The Simply Scandalous Princess by Michele Dunaway

Author:Michele Dunaway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Harrison saw Lucia immediately as she slipped back into the crowd. While Easton may not have noticed the youngest Carradigne’s disappearance, Harrison had.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Ellie asked. She pressed her hands down, straightening the gray blazer that did absolutely nothing for her figure.

“She’s a credit to her mother,” Harrison replied, his gaze following Lucia as she went to speak to her sisters.

“Speaking of, where is Charlotte? Shouldn’t she have been here before Easton?”

“Not tonight,” Harrison said with a glance at his watch. A ding from the gallery told him that the private elevator had arrived from Charlotte’s upper floor. “Tonight, being her house and her party, she can be fashionably late. Here she comes now.”

“I hope I look like that at her age,” Ellie breathed in awe as Charlotte arrived.

For Charlotte DeLacey Carradigne, at fifty, exemplified the epitome of youth. Her short, tousled hair was white, not gray, and it made her look beautiful and youthful.

Always put together in the latest designer couture, tonight Charlotte wore a fitted Vera Wang dress that set off her slim five-seven figure.

Charlotte curtsied to Easton, and then as Harrison watched, began making the rounds of greeting her married daughters, Lucia, Devon, and finally Harrison and Ellie.

“Sir Montcalm and Miss Standish,” Charlotte said. Her perfume wafted to Harrison’s nose, and while sensual and perfect for Charlotte, he found himself negatively comparing it to the pure scent that was Lucia.

“Duchess.” Harrison greeted her with a low bow.

“Come, you must mingle. Miss Standish, you look wonderful tonight.”

“Thank you, Duchess.” Ellie curtsied.

And with that, Charlotte was off to take her position at Easton’s side. Within minutes, Harrison noted, she and Easton had corralled Devon and Lucia together.

“Does she really mean for us to mingle?” Ellie asked.

“No,” Harrison said.

“No?”

Harrison blinked. He’d spoken aloud his gut reaction to seeing Lucia and Devon together. He hadn’t been answering Ellie. “Sorry. I thought you’d said something else. Of course she wants us to mingle. Feel free to talk to anyone here.”

“Okay,” Ellie said. “I just was checking the protocol, that was all. I haven’t been having much fun this trip. Normally I get to actually go out and visit the countryside or something. I’ve been pretty much tied to the embassy, so I’d like to have some fun.”

“Go socialize,” Harrison told her. “It’s okay.” In reality, though, it wasn’t.

He couldn’t go mingle with Lucia. He didn’t want to be here at all, except that Easton had insisted. “Your son will be there,” he had said, “and I’m sure you’ll want to see for yourself how well he and Lucia get along.”

Actually, that was the whole reason Harrison didn’t want to come. Just thinking about the situation was unbearable, and now to see the two of them so close together, talking and laughing and obviously having a good time, it was too much.

He could use air, but he’d already been a coward once. Escaping to the covered lanai off the Grand Room was not an option. Not tonight. Tonight he’d suffer

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.