Free Ladd Fortune by Dianne Venetta

and it wasn’t as if Jeremiah had pockets
full of money. How did she survive? Did she dance for a living? She
had to have done something to pay the bills.
    Lacy returned her attention to him and
Malcolm pushed off from the bar and headed over. Time to find out.
Rewarded by the bump in her gaze, he was heartened to realize she
was interested in his approach. But how interested was the more
important question. Malcolm neared and delivered smoothly, “Ms.
Owens...so nice to see you again.”
    “ Mr. Ward.”
    As she reached for her hand, she
obliged, lifting it from the table for his taking. Lacy cocked her
head to one side and watched him bow slightly, placing his lips to
her skin for a kiss. Her scent reminded Malcolm of jasmine and
spice. Intoxicating. Gliding his lips back and forth, he treated
himself to the sensation of silken skin and luscious perfume before
she pulled free. She encircled her hand around her glass as though
curtailing any further ideas on his part.
    Which amused him. Standing fully, he
asked, “What’s a beautiful woman like you sitting alone in a bar on
a Friday night?”
    Lacy’s smile dipped, but quickly
recovered. “I’m enjoying a little quiet time.”
    “ Quiet time?” He glanced
around the lounge, purposefully touching upon the dance floor. Two
couples entered the bar, the women chatting busily while the men
brought up the rear in silence. “From the looks of this place,
quiet is the last thing I’d expect.”
    “ Yes,” she agreed, “but the
real carrying on doesn’t start until much later.”
    “ Ah.” He nodded, fascinated
by the spark in her eye. It had the mark of intelligence, yet the
zeal of youth. Lined in a soft navy, her eyes were sultry,
enticing. “You don’t dance?” Malcolm asked, coating his tone with
disappointment.
    She giggled. “I love to dance!” Then,
as if she realized her breach, walked the comment back a notch. She
dropped her gaze back to the cigar in hand, tapping the ashes into
an ashtray. “But I’m not in the mood,” she said, then cast her gaze
downward.
    “ Not in the mood? With legs
like yours, that seems like a crime.”
    Lacy flipped up her line of thick
lashes and replied, “It’s my first day back in town and I haven’t
received the warmest of welcomes.”
    “ From Delaney?” he
asked.
    “ Yes...” she murmured, as
though Delaney was only a secondary concern.
    “ Your sister?”
    Curiosity transformed her caution. “You
know Annie?”
    “ Not personally, but I’ve
heard about her.”
    “ Of course,” Lacy said,
turning away from him, focusing on the cigar in hand. “You were
with Delaney today.”
    “ Is that a
problem?”
    “ No, not really,” she said,
continuing to reflect on her cigar. She brought it to her mouth for
another drag. This time, she closed her eyes as she
inhaled.
    Studying her soft features, her
flawless ivory skin, her artfully applied makeup, Malcolm wondered
if she was willfully shutting him out. Had he overstayed his
welcome? Was it guilt by association?
    Delaney was clearly not fond of Lacy.
Was the feeling mutual? “Actually, I don’t know Delaney all that
well. She’s a friend of my friend, Nick.”
    Lacy acknowledged that she heard but
continued to stare past him.
    “ Are you on shaky ground
with your sister?”
    She flashed a glance to him, the first
sign of displeasure licking at her fiery blue eyes. “Shaky isn’t
the word. More like icy.”
    At least he had her talking. “I hear
you,” Malcolm commiserated. “I have a brother and it’s the same
thing.”
    Sitting straighter, Lacy swiveled on
her seat to face him fully. “You do?”
    “ Nothing I do seems good
enough for him. Success, money, none of it matters.”
    She knit black brows together. “What do
you do that he doesn’t approve of?”
    “ I’m in the hotel business
with Nick. Remember?”
    She perked to life. “Do you have one
here?”
    “ We hope to.”
    Several young men pushed through the
front door, a ring of