Читать книгу Between Marriage And Merger - Karen Booth - Страница 11

Three

Lily did her best to stay busy at work the next morning, but knowing where she and Noah were going at eleven made it tough to focus. A mere twenty-four hours into their fake engagement and Noah was about to take her to buy the ring. She’d be lying if she said she’d never thought about stepping into a fancy jewelry store with a sweet, handsome, romantic guy. Her broken engagement had come with a ring that was a family heirloom, no shopping required. She’d had no idea that Peter wouldn’t be able to go through with the promise that accompanied that ring, but returning it had been a simple process. She’d thrown it at him in a quiet room just outside the nave. He’d cursed her, scrambled on his hands and knees for it, nearly ruining his tuxedo pants. She’d cried and braced herself for what followed—telling a church full of invited guests that they were welcome to enjoy the reception, but there would be no wedding.

The events of that dreadful day were precisely why her fake engagement to Noah, although fun in premise, was about business and nothing else. She’d never had financial security in her life and that became her top priority after the love part went south. She had to take her chance to secure her future. It would be one fewer thing to fret about, in a world fraught with things that could make a woman worry, like whether or not Mr. Right would ever come along.

Out walked Noah from the confines of Sawyer’s office. “So we’re all set with the photographer or whoever is supposed to be outside the jewelry store?”

Sawyer followed his brother. “According to Kendall, yes. As to who it is and where they’ll be, I have no idea. You’ll have to be as convincing as possible. These people are very good at sniffing out a fake. And, honestly, you need to act like someone is watching, even when you don’t know for certain that they are. The video should have taught you that much.”

Noah cast his sights at Lily. It was as if he was saying Can you believe what we’re doing? To which Lily would have replied No.

“I don’t want any obvious signs that this is a Locke and Locke purchase, so put the ring on one of your personal cards instead of the company’s. We’ll find a way to reimburse you for it,” Sawyer said. “I don’t know if they’ll let us return it when it’s all said and done, but I suppose we could always sell it if we had to.”

This was all too strange, an unromantic transaction. Lily dug around in her purse for a piece of gum, just to distract herself from this deeply uncomfortable subject.

“Sawyer, listen to yourself. We’re not doing that.” Noah grabbed his coat and slipped it on. The man had incredible shoulders, but the black wool brought out the strong line of them, enough to make her stifle a sigh. “If I give Lily a ring, she gets to keep it. I’m not asking for it back, even if this is fake.”

Lily’s heart broke out in a gallop, fierce and strong, like a young horse discovering it could run for as long and as far as it wanted to. That might have been the most romantic thing a man had ever said about her.

Even when his sweet sentiment was tied up with a satin bow called “fake.”

Sawyer stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Lily, whatever you choose today, it’s yours to keep.”

“Oh. Well, thank you. I guess we’ll call it combat pay?”

Sawyer laughed. Noah did, too, but it was far less convincing and came only after his brother had started it. He seemed so tortured over this whole thing, it was impossible to feel good about it.

“I’m kidding. Of course. If I wanted combat pay, I’d ask for cash.” She smiled sweetly and got up from her desk, wishing there was a protocol somewhere for interactions with your fake fiancée and your fake future brother-in-law. She felt a bit like she was failing right now.

“You two have fun. Try not to get into too much trouble,” Sawyer said, heading back into his office.

“No promises,” Noah muttered. “And we’re going out to lunch afterward.”

“On the company dime?” Lily asked.

Noah unleashed a devilish smile. “Of course.” He then offered her his arm, which he held in midair while Lily struggled to keep up with what she was supposed to do. “Remember what Sawyer said. We need to act like someone is watching at all times.”

“Right.” She hooked hers in his and he snugged her against his body, sending a lovely shock right through her. One touch, through layers of coats no less, and she felt like her shoes might shoot right off her feet.

They took the stairs down to the street. Noah’s driver was waiting for them, standing outside the sleek black town car. He opened the door as they approached and Lily struggled to stay in the moment, to not let her consciousness become too detached from what was happening. This was a fantasy brought to life, and she should embrace the good parts. There would surely be bad moments when she would end up with flickers of regret over doing this crazy thing. For now, Noah Locke, Mr. Unattainable, was taking her to buy an engagement ring. She wanted to soak up every minute.

They got settled in the back seat. “Warm enough?” Noah asked.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.”

“Yes.” Wow. So this is what the world’s worst small talk is like.

“I was thinking...” He looked out the window and shook his head.

“What? You were thinking what?”

He turned back and looked at her so earnestly she thought she might disappear into his green eyes. “What do people do after they buy an engagement ring?”

Have sex? Lily thought for a second about putting it out there, but decided there were only so many inappropriate jokes she could make. That would not be professional. “I don’t know. Kiss?”

“Yes. Exactly.” He nodded a little too fast, almost as if he was nervous, which seemed impossible. She’d witnessed more human moments out of Noah in the last day than she’d ever seen before. It was nice. “And, obviously, we haven’t done that yet. I don’t think it should be awkward. It should seem natural, especially if anyone is taking a picture.”

She put her hand on his. “Right. Like Sawyer said.”

“Following orders.”

“He needs us to put on a good show. We should practice. At least once.” The instant she said it, the air crackled with electricity. She’d pushed things to the next level. With the help of some convenient excuses, of course.

Noah’s clever half smile crossed his lips, and his eyes swirled to a darker shade. The city whizzed by outside the window. Lily was overcome with the freeing feeling of being given permission to do something you shouldn’t. Kissing Noah was such a bad idea, but when you’d thought about a bad idea for two whole years, it was hard not to be excited by it. His hand slipped under her hair and around her neck. She sat straighter. She angled herself closer. Every nerve ending in her body was cheering him on. His thumb settled in the soft spot under her ear. His touch was more than warm. It was a superhuman zap of heat. It might turn her into something she’d never been before.

His lips parted ever so slightly and she raised her chin as he lowered his head. His hair slumped forward. She loved that. She’d fantasized a million times about running her hands through it, feeling the thick strands between her fingers and smoothing it back. She wanted to stare at him forever, but she also wanted to savor every delicious heartbeat of anticipation. Her eyes fluttered shut. When his mouth met hers, she waited for it to change her life, but it was a soft brush of a kiss. A first date kiss. An oh hi nice to meet you kiss. It was nice. So nice. But nice wasn’t going to cut it. Her body didn’t merely tell her so, it was screaming it in both ears. She slanted her head and pushed up from the seat, aiming her shoulders straight for his. He pulled back. Her eyes flew open. Their gazes connected, both of them searching. It was an entire deliberation about their next kiss, wrapped up in two seconds. He smiled. She swallowed. He was coming in for the real thing.

The next thing she knew, she had all ten fingers working into his hair. Her arms landed on his shoulders. His hand was molded around her hip, squeezing like he was trying to get down to the bone. Their lips were in a mad scramble, parted, making way for tongues to roam. In under two seconds, they’d gone from zero to sexy sixty. The kiss was flat-out reckless now, like neither of them cared about ramifications. She was a woman and he was the hottest man she’d ever set her eyes on. One well-placed rub and they might as well be dry tinder. A fire was inevitable.

Lily dropped one hand and worked her way inside Noah’s coat, which he’d been kind enough to leave unbuttoned. She palmed his firm chest, and even through layers of clothes—his suit coat, his shirt—she could feel the frantic pounding of his heart. She wanted nothing more than to experience that with bare skin against bare skin. Noah’s hand traveled down to her knee and under the hem of her skirt. Lily felt like she might burst into full flame. He didn’t waste a second, heading north, his palm caressing her stocking. Her heart was beating like a kid dragging a stick across a picket fence. He came to a dead stop when his thumb reached the top of her thigh-highs. Noah pulled back, breaking their kiss, breathless. Thankfully, his hand hadn’t moved.

“Are those?” His eyes were dark with a brew of lust and curiosity.

She nodded, her lips floating back to meet his and steal one more kiss. “I can’t stand regular panty hose,” she murmured against his mouth. She took a soft nip of his lower lip.

A low groan escaped his throat.

The divider between the driver and the back seat started to lower. Lily scrambled to find a more demure position. The driver, most likely accustomed to this scene, didn’t look at them. “Mr. Locke. We’re here at Tiffany.”

Noah gawked at Lily. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to go for it. Carpe diem, Mr. Locke. Carpe diem. “Um. Ready?” he asked.

For what? she almost answered. For you to tear off my clothes? “Hold on a sec.” She reached out and combed her fingers through his silky hair, which was just as tangled as her thoughts right now. “Your hair.” It was even softer than it had been a minute ago. Maybe it was because she wasn’t wholly distracted by his lips and chest.

“Thanks for looking out for me.” He then scrutinized her hair and smoothed back one strand that was grazing her cheek. “You weren’t nearly as disheveled.”

Embarrassment crept over her, shrouding her from head to toe. She hadn’t merely gone overboard, she’d behaved like a teenager who’d spent her adolescence locked up in an all-girls school. Lily made a mental note: practice some damn decorum. At least this was probably the norm for Noah, women going crazy for him. He didn’t seem particularly fazed by it at all.

* * *

Noah was quite frankly shocked that he could climb out of the back seat and straighten to his full height. It felt like his pants had shrunk two sizes and not in the waist. Thank goodness for unseasonably cool weather, as well as his long wool coat. It could hide a multitude of sins. And stiffness.

He took Lily’s hand as she stepped out of the car. The flush in her cheeks filled him with an unavoidable sense of accomplishment. He liked knowing that had been her response to him, but even better was having experienced it firsthand. She’d gone for far more than a practice kiss, which had honestly surprised him. She was always so businesslike in the office, never showing any interest in him outside the professional. Which was fine, and as it should have been. But it had disappointed him from time to time, for sure. Was there more there? Or was she amped up because her whole financial future was about to become so much sunnier?

Either way, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to be his father. He couldn’t go overboard like that again. He had a professional relationship to maintain with Lily. Kissing like they just had was a one-way ticket to ruin.

They stepped inside Tiffany & Co., the beautifully appointed showroom with a maze of glass cases filled with jewelry, towering displays of crystal bowls and the ever-present flashes of their signature blue. Lily squeezed his hand a little tighter, which only made him want to reassure her that they were in this together. As unorthodox as their arrangement was, they had each other. For a few days.

An older gentleman at the first counter stepped out from behind it. “Mr. Locke?” His British accent made him even more distinguished than his appearance. His silvery hair was impeccably groomed.

“Yes. You must be Mr. Russell.” Noah turned to Lily. “I made an appointment. I didn’t want us to have to wait.”

“Absolutely not. I understand you are a very busy man, Mr. Locke.” He then turned his attention to Lily. A warm grin crossed his face and he stood even straighter. “And this must be the future Mrs. Locke.” He reached out his hand and shook hers, regarding her as if she were made of fine china.

“Yes. That’s me. Won’t be long and I’ll be Lily Locke.” Mr. Russell let go and Lily smiled nervously at Noah. He got it. He hadn’t thought about it in terms of her married name yet either.

They followed Mr. Russell to a counter in the middle of the store. He pulled out a velvet-covered board with at least a dozen engagement rings on it. “I took the liberty of picking out a few things to start. You had said platinum, right? And something larger than a carat? But you also wanted something ready-made. Not a custom ring, correct?”

Noah nodded. He didn’t much like the idea of something right off the sales floor, but thus was their timeline. “Yes. Correct. We don’t want to wait.” He put his hand on the small of Lily’s back. “What do you think?”

Lily leaned down, perusing them, but didn’t touch a thing. When she turned back to Noah, there was a decidedly panicked edge to her expression. “These all seem really big.”

“Yes...” His mind went blank as he tried to decide what sort of pet name Lily might like. “Honey. We talked about this before. Remember? I want you to have a beautiful ring. A ring that’s just as gorgeous and amazing as you.” That was the sort of thing a romantic guy would say, wasn’t it?

“But aren’t these a little extravagant?”

He shook his head as sweetly as possible. “No. I don’t think so.”

Mr. Russell cleared his throat. “Oh, dear. A few of these aren’t quite as clean as they should be. Let me polish them up and I’ll give you two a chance to chat.” He’d obviously been doing this for a very long time. He seemed quite practiced in the art of ducking away when a couple was about to have an argument. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Mr. Russell was gone with the rings, Lily started in. “They’re too much, Noah. It doesn’t seem right that I would get that on top of the one percent. I want to be compensated, but I also don’t want to take advantage of you or Sawyer.”

“I hear what you’re saying. And it’s sweet, but you need to think about me and my family. People are going to expect Noah Locke’s fiancée to have a huge hulking ring. Did you see the rock that Sawyer gave Kendall?”

“It all seems very superficial. A man’s love should not be demonstrated by the size of an engagement ring.”

“And it isn’t. The size of a man’s wallet is demonstrated by the ring. The love part people will have to figure out on their own.” That last thought gave him a sour stomach. He and Lily both deserved better than to be picking out engagement rings with someone they weren’t head over heels for. “You’re going to have to trust me on this one. When we get to the wedding this weekend and you show off that ring, we want people to be blinded by it. If it’s small, it’ll just cast suspicion on the engagement and that’s one thing we can’t afford.”

Lily blew out a long breath through her nose and looked around the store, shaking her head the whole time. “You know, I’m surprised the grand Locke family doesn’t have a cache of heirloom engagement rings tucked away somewhere. Surely you guys have been handing down jewelry from generation to generation. Maybe that would be easier. Then I could give it back when we’re done.”

He didn’t like that she was making assumptions about his family or their history. There might have been many Locke fortunes made over the last century, but there had been a lot of sadness and heartache, too. They weren’t all spending their days rolling around on piles of money. “There’s no cache of rings. There is one family ring in the mix, and that’s all I know of. It was my mother’s. The sapphire engagement ring my father gave her. He gave it to me when I turned eighteen.”

“It sounds pretty.”

“It’s beautiful. A big oval surrounded by diamonds.” Noah almost choked on the words. More than twenty years later and he still missed his mom. Plus, all he could think about was what his dad had said when he’d given him the ring. If you ever manage to find the right woman, you should give this to her when you ask her to marry you. I’m just not sure you have it in you to be like me. “I didn’t really think that was appropriate for today.”

The expression on Lily’s face fell. “Oh. Of course. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

Noah understood how bad it sounded, but Mr. Russell was only a few feet away. “Wait. I didn’t mean it that way.”

She waved him off, not looking at him. “No. It’s fine. I get it, Noah. Really.”

“Right, then,” Mr. Russell started. “Have we had a chance to have the ‘size matters’ discussion?” He winked at Lily and she laughed quietly. Thank God for Mr. Russell.

“Yes. We have.” She leaned down, her thumb resting on her lower lip. “I think I’d like to try that one.”

Mr. Russell picked up the ring and placed it gently on Lily’s left ring finger. She slid it into place and held out her hand so Noah could see. “What do you think?”

The ring was stunning. And it looked lovely on Lily’s hand.

“It’s a square solitaire, just under two and a half carats. Platinum setting, of course, and approximately another two carats of small diamonds in the band.” Mr. Russell watched Lily closely. “I’ll get you the exact carat weight if this is the one you decide to take.”

“It’s a gorgeous ring. No question about that,” Noah said. This was Lily’s decision. Not his.

“Okay, then. We’ll take this one.”

“Are you sure? You don’t want to try any others?” Mr. Russell asked. “How does the size of the band feel?”

Lily shrugged. “No. I’m good. I like this one. It seems like it fits fine.”

“Okay, then. You have to appreciate a woman who knows what she wants.” He smiled wide at Lily. “Truly. Some couples are here for hours.”

“I bet.” At least we’re efficient.

“I’ll get the paperwork together.” Mr. Russell didn’t leave, though. He seemed to be waiting, perhaps for the moment he’d undoubtedly witnessed many times with countless other couples.

Lily leaned into Noah and showed him the ring again. “I love it, darling. Truly.”

Noah then remembered the show they were supposed to be putting on. He gazed into her eyes, but it wasn’t the same as things had been when they were in the car together. Alone. This version of Lily was all business. “Good. I’m so glad.” He leaned closer and they kissed. It was sweet and soft, but only an echo of the passion they’d shared mere minutes ago.

Mr. Russell smiled, seeming satisfied. He left for a moment, and returned with a packet of paperwork certifying the diamonds, along with a blue Tiffany box for Lily to keep the ring in, and the final bill. Noah pulled out his credit card, hoping that at some point, this might all start to seem at least a little more normal. Mr. Russell presented him with the receipt, Noah signed on the dotted line.

And just like that, it was done.

They bid their farewell and walked out of the store, hand in hand. As soon as they were in the car, he had to say something. “I’m sorry about what I said about my mom’s ring. It didn’t come out in a particularly kind way.”

“No. It’s fine, Noah. I get it. Our arrangement isn’t real. We both knew that going into it.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. The chunky diamond sparkled. “And now I have the ring to prove it.”