Читать книгу The Millionaire's Proposal - Trish Wylie - Страница 7
ОглавлениеCHAPTER TWO
KAREN had to be losing her tiny mind.
Since when did she run around asking men she’d only just met to spend a day with her? Since never—that was when. It wasn’t that she was stuck in some old-fashioned notion that a woman didn’t have as much a right to ask a man out as the other way round, but it wasn’t something she made a habit of. And what did she really know about this guy beyond the fact he was disgustingly good-looking, great company and more than a little fascinating to her?
She swiped her clammy palms along the sides of her crisp white shorts and pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, squinting as she looked around the crowded street. If he stood her up that would be one way of getting out of it, she supposed. But the truth was she didn’t want him to stand her up—the idea of another day in his company having been sending a flutter of anticipation through her stomach since before she’d gone to sleep the night before. And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that before seeing a man. Not that it was a date, because it wasn’t—she’d even offered to pay him for acting as her tour guide.
He’d laughed, mind you.
But it still wasn’t a date. It was a stolen day, a one-off, a way of marking her newfound freedom by doing something completely out of character…
Lord, but it was hot. She really hadn’t been prepared for how hot it was, or how heavy the air was, or how sticky and dishevelled she felt or how noisy and overwhelming New York was with the constant sound of car horns and the wail of sirens echoing from streets away or the number of people or—
Her breath catching when she saw him.
He was standing in the midst of all the people milling around in front of the Empire State Building and it was just plain daft that in that moment he was the only thing Kerry could see. It was simply that he was the only familiar face, was all. And, as much as she’d told herself she was fine with making such a large trip alone, the truth was some of the joy of her first night in New York had been tempered by the fact she had no one with her to turn to and share it with. Like the excitement of the first moment she saw the Manhattan skyline laid out in front of her, and it finally hit her that she was in New York!
She continued staring at Ronan, reasoning again that no one could really blame her—he was incredibly easy on the eyes. Standing with his feet spread, as if claiming the small piece of sidewalk underneath him, he had his hands on his lean hips while he slowly turned a circle, searching the crowd with a frown of concentration on his face. The bright sunlight made his short, spiking hair look lighter—a milk chocolate as opposed to the dark she’d thought it was on the plane—and he just looked so, so, well, he did.
Kerry raised a hand and waved it above her head.
But Ronan continued circling, so, feeling a little silly for waving like an idiot, she walked forwards, swiping her hands down her sides again as she got closer. ‘Hi there—do you by any chance know how to get to the Empire State Building?’
The lazy smile that slid onto his mouth brought an immediate answering smile to her lips. How pathetic was it she was glad to see him? And it didn’t bode too well for her conviction she could take her trip alone and still enjoy it just as much, did it?
‘You’re close, if it helps any.’
Stopping a foot away from him, she watched as his gaze travelled down her body all the way to her feet before rising faster than it had lowered. And she was surprised by how the simple glance suddenly made her feel warmer than she already was, every nerve ending tingling with awareness.
‘So are we starting the grand tour here?’
Ronan casually pushed his large hands into his jeans pockets, adopting the pose of a man extremely comfortable in his own skin. ‘Is there a queue all the way round the block?’
Kerry turned on her heel and surveyed the long line of people, sometimes three or four deep, stretching from the entrance until they disappeared around the corner; the thought of joining the end of a line that length in the sweltering heat was enough to draw a small groan from her lips.
‘Yes.’
‘Then no.’ He shot a glance at the bag resting on her hip, the strap slung diagonally across her body between her breasts. ‘I suppose you have the obligatory camera in there for pictures of all the sights?’
Kerry patted it with one hand, her chin rising with confidence. ‘And sun cream and a mini-fan and a bottle of water and a map and energy bars and a mobile phone and—’
Ronan smiled wryly, long fingers wrapping around her elbow to turn her before he started walking into the crowd. ‘Well at least if we get stranded in the desert we’ll survive.’
‘Are you making fun of the fact I like to be prepared for every eventuality, Mr O’Keefe?’
‘Possibly. But if I achieve nothing else today it’s my aim to sway you towards the merits of travelling light—I saw how much luggage you took off that carousel yesterday. And unless I’m very much mistaken, this is supposed to be a fun experience for you—not an endurance test.’
Kerry felt the skin on her elbow tingling beneath his hand, warmth travelling like an electric current up her arm, over her shoulder and downwards towards her breasts, disconcerting enough for her to feel the need to gently twist free of his touch before it worked its way anywhere else. Then she felt the need to lessen the small rejection with a sidewards glance and a pout of her lower lip.
‘I need all those clothes. It’s a trip through two seasons and half a dozen countries—and that involves a varied wardrobe. And anyway, I only have the absolute necessities with me.’
Ronan sounded unconvinced. ‘Your idea of bare necessities and mine aren’t the same, I’d guess.’
‘That’s because you’re a man and I’m a woman.’
‘No—it’s because I’m a seasoned traveller and you’re a virgin.’
Kerry couldn’t help making a small derisive snort.
And it was enough to make Ronan turn his head to look down at her face, his voice threaded with the cheek of the devil. ‘In travelling terms anyway. Because obviously by your age and looking the way you do…’
Her jaw dropped.
But he merely chuckled and reclaimed her elbow to steer her closer to the kerb. ‘Okay, Kerry, Kerry Doyle, I’m prepared to give a little on the traditional tourist stuff for the first hour or so to give you some quick photo op’s seeing you’re on a tight schedule—plus this is an easy way to get your bearings, so—’
‘What is?’
He quirked his brows at her in barely disguised amusement, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder and added the words slowly as if he were talking to a complete idiot. ‘That is.’
Kerry was a tad bemused, folding her arms across her breasts and blinking up at him before she asked, ‘Mr Great Adventurer is putting me on an open-top bus with the rest of the tourists? My, my, aren’t you the daring one? I’m so glad I have travel insurance.’
‘We can take the subway and boil to death if you prefer. You won’t see as much, mind you…’
Hard as it was to believe that anywhere barring the face of the sun could be any hotter than where she already was, and with him looking at her the way he was, Kerry wasn’t prepared to find out. But she was a little disappointed—she could have found one of the many bus tours on her own. Somehow she’d expected more from Ronan. Had maybe secretly hoped for more? And that some of that sense of adventure might rub off on her?
He stepped closer and bent his knees until he was looking her directly in the eye, his proximity doing things to her pulse rate and breathing that she hadn’t experienced since, well, since the plane, actually…
‘Trust me.’ His voice dropped seductively, the vibration of the deep tone reaching out to interrupt the usual rhythm of her heart. ‘I promise you won’t forget today.’
Kerry swallowed. She believed him—but somehow she knew, deep to the pit of her soul, it wouldn’t just be the sightseeing she’d remember. And that was a strangely scary thought. Especially when she’d spent so long waiting for a time in her life when she finally had her independence; she’d fought long and hard, worked more hours than she cared to think about, had constantly put the needs of others first. Not that she wanted to change that—but the last thing she needed was to get even temporarily attached to someone who was probably as reliable as an Irish summer.
‘Can I ask you a question?’
He stood tall again, towering over her by a good six inches. ‘Depends.’
‘How many women you meet on planes end up asking you to play tour guide for them?’
‘Regretting asking?’
‘Curious.’
He folded his arms across his chest, mirroring her stance, the simple action accenting the muscles in his forearms and biceps. ‘About how often I do this or why you asked me in the first place?’
‘Yes.’
And why he’d agreed, she supposed. Not that she needed her ego stroked, but she was curious as to why he’d said yes as quickly as he had. He had to be in New York for a reason, didn’t he? Meeting with a publisher? More research for a new book maybe? Someone who’d travelled as much as he had didn’t make a trip just for the sake of it, did they? And if that was the case had he dropped whatever he was doing in favour of spending the day with her?
Because she really wouldn’t want him to think that she’d repay him at the end of it with—or that he was onto some kind of a sure thing or—
‘First up, let’s remember you asked me and not the other way round—though I’d have offered if you’d given me five minutes. Or at the very least pointed you in the general direction of some of my favourite places.’
Kerry opened her mouth.
But Ronan wasn’t done. ‘Secondly, I don’t tend to talk to people on planes much—and any I’ve bothered with have never been a beautiful woman travelling alone, more’s the pity. So, yes—you’re the first one for a guided tour. I’m only human.’
Of all the very many things in there she could have picked to ask questions on, Kerry’s brain could only seem to focus on the one thing: he thought she was beautiful. Really? Not pretty or cute but honest-to-goodness beautiful?
It made her positively glow—a guy like him thinking that. So much for not needing her ego stroked.
‘Thirdly—’ he took a measured breath that expanded his wide chest before continuing with an almost reluctant tone in his voice, as if he wasn’t completely comfortable saying the words ‘—I guess the idea of seeing things through your eyes appealed to me. It’ll do me good to see it from a new perspective—who knows? I might even get a chapter of a book out of it. I’ll even promise to give you an acknowledgement if I do.’
He recovered with a wink. ‘You can thank me later…’
‘Ronan—’ But before she could find anything coherent to say there was a loud greeting from the upper floor of the bus.
‘Ro—my man! C’mon up.’
Ronan grinned, tilting his head right back to throw an answer back. ‘Hey, Johnnie boy—you save us the good seats?’
‘Uh-huh. That your friend?’
‘Yup.’
The younger man whistled. ‘She’s way too good-lookin’ for you, old man—bring her up here so I can steal her away.’
Kerry laughed when the words were accompanied with an exaggerated wink and a beckoning index finger. ‘And that is?’
Ronan cupped her elbow again, guiding her onto the bus as he leaned his head down, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
‘Best tour guide in New York City—just don’t go telling him I said so or he’ll be unbearable.’ He stood taller, voice rising a little. ‘These tours are all about the guides; get a local like John and you’ll get more insight about the city and the best places to go than you ever would from a book.’
Kerry lowered her voice to the same conspiratorial level he’d used. ‘Don’t you know someone who could maybe put it in a book?’
‘Ah-h-h, but these stories aren’t mine to tell— they’re his. And no two tours are ever the same with John. There’s always something new to add or a different joke or something that happened the day before. And that’s what travelling is all about—the people as much as the places. Some places you might forget, but you won’t forget the people you met along the way. Memories Kerry, Kerry Doyle—yours, the people you meet’s— that’s what you’ll have at the end of every trip you take. Moments; snapshots in time, if you like.’
They paused at the bottom of narrow metal stairs leading to the upper deck, where Ronan released her arm and Kerry felt the rush of air-conditioned coolness wash over the heated brand of his touch, creating goose-bumps on her skin. But even though she was aware of it, it was the wistfulness in his voice as he painted the romantic picture that captured her attention most, echoing a need inside her for the kind of moments he’d just described.
‘You really love what you do, don’t you?’
The sigh was silent, but she caught it. What was it that suddenly made him frown? Why did he turn away from her and look up the stairs as if he didn’t want to look her in the eye? And why did she suddenly feel so ridiculously—sad somehow? She really wished she could place a mental finger on whatever it was.
He was quite the mystery.
‘I did.’
Kerry wasn’t completely sure she’d heard him say it, but before she could check a pair of feet appeared on the stairs and an upturned palm was offered her way.
‘Come on up, sweet thing. I have a seat saved specially for you—Ro can just stay down there.’
‘And leave her with you? Don’t think so, pal.’
‘Ro?’ Picking on the nickname she’d previously ignored, she shot an amused glance at Ronan.
‘Don’t even think about adopting it. I can leave you stranded somewhere. Or with Johnnie—he’s famous with the ladies, so if you prefer…’
Placing her hand into John’s, she leaned back a little while walking up the steps. ‘I think I’ll stick with the devil I know.’
She’d always been a sucker for a mystery.
Ronan had spent half a day with her and he still didn’t get her. Not that he’d ever felt the need to place people in boxes so he knew where he stood in the world, but normally he was a good judge— he was worldly-wise, after all. But her he just didn’t get.
For starters he found it hard to believe someone like her didn’t have a load of friends who could’ve gone on holiday with her. Not that everyone could take three months off work to travel round the world, but still. That thought process then led him to wonder what she did that allowed her to take three months off work. She was a little mature for a student taking a gap. He put her early thirties maybe—though she could have passed for younger—but she had a maturity and intelligence to the way she spoke and acted that made him believe she had some life experience under her belt. People over the age of thirty were—calmer, he supposed. They knew what they wanted, were less worried about what people thought, more ‘together’.
And as the day progressed he couldn’t help wondering something else: how she’d managed to stay single when she looked the way she did. Because he wasn’t the only one looking at her as if she were the last female left on the planet, was he?
John flirted outrageously with her during the tour and although Kerry didn’t overly play up to it she hadn’t exactly discouraged him either; laughing that husky laugh of hers, her lips parting to draw in the odd gasp at his audacity when he made innuendos over the tannoy and then blushing adoringly straight after, eyes shining. And it had bugged Ronan, frankly. He didn’t want Johnnie-boy to be the one getting all those reactions.
Almost as if somewhere in his mind Ronan had claimed her as his for the day.
She made a small moaning sound beside him and stretched long, slender legs directly into his line of vision, so he turned his head to watch as she stretched the rest of her body. And had to stifle a groan when his body reacted in a very swift, very male way to what he saw—the woman should wear a warning!
She’d clasped the fingers of one hand around the wrist of the other before lifting her arms above her head and had her head tilted back, eyes closed as she let the sun warm her face. And the combined stretching of legs and arms had arched her spine off the bench, her breasts straining against the snug fit of her azure-blue vest-top.
‘I am so hot.’
Ronan couldn’t help but silently agree.
‘Is it normally this hot here this time of year?’
When she resumed a normal sitting position he just about managed to look at her face before she opened her eyes. ‘They’re having a heatwave. But it’s probably the humidity you’re feeling. We Irish aren’t used to it. You’ll adjust in a couple of days.’
‘A couple of days before I move on then— don’t s’pose you know what the weather is like in Canada?’
He cocked a brow and she smiled.
‘Okay—yes, you do.’ She rolled her eyes while reaching out for the iced water they’d bought from one of the street vendors who’d happily tossed it to the upper floor of the bus in exchange for a scrunched-up dollar bill thrown down at them. Something that had entertained her immensely at the time.
‘I keep forgetting this is all old hat for you. I must look like a little kid on Christmas morning.’
Yeah, she did. But he liked that about her. He’d soaked up some of her enthusiasm as she took in everything on the tour, and the number of times she’d gently set her fine-boned hand on his arm to get his attention before pointing at something or leaned across him to get a better photograph of the Flat Iron Building or the Courthouse or the Woolworth Building or City Hall had only added to his overall enjoyment.
Somewhere along the way he’d forgotten what it was like to feel so excited about everything. But, as good as it was to be reminded not to take things for granted just because he’d seen them a thousand times, it was also a little like poking an open wound with a stick; reminding him of the dark thoughts he’d been putting to the back of his mind the last few months—which had been a bit tough to take, and left him pensive.
What he needed was a way to lighten his mood, and to stop him obsessing about Kerry’s ‘hot’ body.
He turned his head and focussed on the kids playing in front of them. At the bottom end of the island of Manhattan, Battery Park was packed the way it always was, hundreds of tourists milling around filling in time while they took turns patiently waiting in the mile-long queue weaving its way along the concrete paths to the ferries for Ellis and Liberty Islands.
The kids between them and the incoming ferries had the right idea in the heat, Ronan reckoned—in fact…
He grinned, taking Kerry’s hand before standing up and tugging to get her off the bench. ‘C’mon.’
‘Where are—?’
‘You said you were hot, right?’
She resisted, dragging her feet while trying to open her bag and stow away her water, a curtain of hair hiding their destination until it was too late, ‘I did and I am but—’
She squeaked when the narrow fountain of water appeared directly in front of her feet, shooting high enough above her head to sprinkle her face on the downward journey. And Ronan chuckled at the look of surprise on her face, deliberately stepping back so another jet appeared beside them.
Kerry’s eyes narrowed.
He shrugged. ‘Cooler now, aren’t you?’
For a moment she simply glared at him. And then she caught him off guard by moving neatly to one side and tugging on his hand so he was stood pretty much directly over the next jet of water when it appeared.
Closing his eyes, he pursed his lips and shook his head hard to get the water off his hair. Then he opened his eyes, looked down to locate another of the metal rings, and when she tried to tug her hand free he closed his fingers tighter, hauling her forwards and smiling at her gasp as her breasts hit the wall of his chest.
She shook her hair out of her eyes, looked up at him with wide eyes and then laughed as he smirked and spun her—once, twice, in and out of several jets of cold water before releasing her without warning and swinging her out to arm’s length where she was promptly soaked from head to toe by fountains either side of her. Only then did he allow her fingers to slip free from his, deliberately slow so they touched fingertip to fingertip for a few seconds before both their arms dropped.
He prepared himself for outrage.
But before his captivated gaze she simply tilted her head to one side, quirked an arched brow, and deliberately skipped sideways underneath another jet.
Ronan laughed, feeling an inner lightness returning to his chest that’d been missing for longer than he cared to admit. So he made a sideways slide in the opposite direction to her skip—and got wet.
Kerry checked the ground, made a skip back and to her left and got wetter still, lifting her arms from her sides and leaning her head back to welcome the cooling spray. Then she turned round and round in slow circles getting wetter and wetter as each plume of water appeared, her effervescent laughter drawing answering, somewhat lower laughter from Ronan as he watched.
She was amazing. He wondered if she knew that. Somehow he doubted he’d forget it. And, having talked to her briefly about ‘moments’, he knew he was experiencing one of them right there and then…
Kerry laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of what she was doing. What was it they said about people shedding their inhibitions when away from home ground? But it wasn’t just that. She was having fun. Honest-to-goodness fun—joy bubbling up inside her like bubbles in a flute of champagne.
She was in New York, on the first leg of a dream of a lifetime and to top it off she was messing around with an incredibly sexy guy under a set of fountains in the bright sunshine in Battery Park. Life didn’t get much better than that, she reckoned.
They managed to get wet another couple of times on their way out, both still grinning from the shared experience as they walked through the crowd and Kerry fully aware, but not the least bit bothered, by the amused looks aimed their way.
She shook droplets of moisture off her arms and lifted her hands to her hair—ruffling it in the vain hope the hot midday sun would dry it into something resembling curls rather than a frizzy mess. She then stole a sideways glance at Ronan, who was flapping the end of his white T-shirt back and forth, no doubt to try and dry it some—not that Kerry actually had a problem with it plastered against his well-defined chest.
And when he turned his head to look at her she felt her breath catch again, the way it had when she’d spotted him in the crowd. He really did do incredible things to her pulse rate, didn’t he? She’d never met anyone who could do that—and so effortlessly too. He had only to breathe in and out and she found it completely fascinating.
They laughed.
‘Well, you’re cooler now, aren’t you?’ He nudged his upper arm off her shoulder.
So she nudged him back a little harder, laughing all the more when he made an exaggerated stagger to the side. ‘You’re a big kid, you know that, don’t you?’
A large hand was slapped against his chest. ‘Me? I’ll have you know I’m the responsible one—I just made sure the chances of you getting heatstroke were lessened. You’re the one who turned it into a game.’
Still smiling, but with her gaze now fixed forwards on the poignant sight of the mounted globe salvaged from Ground Zero, Kerry admitted in a soft voice, ‘It was fun.’
She dropped her chin to study the painted toenails visible in her sandalled feet for a moment before giving in to the need to look back at Ronan, who was looking at her with a strangely intense expression on his face.
‘You make it sound like it’s something you don’t normally make time for.’
She scrunched up her nose.
‘How come?’
Spoken by the man who was as free as a bird to the woman who’d been trapped by responsibility for over a decade. ‘I have fun. I just don’t—’
‘Have fun the way you just did?’
Normally the lack of smart suits and forcefully tamed hair was enough to fool the world into thinking she was more carefree than she actually was. And he hadn’t seen her in work clothes, so, ‘Do I look boring?’
‘No, that’s why I’m surprised—and now curious.’
Kerry liked that she could make him curious. In the short time she’d known him Lord alone knew there’d been plenty of things that had her curious about him, so it was a good feeling to be able to return the favour.
When she didn’t speak he asked the obvious. ‘So what holds you back?’
‘Is therapy a complimentary part of the tour?’
‘Ooh—defensive.’
How had he done that? Having used the gentle tone he just had, he’d made her feel guilty for not spilling her guts. And Kerry never did, well, not unless she’d known someone a really long time, which technically made it a moot point because anyone who’d known her that long already knew.
But she wasn’t going to ruin such an amazing day with a conversation examining the psychology of why she was the way she was in normal everyday life. So she brushed it over by nudging her shoulder against his arm again, lifting her other hand to push her fingers into the hair on top of her head and ruffling it before letting it fall.
‘What’s next? I assume from your previous disdain for people with patience that we’re not joining the longest queue in the history of mankind so we can make some kind of Irish pilgrimage to Ellis…’
The low rumble of laughter reassured her she’d managed to brush over what could have been an awkward moment. ‘You’d be correct in that assumption. But I do need to know how you feel about boats.’
Kerry stopped and turned to face him, considering a random point above his left ear while she answered. ‘Kinda depends if we’re talking rowboat or cruise ship here. Though I should warn you I hadn’t planned on the cruise portion of my fantasy list for another twenty years or so. And I was thinking more along the lines of the Caribbean for that one.’
‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy that. But I’m thinking more along the lines of the Staten Island ferry. You can see Ellis and take some pictures of Liberty while I fill you in on the associated history free of charge—I’m helpful that way.’
Her gaze shifted to lock with his, the smile immediate and reciprocated just as fast. ‘Lead on Macduff.’
He stared at her for a long moment, searching her eyes while a dozen thoughts crossed through the varying shades of blue in his. But just when she thought he might say something else, he laced his fingers with hers and tugged.
‘C’mon then, Kerry, Kerry Doyle.’
The invisible angelic midget on one shoulder said she really shouldn’t allow him to keep touching her the way he did; as if he had a right to do it and had been doing it for ever. But the equally small invisible siren in high heels on her other promptly reminded her she’d been just as keen to touch him on the bus tour. And fair was fair.
So she decided for just one day of her life she wasn’t going to over-think. She was simply going to do things because she wanted to and because they felt right. Not because she was expected to behave a certain way or because she was concerned what other people thought—the trip was the first thing she’d specifically done for herself in a long, long time, after all. And she’d earned it; she didn’t have to feel guilty about anything.
If karma was going to punish her for grabbing hold of one perfect day, then let it try—they’d be having a long talk about time served.
So she tangled her fingers a little firmer around Ronan’s—softening any subliminal meaning he might get from it by then swinging their arms as they walked down the path out of the park.
He grumbled out a warning. ‘You even think about doing any skipping to go with that arm- swinging and I’m tossing you under the first yellow cab I can find.’
‘You’re no fun.’
The look he gave her was so heated it practically melted her knees, his voice a low, deliciously sensual rumble. ‘Oh, I can be fun. Believe me. And now I know how much fun you can be, my new aim is to make sure you have as much of it as humanly possible. So consider yourself warned, young lady.’
Kerry grinned the whole way out of the park. She could quite happily have the day never end…