dropped your fork. And you’ve hardly touched Fleur’s world-class lasagna.” She smiled affectionately at the other woman before turning back to Nicky. “Are you coming down with a—” She broke off as her expression became suddenly speculative. “You’ve heard from him again, haven’t you?”
There was no reason for Nicky to ask Chrissie who she meant by ‘him’.
There was only one him .
The same him who was the reason Nicky felt slightly nauseous, and ‘flushed and feverish’, as eight o’clock arrived, and then slowly ticked by.
She gave another glance up at the clock on the wall of Chrissie and Fleur’s kitchen. 8:10. Lucien would have been seated at the otherwise empty restaurant for ten minutes by now. Would have slowly—angrily?—realized that she wasn’t going to turn up.
And she was slowly going out of her mind worrying over what he would do next.
Not that she regretted her decision not to go to the restaurant. Not for a moment. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t also apprehensive as to what Lucien’s response might be to her defiance—
She almost jumped up out of her chair as her cell phone vibrated to let her know she had a new message.
Her hand shook as she picked the cell phone up from the table and read the message. Well, it was more of a symbol, really. Just ‘?’.
Lucien not only knew her home and email address, but also her cell phone number?
Of course he did, damn him. She was one of his employees; it would have been a simple matter of checking with personnel—or in Lucien’s case, having his PA check with personnel—as to the personal details they had on file for Nicky McKenzie. Or maybe Dair Grayson, Lucien’s cousin and head of his security, had done it for him. However Lucien had attained that information on her, Nicky had no doubts he would not have gone to the trouble of doing it himself.
And he was going to be furious, in that cold and scary way of his, because she had left him sitting alone in the exclusive restaurant.
Her cell phone vibrated with another new message.
‘5 more minutes’
Five more minutes until what? Lucien fired her again, if she didn’t respond?
Nicky had pondered that possibility all day as she carried on with her work on autopilot, finally deciding that really wasn’t Lucien’s style. That he would never do anything so petty, especially after going to the trouble of reinstating her.
No, Lucien was much more subtle than that, could probably think of a dozen ways he might make her life difficult—more difficult, Nicky acknowledged ruefully. Hiding out from the boss of London’s underworld for almost six years hadn’t exactly made her life easy.
“Nicky?”
She looked up into Fleur’s gentle Asian face, even as she inwardly acknowledged it had been a mistake for her to come here this evening, that she was obviously worrying her two closest friends with her behavior.
She gave a slightly shaky smile. “Chrissie’s right, I actually don’t feel too well this evening. So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll just—” She broke off as yet another message vibrated on her cell phone.
A message Nicky was too afraid to look at this time, knowing the five minutes Lucien had given her must have elapsed.
She really had no idea what Lucien was going to do now, couldn’t even guess, but she wanted to be far away from Chrissie and Fleur when he did it.
Nicky stood up noisily. “Thank you both for dinner, but I really do have to go.” She thrust her now eerily silent cell phone into her shoulder bag before turning to hug her two friends goodnight. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Chrissie,” she promised, slightly breathless.
Chrissie gave her a searching look before nodding slowly. “Make sure that you do, otherwise I’m going to worry.”
Nicky felt as if the devil himself were at her heels as she left the apartment and traveled home on the tube.
Taking out her cell phone once she was on the train, and reading Lucien’s last
There was no reason for Nicky to ask Chrissie who she meant by ‘him’.
There was only one him .
The same him who was the reason Nicky felt slightly nauseous, and ‘flushed and feverish’, as eight o’clock arrived, and then slowly ticked by.
She gave another glance up at the clock on the wall of Chrissie and Fleur’s kitchen. 8:10. Lucien would have been seated at the otherwise empty restaurant for ten minutes by now. Would have slowly—angrily?—realized that she wasn’t going to turn up.
And she was slowly going out of her mind worrying over what he would do next.
Not that she regretted her decision not to go to the restaurant. Not for a moment. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t also apprehensive as to what Lucien’s response might be to her defiance—
She almost jumped up out of her chair as her cell phone vibrated to let her know she had a new message.
Her hand shook as she picked the cell phone up from the table and read the message. Well, it was more of a symbol, really. Just ‘?’.
Lucien not only knew her home and email address, but also her cell phone number?
Of course he did, damn him. She was one of his employees; it would have been a simple matter of checking with personnel—or in Lucien’s case, having his PA check with personnel—as to the personal details they had on file for Nicky McKenzie. Or maybe Dair Grayson, Lucien’s cousin and head of his security, had done it for him. However Lucien had attained that information on her, Nicky had no doubts he would not have gone to the trouble of doing it himself.
And he was going to be furious, in that cold and scary way of his, because she had left him sitting alone in the exclusive restaurant.
Her cell phone vibrated with another new message.
‘5 more minutes’
Five more minutes until what? Lucien fired her again, if she didn’t respond?
Nicky had pondered that possibility all day as she carried on with her work on autopilot, finally deciding that really wasn’t Lucien’s style. That he would never do anything so petty, especially after going to the trouble of reinstating her.
No, Lucien was much more subtle than that, could probably think of a dozen ways he might make her life difficult—more difficult, Nicky acknowledged ruefully. Hiding out from the boss of London’s underworld for almost six years hadn’t exactly made her life easy.
“Nicky?”
She looked up into Fleur’s gentle Asian face, even as she inwardly acknowledged it had been a mistake for her to come here this evening, that she was obviously worrying her two closest friends with her behavior.
She gave a slightly shaky smile. “Chrissie’s right, I actually don’t feel too well this evening. So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll just—” She broke off as yet another message vibrated on her cell phone.
A message Nicky was too afraid to look at this time, knowing the five minutes Lucien had given her must have elapsed.
She really had no idea what Lucien was going to do now, couldn’t even guess, but she wanted to be far away from Chrissie and Fleur when he did it.
Nicky stood up noisily. “Thank you both for dinner, but I really do have to go.” She thrust her now eerily silent cell phone into her shoulder bag before turning to hug her two friends goodnight. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Chrissie,” she promised, slightly breathless.
Chrissie gave her a searching look before nodding slowly. “Make sure that you do, otherwise I’m going to worry.”
Nicky felt as if the devil himself were at her heels as she left the apartment and traveled home on the tube.
Taking out her cell phone once she was on the train, and reading Lucien’s last
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