Natalie Anderson - Mr Right All Along

Zac’s hand was back on her elbow. ‘Come on, let’s mingle.’

She could do that on her own. Yet she went with him as if that was the most important thing she had to do tonight.

Zac groaned inwardly. He should be running for the exit and not looking back. Standing beside Olivia as she charmed everyone within sight was sending him bonkers with need. Every time she moved even a single muscle he’d swear he inhaled her scent. She moved almost nonstop, even when standing in one spot, her face alive, with those lips constantly forming belly-tightening smiles while her eyes sparkled. Her free hand flipped up and down, then out between her and her audience, and back in against her gorgeous body, expressive at every turn.

While one of his hands was shoved deep into his pocket to keep from touching her, the other gripped a glass tight. His feet were glued to the carpet, and his face hopefully impassive. Letting anyone, especially CC, know what he was thinking and feeling would be catastrophic. He’d never hear the end of it from Paul either. The guy stood with them, his gaze flitting between him and Olivia with a crafty glint that made Zac uncomfortable.

A waiter was approaching with a tray laden with glasses. Zac drained his sparkling water and replaced it with champagne. To hell with not drinking. He needed something stronger than H2O, bubbles or not. ‘Thanks.’ He nodded at the waiter, which was a waste of time.

The guy was too busy gaping at Olivia, the tray on his outstretched fingers getting quite a tilt. ‘Ma’am,’ the young man croaked.

Totally understanding the poor guy’s reaction, Zac tapped the tray. ‘Hey, buddy, watch those glasses.’

Olivia swapped her empty glass for a full one, nodded at the waiter, and looked around the room as she gulped a mouthful of water.

Zac saw some of the tension in her neck ease off a notch. Being a perfectionist, CC didn’t do relaxing very well, and tonight she was coiled tighter than a snake about to strike.

‘Time to start the auction,’ Olivia said in a sudden gap of the conversation. ‘I think everyone must be here by now.’

‘Good idea,’ Paul said. ‘Make the most of this amazing atmosphere.’ He nodded at the crowd talking and laughing.

‘Why don’t we hold up the articles being auctioned while Gary’s man deals with the financial side?’ Zac led the way through the throng to the podium.

Olivia nodded, picked up the mic. ‘Okay, everyone, can I have your attention?’

Nope. Not happening. If anything, the noise level seemed to increase. Zac reached for the mic, touching the back of her hand as he did so. Soft, warm, different Olivia. His mouth dried. It wasn’t too late. He could still run away. And then what? Spend the night thinking about Olivia and coming up with a hundred questions about her?

Clearing his throat, he spoke loudly and clearly into the mic. ‘Quiet, please.’ The conversations petered out as everyone turned to face him. He wanted to crack a joke but doubted he could pull it off with this tight band strangling his throat. If only Olivia would move away and let him breathe. Finally he started talking and slowly got his voice back to normal. ‘We are about to start the auction so take a seat. Gary is our auctioneer and we want him to be able see each and every one of you, so even if you scratch your knee he can take it as a bid.’

As the bidding got under way Olivia’s tension climbed back up. ‘Relax,’ he told her. ‘This is going to be amazing, you’ll see.’

She turned worried eyes on him. ‘How can you be so certain? What if we barely raise enough money to get Andy a one-way ticket to the States?’ Her teeth nibbled her bottom lip.

Olivia didn’t do nibbling. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed gently. ‘I believe in you, that’s how.’

Her eyes widened, her chin tipped forward. ‘Truly?’ she squeaked.

‘Truly.’ He did. He realised that through the years they’d been training to become surgeons he mightn’t have noticed how sexy she was but he had known of her determination never to fail. Perhaps he hadn’t learned much more about her during their affair but this was still Olivia, the same woman who’d qualified as an excellent plastic surgeon. Only now he saw how much she cared for their friends. Olivia was a big marshmallow, really, and he liked marshmallows.

‘Thanks.’

‘Olivia? So do all the people in this room. That’s why they’re here.’

He felt a responding squeeze where her hand was wound around his. ‘You say the nicest things,’ she whispered, before pulling free and turning to face the now-quiet room.

She’d been flip in her tone and yet it didn’t bother him. That was Olivia covering her real feelings. He was beginning to see she was an expert at doing that. Come to think about it, she’d always shut him up with a kiss whenever he’d started to talk about anything personal. What was she hiding? Who was Olivia Coates-Clark? The real CC?

As Zac picked up the envelope to be auctioned, which contained a week in a timeshare bure in Fiji, he knew he was getting into trouble. Forget quietening the itch. Now he had to fight the need to get to know all about Olivia, right from when she’d lost her first tooth to what her idea was of a dream holiday.

The bidding was fast and furious, with plenty of people vying to buy the first offering. In the end Paul outbid everyone, paying enough to send a dozen folks to Fiji rather than the two that the deal covered.

‘That’s auctions for you,’ Zac whispered to Olivia as at last she began smiling.

‘It’s not about what they’re bidding for, is it?’

‘Nope. It’s all about the man sitting at that table with his wife and kids, looking like hell and pretending otherwise.’ Andy looked shocked, actually. Probably because of the ridiculous amount Paul had bid.

Olivia nudged him. ‘We’re not a bad bunch, are we?’

‘Apart from opinionated, hardworking, and overly comfortable with our lot, you mean?’ He grinned at her.

‘I’d like to think more along the lines of caring, hardworking, and overly focused on helping others.’ She grinned back.

His stomach clenched. That grin, that mouth … oh, man. I’ve missed her so much. Not just the sex. He’d liked being with her too, even if only while they’d ridden the elevator to the apartment she’d rented then, and before they’d fallen into bed.

‘What are we auctioning next?’ he growled, needing to get back on an even keel.

‘The weekend on your luxury yacht. If you’re at the helm that should attract a lot of female bidders.’ Her grin only grew.

‘The ladies here are all taken.’ Except you. Zac sighed when one of the partners in the surgical practice where he worked bought the weekend excursion. The man wasn’t easy to get along with, and now he’d have to spend two days holed up in a yacht with him and his whole family.

‘You’re being uncharitable,’ Olivia whispered beside his ear.

‘I didn’t say a word.’

‘There was a brief wincing and tightening of your mouth when the hammer hit the podium.’ She laughed. ‘That man paid a small fortune for the pleasure of going sailing with you.’

‘He did, and I’ll make sure he has a fantastic time.’

Gary had the crowd in the palm of his hand now, and the bidding went through the roof for everything from a painting of a seagull hovering over a beach to a meal at a restaurant down at the Viaduct Harbour.

Zac watched Olivia every time the gavel hit the podium. Her eyes were getting brighter and brighter. ‘We’re killing it,’ she whispered at one point.

‘Says the woman who was worried this wouldn’t work,’ he retorted. The more she smiled the more she relaxed, and the more beautiful she was. Zac felt his heart soften even further towards her. So he sucked in his stomach and hardened himself against her. Mentally, that was.