Page 32 of Cipriani's Innocent Captive
The scene was borderline chaos, with guests arriving, cameras snapping, reporters jostling for prime position, but all of that faded into the background for Lucas as his eyes zeroed in on the open door of the limo and the vision that was Katy stepping out, blinking but holding her own as cameras flashed all around her.
Lucas felt a surge of hot blood rush through him. Of course she was beautiful. He knew that. He had known it from the very first minute he had set eyes on her in his office, but this Katy was a feast for sore eyes, and she held him captive. Their eyes met and he was barely aware of walking towards her, hand outstretched, gently squeezing her small hand as she placed it in his.
‘You look amazing,cara,’ he murmured with gruff honesty.
Nerves threatening to spill over, and frantically aware of the popping of camera bulbs and the rapt attention of people who were so far removed from her world that they could have been from another planet, Katy serenely gazed up at him and smiled in her most confident manner.
‘Thank you, and so do you. Shall we go in?’
CHAPTER NINE
KATYHADTOcall upon every ounce of showmanship and self-confidence acquired down the years to deal with the evening.
Blinded by the flash of cameras, which was only slightly more uncomfortable than the inquisitive eyes of the hundred or so people who had been selectively invited to celebrate the engagement of the year, she held on to Lucas’s hand and her fixed, glassy smile didn’t waver as she was led like a queen into the hotel.
Lucas had told her that she looked amazing, and that buoyed her up, but her heart was still hammering like a drum beating against her ribcage as she took in the flamboyant décor of the five-star hotel.
It was exquisite. She had no idea how something of this calibre could be rustled up at a moment’s notice, but then money could move mountains, and Lucas had oodles of it.
In a daze, she took in the acres of pale marble, the impeccable line of waiting staff in attendance, the dazzling glitter of chandeliers and an informal bar area dominated by an impressive ice sculpture, around which was an even more impressive array of canapés for those who couldn’t wait for the waitresses to swing by. There was a buzz of interest and curiosity all around them.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Lucas bent to murmur into her ear. ‘After an hour, you’ll probably be bored stiff and we’ll make our departure.’
‘How can we?’ Katy queried, genuinely bewildered. ‘Aren’twethe leading actors in the production?’
‘I can do whatever I like.’ Lucas didn’t crack a smile but she could hear the rich amusement in his lowered voice. ‘And, if you feel nervous, rest assured that you outshine every other woman here.’
‘You’re just saying that...they’ll all be wondering how on earth you and I have ended up engaged.’
‘Then we’d better provide them with an explanation, hadn’t we?’ He lowered his head and kissed her. His hand was placed protectively on the small of her back and his mouth on hers was warm, fleeting and, oh, so good. Everything and everyone disappeared and Katy surfaced, blinking, ensnared by his dark gaze, her body keening towards his.
She wanted to cling and carry on clinging. Instead, she stroked his cheek briefly with her fingers and then stepped back, recalling the way he had reminded her earlier that what was happening here was just a show.
‘Perhaps you could introduce me to the man you’re doing the deal with.’ She smiled, looking around her and doing her best to blank out the sea of beautiful faces. ‘And thanks,’ she added in a low voice, while her body continued to sizzle in the aftermath of that kiss. ‘That was an inspired way to provide an explanation. I think you’re going to be far better at this than I could ever hope to be.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ Lucas drawled, wanting nothing more than to escort her right back into his limo and take her to his bed. ‘Although I’m not entirely sure whether it was meant to be. Now, shall we get this party started?’
Having been introduced to Ken Huang, who was there with his family and two men who looked very much like bodyguards, Katy gradually edged away from the protective zone around Lucas.
Curiosity warred with nerves and won. She was surrounded by the beautiful people you saw in the gossip magazines and, after a while, she found that she was actually enjoying the experience of talking to some of those famous faces, discovering that they were either more normal than she had thought or far less so.
Every so often she would find herself drifting back towards Lucas but, even when she wasn’t by his side, she was very much aware of his dark gaze on her, following her movements, and that made her tingle all over. There was something wonderfully possessive about that gaze and she had to constantly stop herself from luxuriating in the fallacy that it was heartfelt rather than a deliberate show of what was expected from a man supposedly in love with the woman wearing his ring.
Katy longed to glue herself to his side but she knew that circulating would not only remind Lucas that she was independent and happy to get on with the business of putting on a good show for the assembled crowd, just as he was, but would also shore up the barriers she knew she should mentally be erecting between them.
Everything had been so straightforward when she had been living with the illusion that what she felt for him was desire and nothing more.
With that illusion stripped away, she felt achingly vulnerable, and more than once she wondered how she was going to hold on to this so-called relationship for the period of time they had allotted to it.
In theory, she would have her window, during which she could allow herself to really enjoy him, even if she knew that her enjoyment was going to be short-lived.
In practice, she was already quailing at the prospect of walking away from him. He would probably pat her on the back and tell her that they could remain good friends. The truth was that she wasn’t built to live in the moment, to heck with what happened next. Investing in a future was a by-product of her upbringing and, even though she could admit to the down side of that approach, she still feverishly wondered whether she would be able to adopt the right attitude, an attitude that would allow her to live from one moment to the next.
Thoughts buzzing in her head like a horde of hornets released from their nest, she swirled the champagne in her glass and stared down at the golden liquid while she pictured that last conversation between them. She dearly wished that she had the experience and the temperament to enjoy what she had now, instead of succumbing to dark thoughts about a future that was never going to be.
From across the crowded room, Lucas found his fiancée with the unerring accuracy of a heat-seeking missile. No matter where she was, he seemed to possess the uncanny ability to locate her. She wasn’t taller than everyone else, and her outfit didn’t stand out as being materially different from every other fancy long, designer dress, but somehow she emanated a light that beckoned to him from wherever she was. It was as if he was tuned into her on a wave length that was inaudible to everyone except him.
Right now, and for the first time that evening, she was on her own, thoughtfully staring down into a flute of champagne as though looking for answers to something in the liquid.
