What a Rich Woman Wants (9 page)

“But I'm really not comfortable with this. You're not exactly bribing a law enforcement officer, but any perception of impropriety on my part? Not only will it get me fired, but I can kiss the Challenge Project goodbye.”

“Those are risks, you're right.” Lesley fidgeted with her remaining silverware. “No one has to know about our arrangement. I trust you. I hope you feel you can trust me. But I'll understand if you'd rather not do this.”

Now that Lesley was giving him an easy out, Niko didn't want to let it go. “Maybe I can afford a rental.”

Lesley's look of dismay said it all. “That is simply not an acceptable option. Your own formal wear.” She waved a hand through the air. “It's nonnegotiable. Almost every event is black-tie. You'd also have to drive my car.”

“The Lexus? What a hardship.” Niko grinned.

“What are you saying?” Lesley asked warily. “That you'll do it?”

“Let me think about it.”

When Lesley smiled at him, that real smile, he didn't know why he didn't just tell her yes. He'd already decided he would.

Chapter Nine

“Definitely the Armani.”

Niko stared at his mirrored image and silently agreed with Lesley's decision. He'd always thought one tuxedo looked exactly like every other because he'd always viewed them on a television screen, or more recently when he'd worked an event like the ones he'd soon be attending in Willow Bay.

But he knew now there were subtle differences in the cut, the quality, the fit. Small details that made a world of difference. His gaze met Lesley's in the mirror, and she smiled. “Don't you think?”

“Me in Armani. Has hell frozen over yet?”

“This one,” she said to the hovering salesman. “Send in the tailor.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

When the salesman left, Lesley approached and stood in front of him. She adjusted the lapels, although in Niko's opinion they needed no adjustment. The jacket fit like it had been made for him. The tailor needed only to hem the pants. Lesley brushed imaginary lint off the front of the suit and stepped back. “It's perfect on you.”

“Thank you.”

They'd driven to Miami, to a store she knew of near South Beach. She'd made an appointment, and Niko watched her take charge with the salesman, approving and rejecting various items before they'd adjourned to the changing room. He'd modeled three suits for her, the Armani being the last. She'd chosen shoes and a shirt as well. He'd been dismayed to discover he'd have to learn how to tie a bow tie. He thought they came pre-tied and adjustable.

“Can't I just wear a clip-on?”

Lesley gave him the same look of dismay as when he'd suggested renting a tux.

“Fine.” Somehow he managed to keep the annoyance out of his tone.

He allowed the salesman to give him a quick lesson. After the tailor stepped in, Lesley never took her gaze off Niko. The older man tugged and smoothed and adjusted the jacket. He turned Niko to the side and did something with the material above the slit at the bottom of the jacket that made the jacket even more flattering than it was before. “A slight adjustment, here, I think.” He glanced at Niko for approval. Niko glanced at Lesley. She nodded.

“Yes,” Niko agreed.

The tailor pinned and then hung the jacket on a wooden hanger before turning back to assess the fit of the pants. Again he tugged at material just below the knee, then tugged at the waistband in back. Another subtle adjustment of the material there, and miraculously Niko could see the improvement in the fit. “Yes,” Niko said before the tailor could ask. His gaze flickered to Lesley's, and she smiled another of those genuine smiles. He grinned. He hadn't expected to enjoy this outing quite so much.

Next came the hem, which took the tailor only a few moments to pin.

While Niko changed, Lesley browsed the display cases of accessories and tried to calm her heated thoughts. Every time she was in Niko's company. she found herself more and more attracted to him, even though they were worlds apart in so many ways. Still a shudder of excitement ran through her when they met.

Niko in formal wear? Her heart had almost stopped when she'd pretended to adjust his lapels and brush lint off his jacket. She'd wanted to get closer to him and used an age-old ploy to do so. Had he seen right through her? It had been all she could do to step back when she did, act as nonchalant as she could.

The elegant clothes did something special for Niko. The clothes said he was a gentleman, but they couldn't hide the rough edges underneath. They did nothing to hide what kind of shape he was in, either. With his dark hair and eyes and olive skin, Lesley realized she might be competing for his attention at the upcoming events. She certainly wouldn't be the only unattached female in attendance.

“See anything else you have to have?” Niko's voice purred next to her, and she caught herself before she let him know he'd startled her. She looked at him, and the thought was in her head but luckily didn't make it to her tongue.
Just you.

“You'll need cuff links. And studs.”

“Excuse me?”

Lesley smiled. “Studs. For the shirt. They're like buttons. Want to pick some out?”

Niko's gaze flickered over the display case she indicated. “Let's eat and do it when we come back, okay?”

“Sure.”

Lesley had arranged for same-day tailoring so they could take the suit with them.

Niko sighed in frustration. He stared at his mirrored reflection in the bathroom in disgust. He'd overcome so much. Fought his way out of poverty and ignorance. He'd worked and read and done everything he could think of to improve himself, his own lot in life and that of others like him. Yet the smallest things, like tying a stupid bow tie, set him back, reminding him he hadn't come as far as he liked to think.

He stood in the bathroom and untied the clumsy bow he'd made for perhaps the tenth time. Propped on the small vanity was a library book that offered step-by-step instructions on how to properly tie the perfect bow. He'd come close a couple of times, but his subsequent attempts to get it just right had unraveled. He was ready to give up. He'd have to tell Lesley to forget this whole idea. Somehow he'd have to come up with the money to pay her for the suit. He could only imagine how many off-duty traffic control and security jobs he'd have to work to do that.

He heard Lesley's knock just as he tied the tie into a clumsy knot once again. “I still don't see what's wrong with a clip-on,” he grumbled. He doubted anyone would even notice. Or care. Except Lesley. He padded down the hall in his stockinged feet and opened the door.

Lesley in a soft-looking, emerald-green, floor-length gown with a plunging neckline stopped him in his tracks. She looked smooth and sleek, blond and beautiful. Her hair was down, coaxed into soft waves that made him think of one of those glam actresses from the forties and fifties. Betty Grable, maybe, or Rita Hayworth. Her jewelry was minimal. A teardrop-shaped stone hung from a delicate chain and glittered above the vee of her cleavage. Probably a diamond worth about six times what he made in a year.

“Hello there,” she said, barely hiding the chuckle beneath her greeting as her gaze zeroed in on his tie.

“Hi,” he said glumly as he stepped back to let her in.

He closed the door and they stood facing each other. “Problems?” she queried, but he could see an amused smile glimmering at the corners of her mouth. He was a fool to think he could move in her circle, that her plan to help him fund-raise would ever work. He'd be humiliated. A laughingstock. In fact he already was.

He yanked the tie off. “This isn't going to work.” He held the tie out to her and she took it. “Let's forget it.”

He started back to the bedroom, ready to strip himself out of the suit. At the moment he wanted to throw the entire thing back at her. Jacket, pants, shirt. The ridiculous onyx studs and matching cuff links. He didn't feel elegant at all. He felt clumsy and out of his depth and he didn't like it one bit.

“Such impatience. Remember, we have a deal,” Lesley reminded him. He could hear the tap of her high heels as she followed him.

He whirled on her. “It's black-tie only, isn't it, this event?” He yanked the tie away from her and waved it in front of her. “It's going to be a problem if I can't figure out how to put the damn thing on.”

She bit her lip. He was 100 percent sure she was trying not to laugh.

“It doesn't help to have you laughing at me.” Even he could hear the sulky tone in his voice.

“I'm not laughing at you,” she assured him, though her eyes were dancing. “I'm laughing with you.”

Niko frowned. There was no malice in her smile. Perhaps she found the situation amusing, but not at his expense. Plus, every time she smiled for real, something inside him responded to it.

“Give me this,” she said, reaching for the tie. He let it go.

She reached up, and he bowed his head so she could slip it around his neck. “This isn't going to work,” she said.

“Told you so.”

Ignoring him, she glanced around. “You'll have to sit down.”

He took a seat on a stool at the kitchen counter while Lesley concentrated on his tie. She leaned forward, which offered him an even better view of her cleavage. He sat absolutely still while she worked, mesmerized by the sway of the teardrop necklace and the thought of what lay beneath the drape of the fabric. He dug his fingers into his thighs to fight the itch to cup her breasts in his hands, to see if they were as soft and as real as they appeared to be.

The subtle scent of her perfume invaded his senses, fogging his brain and sending all kinds of lustful signals to the rest of his body. He used a trick he'd used often before. Mentally reciting bits of poetry he'd read, the times tables, the steps of cleaning his service revolver—anything unsexy he could think of so he wouldn't throw caution to the wind and act on his natural impulses.

“There.” Lesley straightened and stepped back. Niko let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He reached up to feel what she'd done.

“Really?” He was hardly able to believe she'd accomplished in two minutes what he'd been struggling with for half an hour. “We're good?”

“We're good,” she echoed without a trace of amusement.

“You'll have to teach me how to do that.”

“I will.”

They regarded each other for long seconds. Several compliments ran through Niko's head, but he didn't think he could pull any of them off without sounding phony. “Nice dress, by the way,” he said.

That got another smile out of her. “Thank you.”

“I'll get my shoes.”

He did so, pausing for a moment to check his appearance in the full-length mirror inside the closet door. The tie was perfect. Maybe he wouldn't fit in with Lesley's crowd, but at least his tux would get a passing grade.

Lesley's gleaming white Lexus sat at the end of the driveway behind his Acura. She handed him the keys and he opened her door, waiting until she was settled before closing it.

His retired neighbors, Julio and Martha Perez, waved to him from their front stoop, where they often settled in the early evening. Niko knew they were taking in every detail of this moment and would likely share all that they'd seen with the other neighbors. It couldn't be helped, and it wouldn't matter anyway. He liked his neighbors, but he didn't feel compelled to explain himself to them.

He shrugged out of his jacket and laid it in the backseat. Somewhere he'd seen it suggested to do so to keep the jacket from wrinkling.

Lesley waited patiently for him to get behind the wheel and adjust the seat. Once they were on their way, he said, “How many of these things did you say we'll be attending?”

“Several. Tonight's just the beginning, actually. The Emerald Ball's one of the smaller ones, but it's a good place to start. A warm-up if you will. Next will be the Sneaker Ball.”

“The Sneaker Ball?”

“It benefits disabled children in the area. It's formal, but guests decorate and wear sneakers. Usually a few celebrities are recruited and their sneakers are auctioned off as part of the fund-raising.

“Later in the season are the bigger, heavy-hitting events. The Angel Ball, which raises scholarships for a couple of the local college prep schools, and the Heart Ball, which funds the hospital's heart institute. I'll give you a schedule.”

“So I could have put together a ball to raise money for the community center instead of attending all these other balls to meet people to donate money to it?”

Lesley glanced at him. “You could, but you'd have a difficult time raising money. No one who's anyone with any money or clout would attend.”

“How do you know?”

“Niko, trust me. I know how things are done in this town. First you have to get your entity off the ground, which takes money. Lots and lots of donated money. The people who will donate to what they consider a worthy cause are the people you'll meet at these events this season. They'll donate for a couple of reasons. One will be because of me, because of who my family is and what it stands for. Another will be because of you. Because of who you are and where you came from and what you're trying to do. The third reason is because your cause is worthwhile. Really, truly worthwhile. But the movers and shakers don't move quickly. They're cautious, especially when it comes to money. They don't want to be scammed or made fools of. They'll support you, but not until they trust you.”

Niko had been tempted to interrupt Lesley more than once during her speech, but he was glad he'd held back. He knew she spoke the truth. It all came down to trust. He couldn't lose sight of that. He wouldn't get caught up in the posturing he'd seen glimpses of in the past, where people pretended to be what they weren't, believing they could gain some kind of advantage.

He pulled the Lexus under the porte cochere at the entrance to the Willow Bay Beach Club Hotel. A valet dressed in white darted around the front of the car to take the keys while another opened Lesley's door. Niko retrieved his jacket and pocketed the claim ticket.

He offered Lesley his arm and they entered the hotel. At the top of the grand staircase were registration tables where they stopped for drink tickets and table assignments. Bars were set up in the reception area and servers were circulating with trays of canapés.

“Would you like a drink?” Niko asked as he steered Lesley away from the tables with a hand on the middle of her back.

“I find a glass or two of wine makes these events much more bearable. I'd love a pinot grigio.”

“Pinot grigio it is.” They made their way to the line in front of one of the bars. A couple of female acquaintances greeted Lesley and they exchanged air kisses.

“Meet Niko Morales,” Lesley said. “Niko, this is Sissy Spano and Myra Daniels.”

Niko inclined his head. “Ladies.”