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  ‘Think about it, Holly.’ Jane suddenly turned serious. ‘His interest in you could be really good for business. Did you get a photo with him? I’ve been checking social media but nothing’s come up.’

  ‘Kendra took one but she must have changed her mind about uploading it.’ Thank God.

  ‘I can see the headlines now.’ Jane swept her hand from left to right as if to highlight a billboard. ‘“Top Celebrity Divorce Lawyer Falls for Wedding Florist”.’ Her grin widened. ‘You’ll have brides queuing down the footpath once they hear you’ve caught the interest of London’s most eligible playboy.’

  Holly rolled her eyes like marbles but her brain was already doing the calculations. How long would a so-called relationship with Zack take to turn her business back around? If spurious gossip had already soured things for her, then why shouldn’t she use more gossip to turn things around?

  Because dating Zack Knight would be dangerous.

  Capital D Dangerous.

  * * *

  Holly was finishing an arrangement for a new mother in hospital when the bell on the front door tinkled as someone came in. Normally Jane or one of her other assistants handled customers when she was working on an arrangement. But all three girls were currently out of the shop—Jane on a coffee break and Taylor and Leanne both away sick with colds. Holly put the arrangement to one side and came out of the workroom to the shopfront. She saw Zack Knight standing there with a lazy smile and her breath caught.

  She stayed behind the shop counter, gripping it with her hands and setting her shoulders. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘Did you get my order?’ His deep blue eyes were backlit with amusement. Or was it mockery?

  Holly forced herself to hold his gaze. ‘I don’t take orders from customers... I mean, specific orders like the one you sent. If you want my roses or any other flowers, you’ll have to accept they’ll be delivered by my courier.’

  ‘I’ll pay you double to deliver them in person.’

  Had he somehow heard about her financial troubles? Had everyone? She would not fail. She could not fail. Holly fixed him with a steely glare and gripped the counter so hard she thought her knuckles would burst out of her skin. ‘Mr Knight, I might not have quite the disgusting amount of wealth you’ve accumulated, but let me assure you I am not in such dire financial straits that I would ever consent to accepting a bribe from you.’

  He stepped closer, so close she could smell the sharp citrus scent of his aftershave and the lighter, more subtle fragrance of cleanly showered man. So close she could feel her resolve downing tools and walking off the job. ‘Forget about the roses. Have dinner with me instead.’ It was a demand, not a request, delivered in a low, deep burr that did strange tickly things to her insides.

  Something at the back of her knees fizzed as his lips curved around a smile. She swallowed. Swallowed again. Her heart skipping like it was in a jump rope competition. She was tempted to accept. Tempted because she hadn’t been on a date for so long and she was tired of sitting alone in her flat. Tempted because she wanted to prove she wasn’t the pushover he thought her to be. It would be fun teaching him a lesson. The sort of fun she hadn’t had in a long time. She would have dinner with him and show him he couldn’t win her over with his polished charm. And if anyone saw them out and about, the gossip would bring back the brides to her shop.

  Holly released her clawlike grip on the counter and let out a you-win-this-round sigh. ‘All right. I’ll have dinner with you. Tell me where and when and I’ll meet you there.’

  His smile never faltered but a glint of cynicism appeared in his gaze. ‘I have a rule when I date a woman. I pick her up and I deliver her safely home.’

  Holly pursed her lips, wondering what her landlady Mrs Fry would make of the handsome celebrity divorce lawyer coming to pick her up. ‘I have a rule, as well. Just dinner. Nothing else. Understood?’

  ‘Just dinner.’ His gaze locked on hers and something tightly knotted in her belly slowly unravelled. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’ He took out his phone, asked for her number and address and typed it into his contacts. He slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket and gave her another bone-melting smile. ‘See you at seven.’

  * * *

  Zack had a couple of mediation meetings to attend and a stack of paperwork so high it rivalled The Shard, the tallest building in London. He sat back in his office chair and tipped his pen back and forth between his fingers, wondering again why Holly had finally agreed to a dinner date. She’d been so adamant about having nothing to do with him. He would like to put it down to his powers of persuasion but he suspected there was some other reason for her capitulation.

  She had something to prove, but then so did he.

  He wanted her.

  He couldn’t remember when he’d ever been so turned on by the prospect of a dinner date, much less anything else that might follow. Holly was frosty and feisty, but he would soon melt through her defences. Miss Frost would be Miss Firebrand by the time he was done. He could see it in her eyes—the flash and spark of desire that made him want her all the more. She was the most captivating challenge he’d encountered in a long time—perhaps ever. When was the last time a woman had stood up to him? It was almost boring these days how easy it had become to select one from the crowd. He found it strangely exhilarating to have to work so hard at changing her mind. Especially when he knew it was herself she was fighting, not him.

  His phone rang and when he saw his father’s number come up on the screen, his stomach did its usual clench. His father had never got over Zack’s mother leaving him for another man when Zack was ten years old. Twenty-four years had passed and his dad was still hoping Zack’s mum would come back. He’d had a few relationships since, but they always followed a predictable pattern—the honeymoon phase and then the hell-on-earth phase. His dad was currently in the hell phase, having broken up with his partner a few months ago. His dad didn’t cope well with rejection. It could take months for him to get his life back on track, with a lot of help from Zack. And then it would all start again when his dad got involved with someone else.

  Zack had seen it professionally too many times to count. Men or women who couldn’t let go of a love they had lost. And how the old pain of unresolved issues poisoned every other relationship.

  It made him all the more determined never to fall in love. He didn’t want to be one of those people, the broken-hearted person who couldn’t function any more without their partner. To this day his dad still struggled to hold down a full-time job after a break-up.

  How could loving someone be worth all that suffering?

  He tossed his pen onto his desk and picked up the phone. ‘Hi, Dad, how are things?’

  ‘I’m okay...’ His voice was flat and toneless and Zack wondered if he had been drinking again. Please, God. No.

  ‘Just wondered what you were doing this evening. Thought we could hang out. Grab a meal, watch a movie or take in a show or something.’

  Damn. Zack rubbed a hand down his face. He’d forgotten today was his parents’ wedding anniversary. The first of April was always a bad day for his dad. It wasn’t called April Fool’s Day for nothing. It was marginally better if his dad was in a relationship but his recent break-up had made his dad depressed. Zack usually kept his diary free so he could take him out and distract him but it had slipped his mind for some reason. Should he tell his dad he already had a date?

  But how could he?

  If he left his dad to his own devices, who knew what might happen? His dad had been sober for months but Zack knew from experience that he was always only one drink away from a binge. Anniversaries, Christmas and birthdays were the days he had to take action to make sure his dad was safe—or at least as safe as he could keep him, especially when his dad was in a single-and-hating-it phase.

  ‘If you’re too busy...’

  ‘No. I’ll make it wor
k.’ Zack injected a shot of enthusiasm in his voice. ‘I’ll pick you up at seven.’

  He ended the call and pulled up Holly’s number on his phone. He sat staring at it for a long moment. There were few people in his life who knew about his dad’s struggles and he wasn’t about to start sharing now. He’d spent most of his life watching out for his father and he didn’t need anyone to know how hard it could be at times.

  It wouldn’t change anything—it never did.

  He pressed the call button but it went through to voicemail. He felt a stab of disappointment. He left a brief message and clicked off his phone. Under normal circumstances he would have sent flowers by way of apology, but sending flowers to a florist seemed a bit weird. He ordered some specialist chocolates instead and sent them by courier with instructions to pick up his handwritten note from his office first. He knew Holly had a sweet tooth because he’d seen her at the dessert table at the divorce party. He smiled at the memory of her spooning gooey black forest cheesecake into her kissable mouth.

  Yep, Holly Frost was definitely worth the work and the wait.

  Holly was in a Love Is in the Care late-afternoon business meeting with Sabrina. They met at least once a week for coffee or dinner or drinks after work when their schedules obliged and caught up on industry gossip and any issues to do with their businesses. If it was a coffee and quick catch-up, they took turns to meet in each other’s work premises and today it was at Sabrina’s studio, a few roads away from Holly’s shop.

  ‘Has business picked up at all?’ Sabrina asked, passing a slice of carrot cake Holly’s way.

  Holly held up her hand. ‘Not for me. I had two helpings of cheesecake at Kendra’s party last night. And no, business hasn’t improved. I had another cancellation yesterday.’

  ‘Oh, no! Not another one?’

  ‘I don’t know what’s going on. Normally at this time of year I have a full diary of weddings. Why aren’t I getting business any more? Now I have to resort to doing divorce parties.’

  ‘So how was your first divorce party?’

  ‘Interesting.’ Holly eyed the carrot cake. ‘I met Zack Knight. He did Kendra’s divorce for her. She took a photo of Zack and me standing together. I’ve been dreading her uploading it on social media, but so far she hasn’t, which kind of makes me even more nervous. You know Kendra. She fancies herself a matchmaker.’

  ‘I saw a photo of Zack recently in a gossip magazine,’ Sabrina said. ‘What’s he like in person? He looks gorgeous. Is he even better-looking in the flesh?’

  Holly could feel her cheeks betraying her. Darn it. She couldn’t even hear his name without blushing. And the less she thought about his flesh the better. ‘He was exactly as I expected him to be. Full of charm and full of ego.’

  Sabrina’s expression was so full of intrigue she could have moonlighted as a gossip hound. ‘And?’

  ‘And...I’m going out to dinner with him this evening.’

  ‘You’re what?’ Sabrina’s eyes went as round as the cake plate. ‘But I thought you said you never wanted to—’

  ‘It’s just dinner.’ Holly picked a crumb of carrot cake off the plate. Crumbs were another one of her weaknesses. ‘I’m only going so I can teach him a lesson. He thinks he can wine and dine me and then I’ll automatically fall into his bed. I’m going to show him there is one woman left on the planet who is immune to him.’

  ‘I don’t know, Holly. You might be taking on more than you can handle with someone like him.’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ Holly licked some cream cheese icing off her fingers. ‘I know what I’m doing. Besides, it will be good for my reputation to be seen out and about with a man. Jane thinks I’m to blame for the cancellations for venting my spleen about men on social media.’

  ‘You have been rather negative. That can really damage your brand.’ Sabrina chewed her lower lip. ‘Our brand.’

  Something in Holly’s stomach fell off a shelf. ‘Have you had cancellations for wedding dresses?’

  ‘Only one.’

  ‘Only one?’ Holly leaned forward. ‘When did they cancel? Did they give a reason? Who was it?’

  ‘The Mackie wedding.’

  Holly was horrified that anything she had done or said was affecting her best friend’s business. Maybe Jane was right. She needed an image makeover. She needed a man. ‘I’m so sorry. I had no idea my venting would hurt you.’

  ‘It might not have anything to do with you.’

  ‘But what if it does?’ Holly asked. ‘I need to get into damage control. As soon as possible.’ She wiped her sticky fingers on a napkin and then picked up her phone to check the time. She saw that while it had been on Silent a call had come in. She didn’t recognise the number but the caller had left a message on her voicemail.

  ‘Excuse me for a sec,’ Holly said. The message was brief and from Zack. She was so busy listening to the deep and sexy timbre of his voice that it took her a moment to realise he was cancelling their dinner date. Disappointment trickled through her like iced water. Why had he cancelled? Had he got a better offer? Someone far more enthusiastic about going on a date with him? Someone more beautiful? More glamorous and sophisticated?

  Someone who would put out?

  Holly clicked the off button and tossed the phone back in her bag.

  Sabrina leaned closer. ‘Why are you frowning like that?’

  ‘Apparently Zack has overlooked a prior engagement.’

  ‘He cancelled?’

  Holly sighed and picked up the carrot cake. ‘I’ve been stood up. Story of my life.’ She glanced at Sabrina mid-mouthful of cake. ‘What are you doing tonight? Do you fancy dinner and a movie?’

  ‘I’ve got an even better idea.’ Sabrina leaned down and dug out a West End flyer from her tote bag. ‘One of my clients has a sister who is an actor in a musical in the West End. I’ll call her and see if I can get a couple of last-minute tickets. We can dress up and have a girls’ night out. Sound good?’

  ‘Sounds perfect.’

  * * *

  Zack rarely enjoyed a night out with his father. He felt more like a guardian than a son. Not that his dad couldn’t be good company at times, but this day in April was never a good day on the William Knight calendar. After a ridiculously expensive dinner where his dad talked at length about how lonely he was, Zack was ready to turn to drink himself. He’d managed to get some good seats for a West End show. He’d figured a movie, especially the sad one his dad had mentioned in passing, was not going to do anything to improve his dad’s mood. The musical wasn’t to Zack’s taste but he was prepared to get his dad through the evening no matter what.

  But, upbeat musical or not, as the evening went on his dad became more and more maudlin. He sank lower and lower into his seat and, even though the music was loud, Zack could still hear his father sigh with depressing regularity.

  Zack tried not to think of the night he could have been having with Holly. During the interval, he did his best to listen while his dad went through every reason why his life sucked since his divorce twenty-four years ago.

  The musical finished close to eleven p.m. Zack waited in the theatre foyer while his dad went to use the bathroom. He scrolled through his messages and found a curt text from Holly. He’d offered her a rain check and she’d texted back.

  No, thanks.

  Zack was surprised at how disappointed he was. Surprised and galvanised. He would have to work harder to win her over. He smiled to himself and put his phone back in his pocket. But then he saw Holly not more than a metre or two away, coming out of the other side of the theatre with a young woman. The dark-haired woman was attractive, but he only had eyes for Holly. Her emerald-green dress was sweater girl snug against her breasts and clung to her shapely hips and thighs as if spray-painted to her body. Her black high heels had little straps that wrapped around her dainty dancer ankles. Ankles he wanted wrappe
d around his waist. With her curly copper-coloured hair in a sophisticated up-do and cover-girl make-up, she was sweet girl next door meets sexy supermodel. She laughed at something her friend said and something in his chest gathered together like the final stitch in a wound. The tension trickled down to his groin, hot, tight, tempting. He was vaguely conscious of his breath stopping and starting like the stutter of an old engine.

  Rein it in, buddy. But right then his brain wasn’t listening to his body.

  Holly suddenly turned her head and registered him standing there and her gaze narrowed and heated to a fulminating glare. Her fingers tightened on her clutch purse and then she came striding towards him, weaving through the knot of theatregoers.

  ‘Enjoying your prior engagement, Mr Knight?’ Her words cut through the air like shards of ice and she looked to either side of him, presumably to locate his date.

  Under normal circumstances, Zack would never have explained he was on a night out with his father. But he felt Holly deserved some explanation. A city this size and they happened to choose the same West End show? Give me a break. ‘I’m sorry about cancelling tonight. I forgot I promised my father we’d spend the evening together.’

  Her expression faltered for a moment. ‘Your...father?’

  ‘Yes. He’s just gone back to use the bathroom.’ Zack nodded towards the direction of the theatre toilets. ‘He’ll be out soon.’

  ‘How soon?’ A note of cynicism sharpened her tone another notch.

  Zack glanced at Holly’s friend, who was watching them from a distance, her expression reminding him of a spectator at a boxing match. So far he was losing. Big time. He turned his attention back to Holly. ‘There must be a long queue or something.’

  ‘Actually, that would be the female toilets with the long queue.’ Holly’s eyes flashed. ‘I don’t suppose your...erm...father is using one of those?’