Counterfeit Love Read Online Free Page A

He shrugged, smiling apologetically. ‘Sorry, confidentiality clause.’
    ‘Sounds intriguing,’ Lucy said. ‘I’m guessing it’s a mining project. You’re on the exploration side, are you?’
    Byron shrugged and shuffled in his seat. ‘Sorry, wish I could tell you.’
    ‘Your secret’s safe with us,’ Charlotte teased.
    Byron drummed his fingers on the table, opened his mouth, drew a breath and then closed it again. Lucy was impressed. Most guys she’d met couldn’t wait to tell her all about how important they were and all the massive projects they were working on, which always turned out to be neither massive nor important. Lucy was desperate to know more about Byron’s company, but she didn’t need to push him straightaway; she figured she’d have it out of him by the end of the evening.
    ‘I understand. It’s confidential,’ Lucy said reassuringly.
    Byron responded with a half-smile, but his fingers were still thumping out distress signals. Lucy gave him a comforting little pat on the leg. Byron’s face froze briefly and then it softened and his hand went still. He looked at Lucy earnestly and for a moment she thought he was about to come out with his story – the confidential project that was making him so edgy. But he said nothing.
    ‘You don’t have to tell us anything,’ Lucy said, hoping her words might have the opposite impact, but by then Byron seemed to have fallen into a trance. His eyes were on her, but there seemed to be nothing going on behind them anymore – his pupils had dilated and his lips had drifted apart. Charlotte was also staring, her mouth slightly open. Then Lucy noticed that her hand was still on Byron’s leg. She quickly moved her hand, but Byron made no attempt to take his eyes from her face.
    ‘So, someone’s been shopping,’ Charlotte said, breaking up the seance, which had become slightly awkward.
    ‘Yes. I mean, no,’ Lucy stumbled, tucking her hands in her lap and sitting up primly. ‘I haven’t been shopping. I’ve just got a bag.’
    Byron drifted out of his trance and looked down at the bag, which was now at his feet.
    ‘There’s a strange story behind that bag.’ Lucy announced, glad of the chance to clear up any misunderstanding Byron might have about the guy in the safari suit. ‘I was waiting for you at the Art Bar, when some crusty old dude in a safari suit sat down next to me and gave me something.’
    ‘What, like a present?’ Charlotte asked, excitement in her voice.
    Lucy shook her head. ‘No, like an ugly shirt.’
    ‘What kind of shirt?’ Byron asked, still staring at the bag.
    ‘Who cares?’ Charlotte replied. ‘It was ugly.’
    Byron shrugged. ‘Just curious.’ He looked at Lucy, waiting for an answer.
    ‘It was just a freebie golf shirt of some kind.’
    ‘Any idea why he gave it to you?’
    Lucy shook her head. ‘He must have thought I was someone else. Weird, huh?’
    ‘Mmm, really weird.’
    Byron had lots of other questions about the incident in the bar – about what Lucy was doing in the Art Bar and what she planned to do with the shirt. Lucy was much more accustomed to asking the questions than being on the receiving end, and it seemed odd that Byron was so interested in a boring old golf shirt, but she went through everything that happened at the bar because it kept Byron’s eyes on her. And, as shallow as that was, Lucy had to admit that it made her feel special.
    Byron was a good listener – which, in her experience, was unusual for a guy his age, and unheard of for a guy that cute. Lucy didn’t offer a complete picture of events in the bar – she didn’t mention the malaria tablets, or that she’d kept the bag in the hope that a career-changing exclusive would come out of it. That would make her sound coldly ambitious, which might make Byron follow Yu and run for the door.
    ‘That is really strange,’ Byron said, leaning back in his chair just as Charlotte returned from a visit to the loo.
    ‘You’re