muted bird sounds filtering from the speakers. ‘Was that an apology? I must be hearing things.’
‘Ha ha. A regular comedienne. Is there any end to your many talents?’
‘You’ll just have to wait and see.’ She averted her gaze from his strong hands splayed across the steering wheel and glanced out of the window in time to see the giant conglomerate that was trying to ruin her father’s business. Though she’d loved water slides as a child, she hated the way Water World had ruined the environment with its plastic monstrosities, rather than blending the park into the bush surrounds. And now they wanted to expand, bulldozing another part of the bush and her father’s business in the process.
She sneaked a peek at the man who had the power to make it all happen. Though it went against the grain, perhaps she should be nice to him rather than antagonise him further?
‘I’m not a vegetarian,’ she ventured, thinking the statement lacked something as a peace offering but not wanting to give in to him too easily. ‘So when do we start discussing the carnival?’
‘I don’t talk business on an empty stomach,’ he said as he drove into Surfers Paradise and handed over the car to be valet-parked. Amber didn’t reply, and as she climbed out of the car she hoped that he didn’t expect her to make polite conversation over dinner. All she wanted to do was get this business completed as quickly as possible without complicating matters.
For that was exactly what would happen if she spent too long in this guy’s company. She’d never met a man like him and he intrigued her, the way he wouldn’t back down. Usually, her forthright manner scared men off, but not this one. He seemed to thrive on it, a fact she liked way too much to be comfortable.
‘Hope you like seafood,’ he said as he guided her into a prominent Gold Coast hotel.
‘I love it,’ she responded, trying not to gawk at the elaborate foyer, with its huge crystal chandelier casting a muted glow over the cream and gold furnishings. Well-dressed patrons strolled through the lobby, some heading to the restaurant.
‘Be careful. Sounds like you might actually enjoy this evening.’ His teasing words did little to reassure her as she compared the elegant styles of the other ladies with her own out-of-date dress. She didn’t belong here, and the sooner she escaped, the better.
‘What’s wrong?’ He laid a hand on her arm and she found his touch strangely comforting.
She glanced down at her dress, feeling like Cinderella without the fairy godmother and twice as ugly as the stepsisters. ‘I don’t fit in.’
He placed his thumb under her chin and tilted her head up. ‘You look beautiful.’ His eyes darkened to pewter and sent her pulse-rate accelerating at a frightening speed. Though she knew she didn’t look it at that moment, she felt like a princess.
Desire skittered across her nerve-endings as his thumb wandered up to lightly brush her bottom lip.
‘In fact, you’re the most stunning woman in this room. Now let’s order.’
They followed the maÎtre d’ to a cosy table for two, shaded from the other diners by strategically placed palms. It overlooked the ocean, and the twinkling lights of the Surfers Paradise strip created the illusion of being suspended in air.
This, combined with his compliment, which had rendered her speechless, meant she could scarcely concentrate on the menu.
‘See anything you fancy?’
She looked up, biting back her first response concerning the man sitting opposite. ‘I’ll have the king prawns, please.’
‘Excellent choice.’ He placed their order with the waiter and handed her one of the delicate flutes that had just been filled. ‘How about champagne to celebrate?’
He must be buttering her up for something, but she couldn’t figure out what. ‘To celebrate?’
He clinked glasses with hers. ‘To the start of a long and prosperous relationship.’
‘For who?’
‘Both of us.’
She almost choked as the effervescent bubbles tingled down her throat. She had no idea how closing down her family business could benefit him, or result in a long relationship, but she had an inkling she was about to find out.
‘Tell me how you’d save the business.’ He sat back and folded his arms, a curious look on his face.
She ignored the flare of hope, knowing his interest was purely speculative. ‘We need more capital to pay off our existing debts. Once they’re cleared, I have a few marketing ideas to boost business. We still have our regulars plus the tourists, and I know I can increase the profits.’
‘What makes you so sure?’
She didn’t let his intense scrutiny unnerve her. ‘I took marketing as part of my business degree. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but unless we clear the debts we’ll go under.’
‘You’ve got a business degree?’ His eyebrows shot heavenward and his mouth dropped open, just like one of the sideshow clowns at the carnival. A pity she didn’t have any Ping-Pong balls handy to shove into his gaping mouth.
She bristled. ‘With honours. Why, did you think I was just another carnival hick?’
His lips twitched and he avoided her stare, focusing on refolding his linen napkin. ‘I just didn’t pick you to be the type.’
Oh-oh, now he was treading on dangerous ground. She hated being labelled in any way, shape or form.
‘And what type is that? Uptight, stuck-up, pretentious, like you?’
He shrugged, as if her barbs meant little. ‘I’m proud of what I am. At least I don’t have some hang-up over wealth.’
Anger surged through her. Easy for him to judge, when he obviously had money to burn.
‘Not that it’s any of your business, but you wouldn’t know the first thing about making it in this world the hard way. That is, without Daddy’s purse strings to tide you over.’ She barely paused for breath, her bitterness rising with every passing second as she ticked the list off on her fingers. ‘Let me guess. You went to private schools, graduated from university top of the class, had the weekend beach house, played golf with Daddy and dated the princesses hand-picked by Mummy. Correct?’
Her tirade had a strange effect, but he blanked all expression from his face, casually picked up his glass and drank as if she hadn’t spoken.
‘Like I’ve said before, your clairvoyant skills amaze me. You left out the yacht, though.’ His deadly calm unnerved her, though he didn’t look up.
Her anger deflated, gone as quickly as it had come as guilt flooded her. She shouldn’t have pushed him so far. She was here to broker a salvage operation, not blow the whole thing out of the water. ‘Look, you don’t know the first thing about me. I just don’t like being put inside a box.’
‘Then tell me.’ He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table, drawing her attention to the way his shirt moulded to his biceps. He had a great body for an office-based guy. ‘What
