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‘I…’ She hesitated, wondering if it was the done thing to admit you’d made your own ball gown.
‘She made it herself.’ Connor smoothed his hand over the ruched satin at her hip and hugged her to his side, his gaze darkening with appreciation. ‘Not just gorgeous but talented too,’ he murmured against her neck.
Daisy could feel the pulse hammering in her throat as Jessie gave her a pointed look over Connor’s shoulder.
‘That’s amazing,’ she said. ‘Listen, Daisy, I’ve told my sister Ali all about you and I’d love you to meet her. Actually, it’s sort of a mercy mission.’ She took Daisy’s hand. ‘She found out yesterday she’s expecting again and she’s in a state of shock. I need you to help take her mind off it.’
Daisy acknowledged the little prickle of envy and ignored it. She’d have her big happy family one day. She’d make sure of it. ‘I’d love to meet her,’ she said, and meant it. A little time spent away from Connor wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. It might help her get her heart rate under control in preparation for the night ahead.
Connor gave a mock shudder. ‘Ali’s pregnant again? What’s that? Number four?’
Jessie nodded, giving Daisy’s hand a tug. ‘Actually the doctor said it may be number four and five. She’s so huge already. Hence the shock.’
Connor frowned as Daisy stepped out of his arms. ‘Wait a minute. Why don’t I come over? I can congratulate her.’
Jessie pushed her finger into his chest. ‘This is strictly girls only, big boy. Linc and Monroe are over by the bar trying to finesse a couple of beers out of the barman. Go play with them.’
As Jessie led her through the crowd of Manhattan’s elite Daisy couldn’t resist a glance over her shoulder at Connor. Her heartbeat slowed and her stomach tightened. He still stood where she’d left him, looking impossibly dashing in the middle of the crowded ballroom in his black tuxedo with an irritated frown on his face and his hands thrust into his pockets as he watched her go.
She heaved out a breath. Okay, she was falling in love, but that didn’t mean she had to get stupid. All she had to do now was keep the brakes on, enjoy tonight and then confront him tomorrow. See where she stood. Maybe she’d fallen for her romantic fairy tale, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t still be practical, sensible. Love might be blind, but it didn’t have to turn you into an idiot. She still knew what she wanted out of life and, whatever Connor’s reasons, he’d made it very clear that afternoon he didn’t want the same things. Unless he was falling in love with her too, that wasn’t going to change.
‘There’s definitely something to be said for a bad boy in a tux,’ Jessie said quietly, interrupting Daisy’s latest strategy briefing.
Daisy’s head whipped round. The considering look in Jessie’s eyes spoke volumes: Daisy had been staring at Connor for far too long. ‘Yes, I suppose so,’ she said, trying for practical and getting breathless instead.
‘How’s it going? We don’t have to meet Ali. I just thought you might like a little downtime before the dancing begins. You both look a little shell-shocked. Did something happen?’
She was certainly shell-shocked, she thought. But she wasn’t so sure about Connor. She’d caught him watching her, a wary, cautious look in his eyes when they’d been in the cab coming back from the park. That look was the reason she’d decided not to blurt out how she felt. Why ruin the mood before she was absolutely sure? And anyway, she’d wanted to have tonight to add to her memories before it all went belly up, as she was fast suspecting it would. He might need a family, but he didn’t necessarily need her. What on earth did she really have to offer him that he couldn’t get from a hundred other, much more sophisticated women?
‘Don’t be silly,’ Daisy said, almost choking on the fake bonhomie. ‘Nothing’s wrong.’ Well, not yet. ‘This is all just a bit much for a girl from Portobello Road, that’s all.’
‘Yes, the Americans do excess so well, don’t you think?’ Jessie smiled back, but Daisy could see she was being kind and letting her off the hook. ‘Oh, good grief!’ Jessie said, her eyes lighting on something over Daisy’s shoulder. ‘That woman is a complete menace. Poor Lincoln had to peel her off him ten minutes ago and now she’s got Connor in her sights.’
Daisy looked round. All the colour drained out of her face and then pumped back into her cheeks. Wrapped around Connor like a second skin was a pneumatic blonde with a skirt that barely covered her butt and boobs that could poke someone’s eye out.
He still had his hands in his pockets, and his body language didn’t suggest he was enjoying the encounter all that much, but as the woman leaned closer to whisper something in his ear he took one hand out and rested it on her waist.
A red haze blurred Daisy’s vision. ‘Who is she?’ she asked, her voice calm despite the volcanic eruption bubbling beneath her breastbone.
Doesn’t she know he’s engaged? she almost added. Then realised her mistake. The molten magma got hotter.
‘Mitzi Melrose, the biggest flirt on the planet,’ Jessie said. ‘Her husband’s Eldridge Melrose, billionaire financier, and I don’t think he’s got what it takes to satisfy our Mitzi if her relentless poaching is anything…’ Jessie’s voice slowly receded until all Daisy could hear was the buzzing of a thousand chainsaws, her gaze transfixed on her fake fiancé and the floozy.
The Botoxed bimbo was leaning into him now, her pillar-box lips practically touching his ear lobe and her gravity-defying cleavage as good as propped on his forearm.
And, as far as Daisy could tell, Connor wasn’t doing a damn thing about it. He’d taken his hand off her hip, sure, stuck it back in his pocket, but he hadn’t moved away, had he? She’d never been the jealous type, even with Gary, who’d been an inveterate flirt. Daisy, being the practical, sensible, focussed woman she was, had always thought that possessive women who couldn’t trust their partners were creatures to be pitied. But right at this moment she could sympathise with them completely.
She had Connor’s ring on her finger. Maybe it was a temporary ring and a fake engagement, but, still, she’d worn it because he’d asked her, she’d let him introduce her to everyone as his bride-to-be and now he had another woman glued to his torso. And if that weren’t bad enough, he’d made her fall in love with him, the stupid dolt.
‘Jessie, you’ll have to excuse me for a minute,’ she said, still glaring at her non-fiancé.
‘Go for it,’ she heard Jessie say with a suspicious lift in her voice. But Daisy didn’t have time to process it as she sailed back through the crowd propelled on a wave of righteous anger, the surge of adrenaline making her heartbeat pound in her ears and her skin flush red.
She’d been an idiot. She’d lived in the moment, soaked up every single speck of excitement and in the process lost a crucial part of herself. She was her own woman. And yet, somehow or other, she’d ended up letting Connor call all the shots. He’d got her to New York, he’d g
ot her back in his bed, he’d put his ring on her finger and what had she got? Quite possibly a broken heart, that was what. Fine, she’d deal with that if she had to, but he was not going to get away with pawing another woman in public when he was supposed to be engaged to her. The engagement might be fake, but her feelings were real. She might not have his love, but she intended to have his respect.
His head lifted as she walked towards him, as if he’d sensed her approach, those magnetic eyes fixed on her face and he smiled.
