With barely a jerk, the capsule moved, rising slowly, the lights of London filling the windows.
As wonderfully as her family treated her, no one had ever done anything like this for her. Maybe it was that Cal wasn’t family, that he wasn’t obligated, that he’d simply appreciated what she’d done. Whatever the reason, she wanted to relish every moment of this London fairy tale he’d created for her.
* * *
Cal waved a hand at the table laden with appetizers. “We ate such a small lunch before the plane landed that you must be starving. I know I am.” After handing her a plate, he took one of his own, piling on hors d’oeuvres.
“This all looks delicious,” she agreed. “I have to try one of each.” She took a bruschetta, a lobster roll, a shrimp puff, and a phyllo star.
Once her plate was full, she moved to the window again, her smile lighting up the night sky. “It’s gorgeous, beautiful, fantabulous.”
Then she took a bite and made a sound of such pleasure, it wound sensuously through him. He never should have let it affect him, but Lyssa experienced everything with so much wonder, so much passion. She’d been amazed by his plane, enchanted by the hotel suite, and now she was in awe of the city view from the London Eye.
Cal found it surprising and refreshing. After all, her brothers were as rich as Croesus. They could afford to give their sister anything she wanted. She could be lying on the beach in Saint-Tropez, living off the Mavericks. Instead, she worked for the foundation and put her whole heart into it.
He shouldn’t find her attitude so surprising, though, not when he already knew what really mattered to her family. Though Daniel Spencer headed a huge home-improvement conglomerate, he was still passionate about making free how-to videos. Matt Tremont was an amazing inventor with robotics factories worldwide, yet the light of his life was one small boy and his new wife, Ari. Will Franconi’s import-export empire circled the globe, but he’d drop anything and everything for Jeremy, his wife’s sweet kid brother who’d been injured in a childhood accident and would always have the heart and mind of a seven-year-old. Evan Collins ran a multinational financial corporation, yet he’d welcomed his estranged mother back into his life, along with his long-lost twin siblings, Kelsey and Tony, never considering that they might want his billions. Now he and Paige, the love of his life, were expecting a child. And for Sebastian Montgomery, the most important thing in the world was his fiancée’s career—and keeping a wide smile on Charlie’s face.
Susan and Bob Spencer had raised the Mavericks to be loyal and loving. The Spencers had worked their entire lives at what many considered menial labor—Bob as a baggage handler at O’Hare and Susan as a waitress. Though they’d already had two children they could barely afford to feed and house, they’d happily welcomed four foster boys into their home because those kids had needed them desperately.
That was the stock from which Lyssa Spencer had sprung. Of course she worked hard and appreciated everything she was offered.
Cal popped the cork on the champagne. “You didn’t get your champagne on the plane. Are you ready for a glass?”
A waiter bustled over from a darkened corner. “If you’ll allow me to pour, Mr. Danniger.”
Cal handed over the bottle. When a man had a job, no matter what it was, you had to let him take pride in it.
The man finished pouring, handing them each a glass. Then he disappeared again behind a potted plant, discreet and unobtrusive.
Lyssa pulled Cal to the window. “Look! There’s Big Ben. And Tower Bridge. It’s so wonderful seeing it all from the best vantage point in town.”
He was used to jaded women who expected exotic trips and expensive treats as their due, women for whom the most scintillating topic was themselves. But then, he’d never dated a down-to-earth woman, had he? Someone who worked for a living, who had responsibilities. Someone to whom family was the most important thing. Those were the qualities that made the Maverick women extraordinary.
And Lyssa had all those qualities in spades.
“It’s so beautiful up here,” she said, her voice dreamy as the capsule moved in a slow upward glide.
“Shall I turn down the lights?” the waiter interrupted softly. “It makes the panorama even more spectacular.”
“Yes, please,” Lyssa said, gracing the young man with such a bright smile that his cheeks reddened in response.
After the fairy lights dimmed, Lyssa circled the capsule again, trailing her hand along the rail, besotted by the lights stretching out below them. “It’s otherworldly.”
Cal was mesmerized far more by her enjoyment and her delight than he was by the dazzling lights of London. And by her beauty, even as he told himself she was untouchable.
She picked up her champagne. “To the most amazing night ever.”
He tapped his glass to hers, forcing back a vision of an even more amazing night in his bed. “Yes,” he said instead, “to an amazing night.”
“And the food is scrumptious.” She was still working on the same plate, nibbling on the appetizers.
The darkness was broken only by the dimmed fairy lights. Even the band lay in darkness except for the discreet lights on their music stands, the music drifting over the two of them like something from heaven.
“It’s magical,” she whispered.
He was suddenly afraid to look at her. The setting was too enchanting, too enticing. Too seductive. Perfect for romance…and a prelude to a sizzling-hot night of sex.
The quartet ended one song and began another. Lyssa set down her champagne and her plate. “I love this song.”
Though hauntingly familiar, he couldn’t place the tune.
“‘Unforgettable,’” she said in response to the question in his eyes. “It’s perfect for this unforgettable night.” She waited a beat. “Nat King Cole? From the fifties?”
The sweetness of her smile dazzled him. Then he finally understood what she was hinting at. “Would you care to dance?” He held out his hand, even though a voice in his head was telling him that dancing with her would be playing with fire.
“Why, I’d love to, Mr. Danniger.” Her hand in his, she let him lead her to the dance floor.
The capsule wasn’t large, and dancing seemed too incredibly intimate as he took her in his arms. He’d danced with her at Matt and Ari’s wedding, but those had been fast, fun dances and included two young boys and the rest of the single women. Even then, he’d felt Daniel’s evil eye on him, and it had made him laugh to think that his friend could ever be worried that Cal would dare touch his sister.
But as he twirled Lyssa in his arms tonight, Cal realized Daniel’s evil eye wasn’t far off the mark. She felt so sweet in his arms.
Too sweet.
“Where’d you learn to dance?” he asked as she followed his steps gracefully.
She laughed, and the honeyed sound vibrated through him. Whenever she laughed at the office, he lost his train of thought for a few moments. “I used to make my brothers dance with me when I was little. You should’ve seen them, hauling me around while I stood on their toes and bossed them around.” She giggled. “They’d turn beet red, but Mom told them that someday, when they got married, they’d have to know how to dance. I danced to this song when we played it on Dad’s old record player,” she added softly. “And where did you learn?”