In her gossip column, Mrs. Hollings had twice referenced her and Hawk—once right after Belinda’s almost-wedding, and more recently, when she’d hinted at a warming of t
heir relationship after Hawk had unexpectedly played her assistant. But Mrs. Hollings had stopped short of naming them as lovers.
And, what’s more, Pia wasn’t sure if Lucy even paid attention to Mrs. Hollings’s column. True, the column included a fair amount of society gossip, but Lucy was immersed in the theater world rather than in the social whirl, and Mrs. Hollings’s column focused on New York rather than Britain.
Pia pushed those thoughts aside. “Thank you for the invitation.”
Lucy laughed. “Don’t be silly. I should be thanking you because you’ll be putting up with my mother and my brother.”
Ah, yes. Hawk.
If Lucy only knew, Pia thought.
Even though her acquaintance with Hawk three years ago had been fleeting—a one-night stand, if she looked at the matter unflinchingly—Pia recognized that he’d changed a lot. He was shouldering a lot more responsibility, and could claim a lot of success through his own hard work. He was also considerate. Look at how he’d tried to help her with her business—insisting on making amends. And she had intimate knowledge that he was a terrific lover.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering how Hawk viewed their current sexual interlude. They’d never attempted to attach labels to it. Whatever was the case, though, she insisted to herself, this time she would no longer be the naive and vulnerable young thing.
Lucy regarded her closely. “If you don’t mind my saying so, I couldn’t help noticing that you and my brother had a testy interaction when you arrived here for our first meeting.”
Pia schooled her surprise—Hawk’s sister had never brought up that first meeting in prior conversations.
Still, she couldn’t deny the truth.
“We did,” Pia confessed. “I…didn’t form a good opinion of him when I first met him a few years ago.”
Now that was a lie. She’d been so taken with him, she’d fallen into bed. It was after their romantic interlude had ended that her opinion of him had soured.
Lucy gave her a small smile. “I can understand why you might not have. I know my brother had his party years, though he never shared the details with me because I was so much younger.” She paused, looking at Pia more closely. “But that phase of his life all came to end three years ago.”
“Hawk told me,” Pia said with sympathy.
Still, Pia got the distinct impression that Lucy meant more than she was saying. Was she trying to persuade Pia that Hawk wasn’t so terrible anymore? And if so, why? Because she cared what her wedding planner thought of her brother?
Again, Pia wondered how much Lucy suspected, and what she would say if she knew Pia and Hawk knew each other intimately these days.
Lucy sighed. “I guess there’s no going back, is there?” she asked rhetorically. “In any case, Hawk has taken over as head of the family remarkably well. And Sunhill Investments has reversed the state of the ducal finances in just a couple of years—it’s remarkable.”
Pia fixed a smile. She was reminded of how Hawk had spent his time while he was apparently forgetting her, and an element of doubt intruded again. She was crazy to think she could somehow become remarkable herself—let alone unforgettable—to a man like him. He was a duke and a multimultimillionaire. She was a wedding planner from Pennsylvania.
She pushed back the heart-in-the-throat feeling and convinced herself again that she was prepared for the eventual end of their fling.
Lucy reached out a hand and touched her on the arm. “All I’m saying, Pia, is that Hawk isn’t the person that he was even three years ago. You should give him a chance.”
Pia wondered what kind of chance Lucy thought she should be giving Hawk. Was she suggesting that Pia should like him enough to interact nicely with him…or more?
Pia opened and closed her mouth.
“All is forgiven,” she said finally for Lucy’s benefit. “You needn’t worry that Hawk and I are unable to get along.”
In fact, lately, they’d gotten along so well, they’d gotten into bed together.
“Good,” Lucy said with a smile, seemingly accepting her vague answer. “Because I know he likes you. He sang your praises when he suggested you to me as a wedding coordinator.”
Pia smiled uncertainly.
She wasn’t sure upon what basis Hawk’s sister was resting the observation that Hawk liked her, but she felt a flutter of happiness at the thought.
Her reaction was both wonderful and a cause for concern…