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“Well, let me see here,” Mariam hesitated. She paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She realized that all eyes were fixed on her and she quickly changed her expression. “Lucy Shillerton!”
She heard a shout from the audience but it could not have been Lucy, could it? She thought she saw that girl leave with Antonio after the slow dance. Not that she was spying on or stalking them. It was just so obvious that she was making a fool of herself trying to seduce poor, unsuspecting Antonio on the dance floor in the middle of the ball in front of all these elite girls.
Mariam tasted bitterness in her mouth at the thought but stopped herself. She knew Lucy Shillerton would be trouble the moment she’d first met her.
But still, Antonio’s a big boy, she consoled. Why surely, he could take care of himself from gold-digging opportunists? Why was Mariam worrying? She’d been around to protect his father and she would do anything she could to ensure that he didn’t get himself wrapped up with the wrong type of girl, much less distracted from the family business.
Soon Mariam realized that the call out came from the girl who worked with Lucy at the agency. She’d been introduced to her earlier that evening as Maxine.
Mariam’s eyes scanned the room and she raised the microphone to her lips again. “Lucy Shillerton. Lucy, are you here?”
Everyone looked around and shrugged their shoulders.
“Lucy. Shillerton. Are. You. Here?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“It’s beautiful,” Lucy commented as Antonio led her into a spacious guest room on the ground floor of the west wing.
“It’s okay,” Antonio murmured as he closed the French doors behind them.
Finally. They were alone. At least for now.
Lucy didn’t think she could breathe again. Her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest, the thrill of anticipating what was to come overpowered her.
Breathe, Lucy. Breathe.
Antonio looked even more ravishing in the dimly lit presidential-like suite. She quickly looked around, trying not fall into a trance from his penetrating gaze. “Nice. Do presidents come to stay here?”
He grinned. “Presidents of companies. Yes.”
“Oh.”
“Can I get you anything?”
Just you. “No. I’m good, thanks.”
Antonio leaned in to Lucy and gently pulled her closer to him. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Lucy,” he said, tilting her chin up slightly so that he could gaze into her eyes. He seemed to carefully survey her features and a grin of approval touched his eager lips.
“You have?” she whispered.
“Why does that surprise you?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “You’re a very beautiful woman, Lucy. Surely, you must know that deep inside. I realize that baggage of humility you like to carry with you can be overbearing but any man who doesn’t see how gorgeous you are has to have something seriously wrong with him.”
Nervously, Lucy chuckled. If only Jeff could have heard that.
“Who hurt you?” he said, his tone shifting dangerously cold. It was as if the warmth of the moment had chips of ice thrown in.
“W-what makes you th-think someone’s hurt me?” she said breathless, close to his lips.
He pulled away and his eyes searched her countenance. “I’m good at reading facial expression, Lucy. Even if someone tries to deceive me. I noticed a change in your eyes when I told you that a man has to have something seriously wrong with him to not appreciate you.”
“It’s that obvious, huh?” Lucy nervously tried to brush it off.
“What happened?”
She really didn’t want to go into it with him. She felt as if she could trust him but she really didn’t know if she could open up about…that night. The night she found out she had been duped by her ex’s cheating behind.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s over. Right now, I care about now.”
“Fine. But eventually, I will know who did this to you.”
“Who did what to me?”
“Made you doubt yourself. Second guess yourself. The man who made you believe that you were not good enough for him or any man. I can see it in you, Lucy. Whoever it was that shattered your self-confidence isn't worth a damn!”
