The Reunion Lie. Lucy King

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СКАЧАТЬ suppose not.’ Although why she didn’t when she looked like that and felt like that he had no idea.

      ‘And I certainly wouldn’t have been kissing you.’

      Which would have been a shame, he thought, briefly distracted by the memory of her mouth moving against his. ‘Did it work?’

      ‘Like a dream. Or should I say a nightmare? Things have got a bit out of hand.’

      ‘How?’

      She shook her head as if utterly unable to comprehend what was going on. ‘All I did was mention that I had a boyfriend, but I guess I should have realised they’d descend on that piece of information like a pack of starving hyenas. They started bombarding me with all these questions about what he did and where he was from, and things just kind of snowballed. They even started asking if he was The One.’ She grimaced. ‘I mean, seriously? Don’t they know how statistically unlikely it is that you’ll ever find The One?’

      ‘Presumably not.’

      ‘The chances have been calculated at around one in two-hundred-and-fifty-eight thousand, which I think you’ll agree are not great odds.’

      At her indignation, Dan felt his mouth twitch with the beginnings of a grin. ‘They certainly don’t sound that good.’

      ‘They’re atrocious, and the odds that there’s only one One are even less. But anyway, I was in the middle of extolling my fictitious boyfriend’s virtues, of which there are a great many, naturally—’

      ‘Naturally.’

      ‘When someone said a bit too sceptically for my liking that he sounded too good to be true and it wound me up. So I thought I’d collar the next vaguely presentable man who walked in and ask him to help. Then you showed up, and I thought you’ll do.’

      ‘Charming,’ said Dan dryly, wondering whether he ought to be offended or impressed by her candour.

      She shrugged. ‘Sorry.’

      Settling on the latter, he said, ‘At least you’re honest.’ Which made a refreshing change when it came to the opposite sex.

      ‘Hardly,’ she said, giving him a wry smile. ‘I’ve just spent every one of the last ten minutes lying my head off. I don’t normally, but this evening I seem to have gone a bit off the rails. Hence the kiss,’ she added, and then a look of horror crossed her face and her gaze dropped to his left hand as a thought evidently crossed her mind. ‘God, you’re not married or anything, are you?’

      ‘No.’ Much to his mother’s continual and extremely vocal disappointment.

      ‘Girlfriend?’

      ‘Not at the moment,’ he said, just about managing to hold back the shudder that wanted to run through him at the thought.

      She gave him a bright smile and let out a long breath. ‘Oh, that is a relief.’

      ‘Isn’t it?’ And not just for her. ‘Although if I’d had either I’m not sure they’d have been all that impressed at what just happened.’

      ‘No,’ she conceded. ‘But then you could always have told them I started it.’

      He tilted his head and shot her a sceptical look. ‘Would you settle for that?’

      She stared at him in surprise. ‘Why not? It’s the truth, isn’t it?’

      ‘When does that ever matter?’

      ‘You sound cynical.’

      ‘Just being realistic.’

      ‘Maybe you should get some new friends.’

      ‘Maybe I should.’

      ‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘if I trusted you, of course I’d believe you.’

      She made it sound so simple. ‘Then you’re unlike virtually every woman I’ve ever met.’

      Her smile faded. ‘I expect I am,’ she said with a resigned sigh.

      ‘Which is not necessarily a bad thing.’

      ‘If you say so,’ she muttered, sounding so thoroughly unconvinced and down that he had an unexpected urge to haul her back into his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right.

      Failing to understand what was going on with that, Dan parked it and pulled himself together. ‘What would you have done if I had had a wife or girlfriend?’

      ‘I’m not sure,’ she said, thinking about it for a moment. ‘Slapped you to make it look like an argument and stormed out probably.’

      He winced. ‘Ouch.’

      ‘Quite. So it’s lucky for both of us you don’t, isn’t it?’ She took a step towards him and looked up at him beseechingly, and as her scent wound through him his head briefly swam. ‘So what do you think?’ she asked softly. ‘Will you help me out and play the part of my besotted boyfriend for a bit or do I need to slink out and hope I don’t see any of that lot ever again?’

      THREE

      Absolutely no way was the answer that was hovering on the tip of Dan’s tongue as he looked down at Zoe and steeled himself to ignore the shimmering hope in her eyes. She might not be the kiss-and-tell girl he’d initially suspected her of being—and the story she’d subsequently spun him was too convoluted to be anything but the truth—but going along with her ridiculous proposition was still out of the question.

      Even if he had possessed a chivalrous streak—which he most certainly didn’t—ever since he’d shot to the top of that bloody eligible bachelor list five years ago he’d had the press nosing around his private life, commenting on his relationships and speculating about whether he had any intention of settling down. And following the hideously detailed story Jasmine had sold six months ago, he now hit the headlines pretty much every time he even spoke to a woman, and he had no desire to fan the embers with yet more fodder for gossip.

      God only knew how far this particular little farce had gone, but should it get out that he was romantically involved—falsely or not—there’d be repercussions he could barely bear thinking about.

      And not just from the press.

      Ever since he’d turned thirty his mother had never passed up an opportunity to mention how she wasn’t getting any younger and how she’d like to be able to enjoy her grandchildren while she still could, and, although he hadn’t reached his breaking point yet, the memories she stirred up every time she mentioned it were getting harder and harder to suppress and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand it.

      If she got to hear of a relationship then his life would become truly intolerable, so if he had any sense whatsoever he’d be saying goodbye and good luck and sticking to his original plan of buying a pint and taking himself off to a relatively quiet corner of the pub. Even more wisely he’d be heading out of the pub altogether, finding a venue that didn’t contain lunatic women with hyperactive imaginations and texting Pete to inform him of the change СКАЧАТЬ