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‘I just would! I don’t want loads of people I don’t know discussing the fact that you dumped me. “Well, it’s hardly surprising, is it?”’ she parroted. ‘“I mean, what would a guy like him see in a girl like her?”’
‘You’d rather they thought you’d had a sleazy one-night stand with me?’
She gulped. ‘No. I’d rather they weren’t talking about me at all. But I especially don’t want them speculating on why I always get dumped.’
Aware that the clock was ticking and that they needed to get on with this if it was going to have any chance of working, Rio rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and applied his mind to a solution. ‘I’ll put out an announcement telling everyone you’re a wonderful woman and that I have huge respect for you.’
She cringed. ‘That would make people feel even more sorry for me.’
‘I’ll say that we will always be friends.’
‘Which is basically like saying our relationship fizzled because you don’t find me attractive.’
Trying to conceal his mounting exasperation, Rio inhaled deeply and offered up the only other solution that presented itself. ‘If it’s the dumping part that really worries you, then you can dump me.’
She stared at him. ‘Sorry?’
‘I’ll allow you to dump me,’ he said tightly. ‘Problem solved.’
‘That wouldn’t work.’
‘Now what? Why wouldn’t it work?’
‘Because you’re rich and handsome. No one would believe it. Why would anyone in my position dump a man like you?’
‘That’s easy. I’m a total bastard,’ Rio said immediately, relieved to be able to deal with that obstacle so simply. ‘No one who knows me will have any trouble believing you kicked me out.’ His confession drew a tiny smile from her.
‘You’re that bad?’
Transfixed by that smile, Rio couldn’t look away from her mouth. ‘I’m terrible. I’m dominating, I like everything my own way—basically I’m horribly selfish, inwardly focused, I set myself a punishing schedule and frequently work an eighteen-hour day, which usually means that all I want to do when I’m with a woman is have sex.’ And he wanted to have sex with her, right here, right now. It exasperated him to realise that, even in this most delicate of situations, he could barely keep his hands off her.
‘You manage to fit sex into your punishing working day?’ Her voice was faint. ‘When?’
‘Whenever I feel like it—’ He was intrigued by the colour in her cheeks. ‘So that’s settled then. I’ll do something awful—’
‘You mean you’ll behave the way you usually behave.’
‘Something like that.’ He acknowledged the barely veiled insult with a dismissive shrug. ‘You’ll dump me and, just to make sure it looks completely authentic, I’ll go round looking moody for a few weeks.’
‘So you admit to being selfish, inwardly focused and a total bastard, but no woman has ever dumped you. Why? What have you got going for you?’
Rio gave a slow, confident smile. ‘If we’re spending the foreseeable future together then you’ll have time to discover the answer to that yourself.’
‘If you’re talking about sex, then you can forget it. Unlike you, I think sex should be part of a relationship.’
‘So do I.’
She backed away. ‘Yes, but the difference is that you don’t want your relationships to go anywhere, and I do. Just so that there’s no misunderstanding, I’m telling you now that I’ll be sleeping in the second bedroom.’
Rio, who had his own ideas about where she’d be sleeping, decided to handle that issue later. ‘So you’ll do it? Good. And, when the time comes, you dump me.’
‘I still don’t see how we can convince them that we’re together.’
‘By being seen together,’ he said smoothly, taking her hand and hauling her against him. ‘The first thing you need is a ring, so let’s go. I’m about to buy you the biggest diamond you’ve ever seen.’
‘I’ve never been in a chauffeur driven car. There’s masses of room.’ Evie stretched her legs out in front of her, aware that Rio was watching her with amusement.
‘That’s the general idea.’
‘Why do you need so much room? You could have a party in here.’
‘Not a party, but sometimes I do conduct business meetings in the car if I’m travelling short distances.’
‘What happens for long distances?’
‘I use my private jet.’
Evie gave a choked laugh. ‘Private jet. Of course. This year’s must have accessory. No serious tycoon should be seen without one.’
‘Not an accessory,’ he drawled, ‘but a practical, money-saving tool.’
‘Money-saving.’ Evie nodded, struggling to keep her face straight as she slid her hand over the soft leather seat. ‘Of course. I find the same thing. When I’m economizing, I turn down the heating and watch my food budget but I always make sure I leave the private jet well alone. As you say, it’s such a practical, money-saving tool.’
‘This may surprise you, but when you spend as many hours in the air as I do, that becomes a truth.’
As the gulf in their lifestyles opened up between them, Evie’s smile faltered and she flopped back against the seat. ‘This is ridiculous,’ she muttered. ‘It’s never going to work. Give me one reason why a guy like you would ever be involved with a woman like me?’
‘You have incredible legs.’ He moved so quickly that she didn’t anticipate it. Before she had time to respond, his hand was buried in her hair and his mouth descended on hers in a kiss that sent her brain spinning. ‘I love the way you taste,’ he murmured huskily and she gasped against his lips.
‘OK, enough, you don’t have to keep kissing me—’ Seriously unsettled by the way he made her feel, Evie shoved at his chest, alarmed when he didn’t budge. She’d always considered herself pretty strong for a woman but her violent push had no effect on him. ‘It was kissing me that got us in this mess—’
‘But now we’re in this “mess”, as you call it, we might as well enjoy it. They’ll believe it, tesoro, once they see you.’ He showed no inclination to stop what he was doing. ‘You have amazing hair, fantastic breasts—’
Evie moaned as his mouth trailed along her jaw. ‘Those are all physical things. That’s just sex.’
‘Never underestimate the power of sex. Sex is a very important part of a relationship.’ One hand slid down her back to her bottom and Evie wriggled away, mortified.
‘Don’t do that—’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, for a start because someone might see you—’
His eyes gleamed into hers. ‘And that would be a problem because—?’
Evie could hardly breathe. For a moment she’d forgotten that the whole objective of this charade was for people to see them. Confused, she wondered whether he was faking the attraction. But then she remembered the kiss that had started all this…
‘Unless people have X-ray vision, they’re not going to be able to see your hand on my bottom,’ she croaked and he gave a wicked smile as he ran his fingers through her hair.
‘Any red-blooded male glancing into this car will have a pretty accurate idea of the location of my missing hand.’
‘You’re not funny.’ She’d barely thought about sex before she’d met him. Now she was finding it hard to think about anything else. Was he going to keep kissing her? Did he think she was made of stone? Embarrassed by the burning heat between her thighs, Evie pulled away from him and this time he released her, smiling slightly as he watched her shift to the furthest corner of her seat.
His whole attitude should have been enough to make her dislike him, but instead she found herself alarmingly turned on by the electric combination of smooth sophistication and command. It was humiliating, she thought, squirming in her seat, to find a man as basic as Rio so attractive. But evidently she wasn’t the only one. After all, he’d never been dumped…
They were driving through the upmarket streets of Knightsbridge. The windows of Harrods, the world famous store, were decorated for Christmas and everywhere she looked there were rich-looking women wearing fur and dark glasses, stepping out of expensive-looking cars.
By the time Rio’s driver pulled up outside an exclusive jewellers, Evie had lost all desire to be seen in public. Even in the smart outfit and sexy shoes, she didn’t fit.
Two guards stood either side of the heavy glass door and, even from the protective cocoon of Rio’s car, she could see that the few pieces on display in the window would have satisfied royalty.
Thoroughly intimidated, she thought about the tiny diamond that Jeff had given her when he’d proposed. At the time she’d thought it was small because they were saving for a deposit so that they could buy their own cottage. Now she realised it had been small because he’d been spending most of their shared savings on his other girlfriend.
She’d been a total idiot. But it was partly her fault, wasn’t it? She and Jeff had grown up together. Everyone had assumed that one day they’d get married. Evie had told herself that the fact she felt no spark was because she wasn’t a particularly passionate person. She’d assumed Jeff was the same. And then she’d discovered what he’d been doing with Cindy, the librarian from the next village…
She stole a sideways glance at Rio, her gaze resting on his mouth, remembering the sizzling, steamy kiss. Sparks had been shooting all over the place.
And now she was expected to pretend they were in a relationship.
‘You expect me to go in there? Why can’t they come to us? In the movies you just pick up the phone and loads of jewellers come running to the hotel with a selection of rings.’
‘In the movies, they’re not trying to attract the interest of the paparazzi.’ Rio leaned across her to undo her seat belt. ‘If I’d ordered them to bring the rings to the hotel, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as loud a statement.’
Flattening herself to the seat, Evie stared at him, determined not to be impressed. ‘I still don’t understand how this is going to work. If the whole point of this is to get the paparazzi to take a photograph of us, shouldn’t someone have called them and told them we’re here?’
‘No need. Wherever I go, you can find photographers.’ Rio’s tone was bored. ‘It’s part of my life, which means it’s now part of your life. Get used to it.’ As the driver opened the door Rio gestured for her to leave the car but Evie didn’t budge.
‘You mean there might be someone out there with a camera? Am I supposed to smile and wave?’
‘You’re not the Queen,’ Rio said dryly. ‘Just act normally.’
‘But none of this is normal for me! I wouldn’t find myself in front of rows of paparazzi,’ Evie said irritably. ‘I don’t know what I’d do. Look over my shoulder, probably, to see who they were photographing because it certainly wouldn’t be me. Unless they were taking snaps for a Miss Unbelievably Big Bottom contest.’
‘If you mention your bottom again, I will be forced to strip you naked and examine it in detail,’ Rio promised silkily and Evie exited the car faster than rum from a bottle.
Just as he’d predicted, a flashlight immediately exploded in her face and she would have stopped if he hadn’t propelled her forwards through the doors that had been opened for him as soon as he’d stepped out of the car.
‘I thought you wanted to be seen,’ Evie hissed under her breath and he curved his hand around her waist and guided her into the exclusive store.
‘I never talk to the press,’ he purred. ‘I never give interviews. I have no intention of altering that pattern. We want this to look as authentic as possible, remember?’
Exasperated, Evie stared up at him. ‘How are they supposed to know we’re engaged if you don’t tell them?’ Her face cleared. ‘Oh—I get it. I’m supposed to strategically flash the ring on the way out.’
‘We’ll leave by the back entrance so that no one will see us. In the event that there is a photographer covering the rear of the building, you hide the ring. You put your left hand in your pocket so that no one can get the shot.’
‘So we’re buying a ring to convince them we’re engaged, but we’re not going to let them see it?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Have you banged your head or something? You’re not making sense.’
‘I’m making perfect sense.’
‘Not to me. If we go out of the back of the building it’s going to look as though we don’t want them to see us.’
‘Exactly right.’ He smiled at the manager who was hovering discreetly. ‘Franco—’
‘Signor Zaccarelli—’ the man oozed deference ‘—it’s good to see you again.’
‘Again? How many women have you brought here?’ Evie muttered under her breath, but the only indication that Rio had heard her was his vice-like grip on her hand. ‘Squeeze any tighter and you’ll break my fingers and then you won’t get a ring over my knuckle.’
Rio released his grip and urged her forward. ‘We need a diamond, Franco.’ He glanced down at Evie, a smile on his lips. ‘A very special diamond for a very special woman.’
Evie was about to tell him that his smooth talk wasn’t the slightest bit convincing when he lowered his mouth and kissed her.
Somewhere in the distance, through the swirling clouds of desire that descended on her brain, she heard one of the sales assistants sigh with envy.
To her, it appeared completely staged but apparently Franco was convinced because he smiled, almost convulsing with delight as he led them through to a private room. ‘A very special diamond. Of course. You’ve come to the right place.’
Evie sat there shell-shocked from the invasive pressure of his mouth, wishing they’d had a conversation about how they were going to play this. Had he said anything about kissing? And what was she supposed to do about the ring? Was she supposed to pick the least expensive one? Or maybe that didn’t matter. Presumably a man who considered a private jet to be an ‘economy’ wouldn’t care about the price of a diamond. Or maybe he was planning to ask for a refund when this was over.
She threw Rio an agonized look but he simply smiled. The fact that he was so relaxed simply added to her growing tension.
More aware than ever of the differences between them, Evie shifted uncomfortably and was about to say something when a slender girl entered the room carrying a box.
A hush fell over the room and Evie glanced around her, wondering what was going on. Why was everyone silent?
‘It’s the Apoletta diamond,’ Franco told them in reverent tones, taking the box from the girl and opening it himself. ‘A thing of beauty and perfection, like your love.’
Evie was about to suggest that if the ring was supposed to be a manifestation of their relationship then a small lump of coal might be more appropriate, but one look at Rio’s face stopped her. He was looking at her with such intensity that for a moment she stopped breathing and, during that one intimate glance, she made the unsettling discovery that she was as vulnerable to his particular brand of sexual magnetism as all the other women in the room. Even armed with his frank admission of his long list of deficiencies, she couldn’t control the explosion of excitement that held her in its grip.
Rio ignored a question from Franco, his attention entirely on her. Then he slid his hand behind her neck and slowly but deliberately kissed her mouth, his lips lingering against hers for long enough to send her heart racing frantically out of control.
‘Ti amo,’ he said huskily and Evie, dazed by the look as much as the kiss, wondered what it would feel like if a man looked at you like that and meant it.
Without taking his eyes from hers, Rio removed the ring from its velvet nest and slid it onto her finger with cool, confident hands and an unmistakable sense of purpose.
Evie stared down at the incredible diamond, thinking about the sunny morning a few months earlier when Jeff had done the same thing. The ring Jeff had given her had been too big for her finger, whereas this one—‘It’s exactly the right size.’
‘Like Cinderella,’ one of the girls sighed and Evie frowned, wondering what was meant by that remark. Did she look as though she’d been cleaning the cellar in rags?
‘She means that it’s a perfect fit,’ Rio said dryly, apparently developing a sudden ability to read her mind. ‘And she’s right. It’s a perfect fit. We won’t have to have it adjusted.’
Finding the fact that it fitted slightly spooky, Evie wondered whether it was a fluke or whether Rio was as skilled at guessing the size of her finger as he was her underwear and dress size.
Good guesswork or a man experienced with women?
Another girl entered the room. ‘I just thought you should know that it’s a media circus out the front.’ She sounded apologetic. ‘I have no idea how they discovered you were here. Someone must have tipped them off.’
