The Girl he Never Noticed Read Free

each other.
    Liz found herself conscious again of the width of his shoulders beneath the jacket of his charcoal suit, worn with a green shirt and a darker green tie. She was aware of the little lines beside his mouth and that clever, brooding dark blue gaze.
    Not only that, but she seemed to be more sensitive to textures—such as the beautiful quality fabric of his suit and the rich leather of the car’s upholstery.
    And she was very aware of the way he was watching her… A physical summing up again, that brought her out in little goosebumps—because they were so close it was impossible, she suddenly found, not to imagine his arms around her, his hand in her hair, his mouth on hers.
    She turned away abruptly.
    He said nothing but opened his door. Liz did the same and got out without his assistance.
    Although Liz had been fully aware she was in for a classy event, what she saw as she stepped through the front door of the Bellevue Hill home almost took her breath away. A broad stone-flagged passage led to the first of three descending terraces and a magnificent view of Sydney Harbour in the last of the daylight. Flamingbraziers lit the terraces, pottery urns were laden with exotic flowering shrubs, and on the third and lowest terrace an aquamarine pool appeared to flow over the edge.
    There were a lot of guests already assembled—an animated throng—the women making a bouquet of colours as well. In a corner of the middle terrace an energetic band was making African music with a mesmerising rhythm and the soft but fascinating throb of drums.
    A dinner-suited waiter wearing white gloves was at their side immediately, offering champagne.
    Liz was about to decline, but Cam simply put a glass in her hand. No sooner had he done so than their hostess descended on them.
    She was a tall, striking woman, wearing a rose-pink caftan and a quantity of gold and diamond jewellery. Her silver hair was streaked with pink.
    ‘My dear Cam,’ she enthused as she came up to them, ‘I thought you weren’t coming!’ She turned to Liz and her eyebrows shot up. ‘But who is this?’
    ‘This, Narelle, is Liz Montrose. Liz, may I introduce you to Narelle Hastings?’
    Liz extended her hand and murmured, ‘How do you do?’
    ‘Very well, my dear, very well,’ Narelle Hastings replied as she summed Liz up speedily and expertly, taking in not only her fair looks but her stylish outfit. ‘So you’ve supplanted Portia?’
    ‘Not at all,’ Cam Hillier responded. ‘Portia has had second thoughts about me, and since Liz is replacingRoger who is off sick at the moment, I press-ganged her into coming rather than being partnerless. That’s all.’
    ‘Darling,’ Narelle said fondly to him, ‘call it what you will, but don’t expect me to believe it gospel and verse.’ She turned to Liz. ‘You’re far too lovely to be just a secretary, my dear, and in his own way Cam’s not bad either. It is what makes the world go round. But anyway—’ she turned back to Cam ‘—how’s Archie?’
    ‘A nervous wreck. Wenonah’s puppies are due any day.’
    Narelle Hastings chuckled. ‘Give him my love. Oh! Excuse me! Some more latecomers. And don’t forget,’ she said to Liz, ‘life wasn’t meant to be all work and no play, so enjoy yourself with Cam while you can!’ And she wandered off.
    ‘Don’t tell me how to look,’ Liz warned him.
    ‘Wouldn’t dream of it. Uh—Narelle can be a little eccentric.’
    ‘Even so, I knew this wasn’t a good idea,’ she added darkly.
    He studied her, then shrugged. ‘I don’t see it as a matter of great importance.’
    Liz glanced sideways at him, as if to say
you wouldn’t
! But that was a mistake, because she was suddenly conscious again of just how dangerously attractive Cameron Hillier was. Tall and dark, with that fine-tuned physique, he effortlessly drew the eyes of many of the women around them. Was it so far off the mark to imagine him being mobbed? No, that was ridiculous…
    ‘It’s