His Convenient Mistress Read Online Free Page B

here on the off-chance of meeting some dashing man to pick up the bill for her and her child.’ Lucy drained her glass of wine. Her eyes were sparkling, over-bright. She had had, James thought with distaste, too much to drink.
    â€˜Really.’
    â€˜So you’d better watch out.’ The blue eyes hardenedeven though the pink, half-opened mouth continued to smile invitingly. ‘She’ll be after you before you know it.’
    â€˜Oh, I shouldn’t think so,’ James drawled, but he had a sudden vision of her stripping off to reveal a slender, pale body. He imagined her high, pert breasts and that long hair hanging around her in a tousled mane. He shoved one hand in his trouser pocket and took another mouthful of wine. His last girlfriend had been small, voluptuous and dark-haired. A sexy little thing with a penchant for expensive presents and designer outfits. Very rewarding for a while until her conversation, or lack of it, had begun to make itself felt over and above her physical assets.
    â€˜Of course she will,’ Lucy was saying, half in jest, half serious. ‘She’s probably eyed you up as a good catch and is plotting how she can net you. And you men are so gullible, you won’t know what’s coming until it’s hit you like a freight train.’
    â€˜I think,’ James lowered his head slightly, ‘you must be talking about the men you sleep with, Lucy, because I certainly do not fit that particular description.’ Just the opposite, he thought drily. He’d already had one collision with that particular type of freight train and he was in no danger of ever having another.
    No wonder the woman had not been inclined to discover the charms of the locals. If she knew the rumours circulating about her, she would stay away for the rest of her natural life. Lucy and her friends might not be permanent residents of the place, choosing to work in Edinburgh and travel back home to their parents on the occasional weekend, but if they were discussing Sara King and her motives then he would bet his mansion on the fact that their parents were as well.
    And he had to admit that the thought had crossed his own mind. Before he had met her.
    If Lucy had been witness to his brief visit the day before then talk about motives and gold-digging and the search for a husband would not be figuring highly in her conversation, because Sara King had shown not the slightest interest in him as anything other than a nosy neighbour she wanted to get rid of as quickly as possible.
    He wondered wryly if this wasn’t the reason why he had been spending so much time thinking about her. The fact that he had so obviously failed to impress her when in fact wowing women had always been a talent he had taken utterly for granted.
    His mother was calling him over, urging him to participate in a new game of croquet, with two teams competing for a bottle of champagne. It was simply too glorious a day for them to go inside, and croquet, she whispered into his ear with a smile, was a sedate enough game to accommodate old age and tipsiness.
    â€˜I’ll play on one condition,’ James said, sotto voce , ‘and that’s if I’m spared the company of Lucy Campbell. There’s only so much of that girl’s wittering a man can take.’
    â€˜I thought you liked her!’ Maria said in surprise and her son gave her a look of dry disbelief. ‘Or at least didn’t mind her,’ she amended.
    â€˜Reminds me too much of certain social climbers I meet in London,’ he said dismissively. ‘Young, rich and a little too much in love with themselves.’ He placed one foot neatly on a mallet lying on the grass by him and flicked it up, catching it with one hand.
    â€˜In which case, it’s a good thing I hadn’t lined her up for you as a prospective wife,’ Maria smiled.
    â€˜No need for you to line me up with anyone, Mama. According to our dear debutante