A Virgin for a Vow

His dark eyes glinted and he gave her a playful pat on the behind. ‘Cheeky minx.’

Abby went into the changing room and peeled off her clothes, trying to see her body in the mirror as Luke saw it. Since her early teens she had struggled with body image. The rush of hormones in puberty had turned her boyish figure into a lushly womanly one but she hadn’t been emotionally ready for the impact it would have on the male gaze. Comments and leering looks from men had triggered some of the memories of her mother’s clients and it had made her ashamed of her body instead of proud of it.

But when Luke looked at her she felt none of that shame. Almost from the first time she’d met him her body had been aware of him, but not in a threatening way. The way his gaze would drift to her mouth had given her a secret thrill that in spite of his standoffish demeanour he found her attractive.

Abby turned this way and that in front of the mirror, cupping her breasts in her hands, remembering how it felt to have Luke hold and caress them. Just thinking about him touching her sent another frisson through her.

She lowered her hands and tried on each bikini, unable to make a choice between them. She got dressed back in her clothes and, carrying the bikinis, came out to where Luke was waiting for her.

‘How did you go?’

‘I like them all but—’

‘Good, then we’ll take them all.’ He took them from her and handed them to the hovering shop assistant. ‘We’ll take these.’

The young female assistant smiled at Abby once the bikinis were paid for by Luke and wrapped in tissue paper and placed in the shop’s signature bag. ‘Wow, he really is a perfect fiancé. I love your column, by the way. Your advice is always spot on.’

‘Thank you,’ Abby said, taking the bag’s cream satin ribbon handle.

‘Oh, is that your engagement ring?’ The assistant peered across the counter at Abby’s left hand. ‘Can I see it?’

Abby lifted her hand for inspection but, looking at the ring, she realised it wasn’t the sort of ring Luke would buy his fiancée if he ever had one. It was too flashy and cumbersome and it didn’t really suit her hand. It was a nouveau riche type of ring—the sort of ring worn by someone trying too hard to impress. It was a status symbol, not a ring about the relationship status itself. She held out her hand and was excruciatingly conscious of Luke standing silently beside her.

‘It’s lovely,’ the assistant said. ‘I hope you’ll both be brilliantly happy, but then of course you will. You’re the perfect couple.’

Abby couldn’t get out of there fast enough and was glad when Luke took her hand and walked her out of the shop. ‘How about a coffee to finish up?’ he said.

‘I think I need something stronger than coffee.’

‘That ring you’re wearing is a cliché.’ He turned the bulky setting around on her finger. ‘And it’s not even a real diamond.’

‘How do you know it’s not real?’

‘It’s a good fake, I’ll give you that.’

Abby gave a self-deprecating grimace. ‘I would’ve bought a real one if I’d had the money.’

His mouth tilted in a smile. ‘You’re a funny little thing, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, well, that’s me—a living, breathing joke.’

A frown pulled at his brow. ‘Hey.’ He lifted her chin again, his intelligent blue gaze warm and darkly intense. ‘I’m not laughing at you, sweetheart. I like your quirkiness. It’s refreshing.’

Abby’s heart gave a stumble. ‘You just called me sweetheart.’

His hand fell away from her face. ‘Wasn’t that the deal? To call you terms of endearment in public? Honey and babe and sweetheart. Those were the correct words, right?’

‘Yes…’

‘But?’

She shrugged. ‘I just didn’t think you’d do it, that’s all.’

His eyes held hers. ‘Why’s that?’

‘You don’t seem the type of man to say things you don’t mean,’ Abby said.

‘You can thank my father for that.’ He took her hand and continued walking with her down the street. ‘He was big on words and small on action. I sometimes wonder what my mother saw in him. He doesn’t seem her type at all.’

‘I have heaps of readers who fall for the wrong men,’ Abby said. ‘It’s like some women are programmed to choose the worst possible partner for them. And some do it repeatedly.’

‘Thing is…’ Luke paused. ‘I think she’s still in love with him, even after the way he humiliated her. I don’t get it. Who does that?’