Miss Impractical Pants (17 page)

Glancing at his watch, Lucas changed his tone and the subject. “Sidney, if we’re going to go out tonight, we’d best hurry—it’s nearly quarter of six.”

Catching something in Lucas’s tenor that hadn’t been there before, Sidney asked suspiciously, “And what is it that you have in mind, lad?”

Lucas squirmed. “I completely forgot about this charity do going on tonight…and…well, Olivia is really hot with me about it…and I thought…maybe we all could go?” He managed a desperate grin.

Katie tried to hide her disappointment. Olivia, she gathered, must be Lucas’s
fine lady
. Strangely, the mere mention of her name seemed to chase away the cheerful demeanor in the room.

“I thought Olivia wasn’t due back until next week. What happened to Hong Kong?” Sidney inquired.

Lucas shifted again. “Hong Kong wasn’t quite what she expected.” Sidney’s reproachful stare forced a further explanation. “She said it was a big, ugly, manky, stinky city…I’m pretty sure that’s how she described it.” Lucas’s look of distress matched Sidney’s, and Katie wondered what the big deal was—it seemed like a fair description.

Attempting to restore some of the former high spirits, Lucas turned to Katie with forced cheerfulness. “What do you say, Duchess? I promised you the royal treatment tonight. Would you like to go to a ball this evening?”

Oozing playful sarcasm, she responded, “It’s difficult to pass up such a cheesy invitation—really. But alas, attending a ball tonight would be way too cliché.” In a more serious tone, she added, “Thank
you, though. You should go and enjoy the evening with your girlfriend.”

“Fiancée,” Sidney corrected.

So it’s official. He’s engaged. It figures
, Katie thought, suddenly feeling deflated.

Lucas shot Sidney a pleading glance that was answered by a slow but definitive shake of the head. Elbows on knees, a defeated Lucas dropped his head into his hands and sat silent for a moment, running his fingers through his shaggy brown hair in frustration.
Katie watched the soft pieces of tousled hair fall back into place and for a split second she wanted to crouch down next him and run her own fingers through his lush tresses. She immediately thought of Jared and his bald head, and lamented having agreed earlier to continue on as his girlfriend.

Scolding herself for lusting after another man’s head of hair, Katie turned her attention back to the present moment. Lucas was now contemplating the ceiling. He heaved a frustrated sigh and motioned for Katie to sit on the sofa. Sidney took a seat next to her.

Mrs. Albright and Geoffrey took their cue. Proclaiming to have duties to do, they turned to walk away.

“Please stay,” Lucas said sincerely. “You two are part of the family.”

The two employees glowed with pride.

“I have to do some groveling to Uncle Sid,” Lucas began. “He gave me some sound advice that I foolishly ignored and now I’m pretty well buggered.”

Sidney reached out and grabbed Lucas’s hand and gave it a reassuring pat. His warm display wrenched a feeble smile from Lucas.

Focusing on Katie, Lucas continued his explanation. “I was commissioned by Lord and Lady Waverly to plan their holiday.”

The names meant nothing to her, but the mention of Lord and Lady Waverly created an excited buzz between Geoffrey and Mrs. Albright.

“They were a contact that came through Olivia’s family,” Lucas said. “Naturally, Olivia wanted to be a part of it.”

He was interrupted by a loud “humph” from Mrs. Albright—which he pretended not to notice, still directing his tale toward Katie. “I wasn’t very keen on the idea. I didn’t feel Olivia was cut out for the job. But she was eager to prove herself, and knowing that I couldn’t turn away such a promising client, she insisted I allow her to plan the whole thing or she would sever our connection with the Waverlys.”

He turned from Katie and began pacing in front of the sofa, hands clasped behind his back. “We had quite a row over it, but in the end she convinced me. Sidney warned me it would be a bloody bad idea to give her the reins.” He turned to Sidney. “I thank you, Sid, for your spot-on advice. I wish I had taken it.” Then, to no one in particular, he said, “What a stupid sod I am. I wanted to believe she could manage it. Against my better judgment—and Sid’s—I let myself be manipulated, romanticizing we could have so much fun scouting holidays together as a couple. Now, I’m buggered!”

Katie let herself get caught up in the idea of making a living by gallivanting across the world with one’s true love. Hearing Lucas give up on that dream was far more distressing to her than anything else he had told her so far.

“Lucas, it’s a beautiful dream. How could you not give it a chance? You shouldn’t give up on it.”

He gave her a look that was part wistful and part something else that made her heart beat erratically. “You know, I think you’re the first person I’ve met who truly understands the magic of the concept.” For a moment, they shared an intense connection—until he broke their gaze. “It is a wonderful dream, Katie, but I’m afraid it gets more complicated. The Waverlys know Olivia went to Hong Kong to arrange their holiday, so when they see her tonight, they’ll be expecting an exquisite itinerary. Olivia intends to tell them Hong Kong is a horrible place and they should change their travel plans.” He scratched his hands through his hair again. “She thinks she knows what the Waverlys want. What she refuses to comprehend, despite my many explanations, is that Lady Waverly is set on Hong Kong—it’s some sentimental journey she’s determined to have.”

“Surely Olivia doesn’t have to see them tonight?” Sidney exclaimed.

Lucas shook his head in dismay. “The Waverlys are helping to sponsor the charity ball. Olivia insists on going tonight—to recommend they change their plans.”

Katie fought not to make a negative judgment about Olivia, but it was becoming a losing battle.

Lucas pulled up the desk chair and sat down to face Katie. He leaned in and took her hand in both of his. “Katie, Lord and Lady Waverly carry a lot of influence. I would have been much better off not to have attracted their attention. They set the standard for society’s elite. Disappointing them would be career suicide. One negative word from the Waverlys can—
has
—ruined many a business. But if I can stay in their good graces, I could have every social climber in the
country begging me to arrange their holiday. I
need
to get to that ball before Olivia does. Please, will you help me?”

He was so close that she could breathe in his subtle scent of manliness and laundry soap. Having him so near, making her his confidante, sent tingles skipping down the back of her neck.

“Help you…do what?” Katie responded.

He gave her hand a light squeeze, which made the tingles blaze into a hot current. Turning to include Sidney in the conversation, Lucas said, “The best help I can have right now, besides moral support, is a couple of quick thinkers at my side.”

Sidney cast a sidelong glance at Katie and shrugged. Katie returned his gesture. She was game if he was.

Sidney offered a sympathetic smile and shook his head at Lucas. “All right lad, we’ll go.”

Lucas punched the air victoriously. “Thank you. I will make up this evening to both of you, I promise. And I’m sorry to rush you, but we haven’t got much time.”

“I suppose you take me for the sort of girl who keeps an emergency ball gown in her suitcase?” Katie teased.

Lucas’s countenance fell and he shot a panicked glance at Sidney, who threw up his hands to express he wasn’t in the business of carrying emergency ball gowns either. Lucas’s head dropped in defeat.

“I guess it’s lucky for you that I
am
just that sort of girl.” She giggled, flashing the room a victorious smile.

Thank goodness Katie had dragged Heather and Mr. Scott all over town in search of the dress she knew symbolized her destiny! She and Dylan had later christened the dress “Greta the Magical Gown,” due to its wondrous ability to vanish her Little Buddha without the
assistance of oversized super-elastic underwear. When she paired it with equally miraculous strappy shoes that enhanced the muscle tone in her calves and added leggy inches to her stature, she possessed the most exquisite ensemble, one that even
Queer Eye
Dylan couldn’t find fault with.

“It will take me twenty minutes to find my room, but I can be ready in ten. Will that fit into your schedule, Mr. Hayden?” she asked.

***

Locating Greta the Magical Gown in her luggage took a few minutes. Already living up to its magical moniker, Greta was wrinkle-free and ready to wear. With the help of Mrs. Albright’s skilled hands at creating elegant updos, Katie was ready and looking regal in less than twenty minutes.

“Oh, just look at you, love! You’re gorgeous!” Mrs. Albright gushed, circling Katie. “I wish I could see the look on Olivia’s face when you come walking in with her man.”

“Mrs. Albright, is she really as bad as she sounds?”

“Worse,” Mrs. Albright stated matter-of-factly. “She never shows her true colors around Lucas—he thinks she’s lovely. But the rest of us have seen the demon that hides behind her pretty face.”

“Surely, if she were so bad, Lucas would notice,” Katie said.

“If that’s what you want to think—but you
be
careful around her. If I know Olivia, she’s not going to like having you in the picture. For the sake of our Lucas, don’t let her chase you off.”

When Katie reappeared in the library, she found Lucas, Sidney, and Geoffrey engrossed in conversation. Sidney looked dashing, decked out in his Royal Navy best. For a fleeting moment
Katie caught a glimpse of a young Sidney—gallant, handsome, and full of life—and she felt a flurry of pride for him.

One look at Katie in her long, silvery, off-the-shoulder gown stopped Lucas mid-sentence. In fact, he did a double take—which was not lost on Katie or anyone else in the room. She ducked her head to hide her rising blush while Sidney and Mrs. Albright flashed each other optimistic, “dare we hope?” smiles.

“Wow, Cousin Katie, you look amazing! Like a true duchess!” Lucas lingered on the word “cousin,” almost as if he were trying to let that point sink in. He began to look very uncomfortable,
then
quickly pried his gaze away from her. As if he needed something to busy himself, he patted around his breast pocket and pulled out the tickets for the evening’s event, finding great fascination in the fancy embossed lettering.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us tonight trying to keep a protective eye on this beauty,” Sidney guffawed.
             

“Thank you for your compliments, but I have to give credit where credit is due. This is all the work of Mrs. Albright and Greta,” Katie said.

They looked at her with confusion. “Greta?” the men questioned in unison.

Crimson crept into her complexion. “Greta’s my dress.”

Sidney bellowed his “ho, ho,
hos
.” “Bless me! Whoever heard of such a thing?”

A slow, delicious smile rolled across Lucas’s face and amusement sparked his eyes. “Of course, and we appreciate Greta
very
much—and Mrs. Albright—however, some credit has to be given to the wearer of such a gown.”

She returned his grand smile and issued him a dramatic curtsey. “Well then, Greta and I both thank you.”

Lucas took an exaggerated bow in her direction before adding, “I don’t suppose you’re the type of girl to keep an emergency tiara in her luggage, are you?”