The Chatsfield Collection Books 1-8. Annie West

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СКАЧАТЬ seen a miniature landscape painting up close before. Do you realise the incredible detail that goes into them? They look like a normal painting only smaller but when you look at them with a magnifying glass you see the amazing detail….’ Her voice trailed off and her cheeks coloured up. ‘But I guess you already know that.’

      Lucca couldn’t resist brushing a finger down the slope of her cheek. ‘Are you always this bright and chirpy first thing in the morning?’

      Her small white teeth momentarily sank into the pillow of her lower lip. His eyes went to the tiny spot where his mouth had bruised her and his chest flinched as if someone had just kicked his heart with a work-booted foot. ‘Sorry, it’s just I haven’t felt this excited in a long time. I have my very own art collection. Of course, three paintings isn’t much, but it’s a start. Do you know of any other auctions I could attend?’

      Lucca smiled at her fresh-faced enthusiasm. Smiled and yet felt that twinge of sadness he’d felt the evening before. She was so young, still a little naive. There were sharks out there that would circle her and gobble her up in a heartbeat. Only forty-eight hours ago he had been one of them. ‘Sure. I’ll email you some links.’

      Her eyes drifted away from his. ‘The papers are saying a heap of ridiculous stuff about us.’

      ‘Yeah, I know. I’ll have to work extra hard to get my reputation back in the sewer where it belongs.’

      Her lips twitched as if she were holding back a smile. ‘It’s funny in a way. What they’re saying.’

      ‘Hilarious.’

      Her smile broke free along with a little giggle that sounded like a tinkling bell. He had never heard her laugh before. He had never seen her dimples before either. They made her look adorably cute. ‘I thought I’d be appalled but in a way I’m enjoying it,’ she said. ‘They think we’ve been up here swinging from the chandeliers when in fact I’ve been playing nursemaid and housekeeper. If only they knew.’

      ‘I’m glad you’ve found the irony of the situation so vastly entertaining.’

      Her eyes danced with what suspiciously looked like mischief. ‘Apparently we’re the new “it” couple. Madeleine called me to tell me my popularity rating is through the roof.’

      Lucca frowned. ‘You’re not worried about your reputation being besmirched by being associated with me?’

      She gave a little up-and-down movement of her shoulders. ‘I’ve decided to get over myself. I’ve been hiding away for the past five years because some guy was a jerk. By staying locked away I’m letting him win. I’ve decided to come out. I want to party and who better to teach me how to do it than you?’

      He held up his hands. ‘Uh-uh, I’m not going there.’

      She gave a little pout that did crazy things to his heartstrings. ‘Oh, come on, Lucca. You do nothing but party. You’d be the best one to show me how to have a good time.’

      Lucca found himself in the unfamiliar role of responsible adult. ‘Listen, sweetheart, I’m not sure you’re ready for the party scene. It’s a jungle out there. You could get into all sorts of trouble.’

      She smiled at him with a knockout sparkly smile. ‘But not if I have you as my bodyguard.’

      After talking to Lucca about her disastrous love affair Lottie felt a weight come off her shoulders like throwing off a heavy suit of armour. She didn’t like admitting it but he had been right. She had been acting like a coward. Scared of life. Scared of stepping out of her rigid routine in case life threw up something she couldn’t handle. How would she know if she could handle stuff if she didn’t even try?

      She had gone back to the dungeon and survived, hadn’t she?

      She had flown in a helicopter again and survived.

      It was time to reclaim her life. She didn’t care what the papers said. She was going to have a good time doing all the things girls her age would do. Dancing, drinking delicious cocktails, flirting with handsome men, kicking up her heels and feeling normal.

      Lucca proved to be as wonderful an escort as he had been listener the night before. He hired a top model sports car and drove her down to Nice where they had dinner in a fabulous restaurant overlooking the beautiful turquoise blue of the water and the startling-white sand of the beach.

      After dinner he took her to a nightclub owned by a friend of his. The music was loud and the patrons hip and übersophisticated, but after her second champagne cocktail she felt herself loosening up a tiny bit. But while Lucca went to the bathroom, his friend the barman insisted on her having a vodka chaser ‘on the house.’ Worried she might offend him by refusing, especially since he was Lucca’s friend, she politely drank it.

      It was like drinking a magic potion, an instant cure for introversion. The potent brew flooded her system, giving her a boost of confidence and gaiety. There would be no wilting daisy petals tonight. No way. She was ready to stand up and party!

      She grabbed Lucca’s hand as soon as he got back and pulled him towards the dance floor. ‘Come on. Let’s dance.’

      His expression was more in line with an elderly guardian than a promiscuous fun-loving playboy. ‘Do you think you should’ve had that last drink?’

      Lottie couldn’t remember feeling so deliciously relaxed. She hadn’t had so much fun in ages. Probably ever. Her limbs felt all squishy and melting, and her usual inhibitions about dancing in public had completely disappeared. ‘Don’t be a spoilsport. I’m supposed to be letting my hair down. Why are you acting so headmasterish all of a sudden?’

      He rolled his eyes and allowed her to tug him to the cluster of gyrating bodies. ‘One dance and then I’m taking you home to bed.’

      She swayed on her feet and tried to focus on one of the two of him that had appeared in front of her gaze. She couldn’t work out if it was because she wasn’t wearing her glasses or the third drink she’d had. Maybe a bit of both. ‘Ooo, that sounds like glooorious fun. Do you really mean it?’

      His brows snapped together in a frown. ‘You’re drunk.’

      She tiptoed two of her fingers from his sternum up to his chin but her fingers weren’t travelling in a straight line. ‘Do you think I wouldn’t want you if I wasn’t a leetle teeny bit tipsy?’

      He captured her fingers before they could get to his mouth. ‘I’m not sleeping with you, Lottie. Drunk or sober.’

      She made a little moue with her mouth. ‘I know you want me. That day we kissed—’

      ‘Was a mistake that won’t be repeated,’ he said in a clipped tone.

      ‘I liked you being rough with me.’ She pressed up against him brazenly. ‘It made me go all fizzy inside. I’ve never felt like that before. I thought I was going to come on the spot.’

      ‘Will you shut up, for God’s sake?’ His expression had gone from stern to exasperated.

      Lottie giggled and wriggled her hips against him again. ‘I’ve never done it with a partner. Come, I mean. I’ve only pretended. I’m really good at it. I bet you couldn’t tell the difference. Do you want to hear me?’

      Lucca СКАЧАТЬ