charlotte – or was
she
hitting on
him
? Surely not. Lucy and Charlotte had an agreement that they’d never hit on the same guy. They’d laughed when they made the deal – a guy would need a split personality to appeal to both of them, as they had completely different tastes.

Lucy had simple but strict criteria for a boyfriend – he had to be interesting and useful. Charlotte also had strict criteria, but they changed regularly and tended to be more obscure. The number one quality that she was looking for in a guy (this week) was proficiency on the sitar. Lucy suspected Charlotte’s peculiar taste was a spin-off from working with petulant celebrities with quirky tastes. At least it made for interesting double dates!

‘So how long have you been in Hong Kong, Byron?’ Lucy asked to divert his attention back her way.

‘About twenty-two years – off and on.’

‘You’re a local. What do you do?’

Byron shrugged. ‘Oh, it’s pretty boring. I doubt you’d be interested.’

‘I’m interested in everything,’ Lucy replied.

‘I dig up dirt.’

‘Oh, like a geologist?’

Byron nodded.

‘That’s really interesting,’ Lucy said, genuinely. There were actually few things that didn’t interest her.

‘What are you working on?’ Charlotte asked.

‘Something big.’

‘Oh, really?’ Lucy leant a little closer to Byron.
Maybe he could be a useful contact.
‘Where?’

‘Can’t say.’ He shrugged, smiling apologetically. ‘Sorry, confidentiality clause.’

‘Sounds intriguing,’ Lucy said. ‘I’m guessing it’s a mining project. You’re on the exploration side, are you?’

Byron shrugged and shuffled in his seat. ‘Sorry, wish I could tell you.’

‘Your secret’s safe with us,’ Charlotte teased.

Byron drummed his fingers on the table, opened his mouth, drew a breath and then closed it again. Lucy was impressed. Most guys she’d met couldn’t wait to tell her all about how important they were and all the massive projects they were working on, which always turned out to be neither massive nor important. Lucy was desperate to know more about Byron’s company, but she didn’t need to push him straightaway; she figured she’d have it out of him by the end of the evening.

‘I understand. It’s confidential,’ Lucy said reassuringly.

Byron responded with a half-smile, but his fingers were still thumping out distress signals. Lucy gave him a comforting little pat on the leg. Byron’s face froze briefly and then it softened and his hand went still. He looked at Lucy earnestly and for a moment she thought he was about to come out with his story – the confidential project that was making him so edgy. But he said nothing.

‘You don’t have to tell us anything,’ Lucy said, hoping her words might have the opposite impact, but by then Byron seemed to have fallen into a trance. His eyes were on her, but there seemed to be nothing going on behind them anymore – his pupils had dilated and his lips had drifted apart. Charlotte was also staring, her mouth slightly open. Then Lucy noticed that her hand was still on Byron’s leg. She quickly moved her hand, but Byron made no attempt to take his eyes from her face.

‘So, someone’s been shopping,’ Charlotte said, breaking up the seance, which had become slightly awkward.

‘Yes. I mean, no,’ Lucy stumbled, tucking her hands in her lap and sitting up primly. ‘I haven’t been shopping. I’ve just got a bag.’

Byron drifted out of his trance and looked down at the bag, which was now at his feet.

‘There’s a strange story behind that bag.’ Lucy announced, glad of the chance to clear up any misunderstanding Byron might have about the guy in the safari suit. ‘I was waiting for you at the Art Bar, when some crusty old dude in a safari suit sat down next to me and gave me something.’

‘What, like a present?’ Charlotte asked, excitement in her voice.

Lucy shook her head. ‘No, like an ugly shirt.’

‘What kind of shirt?’ Byron asked, still staring at the bag.

‘Who cares?’ Charlotte replied. ‘It was ugly.’

Byron shrugged. ‘Just curious.’ He looked at Lucy, waiting for an answer.

‘It was just a freebie golf shirt of some kind.’

‘Any idea why he gave it to you?’

Lucy shook her head. ‘He must have thought I was someone else. Weird, huh?’

‘Mmm, really weird.’

Byron had lots of other questions about the incident in the bar – about what Lucy was doing in the Art Bar and what she planned to do with the shirt. Lucy was much more accustomed to asking the questions than being on the receiving end, and it seemed odd that Byron was so interested in a boring old golf shirt, but she went through everything that happened at the bar because it kept Byron’s eyes on her. And, as shallow as that was, Lucy had to admit that it made her feel special.

Byron was a good listener – which, in her experience, was unusual for a guy his age, and unheard of for a guy that cute. Lucy didn’t offer a complete picture of events in the bar – she didn’t mention the malaria tablets, or that she’d kept the bag in the hope that a career-changing exclusive would come out of it. That would make her sound coldly ambitious, which might make Byron follow Yu and run for the door.

‘That is really strange,’ Byron said, leaning back in his chair just as Charlotte returned from a visit to the loo.

‘You’re not still on about that ugly T-shirt, are you?’ Charlotte asked as she sat down. ‘Imagine how much you’d have to talk about if he actually gave you something interesting – a diamond necklace, or a Qing Dynasty vase.’

‘Well, I have to agree that a Qing vase would have been more impressive than a golf shirt,’ Lucy smiled.

‘You’re into antiques?’ Byron asked.

‘She’s an expert!’ Charlotte replied. ‘Ask her anything.’

‘No, I’m not,’ Lucy said, before Byron had a chance to quiz her. Charlotte liked to build Lucy up well beyond her actual expertise. Lucy was surprised Charlotte hadn’t already told Byron that Lucy was TVi’s top reporter. She’d said that before – a sweet thing to say, but a total exaggeration.

‘So, enough about me. What about you?’ Lucy asked Byron. ‘What were
you
doing in the Art Bar?’

Byron looked slightly startled and started drumming his fingers on the table again. ‘I was supposed to be seeing someone there, but she didn’t show up.’

Lucy’s body stiffened. She hadn’t been expecting that.

‘
Business
,’ Byron added quickly. ‘Something went wrong.’

Lucy raised her eyebrows. ‘What happened?’

Byron hesitated for a moment and then glanced towards the other end of the table. The last of Charlotte’s colleagues were getting ready to go. ‘Nothing interesting,’ he said eventually.