The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance 2016

‘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.

CHAPTER FOUR

AS PREDICTED, THE next day the centre pages of all the newspapers had been printed with at least half a dozen pictures of the loving couple. Whoever had taken the photos couldn’t have done better when it came to capturing angles that actually seemed to prove the lie that they were in love.

Theo’s arm was always around her. In several pictures Alexa was looking up at him, mouth parted, the very picture of an enraptured girlfriend—as opposed to wearing the teeth-clenched, resentful expression, which was a lot closer to the truth.

Cora Caldini, who was waiting for her when she emerged at a little after eight, had all the papers spread out on the massive dining room table and Alexa stifled a sigh.

‘I know this has all been unexpected for you,’ her mother said gently, ‘but there’s so much to be said for a whirlwind romance—and looking at these pictures...my darling, you sparkle.’

Alexa helped herself to coffee and a croissant from the basket of fresh bread on the sideboard. Sparkle? Did minnows sparkle in the presence of hungry, prowling sharks?

‘He’s certainly a force to contend with,’ Alexa forced herself to say. ‘And you’re right. It wasn’t...er...exactly what I had in mind when I thought about meeting the man of my dreams. In fact I’m a little dazed—because he’s just the sort of guy I never thought I’d...um...fall for. But...well...life is full of surprises, I guess...’

Unable to be more effusive than that, she scanned the photos once more and wondered whether the reporters had bothered with any other guests at all, or whether they had just decided to trail along behind Theo, snapping pictures.

‘Isn’t it...?’ Her mother beamed. ‘And sometimes surprises turn out all the better for being unexpected. It reminds me of when I met your father, as a matter of fact. Of course I’d seen him out and about, but at a distance, and when my parents arranged for us to meet face to face... Well, it really was love at first sight. He was nothing like what I’d expected, and I just fell for that rogue on the spot.’

Always mindful of the consultant’s warning words several months ago, in the wake of her mother’s third stroke, Alexa reluctantly decided to backtrack.

‘Theo’s...er...certainly not what I expected,’ she conceded. ‘I suppose he’s quite intelligent, and he has a certain amount of...er...charisma...’

‘Funny...your father likes him very much.’

Then perhaps he should marry Theo, Alexa thought nastily, surprising herself because she wasn’t an uncharitable person by nature.

‘That’s good.’

‘And I know you, my darling. You’re as headstrong as I was at your age. If you really didn’t like Theo I think we’d all know about it by now! You just don’t want to jinx anything—which is why you’re being reticent—and I completely understand. It took your father and I ages to have you, and I didn’t tell a soul I was pregnant until I couldn’t hide it any longer! So I won’t press you. Now, tell me what your plans are for today.’

Alexa told her mother and could immediately feel her tummy clench at the prospect of a few hours browsing for a ring and then having lunch in a trendy restaurant with him.

The memory of that blistering kiss the night before had preyed on her mind all night, and she had awoken determined to make sure that they kept a cool distance from one another when there was no one around.

Her thoughts drifted while her mother chatted about rings and reflected on how fast she and Carlo had progressed from that first meeting—marrying within three months and never regretting a day of their long and happy marriage.

Naturally Alexa had known that the man was good-looking. But why did he have to be so good-looking? Averagely good-looking would have been all right. She felt that she might have been able to cope with that. But something about Theo De Angelis sparked a reaction in her that burned as fierce as a conflagration.

She didn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense, And it unsettled her. Scared her, even—although what was there to be scared about?

She surfaced to catch the tail-end of her mother informing her that Theo was going to be dashing off to New York—apparently called away on business. Carlo had wanted to show him around the electronics plant later in the week, talk men stuff, but unfortunately it was a visit that would have to wait.

‘He never mentioned that,’ Alexa murmured, brightening. ‘When? Exactly?’

‘Tomorrow, I believe. Your father called him first thing this morning about a visit to the plant and it seems that an emergency blew up overnight. So he wouldn’t have mentioned anything to you when you were out.’

‘I don’t suppose you know how long he’ll be away, do you, Mother?’

‘A week at the very least... I’m sure he’ll be most apologetic when he sees you later and will explain it all himself. If there’s one thing I can say for Stefano’s son it’s that he’s an extremely polite young man...’

Good humour restored on the back of the heartening news that she was going to have a break from Theo, Alexa spent the remainder of the morning looking through her law books, making sure her brain was still ticking over. She dealt with a variety of problems at the shelter on a daily basis, and some of them were practical—questions pertaining to government allowances, retrieving cash from runaway partners, applying for social housing. It paid to keep abreast of the law, and it was no great hardship because she enjoyed it anyway.

At precisely eleven-thirty she got dressed, but she didn’t rush.

This time, her spirits light because with Theo out of the country for maybe as long as a fortnight she would at least have some respite from his dangerously incendiary personality, choosing what to wear was far less of a chore than it had been the evening before.

Jeans, but smart black ones, a cream silk camisole top, because it was beautifully warm outside, and flat black pumps. Everything was brand-new, and she was in a good mood when, at twelve sharp, the doorbell rang and she forestalled her mother to answer it.

This time there was no driver, which was even better—because with Theo driving she would be spared those intense, speculative green eyes on her.

‘You’re in a good mood,’ he said flatly, starting the engine of a Ferrari and easing it out of the courtyard towards the buzzing town centre. ‘Why does that make me instantly suspicious?’

Alexa relaxed against the passenger’s door, her head resting on the window, rolled up thanks to the air-conditioning which kept the temperature wonderfully cool.

She absently noted his strong jawline and the sharp beauty of his lean face, in profile now as he focused on the road. He was wearing black sunglasses and a navy blue polo shirt and cream trousers. He looked impossibly elegant.

She tugged her eyes away from him, simultaneously deciding that this was just the sort of thing that had to stop—this mindless staring at him—and again applauding the fact that he was going to be away for the next few days. Plenty of time during which she could recover her equilibrium.

‘I have no idea,’ Alexa said chirpily. ‘Doesn’t every girl like going out shopping for her engagement ring?’

Theo glanced narrowly at her, then relaxed and smiled. ‘Indeed. That would explain your good mood. You’re right. I have yet to meet a woman whose heart doesn’t beat faster at the prospect of all things bridal...’

Alexa scowled, because her saccharine-sweet sarcastic rejoinder had clearly backfired. ‘I honestly don’t think we should waste much time traipsing through shops in search of a diamond ring,’ she told him loftily.

‘Agreed.’ He put the fast car into cruise mode and relaxed in his seat. ‘There’s no need for us to be seen going from one shop to another in search of the perfect ring. We’ve already got all the press coverage we need. Speculation is rife that marriage is in the air... If we went to the corner shop and bought a plastic washer it would probably be enough.’

Alexa grimaced as she recalled the spread of newspapers her mother had neatly laid out on the table for her perusal. ‘Maybe they’ll leave us alone now?’ She breathed a sigh of relief at the thought.

‘I expect they’ll only leave us alone when there’s a chunky wedding ring on your finger. Before then there are infinite possibilities for our relationship to crash and burn—and disasters always make better headlines.’

‘Why would they assume that it will crash and burn?’ How on earth did real celebrities survive? she wondered. Without going completely mad? ‘And who cares if our relationship crashes and burns anyway? Who’s interested?’

Alexa was genuinely bewildered, because she might come from a wealthy background but—of her choosing—she was as noticeable as wallpaper. Theo might be similarly rich, with the added bonus of his looks, but he wasn’t a star...was he...?

Theo shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Don’t care. I just know how the world of media operates and I deal with it. So if you don’t want some trigger-happy reporter to shoot you leaving the house without your make-up, be warned.’

‘I honestly don’t care.’

Theo found an empty space in a crowded square around which designer shops extended outwards in ripples—layers of them, sandwiched between cafés and restaurants. In the centre of the square a trio of mythological creatures figured in bronze cavorted in the centre of an enormous fountain.

He turned to her and said, with utter seriousness, ‘You don’t, do you?’

‘No. Do you?’

‘I’m a man. I don’t tend to go out wearing make-up. Well, not unless I have to. Sometimes after a long night at work I find a bit of foundation under the eyes...’

Alexa felt her mouth twitch and she grinned shyly and reluctantly at him.

He killed the engine, but she got the impression that there were more questions he wanted to ask her. It felt as if he had been testing her boundary lines...placing one foot over the perimeter of her electric fence, threatening to make inroads. That made her shiver a little.

‘Right,’ he said briskly. ‘Engagement ring.’

In case she started falling behind him he curled his fingers into her hair and pressed his hand to the nape of her neck, gently making sure she kept up with him and slowing his naturally long stride to accommodate her much shorter one.

People turned and looked.

They clearly didn’t know exactly who Theo was, but Alexa could almost see their brains churning, trying to figure out why he was famous—because he just had to be, looking the way he did.

Something weird rippled through her. A surge of pride. That he was with her.

They bypassed the first three jeweller’s they came to and went directly to the fourth, which was little more than a nondescript door leading into a shop that was barely visible from the street outside.

‘How on earth do you know about this place?’