Page 30 of Is This Real or Just Pretend?

Alex looked absolutely gorgeous in a deep purple gown that perfectly complemented her creamy skin and dark hair.

As Lucien took the seat beside her, he caught a whiff of flowery perfume.

It was lovely, but he found he preferred her usual scent of ink and paper.

Only then did it dawn on him that he hadn’t searched the box for Freddie at all. He had seen only Alex.

As the curtain lifted and the play began, Lucien tried his best to focus on the actors onstage, but he kept snatching glances at her profile every few minutes. The delicate slope of her nose, the soft curve of her cheek, the perfectly pointed chin. How had he ever not thought this woman beautiful?

“I take it your meeting with Benjamin went well,” she finally murmured without looking at him.

“Why do you say that?”

She was silent for a long moment. “Because I haven’t heard from you.”

“I’m sorry. I should have sent a response. Thank you. Your notes were very helpful.”

“I’m glad,” she replied, sounding anything but. “And congratulations. I’m sure your partnership will be very fruitful.”

“I didn’t—”

“There’s no need to be coy, Lucien,” she insisted. “You’ve made a good decision.”

“Is that why you looked so surprised when I arrived? You thought I wouldn’t come tonight if I partnered with him?” He frowned at the implication. “But we have an agreement.”

She lifted a shoulder in response. “Things can change. I understand that.”

A few days before, he would have assumed she was indifferent, but now Lucien knew better.

She hid so much beneath that cool mask, and he was determined to see it all.

He leaned as close to her as he dared, until he could feel the soft warmth coming off her skin.

“I assure you, I always honor my agreements,” he murmured by her ear.

She responded with only the slightest inhalation, but it still made the blood rush to his cock.

If this woman ever truly fell apart before him, Lucien wasn’t certain he would survive the experience.

He attempted to return his attention to the play for a while, but gave up once again. “Tell me what happened between you two.”

She turned to him then and the hesitancy in her eyes was answer enough.

“That bastard,” he growled.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she murmured. “But it wasn’t like that.”

Lucien shifted in his seat. The sound of her hushed voice only made him grow harder. It was damned inconvenient, as this was a serious conversation. To say nothing of their surroundings.

“Then tell me what it was like.”

Alex leaned forward to cast a subtle glance past him. “Not here.”

As her shoulder brushed his own, a shiver of need ripped through him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” he huffed and dragged a hand down his face.

She peered at him in concern. “There’s a washroom just outside, if you need to be sick.”

“I’m not ill , Alex,” he said with a humorless laugh. “It’s you.”

“Oh.”

The genuine surprise on her face was maddening. Did she really not understand the effect she had on him? One caress from her and he had spent in his trousers, for God’s sake.

“I can’t stop thinking about the other night. In your office,” he added, just to make it perfectly clear.

“Oh,” she repeated and turned back to the stage.

Was that a blush on her cheek? It was too dark to be sure.

“Say something,” he demanded after a moment.

“I… I can’t stop thinking about it either.”

Lucien leaned forward, greedy for more. “Despite my less-than-stellar performance?”

Her mouth curved up. “Well, it ended sooner than expected, but it was quite notable before that.”

Notable.

Lucien grinned as if she had given him a standing ovation right there.

“And I am sorry,” she continued. “About the private investigator. It is our standard protocol, but I should have handled things differently with you.”

“No, I overreacted,” Lucien admitted. “I’m afraid I was just… a bit out of sorts at the time. Surely you can understand why .”

Alex shifted in her seat. “Yes, well,” she said, clearing her throat. “I wouldn’t have been so forward with you if I knew the truth.”

“I’m glad you were,” he insisted. “But now you must let me make it up to you.”

Alex bit her bottom lip, considering. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said slowly.

“I assure you, I don’t lack experience entirely .” He was suddenly quite determined to prove himself.

“It’s not about that.”

“Then why—”

But the rest of his words were drowned out by clapping. Lucien blinked as light suddenly filled the theater. It was already intermission and he could recall nothing of the first act. His thoughts were only of her.

Alex looked as stunned as he felt.

Mrs. Atkinson then leaned over her husband to address them. “Alex, come with me. You must say hello to Mrs. Dudley.” Then she cast him a knowing look. “You don’t mind, Lucien, seeing as you two were whispering together the entire time.”

He bowed his head. “Of course not, ma’am.”

“Not to worry,” she said with a wink. “I’ll return her before the next act.”

As Alex moved to stand, he placed a soft hand on her shoulder. “We aren’t done here,” he murmured by her ear.

Their eyes locked for a moment and her heated gaze was the most pleasurable kind of pain. She gave him a subtle nod and departed. Though at first he had not liked the idea of accepting the flat, he was starting to see the appeal of having some privacy. And being closer to Alex.

As Lucien watched her leave, he found the Duke of Ellis frowning at him from across the box. Lucien swallowed as the man approached. Though they had been friendly enough at the museum, Lucien still found him more than a little intimidating.

“Your Grace,” he mumbled as he came to his feet. Should he bow since they were in company? Better to be sure…

But before he could, the duke clapped a hand hard on his shoulder. “I told you to call me Margrave.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Come with me to get a drink, won’t you?”

“Certainly.” Lucien let out a relieved laugh. “For a moment there I was worried you were cross with me.”

The duke grinned. “Actually I had just remembered the time you stole my clothes by the pond.”

Christ. He had forgotten about that. “It was all Freddie’s idea,” Lucien blurted out. She had always been getting him into mischief.

“I’m sure,” Margrave said with a laugh. “Remind me never to trust you with a secret. You folded faster than my valet.”

Lucien grimaced. It was true.

“I heard my name,” Freddie trilled as she came beside them. Her arm firmly held by her not-quite-fiancé.

“Lucien was just ratting you out,” Margrave said smoothly. “Remember the time you stole my clothes while I was swimming in the pond?”

Freddie threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, you were furious ! I think you chased us all the way back home clutching a bunch of leaves to your—”

Hank Ericson Jr. loudly cleared his throat. “Darling, we need to stop by my parents’ box.”

Freddie blushed and patted his arm. “Of course. Good to see you again, Lucien,” she called out as she was firmly guided to the exit.

A dark-haired man with a mustache in the far corner stared after Freddie with the kind of veiled longing Lucien knew all too well. And yet, he felt only sympathy for the fellow. He managed to tear his gaze away long enough to exchange a nod with Margrave.

“Who was that man with the mustache?” Lucien asked once they had left the box.

“Inspector Holland.”

“Is he interested in Freddie?”

Margrave shot him a sharp look. “Why do you care?”

Lucien shrugged. “I was just curious,” he answered honestly.

Alex had occupied so much of his time lately that he had barely thought of Freddie.

The old, familiar ache she usually inspired in his heart felt more like a dull flutter.

A genuine fondness for their shared childhood.

And Lucien wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.

His love for Freddie had been a guiding force in his life for so long, it was a little unnerving how quickly he had set it aside—and that her sister of all people was the reason.

Margrave studied him and pursed his lips. “Hmm. Let’s get that drink, shall we?”

As they retreated across the hall to a private bar area for those in box seats, Lucien bumped directly into someone. But before he could make his apologies, the large chap stalked away. Odd , Lucien thought as he stared after him for a moment.

“Are you coming, Taylor?” the duke called from the doorway and he joined him.

Once inside, Margave ordered them champagne. Lucien accepted the coupe and then lifted it. “Allow me to offer a toast to your engagement.”

“Thank you. I am a very lucky man.” Margrave’s smile was small but genuine. “And might we be toasting you and Alex next?”

Lucien choked a little on a mouthful of champagne and the duke slapped him firmly between his shoulder blades.

“I saw the way you were looking at each other earlier,” Margrave continued, unruffled by Lucien’s reaction.

“And I highly doubt Alex would be able to fake such interest.” Lucien’s heart fluttered wildly with pleasure.

Then Margrave’s eyes narrowed. “Frankly, I’m not sure which one of you is in more trouble. ”

Lucien blinked. “Sir?” The word slipped from his lips before he could stop it.

Margrave stepped closer. “If you hurt her, you will need to go a hell of a lot farther than France when I am done with you.

Lucien swallowed and nodded. “Understood.”

“But if she hurts you ,” the duke began as his eyes softened, “know that you can always come to me.”

“I appreciate that, but it won’t be necessary,” Lucien insisted even while his skin prickled with foreboding.

Margrave’s mouth curved. “Right. Your agreement . My mistake.”

Lucien downed the rest of his glass. “There… there is one thing you could help me with,” he began.

Good lord, if he was even considering asking this, the champagne must have gone straight to his head.

The duke gave him a curious look. “Well?”

“Do you have any suggestions for making—ah… an amorous encounter better for the other party…”

Margrave’s lips pursed, as if he were trying not to smile. “Are you asking me how to pleasure a woman, Taylor?”

The champagne was definitely to blame.

“I do have some idea,” Lucien protested a little too much. “But…”

“You could use a little advice,” Margrave volunteered.

Lucien squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. This was beyond embarrassing, but he didn’t want a repeat of the other night and there wasn’t anyone else he could ask.

When he found the courage to open his eyes, Margrave had tilted his head, actually considering the question.

“While there are any number of techniques one might try, I have found the most important thing to do is pay attention. As closely as you can. Then you will know very quickly when something is working—and when it isn’t. ”

That seemed easy enough.

“But if this is in regard to our mutual friend,” he continued, amused, “you could probably just ask her.”

“Right,” Lucien rasped. The thought of her ordering him about was strangely arousing.

“Oh, and if you find yourself becoming too, erm, overcome, think of cricket. That always helps.” Margrave then raised his nearly empty coupe. “Good luck.”

Lucien was certain he would need it.

When Alex returned to the box, Lucien was already in his seat—and her father beside him.

“Now don’t get into a snit, Alexandra,” Aunt Winifred murmured. “But it wouldn’t do to have you and Lucien talking through the rest of the play. You’ve done more than enough to set tongues wagging. Besides, at this stage it is better to let him miss you a bit.”

Alex frowned. “I don’t like those kinds of games.”

Her aunt chuckled. “Darling, courtship is nothing but a game. And trust me, your mother and I know how to win.”

There was a thing or two Alex could say about that, given her current status as a spinster and Freddie’s slightly scandalous reputation.

Even Phoebe’s engagement to Will had come about through no parental involvement whatsoever.

But Alex decided to hold her tongue and took the seat to the right of her father, who was busy talking Lucien’s ear off.

She managed to catch his eye and shot him an apologetic look, to which he smiled in return.

Perhaps this was for the best, as Alex didn’t trust herself to sit beside him for another hour.

You must let me make it up to you.

Oh, she would enjoy that far too much. All the more reason to maintain strict boundaries where Lucien was concerned.

They had indulged in one lapse of judgment already and she was determined not to repeat the error.

Their physical attraction to each other was irrelevant and could only lead to complications.

Alex had dealt with such a situation once before and she very much did not wish to repeat the experience.

“When do you plan to see each other next?” Her father’s question interrupted her inappropriate train of thought.

“There’s a lecture on the latest archaeological practices at the Royal Geographical Society in two days’ time.”

Her father looked dubious. “Not exactly courtship material.”

“It is to me,” she said. And more important, it would offer no chance for them to be alone.

“And me,” Lucien added.

Alex looked over at him, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Father did not look pleased and was just about to reply when Mother leaned forward from the row behind them.

“Oh, Lucien, do come to the engagement ball next week. We would so love for you to attend. Wouldn’t we?” she added with a not-so-subtle look at Alex.

“Yes,” Alex replied. “We would.” She had completely forgotten about the blasted ball. Now she would need to be fitted for an uncomfortable gown, stay up far too late, and make small talk with dozens of people she did not like. She might even have to dance . Alex held back a shudder at the thought.

“I’d love to. It would be an honor,” Lucien answered just as the lights began to dim once again.

Alex couldn’t deny that the thought of Lucien attending brightened her outlook considerably. And that was a dangerous development.

“Now, pay attention,” her father hissed, gesturing to the stage. “I paid a lot of money for these tickets and I haven’t a clue what’s going on.”

“Yes, Father.”

Lucien shot her another smile and Alex returned it despite the warning gnawing inside her. For whatever this was between them could not be easily controlled. Not even by her. And if she gave in just a little, that would most definitely mean trouble.