Thrill Me, page 42
part #3 of Billionaire's Secrets Series
“How are you holding up?” I asked her, because I was aware that she had been feeling low over that guy she had told me about.
“Nothing’s changed. Everything’s the same. I’m still an idiot,” she said with a loud sigh and I pursed my lips together sympathetically. I knew exactly how she must have been feeling. I had practically gone through the same thing. Although, I hadn’t told her about that night in Rhett’s house. I didn’t feel the need to burden her with my own problems.
The phone at the cash register rang, interrupting us, and I picked it up and greeted the caller cheerily.
“Is this Heidi McNeil? Owner of Bread & Beans café?” the man at the other end of the line asked.
“Speaking,” I said, still cheerful.
“Hi! I’m Cormac, one of the organizers of the Brunswick Charity Ball, I was wondering if we could speak for a moment,” the man said in a pleasant voice. I hadn’t heard of this Charity Ball before and I was interested.
“Sure,” I said and placed a hand on my hip.
“As you might know already, Ms. McNeil, the BCB is an annual charity event which takes place on the eighth of May where we raise funds for a featured local charity,” he continued and I hummed a response of interest.
“We usually hire local caterers to take care of the food for the event, and based on the recommendations of all your happy customers, we are happy to tell you that we want your café to create a cake for the event,” he explained and I was already beaming from ear to ear.
“Are you serious?” I asked, smiling wide when I caught Lucia’s eye.
“Yes ma’am! Would you be able to do it? I know this is short notice and the event is only three days away,” he added but I was shaking my head.
“I’d be honored to do it, that’s enough time,” I said excitedly.
“That’s great Ms. McNeil. I’ll make note of it and email you the contract,” he said.
“A contract will not be required. I would like to donate the cake, no charge,” I said but the man was protesting.
“We always pay our caterers ma’am. We have generous funds from our patrons,” he said.
“Please accept it, Cormac. I cannot contribute with money at the moment, and I’d much rather donate the cake,” I protested back and finally, he relented.
“That is very generous of you Ms. McNeil., I will let the others know. Will you require help transporting the cake to the venue?” he asked.
“No need. I’ll figure something out. Thanks Cormac, you’ve made my day!” I said and he laughed in response.
After we talked for a few more moments and eventually he’d hung up the phone, I clapped my hands together and rushed to tell Lucia and Sophie. They were both excited to hear it as well.
“BCB! That is amazing, Heidi! Everyone who is anyone in Brunswick and from all over Georgia attend the event. You should see the beautiful dresses the women come in,” Sophie was gushing and giggling.
“I told him that I’d be bringing you two along,” I informed them and they were even more excited.
“We have to go shopping. Oh my God!” Sophie was saying, while Lucia and I hugged. It was an honor and a testament to how much the people in this town supported my business. I was in seventh heaven and had never felt more proud of myself.
“We also have a lot of work ahead of us. The event is in three days, and I’m thinking a four tiered Butterscotch cake with buttercream frosting,” I said and picked up a notepad from the counter beside me. I was already thinking of ideas, and writing down notes about the decoration.
“This is so exciting Heidi! We get to go to the ball!” Lucia and Sophie were still giggling over it and I smiled at them. My first few minutes of excitement and thrill had passed, and I was already wondering if Rhett Larkin was going to be at this event.
***
I steeped myself in the lavender scented bathwater and sipped cautiously from the glass of white wine in my hand. I needed a drink before I went to the event, because by now I was absolutely certain that Rhett was going to be there.
It was the last two hour countdown to the Ball and I had everything prepared. The final cake was a four tiered one, like I had initially planned, but every layer was a different flavor with a buttercream frosting over it. I had used a watercoloring technique with food colors to give the cake the look of a floral painting and had carefully handcrafted every purple and pink flower that went over it as decoration.
The end result looked stunning as I acknowledged it myself. After spending the past seventy-two hours working tirelessly on it, this had to be my best creation and I was proud of the achievement. Sophie’s brother who drove a van had generously offered to transport the cake to the venue and it had probably already arrived at its destination, and being carefully used as the centerpiece of the event. Just the thought of it put a smile on my face, but it didn’t take long for my mind to wander to Rhett again.
At an event like this, where all the wealthiest people of Georgia were going to gather, it was highly unlikely that Rhett wouldn’t be invited. Twice I nearly asked Lucia to do some snooping around and find out if my suspicions were correct, but I stopped myself in time. There would have to be a lot of explaining to do if I asked her about Rhett Larkin. She still had no idea that he was the guy I had told her about, and I wanted to keep it that way.
The wine I was drinking now was a form of strength-giver and a relaxation technique, as was the bath. I hadn’t seen or heard from Rhett in over a week, nearly ten days, and even though we had spent so much time apart by now, I was still thinking about him. The distance hadn’t made any difference. He was still the guy I had fallen so madly in love with…over a span of just a few days. The trouble was that he lived in my town. I was always wondering if he was just around the corner, if he was going to pass by the café today, or if he had seen me from across the street and avoided me. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and it had been driving me nuts.
And now being sure of the fact that he was going to be there at the Ball was even more nerve wracking. I didn’t want him to see it on my face…how much I missed him; how badly I had fallen for his lies and his games.
After I had soaked myself in the bath for close to an hour, I pulled myself out of the water and slowly dried myself off. Back in the bedroom, I stared at the shopping I had done at the last minute. I had gone out of my way to buy things that I wouldn’t normally ever wear. That I would never have a reason to. But both Lucia and Sophie had insisted when we went shopping together that morning that I get them. And besides, they seemed to know what they were talking about.
The dress was a long chiffon black gown with trimmings of sheer lace. The cleavage on that dress was going to be very deep, my arms were going to be bare and all my curves were going to be heavily accentuated. Sophie seemed to think that I looked beautiful and Lucia agreed. The shoes were satin black stilettos, as was the matching clutch that had been bought as well. For my makeup, Sophie had suggested that I go with a bold lip, to contrast with the otherwise black outfit.
I’d bought a firetruck red lipstick for this occasion, which I knew I’d never wear again. I had planned on styling my hair into a near bun, with just a few strands of loose soft curls framing my face.
I stared at the clothes on the bed for a long time, biting down on my lip hard, still debating whether all of this was going to be worth it. Even though I had convinced myself that I was going through all this effort because this was a big event, I knew that I was also doing this because Rhett was going to be there. Not that I ever wanted to put myself through that again. I was never going to speak to him, but deep down inside, I wanted him to look at me with the hopes that he would maybe look at me the way I always looked at him.
I shook my head to drive those thoughts of Rhett out of my head. I was being foolish again. I was allowing myself to go tender. The plan was to stand up to him, stand up to my attraction to him and never fall for his games again. I knew now exactly what Rhett was about. He was about getting what he wanted. I wasn’t going to let him win again.
I stripped myself of the towel around my torso, stepped into the beautiful and dainty gown and walked over to look at myself in the mirror. I could now see what Lucia and Sophie had seen earlier that day, a strong confident young woman. That was the self I had to channel through the night. Keep reminding myself that I was there because of my success as a baker and a businesswoman, not to grieve over the loss of a man!
I brushed my curls and continued looking at myself in the mirror. The longer I looked, the more headstrong I got. The more I believed in myself and my purpose. I would rather remain single all my life, than ever speak to that man again.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Rhett
I was in the middle of shaking someone’s hand when I first saw Heidi walk into the museum lobby that I had hired for the Brunswick Charity Ball. She hadn’t noticed me yet, but I had kept my eye out for her.
My heart stopped beating for a moment and my neck under the collar of my perfectly starched, white, cotton shirt grew hot. Heidi looked resplendent, and I hadn’t even noticed her dress yet. It could have been because I hadn’t seen her in several days, ten to be precise, but she looked even more beautiful. Her dress, when I looked more closely, was gorgeous, her hair was shining, her lips were a bright red and her green eyes travelled around the lobby.
Two girls, who I recognized to be employees at her café, caught her eye and she walked hurriedly towards them. I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her, even though the man who I had shaken hands with was saying something to me now.
Heidi was in the midst of talking animatedly with the girls. She smiled from time to time, which felt like tiny heartbreaks for me. I couldn’t just go up and speak with her. I feared that she might slap me, or just push me away. More than that, I was afraid of hurting her. It was essential now that I kept my distance. Especially since she had no idea that I was the one organizing the event, that it was my brother who had called her about the cake and that I had tricked her into coming here.
I watched her from the corner of the lobby, surrounded by business associates as she accepted a glass of champagne from a server. I squinted to see more clearly the way she puckered her lips as she held the glass to her mouth. The mouth I had tasted, the lips I had kissed, the neck I had licked. Her breasts were voluptuous in that dress. Her cleavage looked tight and scrambling to peep out of the confines of her tight bodice. Heidi was the sexiest thing in that room and I had noticed the number of heads that had already turned to look at her.
I knew it from the first moment I’d met her. There was something special about that woman. Without having any knowledge of it, Heidi had a way of making a man’s blood glow red hot. She did something to my body just from watching her from this distance. She was absolutely stunning, and I had an advantage over the other men in that room. I had made love to her already. I had heard the sound of her genuine laugh. I had heard all her secrets and hugged her tightly in my arms.
What I would have given to speak to her at that moment! Just have her eyes on me. See her smile, at me. But Heidi hadn’t seen me yet.
Her eyes were still roaming around the place. Was she looking for me? She couldn’t have been. I knew she despised me. After the tumultuous relationship she had with Jake, and her insistence that she never did one night stands, it was obvious that she hated me now. She would never speak to me again. So, who was she looking for then?
I tried to keep myself hidden in the group I was standing with just so that I could have a few more minutes of watching her without detection. But as I stared at her, she turned her head slightly and our eyes met from across the room.
It felt like the world was standing still. Nobody else in the room existed other than the two of us. Her eyes grew larger, but she held my gaze. Her lips were firmly pressed together; she looked worried. I was aware of the grim, dark expression on my face. But I couldn’t change it. I couldn’t help but allow her to see just how much I wanted her and the effect she had on my body.
Then she rolled her eyes and looked away, smiling at one of the girls in the next instance. It was a clear message that she wanted to have nothing to do with me. My suspicions were correct. I was going to have to keep my distance from her. The last thing I wanted was for Heidi to storm out of the event without seeing the end.
At the other side of the room, I saw Cormac leave my mother’s side and weave through the crowds towards Heidi. What was he doing? Having him talk to Heidi was not a part of the plan.
He had come back to Brunswick just four days ago from his holiday in Spain and I told him everything. Even though Cormac was four years younger than me, only twenty-five, I felt that he had the right to know what was going on. I needed him to live with mom till Massimo left town. And while I came clean to him about everything else, I told him about Heidi as well. Now that I had admitted to myself what I really felt for her, I found that I couldn’t stop talking about her. I wanted to tell the whole world how I felt.
I watched as Cormac approached her. I wanted to yell out to him to stop what he was doing, that he would ruin everything, but I couldn’t.
From the corner of my eye, I watched someone else enter the room. Massimo, in a formal shirt and mismatched pants with his hair greasy and slicked back as always. He looked confused and tried to find me in the crowd, but he was the other person I was going to have to avoid for the night. Both Heidi and Massimo had been invited here for a reason and nothing was going to come in my way now.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Heidi
For a second, I thought it was Rhett walking towards me. The man had the same icy blue eyes, and similar dark, spiky hair. This guy was more muscular though, probably the same height as Rhett and I could see he was grinning at me. Deep dimples indented both his cheeks as he weaved through the crowds towards me. He was dressed in a smart tuxedo, and I was feeling very confused because I didn’t think there could be someone else who was as good looking as Rhett!
“Heidi McNeil?” he said, when he approached me. Lucia and Sophie turned to look at him too, and I saw the effect he had on the two girls.
“Yes?” I said, still feeling confused.
“Hi, I’m Cormac. We spoke on the phone,” he said and extended his hand to me.
“Oh, yes, of course. We’ve never met before,” I replied, blushing, and I shook his hand. Gently, he tugged at my hand till we were standing to the side, and Lucia and Sophie turned away to talk amongst themselves.
“That is a gorgeous cake. You’ve gone above and beyond,” he said and looked at the cake in the center of the room, which as we spoke, was being admired by a group of people. I blushed again, caught off guard by this guy’s good looks and his compliments. And I also couldn’t help but have that nagging feeling that he was somehow related to Rhett.
“Thank you very much. It was my pleasure,” I said and I sensed that he was searching my eyes.
“Ms. McNeil…Heidi, can I call you Heidi?” he asked and I nodded. “I believe you know my brother,” he said and immediately I knew what he was talking about. He didn’t have to hint at it again, for me to know he was Rhett’s brother. I felt my muscles stiffen, my shoulders quiver…I’d seen Rhett already from across the room, and I had resolved to keep my distance.
“You said that you were one of the organizers of the event,” I said to him gruffly and Cormac smiled. His dimples grew deeper on his cheeks and I noticed how sharp his brows were, just as sharp as his jaw. The brothers were too good looking to be true.
“I am both,” he replied, and I felt my nostrils flare.
“So, Rhett and you are the organizers of this Ball?” I asked and whipped my head around from him. My eyes automatically searched the crowds for Rhett, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, technically, my brother is the organizer. He paid for the venue and the food and the decorations. I’ve been helping him,” Cormac said, and when I turned back to him, I saw that he was smiling at me.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I said and clasped my hands together. I was beginning to feel helpless now. It felt like Rhett was doing everything in his power to make me miserable. Wasn’t it enough that he had just disappeared from my life? Pushed me away.
“Rhett wanted you to attend the Ball,” Cormac said, in a kind voice and I rolled my eyes.
“Why? As some kind of compensation prize?” I said, and I could hear the venom in my own voice. I was embarrassed for being fooled by him again.
“No, because there are things he would have liked to say to you himself, but he couldn’t,” Cormac continued and I rolled my eyes.
“So, he sent his younger brother to do it for him? What did he have to say? He’s so very sorry for using me? He wishes me well and hopes I have a good rest of my life?” I was hissing now, leaning closer to Cormac as I spoke.
Cormac took in a deep breath and looked away from me. It seemed like he was searching for Rhett in the crowd as well.
“I can see why Rhett has been obsessing over you, but you have to give him a chance,” he said, turning back to me again. Obsessing over me? The word rang in my ear like a drum, and I almost buckled at my knees. But I managed to hold myself steady and stuck my chin up in the air. I had my armor on against the charm of the Larkin brothers and I wasn’t going to fall for their tricks again.
“I don’t have to do anything. Not after the way he behaved with me. You’re only wasting your time, trying to clean up your brother’s mess,” I said and the lights in the lobby of the museum dimmed. Cormac had drawn closer to me and there was a bright, overhead light now being directed on the small, makeshift stage at the end of the lobby. My brows crossed and I was confused again. What was going on?
“You’re mistaken about my brother, Heidi. You’ve got it all wrong,” I heard Cormac say in my ear and then when I turned, he was already gone. I saw his back, weaving through the crowds again. I couldn’t see Lucia or Sophie either, and I was now standing by myself with a glass of champagne in my hand, surrounded by people I didn’t know.
