Do Opposites Attract? (14 page)

He drew in a deep breath. Facing gunfire in a war zone was less terrifying than this. ‘Yes. I guess so.’

For a while she didn’t stop grinning. It was so infectious, he found himself shaking his head and grinning back.

‘Have you thought any more about what you’re going to say on Saturday?’ she asked eventually when they’d given up on the pizza. ‘You have remembered you promised to talk at the ball?’

Well, that successfully wiped the smile off his face. ‘Yes, I’ve remembered, but no, I haven’t thought about what I’m going to say. I’ve not had a lot of time.’ He took their plates and went to pile them up in the kitchen.

‘Mitch, can I ask you another favour?’ she called out.

He popped his head back round the door, eyeing her suspiciously. ‘That depends.’

‘During the ball we’re going to hold a date auction. I’ve managed to persuade a few of my friends to put themselves forward as prospective dates, to be taken out by the highest bidder. I’m going to do it as well. Can I put your name down?’

‘
What?
’

‘It’s just a bit of fun,’ she replied defensively. ‘And all the money goes to Medic SOS.’

Flabbergasted, he leant against the door frame. ‘Let me get this right. You want me to volunteer to have a meal I don’t want, with somebody who’s paid good money for the privilege? You have to be joking.’ He shook his head, baffled by the whole concept. ‘Firstly, I can’t see anyone actually
paying
to have a meal out with me. God knows, I’m not the most scintillating of company. And secondly, why the hell would I want to give up my time to make polite conversation with some rich woman I don’t know? Hell, Brianna, I can’t believe you seriously thought I’d agree to that.’

‘I didn’t, but it was worth a try.’ She fluttered her eyelids. ‘You’ve got no idea how much those ladies would pay for a night out with a sexy doctor.’

He felt a schoolboy flush creep up his neck. ‘I said no,’ he repeated tightly.

‘Okay.’ With a fluid grace she moved off the sofa and draped her arms around his neck. ‘And I can’t say I’m upset. I don’t want to share you with anybody else, anyway. I’ll just put an extra cheque into the pot and grab that date all to myself.’ She kissed him softly on the lips. ‘Come on, Mitch, I’m tired. You must be shattered. Take me to bed.’

‘Now that I will do,’ he muttered gratefully.

Mitch spent Saturday morning wondering what on earth he was going to say in his speech. God only knew why he’d let Brianna talk him into this, he grumbled to himself as he crossed out the words he’d just written. He was no orator. Yes, he’d spoken to large groups a few times, but with a view to training them, not entertaining them. His audiences had been soldiers, or medical students, there to listen and learn. Tonight his audience was a group of rich men and women who’d paid a ridiculous sum of money to be wined and dined. The last thing they wanted was a lecture on how to deal with injuries sustained by fallen debris. A shame because that was what he was good at delivering.

Frustrated, Mitch put down the paper and went to iron his one and only dress shirt. He’d found it lying crumpled at the back of his wardrobe. The last time he’d worn a tuxedo had been at university, the day he’d graduated. He figured tuxes didn’t date much. Having spent what he’d considered at the time to be a small fortune on the thing, he was damned if he was going to buy another one just for tonight. If they didn’t like what he was wearing, tough. Maybe they wouldn’t let him through the door and he could just slope off home and forget all about the stupid speech and meeting Brianna’s crowd of friends.

And there, he thought, in a nutshell, was his real problem. It wasn’t so much the speech, though he wasn’t looking forward to it. It was the knowledge that he was stepping into Brianna’s world now. In the safety of the medical camp, and then back at his place, he’d managed to forget the class gulf that stretched between them. Tonight it was going to flare up in his face again. He was a professional, a doctor. When it came to his work he was confident, some would say brash. But in his personal life he couldn’t shake off the blasted feeling of inadequacy. Oh, he was okay with most people, but Brianna’s crowd weren’t most people. Mitch knew where he’d come from, and was ashamed of it. It didn’t matter how hard he tried to put it at the back of his mind, to tell himself it wasn’t important, he knew he was kidding himself. It
was
important. It made him defensive, on edge. Not a good combination for socialising.

Gritting his teeth, he shrugged off his thoughts and finished ironing the shirt. It was just one blasted evening. He could get through it. All he needed to do was remind himself of who he was now, not who he’d been. He was proud of what he was doing and it was probably a damn sight more than the idle rich crowd he’d be mixing with. If he could just get through the evening without making a fool of himself, or of Brianna. That was all he asked.

His journey up to London was uneventful and Mitch was soon ringing on the bell to Brianna’s apartment. He felt awkward, standing there on the pavement, dressed in his finery. It occurred to him he didn’t know the etiquette of picking up a lady to go to a ball, even if she was running it. Should he have brought flowers? Probably. More than likely. Jeez, he was a reasonably good swimmer, but he felt staggeringly out of his depth, in waters with currents he couldn’t begin to understand.

He stewed for a few seconds longer, until Brianna opened the door. Then he had no room in his mind for any other thoughts. Transfixed by the sight of her, he simply stared. It might be a clichéd saying, but she took his breath away.

‘Mitch, you’re looking very handsome. Do you want to come in for a moment? I’m just putting on the finishing touches.’ She leaned into him and kissed him slowly, lingeringly on the lips.

‘If you keep that up, you’ll be starting from scratch again.’ Putting his hands onto her hips he regretfully pushed her away. She wore a deep green silk number, which caressed her body and brought out the beauty of her eyes.

Laughing, Brianna caught him by the hand and led him back up the stairs to her apartment. ‘Why don’t you pour yourself a drink while I find the right necklace to go with this dress.’

It was his cue to reveal a stunning diamond and emerald necklace from his pocket. At least that’s what happened in the movies. Of course he’d arrived with nothing. Even if he had thought to have brought something, he couldn’t have afforded the jewellery a woman like her desired, or deserved. Damn it, what the hell was he doing here, dressed up in an off the peg, ten-year-old tuxedo? He didn’t belong, and if he ever thought he would, he was deluding himself. With a grunt of frustration he stalked into the kitchen and, ignoring the bottle of champagne in the ice bucket, grabbed himself a bottle of beer from the fridge.

That was where Brianna found him a few minutes later. Propped up against the breakfast bar, his face like thunder, drinking beer from the bottle.

‘How do I look?’ she asked softly.

He glanced up from the floor, his eyes slowly taking in the full appearance. A dramatic single emerald glinted around her neck and matching earrings dangled from her lobes. He didn’t dare think who’d given them to her. Ignoring the sharp twinge of jealousy he concentrated instead on drinking in the rest of her. Her hair was now piled on top in a casual fashion, with loose tendrils flowing down her neck. On her feet were dainty silver sandals.

‘You look far too good for the likes of me.’ Confusion clouded her eyes and he inwardly cursed.
That
was the best compliment he could come up with? Frustrated with himself he swigged again at his beer. ‘I should have brought you something,’ he told her flatly.

‘Why?’

‘Isn’t that what men usually do when they take a beautiful woman to a ball?’ His tone was belligerent and he knew that he was wrong to take his self-directed anger out on her. Damn, he was coming to care for her too much, and it hurt. It hurt to know she could never be his. That he couldn’t give her what she needed. A woman like her simply didn’t belong with somebody like him.

‘I don’t want flowers or tokens, Mitch. I’ve had men bring me both, but nothing has given me as much pleasure as the look in your eyes when I opened the door.’

‘What look was that?’

‘The look that told me you wanted to devour me, right on the doorstep.’ She smiled softly, knowingly at him.

She was a woman who knew exactly the effect she had on a man. And on this man in particular. With a sigh he clasped her by the shoulders and buried his face in her neck, taking in a lungful of her perfume. It was clearly concocted for its ability to bewitch men. ‘I did,’ he replied at last. ‘And I still do. God you smell good.’

She chuckled. ‘I should do, it cost me enough.’

Mitch drew back and looked at her. ‘I’m still sorry I didn’t bring you anything.’

Her eyes seemed to mist over. ‘Mitch, if I’d wanted a man who brought me chocolates and flowers, I wouldn’t have started seeing you.’ Gently she touched his cheek. ‘I want you, Mitch, just exactly as you are.’

As Mitch drove to the hotel he was very conscious that his glamorous date should have been arriving in a luxurious limousine, not an old four-wheel drive with windsurfing gear sprawled across the back seat. Brianna though, looked totally unperturbed. He had to hand it to her. It didn’t seem to matter whether she was on camp with Medic SOS, dressed up to the nines in her glamorous apartment, or curled up on his sofa. She looked comfortable wherever she was.

Since arriving at the ball, Brianna had barely had time to think. It had been a whirlwind of activity, with so many last minute details to check on. She’d lost sight of Mitch the moment they’d crossed the floor into the vast ballroom. Now she was anxious to find him. However as she set off to hunt him down, she was besieged by Melanie and a crowd of their friends, including Henry and Frederick. Kisses were exchanged, compliments on their respective outfits given and received.

‘Brianna, darling, who is the hot-looking man over there, talking to the man from the hotel?’

Brianna followed Clarissa’s gaze and smiled to herself. That was where Mitch had disappeared to, obviously checking out the sound levels on the microphone. He did look incredibly gorgeous, even to her biased eyes. The black tuxedo emphasised his tall, athletic build, and the white shirt brought out his tan. For once his chin was freshly shaved, showing the strength of his jaw and the sharpness of his cheekbones.

‘Hot-looking? He’s wearing an off the shelf tux for crying out loud,’ Henry interjected dismissively.

‘Umm, but he’s filling it out rather well,’ added Sophie, another member of the crowd Brianna had gone round with since school.

‘That is Mitch McBride, Chief Medical Officer at Medic SOS and my lover,’ Brianna announced proudly, laughing delightedly when several pairs of eyes jerked round to look at her.

‘So, that’s Mitch,’ Melanie said quietly, her eyes on the man in question.

‘Hang on a minute, Brianna. What did you say?’ Sophie almost screeched. ‘Crikey, you’re a dark horse. How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell us?’

Brianna held up her hands. ‘Hey, calm down, one question at a time. It’s been going on since I went out to South America. I didn’t tell you because it’s early days and I wasn’t sure whether it was going to come to anything.’

Sophie swung round to Melanie. ‘Did you know about this?’ she asked accusingly.

Melanie smiled. ‘Guilty, your honour. And before you ask, I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t my secret to tell. Added to which, I had been hoping to pair Brie up with Frederick, though now I’ve seen Mitch, I think I can see why she’s so hooked. No offence, Frederick,’ she added quickly.

‘None taken,’ Frederick murmured, eyeing up his rival.

‘Is it serious?’ Henry was looking at her rather oddly and Brianna’s heart sank. Bugger, she’d been right. He was jealous.

‘As I said, it’s early days, but I’m not planning on looking elsewhere.’ Disappointment weaved across Henry’s face and for a moment Brianna felt a flicker of sympathy for him. Then Mitch glanced over and caught her gaze. He didn’t smile, just regarded her steadily with his deep brown eyes.

Abruptly he turned and said something to the soundman before walking purposefully towards her. She watched as he took in her friends, his glance drifting over Henry and Frederick. By the time he reached her, his eyes were glinting possessively. Before she had a chance to make any introductions, Mitch’s hand moved to circle her waist and he proceeded to give her the type of kiss that should really be conducted in private.

‘Mitch,’ she said breathlessly when he slowly drew away. ‘I want you to meet some of my friends.’ She made the introductions, very much aware of the different reactions from the two sexes. The girls became giggly, as girls often do when faced with an alpha male. Frederick and Henry became wary and aloof.

‘Pleased to meet you.’ Mitch shook hands with the men, but his expression was as cool as theirs.

Men were so silly, Brianna thought. They became all territorial when faced with other men. It was like watching the gladiators of old, eyeing each other up before a fight.

‘You’ll have to excuse us folks,’ Brianna interrupted the male posturing. ‘I need to make sure this man is ready to deliver his pre-dinner speech. We’ll catch up with you later.’

Taking Mitch by the hand, Brianna led him over to the entrance of the ballroom. ‘What was all that about?’ she asked when they were out of earshot.

‘All what?’ he asked innocently.

‘You know. If you were a bird your feathers would be all puffed up by now.’

He shrugged dismissively. ‘I know Frederick was the one you kissed at the party I missed, but where does Henry come in? He looked like he wanted me dead.’

Brianna stopped, turned and slid into Mitch’s arms. ‘He’s just a friend. I think he harbours feelings towards me, but I can assure you they aren’t returned. I’m only interested in you, Mitch. Only you.’ She kissed him softly. ‘And now I’m afraid I’ve got to be the charming hostess. Do you want to come with me to meet and greet, or do you want to escape for a while?’

‘Escape.’ He gave her a wry grin.

‘Okay, but make sure you’re back for your speech. You’re sitting next to me on the first table. You’ll be talking as soon as everyone sits down, before the starter is served.’

‘Better hope I don’t put them off their meal then.’ He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and disappeared down the hallway.

Mitch’s heart was pounding as he walked up to the microphone. The ballroom full of guests, bedecked in their finery, turned expectantly to watch him. His final thought, before he launched into his speech, was stuff them. If they didn’t like what he had to say, at least he wouldn’t have to do it again.

‘You’re ten years old. It’s dark, almost black. You can only just see your hand in front of you. You’re trapped. Can’t move your legs. You reach out and feel a lump of concrete. It’s lying across you. When you try and breathe, your chest tightens in agony. Your eyes become more accustomed to the light and you make out your mother, on her back, blood pouring from her head. You scream her name, but she doesn’t reply. Nobody does. You hear the sound of creaking and notice the place that was once your front room is now destroyed. The ceiling has caved, the walls crumbled, debris is everywhere. A baby cries. Your little sister. You try to move towards her but you can’t. Terrified, you claw at the concrete slabs pinning you down, but you’re too weak to move them. You scream again, but nobody replies. Your heart clutches in terror. You’re going to die here, all alone. You cry.’

Mitch broke off to survey the ballroom, noticing with grim satisfaction that he had their full attention. He’d decided only that morning he wasn’t going to stand there and spout facts and figures. He wanted to let them know what it was like for some people in the real world. For those not safely cocooned in their mansion houses.

‘This is how I found Ari, following an earthquake in Java. He was one of the lucky ones. We were able to save both him and his sister, though sadly their parents were both dead when we arrived. Ari sends a card to Medic SOS every Christmas, thanking us for saving his life. The more money we have, the more lives like Ari’s we can save. Thank you for listening.’

He moved away from the microphone and started to walk back to his chair. The applause began as a ripple and ended as a deafening crescendo. People were out of their chairs, standing to clap him. He halted, stunned by the reaction. He had hoped to make them listen, to make them understand. He hadn’t dared to consider they might appreciate his efforts. As shock slowly turned to embarrassment, he raised a hand in thanks and strode back to his place next to Brianna.