Strapless. Leigh Riker

Four

      “Dylan Rafferty.”

      With a heavy sigh, Darcie came clean about her last-night lover. She sank gratefully onto a bench in Hyde Park that afternoon then stared down the allée of eucalyptus trees opposite the center fountain in front of her, not really seeing their silvery trunks or feathery branches. Not smelling their heady scent every time those limbs moved in the light breeze. Not hearing the splash of water, the twitter of birds. Not even responding to the name she’d finally uttered to Walt Corwin.

      “He farms sheep?”

      He’d been pressuring her all day. Hank Baxter in disguise.

      She said, “Like a million other Aussies with millions of sheep, yes.”

      Walt scowled harder. “And you just had to go to bed with him our first night in Sydney?”

      “Gee, I didn’t know you missed me.”

      “Very funny.”

      “I was off duty. You were brain dead from the trip, already asleep. WLI—Wunderthings—had no claim on me from 5:00 p.m. yesterday to nine this morning.”

      At which point she and Walt had met for a quick breakfast in the Westin club lounge before their morning meeting with a group of Aussie businessmen and representatives from city government, all of whom seemed concerned with a U.S. lingerie firm encroaching on New South Wales territory.

      “We’re trying to develop Australian business,” they said.

      “Yes. Australia is poised to become a world power, financially speaking,” Walt had agreed. “We can help. It’s time to bring one of America’s best-known and well-regarded corporations for women’s wear to this continent.”

      The word knickers kept coming up. And underpinnings.

      Odd. For most of the day, Darcie had wished for Dylan Rafferty’s presence—and not, this time, in bed. Maybe she could hire him as a translator.

      “We’re concerned, Mr. Corwin,” said the crisply dressed executive who seemed to head the group, “with preserving and creating Australian jobs.”

      “Wunderthings will bring more jobs.” Walt fumbled in his briefcase.

      Darcie came to his rescue. Swiftly, she handed out papers around the table. “I think you’ll find these projections mean serious revenue for Sydney.”

      Walt flashed her a look of naked gratitude. “And once we prove ourselves here, the rest of the country will benefit. Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne…”

      Well, that didn’t prove the right thing to say. Apparently, a great rivalry existed between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney. To the old-guard social set from Melbourne, Sydneysiders were merely a bunch of ex-convicts, as Dylan had implied. Upstarts, someone said.

      It had been a grueling meeting and Darcie hadn’t recovered yet.

      Worse, her feet hurt.

      At four o’clock she wanted nothing more than to slip off her shoes and rub her toes until they stopped cramping. Please. If it wasn’t one cramp for a woman, it was another. And just like a man, Walt had dragged her up and downhill the rest of the day, heedless of the fact that she was wearing heels. Chunky ones, yes. But Darcie could scream from the pressure on her insteps now. The canted incline of the streets had turned her mood from morning-after tingles, courtesy of Dylan Rafferty, to late-afternoon agony. At least she was wearing a cotton dress. Summer in January? She couldn’t hate that.

      “How many storefronts do you think we looked at today?” she asked.

      “Not enough.”

      “Walt, I think you’re taking the wrong approach.” When he glared at her, Darcie hastily added, “We are, I mean.” It wouldn’t do to offend him. Team Player Darcie at your service, Mr. Corwin. Sir. She reminded herself that she was a long way from home, and at least Walt spoke normal English. He didn’t murder his vowels and he didn’t lift his voice at the end of every sentence.

      Not that it wasn’t a charming effect coming from Dylan Rafferty. His “language lessons,” too.

      Was Walt really angry with her for staying out all night?

      Gee, she thought. I was only two floors down, practically underneath you. She shuddered at that image of Walt. Dylan Rafferty in bed was one thing…

      Too bad she’d never see him again.

      “Go on,” Walt said.

      “What?”

      “Say what’s on your mind.”

      I’d like to spend the night, for the next two weeks, with a sheep farmer.

      Yet it was Darcie who’d set their boundaries. No names. Then names but no plans for the future…even for tonight. “Let’s play it by ear,” whatever that meant. She was too tired to figure it out. Like the rest of her life.

      “You don’t think we should look at that place on Gloucester Walk?” Walt said.

      “Well, it’s trendy—”

      “The Rocks is one of the best neighborhoods in the city these days. Maybe it used to be a slum but no longer. We’re talking upscale with a vengeance. I don’t see how we could lose, Darce. It’s high traffic—”

      “Not on weekdays, and after five the restaurants get all the business.”

      “Your suggestion would be…?” His voice held an edge. Walt gazed down the eucalyptus allée, across Park Street, toward the Anzac Memorial. A flock of ibis strutted past to peck at a bed of marigolds.

      Careful, Darcie. Walk soft but carry a big stick.

      She shuddered when another spasm of pain shot through her instep.

      “Damn. I give up.” She yanked off her shoe, massaged, and groaned. “God, that’s better than sex.” Oops.

      “Must have been a great night with the sheep farmer.”

      “It was. But right now I need this even more.”

      Impatient, Walt got to his feet. He wasn’t limping and he didn’t have a run in his panty hose. Darcie straightened on the park bench then let him off the hook. Walt was a fine boss, a good mentor, and he’d been with Wunderthings from the start. But five years didn’t turn him into a woman—a woman on limited time these days with too many obligations to juggle.

      “From my research, I learned that Australian women are just now joining the rest of the world. It’s become an economic necessity. They used to be stay-at-home moms, but two wage earners are needed to pay the bills, just as in America, and no one has time to hike around looking for underwear, even in The Rocks.”

      “So?”

      “Our best stores in the U.S.—the majority of our branches—are where?”

      She knew she’d be wise to let him take the credit.

      “Malls,” Walt said, but as if he’d never heard the word before.

      “Right. Like the Barrack Street Mall, the Pitt Street Mall.” Darcie paused. “Any of them here are in the center of the action. They’d make shopping convenient, quick, accessible. Let’s look there.”

      He groaned. “My back’s killing me. Come on,” he said, “we have one more today. Then you can buy me dinner. Tomorrow we’ll try your idea.”

      “You have an expense account.”

      “So do you right now. It’s your turn.”

      Darcie hesitated. “You just want to keep an eye on me tonight, make sure I don’t have any fun.” No, that wasn’t wise, either. “I mean, get myself in trouble.”

      Walt shook his head. “With