A Scandal Made at Midnight by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-03-26T21:27:58+00:00

* * *

‘Where’s Liane?’

Alessandro glanced behind Ella, where waiters were prepping trays of champagne for yet another gala, this one at the Rossi Hotel in Mayfair. He was so very tired of these parties, and yet he’d been looking forward to seeing Liane in the gown he’d bought her tonight. Looking forward to it quite a lot, in fact, no matter what he’d told himself about them being friends.

‘She decided not to attend,’ Ella replied with a careless shrug. ‘The flight tired her out, apparently.’

‘She’s had all day to recover.’ They’d taken a redeye from LA to London, and he’d offered the jet’s bedroom to Liane and Ella, preferring to work through the night and then doze in a reclining chair. There had been very little opportunity to talk during the eleven hours from LA to London and yet now he realised that, even so, Liane had been rather pensive and quiet. Had she been avoiding him after their discussion yesterday? Why, when they’d finally cleared the air? Unless, of course, they hadn’t.

Ella raised her eyebrows. ‘What does it matter? Unless you want her to feature in today’s posts? I could take a photo of her, lying in bed with a cloth to her head, you hovering by her bedside...’ The smile she gave him was disconcertingly knowing.

‘No, of course not.’ It was a ridiculous idea, and in any case he couldn’t care less about the stupid social media posts, even if they were achieving exactly what he’d intended them to. ‘I simply expected her to be here.’ Wearing the gown he’d bought for her, that made her look like a Greek goddess come to life—Persephone, perhaps, or the nymphs Echo or Thetis... Good grief, but he needed to get a hold of himself. ‘Is she unwell?’

‘I think she might have a bit of headache.’ Ella cocked her head, looking at him speculatively, one hand planted on her hip. ‘If you want, you could go check on her before the party starts. Make sure she’s okay.’ Her eyes danced. ‘I think she’d appreciate it.’

‘I’m sure there’s no need,’ Alessandro muttered, turning away. He needed to stop thinking about Liane. He’d thought they’d reached an understanding, an equilibrium, yesterday afternoon, when he’d made it clear they would not be taking their relationship anywhere, if they even had a relationship, which they didn’t, but clearly his brain hadn’t got the memo because he’d been thinking of nothing but her all day.

Still, he realised as he began to circulate among the arriving guests, he was annoyed and even worried that she’d decided to be a no-show. What was really going on? Was she hiding again, or what if something was wrong? What if she was ill? He frowned, considering the matter. Ella had said she had only a bit of a headache, but what if it was something more? What if she was upset? He’d been a bit brusque yesterday, perhaps. He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but neither had he wanted to give her any hope.

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