Читать книгу The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance 2016 - Эбби Грин, Кейт Хьюит - Страница 11

CHAPTER THREE

‘DARLING, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL...’

Alexa tried hard not to grimace. She had spent a restless night. Her entire mind had seemed to be filled with images of Theo, leaving no room for anything else.

First thing in the morning she had telephoned her boss at work to advise him that she would have to take a temporary leave of absence. She hated leaving him in the lurch, but he would find out soon enough the reasons for her abrupt departure. When pressed, she had only muttered that it was of a personal nature.

Then she had spent the day, at her mother’s excited instigation, at various beauty parlours and clothes shops.

She had had her nails done, her face done... She had gone to the hairdressers, where they had trimmed her hair, suffused it with highlights and then insisted she look and admire what they had created... She had traipsed from one shop to another and allowed herself to be guided by personal shoppers...

Alexa knew that it was just the sort of day most girls of her background would have taken for granted. But by the end of the afternoon, laden with bags which had quickly been taken to her room, each elaborate dress carefully hung in her wardrobe while her precious casual clothes had got second billing, she had felt utterly spent.

Now, looking at her mother’s thin, beaming face, she reminded herself why she had embarked on this crazy scheme. Her mother was positively radiant.

She hadn’t accompanied her shopping, but had greeted the sight of each purchase with gratifying squeals of delight. Alexa was forced to concede that at long last Cora Caldini had managed to get the doll she had wanted rather than the tomboy she had been stuck with.

‘I look...’ Alexa stole a glance at her reflection and for a few startling seconds, now that she was seeing the complete and finished product, was lost for words ‘...different...’ she eventually managed to croak.

Neither the mirrors she had cursorily glanced in at the various shops nor the face she had politely and very briefly scanned at the hairdressers seemed to have done justice to the person now reflected back at her.

Different was an understatement, and she was honest enough to acknowledge that.

Her curves were still all there, but for some reason the dress took them, held them, shaped them in some way so that she was...sexy...

‘I know,’ her mother said with immense satisfaction. ‘Fabulous! And the colour suits you perfectly.’

That colour was a shimmering pale duck-egg-blue that brought out the brightness of her eyes. Perfectly fitted to slightly below the waist, clinging to her torso like a second skin, the dress flared softly to the ground. The neckline was scooped, but not outrageously so, just affording a tantalising glimpse of the soft swell of her breasts, and the back was equally scooped. When she moved, it flowed in gossamer-fine layers of silk around her, so that every movement she made was as graceful as a dancer’s.

The highlights she had ignored at the hairdressers picked up rich copper threads in her hair that she had never noticed. Only a fraction of her hair had been trimmed so that, loose, it tumbled down her back and cascaded over her shoulders.

Her mother had brought in some of her jewellery, and the next half an hour was spent trying on several pieces.

Alexa discovered that she actually enjoyed that half an hour...

She was hardly aware of time passing until there was a knock on the door and she was told that Theo had arrived and was waiting for her by the stairs.

Alexa snapped out of her reverie and smiled at her mother. ‘This is the most excited I’ve seen you in ages. Do you think I should have been going around dressed like this for the past few years?’

‘You’ve never been one for dressing up...’ Her mother sighed, still smiling. ‘And I wouldn’t have changed that for the world. But now and again... Well, my darling, you can see for yourself how wonderful it is to just try something new once in a while. Theo is going to be stunned.’

Theo won’t notice what I wear unless I turn up in dungarees and trainers, Alexa wanted to retort as she slipped her feet into stilettoes that were precariously high but absolutely suited to the outfit.

‘You’re going to be engaged—and married. Such an exciting time... I know you’ve been nudged a little in that direction—but, darling, a mother knows best, and I just know that the two of you are going to be soulmates. When your father told me that Stefano had mentioned his son had seen you, wanted to meet you... Well, I was over the moon. And, having met him for myself... Well, he’s just perfect—and I can tell you feel the same...’

So that’s how this little charade is being played out, Alexa thought. Theo had supposedly wanted to set up a meeting with her. Her mother probably had visions of love at first sight, if not at first meeting.

Of course she didn’t know of his deal made with the devil. One year of self-sacrifice and in return shares in their sprawling family company. And, added to that, his father’s company would be saved from public ruin.

Love and respect for her mother stopped her from prolonging the conversation and hammering the truth home like a battering ram. But it was just so frustrating.

She grabbed a little sequinned bag from the dressing table and then followed her mother along the corridor towards the staircase. Pausing at the top, she looked down to see Theo and her father chatting. Theo’s back was to her, but the powerful force of his presence still struck her like a physical blow.

He was dressed as formally as she was. One hand was shoved into the pocket of black hand-tailored trousers, and she could see the pristine white of his shirt-cuff peeping out from beneath his immaculately fitted black jacket.

His body’s posture was loose...relaxed. He was a man looking forward to an evening out with the woman he would show off to the world as his wife-to-be.

No wonder her mother thought that the man was the next best thing to sliced bread. Theo had his act down pat. He was so socially adept at handling any situation that anyone looking in would have just seen a prospective son-in-law dedicated to charming his in-laws. Anyone looking in would have probably thought that he had asked her father for her hand in marriage and proposed on bended knee. Which just went to show...

She took a deep breath and began walking down the winding staircase.

Theo turned slowly. Carlo Caldini was proving to be both amusing and intelligent. In fact he reminded Theo of his own father. He could understand why they had been inseparable friends for such a long time. Without much time to spare there had seemed little point in having a drink, so they had remained at the bottom of the staircase, chatting.

It had come as no great surprise that Alexa had not been waiting for him when he arrived. As long as she wasn’t hiding out in the broom cupboard in the hope that he would leave without her, then that was all right. He was prepared to wait for as long as it took—whether they arrived on time or not was of little importance to him. In fact the later the better, to some extent, because not only would that limit the hours spent in tedious chatter but it would also ensure that the maximum number of people would witness their arrival, arm in arm.

In Rome, even more than in London, news of the happy couple and their impending nuptials would spread faster than the speed of light.

With his mind toying with the question of how best he could assimilate a wife into his lifestyle without having to alter his day-to-day routine very much, it took Theo a few seconds to focus on the woman gliding with effortless grace down the stairs.

So she’d taken him at his word. He hadn’t known what to expect—whether she would actually do what was necessary or else jump aboard her independence bandwagon and don some paint-spattered overalls and hiking boots for the social event to which he had been invited.

Where had that figure come from? She’d hidden it well... With the dress clinging lovingly to her, he could see that she had the perfect hourglass shape. Full breasts narrowed to a slender waist, and even in the floor-length gown he could see that her legs would be shapely. She was the absolute opposite of the stick insects he was accustomed to dating.

Their eyes met and she pursed her lips—just sufficiently to remind him that she was doing this under duress.

If either of her parents had noticed that little show of rebellion they were hiding it well under their broad smiles and proud gazes, but as soon as he had followed her into the chauffeur-driven limousine, Theo turned to her.

‘You’re going to have to do a bit better than that...’ he drawled, making sure that the privacy partition between the driver and the rear seat was firmly up.

She had pressed herself as far away from him as she could physically get without falling out of the car.

‘And the evening isn’t going to kick off on the right footing if you behave as though I’m carrying the plague,’ he went on, keeping his voice even and detached.

‘I’ll be fine once we get there,’ Alexa told him defiantly.

She had noticed that he hadn’t complimented her on her outfit. Whilst her father had been holding her at arm’s length and showering her with over-the-top compliments Theo had stood back, face impassive. Anyone in that situation would have felt hurt, so it wasn’t strange that she had.

Clearly when there was no pressing need to make an impression he wasn’t that bothered, so why did he expect her to cosy up against him now? Just in case the driver got suspicious?

‘I’m not even sure where we’re going,’ she said, because yet again his show of good manners had made her feel like a silly kid.

‘Art exhibition,’ Theo said succinctly. ‘Under normal circumstances I would have been in London, but as I happen to be here...’

‘An art exhibition...?’ She had gone to a couple of those ages ago, with her parents. The art had been incomprehensible and the crowd had been shallow and overdressed.

‘There will be no need to stay long,’ Theo said mildly. ‘Just long enough to create an impression. Although...’

‘Although what?’ Alexa tensed and looked at him.

In the blue-grey twilight his face was all angles and shadows. She felt a dangerous ripple of response snake through her body and she caught her breath and held it for a few panicked, confused seconds before slowly releasing it.

‘Although perhaps we might stay a bit longer than absolutely necessary. After all, it would a shame to waste a dress like that on a forty-minute appearance...’

Alexa was lost for words. He had paid her a compliment, in a backhanded sort of way, and his lazy velvety voice swirled around her like a mind-altering drug. He was leaning against the door, utterly relaxed, and his eyes were broodingly sexy as he watched her, obviously not caring that it was rude to stare.

Of course, she told herself feverishly, what he had meant was that it was a dress designed to grab the headlines, so why waste it? Why not stay as long as they could so that it had maximum effect? It hadn’t been a compliment directed at her personally.

At any rate, it didn’t matter one way or the other. This was a business arrangement. They were co-workers, so to speak.

‘I’ve never liked those sorts of things.’ Alexa rushed into nervous chatter. ‘I think that was the best thing about being away from Italy...not having to go to openings and art shows and film premieres... Not that I was ever forced to, you understand, but I think my parents enjoyed showing me off. The hardship of being the only child of a rich family!’

She was blabbering, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself because she knew that if she did she might have to analyse the rush of giddiness that had assailed her on the back of his stupid compliment. And then she would have to link it up with the weird way her body seemed to behave in his presence.

Did it all stem from her lack of experience with the opposite sex?

Blabbering on seemed an easier option than wrestling with those kinds of questions.

‘Most people would kill to endure that sort of hardship.’

Cheeks flaming, Alexa turned to look through the window before glancing back at him. The space between them was as big as it could possibly get on the back seat of a very big car, but it still felt tiny. If she reached out she would be able to touch him.

‘I get that,’ she said stiffly. ‘I wasn’t complaining. I was talking too much because...’

‘Because you’re nervous?’

‘Aren’t you?’

Theo shrugged. He liked the way her hair fell in waves around her. It was much longer than he had originally thought, and it wasn’t poker-straight, which seemed to be the only style women below the age of thirty-five wore their hair in the circles he mixed in. A year out from them might be a pleasant break in the monotony. She looked as though she had just climbed out of bed and run her fingers through its length and then left it to its own devices. She was dressed to kill and wearing war paint, but there was still something lacking in artifice about her. She would do those cameras proud.

‘Why would I be nervous?’

‘Because we’re pretending to be something we aren’t,’ Alexa said bluntly.

‘You never did tell me,’ he murmured, ‘whether you have a boyfriend or not.’

‘Because it’s none of your business.’

‘Of course it’s my business,’ Theo returned smoothly. Was it? Really? Probably not. But he was suddenly curious to find out. ‘Reporters will do anything to get background material so that they can flesh out a non-existent story, and you’d be surprised at the efforts they go to to rake up mud. If they uncover a lovelorn pro bono lawyer weeping in a corner somewhere they’ll have a field-day. I’m going to have to be prepped with a suitable story.’

‘Are you telling me that you’re as pure as driven snow when it comes to...to...women? That there are no skeletons in your cupboard that can be uncovered?’

‘My love-life is an open book!’

Theo grinned, and she was fascinated at how that open grin could be so engaging. She was as nervous as a kitten and he couldn’t have been cooler.

Did anything rattle the man?

‘We’re here.’

Alexa realised that the limo was slowing in front of an impressive white building, fronted with imposing stone columns and a bank of shallow stairs leading up to double doors, which were open. In front of them two uniformed men were checking invitations.

‘Boyfriend or no boyfriend?’ Theo pressed, circling her wrist with his hand, staying her before she could get out of the car.

‘No boyfriend! Okay?’

Theo shot her a smile of such satisfaction that she wanted to smack him. Instead she gritted her teeth and returned his look of satisfaction with one of simmering resentment, which just made him smile a little more.

‘No boyfriend. Good. The fewer complications, the better. And stop scowling. Our relationship is too fresh for us to be having arguments in the back seat of a limo. We’re still in the honeymoon phase... The way I leave the toothpaste uncovered and forget to put the toilet seat down hasn’t started getting on your nerves just yet... So let’s smile a lot and face the music...’

He laughed softly at her indignant, helpless expression and gently urged her out of the car as her door was opened for her.

It was a big deal. Cameras flashed at the throng of people clustered outside or making their way in. Even as the car had stopped Alexa had been able to recognise faces. A couple of high-profile politicians, celebrities clinging to other celebrities, as if terrified of moving out of their comfort zones, businessmen in suits, accompanied by wives dripping in diamonds...

Just the sort of crowd she preferred to avoid.

They stepped out of the car and every reporter with every camera seemed to turn, as one, in their direction.

This was the difference between being rich and being rich and newsworthy. The blinding flash of bulbs going off dazzled her, and the steadying arm of Theo, curving around her waist, felt like a solid rock of support in turbulent waters. She knew that she was actually leaning against him. Loathing the man, yet still finding his support strangely comforting.

There was an excited babble of voices and heads turned in their direction.

‘You look amazing.’

Theo leant to whisper huskily into her ear and she looked up at him, sensed the popping of cameras taking a picture of their whispered conversation.

‘So don’t be nervous. I’m right here.’

He felt her automatic protest and his hold on her tightened. He laughed softly under his breath.

‘Remember,’ he murmured, still pressing close to her, so that no one could overhear what was being said, ‘what I told you about retracting those claws in public... Don’t forget that we’re in love...at the honeymoon stage...you can’t get enough of me...’

Alexa had no idea how she managed to deal with the next hour and a half. She drank two glasses of champagne and ate some of the canapés that were passed around. Questions peppered her from various quarters, including from several people—friends of her parents—who wanted to know what was going on.

The gossip mill was in full swing, and they couldn’t have announced their togetherness in a more public manner.

Theo didn’t leave her side. His arm was around her at all times. She was conscious of that with every step she took.

‘Had enough?’

Theo tilted her chin up and their eyes met. Alexa found that she could do little else but stare. His eyes were truly amazing and she felt giddy, sucked in by their green depths. She saw those fabulous, mesmerising eyes flicker and then he was leaning towards her and his mouth was covering hers, grazing it, and then he was delicately teasing his tongue between her lips.

Never in her life had she felt anything like this before. It was as if a series of fireworks had exploded in her head. Every single thought vanished. Indeed, there was no one else in the room—no crowds of people chattering around her, no waiting staff weaving through with trays balanced on hands, no curious eyes boring a hole into her back.

There was just the two of them, and the feel of his tongue meshing with hers, eliciting a soft shudder of response.

Simultaneously the flash of a camera captured the moment, and she knew instantly that Theo had foreseen that.

Everything had been timed to perfection. He had held her with just the right amount of possessiveness, had been attentive to just the right extent, had led the charade, expecting her to follow in his lead—and she had.

They left the still-packed art exhibition and the babble of noise eventually subsided as they moved out into the open foyer outside the room where the main event was taking place, which was far less crowded.

‘Well done.’

Theo released her, and without his arm around her reality was re-established.

‘What choice did I have?’ Alexa asked stiffly as they made their way outside.

The chauffeur had already been summoned and was waiting for them, with the passenger door open and thankfully, no prying cameras to chart their sudden lack of affection.

She was taut with anger. Anger at herself, for having become swept up in that kiss—and not just the kiss. The whispered encouraging compliments...the way he had spent the evening touching her in some way or another...the way he had been the perfect newly loved-up boyfriend.

‘About as much as I had.’

The ferocity of his body’s response to that well-timed kiss, which would doubtless be in print somewhere by the following morning, had shocked him. He prided himself on being in control of the situation that had been foisted upon him, and he was annoyed with himself for the unrestrained surge in his libido. Again.

He propelled her into the waiting car and then slid the partition up so that once again their conversation could not be overheard by their driver.

‘Our engagement will be publicly announced in the next few days,’ he informed her matter-of-factly. ‘So our next bonding session will be at a jeweller’s.’

Every trace of affection had disappeared. His cool washed over her like freezing water. He had detached. There was the man who could show one face to the public, and then there was the man who could remove that mask and be someone completely different in private.

This was a lesson she should learn, Alexa thought feverishly. While her feelings were all over the place, his had never shifted. He was completely lacking in all emotion—which was why he had no problem going along with the farce.

Considering she had always thought of herself as a restrained person—someone who could stand back and laugh at the weaknesses of other members of her sex, who got their emotions all tangled up, who ended up being ruled by them—it came as a shock to realise that she wasn’t quite the person she had thought herself to be.

She would have to learn fast.

‘When shall I pencil that in?’ she asked.

‘Whenever I tell you to. It will take full precedence over everything else.’

‘And I assume there will be some sort of stupid engagement party?’

‘I prefer the word lavish to stupid.’

Alexa glumly pictured the extravagant affair it would no doubt turn out to be. Lots of important people, and among them the friends she had made in her job—who would stick out like elephants in a tea shop.

‘I can’t see your father having a great time being entertained by my parents,’ she said snidely.

‘You’d be surprised. They may have their simmering feud, but they have still carried on mixing in the same social circles. You know well enough what it’s like over here.’

‘Not really. I’ve spent most of my time abroad. And anyway I never attended those events.’ Curiosity got the better of her. ‘You’ve seen our fathers interacting?’

‘On a couple of occasions. They bristle in each other’s company and yet end up having conversations—like a married couple who can’t help fighting but find it hard to stay away from one another. In a room of five hundred people, somehow they’ll end up right next to one another. And in between the fraught relations there’s usually a fair amount of gossip, which they can’t seem to help divulging. Which, in turn, is probably why my father turned to Carlo before heading to the nearest bank. It’s a strange case. So I shouldn’t worry over-much about your father at our engagement party...it won’t be a case of fisticuffs at dusk.’

‘Do you know why they fell out?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

This lull in hostilities was a temporary soothing balm, but she shook herself free and recalled that this was just a business arrangement with a man she didn’t even like.

The limousine was pulling up outside her house, but she remained sitting in the car for a few moments after the car had come to a stop in the courtyard.

‘Perhaps you could text me with details of when this visit to the jeweller’s is likely to be?’ she offered politely.

Theo dragged his thoughts away from the way she was sitting, her body towards him, leaning in so that the soft mounds of her breasts were temptingly on show.

‘Let’s say I pass by for you at noon tomorrow. The sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned. We can choose a ring and then go somewhere to have lunch.’

Alexa couldn’t hide her dismay. ‘Lunch? Is that really necessary?’

‘Your constant shows of reluctance are really beginning to get on my nerves, Alexa! Yes, lunch! What exactly is your dilemma with that? We’re newly engaged. Has it occurred to you that as a newly engaged couple we might just want to celebrate together before scuttling off in opposite directions? Scuttling off in opposite directions would be more suited to a couple on the verge of divorce!’

Alexa glared, but this was her life for the time being and she knew that he was right. It was a game that had to be played to the full or not played at all.

She had embarked upon it, and it was too late now to start trying to renegotiate the terms of the contract.

‘I can meet you at the jeweller’s,’ she offered.

‘Not good enough. We’re browsing together. No need for hiking boots, though...’

‘Don’t worry,’ she sniped in return. ‘I know my trainers wouldn’t be suitable wear for being seen in public with you.’

‘You have to be the most argumentative woman I have ever met in my entire life,’ Theo mused in a driven undertone. ‘Are you this argumentative with all the men you’ve been out with?’

Alexa was momentarily caught on the back foot, because the number of men she had dated could be counted on the fingers of one hand and none of them had provoked her the way this man did.

‘I’ve never been out with anyone like you,’ she finally gathered enough wit to respond, and Theo grinned.

‘Are you telling me that I’m one of a kind?’

‘If I’m argumentative, then you’re downright impossible,’ she muttered. ‘I should be going in. The lights are on. My parents are probably waiting to hear how our first outing in public went—although judging from the amount of reporters there, they can probably find out in the papers tomorrow.’

‘If I’ve failed to mention it, you handled the evening incredibly well.’

Of their own volition, his eyes dipped to her full and still mutinous mouth.

‘Thank you. So did you,’ she responded in a stilted voice.

When she glanced down she could see her breasts, too big and too exposed for her liking—especially now that she was in the intimate confines of a car with him—and she surreptitiously adjusted her dress, hoping that he wouldn’t notice.

‘My mother will ask about this stupid...sorry, this lavish engagement party. I expect she’ll need time to sort it out. Could you give me an approximate...er...date? And I agree with you—the sooner the better.’

Theo marvelled that here was a woman who, only just engaged to be married to him, was clearly already thinking about the divorce papers being signed. Incredible. The fact that these were not normal circumstances did little to assuage his male pride.

‘At the outside...a fortnight.’

‘Will your brother attend as well as your father?’ she found herself asking, because she knew that his brother lived on the other side of the world and that during these transactions he hadn’t been a player on the scene.

Theo frowned. ‘All bets are off when it comes to that,’ he commented wryly. ‘Daniel is in the process of buying himself a toy, and it may remove him from the scene of the action while this drama is being played out.’

‘Buying a toy?’

‘He has his eye on a small cruise ship.’

Much as he loved his brother, Theo was quietly relieved that Daniel wouldn’t be around for the engagement party, such as it would be. Daniel could be counted on to respond with nothing but laughter at the fact that his big brother had found himself tying the knot prematurely. Actually, tying the knot at all.

‘I had no idea that cruise ships could be called toys...’ Alexa was distracted enough to say.

‘In which case you don’t know my brother.’

Alexa thought that that was just as well, because coping with one was bad enough. Two alpha males didn’t bear thinking about.

She pulled open the car door and stepped out into a balmy night. Of course he walked her to the door. No protective arm around her shoulder this time, though! Instead both hands were firmly thrust in his trouser pockets.

‘Isn’t your chauffeur going to think that we’re not behaving the way two nearly married people should be behaving?’ she couldn’t help but ask sarcastically, reaching into her bag for the house key, even though she knew that her mother was probably hovering very close to the front door so that she could pounce the second it was opened.

Theo lounged indolently against the door frame, looking down at her as she pulled out the key to insert it into the lock.

‘Is that an invitation?’ he asked softly.

Alexa raised startled eyes to his.

‘What—what on earth are you talking about now?’ she stammered, as her wide-eyed gaze was caught and held.

She had the oddest sensation that the oxygen was being sucked out of the air she was breathing as she continued to stare up at him. Her heart was fluttering madly, like a caged bird in a desperate bid for escape.

‘What do you think?’ Theo asked, in that same soft, lazy drawl that gave her goosebumps.

‘Are you suggesting that I actually want you to...to...?’

‘Kiss you? That’s exactly what I’m suggesting...’

‘Then you couldn’t be further from the mark!’ she snapped, blushing furiously and hating him for reminding her of their kiss, which she would rather have forgotten. ‘I’m fine with you being...being attentive when we’re out together, but the last thing I want is to be kissed by you! Do you know something, Theo De Angelis? You’re the most egotistical, arrogant man I have ever met!’

‘I know. I think you’ve told me already. But you make a valid point... Just in case...’

She sensed what he was about to do and yet it still took her by surprise—and this time there was an urgency to his kiss that hadn’t been there before. His mouth assailed hers, his tongue seeking out hers. He curved a big hand behind her back and pulled her towards him.

He could feel the softness of her breasts squashing against his chest and knew that he was losing his cool. Again. But her mouth was nectar-sweet—and after all, he told himself, it was all for the benefit of a driver who might or might not be taking note. Why take chances...?

‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He straightened. ‘Engagement ring shopping. Who would have thought...?’

With which he headed back to the car and Alexa, thoroughly unnerved, let herself into the house.