‘Well, there’s the most preposterous story going around. My phone’s been ringing flat-out. Everyone thinks you’ve been seeing him in secret all this time. They’re saying you’re engaged.’
‘Oh, hell...’ She covered her face with her hand. She’d made the most colossal fool of herself.
She peeked through her fingers and saw Alejandro had sat back more comfortably in his chair and was smiling, as if enjoying her mortification. She realised then that he was waiting for her to decide. That maybe he didn’t actually care that much either way.
‘So it’s not true?’
She heard the disappointment in her brother’s voice. And the anxious edge. She didn’t want Teddy to worry or try to come charging in here and sorting it out and making it all even more embarrassing. Maybe this situation could be resolved best if the details were kept between her and the devil in front of her. Between only them. She’d suffer this mortification in front of Alejandro alone.
‘They’re saying he stepped in to save Dad’s cash flow because he’s been in love with you all this time,’ Teddy said.
She laughed a little hysterically. ‘Oh, Teddy, it’s not quite that simple.’
‘But you are his fiancée?’
She hesitated, glancing up to meet Alejandro’s penetrating gaze for a long moment.
‘Kitty...’ Teddy’s voice lowered. ‘Are you okay? When I phoned last night he was very short with me.’
‘Everything’s fine, Teddy.’ She tore her gaze from Alejandro’s, straightened her shoulders and made herself smile. ‘They’re more than fine. But things are a little...complicated—’
‘I didn’t think you even knew him. Last night you were—’ He broke off almost as soon as he’d interrupted. ‘Shit, is that why you were in such a hurry to get there?’
‘Look, I’ll come and see you in a couple of days, okay? I’ll explain it then. But for now I am staying here.’
‘With him?’ Teddy’s excitement barrelled down the phone. ‘You’re really staying with him?’
‘Yes.’
It took almost a full minute after ending the call with Teddy before she could lift her chin and look Alejandro in the face again. She was just waiting for him to gloat with some smart comment. But when she did look at him, she found he was watching her with just the smallest of smiles. It wasn’t even a smug one.
‘At least here you can have a bed,’ he offered blandly.
‘My own bed?’
‘Of course, until you ask to share mine.’
‘Not going to happen.’
He laughed then. ‘You’re too constricted by your own naivety,’ he jeered. ‘Believing in some fairy tale version of romance and being in a relationship “ happily-ever-after”.’
‘You don’t believe in relationships?’ Why wasn’t she surprised?
‘Not lasting ones.’ His smile flashed.
‘So not marriage.’
‘Definitely not. I will never marry.’
‘That’s sad,’ she said glibly.
‘What’s sad is the vast number of people who stay in unhappy marriages because they think they have to.’ He shrugged carelessly. ‘I like indulging—in nice food, pleasant company, good sex. Then a gentle goodbye. What’s wrong with that?’ He breathed it with utter confidence and arrogance.
‘Nothing.’ She couldn’t fault him for what seemed to be the perfect life. For him. Because she didn’t think the goodbye Saskia had got had been all that gentle.
‘I work hard. I achieve. I get what I deserve.’
‘I hope you do,’ she said pointedly.
He didn’t look remotely abashed. ‘The women I tend to date have worked every bit as hard as I have to achieve their successes.’
‘With plastic surgery and liberal use of the casting couch,’ she muttered.
‘You judge your sisters so harshly?’
She wrinkled her nose, hating that he was right and she’d been bitchy.
‘I treat all my lovers with respect and courtesy,’ he said meaningfully. ‘A little kindness goes a long way.’
‘But you have no desire to be faithful?’
His eyes widened. ‘I sleep with one woman at a time. I don’t date another until I have ensured anyone else I had been seeing is clear that we are no longer an item.’
As he’d done with poor Saskia.
‘Is that what you’ll do with me if we have an affair? Just flick me a text before jumping into bed with another woman?’
Her cheeks heated. James hadn’t done even that. He’d cheated on her.
‘We will formally end our engagement. There will be no miscommunication or misunderstanding.’
‘And now you think I should just fall into bed with you?’
‘I think if you were honest about what you want, that’s exactly what you’d do.’ He watched her closely. ‘There’s nothing wrong with lust, Catriona.’
Maybe there wasn’t, but she wasn’t ready for it. And not for him. ‘Okay, here’s some honesty for you,’ she said, trying to take control of the situation and clarify her intentions. ‘You’re an attractive man and you know it. But we don’t share the same desires. I don’t want that kind of empty pleasure. I want something more meaningful and complicated. So I’ll do the house. I’ll stay until this stupid story blows over. But that’s all. And when that’s done, then I go.’
He was not winning. He was not getting everything his own way. She’d be his first failure.
‘You think you can resist this chemistry?’ He grinned, hugely amused. ‘Are you one of those women who has to believe she’s in love before she’ll have sex with a man?’
‘Not love necessarily. But something a little warmer than loathing.’
He laughed and stood. ‘I will not muddy this affair with false declarations or meaningless promises. When you want me, just let me know.’
‘I’ll send you a telegram.’ She blew him a kiss. ‘Now, go to work, darling, so I can steal from you while your back is turned.’
Alejandro knew he could have her far sooner than she pretended. Knew that it would take only a few kisses and she’d be heavy-eyed and restless in his arms, as she’d been for those too brief moments last night. But now he wanted more than that from her. Now he’d seen her defiant rise to his challenge, the determined denial sparking in her eyes. That spirit and courage showed she wasn’t so much broken as bruised. He’d help her forget the stupid ex-fiancé.
But he wanted her to hit the ignition on their affair. To be unable to deny this chemistry without his provocation. He didn’t know why. Usually he wasn’t that bothered—either he took a lover or he didn’t. It was straightforward. But Catriona presented a challenge that he couldn’t resist engaging with. Maybe some old-fashioned seduction was required, until the electricity was too high a voltage to be ignored and she came to him.
He’d worked like a demon this morning to arrange everything. He’d sent his assistant to stay in a hotel for the week. He’d be at work most of the time, but when he was here he didn’t want anyone interrupting him and Catriona. It struck him that things might get fiery at any moment. He was looking forward to that. And, with her unconventional beauty, she fitted in this house. The fact she could help with excavating all the residual stuff that was seemingly cemented inside it was pure bonus.
‘I’m happy to have you as my fiancée for the foreseeable future,’ he said, pleased with the outcome.
It was the perfect solution. He got someone to sort the house and he’d get to sleep with the most vexingly sexy woman he’d encountered in a while.
‘I’m not staying here for long.’ She suddenly looked uneasy.
Was she attempting to back out of the deal already? Because she knew she wasn’t going to win?
He smothered his smile. ‘Why not? The ho
use is big; there’s a lot of rubbish to get rid of.’
‘It’s not rubbish—’ Indignation flared in her eyes.
‘Well, you’d better do it then—else I’ll just dump the lot,’ he interrupted dismissively.
She narrowed her gaze at him. ‘As if you’d be that reckless with an investment.’
‘No, you’re the reckless one. I’m on damage control. One month.’
Her mouth opened. Then shut. Then opened again. ‘You’re not going to get everything you want.’ She sent him another speaking look. ‘No more parties.’
‘Pardon?’
‘While I’m here as your fiancée there’ll be no parties.’
Was she trying to dictate terms to him, to renegotiate when she had zero bargaining power? He stifled another laugh. ‘I thought you Bohemian types liked parties.’
‘Your definition of a party is very different to mine.’