Her New Worst Enemy

by Christy McKellen

  Her New Worst Enemy

  Christy McKellen

  Avon, Massachusetts

  This edition published by

  Crimson Romance

  an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

  10151 Carver Road, Suite 200

  Blue Ash, Ohio 45242

  www.crimsonromance.com

  Copyright © 2012 by Kristy Price

  ISBN 10: 1-4405-6276-8

  ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-6276-1

  eISBN 10: 1-4405-6277-6

  eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-6277-8

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art © iStockPhoto.com/Stockphoto4u, 123rf.com

  For Tom — my lover, my inspiration, my friend.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Chapter One

  Ellie Holdsworthy took another long, shaky sip of wine as she waited for the perfect moment to put her plan into action.

  From her vantage point at the restaurant bar she had a perfect view of Gideon and his date as they took turns impressing each other over their untouched food.

  He hadn’t changed a bit since she’d last laid eyes on him nearly a year ago. His short, pitch black hair shone in the dim light of the candles flickering on the table, and even from this distance she could make out the sharp contours of his cheekbones and the full curve of his lips.

  Her body thrummed with nerves. At least, that’s what she put the unsettling feeling down to.

  She continued to watch him charm his date, his athletic, rangy body draped comfortably over the chair. A couple of women on a table to his left were also surveying him surreptitiously, mesmerized by his striking looks and effortless charisma.

  Fools.

  She snorted with derision as he tipped his head back and gave a deep growling laugh at something his blond companion said. It was sad really, how the poor girl had no idea what she was letting herself in for.

  If she hadn’t known him since she was twelve and seen this very same act being performed year after year with a different woman each time, she might have been taken in herself. As her brother’s best friend, Gideon DeLancy had been in and out of her life now for seventeen years. She was well versed in his womanizing ways.

  Ellie knew why women fell for him. He was an amazing looking man, confident, funny … rich. In fact there wasn’t a single reason not to fall for him — if you didn’t mind your relationships short-term and emotionless. That was why she’d kept her own childish crush on him so well buried; there was no happy ever after with him. It was men like him who gave women like her false hope.

  A flash of scarlet skirt at his table brought her focus back. She watched as his leggy blond companion rose and sashayed off toward the ladies room, finally leaving him alone.

  Show time.

  Ellie took a deep breath, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat, and wound her way quickly through the tables until she stood facing him, threading her fingers together nervously.

  It took a couple of seconds for him to glance up at her, but when he did, it was with a look of surprise in those acutely familiar bright green eyes.

  “Gideon, you have to help me. I’m desperate.”

  He leaned back in his chair, taking her in. “Ellie? What are you doing here?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Now? I’m in the middle of something here.”

  “Yeah, yeah, we both know she won’t last five minutes. They never do.”

  Gideon gave the smile of a long-suffering friend used to her jibes. “I had no idea you took such a keen interest in my love life. If I didn’t know better I’d think you were jealous.”

  The wicked gleam in his eye made her stomach do the cha-cha, raising her tension levels to maximum. She swallowed the glib retort that threatened to fly from her lips and focused instead on her carefully structured plan. “Look, Gideon, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

  He frowned. “How did you find me? Nobody’s heard from you for months. I thought you’d skipped the country or something.”

  “Your PA. I told her it was a family emergency.”

  “Very enterprising — and a wicked lie considering I don’t have any family left.”

  Ellie felt the mood darken, but plowed on regardless. “I know, but I needed to find you fast. Look, I appreciate you’re in the middle of a romantic dinner,” she cocked an ironic eyebrow, “but please hear me out.”

  He put down his cutlery with a resigned sigh and gave her his full attention, his languid gaze sweeping her up and down. She shifted from foot to foot and tried to ignore the heat that curled low in her pelvis.

  “Ellie, what are you wearing?”

  She looked down at her haphazard appearance. Perhaps the lime green A-line skirt, red fishnets, and oversized sweater were a bit much together.

  “It’s washing day. I just grabbed what I had clean.”

  “You know you’ve only mascaraed one eye, right?” A devilish twinkle lit up his usually guarded eyes.

  Her cheeks grew hot under his gaze. “Whatever, Gideon. I was in a rush, okay?”

  “Too much of a rush to put on a matching pair of shoes?”

  She glanced down at her feet in horror.

  Damn. One black and one brown.

  The bulb in her hallway had gone and she hadn’t got round to replacing it, so she’d dressed by the light from the kitchen. In her rush to get out of the door, she hadn’t checked her appearance.

  Her face flamed even hotter, this time with embarrassment. “All right, Mr. Impeccable, I admit, I’m not exactly dressed for dinner at such a high-class restaurant.” She glanced around her, desperate to regain her cool. “Not that you’d ever find me eating in a place like this. Seriously, Gideon, you can get a decent meal for a lot less.”

  “That doesn’t tend to be the point.” His eyes crinkled in mirth at her pathetic attempt to distract him.

  “Look, can we focus here? It’s about Penny. She’s about to do something stupid and you’re the only one who can stop her.” She pulled out the vacated chair and sat down determinedly in it. She needed him to take her seriously now — her friend’s happiness depended on it.

  Gideon watched her, a dark eyebrow raised. “Penny Gosling-Hyde?”

  “The very same.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Tell me.”

  “She’s engaged.”

  “Really? I hadn’t heard. And that’s bad why?”

  “Because it’s a whirlwind romance. She only met the guy a few months ago and she’s talking about running off to Vegas to get married, in a few weeks.”

  “Sounds romantic to me.”

  Romantic? Since when did Gideon do romantic? She swallowed the retort and fought to keep her voice steady. “I don’t think romance has anything to do with it. I don’t like the sound of him. I’ve been hearing some bad stuff.”

  “Wait, you haven’t met him? I thought you and Penny were best mates.”

  “We were … are … I’ve been busy at work.” A thread of guilt began to unravel inside her.

  “Busy feeling sorry for yourself you mean.”

  “Whatever.” She brushed aside his pointed remark and the th
ump of sadness it provoked. “Can we please focus? This guy sounds like a real piece of work. He doesn’t want her going out without him and when I speak to her, she sounds … weird.”

  She was pleased to see a deep frown cross his handsome face, wiping out his previously wry expression. “Weird, how?”

  “I don’t know … just not like her usual bubbly self.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  Ellie sighed. “I’m worried about her, Gideon. I think she’s making a huge mistake. She told me he doesn’t have a job and she’s paying for everything until he gets one.”

  “Hmm. So he knows about her inheritance then?”

  “What do you think?”

  “No offense to Penny, but he does sound suspect.”

  Ellie nodded encouragingly, hope rising in her chest. “Exactly. He’s playing her. Word has it he’s hugely in debt.”

  “Word?”

  “I Googled him. There are articles about bankruptcy.”

  Gideon nodded slowly. “And you pointed all this out to her, I take it?”

  “Of course.” Ellie looked down at her hands to avoid his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t push her on this.

  “How did that go down?”

  She sighed. He’d always had a way of hitting her sore spots. “Not that well. She’s not speaking to me.”

  “I can’t say I’m surprised, subtlety not being one of your strengths.”

  With difficulty, Ellie ignored the taunt. She needed to keep her cool if she was going to get him on board. “Funny thing is, I think deep down she knows it’s a ruse, but she’s so desperate to get married and have kids she’s ignoring her suspicions. She’s going to be thirty next year and her parents have put so much pressure on her, she’s convinced herself she’s on the shelf. She’s ripe to be taken advantage of.” Ellie leaned forward in her chair, capturing his gaze. “I won’t let it happen, Gideon.”

  “So how the hell am I supposed to help?”

  “You know how she feels about you. No one matches up to you in her eyes. She’ll listen to you.” Ego boosting with a dash of guilt was surely the key to closing the deal here.

  “Oh God, this is exactly what I don’t need at the moment.” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his strong, tanned forearms in front of him defensively. It took Ellie a moment to tear her eyes away from the lean muscles that roped beneath his golden skin.

  When she did, he was looking at her with amusement. “It’s not like I did anything to lead her on.”

  “I know, you just can’t help being a massive flirt.” She wanted to bite back the words as soon as they escaped. It was incredibly dangerous to provoke him like this, but it was so tempting.

  “You know, for a second there it sounded like you were insulting me. I’d imagine that would be rather counterproductive considering you’ve come looking for my help.” Gideon’s eyes glinted with annoyance and he ran a hand through his dark hair in agitation, forcing it to stand to attention. “Anyway, it’s not like I slept with her, then left her brokenhearted.”

  “No, she’s probably the only girl in Bristol you haven’t done that to.”

  Cut it out, Ellie. She was going to blow it if she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

  “Funny.”

  “Look. She trusts you. You have this power over her. You can use it to make her see sense. Think of it like a Superhero’s power — but use it for good this time.”

  “A Superhero, huh?” He cocked an eyebrow and produced a slow, lazy smile, sending a tingle of awareness though her body. She ignored it, and her erratic heartbeat.

  “Yeah. Let it be your one good deed for the year.”

  Ellie picked up the loaded fork that lay abandoned on his plate and took a tentative bite. “Ugh! Mushrooms.”

  Gideon grabbed the fork away in irritation and dumped it back on his plate. “Are you sure we should be getting mixed up in this? She’s smart enough to know what she’s doing.”

  “He’s done something to her, Gideon, and she can’t see how he’s using her.”

  “How am I supposed to talk to her if she’s not allowed out alone?”

  “We’ll get them to come away with us next weekend, pretend we want to celebrate the engagement with them or something they can’t say no to. I can distract him while you talk to her.” She looked straight at him. “And you can engineer a way to get him on his own, too, and warn him off.”

  “Whoa, wait a second, how am I supposed to do that?”

  “You know how persuasive you can be. I’m sure there’s something you can do to make him walk away. Everyone has their price.”

  He looked at her aghast. “Are you seriously suggesting I pay him off?”

  “I swear to God, I’ll pay you back. I’d offer him the money myself, but I’m a bit short at the moment.”

  Gideon rocked his head back and let out an exasperated laugh.

  “Okay Ellie, say I’m fool enough to go along with this hare-brained plan — what’s going to happen once we get her away from him?”

  “Let me worry about that.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Look, I can be a shoulder to cry on, distract her enough so she doesn’t realize what we’ve done. Now that I’m on my own too, we can be the ‘single girls around town’ that we were before I met … Paul.” Her throat constricted as she said his name and she dropped her gaze to the table so Gideon wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes. “Please?” She looked back up at him imploringly, “I’ll do anything.”

  “Anything?” His bright, seductive eyes flashed at her, tickling her senses, and bringing back a feeling she hadn’t experienced in quite some time.

  Why did it have to be him that made her react that way?

  Once again, she pushed the feeling away, burying it deep.

  “Within reason, Gideon. Please.”

  “I don’t know, Ellie, it all sounds a bit … ”

  Diplomacy lost the fight with desperation. “Gideon.” She cut him off, leaning in, menacingly. “I’m not budging from this chair until you agree to do this. I can make life very difficult for you. I’m not above a bit of stalking, and if you don’t agree right now, your current eye candy will have to finish her meal sitting on my lap.”

  Ellie crossed her arms defiantly and stared across at him, her heart racing, inwardly begging him to relent. Maybe she’d gone too far? But desperate times called for desperate measures, and if he didn’t agree she had no idea what she’d do. He was her only real hope.

  He regarded her for a moment with a dark, penetrating gaze. “Okay, I’ll do this for you, but only because your family has been so good to me.” He ran a hand over his closely shaved jaw. “And you’ll owe me. Deal?”

  She hated the idea of being in debt to him, but she didn’t have any choice if she was going to save her friend from making a huge mistake. “Deal.”

  Gideon nodded in acceptance, and she breathed a sigh of relief and secretly wiped her damp palms on the edge of the fine linen tablecloth. “Come over to my flat tomorrow, and I’ll explain the plan.”

  “Whatever, just go now.”

  Ellie got up to leave.

  “Are you still in your Redland flat?” The carefully guarded tone of his voice halted her in her tracks.

  “Yeah, I can’t bring myself to sell it yet.”

  “See you at seven tomorrow then.”

  “Thanks, Gideon. You won’t regret it.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  • • •

  Gideon knocked at the door to Ellie’s garden flat at seven on the dot, but she stood for a moment to collect herself before opening the door to him. She’d taken more care with her appearance this time, catching her unruly curls back in a band and making sure she’d applied make-up to both eyes — purely so he’d take her more seriously of course.

  He looked great as usual, and when he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, she had to turn away so he wouldn’t notice the tell-tale flush she felt sure was light
ing up her face like a warning beacon.

  She made for the kitchen and felt him follow her into the depths of her chaotic flat.

  “I can’t believe it’s a year since I’ve been here. It looks exactly the same.” His deep voice seemed to further warm the air around her. It took all her willpower to remain casual.

  She hated how he made her feel. She knew what he was really like beneath that charming persona: arrogant, self-serving, and egotistical.

  So why did she still want to jump his bones?

  She turned to face him, noticing his gaze sweeping around the ordered chaos of the room and raised her eyebrows, motioning the letter ‘T’ with her fingers.

  “I’d love one. Milk, no sugar.”

  “I remember.” She moved through into the tiny kitchenette.

  “Hmm. A bit different in here though,” he said, looking around the brightly colored walls. They had previously been plastered with photos but there were now obvious gaps where pictures had been recently removed or ripped in two.

  “I needed a change of scene.”

  There was a flash of concern in his expression, which made her uneasy. She hated to think of him judging her.

  “Clearly,” he said, pressing his fingers against an old photo of her at University.

  He moved away and leaned casually against the work surface, watching her performing the tea ritual. She wished he’d stop looking at her; he was making her nervous. He seemed to fill the tiny space with his dominating presence, and she was hyper aware of the magnetic-like pull he radiated, drawing all her senses toward him.

  When she turned back to him, his gaze scanned her face, his brow furrowed. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen you since that birthday party here.”

  “You can say his name. I’m not going to go all weepy on you. I’m totally over him.” Ellie tried for “staunchly defiant,” but gave herself away when tears welled in her eyes.

  Gideon sized her up, as if trying to decide something, before turning back to look at the wall, mercifully giving her time to collect herself.

  “It’s great to see you interested in something outside these four walls again. I thought you were never coming out of that hermit’s shell you’ve been hiding in.”