Page 12 of Wife for a Week

Just as soon as he put some clothes on.

She looked up at him and smiled as he crossed to the wardrobe and there was lazy satisfaction in that smile, a woman’s awareness. His doing, his alone, for there’d been no one else before him and damned if he didn’t relish the notion.

No way. No. This was not happening.

He turned his back on her and dressed fast, deliberately avoiding her gaze as he headed for the sideboard and his business papers.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said gruffly.

‘It shows.’

He shot her a glance, darkly amused. ‘I’ve been thinking we should stick to the plan from now on.’

‘Fine.’

‘I mean, the whole point of bringing you along was so that this kind of complication wouldn’t crop up.’

‘I know.’

‘We got a bit carried away, that was all. A body has its needs.’

She smiled at that and he had the uncomfortable feeling that she’d anticipated each and every one of his defences.

‘I promise it won’t happen again,’ she said, and it was all he could do to keep his jaw from hitting the ground. ‘That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?’

Well, yes. It was just that he wasn’t expecting to hear it quite so readily. Where was the dismay? The protest at having to give up such incredible lovemaking? The businessman in him was relieved. The lover was insulted. The lover, he thought darkly, was the one who’d got him into this mess in the first place. ‘I think we need a new rule,’ he said firmly. ‘No more sex.’ And then as she sat upright, slid on over to the edge of the bed and winced as she did so, ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Tender,’ she confessed, blushing to the roots of her hair. ‘I don’t think I’m going to have any problem complying with your new rule.’

Great. Just Great. Now he had guilt. This, he remembered grimly, was one of the reasons he’d never taken a virgin to his bed. He didn’t know what to do. How to help. ‘Maybe you should take it easy today, postpone your sightseeing trip. I’m sure Jasmine wouldn’t mind.’

‘I’d mind,’ said Hallie. ‘I want to see the galleries.’

So much for trying to get her to rest. What was it with women and shopping? Which reminded him. He sifted through his computer case for his spare cash; found it at the very bottom of the case, beneath the computer. ‘Here,’ he said, holding it out towards her. ‘Take it. You might see something you want to buy at the shops today.’

Hallie stared at the thick wad of money, stared at him. ‘I thought we agreed you’d pay me at the end of the week.’

Nick nodded. ‘And I will. This is just shopping money.’

‘Shopping money.’ She said it slowly, looking at the money as if it were poison. Looking at him as if he were a snake. ‘Keep it,’ she said, with a bite in her voice that was new to him.

‘Look, you’re going to the galleries,’ he said, thoroughly baffled by her reaction. ‘I’m assuming that whatever they sell there won’t come cheap and, if I know Jasmine, she’ll consider your outing a failure unless you find something you can’t resist. I certainly don’t expect you to use your own money for that kind of thing. Put it in your handbag just in case.’

‘No!’ She sounded fierce, looked fragile. ‘I know you’re paying me to pretend to be your wife, and I know I let you buy me clothes for the trip, but you can keep your shopping money. I won’t take it.’

‘Why not?’ The way he saw it, it was all part of the same deal.

She looked away. ‘Because it’d make me feel like even more of a whore,’ she said finally.

Nick blinked. Then he scowled. ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Okay, so his timing could have been better. He shouldn’t have offered her money so soon after sex. But she’d seemed just fine about the sex, he thought morosely. Not to mention the ceasing of it. They’d finished that discussion, hadn’t they? And moved on. ‘This money’s got nothing to do with the sex!’ he snapped. ‘Don’t you dare think I’m trying to pay you for sex!’

She looked slightly mollified. A little uncertain. But her chin was high. ‘I’m still not taking it.’

Then they were at an impasse. Because Nick was equally determined that she would. ‘What if I commissioned you to buy me a gallery piece while you were out shopping today?’ he said. ‘What if I secured your professional services as an antiquities expert, so to speak? Would that be acceptable?’

‘I’m listening,’ she said warily.

‘Buy me something.’ He tossed the money down on the bed beside her.

‘With this much money I could probably buy you Hong Kong Harbour,’ she said in a small voice, staring down at the notes scattered across the bedspread. ‘What do you want?’

‘You’re the expert. You choose.’

‘Yes, but a buyer usually has some idea what their client is after.’

Buyer and client now, were they? He should have been pleased that she was going to take the money. He should have been happy she’d finally come to her senses and recognized it as a necessary part of the charade rather than some kind of postcoital pay-off, but he didn’t feel pleased. He felt…hollow. ‘Buy me a vase,’ he said. It was the first thing that came to mind.

‘Fine. A vase it is.’

He watched her shove the notes into a zippered section of her handbag, smile a bright false smile and head for the door. Something was bothering him. Something big.

‘You didn’t really think I’d treat you like a whore, did you?’ he asked quietly.

She didn’t answer.

CHAPTER FIVE

THERE was something to be said for being chauffeur-driven around Hong Kong in a Mercedes, decided Hallie two hours later as Kai expertly negotiated the traffic with the ease of long familiarity. Jasmine sat beside her in the back seat, cheerfully pointing out places of interest, from museums to major corporations, the Bird Garden to the Goldfish Market. Any other day and Hallie would be embracing the opportunity to shop for antiques with a knowledgeable guide and a chauffeur to boot, but not today. Today her mind was on Nick and his lovemaking. More specifically, on what had happened afterwards.

Good Lord, what a mess.

She’d been expecting Nick to pull back after their lovemaking. She’d started preparing for it the minute she’d stepped from the shower, and she’d been doing all right as they’d re-established the rules of their relationship. She’d been doing pretty well considering that this had been her first morning-after ever. Very well considering her feelings for Nick weren’t nearly as casual as she’d made them out to be.

And then he’d acted all concerned for her well-being, and she’d let her guard down and allowed herself to believe, just for a moment, that she meant something to him. That he’d found their lovemaking as incredible as she had. And then he’d offered her the shopping money, and, boy, hadn’t she taken that the wrong way? Hallie leaned her head against the window-pane, closed her eyes, and tried to wish it all away. The lovemaking, the misunderstanding, the money…

The sooner she got rid of the money weighing down her soul and her handbag, the better.

‘Hallie, are you okay?’

Hallie straightened up, opened her eyes, and smiled at the younger girl who was looking across at her in concern. ‘I’m fine. Just a little tired.’

‘Did you not sleep well? Was the bed uncomfortable?’

‘No, no. The bed was very comfortable.’ Sharing it was the problem. ‘It’s probably jet lag kicking in. I’ll be okay. Really.’ With a determined breath she focussed on the younger girl and their outing. ‘So tell me, where’s your favourite place in the whole city?’ she asked.

‘The Lucky Plaza food hall,’ said Jasmine promptly. ‘They have the finest selection of food in the city. You can try a little of everything! I usually do.’

‘We could go there for lunch,’ said Hallie.

Jasmine looked uncertain.

‘Your father would not approve of your choice of eating venue,’ said Kai in his quiet, implacable way.

‘I’ll ask him,’ said Jasmine, lifting her chin in a defiant gesture that was vaguely familiar. A quick conversation on her mobile and it was done. ‘He said yes,’ she told Kai sweetly.

Hallie watched with interest as Kai’s gaze clashed with Jasmine’s in the rear-view mirror, his stony, hers limpid. It was like water meeting rock; the rock endured but the water was fluid and tricky, not to mention flawlessly beautiful and surprisingly strong-willed. Jasmine held Kai’s gaze in silence until finally he turned his attention to the road. The smile Jasmine slid Hallie was impish. Hallie returned it in full.

‘So when would you like to eat?’ asked the younger girl. ‘One o clock?’

Lucky Plaza was a well-maintained seventies shopping complex. Inside was clean and nondescript with a worn look that spoke of many feet. Nothing special, thought Hallie, until they reached the food hall and she discovered that here was where the people of Asia came together to celebrate food.

‘See? I knew you would like it,’ said Jasmine, accurately judging her fascination. And to Kai, ‘And she hasn’t even tried the food yet.’

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