Chapter One #3
He was so deep in his musings that it was only her small gasp of delight as they emerged on the rooftop that alerted him to their arrival.
‘Wow. I thought the city was beautiful from down on the ground, but from here it’s even more spectacular.
’ Her eyes swept side to side several times to take in the wonder of Singapore’s glowing skyline; the pale lights of the business district and the colourful illuminations of the Gardens by the Bay.
‘I’m surprised it’s not busier up here though,’ she commented, as he led her to a vacant table in the corner with views across the vibrant city.
‘I thought the rooftop lounge was fully booked tonight. My friend, Evie, wanted to come up here for a drink before dinner and was so disappointed when we couldn’t get in. ’
‘This is the members-only rooftop lounge,’ Caleb informed her as a waiter arrived at their table with two flutes of champagne, depositing one in front of each of them. ‘It’s solely for VIP guests.’
Her eyes went round with surprise, looking first at him and then around the intimately lit surroundings.
The tables were well spaced out, and many of them were occupied with parties of varying sizes.
He watched her eyes pop with shocked recognition as she spotted the cluster of Hollywood superstars sitting with minor members of the British Royal Family and then graze the world-renowned tennis champion at the table behind, celebrating his latest championship title.
‘Well, I certainly feel foolish for not having realised that before now.’ She reached for her glass and was halfway to lifting it to her full pink lips when she froze, her eyes turning back to him. ‘That makes you a VIP guest too?’
‘Technically I’m the owner.’ He held out his hand, seeing further surprise abound through her expression. ‘Caleb Morgenthau.’
It was a novel experience for him to not be known.
In Australia, the Morgenthau name was widely recognised, and as the son of such a professionally prominent and socially powerful father, Caleb’s profile had always been high.
His personal business success, along with his unattainable, untameable bachelor status, had generated even greater attention around him, attention that followed him wherever he went, and six months of living in Singapore hadn’t changed that.
He knew women were often drawn to him because of that notoriety.
It didn’t bother him. He wasn’t looking for anything to last longer than a night, so the motives of the women who sought him out were immaterial, but it was refreshing to know that it hadn’t played any part in her interest and that she was there for the same reasons as him—pure physical and sexual attraction.
Slowly, almost shyly, she slid her fingers against his, and the feeling of her soft, delicate hand encased in his had the strongest sensations rippling across his skin.
Her skin was as smooth and warm as he had imagined and the desire to touch more of her flared through him like a rocket, because her hand fit so seamlessly inside of his that he knew their bodies would lock together just as perfectly, as if they were connecting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. ‘Serena Addison.’
Beneath his fingertips her pulse fluttered at twice the normal speed and that same explosion of feeling was mirrored in the eyes that boldly held his gaze.
‘Serena,’ he repeated, liking how the syllables rolled around his mouth. It was a name he wanted to say again and again and again. ‘That’s beautiful. It suits you.’
‘Thank you.’ Their eyes continued to hold in a way that had Caleb’s blood thickening and a series of low throbs beating pleasantly in his groin.
‘My mother was Italian, and even though she married an Englishman and settled in England, she wanted to honour her heritage with the name that she gave me.’
As Serena spoke, she rearranged her legs in front of her, drawing Caleb’s eyes down to their spectacular slim shape and length, and he couldn’t keep himself from imagining them curled around his waist. They were the only part of her body that her silky navy dress showcased, but she was definitely right to show them off.
It took a giant surge of willpower to angle his gaze away from them quickly.
‘Italian?’ he asked, reaching for his own glass and taking a sip to moisten his mouth, because even by his standards, it was too soon to start taking it further yet. ‘Do you spend much time in Italy?’
She gave a light shake of her head. ‘No. I haven’t been there in a long time.’
‘How come?’
‘There aren’t many reasons to. My mother left the country because she had didn’t have any family left there and wanted a fresh start. We used to visit when I was younger, but she passed away when I was twelve and I’ve never been back.’
She made that final admission quickly, as though it caused her physical pain to speak that fact aloud, and Caleb could hear her sadness and the loss she felt.
It changed the tenor of her voice, momentarily casting a shadow across her beautiful face, and he found himself longing to reach out and smooth it away, which surprised him as he wasn’t usually given to such tender impulses.
But he was familiar with the deep ache of not having a mother.
For Serena, however, to have lost her mother after knowing her and being loved by her…
well, that was a cruelty he couldn’t speak to.
His mother had absconded before Caleb could even begin to remember her, and a person couldn’t miss what they’d never had, could they?
At least, that was what he always told himself in the moments he caught himself approaching some form of pathetic, melancholic sentimentality.
‘It’s a shame that you lost her at such a young age,’ Caleb sympathised, focusing on Serena instead of the dart of poisonous feeling arrowing across his chest that accompanied any consideration of the woman who’d given him life.
The woman whose decision to leave and never return had carved a void in him that had never been filled and created a wedge between him and his father that was yet to be bridged.
‘It is. She was a very vibrant character and a lot of fun, so her loss left a big void.’ Sadness haunted the rim of her eyes as she continued, ‘But it’s much worse for my younger brother and sister.
They never even had the chance to know her.
I, at least, have my memories.’ Her eyes grew wet and she blinked rapidly, angling her face away.
‘I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m getting emotional. This is terrible drinks conversation.’
‘It’s fine conversation.’ Gently placing a finger under her chin, he turned her face back to his, but the sparks that ignited from that brief moment of contact seemed to still them both, their gazes meeting and holding, the air seeming to charge as they did. ‘You have nothing to apologise for.’
With a swipe of her inky lashes, she banished the sadness from her eyes and smiled again, a smile of determination.
‘Your turn now, Caleb Morgenthau. Tell me about you,’ she invited, leaning her head on her hand and looking at him through such bright eyes and with such a soft smile that he was captivated all over again, and he found himself leaning in to her as close as possible, as if being pulled by some invisible thread.
‘What would you like to know?’
‘You’re Australian, yes?’ At his nod of confirmation, she smiled. ‘Whereabouts in Australia is home?’
‘I was born and raised in Melbourne, but nowadays home is wherever I’m establishing a new venue. In the last few years, I’ve lived in Sydney, Bali, Hong Kong and here in Singapore.’
‘You have places like this in all those cities?’ she asked, looking more than a little impressed.
‘Not exactly like this, but yes. And few more besides.’ Caleb grinned. ‘Now that this place is running successfully and there’s a good management team in place, the next stop is Europe. After that, the plan is to expand into North America.’
‘So, you’re looking to conquer the world?’
‘Perhaps I am.’ He smiled, but in that moment, he was far more interested in conquering her. Taking her over kiss by kiss, touch by touch, until she was completely and undeniably his.
The smile dancing at the corners of her mouth made him think she knew exactly what he was thinking, that she was thinking it too. She took another sip of her champagne. ‘Where are you opening in Europe?’
‘Saint-Tropez. Mykonos. Rome and London,’ he answered, waiting for the hint to be dropped that she would love to visit those venues and pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. Usually, the women he met couldn’t wait to exploit the connection for access to his luxurious nightlife experiences.
Instead, her eyes shone. ‘You’re so lucky.
Getting to live and work in all those different places.
’ Wistfulness infused her words and made him think of his younger self, of the days that he’d spent chafing at the ties that bound him, dreaming of an escape, of freedom, and he wondered what it was that she was dreaming of escaping.
Responsibilities at home perhaps? She had mentioned having younger siblings.
‘Was this what you always wanted to do?’