Escaping Mr Right

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Nick Savage was like the human incarnation of a heat-seeking missile.

Unfortunately, his target was me. Always, always, me.

I swear I'd only been alone at the champagne bar for one minute and twenty seconds before Nick locked on to my location, at which point I estimated it would take him five seconds to hit his target. Sadly, that didn't give me enough time to throw myself overboard. It was barely enough time to assume the brace position, ready for impact – switching my regular aloof smile to full-scale hands-off mode, and layering on an extra coating of frost.

As it turned out, it took Nick a whole ten seconds to get to me – but only because he'd lost five seconds de-clinging a buxom brunette from his arm.

He reached around me to take a pre-poured glass of champagne off the bar. 'On your own, Chloe. Why?' As if being on a massive cruiser in the middle of Sydney Harbour, with a whole rugby league team and a gaggle of hangers-on, could truly be classified as 'on your own'.

I raised my eyebrows at him, aloof smile intact. 'Because I wanted to be on my own.'

'Ouch! Poor Marcus.'

And there went my smile. 'Poor Mar–? Oh for God's –! I was not suggesting I needed to get away from –' Stop. Right there. Because Nick knew exactly what I was suggesting. Which had nothing to do with Marcus and everything to do with him. 'That is so funny, Nick. I almost can't contain my hilarity.'

'Oh, go on, let it out,' he said, oh-so indulgently. 'Repression never did anyone any good.'

'Ha, ha, h–. Oh, wait a minute.' I paused, did a little faux yawn. 'Now where was I? Oh, yes: Ha.'

'There now, doesn't that feel better?'

I regarded him with hostility. 'What I find interesting is that you're here on your own. I thought we were all invited with partners today.'

He made a tsk tsk sound that had my palm itching to slap. 'Now, Chloe, I'm sure you've read today's papers, good journalist that you are, and that means you already know Amanda and I are history.' He pulled a woebegone face that he knew wouldn't fool me for a minute. 'So here I am, lonely and looking for love.'

I flicked a disparaging glance at the hovering brunette. 'Fast work, in that case. What's the poor girl's name, and where is she in the harem pecking order?'

He didn't even look around. 'Jane, and she's a consenting adult joining the harem of her own accord.'

'Lucky Jane! It's every girl's dream to win a place in such a respected establishment, you know.'

There was an almost infinitesimal pause, and then, 'Nobody's hurting anyone, Chloe.'

'Hmm. I'm not sure Amanda would agree.' I smiled thinly. 'Seeing the man she loves move on to someone else the very day her own break-up makes the news.'

'Except Amanda doesn't love me,' he said, unperturbed.

'Oh, that's right. It's lust, not love, with you.'

'She's not here to see it, either.'

'See it, read about it, same thing.'

'Camera-free boat, Chloe.'

'Well, I'm sure it will be a great relief to Amanda to have a break from the publicity, in that case,' I said, knowing I should drop the subject but somehow unable to do the sensible thing and let it go. 'I mean, wasn't it only last month I read about her breaking up with your teammate?' I made a little moue of distaste. 'So . . . incestuous.'