interested in opening offices in Elbia. One man was a playwright who currently boasted two hit musicals and a comedy on Broadway. They drank freely of his champagne and nibbled politely from trays of hors d’oeuvres circulated by servers from the sole caterer in Nanticoke.
Not one among the beaming faces that gushed with greetings for him and wished good health for his father, the king, was Alli’s. He didn’t really expect her to show, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking for her.
Over an hour after the party started, the launch appeared yet again. This time it was empty except for its young skipper, in his nautical whites, and a single passenger. Jacob lost interest in the guest’s identity once he’d determined the newcomer wasn’t wearing the vibrant blue dress he’d bought Alli for the occasion. The launch slowly circled the yacht as Jacob conversed with an eager banker. He was aware of the motor cutting, idling, but paid little attention otherwise.
Mingling with the salt spray, a faint whiff of a familiar perfume caught his attention. He straightened by inches to look more closely at the petite figure climbing the steps into the stern of the Queen Elise.
The young woman’s hair glittered like spun gold in the late afternoon sunlight. It was brushed out long and smooth, down her back and away from her face. The strands blew delicately in the sea breeze. Piercing her tiny pink earlobes were simple gold knots and clinging interestingly to her body was a silky pantsuit that might have doubled as lounging pajamas. The effect was a mysterious blend of casual elegance.
Intriguingly, the color of her garment so nearly matched her skin, when he observed her from a particular angle and with the setting sun backlighting her—she almost looked as if she was without any clothing at all. It was impossible from a distance to tell where cloth ended and skin began. Only when the air moved around her as she stepped gracefully onto the deck, could he see the outline of sheer sleeves that draped gracefully along her arms and floated on the ocean’s breath.
“Welcome aboard!” he called out to her through the crowd of guests, turning away from the banker. He noticed she was carrying a small canvas bag. An overnight satchel? He felt a distinct surge of hope.
Allison shaded her eyes and observed him as he approached her, a small smile playing over her lips.
“You look stunning,” he said, aware that most of his guests were watching him and the late arrival very closely.
“Thank you,” she said demurely.
“Didn’t the dress I bought you fit?”
“I’m not in the habit of accepting gifts from strangers,” she said quickly.
It stung. A stranger. Was that how she thought of him? They’d slept in each other’s arms, explored each other’s bodies intimately. Yet, in honesty, he’d done as much with other women and he thought of them as no more than strangers. Some, he couldn’t even recall their names...Why did it hurt that she felt the same about him?
“Maybe we can remedy that situation,” he said, flashing her the dazzling but mechanical smile that had begun so many successful seductions. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “Most of my guests will be leaving by dark.”
“And I will join them,” she said succinctly. “I only came to return this.”
She held out the canvas tote. He peered inside. Scrunched up in a humble ball at its bottom was the expensive dress he’d bought her.
“I’m sorry—I thought you’d be pleased.”
“Why?” she asked bluntly. “Why should a woman fall all over herself because you throw an expensive trinket her way?”
He blinked at her, searching for a comeback. He’d sensed this side of her two years ago, but for some reason it hadn’t occurred to him that she’d reject a gift now.
“Oh, I see,” she said when he failed to find words for his confused thoughts. “It’s always worked before, so why not now? Something like that? Well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” She swung away from him nonchalantly, gazing around the deck. “Where’s the food. I’m starved.”
Jacob watched as Allison sauntered across the deck, smiling pleasantly as she greeted a few of his guests on her way toward the hatch that led below, to the galley. She disappeared down the steps. It took several shocked minutes for him to realize what had just happened.
She’d spurned him!
Perhaps he should have skipped right to his usual second gift, a diamond tennis bracelet. But he had a sneaking suspicion she’d have quite literally flung it in his face. What was wrong with the woman? Didn’t she appreciate quality?
Gradually, anger crept in over his incredulousness. Every muscle in his body tensed. He felt as if he were standing under a blazing sun, although the air was cooling as a purple dusk wrapped itself around the yacht. Miniature lanterns, strung along the deck rail, flickered on, casting a golden glow across the deck. With a low growl of aggravation, he tucked the canvas tote under his arm and strode toward the steps to the galley.
An elderly couple stood talking with Allison. He cast them a black look; they politely ended the conversation and headed up the steps.
Jacob grabbed Allison’s arm, stopping her from reaching for a marinated mussel on a serving tray. “What are you trying to pull?”
“Pull?” she asked, innocently.
“Yes, pull. Do you think you can up the ante by giving me back the dress? What is it you want from me?”
She turned her head away, as if pretending to study the array of fresh sliced melon and tropical fruit.
“Look at me, Alli,” he ordered.
She ignored him, but he felt her arm lock nervously beneath his fingers.
“Look at me!” he roared.
She twisted free and faced him, her chin lifting defiantly. Her eyes leaped with aquamarine flames. “I’m looking,” she pronounced tersely.
“Why did you return my gift?”
“I don’t need anyone to buy me clothes.”
“I see,” he said slowly. “Then I was right. You are looking for something more from me.” He hadn’t expected this of her. It seemed that people did change, after all. “You might as well lay it on the line. What is it you want from me?”
She fixed him with a cold, challenging glare. “Nothing. I want nothing from you, Jacob. That’s why I came here tonight—to make that point.”
“Liar.”
Instead of reacting in anger as he’d expected, she took a long moment to coolly study him, her pretty eyes drifting down, then up his tall, trim body. “Why should I lie to you? Has that been your experience with women? They always want something from you?”
“Always,” he ground out.
She nibbled her bottom lip contemplatively. “I expect so. But there’s a reason for that, you realize.”
“What?”
“They
