Tall, Dark...Westmoreland! / The Moretti Seduction: Tall, Dark...Westmoreland! / The Moretti Seduction

Reggie nodded as his eyes once again settled on Olivia. He then reached out his hand. “Olivia, it’s nice meeting you. I’m sure your father is excited about having you home.”

“Thank you,” replied Olivia.

They both felt it the moment their hands touched, and they both knew it. It was those same feelings that had driven them to leave the party on Saturday night and to go somewhere to be alone, with the sole purpose of getting intimately connected. Reggie opened his mouth to say something, and then a voice from the microphone stopped him.

“Everyone is asked to take a seat so lunch can be served. Your table number is located on your ticket.”

“It was nice meeting you, Mr. Westmoreland,” Olivia said, not sure what else to say at the moment.

She honestly had thought she would not see him again, not this soon, not ever. And now that he knew their predicament—that she was the daughter of the man who was his opponent in this political race—she hoped that he would accept the inevitable. Nothing had changed. Even with their identities exposed, there could never be anything between them beyond what had happened Saturday night.

“It was nice meeting you as well, Ms. Jeffries,” said Reggie. And then he did something that was common among Frenchmen but rare with Americans. Bending slightly, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it before turning and walking away.

Five

Olivia found that every time she lifted her fork to her mouth, her gaze would automatically drift to the next table, the one where Reggie Westmoreland was sitting. And each time, unerringly, their gazes would meet.

After their introduction, she had excused herself to the senator, smiling and saying she needed to go to the ladies’ room. Once there she had taken a deep breath. It was a wonder she hadn’t passed out. With his mask in place, Reggie Westmoreland had been handsome. Without his mask, he took her breath away. While standing in front of him, she’d had to tamp down her emotions and the sensations flowing through her.

His eyes were very dark, almost chocolate, and their shape, which she had been denied seeing on Saturday night, was almond, beneath thick brows. It had taken everything in her power to force her muscles to relax. And when he had taken her hand and kissed the back of it before walking off, she’d thought she would swoon right then and there.

“Libby, are you okay? You’ve barely touched your meal,” her father said, interrupting her thoughts.

She glanced over to him and smiled. “Yes, Daddy, I’m fine.”

“Westmoreland is the cause of it,” said Senator Reed, jumping in. “She met him right before we took our seats. He probably gave her an upset stomach.”

Her father frowned. “Was he rude to you, sweetheart?” he asked, with deep concern tinged with anger.

She was opening her mouth to assure her father that Reggie hadn’t been rude when Senator Reed said, “He was quite taken with her, Orin.”

She ignored the senator’s comment, thinking that he didn’t know the half of it. Instead, she answered her father. “No, he wasn’t rude, Dad. In fact, although we spoke only briefly, I thought he was rather nice.” She smiled. “Quite the charmer.”

“The enemy is never nice or charming, Olivia. Remember that,” the senator said, speaking to her like she was a child. “I strongly suggest that during this campaign, you stay away from him.”

She was opening her mouth to tell the senator that she truly didn’t give a royal damn about what he would strongly suggest when her father spoke.