Authors: Ellen Wolf
It was James who saved her in the end. His strong hands still holding her to him, he raised his head and looked past her shoulder toward the men who waited patiently, understanding grins on their faces. He smiled at them apologetically, his voice as smooth and calm as if the last few seconds had never happened.
‘
Sorry, gentlemen, but I had to say a proper hello to my sweetheart.’
She needed to put some distance between them, Emily thought wretchedly, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Her reaction to his kiss mortified her, the complete disconnect between her mind and body something new and unwelcome.
Of course, he was playing his part as her lover, most probably trying to lay a foundation to the whole scheme of them being involved. She hated it, but could understand what drove him toward acting the way he did. It was her behavior that was inexcusable. Because she wasn’t acting, at least not consciously. She responded to him instinctively, her body on autopilot to destruction. Which called for damage control, starting with stepping away from the warmth of his embrace and the spicy, exotic scent of his skin that she suspected had nothing to do with his aftershave.
Her subtle effort to slip out of his grip failed, his strong arm holding her to him with steely strength that bellied the ease with which he grinned at the other men.
‘
Emily, let me introduce you to those gentlemen.’ A polite note in his voice didn’t fool her for a second. There was ice in the depth of his onyx eyes, warning her to play along in his charade.
‘
I was surprised to find out that our renovation of the house caused a stir in the community.’ Smiling pleasantly at the men, he continued, his next words explaining his behavior just moments before. ‘So I’ve been paid a visit by the local paper, to document the changes and talk about our vision for this place. This is Mr. Jackson, who is kind enough to write an article about the restoration of the Black House.’ He nodded toward the shorter, bespectacled man who shook her hand with more enthusiasm than she found appropriate, given the situation.
‘
And this is Mr. Watkins, the photographer. We were about to wrap the whole interview just as you arrived, Emily. But now, since we have you here, I hope it’s all right to have a few pictures with my lovely girlfriend, gentlemen? ’ James finished, his silky voice unable to distract her from the fact that suddenly it all fell into place, his diabolical plan set into motion. Of course, he needed to make a spectacle out of their ‘love’ didn’t he? She would have bet her bottom dollar he planned to include the picture of the two of them into the article, too.
She looked up, only to catch him watching her with his dark eyes, his thoughts accompanying her on the short, dizzying ride to decode his true motives. She could tell that he knew what conclusion she drew in the end, the slight dip of his head an almost mocking tribute to her detective skills.
The two men didn’t share any of her misgivings, for obvious reasons. Instead, they agreed wholeheartedly with James to add a few shots of them together to the already finished photo session.
She could hardly tell them what prompted her charming lover to ask for that impromptu addition, could she? Not without making an utter fool of herself. She glanced at him again, too angry to trust herself to speak.
‘
I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up myself as I planned.’ A swift kiss on the top of her head finished their silent eye contact, and he stepped to the side, his warm hand securely wrapped around her cold one. ‘I hope you had a nice ride?’ The question required an answer, so she nodded, clearing her throat.
‘
Yes, it was all fine. How are things here?’ Was he expecting her to act as if she knew the place? She wondered briefly, hoping in her heart that he didn’t. Her acting skills could only go so far, and it was in his best interest to keep it light in front of the two men who listened to their conversation.
‘
OK, more or less.’ He grinned wryly, his teeth impossibly white in his tanned face. ‘I just had to be here and discuss some of the difficulties my contractor complained about first thing in the morning. Otherwise we would be having lunch downtown, sweetheart.’
Like hell they would. She had to bite her lips to stop herself from telling him exactly what she thought of his manipulative ways. True, he might have been needed here, but she had a hard time believing his presence here was as necessary as he made it out to be. It was the damn article and the chance of getting some publicity for them as a couple who had her come here, far away from the safety of being in a crowd. Trapped like a bird in a cage with no doors, Emily found herself guided toward the house, listening half-heartedly to the conversation of the three men at her side.
‘
Just a moment, James,’ Watkins called out, stopping them from entering the house. Emily watched with a sinking feeling as he readied his camera, his friendly smile doing little to calm her down. ‘I mean, this would be a great shot of the two of you on the steps leading to the house, don’t you think? It would tie beautifully with the rest of the shots from the backyard.’
‘
Good idea,’ James agreed easily, slowing down and turning back, his hand pulling her with him. Once again, the already familiar warmth of his arm and the beguiling scent of his skin assaulted her senses.
‘
Just be casual,’ Watkins advised, his grey eyes merry. ‘A young, loving couple in front of the home of their dreams. Try looking careless and happy. Readers love it and eat it up like hotcakes.’
Easy to say for you, she wanted to yell, her whole being tense from the attempts to stop herself from melting into his arms. You’re not the one who’s faking it, the whole lovey-dovey story something you want to add to sell the damn paper even better! She didn’t say anything, of course, concentrating on appearing as normal as possible.
She must have done a better job than she expected, since Watkins looked absolutely pleased, the short photo session finished in mere minutes. They resumed their climb up the old-fashioned stairs, her eyes going over the ornately decorated urns placed at the top landing. Filled with manicured evergreens, they added the much-needed splash of greenery to mellow the austere entrance that must have changed little since the home was built.
Soon after, the two men shook hands, departing for the city. Listening to their receding footsteps, Emily had to fight the childish wish to run after them, yelling for them to wait for her. She didn’t want to stay here, alone with the man who had decided to turn her life upside down with one sweep of his elegant hand. A man who watched her with narrowed eyes, a little smile playing around his sensuous mouth.
‘
Ready to come inside?’ He asked finally, the casual tone of his voice unchanged even though they had no spectators left to watch them. ‘I’m starving, to be honest.’
‘
Was it really necessary?’ She had no time to waste on chitchat, Emily decided, her whole body stiff with indignation. ‘The photos, I mean. Don’t tell me that it was pure coincidence I happened to come when you invite media to your house, James.’
‘
I won’t.’ His dry response was indulgent, making her feel like a sulky child being put in her place. ‘That would be an insult to your intelligence, Emily.’
Leading her into the house, he walked on, his confidence in her following making her even more angry. She wondered briefly, what was it about him that made her feel so unsettled all the time? She had obvious reasons to be resentful, of course, but she praised herself as being a rather calm and easygoing person, barely ever losing control no matter what happened. So why was it that when it came to James, her insides blazed with red-hot fury, an almost overwhelming wish to scratch him until he bled making her curl her fingers into a tight fist?
‘
I thought you wanted to take it slow, your engagement two weeks away,’ she said, her steps silenced by the luxurious and antique-looking oriental carpet in dark blue, aquamarine, and cream. It worked surprisingly well, she had to admit. The room they entered was cozy and welcoming in spite of its gargantuan size.
‘
You remembered. Good.’
Was he praising her for memorizing his words? Or did it make him happy to imagine her tossing and turning at night, his cruel plan keeping away any hope of sleep?
‘
It will all happen at the right time, don’t worry.’ Unperturbed by her visible agitation, he gestured for her to follow him deeper into the bowels of the house, an invitation she could hardly reject after all that had happened so far.
‘
I thought we could have lunch in the small dining room, if you approve.’ He waited for her to say something, but as she remained silent, he took it as a sign of approval, opening yet another door to a room much smaller and more private than the garden room adjacent to the back exit.
She almost regretted her passive silence, Emily thought as she let her gaze travel over the high cream-colored panels covering most of the walls, a few elegant, golden-framed pictures—mostly landscapes—decorating them at symmetrical intervals. She was starting to think that symmetry and order were very important to him, the way everything seemed to be just so, not an inch out of place.
Raw silk curtains the color of old gold draped the large window, the bright autumn sunshine pouring through the glass onto a thick afghan carpet in myriad shades of red. The room was simple, its purpose unmistakable with the large, oval table and eight burgundy upholstered chairs tying beautifully into the overall red-cream-and-gold theme. A large crystal vase in the middle of the table overflowed with asters in all possible colors, the spiky petaled blooms a vivid splash of color against the crisp white linen tablecloth.
If that was the small dining room, Emily wanted to see the one considered to be the regular one. Her own dining room would have fit into a third of the space.
‘
This will have to do, since the official dining room is still under construction.’ He moved a chair for her, his old-fashioned polite gesture taking some of the wind from her sails. ‘Is there anything particular you don’t eat?’
His question surprised her, since she was rather sure he didn’t care for her preferences.
‘
No, all is fine with me.’ She hated a few items but was pretty sure they wouldn’t feature on his menu. It was easier to keep it brief, their personal contact as slim as possible.
‘
Great.’ He moved noiselessly to the other end of the room, his cat-like gracefulness taking her by surprise once again. How was it possible for a man of such height and muscular build to be so light on his feet?
She watched as he opened a door she had overlooked before, her eyes catching a glimpse of a large, well-equipped kitchen.
‘
They were surprisingly practical, putting this room so near the kitchen,’ he said, his voice distant as he left her for a moment. He reappeared almost instantly, carrying a large tray laden with food, the delicious smell wafting to the table.
‘
The fact that we didn’t go to any of the town restaurants for our conversation shouldn’t prevent you from having a decent meal.’ He put down the tray and began unloading various dishes. There was a little of everything, she realized, recognizing some Asian, Italian, and English fare prepared to highest standards.
‘
Ordered from La Felicita,’ he explained, apparently amused by her expression. ‘My driver picked it up on the way to your place.’
La Felicita was one of the best destinations in town.
‘
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just meet there?’ She had to ask, the pretense of an amicable meal more than she could handle. ‘I don’t particularly care for being driven into the middle of nowhere to have lunch, James. Some of us have a life actually, and things that need to be attended to.’
If she aimed to put an end to his light mood, she succeeded beautifully.
His dark eyebrows drew into a straight line of disapproval as he shook his head, his previous friendliness forgotten.
‘
This is something that needs to be solved right now. It’s paramount. I think we can both agree on that?’ Sitting across the table from her, he watched her cautiously as she hesitated to take anything from the buffet style dishes in the middle.
‘
Eat, please.’ Was it an order or a polite invitation? Maybe both, she thought as she watched him wait for her to make the first move.
‘
I wanted us to go downtown, as I said before.’ He continued to wait for her to be the first to put food on her plate. ‘Only, in the morning I received this unexpected call asking if I were interested in the reporter coming today instead of next month as planned. Their paper is struggling just like the rest of the industry, so I guess they figured it would be a good idea to move the interview to an A.S.A.P. date.’
All right, so maybe she was spiteful and all, but it was hard to believe that a two-pager about him and his home would have a large, if any, effect on the popularity of the paper. Was he really so vain as to think so?
How easy it was for him to read her thoughts was already becoming the norm. ‘No, I don’t consider myself hot news by any chance.’ He smiled ironically, her spreading blush betraying his accurate observation. ‘Only somebody did a really effective snooping job on me and my background, finding things controversial enough to make it interesting to their readers. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. The male Cinderella story from rags to riches, if you will.’
He wasn’t planning to elaborate, she could tell. If anything, he was annoyed about the whole ado, which brought her back to the original issue.