Free Counterfeit Love by Julie Fison

reporters generally, because she could see in his face what he thought of the one in front of him. Byron was looking at her with such intensity that the lights on Hong Kong Island were swimming in and out of focus. He dropped Lucy’s hand and edged closer. That feeling of tension gripped her chest and her mind hummed with excited, nervous anticipation.
    ‘Were you looking for me last night at Rusty’s?’ she whispered.
    Byron nodded. ‘I’ve been searching for you all my life.’
    And that was where the interview ended. Lucy had so many more questions for Byron, but none of them seemed to matter anymore. He answered them all as his lips touched hers and, as a laser show lit up the skyline, Lucy decided that so much more could be said without words.

Byron was as surprised as anyone to find himself kissing Lucy on the waterfront. He’d been thinking about it since he saw her arrive at Vue, turning heads as she walked onto the terrace – all slim arms and toned legs, with that TV-ready face. She might have been a reporter, but she was no squawking parrot; more of a bird of paradise in her tight-fitting black-and-orange dress. She almost eclipsed the whole city around her. Right out of my league , he thought. Yet, here they were, caught up in the moment, their bodies pressed together, his arms around her slender back. What had he done to deserve this?
    ‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ Lucy whispered breathlessly, holding his gaze. They stared at each other for several seconds longer; he was desperate to kiss her again.
    ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have … ’ he managed.
    Lucy shook her head. ‘No need to be.’ She glanced at him awkwardly. ‘Should we find a restaurant?’
    He nodded even though he really didn’t care about dinner anymore – all he cared about was kissing Lucy again. He slipped his hand around hers as they walked off towards Nathan Road. Every time he caught his reflection in a shop window, Byron was shocked to see such a stunning woman beside him. He wondered if the cocktail had something to do with it – if the High Altitude contained some kind of aphrodisiac, extract of bull elephant’s gland, or unicorn’s testicle or something. It might explain things.
    Of course, it would have been less complicated if it hadn’t worked out that way – if she hadn’t been so damn hot, he might have just asked her straight up to return the contents of the envelope. But even before the cocktails arrived he knew he wouldn’t let that happen. Lucy was the complete package: as dynamic as she was hot, someone who knew where she was going and how to get there. He bet she’d be presenting the news before the end of the year. It was actually a bit scary, and even more of a threat than he first thought. She definitely wouldn’t let go of the package if she got a whiff of a story.
    Byron was surprised he’d kissed her hand five seconds after they’d sat down. That was a weird thing to do . And even more shocked that he’d invited her to Phuket. Where did that come from? Somewhere below his waist, he guessed. He’d been listening to Lucy’s junk story and imagined her in a bikini. From there it was just a short step to Thailand and a holiday together. If he got everything sorted out in the next week he might actually be able to come good on his offer. He definitely needed a break – he hadn’t been on a proper beach in way too long.
    But as they strolled down Nathan Road, Byron could see that the likelihood of him retrieving the Cobra’s stuff and sorting things out was diminishing, not improving. Earlier that night, Cal had told him to do anything to the get the Cobra’s shirt. To go through Lucy’s bag, take her keys, search her apartment. He was meant to even go through the rubbish if he had to.
    But Byron knew as soon as he’d seen Lucy in the black-and-orange dress he probably wouldn’t be able to do any of those things. Now that he’d kissed her, he knew there was no chance of it. He felt bad that