women moved away and then more guests approached Nessa, relieving her of her remaining drinks. She was only too happy to escape back to the kitchen to stock up. Just before she left, she cast one last glance in Luc’s direction, but his head was bowed towards someone in conversation.
Lambasting herself for having listened to gossip, no matter how inadvertently, Nessa forged a path through the crowd and away from Luc. She told herself that she wasn’t remotely interested in what the women had been saying. And that she was truly pathetic to be feeling the tiniest bit sorry for him that he was surrounded by such fervent gossip in the first place.
There was no smoke without a fire, as her father loved to say on a regular basis. And from what she’d seen of Luc in action, she could almost forgive a married woman for falling under his spell.
* * *
‘What on earth is Nessa O’Sullivan doing serving drinks at your party, Barbier? I’d hardly think she’s short of a few bob!’
It took a second for Luc to register what the man beside him had said and when he did his wandering attention snapped into sharp focus. ‘You know her?’
The man snorted. ‘Of course I do—you forget Ireland is a small place. Her father is Paddy O’Sullivan, one of this country’s best trainers—at one time. Before he hit the bottle and almost lost everything. Now of course they’re back on top of the world, although I don’t think Paddy will ever repair the damage to his reputation. Still, he doesn’t need to now, not with the goldmine he’s sitting on thanks to his son-in-law.’
Luc usually had an aversion to gossip but not this time. ‘What are you talking about?’
Percy Mortimer, a well-known English racing pundit, turned to Luc. ‘Nessa O’Sullivan is related to royalty—her older sister—who incidentally is also a very talented amateur trainer—is married to the supreme Sheikh Nadim Al-Saqr of Merkazad. He bought out their stud a few years back. Nessa’s not a bad rider. I’ve seen her in a couple of races over the years, but she doesn’t seem to have made a proper impression yet.’
What the hell? Luc barely heard that last bit. Sheikh Nadim was a very serious contender in racing circles, and a billionaire. And Luc had had no idea that he owned a stables just down the road. Nessa’s family stud. He reeled, although he didn’t show it.
Percy was saying something else but Luc wasn’t listening. His gaze was already scanning the crowd for a dark redhead. He’d seen her earlier—looking once again as if butter wouldn’t melt, dressed in her white shirt and skirt. Even that small glimpse had been enough to cause a spike in his heart-rate.
Damn. Where was she, anyway?
Luc tried to move away but saw a group headed for him with Pascal leading the way. The look on Pascal’s face told Luc that he had to stay exactly where he was.
Nessa would have to wait, for now. But he would track her down and this time there would be no games. Only answers to his questions. Like what the hell was she playing at, working for nothing to pay off her brother’s debt when presumably she could ask for a handout from her billionaire brother-in-law?
* * *
Nessa’s feet and arms were aching, and she knew she shouldn’t be here, but after the party had finished and they’d been released, she found herself gravitating towards the stallions’ stables. As if pulled by some magnetic force. As if that could help to ground her and fuse her scattered energies back together.
She’d been acutely conscious of Luc’s every movement, all evening.
At one stage she’d caught his eye and it had seemed as if he was trying to communicate something telepathically. From the grim look on his face it hadn’t been something particularly nice. And then, even though she’d skirted around the edges of the room, keeping far out of his orbit for the rest of the evening, she could have sworn she felt his dark gaze boring into her periodically.
She came to a stop in the middle of the stables when she realised that they were empty. She looked around and remembered belatedly that the stallions had been moved up to different paddocks and stables for a few days while these were being repainted and renovated.
There were white sheets piled high in a corner along with painting and cleaning paraphernalia. Nessa told herself it was just as well as she turned around to leave. The last thing she needed was to be caught again in the wrong place—
Her heart stopped when she saw the tall broad figure blocking the doorway, with only the moon behind him as a silhouette. Too late. Luc.
She could see that his bow-tie was undone and top button open, his jacket swinging loose and his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
He moved forward into the stables and she saw his stern expression revealed in the dim lighting. Immediately the space felt claustrophobic. Nessa’s body tingled with awareness as he came close enough for her to see that there was also barely leashed anger in his expression.
She swallowed. ‘I know I shouldn’t be here—’
‘That’s not important. We need to have a little chat.’
Surprise robbed her voice for a moment and then she said, ‘About what?’
Luc folded his arms. ‘About why you’ve omitted to mention the not inconsequential fact that your sister is married to Sheikh Nadim Al-Saqr of Merkazad, and that he owns your stud farm.’
He continued, ‘I’d imagine one million euro is short change to Sheikh Nadim Al-Saqr, so what the hell is Paddy doing jeopardising his career for a handout he could’ve begged off his brother-in-law, and why didn’t you just pick up the phone to Nadim to sort this mess out?’
Nessa went hot and then cold as the significance of this sank in, and the realisation that someone must have recognised her at the party.
She said carefully, ‘I didn’t think it was relevant.’
Luc looked even more stern. ‘Not good enough.’
Nessa swallowed. She knew she couldn’t avoid an explanation. ‘Nadim did buy our farm but he put it back into our name as a wedding gift for Iseult, my sister. It’s ours again, he’s just one of the shareholders. And I didn’t want to involve him because this has nothing to do with Nadim or Iseult. My sister is due to have a baby in a couple of weeks and they don’t need the stress.’
Luc stepped closer but Nessa was trapped, with a stable door at her back and nowhere to go. She was acutely aware of his tall, lean body and his scent.
‘There’s more to it than that,’ he said. ‘You and your brother avoiding asking for help just proves you’re both involved in something that’s gone beyond your control. I’m guessing Nadim wouldn’t approve, and you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you.’
In a fierce low voice Nessa replied, ‘No. It’s nothing like that. Why must you be so cynical and mistrustful?’
‘Because,’ he answered smoothly, ‘I was born that way and nothing I’ve experienced has ever proved me wrong. Life favours the opportunistic. I should know.’
I was born that way. Nessa couldn’t stop a rush of curiosity and pity. The second time she’d pitied him this evening. But then
