London Falling (21 page)

When I sold the flat, he told me I could stay there anytime I needed. He’s such a sweet boy. Certainly don’t know where that came from.” Dottie slapped her hand over her mouth when William laughed.

Maybe she should slow down on the alcohol consumption, since she was liable to say something even more shocking and embarrass herself. On the other hand, maybe that was the way to get rid of him. He and Gordy were like two peas in a pod: social and well-liked, but proper all the way down to their comfortable black socks.

The hostess pushed her way through the crowd and motioned for them to follow her to the table. William touched his hand to the small of her back, and she felt the contact clear to her toes. It was entirely too proprietary for her tastes, so she eased herself away.

Once they were seated, she said, “Simon has been such a dear. I stayed there a few weeks ago, too, although I’m sure he wouldn’t have been happy with me if he’d known what I was really in town for.” William raised one eyebrow in a silent question. She leaned forward. “I bought some weed.” She leaned back and smiled. See how he handled that revelation.

“Are you ill?” he asked, concern creasing his brow.

“No. Why? Oh, you mean for medical purposes. No, I’m not sick.”

He grinned at her. “For fun, then. Good for you.”

Dottie forced her mouth closed. “I thought you’d be shocked.”

“Given my background? I don’t think so.” Huh? William looked at her in surprise. “Gordy never told you?”

She and Gordy rarely spoke of William since he knew how much she disliked him. “Told me what?”

“I was quite the stoner in my school years. Pretty much tried everything.

Grass. Shrooms. LSD.” He shrugged his shoulders. “It was the sixties.”

He said it like everyone popped pills, except that she hadn’t. The only thing she’d ever popped was corn. “Did you enjoy it?”

“At first. But after a while, you get tired of avoiding life. It’s much more fun to experience it.”

“That’s exactly how I felt!”

He smiled at her, and it seemed that they’d shared a moment, but she quickly looked away. She traced the base of her Cosmo glass with her fingers.

When he placed his hand over her fingers, she snapped her attention to his eyes.

“I’m glad we have finally got a chance to get to know each other.” He brushed his thumb along the edge of her wrist. “I’ve been attracted to you for years.”

Dottie choked and started coughing. Dear God, she didn’t even have any liquid in her mouth, just her own saliva.

He stood half out of his chair. “Are you okay?”

She held up her hand. Nodded. Finally managed to croak, “wrong pipe,”

before another coughing fit overcame her.

He slid her water glass towards her. “Here, have some water.”

After a few moments, she finally managed to calm her coughing.

“I’ve shocked you.” He waited for something in response, but all she could manage to do was nod. “You had to realize that’s why I asked you out.”

“I thought you hated me?” Why else would he have encouraged Gordy to break up with her when they were first dating?

Oh dear God. She’d read him all wrong.

“I’ve never hated you. Even before Gordy met you, I wanted to ask you out, but I was afraid you’d say no. You’re extremely attractive. I’m certainly not immune to that.”

Dottie could only stare at him as her body heated up to broil.

Thankfully, the waitress interrupted to tell them the specials. Dottie heard nothing.

So much for her plan to shock him. He’d just managed to shock her to her very bones, and she wasn’t sure she disliked it!

“Hey there fairy cake girl! Got any more? That first one was brilliant!” Simon said.

“Hold your britches. We were here first.” The three blokes stepped in front of Simon so they could be served first, and it was all Simon could do not to laugh. As they walked away, Aimee lifted the corner of her mouth in a smile.

Over the past few hours, they’d perfected their schtick, as she called it.

Anytime someone seemed a little hesitant about buying fairy cakes from her, he stepped in and asked if he could buy another because the first was so brilliant. It worked almost every time.

And fortunately, no one had recognized him yet, since he kept his face carefully averted in case anyone got too curious.

“Has anyone called about Cupcake yet?” Aimee asked, when things got a little slow. The flyers had been up for two days.

He shook his head. “I’m wondering if someone went on holiday and doesn’t know their puppy is missing.”

“And left him all alone?” she asked indignantly. He was not looking forward to the day the owners showed up to claim him. “They don’t deserve him.” She scuffed her shoe on the sidewalk. “I was doing some research, and I think I figured out a way to stop Cupcake from jumping on us.”

“How?” Definitely a sign that she was getting too attached to that dog.

“By turning around and ignoring him every time he jumps on us. He’s looking for attention, so the best way to get him to stop is to take away your attention.”

“Where did you learn this?”

“The internet.” She glanced at the pub, but no one was leaving. “What do you think will happen to him if the owners don’t show up?”

He didn’t want any part of this one. There was no way he could handle a dog with his work schedule. “I’d rather not cross that bridge until we come to it.”

She sighed.

“You know you can’t take the dog with you,” he said.

“Of course not! Number one, I don’t want a dog. And even if I wanted one, I couldn’t afford a dog right now. Besides, once I graduate, I expect I’ll be working long hours at my job.”

“And where exactly will that be?”

Her chin lifted. “Microsoft. Assistant Financial Analyst.” She smiled. “I get an office.”

He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“What? What did that look mean?”

“It sounds dull.”

She rolled her eyes. “And banking isn’t?”

“Absolutely not. I can’t tell you what a rush it is when you are able to help someone build a business out of nothing. After we stabilized the cash flow, that’s how I helped build the bank, by helping small businesses with loans. If the loan was large enough, I’d take a seat on the board. Which was pretty ridiculous at first, given I was only twenty and didn’t know anything about anything. But, I researched, helped the companies take calculated risks, and it paid off for me. For the bank.” God, those were brilliant good times. “When I was finally on firmer footing and could take part-time courses at Uni, I used my professors as resources while I learned. It was smashing good fun.”

“So how does the royal family fit into this?”

As the weight of the initiative settled on his shoulders, he crashed back to reality. “Do you realize how long we’ve been trying to win the royal family’s business?”

“Four hundred years?”

“Did I tell you already?” She nodded. “And now the princes are open to change.” He slammed his fist into his palm. “If I win the account, do you realize what I will have accomplished? The ultimate in success. I’ll finally prove to my father that I’m capable.” And he’d finally secure his future. No more threats to leave the business to Lucy or, God forbid, Blake.

Aimee was looking at him as if he’d said something strange, her head cocked to one side and a hand on one hip. “What about proving it to yourself?” she asked.

“Myself. My father. Everyone will know that I’ve reached the pinnacle.”

He’d finally have control over his financial future. She still had that look on her face that said something wasn’t right with his view. “What?”

“I just think–” Aimee said, before breaking off abruptly and squinting at something in the distance.

“What?” he asked again.

“Rodney. It’s f-ing Rodney.” She practically threw the cupcake at Simon.

“Watch my stuff,” she said before breaking into a run.

Over a block away, a tall, dark-haired bloke ran down the street. Behind him, Aimee yelled, “Rodney!” but the bloke either didn’t hear her, or chose to ignore her.

Simon’s blood raced through his veins. Aimee was fast losing ground to Rodney, and she’d never catch him in those high-heel boots, so Simon tossed the cupcakes and cart in the back of his BMW, hopped in and headed after them. He couldn’t wait to beat the pulp out of the bloke. After gunning his car through a red-ish light, he pulled up next to Aimee and yelled, “Get in!”

After glancing up the street at the quickly disappearing Rodney, Aimee ran to his car. She lifted the handle and practically smacked herself in the face with her elbow when the door failed to open. “Unlock the door!” she yelled.

Simon punched the button, she threw herself in the seat and they were off.

“Don’t lose him,” she said. Simon gunned it past a cab and a bus. “There he is!” she yelled, pointing to the crowd on their left.

The bloke’s dark hair bobbed above the crowd. He would lose him if he waited for the light. Simon waited for a break in traffic and slammed on the accelerator.

“Go, go, go!” Aimee yelled.

At the same time, Simon saw the unmistakable lights swirling in the mirror behind him. “Bloody hell.” All at once, everything came back to him: his desire to win the princes’ business, his need to avoid scandal, his need to follow the law. He slowed the car and Rodney slipped away.

“Why are you–” Aimee turned to face the rear window. “No.” She whipped her head around to face him. “Switch seats.”

Simon pulled to the side of the road. Without doubt, he was in trouble.

“Switch seats with me,” Aimee said frantically. She grabbed his arm.

“You can’t get a ticket! You have to switch seats with me.” Her eyes were wide with flight as she tugged on his arm. “Move. Hurry.”

Simon slammed the gear into park and yanked the key to off. The fairy cakes fell to the floor behind him. “I’m not switching seats with you.” She continued to pull his arm. “I’m not switching seats with you!” He lowered his voice. “It’s my fault, I’m the one who deserves the ticket. You probably don’t even have a license on you. And it’s just a harmless ticket.” Although his father would kill him if he found out.

“But you were helping me. It’s my fault. I can’t have you ruin your chances with the royal family because of me. I’d never forgive myself.” She tugged on his arm. “Please Simon.”

And at that moment, he knew he was in big trouble. But not with the law He’d had plenty of speeding tickets before, and while it wasn’t the best PR, it was still only a ticket. He tried to soothe her with his hand on her arm, but the officer tapped on Simon’s window with his baton. Simon lowered the window.

“It’s my fault officer!” Aimee said before the whir of the electric window had even stopped.

Simon shook his head. “Good evening, sir.”

“Might I ask what possessed you to run that red light back there?” the officer asked.

“I–”

Simon glared at Aimee to keep her quiet. “This young woman recently had her things nicked. We saw the bloke who did it and tried to catch him, but we were losing him, so I ran the red light.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, like it was a story he heard every day and still didn’t believe. “License please,” the officer said.

“It really is my fault,” Aimee said while Simon pulled out his wallet.

“Rodney took everything I have. Simon was nice enough to try to catch him for me.”

“Shouldn’t you have called the police?” the officer asked, then peered at Simon’s license.

“Yes,” Simon said. “But we were afraid we would lose him, which wouldn’t do the police any good. You can check it out. We filed a report.”

Simon gave him the particulars and the officer went back to his vehicle.

“I’m so sorry, Simon. I never meant for this to happen.” Tears still filled her eyes as she placed her fingers on his coat sleeve. Her hands were so delicate with long tapered fingers, but the nails were unpolished and ragged from cleaning. She worked so hard to get by, yet she cared more about his reputation than her own comfort.

His heart rate slowed, his breathing evened out, and he felt a strange sense of calm. This woman–this amazing woman–was willing to get a huge fine, or even go to jail, to make sure he got his dream fulfilled. “It’s just a ticket, Aimee. Believe me, this isn’t my first. I’ll bet that no one will even find out.” He glanced in the rearview mirror, because the officer was taking his time. “At least he didn’t catch us selling fairy cakes without a permit.” Simon turned to Aimee and smiled.

“I can’t believe you’re willing to get a ticket for me,” she said, as if no one had ever done anything for her before.

She was acting as though he’d cured cancer. And he suddenly wanted to hurt the people who had hurt her. “Bloody Stockholm Syndrome,” he muttered.

They sat in silence while they waited for the officer to return. In the chaos, Aimee’s skirt had hiked up to dangerous territory. There was a rip in the stocking, just above her left knee where her pale skin peeked through the fabric. She lifted her hips in the air so she could tug the skirt lower on her legs. A visual of Aimee lifting her hips to meet his own clouded his vision and he quickly shoved it away. Interest rates, now there was a good topic to review. His eyes drifted over to Aimee’s legs.

A knock on the top of the car startled him. Simon lowered his window for the officer.

“Your story checks out. I’m letting you off with a warning this time. Next time you see the thief, you need to get the police involved. You could get hurt.”

After he took back his license and started the car, he willed Aimee to be quiet.

She cleared her throat.

“I don’t want to hear it,” he said.

“You do realize that’s the exact same thing you said to me the other day, don’t you?”

“Bloody American,” he muttered, but he was drowned out by her laughter.

And that’s when he knew it was inevitable that they were going to sleep together. The only question was when.

Chapter Ten

Aimee’s breath fogged the air. When she put her ear against the glass in the French door and knocked there was only silence.

Where was he? He’d dropped her off live minutes ago, and she’d already climbed over the garden wall, hidden the ladders and stowed the luggage cart in the shed. The alarm beeped, and she jerked her head back from the door.