A Hint of Scandal
Tight grooves bracketed his mouth. “I was a jerk when all you did was help.”
She tried to remind herself of the anger, the frustration she had felt that night when he’d blamed her for everything. But she had to admit that anyone who knew Kim would have doubts believing that she had fled her own wedding. For a man who dealt in absolutes, who never was plagued by doubts, Kim’s actions wouldn’t make sense, especially because he had believed her to be above it all.
“That’s all I get?” Her heart beat a stuttering tattoo against her rib cage. “If I remember right, I said I would settle for nothing but a grovel. And before you say you don’t know how, let me tell you. You go down on your knees, spread your arms wide, kiss the ground at my feet and say ‘Oh, great Olivia, please forgive me’.”
He burst out laughing, the sound of it rippling over her. A couple of women stumbled to a stop by their table and slid long glances at him. But his gaze didn’t turn from her.
“That’s what I like about you, your unending optimism.” His eyes sparked blue, the curve of his sensuous mouth lifted at the corners. He looked breathtaking, laughter etched into the stark lines of his face. “What can I do instead of the grovel?”
“Keep smiling like that.”
His sinful mouth still curved, he shot an eyebrow up.
Breathe, Liv. “I mean, you rarely, if ever, laugh.” She drew her brows together in mock seriousness. “It’s always—make sure Emily’s okay, make sure my billion dollar empire is fine, make sure Olivia is not up to trouble. I agree the brooding look is definitely sexy, but when you laugh, you just...” She sighed, and shut her mouth, the amusement inching into his gaze heating up her cheeks.
He leaned forward. “Maybe it’s the present company that hasn’t given me much reason to laugh? Between figuring out where Kim is and trying not to forget I have some sense of right and wrong, which believe me is very hazy right now, maybe brooding is all I have left.”
Loaded silence hummed around them for a few seconds before they both burst out laughing.
“After dinner, we can—”
She shook her head. “No. I can’t stand another business dinner.”
What she couldn’t bear was the sense of inadequacy that was becoming second skin again. She had spent the better part of her life wishing she was more like her twin, had barely managed to train herself to accept that she would never even come close.
And every second she spent with Alexander, a little of that acceptance crumbled.
When he opened his mouth, she forged on, refusing to let him interrupt. “Even couples honeymooning need a break from each other, don’t they? Or if that ruins the image of perfect marriage you’re supposed to have, you can tell them I’m tired from all the crazy monkey sex we’ve been having...”
Their gazes collided and held, her breath hitching in her throat. The blue of his pupils darkened. He leaned back into his chair, moving his neck this way and that. “Crazy monkey sex, huh? Is this your way of punishing me because I didn’t believe you? Because it’s working.”
She stood up on shaky knees.
“I’ll cancel tonight’s dinner. There’s a runway show that you might like.”
Warmth exploded in her chest. The fact that he belonged to Kim should be more than enough to kill the attraction. Her sister loved him, deserved him, and even the unbidden rush of pleasure Liv felt at the prospect of spending the day with him was wrong. “You don’t have to spend—”
“We’re family. It’s time we learned to get along.”
She fell back to the cobbled ground with a thump. “You really know how to make a girl feel all special inside, don’t you?” She glared at him. “If you’re worried I’ll make a spectacle of myself somewhere—”
“I’m not.” He grabbed her wrist when she pushed her chair back, locking her in place. “I’m extending the olive branch. We’re going to feature in each other’s lives whether we like it or not.” His thumb moved over her skin, sending flares of sensation rippling over her skin. “And I had no idea how hard all this was on you.”
She had, but for all the wrong reasons. With each passing day, Jacques had moved further and further back in her mind, Alexander now occupying the front and center position. She locked her trembling hands in her lap.
Nice move, Liv. From frying pan into the fire.
Refusing to meet his gaze, she pushed her cup back on the table. “Pfft... This...thing between us? Being attracted to totally unsuitable men is kinda the running theme of my life, as you already know.” She really deserved an award for her acting skills. “It’s you who seems to be—”