Roses For Sophie (6 page)

She fumed. The man was clearly no gentleman. ‘This is what you do for a living. No doubt you're so practiced you could get a hot response from a block of ice!'

He tipped his head back and deep, attractive tenor laughter rumbled through him. ‘Well, they do call you the Ice Princess. Is that a challenge?'

‘Definitely not.'

‘Shame. I'd enjoy rising to it!'

His rising didn't bear thinking about. ‘I'm glad you think this is funny!' The man was exasperating. Sophie began to worry how she was going to extricate herself from this situation, which was getting so wildly personal and way beyond her control.

He sat forward a little, his expression growing serious apart from a trace of humour still in his eyes. ‘You can relax, Sophie. I'm actually not an escort.'

‘What?' The word exploded from her lips and the room around her seemed to tilt and spin.

He shrugged. ‘I know I should've told you much earlier.'

For a few seconds her brain tried to fathom what he was telling her. It didn't make sense, yet it did. All along this man had been far too commanding to be an escort. Too everything! Her heart hammered against her rib cage as adrenaline, then mortification surged through her. ‘This is unbelievable! I was shown to your table. I was told that James Stevens was still waiting for me, and…' Realisation hit hard. ‘You're not James Stevens. Oh, my God!'

This had to be some sort of cruel joke. She half covered her face with her hands as wave after wave of embarrassment engulfed her. The waves turned into huge breakers. Her stomach lurched, and she fought to suppress the nausea rising. She closed her eyes and clutched her abdomen as she battled to control her body's reaction to the shock.

Breathe. Relax. Breathe.

‘Sophie? Don't panic.'

She raised a hand gesturing for him to stop speaking. How dare he act concerned and tell her not to panic? This was definitely a situation that called for panic.

The ramifications were enormous. The whole confidentiality agreement had been with an employee from the escort agency. If this guy, Logan, went to the press, she'd be the laughing stock of Sydney. Nobody would ever take her seriously again so there'd be no way she could hope to have her grandfather's blessing to take over the company.

Relax. Breathe.

When she was able to get the sick feeling under control, she opened her eyes and tried to cool her anger as she studied him. ‘You do look familiar. Please tell me you're not a reporter.'

Despite the look of remorse on his face, his lips twitched. ‘You're safe. I'm not a reporter and I have no time for the gutter press.'

Now she was torn between relief, embarrassment and anger. There'd been a few awkward moments in her life, but this had to beat all. ‘Have we met somewhere before?'

‘No.'

Of course not. That had been a silly question, because there was no way she'd forget this man.

Trying to assume a business-like expression, she suspected she failed miserably. The whole situation was just too shocking, and she couldn't look at him. ‘I don't understand how this could've happened,' she muttered. Massaging one of her temples, which had become unbearably tight, Sophie wondered what she should do next.

‘Just how late were you this evening?'

‘About an hour,' she confessed with a cringe, then wondered why she was discussing this with him. What she should do was make absolutely certain he wouldn't go to the media and then get out of here.

‘I'd only been here for ten minutes or so,' Logan said. ‘The guy you were expecting, your James Stevens, must've got sick of waiting and they showed me to his table.'

‘Sir. Madam.' The waiter set down plates of food in front of them and left as they murmured their thanks.

Sophie stared at her food without any appetite. ‘I can't believe this is happening. I feel like such a fool.' Wait a minute. Yes, she was embarrassed, but all that could've been prevented if he'd confessed from the outset that she hadn't been shown to the right table. Anger sparked and gave her the fortitude she needed to look him in the eyes again. ‘This is your fault. You deliberately let me think you were expecting me! You should've told me the minute I introduced myself, but this has all been a huge joke for you at my expense.'

‘You're wrong.' How could he look so sincere when he made the denial? ‘I'm sorry, Sophie, but it's not the way it seems.'

The look she shot him would surely have made any other man squirm, but not this one. ‘You expect me to believe you're sorry about this? You've been laughing at me the whole time.'

‘Up until the point where you mentioned Sue, I believed my sister, Melissa, had arranged for you to have dinner with me.'

‘What? You got your sister to arrange a blind date for you? I don't believe it.' This man would never need someone to arrange his dates. He was certain to have women queuing at the door, down the street and around the corner. ‘Anyway, I introduced myself so you knew very well who I was.'

‘It's complicated and no, I didn't get my sister to arrange a blind date. She was supposed to be meeting me here. Then, she didn't turn up, but called me and said she'd arranged for someone else to meet me. She didn't tell me who it was.'

‘And that woman just never showed?' she asked cynically.

‘That's right.'

‘How convenient.' Her tone made it clear she didn't believe a word of it.

‘I had no idea initially you thought I was an escort,' he continued. ‘I was about to tell you the truth when Felix turned up.'

‘But you didn't.' Embarrassment had well and truly turned to fury knowing that he'd deliberately goaded her with some of the comments he'd made. ‘Worse, you didn't do as I asked and keep quiet. You deliberately, calculatedly, let Felix think we're involved.'

‘You needed a date. Wasn't that your whole idea of hiring an escort?'

‘Yes, but —'

‘Felix was being rude and insulting to you, and I was being chivalrous.' He shrugged with nonchalance, and that made her even angrier.

‘Chivalrous? Huh!' Her fists clenched. ‘You were manipulating the whole situation to suit yourself. Don't you dare act as if you've been considering my best interests.'

‘I don't see the problem. Your initial plan was to make your grandfather think you had a lover. If I'm any judge, Felix will report back to your grandfather that he's seen you tonight and your plan is now in action.'

It'd been years since she'd felt the childish need to throw a tantrum. Now, this man had made her want to do so twice in one night. Somehow he got under her skin to such a degree that she felt just as frustrated and powerless as she had when she'd indulged in childish fits of temper. ‘You've done your best to hi-jack my plan. I came here expecting an escort — a professional who'd follow my instructions and be discreet about it.'

He grinned. ‘I don't do following instructions very well.'

‘Obviously.'

‘But I am discreet.'

Ooh, the man was infuriating. ‘What do I need to do to ensure your silence about this entire debacle?'

‘Are you offering to pay for my silence?'

‘If that's what it takes.' Damn.
Damn.
It wasn't as if she didn't have the money, but it rankled that she'd have to pay him to keep quiet so this whole embarrassing situation wouldn't be on the front page of the newspapers tomorrow morning. ‘What's your price?'

He sat back in his chair, his eyes never leaving hers. ‘A trip with you this weekend to your grandfather's in the Hunter Valley.'

Her jaw started to drop, and she had to make a conscious effort to snap her teeth together. ‘No.'

‘I'm attracted to you, you're attracted to me,' he continued in a reasonable tone. ‘I can understand you wouldn't want to give in to this attraction thinking that anything developing between us was part of my job description, but now you know it wouldn't be there's no reason to fight it.'

‘You're unbelievable,' she vented. ‘I don't know who you are or the first thing about you and you're talking about us getting together and giving in to attraction?'

‘It's there and you know it.'

She broke eye contact with him. Every time he pinned her with his blue eyes she felt completely exposed. Vulnerability was not something she should reveal. Strength was what she needed to cope with him. Loads of it.

‘The thing is, Sophie, you felt the need to hire someone to play the role of your lover. There's no need for that. I'm here, more than willing to be your lover.'

Willing to be your lover
. The words echoed through her mind.

Tempted her.

Seduced her.

Sophie bit her lower lip. How was she supposed to handle this? How could she sit there and deny she didn't want him? The only factor that had been a barrier to her acting on her incredibly strong desire for him was thinking he did this sort of thing for a living. Still, even though he wasn't an escort, he was still a stranger. This man knew exactly who she was, and could exploit her ruthlessly if she let her guard slip. She'd been a fool once before. She was older and wiser now, and was not prepared to let any man make a fool of her again.

‘Let's start again. Sophie, I'm Logan, and I'm very pleased we've met.' He reached across the table and held out his hand.

They were in a public place. She told herself the only reason she lifted her hand and placed it into his was because it would seem strange to anyone watching if she ignored his gesture.

Instead of shaking her hand, he simply held it and looked into her eyes.

‘I can't shake hands like we're meeting for the first time, sweetheart. We're under scrutiny.' He lifted her hand to his mouth, brushed his lips across the back of it in a gentle kiss, then turned it over and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Darts of fire flamed up her arm, spread across her chest like a raging bushfire and burnt all the way down to the most feminine part of her. It was just as well she was sitting down because his touch made her weak. Her body felt boneless and her nipples seemed to ache for his caress. Involuntarily she leaned toward him, even knowing she was playing with fire. She could offer no resistance, despite how easily she could get burned.

‘Just who are you, Logan?' she rasped.

He reached out with his free hand and stroked her cheek with his fingertips. His touch was simply divine, and she wanted so much more.

‘I'm a man who'd love to get to know you in every possible way.'

His blatant statement made her aware of the sharp ache of unfulfilled need at the juncture of her thighs. While her throat dried, moisture gathered at the feminine heart of her. Desire had never been so acute.

Despite her best intentions, Sophie felt herself freefalling without a parachute. It was dangerous because there was no safety net, yet being with him was exhilarating. Now she knew he didn't do this for a living she wasn't sure she could resist being drawn to him inexorably.

There was no denying she wanted him as her lover, yet that thought shook her to her very foundations because she simply didn't behave this way. She never had. It had to be some weird alignment of the stars and the moon because even contemplating having this stranger as her lover was totally out of character for her.

Besides, any mistake she made in her personal life became front page news and she hated that. Any personal mistake could affect her reputation in the business world and harm the respect she'd fought so hard to win.

‘You have absolutely nothing to fear from me,' he said.

But she did. She feared the force of these unfamiliar feelings he stirred up within her. Feared the outcome if she gave into them.

Logan might not be an escort and he may have said he hated the gutter press, but that mightn't stop him taking her to bed and then hot-footing it to the tabloids. Besides, he knew who she was. The insecurity she'd carried with her since the man she'd first been engaged to betrayed her, reared its ugly head. How could she ever be sure any man was attracted to her and not to her fortune?

‘Why should I believe you wouldn't exploit a relationship with me when you've already lied to me by omission?' she demanded.

He let go of her hand and reached inside his jacket. First he took out his wallet, then he withdrew a business card and handed it to her.

Logan Jackson. Managing Director, Jackson Diamonds.

Sophie's jaw dropped as the name and title sank in. Surely not? Her eyes flew to him, returned to the card, read the words again and shot back up to him.

‘Jackson Diamonds, as in the Canadian diamond mining operation?' she asked incredulously.

‘Yes.'

Reeling, she sank back into the chair and studied him closely. He didn't look anything like Logan Jackson. The billionaire was well-known for his longish hair and designer stubble.

Every muscle froze.

The only photos she'd seen of the billionaire, Logan Jackson, he'd been wearing sunglasses. Mentally, she removed the sunglasses and superimposed the shoulder-length hair and stubble on to this man. The truth hit her over the head with the full force of a sledgehammer.

‘Now I know why you seemed familiar. I can't believe I didn't realise.' She reached for her wine glass and drained it in two quick gulps. How stupid of her not to have recognised a man who was world famous. Because she'd been expecting an escort, and she was more than a little overwrought right from the outset, she hadn't twigged. The last person she'd been expecting to dine with was an Australian billionaire who'd lived overseas most of his adult life. Add in the fact that she'd been trying to fight off her attraction to him and had run into her cousin unexpectedly, and she knew her thought processes just hadn't been working clearly.