His gaze gripped hers, deadly serious, but he’d raised his voice loud enough so those around him could hear. Elizabeth’s heart jerked in her chest, but she pasted on a bright smile.
“Stop that,” she scolded, keeping her tone light. It disturbed her how much she enjoyed his obvious desire for her. She couldn’t let the chemistry between them flare. Playing along with his charade was one thing. Falling for his shenanigans would only leave her heart bruised when they parted. “What will your guests think?”
“That I haven’t spent nearly enough time alone with you.”
She put her hand on his cheek. “We can rectify that later.”
His nostrils flared. Eyes widened in surprise and appreciation. He caught her hand and placed a searing kiss in the palm. Like when he’d traced her head line at the wine auction party, her body burst into glorious life.
“I’m counting on it.”
Despite the fact that she knew this was for the benefit of the people who’d been invited to the party so they could spread the word of Roark’s engagement, for a couple seconds she had a hard time catching her breath.
Damn the man for being so convincing. She was starting to believe their charade.
“In the meantime, could you introduce me to some of your friends.”
She knew her color was high as Roark drew her toward the first knot of guests. The next hour flew by in a blur of names and faces. Many she recognized. Keeping up on the society pages made sense for an ambitious party planner. A few she didn’t recognize. About halfway around the room, Elizabeth realized Roark’s guest list included almost all the board members from Waverly’s. Since his goal was to put a positive spin on his personal life, naturally, his engagement party would include the people he needed to sway.
Given her coworkers’ shock when she’d announced her engagement to Roark and their countless questions about why she’d been keeping such a juicy secret, Elizabeth had expected similar reactions from Roark’s guests. To her surprise, everyone had greeted her warmly.
Well, not quite everyone.
Hostility radiated from a sultry, dark-eyed woman in her early twenties. She’d arrived late on the arm of an equally tall and striking young man who must be her brother—such was the resemblance between them. The exotic attractiveness of the pair snared the interest of those assembled.
“Who is that?” she asked Roark, indicating the beauty.
“Sabeen. And her brother Darius. He’s the reason I spent the last three months in the Amazon.”
Was it her imagination or did Roark sound disgruntled? “I thought you were there because you’d run into trouble with local drug lords.”
“Darius ran into trouble. I went there to get him out of it.”
“What was he doing in South America?”
“Looking for a temple I’d mentioned seeing years ago. It happens to be in a territory occupied by a very dangerous man.”
“So, he’s an antiquities hunter like you.”
“No, he’s not like me. He was after treasure that he intended to sell and become rich.” A crease appeared between Roark’s brows.
“Did he find the temple?”
“No. He was captured first.” Roark grimaced. “I warned him what the temple held wasn’t worth risking his life.”
“Then why did he go?”
“He’s in love with a girl. They grew up next door to each other in Cairo. Her father refuses to let them marry. He’s ambitious and wants to marry his daughter to a very wealthy man. Darius hoped that by selling what he found in the temple he could become rich enough to change her father’s mind.”
“That’s very romantic.”
Roark shot her a dubious glance. “It’s foolish. And he continues to pine for Fadira even though he can never have her.”
“Maybe the father will change his mind.”
“It’s too late. While we were in Columbia, her father arranged her marriage. The wedding is set for the end of the month.”
“Someone rich?”