New Year, New Man. Laura Iding

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СКАЧАТЬ they left, Lucy hugged Tabby and whispered, “Have a great time with that special guy tonight.”

      Tabby whispered back, “I will. You, too....”

      It was cold outside but clear, with piles of snow left against the curbs from yesterday. Dami suggested they do the usual Christmas-in-New-York things.

      And they did. They went window-shopping on Fifth Avenue and ice-skated at the Rockefeller Center rink. Then his driver took them to Central Park, where they rode on the carousel and strolled the snow-covered paths. It was lovely. And nobody bothered them the whole day. Apparently, the paparazzi didn’t know yet that he was in New York. They even stood on the most romantic bridge ever, the cast-iron Bow Bridge over the lake, as the snow started falling again.

      Dami kissed her right there on the bridge. His lips were cold at first. But they quickly grew warm. When he lifted his head, the snow caught on his thick black eyelashes.

      “Merry Christmas, Dami.”

      He gave her a slow smile. “Merry Christmas, Luce.”

      She thought that right then she was as perfectly happy as she’d ever been. She knew it couldn’t last and she didn’t expect it to. Life wasn’t that way. Now and then there was great sweetness and if you were smart, you cherished the sweetness. You held it close and tasted it fully.

      But nothing could stay sweet forever. The struggles came. They made you stronger. Even if they never were a whole lot of fun. You cherished the happy times, held them close to your heart to warm you and keep you focused on finding the joy again when things got tough.

      That night he took her to a private party at a West Village hotel. They danced and they sat together on a white sofa and drank expensive champagne. He introduced her to the host and to a few other people he did business with in New York. It was all very glamorous and upscale and trendy. A great party, really.

      But she had only a few days with Dami. She would have preferred to have been somewhere they could talk without shouting at each other. And then she spotted the photographer taking pictures of them.

      Dami saw him, too. He leaned close. “Let’s go.”

      “Great idea.”

      Quentin appeared with her coat and bag. They were working their way through the crush toward the elevators when she heard a woman’s voice behind them. “Damien!”

      The woman, tall and gorgeous with platinum hair, emerged from the crowd. She threw her arms around Dami and planted a big one right on his lips.

      Dami laughed, a slightly weary sound. “Hello, Susie.”

      Susie wrapped an arm around his neck. “How long are you in town?”

      “A few days. And we were just—”

      She shook a French-nailed finger at him. “You know it’s been much too long. Let’s go somewhere private and talk—or not talk. I can think of any number of interesting ways to pass the time.”

      “As I was saying, we were just leaving.” Dami was no longer smiling. “Let me go.”

      Susie gripped him tighter. She went further, reaching out her other arm and hooking it around Lucy so she had hold of both of them. “Who’s this?”

      He repeated flatly, “Let go.”

      Susie batted her eyelashes Lucy’s way. She smelled of expensive perfume and too many drinks. “Aren’t you a sweet little thing?”

      Lucy gazed back at her patiently. She’d met a few women like Susie. Noah used to date women like her in the years before he found Alice. Beautiful, sexy women who liked to party. A lot.

      “Oh, you are just too cute!” Susie hauled Lucy closer and cooed in her ear, “We could have a lot of fun, all three of us.”

      At which point Dami had had enough.

      He reached around Susie and snared Lucy’s hand as Quentin moved in behind the blonde, took her shoulders and lifted her neatly out of the way. Dami herded Lucy toward the elevators and Quentin took up the rear, leaving Susie behind.

      * * *

      Dami didn’t say a word during the ride back to the apartment building. Lucy kept quiet, too. He seemed pretty upset about the encounter with Susie and she wanted to give him a little time to cool down before trying to talk to him about it.

      The driver let them off in front of the building. Dami took her arm then. Her heart lifted a little just to feel his touch. Quentin led the way up the steps and opened the door.

      On the elevator, Dami pushed the button for the third floor. Apparently, they were staying at her place tonight. That surprised her a little. His was larger and not chockablock with sewing equipment. But then again, it didn’t matter to her where they stayed.

      As long as they stayed together.

      The elevator stopped. The doors slid wide.

      “Hold it,” Dami said curtly to Quentin. His brusque tone surprised her. He was never curt, especially not with servants and the people who watched over him. Lucy sent him a questioning glance, but he stared straight ahead as he led her out of the elevator and over to her door.

      He turned her to face him then, there in front of her door. His eyes were distant, not really connecting with hers. He brushed a cool hand along the side of her cheek.

      Behind him the elevator doors stood open. Quentin waited within, shoulders back, legs wide, expression carefully blank.

      “Dami, what—?”

      He didn’t let her finish. “Good night, Luce.”

      And then he turned and walked away from her, leaving her standing there staring after him in disbelief.

       Chapter Eleven

      Damien stepped onto the elevator and turned to find Lucy right behind him.

      “Oh, no you don’t.” She got on beside him.

      He gave her his weariest glance. “It’s late.”

      “Oh, stop. It’s barely midnight.” She reached over and pushed the button for his floor. The doors closed.

      He longed to punch the button to open them again. But then what? Scoop her up and carry her bodily back to her door?

      And what if she still refused to stay put?

      And all right, yes. He was being a jerk. He knew it. He just didn’t want to talk about Susie. Leaving Lucy at her door had seemed a way to avoid an uncomfortable conversation.

      So much for that.

      He maintained absolute silence for the short ride up. Lucy did, too, just as she had during the drive from the party. He found her silence both annoying and unnerving. After all, Lucy was never quiet. He’d always thought her incapable of keeping her mouth shut for long.

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