Page 29 of Cinderella's Christmas Secret

‘It’s not a question of letting me down. You look like a college student,’ he informed her, almost gently, his fingertips whispering over her mane of hair. ‘Which is undoubtedly a wildly sexy look, just not one which is particularly appropriate for my future wife. If you aren’t dressed suitably it will make you self-conscious, for you will be mixing with women who will undoubtedly be wearing very costly clothes.’

‘Gosh, you’re making our future union sound like it’s going to be fun, Maximo.’

He smiled then—a slow, sensual smile which curled over her skin like a wisp of smoke. ‘Oh, I can offer you fun, Hollie. Be in no doubt about that. Now wipe that apprehensive look from your face and kiss me instead.’

And wasn’t it crazy how his kiss had the power to dissolve every last doubt?

The limousine dropped them at an expensive-looking department store in central London with doormen who looked as if they had stepped straight out of a Victorian novel. And although the post-Christmas sales had just started and there were stampedes of people buying sequinned dresses and puddings which would shortly reach their sell-by dates, Hollie was assigned a personal shopper all to herself, though Maximo’s insistence on accompanying her took her a little by surprise.

He watched as she paraded before him in a variety of outfits and the molten smoulder of his eyes when he approved a particular article of clothing was flattering, yes—but his attention quickly turned back to his computer, as though his work was more engrossing than anything else. Of course it was. He was just dressing her up like a doll so that she wouldn’t disappoint him in front of all his rich friends.

But she couldn’t deny that the exquisite garments felt wonderful against her skin—more than that, they made her look like someone she’d never believed she could be. Why, at certain angles she looked almost...pretty.

‘I suppose you’ve taken lots of women shopping in the past like this?’ she probed.

‘Not a single one,’ he admitted. ‘But then, I’ve never asked anyone to marry me before either. Just as I have never been quite so much in physical thrall to a woman as I am to you. And so, to avoid unnecessary repetition of predictable questions, shall I simply assure you that having my full attention like this is not the way I usually operate? Does that put your mind at rest, as well as flattering your ego, Hollie?’

It did. It made her feel...special. It made her want to whistle a tune, to sing out loud at the top of her voice. She felt as if she could conquer the world.

And when the shopping expedition was concluded and they had eaten lunch in a hushed restaurant with thick white tablecloths and women who watched him with predatory eyes, Maximo dropped her back at the store, where she was whisked off to a basement spa which smelt faintly of sandalwood and tuberose. There she had her first ever bikini wax, a pedicure and make-up lesson, though she begged them to go easy on the mascara. Next, a sweet girl in a white uniform took her to the hairdressing section to have a couple of inches snipped off her mane and some choppy layers added. And when it was all done, she stood in front of the full-length mirror in her new silk dress, with a shiny fall of hair shimmering around her shoulders, and her transformation seemed complete.

She didn’t look like Hollie Walker any more.

Neither an uptight office girl nor a giddy Christmas elf stared back at her today.

She looked like an expensive glossy stranger.

And when Maximo came to collect her, he must have thought along similar lines because he appeared almost taken aback by her appearance.

‘Bien, bien, bien—what have we here, mia belleza?’ he mused, his black gaze travelling over every inch of her, before he slid onto the back seat of the car beside her.

‘You don’t like it?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ His hand slid over her thigh, his fingers stroking over the navy silk. ‘You look out of this world.’

‘Like an alien, you mean?’

He laughed. ‘No, not remotely like that. Why do you always put yourself down?’

‘Perhaps I’m not used to compliments.’

‘Then I shall have to make sure you get used to them. Like a beautiful woman at her peak, is that better? My only complaint is that there isn’t time for me to prove just how much you have excited my senses, because we need to buy you a ring before the shop closes.’

‘We don’t really have to do that today, do we, Maximo? Haven’t we shopped enough?’

‘I’m afraid we do. I was given to understand that women can never have too much shopping, although maybe you’re the exception to the rule,’ he added drily. ‘But tomorrow, we fly to Madrid and I intend that you should arrive there wearing the biggest diamond in the world.’

Hollie supposed it would be churlish to object to having ‘the biggest diamond in the world’ on the grounds that she was feeling increasingly detached from reality with all this high-end purchasing power. Yet wasn’t this just another example of making sure she was ‘good enough’ to meet his wealthy friends?

She tried to shake off her insecurity as he took her to a darkened store somewhere near Hatton Garden, which didn’t really look like a jeweller’s from the outside, and he and the owner began speaking in a language she barely recognised as English. They spoke of cushion and marquise and princess, which she gathered were cuts of diamonds, though when she emerged from the store an hour later, it was with an enormous rock called a round brilliant dripping from her finger.

As they were leaving, she saw a woman in the street do a double take when she spotted the size of the jewel. But all Hollie could focus on was the sobering thought that the entire purchase had been conducted with zero emotion. There had been no joy on the face of her husband-to-be as he slipped the priceless ring on her finger—just a glimmer of quiet satisfaction in his eyes as the shop’s owner informed him that he had just purchased the finest gem in his collection.

Because there was no emotion involved, Hollie reminded herself fiercely as they got into the waiting car. There might be mutual attraction and a determination to do the right thing by their baby, but this marriage was nothing but a solution to their dilemma, and she should forget that at her peril.

‘So where are we going now?’ she asked, slightly dazzled by the rainbow rays which sparkled on her left hand and wondering if she would have to remove it when she was cooking.

He glanced up from his phone, momentarily distracted. ‘We’ll spend tonight at the Granchester Hotel, for you must be tired after so much travelling?’

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