His Most Exquisite Conquest

Chemistry…yes! That explained everything. There was nothing wrong with Michael. Quite simply, there was no chemistry between him and Ellie, and no one could make that happen. It either did or it didn’t. Lucy had met some really nice guys in her time, but there’d been no point in dating them. They just didn’t do it for her.

She sat back contentedly, the narky questions that had been niggling at her making a complete exit, leaving her free to fall in love again.

She grinned at Ellie. ‘Brothers and sisters…wouldn’t it be great if we ended up together, all happy families?’

It was a lovely fantasy! Totally off the wall, because Lucy knew she wasn’t good enough to hold on to a man of Michael Finn’s calibre. Today was hers. Probably tonight. Maybe she would have him for a week or two if she could manage not to be found wanting by him.

‘I think that’s a huge leap into the future,’ her sister commented, rolling her eyes at Lucy. ‘Let’s just take one day at a time.’

Sensible, as always.

And completely right, as always.

But Lucy was flying high and didn’t want to be brought down to earth.

That could happen tomorrow or the next day or the next… .

Today she was over the moon and wanted to stay there.

CHAPTER FOUR

WHILE LUCY DIDN’T believe in big dreams for herself, she saw no reason for Ellie not to have them. Her sister was brilliant at everything. No one could find fault with her. However, her personal life certainly needed brightening, and Harry Finn looked like the right man to do it if she’d simply fling the door open and let him in.

‘You’re always so sensible, Ellie,’ Lucy chided, wanting her to lighten up and take a few risks for once.

‘Which is something I value very highly in your sister,’ Michael said warmly, picking up on her words as he appeared beside them and seated himself next to her on the lounge.

‘Oh, I do, too,’ she quickly agreed, liking him all the more for appreciating this quality in his PA. She bestowed a brilliant smile of approval on him as she added, ‘But I also want Ellie to have fun.’

‘Which is where I come in,’ Harry said, also catching her words as he came back. His eyes danced with wicked mischief as he gazed at Ellie. ‘Starting with cocktails. The bartender will bring them over. Here are the peanuts and pretzels.’

He placed a bowl of them on the table and settled himself beside her, throwing her a challenging look that mocked any resistance to having fun with him. She flicked him a sizzling glance in return.

Definitely something hot going on between them, Lucy thought, and gave Harry an approving smile as she asked, ‘What cocktail did you order for Michael?’

‘A Manhattan. Mickey is highly civilised. He actually forgets about sunshine until it sparkles over him.’

Lucy laughed at the teasing reference to herself as the sunshine girl. ‘And for yourself?’

‘Ah, the open sea is my business. I’m a salty man, so I share Elizabeth’s taste for margaritas.’

‘The open sea?’ Lucy queried.

‘Harry looks after the tourist side of Finn’s Fisheries,’ Michael answered. ‘I take care of buying in the stock for all our franchises.’

‘Ah!’ She nodded, understanding why Harry was dressed the way he was.

She knew Finn’s Fisheries was a huge franchise with outlets all around Australia. They not only stocked every possible piece of fishing gear, a lot of it imported, but the kind of clothing that went with it: wetsuits, swimming costumes, shorts, T-shirts, hats. The range of merchandise was fantastic and Ellie had told her Michael dealt with all that.

She knew about the tourist side, too, having been a tour guide herself. There were Finn dive boats offering adventures around the Great Barrier Reef, Finn deep sea fishing yachts for hire, and for the really rich, the exclusive getaway resort of Finn Island, where she’d never been but would love to go.

Harry couldn’t be too much of a playboy if he was responsible for keeping these enterprises running successfully. She noticed that his white T-shirt with the tropical fish had the emblem of Finn Island printed below his left shoulder, and wondered if he’d come from there this morning. Maybe if she and Michael hit it off really well, he would take her to the glamorous getaway.

Lucy decided she could not have wished for a more exciting situation—Ellie and Harry, she and Michael. The conversation over cocktails zipped with good humour. Ellie drank a second margarita, definitely loosening up, hopefully throwing caution to the winds. A thirtieth birthday was not a time to be overly sensible.

Lucy wanted her sister to have the best possible day.

Which led to making the mistake!

They were handed menus as soon as they were seated in the dining-room, and instead of waiting for the others to start talking about the dishes listed, as she usually did, the fact that they were at a top-line restaurant gave her the confidence to say, ‘I bet I know what you’re going to order, Ellie.’

Her sister raised her eyebrows. ‘What?’

Lucy grinned at her. ‘The chilli mud crab.’ It was her absolute favourite dish.

‘Actually, I can’t see that on the menu,’ Michael said, glancing quizzically at her.

‘Oh, I didn’t really look. I just assumed,’ she replied quickly, silently cursing herself for being an impulsive idiot.

Revealing her disability to a man she wanted to impress—a man as smart as Michael Finn—would make him lose interest in no time flat, and she would shrivel up inside if he got that look on his face—the look that saw her as defective. Hiding her dyslexia was always the best course. Now she had to cover up the stupid mistake.

Pretending to study the menu properly, she asked, ‘What have you decided on, Michael?’

‘The steak.’

‘How about sharing a seafood platter for two with me, Elizabeth?’ Harry said, leaning closer to point out the platter’s contents on the menu. ‘You get crab on it, as well as all the other goodies, and we can nibble away on everything as we please.’

Lucy instantly warmed to him even more—a sweet man, not only caring about her sister’s pleasure, but also taking the meal selection heat off herself.

‘Harry will eat the lion’s share,’ Michael warned.

Harry instantly raised a hand for solemn vowing. ‘I swear I’ll give you first choice of each titbit.’

‘Okay, that’s a done deal,’ she said, closing the menu and slanting him a smile.

‘Sealed with a kiss,’ he said, bright blue eyes twinkling wickedly as he leaned closer still and pecked her on the cheek.

‘You can keep that mouth of yours for eating, Harry,’ she snapped, probably on the principle of give him an inch and he’d take a mile.

He grinned. ‘Elizabeth, I live for the day when I’ll eat you all up.’

‘That’ll be doomsday.’

‘With the gates of heaven opening for me,’ Harry retorted, his grin widening.

Lucy couldn’t help laughing.

Ellie heaved a long-suffering sigh and shook her head at him. ‘You are incorrigible.’