Her One Night Fiancé (Love in London 3)

It was the stuff of fiction. She’d been at the pub twenty-five minutes already and was so glad she hadn’t been a total idiot and bragged about him. Maybe deep inside she’d known he wouldn’t show. Her bravado was greater than ever. But her smile felt fixed—it must be so obviously fake. It was worse than it would have been if she hadn’t met him this morning.

Good thing she’d gone into the cosmetics counter at the pharmacy at the wharf and had her make-up done before leaving. Not war paint, but pure defense. She felt queasy inside, her palms were cold and clammy—without the lipstick and rouge, she’d be colorless. Damn.

She lifted her chin, trying to stand tall and proud. Because she didn’t want to be this weak, this caring of what others thought. No more. She was made of tougher stuff.

But she did regret the little black dress—two steps too flashy. Not pub attire, but posh dinner. While it didn’t show cleavage, it was short and dressy and she had super high heels to go with it. She might as well have put a neon sign above her head flashing “desperate single woman.” Her explanation that she had another date after drinks rang false even to her own ears. But it was crazy to care so much about what they thought. She turned away from the door so the last bit of pathetic hope in her wouldn’t have her glancing over there all the time in case he’d turn up.

He wasn’t going to.

“So when do you go?” Nathan—Corey’s best friend—asked her.

“Next week,” she said brightly, wishing it was tomorrow. “I’m really looking forward to it.” And she was—that traveler anonymity would bring freedom from friends and family and past hurts.

“You don’t want to be here for all the summer fun now so many of us have come over?”

“No,” she said breezily, so used to answering that question. Truth was, her room at the flat had been booked by someone else already, so even if she wanted to stay, she had no place to sleep. But with all these people from Canada coming over—all these people she’d thought were friends but weren’t? She didn’t want to deal with anything more than this brief pub catch-up. She wanted to escape.

“And you’re traveling alone?” Nathan asked.

She nodded.

“Only for some of the time.” An accented voice answered behind her and a hand spread wide on her stomach, pulling her back against a body of burning granite.

Eduardo.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” His apology whispered against her cheek as he drew her into his space, one hand still on her abdomen, the other clasping her shoulder.

His warmth radiated out and encircled her. For someone who appeared so cool and haughty, he was extremely hot. Literally.

Nathan’s eyes widened.

She turned her cheek toward Eduardo and whispered back. “It’s okay.” She was so stunned he was there, she forgave him, just like that—and furthermore, leaned into his touch like the starved-of-affection creature she was.

His fingers played down from her shoulder to her hand—tickling her bare skin. Sensation slammed into her. She tried, but failed, to hide her shiver. She’d experienced sexual attraction before, but this was something else. This was intense enough to render her speechless and frankly, stupid.

His hold both tightened and teased. “I had a meeting that took longer than—”

“It’s okay.” She put her hand over his wrist to keep it at her waist, desperate to stop the circular strokes of his fingers that sent her overly sensitive nerves into orbit and yet at the same time, she didn’t want them to stop at all. “It doesn’t matter.”

There was no hello kiss, of course, but she felt giddier than if they’d been making out for two hours without coming up for air.

“Eduardo, this is Nathan. Nathan, Eduardo.” Breathlessly, she introduced them and watched Nathan’s expression freeze. “Eduardo would have been here sooner, but he was held up at work.”

“Where do you work?” Nathan asked coolly.

That would be right—all that mattered to these guys was which school you went to, what job you had now, and how much money you earned.

“At a clinic,” Eduardo answered, his foreign lilt more audible than it had been this morning. “I’m a pathologist.”

Nina jerked in surprise. Eduardo’s fingers immediately stroked her waist again and she struggled to think as her body and brain slithered back into meltdown. A pathologist? Wasn’t he a banker or trader or financial analyst?

Nathan looked as flummoxed as she felt. And then she felt Eduardo’s amusement behind her.

“He’s brilliant,” Nina said, firmly taking control of herself again. “Solves all kinds of cold cases.”

“Like on CSI or something?” Nathan’s jaw dropped.

Eduardo’s hand tightened and he pulled her back to lean right against him. Nina took the hint and kept quiet—she’d lost the ability to speak anyway, and apparently the ability to stand up all by herself.

“Something like that,” Eduardo answered. “I like microscopic detail. What do you do, Nathan?”

“Commerce,” Nathan answered briefly. “You guys known each other long?”

“Not long enough.” Eduardo’s palm was firm and flat against her belly—could he make his possession any more obvious?

Nina bit back the groan as deep inside she delighted in the idea of his total possession. He couldn’t play the passionate lover up anymore—it was having way too much of an effect on her.

Nathan paused. “Let me get you a drink, Eduardo. A pint? And another wine for you Nina?”

“I’ll have a wine too, thanks. Same as Nina’s,” Eduardo answered.

The others had kept their distance at Eduardo’s appearance and as soon as Nathan stepped away, Nina spun to face her accomplice, so ridiculously glad he was there. And too excited for her own good. “Let’s get out of here.”

His arm still encircled her and she was so close she was practically leaning against his chest. Her nipples screamed the instinctive signal but hopefully the black hid their aroused state.

His brows shot up and he laughed. “What about your friends?”

“They’re not really friends.” They’d been Corey’s friends and they’d lied to her as much as he had—loyal to him, not her.

“No,” Eduardo said. “Don’t wimp out now.”

“I’m not wimping out,” she answered. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” Finally, it was clear to her. She didn’t need to prove anything to them. Why had she thought she did? Why had she let them—and Corey—have that hold over her still?

She glanced over to the group and saw their curious looks, the stony expression on Nathan’s face as he watched them from the bar. And okay, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to a small hit of satisfaction within. “I think you just showing up like this is enough.”

“I say we stay f

or a few minutes. After all, your friend has gone to get us drinks. It would be rude to leave now.” His gaze skittered down in that wolfish way and his smile reappeared. “What’s with the steel-capped stilettos?”

She lifted her brows and sent him an arch look. Her metal-tipped shoes were the height of fashion—and almost gave her the height necessary to look him in the eye. “Protection in case I have to dance with you later.”

His smile gave way to a burst of laughter.

Nina smiled back at him. Yeah, getting away with this fake boyfriend deal was going to be so easy. It was ensuring she didn’t fall deeper into lust that would be the problem. But she’d stay sensible, right? Hadn’t she always been sensible? Or as Corey had said—boring.

But she didn’t think tonight was going to be boring.

“Have you been traveling much, Nathan?” she asked as he returned and handed them drinks.

“A little,” he replied. “But I want to be in London now. You really want to miss the biggest event on earth?”

“I’m not bothered,” she said, shrugging. “There are some things on the Continent I’ve waited too long to see.”

“And I want to show her my childhood home,” Eduardo chipped in.

“Where’s that?” Nathan asked, looking at Nina.

A small town just north of Barcelona,” Eduardo answered, going on to explain its location and winning features in detail.

A few of the others joined them at the tall bar table and the conversation continued—mainly about her upcoming trip. It was easy to talk about. And with Eduardo right there, no one asked any questions directly about him and not one person mentioned Corey. They all seemed a bit stunned. She totally got why.

He was stunning.

There hadn’t been a guy in her life other than Corey. Life and soul of the party Corey. Loud and chatty and welcoming to everyone Corey. But in the details? With her? It was only when she looked back on it that she realized how inattentive he’d been. How he’d always looked round to see if there was someone better, more important to talk to.