The Temporary Mrs. Marchetti

You are so going to sleep with him.

She slammed the door on the thought. No. Not going to happen. She could resist him. Sure she could. He wasn’t that irresistible.

Yikes. Yes, he was.

As long as he didn’t kiss her it would be okay. Kissing him would be dangerous. Dangerous because his mouth had the amazing power to make her senses spin out of control like bald tyres on an oil spill.

The doorbell sounded and Alice jumped up and smoothed her skinny jeans down her thighs. She’d figured tight jeans might work as a reminder to her self-control. Not so easy to slip out of sprayed-on denim.

Then why did you put on your best bra and knickers?

Alice was getting a little annoyed with her conscience. Nice underwear was standard. So what if she’d put on her most expensive set? Her girls deserved the best support, didn’t they? She opened the front door and tried not to swoon when she saw Cristiano standing there dressed in dark blue denim jeans and a crisp white casual shirt that was rolled up over his tanned forearms. His hair was still damp as if he had not long showered and his jaw was cleanly shaven. ‘At least you’re on time,’ she said.

His gaze travelled over her slowly, smoulderingly, until she wondered if her clothes were going to be singed right off her body and left in a smoking heap on the floor at his feet. ‘You look beautiful.’

Alice looked at his empty hands and then around him for any sign of the dinner he’d promised to bring. ‘I thought you said you were bringing dinner with you?’

‘It will be here soon.’

She stepped back and held the door open, breathing in a delectable whiff of his aftershave when he walked past. She closed the door and linked her hands in front of her body, more to keep them away from the temptation of touching him. ‘I got the money,’ she said. ‘I checked my bank account an hour ago.’

‘Good to know the lawyer is doing what he’s been paid to do.’

Alice unhooked her hands and used one to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear. ‘Any idea why your grandmother stipulated that clause? I mean, I could end our engagement right now and still be way out in front financially.’

‘You could. But you won’t.’

She frowned. ‘What makes you so sure?’

He was standing close. So close she could see every individual pinpoint of his recently shaven jaw. So close she could feel the magnetic draw of his body. ‘Because you’re not the sort of girl who’d take money from an old lady without fulfilling the rest of the wishes she expressed.’

‘But I hardly knew your grandmother. I only met her a couple of times. We chatted and all that but hardly long enough for her to want to include me in her last will and testament, I would’ve thought.’

‘Maybe, but she liked you and you liked her.’ He waited a beat. ‘She saw something in you. A quality she warmed to.’

‘Stubbornness?’

He gave a soft laugh. ‘That and...other things.’

What other things? Alice wanted to ask.

‘Would you like a drink? I have wine and soft drinks or—’

‘Later.’ He slipped a hand into the inside pocket of his dark blue blazer and took out a ring box from a designer jeweller. ‘For you.’ He flipped the box open and inside was a gorgeous diamond in a classic setting.

Alice took out the ring and watched as the light above their heads brought out the diamond’s brilliance. It was so simple and yet so elegant. She slipped it over her finger and it sat there as if it had been made for her. ‘It’s...’

‘If you say “nice” I will not be answerable for the consequences.’

Alice smiled and kept gazing at the ring. ‘Perfect. It’s perfect, that’s what it is. It’s exactly what I would have chosen.’

When she glanced up at him he was frowning. ‘Would you have preferred that?’ he asked. ‘To choose it yourself?’

Alice had never seen him look so uncertain before. ‘I guess if this was a normal situation then maybe I would have. But it’s fine since it’s not. Anyway, I’ll give this back once we’re done.’

‘I don’t want it back.’

‘But it’s—’