move past him toward the interior of the ship.
Instantly he was in front of her again. He didn’t touch her, but she felt the force of him on her senses as she had before and something more—a sort of recognition, a familiarity. He was speaking again, but this time the deep, caressing voice held neither insolence nor condescension.
“You don’t think this is a chance meeting, do you? I’ve been looking for you all night on a matter of business.”
Lauren stared up at the unsmiling face. Moonlight emphasized the sharp planes of his face and sparkled in his silver eyes. He went on speaking.
“It seems I may have been wrong. You don’t fit the picture Masen drew of you. But you are having trouble with the details of your presentation, are you not? You’ve got the worst time slot on the program. One of your models is sick and the other man-crazy, and Masen says Carlos calls your designs trashy.”
Lauren drew a deep breath. “Perhaps you and Masen should wait until the votes are counted before you trash me,” she said. “Or you might try to find a more reliable spy. I’m putting on a show, Mr. Anonymous, and neither Masen nor Carlos de Sevile is going to stop me.”
Suddenly, he caught her by the wrist. “Forgive me. I can see that the half was not told me. I admit there’s no excuse for my behavior. It was just that I got angry at what I thought you were doing with your chance to show your designs. May we start again, please, with a clean slate? Maybe I can help you.”
But Lauren had had enough. “I can handle it, thank you.” The confidence she had in Derek’s troupe and her own skills sounded in her voice. “Carlos and Masen are in for a surprise.”
“I’d really like to help,” he repeated. “My name’s Michael. May I just stand by you here for a few minutes to enjoy the night air? Will you have a cigarette?”
Lauren found herself relaxing at his evident eagerness to make amends. “Thank you, no, I don’t smoke. But I would like to stay on deck for just a little longer. It’s relaxing; the sea is so big and dark and ancient . . .
He moved to the rail beside her. Sharing a comfortable silence, they leaned on the rail, their bodies just touching, and looked outward across the moving darkness. Then, as they kept vigil, a lovely sight met their eyes. At a good distance to the south they saw a glow of light that, as they watched, became a toy ship plowing past them, westward to New York, sparkling and beautiful against the dark of night and sea. They watched it until its lights were once more a misty blur. Then a cold wind swept against Lauren and she shivered.
Michael put a hard, warm hand over hers on the rail.
“All those people on the other ship,” Lauren whispered. “Don’t you feel as though you could almost touch them? How I wish I knew them all—their life stories, their fears and dreams, what each one is hoping for as they race toward New York.”
He caught her against his side with a strong, friendly arm.
“What a romantic you are. And here I thought Lauren Rose was a hard-hearted, grasping businesswoman.” He was teasing her, but his voice was still gentle. “You’d better deal with your problems on this ship before you try to comprehend those of the rest of the world.” He gave her a brief, hard hug that Lauren found oddly comforting from a stranger. “Now, to bed! Or the designer of the September Song line will never be alert enough to organize her fashion showing.” He led her back inside. “May I get you some wine? Cocoa?” he wheedled, grinning.
Lauren knew it was definitely time she removed herself from the clutches of this wily charmer. Slipping out from under his arm, she smiled up into his laughing countenance. “Good night,” she said firmly. “Good night.”
He caught her hand.
“ ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow,’ ” he teased, his gray eyes luminous with laughter. “Now my line is ‘Sleep dwell upon thine eyes . . .’ and then how does it go?”
A Shakespeare buff as well as everything else, Lauren groaned silently. This guy was too much. Could he be an actor? He was good-looking enough, and he certainly had presence.
He was speaking again, declaiming, his arresting voice full of amusement, and something else. “ ‘Peace in thy breast!