Page 39 of No Mistress Of Mine

Denys stared at the man seated beside him, unable to believe Jack could ask such a question. “Lola’s back. She’s here,” he added, as his friend merely grinned. “In London.”

“I heard you. No need to keep reiterating the point.” Jack faced him, settling back against the arm of his chair, drink in hand. “But I’m not sure how it signifies.”

Denys proceeded to explain, but even after he’d offered an account of the past week’s events—carefully edited, of course—Jack’s amusement wasn’t dimmed in the slightest. “By Jove, Denys, what a lucky chap you are.”

“Lucky?”

“Yes. You’re a bachelor, and you’re in business with a beautiful, desirable woman. What single man wouldn’t think himself fortunate in such circumstances?”

“This one,” Denys assured him, and took up the port decanter to refill his glass. “I’d prefer the devil for a partner. Not,” he added glumly, “that there’s much of a difference in this case.”

“It’ll be a difficult transition at first, no doubt,” Nick said from his other side, as Denys passed him the decanter. “You’ll be dealing with someone who isn’t halfway around the world, allowing you to make all the decisions on your own.”

“That’s not my objection.”

“Then what is?”

“She has this notion we should make peace. Bury the past and work together. As colleagues.” He paused for a swallow of port. “God, what a notion.”

Nick shrugged. “Is it so absurd?”

James saved Denys from having to answer by pulling the bottle from Nick’s hand. Clearly feeling that along with the port came the opportunity to offer an opinion, he offered his.

“Why can’t you work together?” he asked as he poured himself more port. “Lola’s approach seems quite sensible to me.”

“Sensible?” Denys couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Sensible?”

“It is, rather,” Stuart put in as he took the port from James. “You’re partners in a very lucrative enterprise, and you can’t conduct its business without her, at least not without strong-arm tactics and legal wrangling. What happened between you was a long time ago. You’ve both gone on with your lives and gotten over it.” Stuart paused in refilling his glass, his gray eyes meeting Denys’s across the table. “Haven’t you?”

“Of course we have.” As he spoke, he strove to keep his expression neutral. The last thing he needed was for his friends to perceive his desire for Lola wasn’t quite as over as he’d wanted to believe. “There are no romantic considerations here.”

“Well, there you are.” Stuart set the port beside Jack and leaned back in his chair. “Anyone going to Ascot in June?”

Several assents were voiced and one or two horses mentioned before Denys could get a word in. “Damn it, gentlemen, I don’t want to discuss Ascot. I’m in the devil of a mess, and I’d appreciate some suggestions on how to get out of it.”

“I don’t see what you can do,” Stuart reiterated. “Unless you sell your shares, I’m not sure you have any way out of this, and why should you want one? Why does it matter?”

Denys didn’t have the chance to reply.

“It seems we’re back to my original question,” Jack said. “What’s the problem?”

“Lola is the problem.” Denys glanced around the table, noting in bafflement their unenlightened stares. “Lola, the woman all of us—Stuart excepted—were once infatuated with. The very woman Nick was so enamored with that he tried to steal her away from me at one time, as I recall.”

“You mean I tried to steal her back,” Nick clarified, grinning at him. “Since I’m the one who introduced you to her in the first place.”

“We both introduced them,” Jack corrected.

“Either way,” Nick resumed, “I failed. Even after all my invitations to dinner, my offers of expensive champagne, and my wittiest, most charming conversation, I cut no ice with her. For some inexplicable reason, she chose you instead. But Jack and I knew her first, so if anyone did the stealing, Denys, it was you.”

“That’s codswallop,” Denys denied, feeling defensive all of a sudden. “You just admitted you cut no ice with her. And Jack didn’t either. So don’t tell me I stole her because she never belonged to either of you.”

“I’m not sure Lola could ever belong to any man,” Jack interjected with a laugh. “From what I recall, she always seemed very much in possession of her own heart and mind. I suspect that’s what made her so fascinating.”

“A characteristic which also makes her a poor prospect as a business partner,” Denys pointed out, hoping they could steer clear of any discussion of Lola’s more fascinating aspects.

“Why should it?” Nick asked. “Because the pair of you will see things differently? You’ll disagree? Fight?”

“Yes, exactly. Partners need to be in accord.”

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