The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance 2016. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ True, she hadn’t asked to be put in this unenviable position, but neither had he. Tough situations always made a person stronger, more resilient.

      Matter sorted, he said bluntly, ‘I know this situation isn’t ideal, but if you have a boyfriend he’s going to have to go into hiding while we’re together. I have no intention of sleeping around behind your back. The press follow me like hyenas and I don’t plan on giving them any carcasses to chew on—and you’re going to do the same.’

      He heard a rustle of activity and the distant sound of voices marking the return of her parents.

      ‘There’s an event tomorrow evening.’ He stood up and raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Formal. I’ve been invited and you’ll be my...guest. It will be our first public appearance together and the perfect opportunity to get the gossip mill at work...’

      Feeling as though she had been through several wars and only managed to survive by the skin of her teeth, Alexa stood up as well.

      ‘And of course I’m to dress the part...’ she muttered, feeling even more powerless standing in front of him, because he was just so...big...

      ‘I intend to stay in the country for at least the next fortnight. There will be several high-profile functions.’

      ‘I’ll make sure my wardrobe is overflowing with stuff I wouldn’t normally wear in a million years!’ she snapped.

      Theo smiled slowly. ‘I look forward to seeing them... I’ll pick you up tomorrow evening at seven. Get ready to be the centre of attention...’

CHAPTER THREE

      ‘DARLING, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL...’

      Alexa tried hard not to grimace. She had spent a restless night. Her entire mind had seemed to be filled with images of Theo, leaving no room for anything else.

      First thing in the morning she had telephoned her boss at work to advise him that she would have to take a temporary leave of absence. She hated leaving him in the lurch, but he would find out soon enough the reasons for her abrupt departure. When pressed, she had only muttered that it was of a personal nature.

      Then she had spent the day, at her mother’s excited instigation, at various beauty parlours and clothes shops.

      She had had her nails done, her face done... She had gone to the hairdressers, where they had trimmed her hair, suffused it with highlights and then insisted she look and admire what they had created... She had traipsed from one shop to another and allowed herself to be guided by personal shoppers...

      Alexa knew that it was just the sort of day most girls of her background would have taken for granted. But by the end of the afternoon, laden with bags which had quickly been taken to her room, each elaborate dress carefully hung in her wardrobe while her precious casual clothes had got second billing, she had felt utterly spent.

      Now, looking at her mother’s thin, beaming face, she reminded herself why she had embarked on this crazy scheme. Her mother was positively radiant.

      She hadn’t accompanied her shopping, but had greeted the sight of each purchase with gratifying squeals of delight. Alexa was forced to concede that at long last Cora Caldini had managed to get the doll she had wanted rather than the tomboy she had been stuck with.

      ‘I look...’ Alexa stole a glance at her reflection and for a few startling seconds, now that she was seeing the complete and finished product, was lost for words ‘...different...’ she eventually managed to croak.

      Neither the mirrors she had cursorily glanced in at the various shops nor the face she had politely and very briefly scanned at the hairdressers seemed to have done justice to the person now reflected back at her.

      Different was an understatement, and she was honest enough to acknowledge that.

      Her curves were still all there, but for some reason the dress took them, held them, shaped them in some way so that she was...sexy...

      ‘I know,’ her mother said with immense satisfaction. ‘Fabulous! And the colour suits you perfectly.’

      That colour was a shimmering pale duck-egg-blue that brought out the brightness of her eyes. Perfectly fitted to slightly below the waist, clinging to her torso like a second skin, the dress flared softly to the ground. The neckline was scooped, but not outrageously so, just affording a tantalising glimpse of the soft swell of her breasts, and the back was equally scooped. When she moved, it flowed in gossamer-fine layers of silk around her, so that every movement she made was as graceful as a dancer’s.

      The highlights she had ignored at the hairdressers picked up rich copper threads in her hair that she had never noticed. Only a fraction of her hair had been trimmed so that, loose, it tumbled down her back and cascaded over her shoulders.

      Her mother had brought in some of her jewellery, and the next half an hour was spent trying on several pieces.

      Alexa discovered that she actually enjoyed that half an hour...

      She was hardly aware of time passing until there was a knock on the door and she was told that Theo had arrived and was waiting for her by the stairs.

      Alexa snapped out of her reverie and smiled at her mother. ‘This is the most excited I’ve seen you in ages. Do you think I should have been going around dressed like this for the past few years?’

      ‘You’ve never been one for dressing up...’ Her mother sighed, still smiling. ‘And I wouldn’t have changed that for the world. But now and again... Well, my darling, you can see for yourself how wonderful it is to just try something new once in a while. Theo is going to be stunned.’

      Theo won’t notice what I wear unless I turn up in dungarees and trainers, Alexa wanted to retort as she slipped her feet into stilettoes that were precariously high but absolutely suited to the outfit.

      ‘You’re going to be engaged—and married. Such an exciting time... I know you’ve been nudged a little in that direction—but, darling, a mother knows best, and I just know that the two of you are going to be soulmates. When your father told me that Stefano had mentioned his son had seen you, wanted to meet you... Well, I was over the moon. And, having met him for myself... Well, he’s just perfect—and I can tell you feel the same...’

      So that’s how this little charade is being played out, Alexa thought. Theo had supposedly wanted to set up a meeting with her. Her mother probably had visions of love at first sight, if not at first meeting.

      Of course she didn’t know of his deal made with the devil. One year of self-sacrifice and in return shares in their sprawling family company. And, added to that, his father’s company would be saved from public ruin.

      Love and respect for her mother stopped her from prolonging the conversation and hammering the truth home like a battering ram. But it was just so frustrating.

      She grabbed a little sequinned bag from the dressing table and then followed her mother along the corridor towards the staircase. Pausing at the top, she looked down to see Theo and her father chatting. Theo’s back was to her, but the powerful force of his presence still struck her like a physical blow.

      He was dressed as formally as she was. One hand was shoved into the pocket of black hand-tailored trousers, and she could СКАЧАТЬ