Once Upon A Kiss.... Оливия Гейтс

more stupid than if they’d been in a normal relationship.

      Shame he wasn’t capable of a normal relationship. Two failed marriages didn’t leave too much doubt about that.

      He descended the stairs and went out to the garden. Voices called out, “Sinclair, how lovely to see you! It’s been such a long time.” Scented kisses covered his cheeks and he was forced to make fluff conversation about how his business was doing. Happily, neither of his ex-wives was there, but several of their close friends were. No doubt his mother considered them potential future wives. She was nothing if not determined.

      “Would you like a glass of white wine?” Annie’s soft voice made him whip around.

      “Iced tea would be fine, thanks.” The words sounded so inadequate, so laughable, after what had happened between them. A pang of regret stabbed him as she moved silently away to get his drink. He’d made things so awkward with a lovely woman who deserved to be treated with respect, not stripped naked by a man who couldn’t control his basest urges.

      “You’re up first, Sinclair.” His mother, beaming and looking happier and healthier than he’d seen her in ages, thrust a mallet into his hand. She loved parties and was never happier than when entertaining. Of course she wasn’t a true Drummond. She’d married into the family, or she might have shared the taste for solitude that so annoyed her in his father and himself. None of the other Drummonds she’d tried to contact about the cup had bothered to respond. He wouldn’t have either if she wasn’t his own mother.

      Annie returned with his drink. “Oh, you’re playing now. Maybe I’d better hold on to it for you.” Her lashes were a dark gold color that turned darker at the root near her pale blue eyes. Her hand hovered, waiting to see if he’d take the drink. His groin tightened and heated as a memory flashed over him—of the lush, curvy body hidden beneath her loose-fitting clothes.

      “I’ll take it now.” He grabbed the glass rather roughly, afraid he’d somehow betray the fever of arousal that suddenly gripped him. All he needed was her lingering somewhere nearby, drink in hand, while he attempted to tap a wooden ball around the lawn.

      “We haven’t seen you out here in ages, Sinclair. If your family hadn’t owned the place since biblical times I’d worry you were going to sell.” A sleek brunette he recognized from the yacht club held her drink up near her ear as a smile hovered around her glossy lips.

      “Couldn’t do that. The ancestors would rise up and haunt me.”

      “We’re doing teams.” His mother rushed over. “Sinclair, why don’t you team up with Lally.” She gestured toward the brunette, who murmured that she’d love to.

      Sinclair’s heart sank. Why couldn’t people leave him alone? Now Lally would be offended if he didn’t flirt with her vigorously enough, and again when he failed to ask her out. Or, if he did ask her out from a sense of duty, she’d be upset when he didn’t want to sleep with her. Maybe he should sleep with her right here and get it over with.

      His flesh recoiled from the possibility. “Sure. Why don’t you start?” He handed his partner the mallet, and she handed him her drink to hold. It looked like Annie’s famous Long Island iced tea, a shot of every white liquor plus a splash of Coke for color. It tasted deceptively sweet and was utterly lethal. He contemplated downing it in one gulp.

      “Oh, no, we’re short a hand.” His mom rushed around, stabbing in the air with her finger as she counted the assembled guests. “Philip canceled at the last minute with a toothache.”

      Lucky Philip. No doubt he’d found something better to do than be clawed over by single girls with ticking biological clocks.

      “How’s your hedge fund doing in this market?” The brunette, Lally, attempted to look interested. He launched into his standard dinner-party-conversation reply, leaving the rest of his mind free to wonder what about her made his mom see her as third-wife material. She was pretty, mid-twenties, slim as a kebab prong. All things his mom found essential. Personally he preferred a woman with some curves to hold on to, but apparently that wasn’t fashionable anymore. Her teeth looked like Chiclets, or maybe that was an effect of her ultrawide smile and overglossed lips.

      “Wow, that’s so cool. It must be wonderful to be good with numbers.”

      His mom flapped toward him. “Darling, have you seen Annie? We need her to make up the last team.”

      Sinclair stiffened. “She can’t have gone far.” She was probably hiding in the pantry, trying to avoid getting roped into this charade. Since when did anyone over ten play croquet, anyway? “She’s probably busy.”

      “Nonsense. I had everything catered and people can help themselves to drinks. I’ll go find her.”

      Sinclair swallowed and returned his attention to Lally, who’d moved so close he was in danger of being suffocated by her expensive scent. He resisted the urge to recoil. “What do you do?” This was usually a good question to keep someone talking for a while.

      She threw her head back slightly. “It’s rather a revolutionary idea, actually.” She looked about, as if worried someone might overhear and steal it, but with a big smile like she was hoping they would. “I host Botox parties. You know, where people come and have their cares smoothed away.”

      Genuine horror provoked Sinclair’s curiosity. “You mean where people come and have a neurotoxin injected into their face?”

      She laughed. “It’s absolutely harmless in small doses, otherwise I’d be dead, wouldn’t I?”

      Sinclair blinked. “You’ve used Botox? You can’t be a day over twenty-five.”

      She winked conspiratorially. “Twenty-nine, but don’t tell a soul. I’m living proof that the product works.” He couldn’t resist staring at her forehead, which was smooth as the backside of his titanium laptop. “Still think it’s crazy?”

      “Absolutely.” He had a violent urge to get as far away from Lally as possible, but politeness demanded that he survive this round of croquet first.

      “You should invest. I’m going to be taking the company public some time next year. Of course, my main goal is to get bought out by a …” She rambled on, but his attention shifted to the sudden appearance of Annie. His mom had hooked her arm around Annie’s and pulled her onto the lawn. Annie looked rather startled and, he noted with alarm, teary-eyed. Was she okay? Her nose was red as if she’d been crying.

      “You don’t need to know the rules. Just follow along. Your team will go last so you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out, and Dwight will be happy to explain anything you miss, won’t you, Dwight?” The tall, sandy-haired male with whom Sinclair had shared a long-ago sailing holiday agreed effusively. Jealousy kicked Sinclair in the gut.

      “Are you okay?” He couldn’t help asking her.

      Annie looked up with a start. “Sure, I’m fine.” She spoke quickly, her voice rather high. “It’s allergies. They’re terrible at this time of year.”

      He frowned. He didn’t remember her having allergies, but no doubt that was just one of the many things he didn’t know about her.

      “Sinclair, we’re up first.” The feel of soft fingers on his back made him flinch. Lally tugged him up to the start. “You should watch so you see where the ball goes.” Her vigorous tap sent the ball flying through the first hoop and raised a smatter of applause from the gathered crowd. Lally turned to him beaming, which, he noticed, had no effect on any other part of her face than her mouth. He handed her drink back to her, partly to ease the temptation of knocking it back to dull the pain of being there.

      He snuck a glance over her shoulder at Annie. Her eyes had dried and she was engaged in conversation with Dwight about something very entertaining, at least judging from the way she kept laughing. His muscles tightened. What could Dwight be saying that was so funny? He didn’t remember him being such a wit. He strained to hear their conversation, but couldn’t make out a word of it over