Lovechild

“You would find it boring,” she insisted.

He smiled, the movement caused the dimple in his cheek to wink in a rakish way that had always made Liza’s pulse scatter. It did so again. “I doubt that I would find anything where you are concerned boring, ma chérie.”

“Please stop calling me that!”

“Ma chérie?”

“Yes,” Liza hissed, her nerves growing more frayed by the second.

“It means my darling—”

“I know what it means. Just please stop calling me that.” He had explained the endearment the first time they had made love. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, striving to regain her composure despite the pounding in her head. Opening her eyes, Liza stemmed the urge to massage her temples. “I’m sorry,” she said more calmly. “Seeing you today has been a bit of a shock.”

“For me as well,” he told her, his expression growing serious for the first time: “Those first few weeks after you had left and I could not find you, I was frantic. I was afraid I would never see you again. Later, once I realized you did not wish for me to find you,” he continued, his voice growing hard, void of the carefree and seductive charm, “I simply hoped I would not.”

Liza fought the urge to wince. She didn’t want his comment to hurt. She had prayed that if fate ever caused their paths to cross again, seeing him wouldn’t hurt.

The prayers hadn’t worked. She tucked the pain away, vowing to deal with it later—when she was alone. “I’ll give Aimee and Peter a call this evening and explain that everything is under control where the committee is concerned and have them release you from your promise to serve on the board.” She forced a smile that she knew was overbright and probably looked just as phony. It was the best she could manage at the moment. “Goodbye, Jacques,” she said. “And good luck.”

“At least this time you have managed to say goodbye.”

Liza sucked in her breath, feeling the slash of his words like a knife. “I guess I deserved that. Whether you believe me or not, I never meant to hurt you. In truth, I didn’t think my leaving could hurt you.”

“Well, you were wrong.”

At the hardness in his voice, Liza wondered not for the first time if she had made a mistake by following her instincts to flee as she had. But what else could she have done? The truth hadn’t been an option. It still wasn’t. Besides, it was far too late for second-guessing herself.

“No comment, Liza? You have always been quite good with words. Surely you have something more to say. Some explanation.”

She tipped up her chin, refusing to allow him to goad her like this. “What would be the point? I could tell you I’m sorry, but somehow I don’t think that would be enough.”

“You are right. Pretty words would not be enough. Especially not now. Not when I have discovered that despite the way you used me, the way you lied to me,” he said, his voice even more dangerous because it had dropped to a whisper. “Despite everything you have done, I still want you. I want you every bit as much now as I did three years ago. Perhaps more. Because this time I know what it will be like between us.”

A shiver of pleasure skittered down Liza’s spine, despite the fear his words evoked. It was a pleasure she couldn’t risk. “You don’t want me, Jacques. You want revenge because I bruised that oversized ego of yours by being the one to end things between us before you did. Well, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. I’m not going to give you a chance for revenge. What we had was over a long time ago. It’s better if we forget it and just leave it in the past where it belongs.”

“But it is not in the past. We both know that.” He stepped a fraction closer. “The passion is still there between us, ma chérie, like the embers of a fire that have been fanned back to a hot blaze.”

“You’re wrong,” Liza said, swallowing.

“Am I?”

Her heart thudded in her chest as he moved another step closer. Liza had to fight the urge to step back. To do so would be a sign of weakness, would give credence to what he was saying. Instead she tipped up her chin and met his gaze. “Yes. You’re wrong.”

“I do not think so.” He smiled, causing the dimple in his cheek to wink at her again. “And despite your generous offer to free me from my promise to Aimee and Peter, I think I will decline. I will be here in your city for the next six weeks for my lecture series anyway, so I will work with you and your committee.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, grateful to hear the tap on the microphone and Robert calling the meeting to order.

“As you may remember, I generally do.” Smiling, Jacques reached out and traced his finger along the lapel of her jacket. “And it suits me that you and I will be seeing a lot of each other while I am working on your committee.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” she said, her voice flat as she stepped away from his touch.

“Ah, but I am counting on it, ma chérie. In fact, I am looking forward to it.”

Two

“Don’t forget, we’ll be sending out the invitations for the auction and dinner dance the first week of December,” Liza reminded the board members, while she carefully avoided looking at Jacques. But it didn’t stop her from being aware of him. How could she not be? Even without their past history, he would have been difficult to ignore. He had asked intelligent questions, offered good suggestions and had charmed the socks off the other board members. Or perhaps stockings was more appropriate, given the flurry of feminine interest that had buzzed through the room after Jacques had introduced himself.

“That means I’ll need each of you to get your lists of potential ticket buyers to me as soon as possible. Of course, no one here has to wait for an official invitation. We’ll be happy to take your order for tickets and your checks tonight. Remember, the more tickets we sell, the more money we raise for the summer camp for the kids.” Liza smiled despite the hammerlike pounding in her head. “Once again, I want to personally thank each of you for coming this evening and for all of your help and support. I’m looking forward to seeing each of you at the patron party next month.”

Chairs scraped across the tiled floor as the meeting disbanded. For the next ten minutes, Liza smiled and gratefully accepted ticket orders and checks.

“Great job, Liza,” Robert said fifteen minutes later as he handed her his own check for tickets. “Looks like we’re off to a good start. Just about everyone has committed to purchase a full table for the dinner. I’ve never seen this group so eager to part with their money before.”

“Let’s hope the rest of Chicago responds the same way.”

“They will,” he assured her. “With you in charge, I have no doubt about that.”

“Thank you.”

“What about my offer to buy you dinner? We could celebrate tonight’s advance sales with a good bottle of wine and a nice Chateaubriand.”

Guilt lanced through Liza as she realized she had been so distracted by Jacques’s presence that she’d forgotten all about Robert and his invitation to have dinner. “Would you mind terribly if I took a rain check? I was hoping to go over my notes for the patron party tonight. I’m meeting with the caterers tomorrow.”

“Of course not,” he said, but Liza could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Everything okay? You don’t seem yourself tonight.”

“Everything’s fine. I just have a monster headache and I’m afraid I’d be lousy company.”

“You couldn’t be lousy company even if you tried,” he said, his voice filled with affection and warmth. Lines of concern etched his handsome face. “But I think you’re pushing yourself too hard. Stop worrying about the patron party and the gala. It’s going to be a great success. What you need is a good night’s rest.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I know I am. Would you like me to drive you home? I can have your car sent to you in the morning.”

“No. I’ll be okay. But thanks anyway.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

He gave her hand a light squeeze. “All right. Just let me have a quick word with Harvey Adams and then I’ll walk you to your car.”

What was wrong with her? Liza demanded silently as she watched him walk away. Robert Carstairs was everything she could want in a man—kind, patient and generous to a fault. Only a week ago she had convinced herself she was ready to take their friendship to the next level. After all, it had been more than three years since her affair with Jacques had ended—more than enough time to get over him. And she had thought she was over him.

Until he had walked through the door tonight. A shiver skipped down Liza’s spine as she recalled the heat in his eyes when he had told her he stilt wanted her. Then suddenly it was as though it was only yesterday that she’d been in his arms, wild with a hunger and need that only he seemed able to fill.

No! Liza screamed silently. Drawing a deep breath, she reached for the meeting files and began packing them away. She wouldn’t allow herself to fall into Jacques’s sensual trap again. She couldn’t. She had too much to lose—even more than she had when she’d run away three years ago.

The hum of voices grew around her, but Liza ignored them. Ordinarily she would have joined in the after-meeting chatter. She enjoyed these people, and a number of them were potential clients. In fact, she had even planned to follow up on several inquiries about her services as a fund-raiser. But not tonight, she told herself, as she retrieved another handful of folders from the table and stored them in her briefcase. Not when the shock of seeing Jacques again was still so fresh. Not when she was so keenly aware of his presence in the room. She’d have to face him again. Of that much she was sure. But not yet, not before she had figured out what to do.