Romance for Cynics (15 page)

‘Just like not every guy is like your jerk ex.’

‘Touché.’

He glanced out of the window, lost in his thoughts for a moment. ‘Guess I’ve never met a woman worth taking a risk for.’

‘Relationships are risky, I’ll give you that.’

‘Until now,’ he added, with a pointed stare in her direction.

Lucy’s heart gave a traitorous leap. ‘What?’

‘I’ve never met a woman worth taking a risk for ’til now.’

He leaned forward and she shrank back into the furthest corner of the limo. ‘Surely you know I’m crazy about you, Luce?’

Lucy had wished for this scenario several times over the last week but now the moment had arrived, the gloss had been taken off by her fears.

Fear of the future. Fear of taking a risk. Fear of being hurt again.

‘Can we take a step back before last night? Before we both went a little crazy?’

She shook her head. ‘If I’ve learned anything it’s to not look back.’

He allowed her to wallow a little before changing tack.

‘Tell me about your marriage.’

Her relationship with Adrian was the last thing she felt like discussing but she knew where he was going with this. He hoped to get insight into her past and use that to influence her decision now. It wouldn’t work, but he’d told her about his family, the least she could do was reciprocate, considering she’d be seeing him daily for a while yet while landscaping his garden.

‘I married young. Twenty-one. He swept me off my feet.’

He waited for her to continue, as if he had all the time in the world.

‘My folks died in a car crash when I was a toddler. My grandparents raised me. I had a great life but money wasn’t plentiful.’

He nodded. ‘Know what you mean.’

She liked that about him, the fact he was willing to acknowledge his poor past, and how hard he’d worked to become a self-made millionaire.

‘Then I met Adrian and my world changed. He was wealthy, old family money, and he swept me into his world.’

Cash’s eyes narrowed, but not before she’d glimpsed a spark of jealousy.

‘The classic whirlwind courtship. We married after six months.’ She huffed out a breath. ‘A year later I found out he’d been screwing around on me for most of my marriage. So I left.’

‘Bastard,’ he muttered, his hands fisted as if he wanted to punch something. ‘Hope you took him for everything he was worth.’

Lucy shook her head. ‘Not my style. I didn’t want anything to remind me of my foolishness in falling for him, so I left it all behind.’

She couldn’t contain a wistful sigh. ‘Have to admit, I loved the finer things. The designer fashion, the expensive make-up, regular spa treatments. It was all divine...’ Her resolve hardened. ‘But not worth the price to put up with his infidelities.’

‘Good for you.’ He searched her face, as if unsure of her reaction to what he’d say next. ‘Are you scared I’ll treat you like Adrian did? Is that why you’re holding out on me?’

‘You’re nothing like him,’ she said, her vehemence startling both of them. ‘Though last night, when you were busy schmoozing, it felt like I was having a flashback... Adrian used to treat me like a possession, something to trot out at functions but pay little attention to. Guess I felt like that with you last night.’

Cash swore. ‘I never meant to ignore you—’

‘I know, but that’s exactly my point.’ She gestured between them. ‘You and I? We’re worlds apart. I like dirt under my fingernails, you probably get a male mani every fortnight.’

She’d scored a direct hit by the tightening around his mouth.

‘I like quiet nights at home on the sofa watching classic movies, you like attending premieres and clubs and partying for a living.’

‘That’s what I do, it’s not who I am,’ he said, so softly she had to lean closer to hear it.

‘How would I know, when that’s the only side of you I see?’ Though that wasn’t entirely true. She’d seen many facets to this intriguing man over the last week and she’d be doing him a disservice to dismiss him as one-dimensional.

‘I’m not used to letting anyone see the real me,’ he said, his steady gaze imploring her to listen. ‘But I’m willing to take that risk with you. All I’m asking is that you do the same.’

Lucy wanted to say yes. She wanted to fling herself into his arms and kiss him silly. She wanted to be swept off her feet in style and be part of his world, just as she wanted him to be a part of hers.

But her doubts held her back.

‘Can I have some time to think about it?’

Disappointment flashed across his face before he quickly masked it. ‘Sure. Though I expect an answer by the time we reach our destination.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Where are we going anyway? I thought the prize said a posh dinner in a fancy restaurant at a winery on the peninsula?’

‘You’ll see,’ he said, his grin infuriatingly smug. ‘You’ll also see that we’re right for each other, despite your doubts.’

Lucy remained silent on that particular point, and as the limo left the city behind and headed towards the nearby hills fatigue overtook her.

Lucy finally slept for the first time in over twenty-four hours.

While Cash watched her, willing to wait for the woman he loved to come to her senses.

FOURTEEN

Lucy had the
most marvellous dream.

She’d been whisked away from her garden by a gorgeous guy who accepted her for who she was and wanted to be with her.

She woke to find the dream guy shaking her gently, his face temptingly close, his spicy aftershave enveloping her in warmth and excitement.

‘We’re here, Sleeping Beauty.’ He slanted a soft kiss across her lips, the barest of touches over before it had begun.

She stretched. ‘How long was I out for?’

‘Fifty minutes.’ His fingertip traced the skin under her eyes. ‘No sleep last night, huh?’

‘What gave it away? The puffy dark circles under my eyes making me look like a panda?’

‘You always look beautiful to me,’ he said, kissing her again, a little more forceful this time, leaving her gasping for air and certainly awake. ‘I didn’t sleep a wink. I figured you would’ve been the same.’

She nodded, grateful when the driver opened the back door and broke the intimacy. So what if Cash was astute enough to be clued in to her feelings? He wasn’t so clued in last night at the ball when he’d left her alone while he mingled with his crowd.

‘Uh-oh, you’ve got that look again.’

‘What look?’

‘The look you had before you fell asleep.’ He touched between her brows. ‘Like you weren’t sure whether you wanted to slap me or castrate me.’

She smiled. ‘You’re safe. For now.’

He crossed his legs and grimaced.

‘Where are we?’ She stepped from the limo and glanced around, captivated by the surroundings.

They were in a private garden that resembled an urban forest. Beautifully manicured lawn bisected by curving sandstone paths, with some of her favourite plants strategically placed. Her landscaper’s eye noticed how the designer had used Japanese blood grass, Maidenhair fern, black Mondo, Sansevieria and Liriope. It was her type of place and a much better venue than any fancy restaurant.

‘There’s more.’ He took her hand without asking this time and led her down a narrow paved path that wound on the garden outskirts, before it stopped at a dead-end hedge. ‘Through here.’

He touched an invisible door in the hedge that swung open, to reveal paradise.

As dusk fell over Melbourne the city’s lights flickered to life, glittering like fairy dust against an ermine cape, many miles away.

It felt as if they were on top of the world, the spectacular view rivalled only by the expectant expression of the man beside her.

‘We’re on top of Mount Dandenong?’

He nodded. ‘And your dinner awaits.’

He led her to a towering eucalypt in the far corner of the garden, where she spied a red and white checked picnic blanket spread under the tree, covered with a staggering amount of food.

He pointed to it. ‘Salmon rosti, chicken and avocado crustless sandwiches, curried egg vol-au-vents, pâté, blue-vein cheese, raspberry and white chocolate muffins and the finest French champagne.’

He executed a little bow that made her giggle. ‘All your favourites, if I’m not mistaken?’

More than a little impressed, she gestured at the picnic. ‘You did all this?’

Surprisingly bashful, he nodded. ‘I wanted this to be your dream date, not some highfalutin generic date that anyone could’ve gone on.’

That was when the significance of the venue and the picnic hit her. ‘You remembered what I said in that interview?’

‘Yeah, I listened. And remembered.’ He rubbed the back of his neck, as if uncomfortable with her scrutiny. ‘I think that was the moment I first fell for you.’

Lucy liked seeing Cash uncomfortable and a little vulnerable. It meant he was as unsure of his feelings as she was.

Not that she was getting her hopes up, but his honest declarations in the limo had gone some way to soothing her resentment from last night.

And organising her dream date meant the week they’d spent together hamming it up for the cameras had actually meant something to him too. That post-disco interview had been about playing it up for an audience, but he’d been intuitive enough to see through the flirty fibs to the one truth she’d uttered.

Shallow guys didn’t do that kind of thing. They barely remembered how she liked her coffee, let alone something important like how she wanted to be wooed.

‘So tell me the other moments you fell for me.’ She patted the picnic blanket next to her and he sat. ‘And don’t skimp on the details.’

His lips curved into the devastating smile she loved so much. ‘I think the moment I was really smitten was when you took that spectacular tumble at the roller-skating rink.’

She screwed up her nose. ‘I looked like an idiot.’

‘Maybe a little?’ He held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart and she whacked him on the arm. ‘It was more the way I felt watching you fall.’ He tapped his chest directly over his heart. ‘I got this weird burning feeling right here.’

‘Probably from those beef nachos you scoffed before we laced up our skates.’

‘You always do that.’ His fingertip traced the contour of her cheek and she unwittingly held her breath. ‘Hide your true feelings behind quips.’

Damn, there he went again, honing in on the real her. It unnerved her, his ability to switch from confident financier to intuitive boyfriend material.

‘You don’t know anything about my true feelings,’ she said, hating how her brusque reply made the teasing sparkle in his eyes fade.

‘I’d like to.’ He took hold of her hand and she resisted the urge to yank it away.

She hated her hands. Hated the perpetual dry skin no matter how many lotions she tried. Hated the ragged cuticles. Hated the short, chipped nails.

They might be a testament to how hard she worked but, with Cash studying them and skimming a fingertip along the veins on the back of her hand, she felt inadequate.

‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’ he said, raising her hand to his lips to gently brush kisses along her knuckles.

‘You don’t want to know,’ she muttered, unable to stop a soft, wistful sigh.

‘I do.’ He lowered her hand but didn’t release it. ‘Call me corny, but I’ve never felt the way you make me feel and I don’t want to lose you. So whatever it takes for me to make up for last night, or whatever I can do to convince you we have a future, I’ll do it.’

She shook her head, battling the urge to bawl. ‘It’s not that simple—’

‘Yeah, it is.’

With his tender, unwavering stare boring into her, silently pleading with her to give them a chance, she finally relented.

‘I’m scared.’

Of all the responses she could’ve given, he obviously hadn’t been expecting that one if his widening eyes were any indication.

‘Of?’

‘Scared our differences will ultimately drive us apart. Scared of us having a real relationship, only to have it fall apart. Scared of...’ She swallowed the rest of her response. There was honesty and there was honesty.

Articulating how she felt? Would only complicate matters when she inevitably let him down.

‘Tell me.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘All of it.’

Lucy had taken many risks in her life. Leaving a comfortable marriage. Starting afresh in a new job. Taking a loan for her own house.

But those risks paled in comparison to telling Cash the whole truth.

‘Most of all, I’m scared of how much I feel for you,’ she said, so softly he leaned towards her. ‘And it can’t be real, because we’ve only been dating for a week, and that was fake, and it’s ridiculous because I don’t believe in romance or any of that crap—’

‘Then I think it’s time you start believing.’ He placed a finger against her lips to silence her. ‘I did.’

Confused, Lucy said, ‘Believe in me?’

‘Believe in me.’ He released her hand to extend his arms behind him and prop. ‘I spent too many years as a kid trying to gain the approval of my old man by accumulating cash. The more I gave him, the happier he seemed to be.’

Cash shook his head. ‘Though happy is too strong a word for what my dad was back then. Less unhappy is probably more accurate.’

Lucy heard the underlying sadness in his voice and yearned to put her arms around him. ‘I’m sorry for what you went through.’

‘I’m not.’ He shook his head. ‘Because every day I’ve worked my ass off over the years, relying on money as my security blanket, has taught me something.’

Blown away by his honesty, Lucy waited for him to continue.

‘That all the money in the world, no matter how big my business, no matter how many clients I woo and impress, it all means nothing if I don’t have what I want the most.’

Too afraid to ask, Lucy took a few deep breaths before saying, ‘What’s that?’

He looked her directly in the eye, his gaze unwavering. ‘You.’

Lucy’s chest ached with the enormity of his declaration, but she still had no idea what to say.

He delved in his pocket and pulled out a small pale blue box that made her heart falter. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Luce.’

In the devastating aftermath of last night, she’d forgotten today was Valentine’s Day. Not that she ever noted the date considering what she thought of it, but with the memorable lead-up to this one she should’ve remembered.

She stared at the box, too scared to touch it. The implications of accepting that box and opening it were too terrifying to contemplate.

‘Is that a...?’ She cleared her throat, unable to speak past the giant lump of emotion.

He smiled as he flipped the lid open, the tenderness in his eyes making her tear up. Until she caught sight of the ring, a three-carat marquise diamond in white gold. Simple. Elegant. Stunning. The type of ring to define all rings.

‘In case you were wondering, it’s a ring for that finger.’ He took the third finger on her left hand and wiggled it. ‘And it means exactly what you think it means.’

He knelt in the dewy grass, slipped the ring out of the box and held her left hand. ‘I’m not very good at this stuff, Luce, but with you by my side I’m willing to give it a shot.’

He held the ring over the tip of her finger. ‘I love you, Cinders. Will you marry me?’

Lucy didn’t feel like Cinderella. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

But she’d been here before: the ring, the proposal, the whirlwind romance.

Last time, she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by accepting a proposal after six months. What disaster would befall her this time after knowing the guy properly for only a week?

‘We barely know each other,’ she whispered, her hands shaking the longer he held that ring there. ‘It’s too soon, we’re too different—’

‘So you keep saying, but I’m not buying it.’ He held her gaze, beseeching her to listen. ‘The way I feel when I’m with you? Like nothing or no one else matters. I can be myself. And I love that you can be yourself around me. I love the dirt smudges on your nose and your funny boot tan lines on your legs and the way you happily walk around without artifice. But most of all? I love you for you. Every beautiful inch, inside and out.’

Speechless, and barely able to see through her tears, Lucy watched the man she loved slip the exquisite diamond onto her finger, all the way to the knuckle.

‘That settles it,’ he said, standing to bundle her into his arms.

‘Technically I didn’t say yes,’ she said, unable to keep her joy from showing with an ear-splitting grin.

‘You didn’t have to. I can see your answer here.’ He cupped her chin and stared into her eyes. ‘You love me. Never in doubt.’

She could’ve taken him down a peg or two for his cockiness or berated him for bullying her into accepting the ring.

Instead, she looped her arms around her fiancé’s neck, tugged his head down, and kissed him.

By the time they came up for air, darkness had descended and they could barely see the picnic blanket.

Didn’t matter. Lucy wasn’t terribly hungry.

At least, not for food.