Spin the Bottle (6 page)

Lillian splashed another handful of cold water on her face. She’d need to repair her makeup before returning to the party but that was the least of her worries right now. The confrontation with Mac had been eye-opening. He had no idea how she felt. All this time she’d thought he knew, thought he’d pushed her away and fought with her to keep her at arm’s length so he wouldn’t hurt her, but it was himself he was fighting.

She wasn’t sure how she’d missed it before. Mac not only didn’t want to want her, but he was completely oblivious to the fact she wanted him in return. It never occurred to her that he’d be blinded by his own anger and fear he wouldn’t see how she felt about him. Lillian was pretty sure Lachlan knew how she felt about his best friend, but he’d never said anything to her and she definitely hadn’t thought to confide in him. Even Cameron didn’t know.

Thinking of her friend reminded Lillian she needed to get back to the party and check on her. Lil didn’t think her brother would intentionally hurt Cam, but he didn’t know the woman or what she’d been through, and it was easy to picture him doing damage to her friend’s psyche with his alpha-male persona. Not that Cam was delicate at all. She could definitely look after herself, but Lil would feel better knowing she hadn’t brought either of them harm by arranging this meeting.

Lillian made quick work of patching up her makeup. Years of modelling had taught her quite a few tricks when it came to camouflaging the flaws nature dished out. Dark circles, blemishes and premature winkles were easily dealt with when you knew how. Satisfied she looked presentable, Lil left her bathroom and slipped back into the heels she’d discarded by her bedroom door when she’d sought the sanctuary of her private space.

The metre-by-metre poster board leaning on the far wall caught her eye and she walked over to admire Cam’s work for the millionth time. Lillian had been in a simple gold dress that flowed over her curves like water and her body was arched to emulate the bottle in her hand. She’d had the shape of the perfume bottle designed to resemble a calla lily and she’d been very impressed with the results. Pleasure filled her when she thought about the upcoming launch. They’d managed to keep the whole Golden Lilli project a secret, from conception to fruition, this was one more part of her dream, and Lil couldn’t wait for the ad campaign to go live.

Lilli smiled as she moved across her room. She turned the handle and opened the door. The noise hit her square in the face. Music, laughter and the general sounds associated with people having a good time. Mac might be right, most of the partiers were no more than acquaintances, but that wouldn’t stop her from putting on the party of the year. Tonight was a celebration of finally reaching her dream. Of course, no one but Cam and Cassie knew that. Still, it didn’t matter. Tonight would be her last hurrah to a world she’d never felt at home in.

Chapter Four

Mac couldn’t find Lachlan anywhere. There was no sign of Kole either, but the library was open again and another rowdy game of Twister was well underway, so he could only assume his friend hadn’t killed the woman who had starred in Lachlan’s—and millions of other men’s—teenage fantasies. He wandered the house with a beer in his hand for close to an hour. The party had revved up while he’d been upstairs with Lillian.

Lilli.

Her name whispered through his mind like a gentle breeze on a summer afternoon. It was a tantalising promise of relief but only succeeded in reminding him of how hot he was to begin with. As much as he wanted to deny his feelings for her, or put them down to pure lust, he couldn’t. He’d known her since she was five. He knew her heart, her generous nature and the way she chose to see only the good in people. She never had a bad word to say about anyone, even those who did her wrong weren’t treated badly, only subjected to what he liked to refer to as the Lillian McDermott dust off.

She always conducted herself with dignity and courtesy. Her faultless demeanour had been something he’d admired. Right up until she’d followed in her mother’s footsteps out onto the catwalk. Maybe that was his problem. Her chosen career was so at odds with the girl he’d watched grow up, a contradiction to the woman she should have become. Then again, who was he to say he knew the real Lillian. She’d accused him of not knowing her earlier, and perhaps she was spot on, because he couldn’t understand or mesh the two individuals who made up Lillian McDermott.

Before he could dwell on his thoughts further, a woman who looked familiar but he couldn’t put a name to stepped next to him and offered another beer.

“I’d say you’re ready for a new one. You’ve nursed that one for a while.” She smiled.

Mac glanced at the shirt she wore, the bold script across her breasts marking her as part of the company running the show. He traded his half-empty warm one for the ice-cold bottle she held out. “Thanks.”

Her gazed skimmed the room before coming back to his. “The party’s going great, isn’t it?”

“Humph.” Mac bought the bottle to his lips and took a swig.

“Look, Mac, I get that you didn’t agree to this party, but Lil deserves to enjoy this one night. She’s worked her arse off for this. Can’t you at least pretend to be happy for her?” Her voice took on an accusing edge.

“Ha. From what I can see, the company you work for has done all the work, all Lillian had to do was dress up and sashay out into the room.” Mac couldn’t help the snarl of disgust lacing his words.

“I’m not talking about setting tonight up, I’m referring to the last five years of working at a job she at times despised to achieve her ultimate dream.” The woman whose name still escaped him turned his way and lowered her voice. “She’s built Lilli Pond from the ground up without a handout from Daddy or big brother. The very least you can do is respect her for that, even if you don’t agree with her choices.”

“Lilli Pond?” Mac had no idea what this woman was talking about. And the fact that he couldn’t remember her name when he knew he should just pissed him off more.

“Cassie!” A guy in a similar shirt to the brunette rushed over. “We need you in the kitchen. We’re running out of scotch.”

Cassie. Cassandra Moreland. Of course. Lillian’s best friend from high school.

“I’ll handle it, Dan.” She turned back to Mac. “Let her say goodbye to the world she’s never been comfortable in on her terms.”

“Goodbye?” Where the hell was Lilli going? “What do you mean goodbye?”

Cassie’s eyes widened. “Y-you didn’t know?”

“Didn’t know what?”

“That Lil quit modelling.” Cassie glanced around them. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t know she hadn’t told you. I have to go.”

In the next breath, Mac was alone. Lilli’s friend disappeared into the crowd with the skills of a highly trained security expert. He shook his head. What the fuck was Lilli Pond and when the hell had Lilli quit modelling? It was the first he’d heard of either, but he wasn’t about to remain in the dark. Mac stood on the balls of his feet, stretching until he could see over the tallest of occupants in the room. There was no sign of Lilli. Well, he’d just have to do what he’d done earlier. Search the house from top to bottom until he found her. But in the meantime there was more than one way to find out what he wanted to know.

Mac pulled his phone from the front pocket of his jeans. For a second, he thought about ringing the head of McDermott Security to find out what Lucas Wilhelm knew about Lilli Pond, but only for a second. A much faster option was right at his fingertips. He swiped his thumb over the screen and tapped to open a search window.
Google is my friend.
Smiling, he typed in Lilli Pond.

It took no time for a multitude of links to come up. By the time he’d scanned through the sixth one he’d discovered two things. Lilli Pond was a hugely successful children’s clothing label and the owner was extremely secretive. Not once did the name of the person behind the business appear in any of the articles or the company website. If Lilli was behind it, and Mac had a sinking feeling in his gut that she was, she’d kept her name out of the spotlight. Or more importantly, the McDermott name.

He glanced at his watch and decided it wasn’t too late to find out a little bit more. He scrolled through his phonebook, found the number he was after and hit call. When Lucas answered, Mac wasted no time with pleasantries.

“Lucas. Get me everything you can on a company called Lilli Pond and what Lillian McDermott has to do with it.”

“I can give you what information we have right now, sir.”

“Well?” Mac stuck a finger in his ear and headed for the back deck, hoping to find the yard less noisy.

“Ms. McDermott has owned and operated the company for three years. This year the business made more than its overheads and she no longer has to supplement the bank accounts with her personal funds.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much, sir.”

“Why is that all we have on it?” Mac couldn’t believe McDermott Security had so little information. Either Lucas wasn’t giving him everything or he hadn’t done his job properly.

“Ms. McDermott came to me before she started the company. She gives me the barest of information every three months, with a full report every year, on the condition that I don’t dig any further into the financials or make the information common knowledge,” Lucas said.

“So you have no idea who works for her?” Mac asked.

“Oh, no, I have all that information. It’s the same staff since she opened the doors. She allowed me to run full background checks on each of them, Mr. Harris.”

“And you’ve never thought to mention this to me or Lachlan?”

“No, sir. She first came to me when you and Mr. McDermott were struggling with the fallout of the takeover from the senior McDermott. You can be assured that I would have come to either of you at any stage if I felt it was necessary. Excuse my frankness, sir, but Ms. McDermott has earned the right to my confidence. She’s worked hard and never gone against anything I or a member of my team has asked her to do in all the years I’ve worked for McDermott Media Corp.”

Mac wanted to argue, but he knew Lucas well, and he could hear the admiration and respect in the other man’s voice. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“There is other information I could give, but unless I’m given the all clear from Ms. McDermott, or you give me information that leads me to believe you’ve found out something else, I won’t be divulging it at this time.”

“Damn. I’d like to demand you do, Lucas, but I respect you and your judgment, and if you tell me I shouldn’t be worried, then I won’t be.” Mac stared out at the water that lapped onto the beach at the bottom of the backyard. “So, do I need to be worried, Lucas?”

“No, Mac.”

Mac breathed a sigh of relief. He could trust Lucas Wilhelm with his life, so he certainly could accept the man’s word about this. Plus, the fact he’d used Mac’s first name spoke volumes. “You’d let me know if there was something to be concerned about?”

“In a heartbeat,” Lucas assured him.

“Don’t go to bed early tonight. I may need you later if this shindig Lillian has put on gets out of hand.”

“I already have two men inside, sir.”

Mac laughed. “Why am I not surprised? Guest or worker?”

“Worker.” Mac could hear the smile in the other man’s voice. “And don’t bother looking, they’re new on the payroll and employed just for this sort of occasion. No one knows them, including Mr. McDermott.”

“Does Lilli know you have men staking the place out?” Mac asked with a smile.

The sound that blasted his eardrum could only be described as a snort.

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Lucas replied through laughter.

Mac glanced over his shoulder and into the house. “Well, I’m not going to be the one to tell her they’re here.”

“If you call me and a team in, they’ll remain catering staff. I don’t want these men’s identities compromised at all.” Lucas’s voice was stern and Mac could picture the man puffing up his chest as he gave the subtle order.

“No issue on my end, Lucas. I’ll let you know if you’re needed.”

“No problem.”

Silence met Mac’s ear and he realised Lucas had hung up. Chuckling, he dropped his hand and slid the phone into his pocket. For long moments, Mac stood facing the sea. He thought about what he’d learned in the last few minutes and cursed himself for a fool. There were no excuses for his behaviour since Lilli had become a model. He’d treated her with contempt based on what her mother had been like. What kind of man does that? Especially to the woman he loves.

Mac sucked in a breath—his body going rigid. He loved her? His breath whooshed out. Well, of course he did. She was the little sister he never had. Except the way he felt had nothing to do with sisterly love. Arousal buzzed in his veins whenever he thought about her, never mind when he was near her. The sensations she provoked fried his brain and filled his cock with urgent need. A need so deep it singed his marrow and drove him near to madness. Could he have used her profession to keep her at arm’s length?

He lowered his head and closed his eyes. He’d been a bastard on so many occasions. Accusing her of things because of what? Her choice of career? Fear? His lack of control whenever she was near? God, he’d been an arse and never once had she called him on it. All the time she was building a business, establishing a name for herself without using her actual name, he’d been scornful, disapproving, sanctimonious in his attitude towards her. And she’d let him get away with it. If he were Lilli, he’d never speak to him again.