Silver Linings, стр. 56
“I'd just like to be better prepared for visits from you,” Hugh said as he took his feet down off the desk. He cast a thoughtful glance at the polished wooden surface. “Of course, there is the desk, isn't there?”
“Forget it,” she said firmly, memories of the night flooding her veins with heat. “I'm due upstairs. Got to run.”
“Some other time, maybe. Come on, I'll escort you up to Charlotte's palace.”
“That's not necessary. I know you're busy.”
“Not that busy.”
He took hold of her arm and guided her out through the office and into the hall. There was a crowd of people waiting to board the elevator that had just opened.
“Excuse me, folks,” Hugh said in a cool, commanding tone as he tugged Mattie past the small group and into the empty elevator. “Emergency security check. Next elevator will be along in a minute.”
The doors closed on a row of startled expressions, leaving Mattie and Hugh alone in the elevator. Hugh punched the button for the presidential floor.
“What was that all about?” Mattie demanded.
“Figured you'd had enough of crowded elevators today.” Hugh folded his arms and propped his shoulder against the wall. He smiled.
“So you kicked everyone off this one just so I wouldn't have to ride in a packed elevator?” Mattie began to giggle. “Honestly, Hugh.”
“What's so funny?”
“Watching you throw your weight around. You're very good at it, you know. It must come naturally.”
“You don't get what you want in this world unless you go after it.” He reached for her, pulling her close and kissing her fiercely just as the elevator doors opened. “I learned that a long time ago, babe.”
“This feels incredible, Aunt Charlotte. Absolutely incredible.” Mattie was lying facedown on the massage table while a white-jacketed woman with amazingly strong hands worked on her bare back. She was being kneaded, punched and pounded, and it felt wonderful. “You say you do this once a week?”
“At least,” Charlotte Vailcourt said from the next table. “Sometimes more frequently if I'm under an unusual amount of stress.”
Another woman in white was working earnestly on Charlotte. Mattie opened her eyes and glanced over at her aunt. Charlotte Vailcourt had always been a beautiful woman. She was nearly sixty now, but she still managed to draw every eye whenever she walked into a room. It was not just a case of physical beauty, although she had plenty of that left thanks to a fine bone structure and a great deal of money; it was also a matter of grace and style.
Charlotte Vailcourt was loaded with grace and style. Those qualities had been the hallmark of her career as an actress, and they had carried her safely through the deep, dangerous waters of the international business world after she had taken control of Vailcourt Industries upon the death of her husband. It was Charlotte who had expanded the firm into the international realm of operations. The business had thrived under her leadership.
“I'm going to have to try this on a routine basis myself,” Mattie said languidly as she felt tension dissolve throughout her body. “So relaxing.”
“I had a hunch you'd enjoy it. You've been under an unusually high level of stress yourself, lately. Hugh gave me a full report on what you went through on Purgatory. I was absolutely shocked. Poor Mr. Cormier.”
“I have to tell you, it certainly made me wonder if there wasn't some truth to the old legend surrounding that sword, Aunt Charlotte.”
“You mean that bit about ‘Death to all who dare claim the blade until it's been taken up by the avenger and cleansed in the blood of the betrayer’? Typical medieval nonsense. All first-class ancient swords like Valor have legends and curses attached to them. Part of what makes them interesting. No, I'm afraid Mr. Cormier's problem was a combination of the usual, bad luck and bad timing.”
“It was bad, all right,” Mattie agreed with a small shiver of memory.
“You needn't have stumbled into the middle of it, you know. Why on earth didn't you stop at St. Gabriel, the way you were supposed to? You could have avoided that nasty little scene on Purgatory altogether. Hugh would never have walked into that sort of thing with you. He has an instinct for trouble.”
“You know why I changed my reservations.”
Charlotte sighed. “So much for my attempt at playing matchmaker. Still, on the whole, I didn't do too badly, did I? Hugh tells me you're engaged.”
“Don't look so satisfied, Aunt Charlotte. I don't think I'd go quite so far as to call our present arrangement an engagement.”
“That's what Hugh's calling it, so that's what I'll call it.”
“I see. You two took a vote and I've been outvoted, is that it?”
“Now, don't go getting tense again, Mattie. You'll undo all the good work these nice women are accomplishing. When do you think you'll move out to St. Gabriel?”
Mattie stiffened and her masseuse responded by digging her thumbs into a pressure point. “Ouch. I'm not moving out to St. Gabriel. Didn't Hugh explain that part? He's decided to move to Seattle.”
“Not permanently.”
Mattie smiled grimly. “Then you'll have to ask him when he's leaving.”
“Mattie, you know you can't keep him here long. Hugh Abbott will never be happy in the city. He's like a wild animal. He'll never become completely civilized, no matter how much sushi and white wine he consumes. All his hopes and dreams are waiting for him back on his island.”
“I know. I'm waiting for him to admit that and go back to St. Gabriel.”
“He won't go back without you.”
“Then he'll wait until hell freezes over.”
“You're tensing up again, ma'am,” the masseuse said, sounding annoyed.
“Sorry,” Mattie mumbled.
“The thing is,” Charlotte said gently, “you're part of his hopes and dreams now. He won't leave you behind.”
“He did once before.”
“Are you going to hold that against him for the rest of his life?”
Mattie thought about it. “Maybe. At least until I can