‘True.’
‘So whose house are we going to live in?’ she asked.
‘Mine, of course.’
Hayley felt her stomach drop. The thought of sharing his house made it all so terribly intimate. ‘Why should I be the one to move?’ she asked.
‘You live in a little flat while I live in a harbourside mansion,’ he said. ‘End of discussion.’
She gritted her teeth, gearing herself up for another tussle, when she recalled a photograph she’d seen in the press of Jasper’s Point Piper residence. Three of his neighbours were movie stars, and
if that weren’t enough inducement the lap pool, tennis court and in-house gym and sauna and spa were enough to make anyone think twice about rejecting a month living there rent free. Besides, as he’d said, it was a whole lot more spacious than her flat, which would perhaps make it easier for her to avoid him.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘You win. I’ll move in with you but we need to lay down some ground rules from the outset.’
He slung an arm over the back of his chair and lifted his wineglass to his mouth again. ‘Fine by me,’ he said.
‘Firstly, I’m not doing the whole wife thing. I don’t cook, I don’t clean, I don’t iron and I don’t shop, or at least only for myself.’
‘I have a housekeeper who does all that so that shouldn’t be a problem,’ he said. ‘However, she will think it’s a bit strange if we don’t sleep together, but hopefully we can think of some excuse to allay her suspicions.’
‘Tell her you snore. Lots of married couples don’t share the same bed because of that little problem.’
‘Good suggestion,’ he said with a little smile lifting one edge of his mouth. ‘That could work.’
‘Secondly,’ she continued, ‘I expect to be able to have some sort of social life if you’re going to continue seeing other women during our marriage.’
Jasper placed his glass back down on the table. ‘No. Absolutely not.’
She stared at him. ‘No? What do you mean no?’
‘I can’t have my wife having it off with other men,’ he said. ‘I’m a high-profile person. What do you think the press would make of it? I’d be a laughing stock.’
‘So what? It won’t stop you achieving your goal of inheriting Crickglades at the end of the month,’ she said.
His brows came together over his eyes. ‘That’s completely beside the point. No man likes to think of his wife entertaining other men behind his back. It’s a matter of male pride.’
‘What about my pride?’ she asked. ‘If you’re off gallivanting with other women how am I supposed to feel?’
‘I told you I’d be discreet.’
‘What about a compromise?’ she suggested.
His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘What sort of compromise?’
‘How about we both remain celibate for the month?’
His jaw dropped. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. ‘Nope.’
She watched as he raked a hand through his thick black hair before using it to rub his jaw, the rasping sound of his hand moving over his evening shadow making her tummy feel as if someone had tickled it with a very long, soft feather.
‘That’s impossible,’ he said. ‘It’s not natural.’
‘Raymond doesn’t seem to have any problem with it,’ she pointed out. ‘He says celibacy is an act of worship.’
‘Celibacy is an act of madness,’ he said in response. ‘You surely can’t be serious?’