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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 estate and had my first million in sight.’
That interested her. ‘I’d love to know about—’
He cut her off. ‘Let’s save that for the question-and-answer session, shall we?’
‘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 onewould know they were faking it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#ulink_691e6803-db83-51e0-aa25-a7b009014298)
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 should have been there,’ he said. ‘You would have had fun.’ He’d spent the entire time in the jewellery store wishing she’d been by his side. He could imagine her suppressing giggles as the consultant had run through his over-the-top sales pitch.
‘Perhaps,’ she said, but her eyes dimmed. ‘You know my reasons for not wanting to get involved in the purchase. Anyway, what did you tell them about my—’ she made quote marks in the air with her fingers ‘—“personal style”? That must have put you on the spot?’
‘I told the consultant about your misbehaving skirt—only I didn’t call it that, of course. I told him about your shoes that laced up your calves. I told him about your turquoise necklace and your outsized earrings. I told him about your leopard-print shoes and your white trousers.’
Andie’s eyes widened. ‘You remember all that about what I wear?’
‘I did say I was observant,’ he said.
Ask him to remember what Party Planners Numbers One to Three had been wearing for their interviews and he would scarcely recall it. But he remembered every detail about her since that errant breeze at his front door had blown Andie into his life.
At the jewellery store, once he’d relaxed into the conversation with the consultant, Dominic had also told him how Andie was smart and creative and a touch unconventional and had the most beautiful smile and a husky, engaging laugh. ‘This is a lucky lady,’ the guy had said. ‘You must love her very much.’
That had thrown Dominic. ‘Yes,’ he’d muttered. Love could not enter into this. He did not want Andie to get hurt. And hurt wasn’t on his personal agenda either. He didn’t think he had it in him to love. To give love you had to be loved—and genuine love was not something that had been part of his life.
‘So... I’m curious,’ said Andie. What kind of ring did you—did I—end up with?’
‘Not the classic solitaire I would have chosen. The guy said you’d find it boring.’
‘Of course I wouldn’t have found it boring,’ she said not very convincingly.
‘Why do I not believe you?’ he said.
‘Stop teasing me and show me the darn ring,’ she said.
Dominic took out the small, leather, case from his inside suit jacket pocket. ‘I hope you like it,’ he said. He wanted her to like it. He didn’t know why it was suddenly so important that she did.
He opened the case and held it out for Andie to see. Her eyes widened and she caught her breath. ‘It...it’s exquisite,’ she said.
‘Is it something you think you could wear?’ he asked.
‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘I love it.’
‘It’s called a halo set ring,’ he said. ‘The ring of little diamonds that surround the big central diamond is the halo. And the very narrow split band—again set with small diamonds—is apparently very fashionable.’
‘That diamond is enormous,’ she said, drawing back. ‘I’d be nervous to wear it.’
‘I got it well insured,’ he said.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘If I lost it, I’d be paying you back for the rest of my life and probably still be in debt.’
‘The ring is yours, Andie.’
‘I know, for the duration,’ she said. ‘I promise to look after it.’ She crossed her heart.
‘You misunderstand. The ring is yours to keep after...after all this has come to an end.’
She frowned and shook her head vehemently. ‘No. That wasn’t part of the deal. Timothy’s treatment was the deal. I give this ring back to you when...when I dump you.’
‘We’ll see about that,’ he said, not wanting to get into an argument with her. As far as he was concerned, this ring was hers. She could keep it or sell it or give it away—he never wanted it back. ‘Now, shouldn’t I be getting that diamond on your finger?’
He was surprised to find his hand wasn’t steady as he took the ring out of its hinged case. It glittered and sparkled as the afternoon sunlight danced off the multi-cut facets of the diamonds. ‘Hold out your hand,’ he said.
‘No’, she said, again shaking her head. ‘Give it to me and I’ll put it on myself. This isn’t a real engagement and I don’t want to jinx myself. When I get engaged for real, my real fiancé will put my ring on my wedding finger.’
Again, Dominic felt disappointed. Against all reason. He wanted to put the ring on her finger. But he understood why he shouldn’t. He felt a pang of regret that he most likely would never again be anyone’s ‘real fiancé’—and a pang of what he recognised as envy for the man who would win Andie’s heart for real.
He put the ring back in its case. ‘You do want to get married one day?’
