MELANIE MILBURNE - Unwrapping His Convenient Fiancée

Amy’s eyes danced. ‘Ooh! A friends-to-lovers thing. How exciting.’

Violet sent her a quelling look. ‘Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not his type.’ Cam couldn’t have been more succinct. ‘Kissing is all we’ll do.’ She hadn’t turned him on... Well, she had, but clearly not enough that he wanted to take things further.

The doorbell sounded and Amy jumped off the bed. ‘I’ll get it. I want to check out your date to see if he passes muster. Flat twenty-three B has certain standards, you know.’

Violet came out a few seconds later to see Amy giving an impression of a star-struck teen in front of a Hollywood idol. Violet had to admit Cam looked heart-stoppingly fabulous in a suit. He wasn’t the designer-wear type, but the sharp tailoring of his charcoal-grey suit fitted his tall frame to perfection and the white dress shirt and blue and grey striped tie highlighted the tanned and healthy tone of his skin and the intense blue of his eyes.

Cam’s gaze met Violet’s and a tiny invisible fist punched her in the stomach.

‘You look stunning.’ The deep huskiness of his voice was like a caressing stroke down the entire length of her spine. The way his eyes dipped to her lipgloss-coated mouth made her relive every pulse-racing second of that kiss. Was he remembering it too? How it had felt to have their tongues intimately entwined? How it had felt to taste each other, to feel each other’s response? How it had felt to end it without the satiation both their bodies craved?

Violet brushed an imaginary strand of hair off her face. ‘This is one of my flatmates, Amy Kennedy. Amy, this is Cameron McKinnon, a friend from way back.’

When Cam took Amy’s hand, Violet thought her flatmate was going to fall into a swoon. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said.

Amy’s cheeks were bright pink and her mouth seemed to be having trouble closing. ‘Same.’

Violet picked up her coat and Cam stood behind her and helped her into it. His body was so close she could feel its warmth and smell that intriguing blend of his aftershave. He briefly rested his hands on the tops of her shoulders before stepping away. While he was facing the other way, Amy gave her the thumbs-up sign, eyes bright with excitement. Violet picked up her purse and followed Cam to the door.

‘Have a good time!’ Amy’s voice had a sing-song quality to it that made Violet feel like a teen going out on her first date.

Cam led her to his car, parked a few metres down the rain-slicked street. ‘How many flatmates do you have?’

‘Two. Amy and Stefanie.’

Violet slipped into the plush leather seat of his showroom-perfect convertible. There was no way she could ever imagine a couple of kids’ seats in the back. His car was like his lifestyle—free and fast. Not that he was a hardened playboy or anything. But he was hardly a monk. He was a healthy man of thirty-four, in the prime of his life. Why wouldn’t he make the most of his freedom? How many women had experienced that divine mouth? That gorgeous body and all the sensual delights it promised?

Probably more than she wanted to think about.

‘I’m sorry about Amy back there,’ Violet said after they were on the move. ‘She can be a bit over the top.’

Cam glanced her way. ‘Did I pass the test?’

Violet could feel an annoying blush creeping over her cheeks. ‘The girls have a checklist for potential dates. No smokers, no heavy drinkers, no drugs, no tattoos. Must be gainfully employed, must respect women, must wear a condom... I mean during...you know...not at the time of meeting... That would be ridiculous.’

Cam’s deep laugh made the base of her spine quiver. ‘Good to know I tick all the boxes.’

Violet swivelled in her seat to look at him. ‘So what’s on your checklist?’

He appeared to think about it for a moment or maybe it was because he was concentrating on the traffic snarl ahead. ‘Nothing specific. Intelligence is always good, a sense of humour.’

‘Looks?’

He gave a lip shrug. ‘Not as important as other qualities.’

‘But you’ve only ever dated incredibly beautiful women. I’ve seen photos of them. Fraser showed me.’

‘Mere coincidence.’

Violet snorted. ‘Well-to-do men are selective when choosing a lover. Women, in general, are much more accepting over looks. It’s a well-known fact.’

‘What are you looking for in a partner?’

Violet looked at her hands where they were clutching her purse. ‘I guess I want what my parents have—a partner who loves me despite my faults and is there for me no matter what.’

‘Your parents are a tough act to follow.’

She let out a long sigh. ‘Tell me about it.’

* * *

The dinner was at a restaurant in Soho. Cam’s client had booked a private room and he and his wife were already seated at the table when they arrived. The man rose and greeted Cam warmly. ‘So good you could join us. Sophia has been excited about it all day, haven’t you, agapi mou?’

Sophia was excited all right. Violet could see the sultry gleam in those dark eyes as they roved Cam’s body like she was mentally undressing him.

Cam’s arm was around Violet’s waist. ‘Nick and Sophia Nicolaides, this is my partner Violet. Darling, this is Nick and Sophia.’

Partner? What was wrong with girlfriend? Partner sounded a little more...permanent. But then he wanted to make sure Sophia got the message loud and clear. ‘Darling’ was a nice touch, however. Violet quite liked that. No one had ever called her that before. She got ‘poppet’ and ‘wee one’ from her parents and her grandad called her Vivi like her siblings did. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you both,’ she said. ‘Cam’s told me all about you. Are you in London long?’

‘Until New Year,’ Nick said. ‘Sophia’s never had an English Christmas before.’

Sophia looked like all her Christmases and New Year’s Eves had come at once when she slid her hand through Cam’s arm. ‘You’re a dark horse, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘You never told us you had a partner. Are you engaged?’

Cam’s smile looked a little tight around the edges as he disentangled himself from Sophia’s tentacle-like arm. ‘Not yet.’

Not yet? Didn’t that imply he was actually considering it? Violet had trouble keeping her expression composed. Even though she knew he was only saying it for the sake of appearances, her heart still gave an excited little leap. Not that she was in love with him or anything. She was just imagining what it would be like if she was. How it would feel to have him look at her with that tender look he was sending her way and actually mean it. For real.

Sophia smiled but it didn’t crease her eyes at the corners, although that could have been because of Botox. Meow. Violet wasn’t normally the critical type but something about the predatory nature of Nick Nicolaides’ wife irritated her beyond measure. Sophia looked like the type of woman for whom the word ‘no’ was a challenge rather than an obstacle. What Sophia wanted, Sophia got. No matter what. And Sophia wanted Cam. It was a wonder Nick couldn’t see it. Or was Nick so enamoured with his young, stunningly beautiful wife he couldn’t see what was right before his eyes?

Violet decided it was time to draw the line, not in sand but in concrete. She gazed up at Cam with what she hoped passed for besotted devotion. ‘I didn’t know you were thinking along those lines this early in our relationship.’

He leaned down and dropped a kiss to her upturned mouth. ‘It’s never too early to say I love you.’

Violet smiled a blissfully happy smile. Who said she couldn’t act? Or maybe she wasn’t acting. Hearing him say those words, even though deep down she knew he didn’t mean them, had a potent effect on her. No one, apart from her family, had told her they loved her. ‘I love you, too, baby.’ She turned her smile up a notch.

Nick slapped Cam on the shoulder. ‘Let’s have a drink to celebrate in advance of the announcement.’

Champagne was ordered and served and the glasses held up in a toast to an engagement that wasn’t going to happen. It felt weird to be part of such a deception but Violet had no choice but to run with it. Sophia kept looking at her, sizing her up as if wondering what on earth Cam saw in her. Violet didn’t let it intimidate her, which was surprising as, under normal circumstances, she would have retreated to the trenches by now.

Dinner was a long, drawn-out affair because Nick wanted to discuss business with Cam, which left Violet to make conversation with Sophia. Never good at small talk, Violet had exhausted her twenty question checklist before the entrées were cleared away.

Cam came to her rescue after what was left of their mains was removed. He excused them both from the table and escorted her out to the restroom. ‘You’re doing great, Violet. Hang in there.’

‘If looks could kill, I’d be lying in a morgue with a tag on my big toe right about now,’ Violet said through clenched teeth. ‘She is such a cow. She’s not even trying to hide how she’s lusting after you. Why can’t Nick see it? She’s so brazen it’s nauseating.’

Cam’s mouth was set in a grim line. ‘I think he does see it but he’s in denial. I don’t want to be the one to take the bullet for pointing it out to him. This project is too important to me. It’s the biggest contract I’ve done and more could follow. Nick has a lot of contacts. Word of mouth is everything in my business.’

Violet studied his tense features for a moment. ‘If she weren’t married would she be the type of woman you’d be involved with?’

‘God, no.’ His tone was adamant. ‘What sort of man do you think I am?’

‘She’s incredibly beautiful.’

‘So are you.’

Violet moistened her lips. ‘You’re terrifyingly good at lying.’

His brows came together. ‘You think I’m lying? Don’t you have mirrors at your flat? You turned every head when you walked through the main restaurant just now.’

Keep it light. Violet smiled a teasing smile to cover her self-consciousness. Compliments had never been her strong point. She knew it was polite to accept them with thanks but she could never quite pull it off with sophisticated aplomb. And if people noticed her when she came into a room, she never saw it. She was always too busy keeping her head down trying not to be noticed. ‘You were lying about the intended proposal.’

His dark blue eyes held hers in a lock that made the base of her spine tingle like sherbet. ‘I can be ruthless when it comes to nailing a business deal, but not that ruthless.’

‘Good to know.’

His phone pinged with an incoming message. His expression turned sour when he checked the screen.

‘Sophia?’ Violet’s tone was incredulous. ‘She texted you while her husband is sitting right next to her?’

Cam expelled a breath and pocketed his phone. ‘Go and powder your nose, I’ll wait for you here.’

* * *

Cam led Violet back to the private dining room. She had reapplied her lipgloss and it made her lips all the more tempting to kiss. Get a grip. This was an act, not the real deal. He wasn’t interested in the real deal. Not with anyone just now and particularly not with a girl he had viewed as a surrogate sister for the last twelve years.

But then last Easter something had changed.

He had changed.

He had suddenly noticed her. As in noticed her. The way she smiled that shy smile that made the corners of her mouth tilt upwards and then quiver, as if uncertain whether to stay there or not. The way she bit her lower lip when she was nervous. The way she moved her body like a graceful dancer. Her beautiful brown eyes that reminded him of caramel. Her creamy skin with that tiny dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose that he found adorable.