Page 12 of Fast-Track Fiancé

‘I was going to say boldly honest,’ he said, his gaze holding onto hers for a long moment before he continued. ‘I’m not here to fight. I’m actually here to take care of some very important business.’

Nina looked out of the window as the car slowed. They were in the very heart of Milan where some of the most expensive and grand fashion houses had their flagship stores. The limousine pulled to a stop outside an ornate historic-looking triple-storey store, one that bore the Falco crest.

‘We are not here for me, Nina, we are here for you,’ Tristan said once they were inside.

‘Me?’

‘I hope you don’t mind but when we planned tonight’s look, I specifically told the team to leave out jewellery for this reason.’

Nina stilled. ‘You planned my...wait, you’re choosing my clothing now as well?’

‘Your personal trainer Sophie was kind enough to give me some guidance on your rather specific taste in clothing. The material is to your liking, no?’

He had picked out her dress. Suddenly the silken slide of the material against her thighs as they walked along the central aisle of the cavernous store felt intimate and seductive, rather than comforting. Much like the man himself. There was nothing about Tristan Falco that was comforting at all.

‘So you’re here to drape me in your diamonds like a walking advertisement, is that it?’

‘Actually, we’re here for a ring. Your engagement ring, to be precise.’

If Nina had been a cartoon character, she was pretty sure this would be the moment when her jaw would drop comically to the floor. As it was, she just about managed to keep herself from tripping over her own shoes. Had he picked out the damned heels as well?

‘I thought... I assumed that we wouldn’t be announcing that part so soon.’

‘We won’t be announcing anything. You’ll be seen tonight wearing an appropriately eye-catching diamond on your left hand. Gossip will do the rest.’ He waited a beat, his eyes searching her face with a frown. ‘You look surprised, cariña. Surely you didn’t expect the CEO of Falco Diamonds’ fiancée to walk around without a gigantic rock on her finger?’

‘No, I suppose not,’ she murmured, her fingertips suddenly feeling tingly and numb as she fought not to twist them in her lap. Her mother had taught her, forced her not to fidget when she was uneasy or nervous. She’d learned how to keep her breathing even and steady, how to periodically meet the gaze of important people so that she didn’t seem shifty or untrustworthy. But she had never been trained how to respond in a situation like this.

As she sat frozen still, the world’s most untameable bachelor slid a tray of antique diamond rings in front of her. In her peripheral vision, the store manager and sales assistant looked on with whimsical smiles as though they were observing a truly romantic moment between a couple in love. She supposed that was why Tristan reached over and grabbed her hand gently, sliding his thumb across her knuckles and leaning forward to move a lock of hair from her forehead.

‘I asked them to bring this one up from the vault.’ He held up a small red box, separate from the tray of glittering pieces the manager had placed between them. The box snapped open, revealing a truly gigantic black diamond surrounded by a coronet of brilliant white gemstones. ‘But you are the one who must wear it, after all. So take your pick from everything you see here.’

She hardly remembered what she did next, but one moment Tristan was smiling with triumph and the next he was on one knee before her. He slid the black diamond ring slowly onto her finger while a gentle round of applause sounded out from their small audience.

‘Perfect,’ he murmured, meeting her eyes for one scorching second before turning to ask someone to bring a tray of earrings and necklaces to match her newest accessory.

He insisted upon draping the jewels around her neck himself. With the mirror in front of her, she watched as he slid her hair to one side and did up the clasp at the back of her necklace. His eyes met hers with a silent question through the reflection in the mirror. Nina glanced at him, then quickly away as her breathing began to feel a little tight.

To all the world right now, she had just become the future Mrs Falco, and she couldn’t even look her fiancé in the eye without having a mild panic attack. What on earth would she do when he eventually had to kiss her again?

Tristan could not say that he had ever imagined how a proposal of his own would go, but this certainly had not been it. Nina had looked as though she was breathing through a rather painful dental procedure during their entire ring selection, elevating into a mild state of frozen panic once he had actually placed the diamond upon her finger. Things had not improved much since they’d made their way out of the jewellery store to pose briefly for a small crowd of photographers. Nina had brushed her hair out of her face with her left hand as he’d instructed her to, and they had travelled to their first event of the evening in silence. He lost sight of her soon after arriving at the charity event, with his presence being required for a series of minor television interviews and hers for an Elite One photo call with the other drivers.

His own interviews were predictably focused on getting him to release any details about his relationship with Nina, which he handled with ease, taking enjoyment out of toying with his word selection. His team had not had to coach him much on the art of selective information sharing; Tristan had always viewed his relationship with the press as a game of sorts, a series of chess moves, using them as he pleased. It had worked in his favour so far, but when he’d seen some of the articles and social media posts that had been released about Nina during the few days since their scandal had gone public, he’d immediately booked for his private train car to take him from Paris to Milan.

Even now, not knowing where she was or what questions she was having to field alone made him feel like the world’s biggest jerk. He’d played it cool, but sharing more than he’d intended during their last encounter had made him feel off balance, and so he had done something he never usually did. He’d ghosted her.

It wouldn’t happen again. From this moment on, he intended for them to act as a team, whether she liked it or not.

Teamwork seemed to be a concept that Nina was quite familiar with, judging by her current cosy pose with her co-driver, Daniele Roberts. The Scottish-Italian heart-throb had been one of their team’s biggest assets over the past year, and Tristan knew Nina had played an expert game in defending him into first position in a race earlier in the season, when their lead driver had been unwell. Tristan might not have attended that race either but he had kept tabs on the results and highlights, as he had done for every other racing weekend this year. As he watched, Roberts leaned in and whispered something into Nina’s ear, making her laugh loudly before she composed herself back into a serene smiling position for the camera. Once the photographer had finished up, she turned back to Roberts, lightly punching him on the arm.

Their interaction was so friendly, so easy, it caught Tristan off guard. She wasn’t cranky with the other man, nor was she picking apart his words or studiously avoiding his gaze. In fact, she seemed to be actively enjoying their conversation as the two moved to the side of the room seeking a more private spot.

He immediately felt his body tense as if to launch into pursuit, but before he could he was interrupted by a familiar bellowing Italian voice. Valerio Marchesi had once been his biggest rival when they had both attended boarding school, a rivalry that had lasted until they had bonded over their shared traumatic experiences and Tristan had eagerly helped the other man to access some therapy and begin to heal. That healing, along with some other, more shady and dramatic occurrences, had led to Valerio marrying Daniela Avelar, who stepped up now to give Tristan a familiar kiss on the cheek.

‘I heard the most delicious rumour this week, Falco,’ Valerio said, a mischievous smile lighting up his face as he slid onto a barstool alongside him and demanded the full details of how Tristan had gone from a devoted bachelor to being engaged to a racing-car driver all in a matter of a few days.

‘It seems your fiancée is a little busy at present,’ Valerio said wryly, glancing at the spot where Tristan was very much still keeping tabs on Nina and her teammate. ‘I do love to see you finally getting your comeuppance.’

He was vaguely aware of the fact that his friend referenced a night in the past, where his wife had asked Tristan to play the role of her date to prove a point. A night that felt like a lifetime ago now that Valerio and Dani were very happily married with two children. But he didn’t have time to rehash the past, not when his fiancée was being pulled into a deep embrace by a twinkly eyed dandy in plain view of the entire room.

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