Read Her New Worst Enemy Online
Authors: Christy McKellen
Tags: #Romance, #Erotica, #General, #spicy, #Fiction
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
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.
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 thump 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.”