‘Which will start...?’
‘This afternoon. Can you come to my place?’
‘Sure. It doesn’t hurt to visit the party site as many times as I can.’
‘Only this time you’ll be coming to collect your engagement ring.’
‘Of...of course.’ She had forgotten about that. In a way, she dreaded it. ‘And to find out more about you, fake fiancé. We have to be really well briefed to face my family tomorrow evening.’
She and Anthony had joked that by the time they’d paid off their student loans all they’d be able to afford for an engagement ring would be a ring pull from a can of soft drink. The ring pull would have had so much more meaning than this cynical exercise.
She felt suddenly subdued at the thought of deceiving her family. Her friends were used to the ups and downs of dating. A few weeks down the track, they’d take a broken engagement in their stride. If those kisses were anything to go by, she might be more than a tad upset when her time with Dominic came to an end. She pummelled back down to somewhere deep inside her the shred of hope that perhaps something real could happen between them after the engagement charade was done.
‘When will you tell your parents?’ Dominic asked.
‘Today. They’d be hurt beyond belief if they found out from someone else.’
‘And you’ll talk to Hannah about Timothy?’
‘At the family dinner. We should speak to her and Paul together.’
‘I hope she won’t be too difficult to convince. I really want to help that little boy.’
‘I know,’ she said, thinking of how grateful her family would be to him. How glad she was she’d agreed to all this for her tiny nephew’s sake. But what about Dominic’s family? This shouldn’t be all about hers. ‘What about your aunt? Do we need to tell her?’
The shutters came slamming down. ‘No. She’s out of the picture.’
The way he said it let her know not to ask more. Not now anyway.
Dominic shrugged on his leather jacket in preparation to go. She stared, dumbstruck, feasting her eyes on him. He was so hot. She still felt awkward after their passionate kissing session. Should she reach up and kiss him on the cheek?
While she was making up her mind, he pulled her close for a brief, exciting kiss on her mouth. She doubted there could be any other type of kiss but exciting from Dominic. ‘Happy to fulfil Condition Number Six at any time,’ he said, very seriously.
She smiled, the tension between them immediately dissipated. But she wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.
‘Before you go...’ She picked up her smartphone again. ‘The first thing my friends who don’t know you will want to see is a photo of my surprise new fiancé.’
He ran his hand over his unshaven chin. ‘Like this? Can’t it wait?’
‘I like your face like that. It’s hot. No need to shave on my behalf.’ Without thinking, she put her fingers up to her cheek, where there was probably stubble rash. His kiss had felt so good.
‘If you say so,’ he said, looking pleased.
‘Just lean against the door there,’ she said. ‘Look cool.’
He slouched against the door and sent her a smouldering look. The wave of want that crashed through her made her nearly drop the phone. ‘Do I look cool?’ he said in a self-mocking tone. ‘I thought you liked hot?’
‘You know exactly what I mean.’ She was discovering a light-hearted side to Dominic she liked very much.
Their gazes met and they both burst into laughter. He looked even more gorgeous when he laughed, perfect teeth white in his tanned face, and she immediately captured a few more images of him. Who would recognise this good-humoured hunk in jeans and leather jacket as the billionaire Scrooge of legend?
‘What about a selfie of us together?’ she asked. ‘In the interests of authenticity,’ she hastily added.
Bad idea. She stood next to him, aware of every centimetre of body contact, and held her phone out in front of them. She felt more self-conscious than she could ever remember feeling. He pulled her in so their faces were close together. She smiled and clicked, and as she clicked again he kissed her on the cheek.
‘That will be cute,’ she said.
‘Another?’ he asked. This time he kissed her on the mouth. Click. Click. Click. And then she forgot to click.
After he had left, Andie spent more minutes than she should scrolling through the photos on her phone. No one would know they were faking it.
DOMINIC NOW KNEW more about diamond engagement rings than even a guy who was genuinely engaged to be married needed to know. He’d thought he could just march into Sydney’s most exclusive jewellery store and hand over an investment-sized price for a big chunk of diamond. Not so.
The sales guy—rather, executive consultant—who had greeted him and ushered him into a private room had taken the purchase very seriously. He’d hit Dominic with a barrage of questions. It was unfortunate that the lady was unable to be there because it was very important the ring would suit her personality. What were the lady’s favourite colours? What style of clothes did she favour? Her colouring?
‘Were you able to answer the questions?’ Andie asked, her lips curving into her delightful smile.
She had just arrived at his house. After she’d taken some measurements in the old ballroom, he had taken her out to sit in the white Hollywood-style chairs by the pool. Again, she looked as if she belonged. She wore a natural-coloured linen dress with her hair piled up and a scarf twisted and tied right from the base of her neck to the top of her head. It could have looked drab and old-fashioned but, on her, with her vintage sunglasses and orange lipstick, it looked just right.
Last time she’d been there he’d been so caught up with her he hadn’t thought to ask her would she like a drink. He didn’t want a live-in housekeeper—he valued his privacy too much—but his daily housekeeper had been this morning and the refrigerator was well stocked. He’d carried a selection of cool drinks out to the poolside table between their two chairs.
‘You’re finding this story amusing, aren’t you?’ he said, picking up his iced tea.
She took off her sunglasses. ‘Absolutely. I had no idea the rigmarole involved in buying an engagement ring.’
‘Me neither. I thought I’d just march in, point out a diamond ring and pay for it.’ This was a first for him.
‘Me too,’ said Andie. ‘I thought that’s what guys did when they bought a ring.’
‘Oh, no. First of all, I’d done completely the wrong thing in not having you with me. He was too discreet to ask where you were, so I didn’t have to come up with a creative story to explain your absence.’
‘One less lie required anyway,’ she said with a twist of her lovely mouth. ‘Go on with the story—I’m fascinated.’
‘Apparently, the done thing is to have a bespoke ring—like the business suits I have made to measure.’
‘A bespoke ring? Who knew?’ she said, her eyes dancing.
‘Instead, I had to choose from their ready-to-wear couture pieces.’
‘I had no idea such a thing existed,’ she said with obvious delight. Her smile. It made him feel what he’d thought he’d never feel again, made him want what he’d thought he’d never want.
‘You