A Suitable Mistress by Cathy Williams

Author:Cathy Williams [Williams, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin Treasury
Published: 2011-05-26T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

EVERYONE had arrived. The apartment was big, but forty-odd people filled it out at the seams, and there was the steady, high noise of voices trying to rise above each other. Two waiters were manfully doing the rounds with trays.

Suzanne’s gaze roved across the room and met Dane’s eyes just as he caught sight of her. He had been talking to a group of four people but he’d looked straight across the room almost as soon as she’d walked in. As had nearly everyone else, including the group around him. There was a brief lull in the conversation—time enough for her to absorb the effect that she had had in her small black waitress’s outfit, with the tiny white frilly apron in front, and the black high heels which put her on eye-level with most of the men there.

She couldn’t remember ever having had this effect on a roomful of people before. The initial heady effect began to wear off and she smiled weakly at the sea of faces staring at her. Should she say hello? She was spared the decision because Dane announced, without a trace of humour in his voice, ‘While all your attention is riveted on the girl by the doorway, I might as well take this opportunity to introduce her to you. Suzanne Stanton is an old friend of the family and is staying with me temporarily. ’

There were some appreciative murmurs, the conversation resumed and she hesitantly approached Dane and his group of friends.

The high heels felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t accustomed to wearing anything but flat shoes, and she had to move slowly, even though she was aware that that gave her a certain swaying walk. She could feel eyes following her progress across the room and she tried to be oblivious to them.

She finally, after what seemed like hours of weaving through the crowd, managed to make it to Dane’s side and she politely listened while he made introductions.

‘When I mentioned that it was to be informal,’ he said in a hard voice, ‘I had no idea that you would take me so literally.’

She met his eyes and realised that he wasn’t in the least amused at her get-up. He was mad, coldly angry, his grey eyes cool and shuttered, his mouth a narrow line.

Angela, standing next to him, didn’t look particularly impressed either, but Suzanne didn’t care about that. She smiled brıghtly and said to no one in particular, ‘It was suggested that I might like to help out with serving drinks, so I thought that I’d dress for the occasion.’ It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but she was rapidly beginning to revise her thoughts on the matter.

‘I’m glad that you did,’ one of the men said to her, and she looked at him with a gush of relief. He was young, American, with sandy-coloured hair and blue eyes. He was smiling at her, his arms folded with a half-empty drink in one hand.

She looked at him and said brightly, indicating his drink, ‘I might as well get the ball rolling with you.

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