Counterfeit Love (4 page)

‘Try me,’ Lucy smiled.

But by then Byron was completely distracted by Charlotte’s colleagues straggling past.

‘Coming for a boogie at the Cactus Club?’ Cassie asked as she wobbled by.

‘Yes, definitely.’ Charlotte squeezed Cassie’s hand. ‘We’ll be right behind you.’

Charlotte turned to Lucy. ‘Shall we move on? It’s getting a bit dead in here.’

Lucy looked at Byron. ‘Want to come?’

Byron paused for a moment. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Don’t think I can manage it tonight. But don’t let me stop you.’

Charlotte shrugged and reached into her purse. She pulled out a business card and handed it to Byron.

He studied it. ‘I guess you’re the person to call if I ever need anything.’

‘Absolutely.’ Charlotte smiled, putting on her professional face. ‘You want it, we’ll make it happen.’

Byron tucked the card in his top pocket and finished his drink. ‘Anyway, better go. Got an early start tomorrow.’

‘Sure, no problem,’ Charlotte said.

‘Thanks for the drink.’ Lucy smiled, trying to hide her disappointment that Byron was leaving. She would have been happy to stare into those big brown eyes all night.

Byron nodded. ‘Anytime. We should get together again. Maybe we could do something over the weekend?’

‘Sounds good.’ Lucy pulled out a business card and handed it to Byron.

He took it reverently with two hands, but instead of studying the card, as he should have, Byron kept his eyes on Lucy. For several moments they regarded each other silently. Lucy could feel her body tingling at the thought of seeing Byron again. But when he finally dropped his eyes to her business card, his expression suddenly changed.

‘You work for
TVi
,’ he said, frowning. ‘You didn’t tell me that.’

Lucy, startled at Byron’s sudden change of mood, was momentarily speechless.

‘I’m a reporter,’ she eventually managed.

‘I thought you were an antiques dealer.’ Byron was still staring at the card. Then he tucked it into his top pocket with Charlotte’s and glared at Lucy. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were a reporter?’

Lucy shrugged, embarrassed that she hadn’t told Byron earlier that she worked for TVi. It was normally the first thing she told someone, not something she tried to hide. Lucy was suddenly glad she hadn’t pushed Byron on the details of his job. She might have got a story out of it, but she certainly wouldn’t ever see him again. ‘Sorry, it just didn’t come up – that’s all. Is it a problem that I’m a reporter?’

Byron shrugged. ‘No, no, no. I’m just surprised. You don’t look the type, that’s all.’

Lucy wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or not. Surely she looked just like a TV reporter. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means, are you free tomorrow night for a drink?’ Byron’s grin returned as quickly as it had disappeared.

Lucy shrugged, a little confused by the change of tone. ‘Sure, what time?’

‘I’ll text you in the morning when I see how my day’s looking. I’ve got your details.’ Byron tapped his top pocket where he’d tucked Lucy’s card, and picked up the empty department store shopping bag from the ground. ‘I’ll get rid of this rubbish, if you like.’

Lucy nodded absently, still wondering why she didn’t look like a reporter. As he turned to go, Byron flashed Lucy his lopsided smile and all of her uncertainties drained away again. She watched him leaving the bar, already impatient to see him again.

‘That was slightly awkward,’ Charlotte said. ‘I wonder what he’s got against reporters? You think he had a bad experience?’

Lucy shrugged, still watching the doorway, in case Byron had a change of heart. ‘Guess he’s working on a really sensitive project.’

They left Rusty’s, chatting more about Byron as they pressed their way through a crowd of tourists outside on the street. The smell of beef Massaman from a nearby restaurant wafted through the air, mingling with the smell of beer and bodies.
The scents of life
, Lucy thought. She loved the buzz of the street almost as much as she loved the elegance of a five-star hotel bar. Hong Kong was a crazy-busy, mixed-up city, but it certainly knew how to live. It was so far away from the country town she’d grown up in – that place only knew how to die. But tonight the city wasn’t captivating her as usual. She couldn’t stop thinking of Byron. Her eyes flitted around the crowd, wondering if he might still be on the street. She was hoping they’d bump into each other again. It would be hard
not
to believe in destiny if that happened.

‘You know I don’t believe in fate,’ Lucy said to Charlotte, when they had broken free of the crowd. ‘But isn’t it strange how Byron and I were at the Art Bar together, and then we ended up at Rusty’s?’

Charlotte laughed. ‘I’d love to tell you that it was all written in the stars, but I actually think that he came to Rusty’s looking for you.’

‘No way.’

‘I noticed him come in when you were talking to Yu. He was watching you. I don’t think it was any coincidence that he was in Rusty’s.’

‘
Really
?’ A wave of excitement spread through Lucy’s belly. ‘How romantic!’

That meant Byron had definitely noticed her at the Art Bar. Maybe he had made a lucky guess that she’d be going to Lan Kwai Fong – or perhaps he’d actually jumped in a taxi and followed her because he couldn’t bear to let her slip away. Lucy sighed at the thought.

Charlotte nudged Lucy. ‘Romantic, cute and mysterious. What a combination!’

‘Very mysterious,’ Lucy agreed. ‘I wonder where he actually works. Or if he’s even a geologist. All he said was he
dug up dirt
.’

Charlotte laughed. ‘He might be a gardener or even an undertaker!’

‘Mmm,’ Lucy said dreamily, ‘but I can really imagine him as a geologist. Working outdoors, inspecting rock samples. He’d be totally cute to watch.’
I wonder if he works with his shirt on or off.

Charlotte stopped walking. ‘Oh. My. God. You’ve really
fallen
for that guy.’

‘No I haven’t,’ Lucy replied defensively. As far as she was concerned, falling in love was a sign of weakness. It was reckless and totally irresponsible, especially for someone who wanted to be a news presenter before her twenty-second birthday. ‘I just think Byron … might be useful.’

‘Oh,
really
,’ Charlotte winked.

Lucy nodded. ‘If he’s a geologist he’d be a great contact. Everyone’s interested in the resources sector. Of course I want to get to know him.’

Charlotte laughed and started walking again. ‘Yep, you’re hooked.’

‘I’m not!’ Lucy protested. But she was struggling to even convince herself that was true.

There might be a mining angle that she could push with Byron. But whether he was useful or not, Lucy knew that she had to see him again. She couldn’t quite explain why – she guessed it was chemistry. They just seemed to click in some way. When he looked at her, he made her feel like the only girl in the room and, even though it made her feel light-headed, she had the idea that kissing him would make everything better – the antidote to her lovesickness.

Then she caught herself.
Lovesickness! What am I thinking?
She was a TV reporter with a job a lot of people would kill for. She had to think of her career, not
chemistry
and
kissing
. She didn’t have time for
falling
or getting
hooked
. What was she – a fish?

‘I am
not
hooked,’ she said again, firmly, taking her flatmate by the arm and looking her in the eye to reinforce the point.

‘Good.’ Charlotte raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m glad.’

Lucy nodded but she was still seriously confused by the time they arrived at the Cactus Club – Hong Kong’s hottest nightspot, according to Charlotte. The bouncer nodded at Charlotte and waved them through, even though there was a queue at the door.

There were definite advantages to hanging out with a global go-to girl. Doors opened all over Hong Kong when Charlotte arrived. It was like travelling with an actual celebrity – the only thing missing was the paparazzi.

Lucy followed Charlotte to a sweeping staircase that led to the mezzanine floor. Slowly they climbed the stairs, letting the rhythm of the music sweep over them. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Lucy also noticed a group of guys at the top of the stairs watching them. It was hardly surprising. Charlotte was tall and blonde, and got a lot of attention wherever she went. Charlotte ordered drinks and the girls stood on the balcony surveying the club. Charlotte’s colleagues were nowhere to be seen, so they turned their attention to the guys on the dance floor.

‘Hot guy in a green shirt.’ Charlotte nodded towards the dance floor below.

Lucy glanced in the direction that Charlotte had indicated. ‘Yeah,
no
. He looks like a toad.’

A few moments later Lucy nudged Charlotte. ‘Wow, he’s got swag. Pretty cute, don’t you think?’ She nodded to a guy strolling away from the bar.

Charlotte scoffed. ‘He might have been. Twenty drinks ago.’ Just as she spoke, the guy swaggered straight into a pillar. Lucy and Charlotte looked at each other and burst into laughter.

‘What about that one over there? Red shirt.’ Lucy nodded to a guy next to the dance floor.

Charlotte put her finger in her throat, pretending to make herself vomit. ‘He was probably all right twenty
years
ago. And look at the way he’s checking the girls on the dance floor out! So disgusting. So blatant.’

Lucy elbowed Charlotte. ‘Not like us, hey.’

‘
Absolutely
. We’re discreet when we check people out. Top-shelf stalkers, us.’

Lucy took a sip of her drink and let her eyes drift around the club, studying the guys at the bar and the ones on the dance floor, hoping that Byron might have changed his mind about going home and found his way to the club. It was possible. She had scoured every visible corner and alcove with her eyes when she finally saw someone interesting – a guy with thick dark hair, and a striped shirt, dancing with her back to her. Was it Byron?

‘There!’ she exclaimed, pointing at him. ‘On the dance floor.’

And then he turned round. He didn’t look anything like Byron. His nose was on the beaky side, and stuck up in the air.

‘He’s all yours.’ Charlotte rolled her eyes.

Lucy finished her drink and grabbed her friend. ‘Come on, I thought we were here to dance,’ she said, putting the talent-spotting behind them. She took a few steps towards the stairs and stopped suddenly. In a dimly lit booth, she was certain she could see someone she recognised.

Lucy nudged Charlotte. ‘It’s Yu.’ He seemed to have lost his friends and was sitting alone with a woman.

Charlotte glanced towards the booth. ‘How funny. That woman he’s with looks just like you.’

Lucy laughed. ‘That’s right – all Chinese people look the same.’

‘No, really, she does look like you.’

Lucy couldn’t really see the similarity. It was dark and it didn’t really matter, anyway. She’d lost her chance to talk with Yu and she was kind of glad – because if she’d been with Yu at Rusty’s, she probably never would have met Byron. She turned away from Yu, feeling like she’d definitely had enough of him for one night.

‘Who needs him, anyway,’ Lucy sniffed.

‘Who needs any of them?’ Charlotte laughed, dragging Lucy towards the dance floor. ‘Girls’ night out!’

By the time Lucy collapsed into bed that night, her feet were aching from dancing and she was more certain than ever that her flatmate needed to take her own advice and forget about guys for a while. She had terrible taste. Lucy had lost Charlotte for a bit and found her talking to a guy with a double-barrel surname and a strange obsession with kites.

Lucy was also beginning to suspect that she was indeed hooked on Byron. She didn’t like to admit it but, as she drifted off to sleep, she felt a desperate need to feel his skin against hers. If she hadn’t actually
fallen
for him, she was sliding precariously close to it. And although that should have worried her, she was welcoming the drop.

Byron Lloyd stood in the doorway of his apartment in Mid-Levels, staring into an empty white padded envelope, feeling like the floor had just fallen out from under his feet.