LITMIR.BIZ

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and hazarded a guess, maybe he knew some other way, but he stopped by this table because of you, not me.’ She stared at him unhappily.

      ‘And his invitation?’

      ‘Should be viewed as an invitation to negotiate. I’m guessing that he wants Jianne’s divorce finalised.’

      ‘What’s the project?’ asked Luke. ‘The one you want Bruce Yi to finance?’

      ‘A Delacourte apartment-block build, our first major development in years, only this time we aim to incorporate onsite childcare, preschool, and early primary school facilities into the mix.’

      ‘It doesn’t sound risky to me.’

      ‘We also want to fit a high-grade air-filtering system that’ll give us a superior clean-air rating. They don’t come cheap.’

      ‘And you’ll adjust your prices accordingly. Still not seeing a problem,’ said Luke.

      ‘The problem is me,’ said Madeline bluntly. ‘More specifically, Bruce Yi’s perception of me. William was supposed to have had a stalwart first wife of good breeding who’d had the forethought to bear him children before being discarded. The bulk of the money would go to them. The problem being that William had no previous wife, children, or close family connections at all.’

      ‘So you’re the poster child for trophy wives,’ said Luke with a shrug. ‘So what?’

      ‘So Bruce Yi still sees me as an upstart who got lucky. He doesn’t see the businesswoman. He sees only what he wants to see.’

      ‘Then change his mind.’

      ‘How? By sacrificing you and Jacob to my ambition?’

      ‘No, by attending this art preview, showing Bruce Yi your stripes as a visionary developer tycoon, and letting Jake and I take care of ourselves.’

      Madeline shook her head ruefully. ‘You don’t understand. Bruce Yi doesn’t need the Delacourte project. There are a dozen equally worthy proposals on his desk, all vying for his attention. He doesn’t need anything from me except access to you. He’s just made that very clear. And if I don’t bring you …’

      ‘Then bring me.’

      ‘He’s subtle.’

      ‘You’re annoying,’ countered Luke. Nothing but the truth. ‘Besides, I like a challenge. You said so yourself.’

      ‘It’ll be black tie.’

      ‘I’ll find one,’ he said.

      ‘I wouldn’t put it past Bruce to arrange for Ji to be there.’

      ‘And if you were trying to convince Jake to attend this function, that’d be the deal breaker. It’s not a deal breaker for me.’

      ‘I’d probably end up using you as a shield as well.’

      ‘A shield against what?’

      ‘Amorous intentions, mischief making, and the occasional dagger.’

      ‘Has anyone ever told you that you make a lot of waves?’

      ‘Frequently.’ And if the shadows that fell across Madeline’s eyes were any indication, it hadn’t been delivered as praise. ‘Forget it,’ she said as the waiters descended with the food. ‘You don’t have to come. It’s just a test.’

      ‘In my experience, when people don’t turn up for a test, they fail,’ said Luke quietly. ‘How about I put a mutually beneficial proposition to you?’

      ‘I’m listening,’ said Madeline, even if she wasn’t looking at him. Instead she watched the comings and goings of the boats on the water. It provided a welcome alternative to watching and wanting the man who sat opposite her. He cut straight to the heart of things, this man. Straight to the heart of her.

      Everyone had thought Delacourte would be bankrupt within a year of William’s death, but Delacourte hadn’t gone bankrupt, and that was her doing. If Madeline had her way she would see Delacourte growing again. The question was … At what cost? ‘What did you have in mind?’

      ‘You accompany me to the art exhibition and help me find out what Yi is thinking when it comes to Jake’s affairs,’ he said. ‘If that puts you in a position to talk to him about your business initiatives, all the better. I don’t mind mixing Bennett personal business with your profitable one.’

      She glanced his way again and braced hard against the impact of such beauty of face and clarity of thought. ‘Are you sure you’re not Chinese?’

      ‘No, but I do admire their ability to mix work and family business.’

      ‘It’s a skill that takes thousands of years of evolution,’ said Madeline dryly. But for the first time since Bruce Yi had stopped by their table, Madeline actually considered attending the show. ‘Are you sure?’

      ‘Just say yes, Maddy, then pack Bruce Yi away in a box in that very clever brain of yours until Friday.’

      ‘Because I don’t think you quite know what you’re in for.’

      ‘I get that a lot,’ he said drolly. ‘Occupational hazard. I’m still not hearing a “yes”.’

      ‘All right, yes, and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now what?’

      ‘Now we go back to what we were doing before we were interrupted,’ said Luke way too smoothly for comfort.

      ‘Which was?’

      The tiger smiled and sent a shaft of desire straight through her. ‘Why, Maddy, I do believe you were admiring me.’

      CHAPTER FIVE

      SOME men had a way about them. Luke Bennett’s way was nine tenths warrior, one tenth lazy suitor, and very nearly irresistible, decided Madeline as Luke paid for their meal and ushered her outside. He knew how to tease and he knew how to touch, his hand to the small of her back as he drew her closer to him to allow the passage of tourists walking the other way. Nothing proprietary about that touch, just a whole lot of warmth and protection that she missed when the pedestrians passed and his hand fell away.

      They walked the waterfront and Madeline’s need for more of his touch grew, and with it her tension. The rogue knew that she wanted his hands on her but the tiger seemed to sense a trap and the warrior chose to wait.

      And wait.

      He waited until they stood outside the private lift that would take them to her penthouse, and when it came and she asked him if he wanted to come up, he shrugged and stepped inside. When the lift arrived at its top-floor destination he made no move to get out. Instead he leaned back against the mirror and shoved his hands in his pockets, drawing the fabric of his trousers tight against a part of him no lady would be caught staring at.

      Luke caught Madeline staring, and smiled.

      ‘Would you like to come in for a coffee?’ she said.

      ‘It’s not a good idea.’

      She was well aware of that. But it hadn’t stopped her asking.

      ‘I can only play the gentleman up to a point, Maddy,’ he said. ‘If I came in, I’d want to stay until morning, and I’m really not sure I want to know what your housekeeper would serve up for breakfast.’

      ‘If you’re looking for excuses to stay away from me, you forgot to mention William’s ghost and William’s fortune,’ she said.

      Luke seared her with a glance. ‘I believe I’ve already mentioned them. I’m still trying to decide if I can work my way around them. Don’t push me, Maddy. Give me time.’

      ‘Hey, you’re the one who’s only here for a week,’ she murmured.

      ‘Two.’

      She smiled

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