Double Dare (26 page)

"Is it far?"

He began to laugh.

"What?" She tugged at the belt of his robe.

"Too far." He was still smiling. He was thinking of his rush to get to her.

She looked at him with mock innocence. "Oh?"

"I made the mistake of telling the taxi driver to put his foot down. They're all crazy drivers in Paris anyway. I didn't know what I was in for."

She kissed him, hiding her amusement against his mouth. "Well, we'll get the Metro. As long as we're together we can take things a bit slower." Her eyes reflected her amusement. She sighed. "I thought I'd never get through yesterday without you," she whispered, eyeing his body where it was exposed at the neck of his robe.

"I felt the same." He watched her with a half smile, waiting to see what she did next.

"While I remember, there's something I need to tell you," she said.

"Yes?"

"I'm not really a receptionist."

Why did he feel so strange, hearing her say those words aloud? They seemed to fly out of nowhere. He felt almost bereft. He stared at her, waiting for some big confession—guilt maybe—but he saw only honesty and a hint of embarrassment.

"Why did you lie?" he managed to ask, trying to keep his voice level.

"Because most men do a runner when they find out what I do for a living." Her eyes flashed, pure seduction reeling him in. "And I didn't want to scare
you
off."

Seriously? That simple, huh?
He could kick himself. But why did he feel such a sense of loss?
Because you haven't got an excuse to mistrust her anymore, you jackass
. Yes, he had been using it as a crutch. And now it was gone he had to stagger forward into the relationship without support. If this all fell apart, he wouldn't have his sense of mistrust to wallow in, just loss. Only loss. He didn't want to feel that, but it was edging up his back like fear.

"I'm an investment manager." She paused, waiting for his reaction. "So if you ever need any advice on what to do with your cash..." She reached over and stroked his chest. "I'm your girl."

You certainly are
. How bloody ironic. He hadn't wanted their real lives to intrude on this weekend, but the discussion had led them there. With an effort, he smiled. He had to get her off that topic though, lest he feel tempted to confess his hidden role in her life, and have her storm out on him as a result. This was their time. He didn't want to ruin it now, not this soon. "Is there anything else about you that I should know?"

She frowned, thoughtfully. "No."

He felt relief.

"Oh, no wait, there is something."

His chest tightened.

She grinned. "I dare myself to do things." Her eyes twinkled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I can't decide whether to go for something, or I need to pull together more confidence, I dare myself. Like when you gave me the card to The Hub, I really wanted to go but I wasn't sure. I wanted to see you again, so I dared myself to go."

"I see. Maybe I should try it myself sometime."

"What daring me to do something or daring yourself?" She chuckled.

He was going to have to dare himself to walk into Robertson's, on Monday. "Maybe both."

She lolled back on the bed, resting on one elbow, nursing her wine glass, her hair spilling onto the quilt like molten lava.

He reached over to stroke it. "Do you always go through with it, when you dare yourself to do something?"

She nodded. "I like to respond to a challenge." She touched his face, smiling. "Deep down I wonder what the ultimate dare would be, one that I really would have a hard time deciding over."

"What, like a double dare?" He flickered his eyebrows at her.

"Why does that sound like you're thinking devious thoughts?"

"Now that I know your trick, I'm wondering how far I can push my luck."

She laughed. "Oh, I imagine I'd do just about anything you dared me to, even if it was a double dare."

He shook his head. "You do trust too readily."

"I told you, I like a challenge." Amusement twinkled in her eyes.

So she thought of him as a challenge. She certainly was, for him. "Apparently I do too."

"In that case I dare you to tell me something about yourself that I don't already know - maybe something you've never told anyone."

"Hmm. Something I haven't told anyone." Strangely enough, his mind didn't automatically leap back to the big secret between them. It went to something else first. A matter of the heart that he thought he'd left behind long ago. As he turned it over in his mind, she prodded him in the chest with one finger.

"You're such a mystery man."

"I am?"

"Yes, but that's why I was so attracted to you in the first place."

Oh, the irony
. "In that case maybe I should stay a mystery. Maybe you won't want me any more if you know everything about me."
Never a truer word spoken in jest
.

"I think it's too late for that," she said, quite seriously. "Remember, it's some sort of an addiction now."

He reached for her, cupping her cheek with his hand. She rested her hand over his, searching for some deep truth in his eyes.

"I think you're going to learn quite a lot about me soon, Abby. But the thing that sprang to mind when you dared me was about another woman."

"Another woman?" Her expression grew pensive. "There's another woman?" She looked as if someone had just told her the world was about to end.

He reached over to kiss her. "Hush," he whispered, "you're the only woman. This was a long time ago."

She flung herself back on the bed, laughing with relief. "And there was me thinking I was the shady secret in our affair."

No that's me, my love
. "You're far from that, Abby."

When she rolled back, she propped herself up on her elbow again. "So there was another woman, what is it about her that's something you've never told anyone before now?" She narrowed her eyes and peered at him analytically, as if she could read it on his face. Humor wasn't far from her expression.

"I think she made it hard for me to trust people." Delivering that small statement somehow felt as if a gaping wound had been reopened. "I was a lot younger and I wasn't taking any responsibility in life, I was just out for a good time. The odd thing was it didn't occur to me that I wasn't the only one. Nathan and I hitched up with these two women traveling through Europe on the trail of summer rock festivals. The four of us were together for about two weeks. Then she disappeared—together with my credit cards and my wallet." It wasn't quite as straightforward as that. She'd found out he had money and she'd ripped him off good and proper.

Abby watched him, her intelligent eyes so gently enquiring now that she realized he was serious. "And did she take your heart, too?"

He stroked her hand, smiled and shook his head. "It might have felt like it at the time, but I didn't know what love was, back then."

She stared at him as his words sank in. Eventually, she nodded. "Friends are always telling me I trust too readily, that I don't have the thick hide I need to survive in the world I work in."

"The underlying tenderness is what makes Abigail Douglas special, but I think you probably do trust too easily. I mean...I could have been anybody, but you trusted me." It was as if a cruel tormenting demon had taken up residence in his mind and his every thought was laden with self-ridicule. He'd have to shake it off, or he'd ruin the evening.

"Yes, but that's what I wanted. I liked idea of a sexy, mystery man for a lover." She winked at him.

He rested his fingers in her hair, teasing it out. "I think you are helping me to trust again." He meant the words. It had been hard, but he would trust Abigail Douglas with his life.

Would she ever trust him again though, when she found out who he really was?

Chapter Twelve

Nathan stood outside Camden Tube station, scanning the crowds of people spilling out from the escalators. The evening party people were out in force. He spotted Suzanne's blonde hair just as her arm raised through the crowd to wave at him. His instant reaction on seeing her was satisfaction, like he was whole again. He felt like a teenager, lovesick. He wanted to shout out to everyone around them: "Hey, look everyone, this is my woman, she's with me."

She ran toward him, looking sexier than ever in hipster jeans and a black leather vest with a gauzy black mesh t-shirt underneath. A peep of black bra beneath it made him want to strip her to find out if she was wearing matching undies.

She jumped onto him, locking her arms around his neck and her legs around his thighs, like a happy koala clinging to its tree trunk. The greeting had grown familiar now, third time around. He held her bottom in his hands, squeezing her tight against him as he kissed her.

"Hey, big man."

"Hey, little lady."

She gave a throaty laugh as she ruffled his spiky hair. Her eyes were lined with kohl, her curls secured in a cute topknot.

"Ready for the gig?" He lowered her to the ground.

"Absolutely." She tucked in beneath his arm and they walked towards the venue. Her expression gradually turned serious as they wended their way through the crowded pavements. "Listen, there's something I wanted to ask you about." Her tone was tentative.

He had a sinking feeling. Was she going to call it off?

"I've got a sort of a family event coming up soon, and I was kind of wondering if you'd like to come along with me?"

Relief hit him. Not only that but the sense of satisfaction was back. She wanted her family to meet him, but she'd been worried to ask. She had no idea how pleased he was. He pulled a mock frown. "You have a 'sort of' family event that you were 'kind of' wondering if I'd like to go to with you?"

She punched him in the ribs. "Don't you make fun of me."

"I'd love to go with you."

"You don't want to know what it is first?"

"No. If you want me to go with you, I'm there already."

She wrapped her arms around him, pushing her face into his T-shirt as she gave him a hug. "It's my brother's twenty first."

"You were worried that I wouldn't want to go?"

"Well, he's not a rock fan so the music will be dire." She shook her head, disapprovingly. Her expression was so serious he couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"We could convert him yet."

She smiled. "My family will want to know all about you. It might be a bit like the Spanish Inquisition."

He shrugged. "Now you sound like you're trying to put me off."

"No," she declared. "I'm really pleased that you want to come."

"Good. It's a done deal."

They'd reached the venue. She glanced at the queue then at the sign over the doorway. "The Hub?" She frowned. "Why does that sound familiar to me?"

"The venue's had a lot of press recently, it's only been open a couple of months."

She was staring up at him, a furrow between her eyebrows. "No, it's something else." Her expression changed, her eyes lighting up. "That's it, the other courier, he gave us cards, me and Abby." She looked up at the sign again. "For this place."

Shit
. It wouldn't ever have occurred to him. He struggled to find a response. What would Zac say, if it was him standing here? He'd find some clever way to shrug it off, but Nathan didn't feel clever, especially not right then. He felt awkward as hell, and decidedly shifty. That bothered him.

"We don't need to queue." He took her by the hand, bypassing the crowd and giving Steve, the doorman, the nod as he led her inside.

"Wow, this place is great. What is it, an old cinema?" She craned her neck, looking at the decorative coving on the ceiling of the entrance vestibule.

He nodded, relieved that her thoughts had moved on. If only he could forget it. It wasn't going to be that easy. He'd just been thrown from feeling mighty proud that she wanted him to meet her family, to feeling ashamed about the reason why he had befriended her in the first place. Instinctively his annoyance became focused on Zac, who was who-knew-where, having a bloody good time, no doubt.