Page 27 of Emergency Engagement

For a few seconds, all the background noise faded and Rafael drew in a sharp breath as he stared at her over the rim of his glass with dark, brooding intensity. Every muscle in his body had tightened and the thud of a powerful sexual awareness hit him like a sledgehammer.

She was wearing the simplest of summer dresses, something straight and flowery, with tiny pearl buttons all the way down the front and thin spaghetti straps. She wore flat sandals, no jewellery except for some stud earrings and next to no make-up. She looked young, fresh, wholesome and incredibly sexy.

He cleared his throat and managed to propel himself towards her, dumping his empty glass en route and grabbing a replacement in the process.

‘Sammy, my darling, you’re here.’ He managed to sound hearty yet caressingly intimate at the same time.

‘Rafael, my love. Where else would I be?’

Sammy felt her heart pick up speed. She’d almost completely managed to avoid him during the course of the day. First, she’d been at the market, and then later she’d made sure that one of her young helpers, Jemima, had done the honours serving a casual picnic lunch at the pool house where the workers had been taking a break to eat.

He’d shown up at the kitchen at some point, purely to chat to her about her duties. She’d glanced at him leaning indolently against the door frame and had gone hot and cold with sudden, dramatic awareness. God knew, she’d tried to put that kiss they’d shared into perspective, but she hadn’t been able to. It had detonated like a hand grenade tossed into her calm, ordered life.

She didn’t get it. How could he manage to get under her skin the way he did? He shouldn’t be able to bring a smile to her lips, and he certainly shouldn’t be able to ratchet up her curiosity about him until her head ached, but he did both. She’d kept telling herself that this was just a job, and that just about seemed to work until she laid eyes on him.

Such as now. He was in black: black jeans and a black figure-hugging tee-shirt, tan loafers and no socks. Nothing about him screamed ‘wealth’and yet he still managed to look incredibly rich, laid back and sophisticated. Just behind him, she caught a glimpse of Victoria narrowly watching their interaction with a champagne flute half-raised, as though she’d been on the verge of gulping down the contents.

‘You didn’t expect me to still be shackled to the oven, did you?’ she purred, conscious of Victoria’s eyes on them. She was also aware ofhiseyes on her, a little amused and a little surprised. He’d obviously thought that getting her to pretend to respond to him convincingly would be as difficult as pulling teeth.

She looked up at him, placed her hand flat on his chest and stood on tiptoe, half-closing her eyes, mouth pursed for the kiss everyone would be expecting—something light and brief, in keeping with the fact that he wasn’t the touchy-feely sort and public displays of affection weren’t really his thing.

His mouth was cool and she started as he nudged his tongue between her lips, teasing a response from her and getting just the response she knew she definitely shouldn’t give. Her hand curled into a fist, clasping the soft cotton of his tee-shirt. Her eyelids fluttered as she unconsciously gravitated towards him until their bodies were pressed together.

Sammy was drowning in that kiss. Her breathing slowed and, when he eventually made to pull away, she found that she was trembling.

‘Now,there’sa surprise,’ he murmured softly into her ear.

She cupped the side of his cheek with her hand, still on tiptoe to reach him, but pulling him down slightly so that, as softly as he’d whispered into her ear, she could whisper back, ‘Why? I do know the rules of the game, Rafael. Besides, your ex is all eyes. You don’t want her to start getting suspicious, do you? I thought that was the whole point of the game.’

‘So it is, my darling, so it is.’

Sammy pulled back, tore her gaze away from his and then peered around him to the assembled crowd. She smiled.

‘Young love!’ One of the older women raised her champagne flute with a broad, approving smile. Sammy laughed and pretend-punched Rafael in the stomach. She said somethingabout maybe young love forher,but slightly less young for Rafael, who was a few years older.

She avoided Victoria. She mingled and chatted but was doubly aware of the other woman’s shrewd eyes on her, and of Rafael always nearby, probably making sure she didn’t put her foot in it somehow by saying the wrong thing.

He gently tugged her back as everyone began making their way to the dining room where dinner was being served. Ahead of them, Victoria had fallen into step with Clement. His arm was around her waist but he was talking to one of the other men. If he was even aware of the towering blonde at his side, then he gave very little evidence of it.

‘Just look at that,’ Sammy muttered to Rafael as they trailed behind them.

‘Look at what?’

‘Victoria and Clement.’

‘What about them?’

‘He’s barely paying her a scrap of attention.’

‘Not sure what you’d like him to be doing right now. He’s pushing eighty. I don’t think hijinks on the dance floor are going to work for him.’

Sammy glanced up to find Rafael grinning broadly. He looked down at her. Their eyes met and her heart sped up.

‘Why on earth would he go out with her if he wasn’t interested in her?’

‘Of course he’s interested in her, although, in fairness, possibly not for her mind.’

‘He’s a really nice guy, but I suppose when you’ve got tons of money, and you can have whatever toy you want, you’re always going to pick the one that’s the shiniest.’

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