‘No.’ Adam stared at her as though she were mad. ‘Just no. But accept my congratulations on your excellent imagination and ability to fabricate a story.’
‘At least I’m trying. Why don’t you think of something?’
Adam came to a halt in front of the breakfast bar and Olivia gulped. Colour her shallow, but the man was flipping all her switches.
He’d pulled a shirt on over jeans but obviously not had the time to button it up, and the black edges gaped to reveal a tantalising glimpse of sculpted chest, a light smattering of hair that arrowed down over ripped abs.
‘OK,’ he said slowly. ‘I’ve thought of something.’
Apprehension lifted the hairs on her arms as she waved a hand in the air. ‘What?’
‘It’s a two-pronged plan. First I’ll get Candice to back down.’
‘How?’
‘I’m going to offer her three dates with Noah Braithwaite.’
‘The Noah Braithwaite?’ Olivia said. ‘Hollywood heartthrob?’ The penny dropped. ‘Also known as Noah ‘Two Date’ Braithwaite.’
‘Yup. Noah and I are poker buddies—I’ll persuade him. Candice will jump at the chance to be the woman who got a third date out of Noah Braithwaite.’
‘OK. That should work,’ Olivia said. ‘Could you also see your way to getting her to rescind her allegations of me being a man thief?’
‘That’s prong two of the plan,’ Adam said, and his lips curved up in a satisfied smile. ‘Candice backs down, which leaves you and I still together. So, to prove that I am not a love rat who has abandoned you, you are coming to the fashion show as my date. You’ll be icing on the cake of my respectability.’
‘No way.’ The response was instinctive, wrenched from her at gut level.
The previous night had been bad enough, being paraded as a possible gold-digger or at best a trophy girlfriend chosen for her looks. Olivia had looked up that article in the sleepless pre-dawn hours and knew now what she had already suspected. All Adam cared about were a woman’s looks.
‘Fine. I’ll sweeten the pot. You play the part of my girlfriend at the fashion show and I’ll take you to Zeb. You can tell him about the baby.’
SIX
Adam knew he’d made her an offer she couldn’t refuse— he just wasn’t sure why he’d made it. Doubtless he could have found a different way to persuade her to continue in her role.
‘You mean it?’ Those hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion, her thoughts presumably mirroring his.
‘Yes.’ And he did.
He’d tracked Zeb down in the sleepless small hours but he hadn’t rung him. The image of Olivia’s face had been too vivid, her voice still echoing in his ears. Her own father had rejected her very existence, denied her an understanding of her own genetic identity and roots. No wonder she had a need to see Zeb face to face to garner his reactions, good or bad, and Adam had no idea which it would be. And so he’d dropped his phone back on the bedside cabinet and left Zeb in ignorance.
‘I mean it,’ he said.
‘This charity event is really important to you, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ He hesitated. ‘My mother died from myeloma.’
Her brow pinched in empathy. ‘Oh, Adam. I’m so sorry.’
He clamped his lips into a grim line; it was too late to prevent the words. ‘Don’t worry about it. Point is I want this event to be a success. If it goes well it could become an annual event. I’ll do what I need to make it work. So are you in?’
‘I’m in.’ Her bare foot tapped a nervous rhythm on the underfloor heated kitchen tiles. ‘What next?’
‘I’ll sort out Candice and then we’ll let the press in. Set the record straight.’
He’d expected her to demur, but instead she nodded as she glanced round and bit her lip thoughtfully. ‘I’ll set the scene. The secret of a good fabrication is in the detail.’
A pang of suspicion struck; was this an oblique way of telling him that she was lying? But now wasn’t the time to wonder—best to file the doubt away for later.
‘Fine. I’ll call Noah.’ He pulled his phone from his pocket. ‘Noah? It’s Adam. Remember that yacht you lost at our last game? Here’s your chance to get it back. But there’s a price.’
‘Isn’t there always?’
Adam swivelled at Olivia’s muttered words but she was on her way out of the kitchen. His gaze lingered on the alluring sway of her hips, the curve of the heart-shaped bottom that had fitted so snugly in his hands.