Rags To Riches Baby

“You’re correct,” Oliver conceded and crossed his arms over his chest to bury his tingling hand. “I’m not a lady.”

Lucy’s pink lips scrunched together in irritation, although there was the slightest glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Could she actually have a sense of humor? “You’re not a gentleman either. You’re a pain in my a—”

“Hey, now!” Oliver interrupted. Ixnay that thought on the sense of humor. “I didn’t come here to start a fight with you, Lucy.”

She took a deep breath and looked him over in his favorite charcoal suit. He’d paired a pink tie with it tonight in a nod to Jonah’s baby, but he doubted Lucy would be impressed by the gesture. At the moment, he wanted to tug it off and give himself some room to breathe, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing him react to her, good or bad.

“So why are you here?” she asked.

“I’m here because I was invited. Jonah and I are friends from back in prep school. Did Harper not tell you that?”

“No, she didn’t.” Lucy looked through the window with a frown lining her face, then down at her dress. It was short, ending a few inches above her knee with a band of iridescent white beads that caught the light as she moved. “Although a lot of other things make sense now.”

Oliver couldn’t help the chuckle that burst out of him in the moment. “You actually thought I’d driven two hours out of my way just to come here and stalk you tonight?”

Lucy pouted her bottom lip at his laughter and turned toward the stone railing of the balcony. “Well...it’s not like we’ve ever run into each other before this. You have to admit it seems suspicious that you keep showing up where I am.”

He stifled the last of his snickering and stood beside her at the railing, their bodies almost touching. He could feel the heat of her bare skin less than an inch away. “Maybe you’re right,” he admitted.

Oliver turned to look down at her. She was wearing white and silver heels tonight, but even then, she was quite a bit shorter than he was. Outside, the flicker of the decorative candles stationed across the patio made the golden glow dance around her face, a game of shadow and light that flattered her features even more.

She met his gaze with her wide brown eyes, surprised by his sudden agreement with her. “I’m right? Did I actually hear you say that?”

“I said you may be right. Maybe I got all dressed up, dropped a ton of cash on a registry gift and came to this baby shower in the middle of nowhere just in the hopes I would see you here.”

Lucy turned away and stared off into the distance. “I don’t appreciate your sarcasm. I also don’t appreciate you accosting me at a party. I’m missing one of my best friend’s baby showers to be out here with you.”

Oliver turned toward her and leaned one elbow onto the railing. “You’re free to go at any time.”

She turned to face him with disbelief narrowing her gaze. “Oh yeah, so you can start something else inside? Or throw me over your shoulder and carry me off next time? No. We’re finishing this discussion right now. When I go back inside, I don’t want to speak to or even lay eyes on you again.”

He looked at her and noticed a slight tremble of her lips as she spoke. Was she on the verge of tears? He wasn’t sure why, but the idea of that suddenly bothered him. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why?”

“You’re trembling. Are you really that upset with me?”

Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, I’m shivering. It’s freezing out here. I’m not dressed for an alfresco discussion this time of year.”

Without hesitation, Oliver slipped off his suit coat and held it out to her. She looked at it with suspicion for a moment before turning her back and letting him drape it over her bare shoulders.

“Thank you,” Lucy said as reluctantly as she could manage.

“I’m not all bad.”

“That’s good to know. I was starting to feel sorry for Harper having to grow up with you.”

“Oh, you can still feel sorry for her. I was a horrible big brother. I made her life hell for years.” Oliver laughed again, thinking of some of the wicked things he’d done to his sister. “One time, when she was about eight, I convinced her that my father’s new Ming vase was made of Silly Putty and would bounce if she dropped it onto the floor. She got in so much trouble. Dad wouldn’t believe her when she said I’d told her that. He grounded her for an extra week for lying.”

Lucy covered her mouth with her hand to hide a reluctant smile. “Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?” she asked. “You’re not here to fight with me, and yet you’re out here making small talk with me instead of inside with Jonah and your friends. What’s your angle?”

That was a good question. He hadn’t exactly planned any of this. He’d just wanted to get her away from the crowd before they made a scene. Once they stopped arguing, he was surprised to find he enjoyed talking with Lucy. There was an understated charm to her. The longer he spent with her, the more he wanted to spend. It was an intriguing and dangerous proposition, but one that explained his aunt’s bold decision. If he felt swayed by her, his elderly aunt hadn’t stood a chance.

“I don’t have an angle, Lucy.” Or if he did, he wasn’t going to tell her so. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out what my aunt saw in you.”

Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but he held up his hands to silence her. “I don’t mean it like that, so don’t get defensive. I’ve just been thinking that if my aunt really did want to leave you half a billion dollars, you had to be a pretty special person.” Oliver leaned closer, unconsciously closing the gap between them. “I guess I’m curious to get to know you better and learn more about you.”

Lucy’s nose wrinkled, but for the first time, it didn’t appear to be because she was annoyed with him. “What do you think so far?” she asked.

“So far...” He sought out the smart answer, but just decided to be honest. “...I like you. More than I should, given the circumstances. So far, you’ve proven to be an exciting, intelligent and beautiful adversary.”

Lucy’s lips parted softly at his words. “Did you say beautiful?”

Oliver nodded. Before he could respond aloud, Lucy launched herself into his arms. Her pink lips collided with his own just as her body pressed into him. He was stunned stiff for only a moment before he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her tighter against him.

Kissing Lucy wasn’t at all what he expected. Nothing about her was what he expected. She didn’t back down from what she’d started. She was bold, opening up to him and seeking his tongue out with her own. Oliver couldn’t help but respond to her. She was more enthusiastic and demanding than any woman he may have ever kissed before.

This wasn’t the smart thing. Or the proper thing. But he couldn’t make himself pull away from her. She tasted like sweet, baby-shower punch, and she smelled like lavender. He wanted to draw her scent into his lungs and hold it there.

But then it was over.

As she pulled away, Oliver felt a surge of unwanted desire wash over him. It was the last thing he needed right now—with Lucy of all women—but he couldn’t deny what he felt. It took everything he had not to reach for her and pull her back into his arms again. He was glad he didn’t, though, as his need for her was stunted by a sudden blow to the face as Lucy punched him in the nose.

Four (#ua46c798d-2e51-58dd-a4da-5cb72c897b6a)

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lucy asked with outrage in her voice as she backed away from him.

Oliver didn’t immediately reply. First, he had to figure out what the hell had just happened. He was being kissed one second, hit the next and now he was being yelled at.

“Me?” He brought his hand up to his throbbing nose and winced. It wasn’t broken, but there was blood running over his fingers. He’d never actually had a woman hit him before. One for the bucket list, he supposed. “You’re the one that kissed me!”

“I did not,” she insisted.

Oliver frowned and sighed, reaching into his coat for his pocket square to soak up the blood. Harper had never mentioned Lucy being impulsive, but he was learning new things about her all the time. It had been ten seconds since their lips had touched and it hadn’t been his doing. Surely she recalled that. “Yeah, you did kiss me. I said you were beautiful and you threw yourself at me.”

Lucy must have been caught up in the moment, because she seemed very much embarrassed by the truth of his blunt description. Her skin was suddenly crimson against her white dress and she wasn’t even the one who got punched. “Yes...well...you kissed me back,” she managed.

What was he supposed to do? Just stand there? Oliver was not a passive man, especially when the physical was involved. “My apologies, Miss Campbell. Next time a woman kisses me, I’ll politely wait until she’s finished with me and hit her instead.”

Lucy took a cautious step back at his words, making him grin even though he shouldn’t.

“I’m not going to hit you,” Oliver said, dabbing at his nose one last time and stuffing the handkerchief into his pocket. “I’ve never hit a woman and I’m not going to start now. Although it would be nice if you would extend me the same courtesy. What ever happened to an old-fashioned slap of outrage? You straight-up punched me in the face. You hit hard, too.”

She twisted her pink lips for a moment before nodding softly. “I take kickboxing classes twice a week. I’m sorry I hit you. It was almost a reflex. I was...startled.”