The Marriage Of Inconvenience. Nina Singh

Чтение книги онлайн.

       CHAPTER THREE

      TIME ZERO. AND it was going to be a very trying night. R.J. braced himself in the hallway and tried to prepare for the upcoming evening. Stalling, he was definitely stalling.

      He squeezed his eyes shut. It was one night. How hard could it be? After all, it hadn’t been that long ago since he’d lived the part he was being required to play. Surely, he could act out a role he’d already experienced. So why was his head pounding?

      Because he had no business even being in the same room with Angeline Scott. This was insanity, an affront to any sense of equilibrium. Hell, she’d tried to kiss him last night. How could she taunt him like that? Did she think he could be immune to her twice in one lifetime? For her own good, he swore he’d try to stay unmoved throughout this whole charade. He couldn’t toy with rekindling their affections. He’d tried too hard to stay away. Angel deserved better. Because of him, her father had severed all contact with her and cut her off financially.

      And any hope that the man may have changed had been shattered last year when they’d run into each other at an international business symposium. Richard Scott had made it very clear that, CEO or not, R.J. would never be in the same league as his daughter.

      R.J. knew Angel had no hope of reconciling with her father unless R.J. remained out of the picture. Then maybe she’d have a chance to regain all Richard was keeping from her.

      She was the sole Scott heir. How could R.J. allow himself to be the reason she lost that? In fact, if it wasn’t for him, Angel would have access to all the financial resources she needed right now to ensure her company survived. But she’d lost it all. For him.

      He had to make that right.

      He also had to purge all of that from his thoughts at the moment. It only served to agitate him further, and he couldn’t afford that right now. Tonight, it was all for show.

      He used the key she’d given him to enter the apartment. The aroma of home cooking and a bristling fire hit him as he stepped in. Sudden, almost painful nostalgia overwhelmed his senses. He had entered their studio apartment countless times like this. Back then the various scents from the kitchen had been more mundane. Usually plain pasta or some meat roasting in the oven. Angel’s culinary skills weren’t quite enviable at that point, but she’d tried and he’d loved the attempts. He’d loved her for trying.

      Without warning, she breezed into the living room through the swing door of the kitchen. As she spotted him, the silver tray in her hand slightly tilted off balance.

      “You’re here,” she stated.

      “Just walked in.”

      She set her load down on the cocktail table. “The Bays are set to arrive in a few minutes.”

      He took in the snug fit of her feminine tuxedo-cut black suit. The form-fitting jacket accented her waist. The lace camisole she had underneath peaked at the V below her neck and practically screamed temptation. His hand tightened around the wine bottle he was holding.

      “You can set that in the kitchen,” she ordered, and then moved with catlike grace to the mantel and lifted the silver candle set.

      Without responding, R.J. made his way into the kitchen. This night was not going to be over soon enough. She’d always been stunning, but he realized that now she was in her element. He set the wine bottle down and braced his palms on the counter in front of him. Dark, thick clouds moved through the window above the sink.

      The storm was moving closer. He would have to make sure to still the one brewing inside him.

      This was why he couldn’t be around her. This burning need to touch her, to claim her as his. It was the same insanity that had nearly destroyed both of them in the past, when they’d let physical desire rule their better judgment. By the time he found out how mismatched they were, the damage had been done. The memory of that pain should have been enough to guarantee he’d keep his distance tonight.

      He walked back out into the living room just as the doorbell rang. Angel froze in the act of lighting a candle. The fiery glow of the forgotten match threw shadows over her face. Her eyes sparkled before the flame.

      He took her palm and blew the match out. “We better let them in, don’t you think?”

      “I—I guess so.”

      “You guess so? It’s kind of late to back out now, Angel.” He was still trying to ascertain just how far they had come and how he would manage to recover.

      “Why would I want to back out? I just need to tell them this little white lie until I can prove to them what good hands their tea plants are in. By then they won’t care anymore.”

      “And if they do care?”

      She СКАЧАТЬ