Katherine Garbera - Billion-Dollar Baby Bargain / The Moretti Arrangement

Victoria shook her head, not trusting her voice.

“No.” Connor North clearly didn’t suffer from the same affliction.

“Connor, meet Suzy’s oldest friend, Victoria Sutton.” Michael gave her an easy smile. “Despite his reputation, Connor won’t bite.”

Victoria wasn’t so sure. Connor North looked capable of doing a lot worse than biting.

“Victoria is a partner at ACE,” Michael informed Connor.

Victoria knew she should be grateful for the punt, because she should be doing everything she could to land his very lucrative account.

Instead, when Connor gave her the opportunity of a lifetime by asking, “The accounting firm?” she could only manage a nod, not trusting her voice. Her stomach, thankfully, seemed to have recovered from the tumbling sensation that had shaken her when she had first looked into his eyes.

Bridget Edge, managing partner of Archer, Cameron & Edge Accounting, would be horrified to see her now. Faced with the opportunity of a lifetime, Victoria couldn’t think of anything vaguely professional to say. All she could think of was getting as far away from the man as she could. He made her feel…the best word she could come up with was… unsettled.

Still prickling with a mix of apprehension and a weird kind of tingling sensation, Victoria allowed Suzy to shepherd her up the stone stairs into the church while Michael disappeared to put her suitcase in his car.

Inside the church a group of elderly ladies busily arranging white lilies and pristine long-stemmed roses in tall flower stands greeted Suzy with cries of delight. When Michael returned there were chirps about how fortunate he was to be marrying Suzy, and Victoria saw Connor North’s mouth turn down at the corners.

He didn’t want Michael to marry Suzy!

The realization rocked Victoria. How could anyone disapprove of dear, sweet Suzy?

For the next fifteen minutes Michael smiled indulgently while Suzy cheerfully ordered everyone around and Connor grew increasingly remote.

His phone rang six times while Suzy talked nonstop. Each time, Connor pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, glanced at it, then let it continue to ring.

Victoria could feel herself growing tenser as Connor’s disapproving silence continued, and she was ready to scream by the time Suzy called a halt, finally satisfied that the groom, the groomsman and the maid of honor knew what was expected of them.

“I want tomorrow to be perfect.” Suzy dimpled a smile at Victoria and moved on to include Connor, too. “Michael and I just want to thank the church ladies for the wonderful job they’ve done with the flowers, then we’ll meet you outside.”

“We’ve been dismissed.” Connor gave a grimace that Victoria supposed passed for a smile and stood aside for her to walk ahead of him up the aisle.

Conscious of him stalking behind her, Victoria increased her pace.

As they neared the vestibule his phone rang again. He checked it and this time said, “Excuse me, Verity, I have to take this call.”

Victoria pursed her lips. “Victoria.”

Connor North stared at her blankly with all the interest of someone examining a moth on the wall. It did nothing to endear him to her. She’d been away on an audit all week. She was hot, tired and he had her in such a tizz, while he barely knew she existed.

“Victoria,” she repeated tersely. “My name is Victoria.”

His gaze raked her and Victoria became aware that her white blouse was creased from the flight, that her long, straight black skirt clung to her hips and must make her look like a scrawny scarecrow. She ran her fingers past her ears, through her hair, and was relieved to find that the shoulder-length bob was as sleek as ever.

“Sure.” Connor shrugged dismissively, and turned away to answer his cell phone.

Victoria followed slowly as he strode out of the church, knowing she ought to care that he’d seen her annoyance. After all, he would be an A-list client. But did she want to deal with him?

No, she decided.

In fact, she could think of nothing worse.

Verity, indeed! Clearly all women were interchangeable in his mind. Like gray cats in the night…

Startled, she pulled her thoughts up short. Where had that come from? There was no chance she would ever be one of Connor North’s gray cats. Although his women would be far from gray. No doubt he was the kind of man who went for decorative, desirable D-cups.

A rueful downward glance reminded her that she would be no contender.

Skinny. Beanstalk. Swot. Four-eyes. She had to remind herself that the ugly labels were no longer true, and that only Suzy knew that pathetic creature had ever existed. It was ancient history. In the past. Now she held a partnership in a well-respected accounting firm. No one could take that away from her. She’d fought for it, not allowing cruel, childish taunts or her neglectful parents to roadblock her journey to success…and independence.

Forcing herself not to dwell on the old, self-destructive memories, Victoria fixed a bright smile to her face as she stepped through the carved church doors to the vestibule where Connor paced, his cell phone glued to his ear. She let the scent of lavender hedges in the courtyard outside swirl around her, and slowly serenity returned.

“Michael and Suzy have booked a table to take us to dinner,” she told Connor when his call ended, in case he planned to bolt off on a hot date, forgetting all about the bridal couple.

His mouth flattened. “I’m quite sure Michael and Suzy would prefer to spend a quiet evening together before the rush of tomorrow’s wedding.”

Why hadn’t she thought of that?

As they started down the stone steps that led to the courtyard, Victoria noticed with surprise that Connor dwarfed her. It wasn’t often that a man made her feel downright dainty.

In the courtyard Suzy and Michael caught up to them. After tomorrow Victoria knew their friendship would never be the same again. A sense of loss filled her, yet she’d never seen Suzy look happier.

She remembered Connor’s clever suggestion. “Wouldn’t the two of you prefer to have dinner alone tonight?”

Suzy dumped a basket of hymn books into Victoria’s arms. “Here, you’ll need to give these to the ushers to hand out tomorrow at the door. And of course we want to take the two of you out—we’ll have the rest of our lives to spend alone together.” Suzy gave Michael a bittersweet smile and Victoria wondered if he, too, had seen the shadows in Suzy’s eyes as she spoke…or knew the reason for them.

The way he put an arm across Suzy’s shoulders and pulled her close suggested he did. “Victoria, you’re Suzy’s oldest friend, and Connor’s the closest thing I’ve got to a brother. It will be great for the four of us to have dinner together.”

Michael was so nice, Victoria decided. Maybe Suzy hadn’t made a mistake. About to give Michael a grateful smile for setting to rest the doubts that Connor had raised, Victoria paused as she intercepted the glacial look Connor shot Michael.

What was that about?

Yet Michael, bless him, smiled in the face of Connor’s icy disapproval. He clapped a hand on his best man’s shoulder and leant forward to murmur something that caused Connor’s pale eyes to flare with suppressed emotion as he shot Victoria a look of intense dislike.

What had she done to deserve that? The unexpected unease he’d already roused in her coalesced into a hard ball of antipathy.

As Michael went to fetch his car, Suzy added, “After dinner I’m going home—alone.” She winked suggestively at Victoria. “I told Michael it’s unlucky for him to see the bride before the wedding and I’m determined not to do anything that might tip the scales against us.”