was never any doubt about that.’
His words thrummed through her body. That sexual attraction had been there for her the first time she’d met him. Had he felt it too?
‘So the sixth condition is somewhat superfluous,’ she said, her voice racing as she tried to ignore the hunger for him his kiss had ignited. ‘I think we might be okay, there. You know, holding hands, arms around each other. Appropriate Public Displays of Affection.’ It was an effort to force herself to sound matter of fact.
‘This just got to be my favourite of all your conditions,’ he said slowly, his eyes narrowing in a way she found incredibly sexy. ‘Shall we practise some more?’
Her traitorous body wrestled down her hopelessly outmatched common sense. ‘Why not?’ she murmured, desperate to be in his arms again. He pulled her close and their body contact made her aware he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She sighed as she pressed her mouth to his.
Then her phone sang out its ringtone of a piano sonata.
‘Leave it,’ growled Dominic.
She ignored the musical tone until it stopped. But it had brought her back to reality. There was nothing she wanted more than to take Dominic by the hand and lead him up the stairs to her bedroom. She intended to have him before this contract between them came to an end.
But that intuition she usually trusted screamed at her that to make love with him on the first day of their fake engagement would be a mistake. It would change the dynamic of their relationship to something she did not feel confident of being able to handle.
No sooner had the ringtone stopped than it started again.
Andie untangled herself from Dominic’s embrace and stepped right back from him, back from the seductive reach of his muscular arms.
‘I... I have to take this,’ she said.
She answered the phone but had to rest against the kitchen countertop to support knees that had gone shaky and weak. Dominic leaned back against the wall opposite her and crossed his arms against his powerful chest. His muscles flexed as he did so and she had to force herself to concentrate on the phone call.
‘Yes, Eliza, it’s true. I know—it must have been a surprise to you. A party?’ Andie looked up to Dominic and shook her head. He nodded. She spoke to Eliza. ‘No. We don’t want an engagement party. Yes, I know we’re party queens and it’s what we do.’ She rolled her eyes at Dominic and, to her relief, he smiled. ‘The Christmas party is more than enough to handle at the moment,’ she said to Eliza.
We. She and Dominic were a couple now. A fake couple. It would take some getting used to. So would handling the physical attraction between them.
‘The wedding?’ Eliza’s question about the timing of the wedding flustered her. ‘We...we...uh...next year some time. Yes, I know next year is only next month. The wedding won’t be next month, that’s for sure.’ The wedding—wouldn’t a loved-up fiancée have said our wedding?
She finished the call to Eliza and realised her hands were clammy. ‘This is not going to be easy,’ she said to Dominic.
‘I never thought it would be,’ he said. Was there a double meaning there?
‘I have no experience in this kind of deception. The first thing Eliza asked me was when are we getting married. She put me on the spot. I... I struggled to find an answer.’
He nodded slowly. ‘I suggest we say we’ve decided on a long engagement. That we’re committed but want to use the engagement time to get to know each other better.’
‘That sounds good,’ she said.
The deceptive words came so easily to him while she was so flustered she could scarcely think. She realised how hopelessly mismatched they were: he was more experienced, wealthier, from a completely different background. And so willing to lie.
And yet... That kiss had only confirmed how much she wanted him.
Her phone rang out again. ‘Why do I get the feeling this phone will go all day long?’ she said, a note of irritation underscoring her voice. She looked on the caller ID. ‘It’s my fashion editor friend, Karen. I knew Gemma wouldn’t be able to stop at Eliza,’ she told Dominic as she answered it.
The first part of the conversation was pretty much a repeat of the conversation she’d had with Gemma. But then Karen asked should she start scouting around for her wedding dress. Karen hunted down bargain-priced clothes for her; of course she’d want to help her with a wedding. ‘My wedding dress? We...uh...haven’t set a date for the wedding yet. Yes, I suppose it’s never too early to think about the dress. Simple? Vintage inspired? Gorgeous shoes?’ She laughed and hoped Karen didn’t pick up on the shrill edge to her laughter. ‘You know my taste only too well, Karen. A veil? A modest lace veil? Okay. Yes. I’ll leave it to you. Thank you.’
‘Your friends move fast,’ Dominic said when she’d disconnected the call.
‘They’re so thrilled for me. After...after...well, you know. My past.’ Her past of genuine love, unsullied by lies and deception.
‘Of course,’ he said.
She couldn’t bring herself to say anything about the kisses they’d shared. It wasn’t the kind of thing she found easy to talk about. Neither, it appeared, did he.
He glanced down at his watch. The action drew her attention to his hands. She noticed again how attractive they were, with long strong fingers. And thought how she would like to feel them on her body. Stroking. Caressing. Exploring. She had to stop this.
‘I know I’m breaking the terms of one of your conditions,’ he said. ‘But I do have to get to the office. There are cancelled meetings in other states to reschedule and staff who need to talk to me.’
‘And I’ve got to finalise the furniture hire for the Christmas party. With two hundred people for lunch, we need more tables and chairs. It’s sobering, to have all those families in need on Christmas Day.’
‘Hannah assures me it’s the tip of a tragic iceberg,’ said Dominic.
They both paused for a long moment before she spoke. ‘I also have to work on a tiaras-and-tuxedos-themed twenty-first party. Ironic, isn’t it, after what we’ve just been saying?’ But organising parties was her job and brought not only employment to her and her partners but also the caterers, the waiting staff and everyone else involved.
‘I didn’t think twenty-first parties were important any more, with eighteen the legal age of adulthood,’ Dominic said.
‘They’re still very popular. This lovely girl turning twenty-one still lives at home with her parents and has three more years of university still ahead of her to become a veterinarian. I have to organise tiaras for her dogs.’
‘Wh...what?’ he spluttered. ‘Did you say you’re putting a tiara on a dog?’
‘Her dogs are very important to her; they’ll be honoured guests at the party.’
He scowled. ‘I like dogs but that’s ridiculous.’
‘We’re getting more and more bookings for dog parties. A doggy birthday boy or girl invites their doggy friends. They’re quite a thing. And getting as competitive as the kids’ parties. Of course it’s a learning curve for a party planner—considering doggy bathroom habits, for one thing.’
‘That is the stupidest—’
Andie put up her hand. ‘Don’t be too quick to judge. The doggy parties are really about making the humans happy—I doubt the dogs could care less. Frivolity can be fun. Eliza and I have laid bets on how many boys will arrive wearing tiaras to the vet student’s twenty-first.’
She had to smile at his bah-humbug expression.
‘By the time I was twenty-one, I had established a career in real