Page 10 of Their Diamond Ring Ruse

Lily...

She had been on his mind from the moment he’d set eyes on her. Of course she had been—she was beautiful. However, it was when he’d heard Devan Shah wanted to hand her over to Lincoln Harrison that the cogs of his mind had begun working. It was obvious how entwined those families were, and he knew they could unlock his success in San Francisco and, following that, in the wider US.

Experiencing that intense chemistry with Lily had him forming a plan. One that would greatly benefit him and, if he played it right, save Lily too. He would use her to get closer to Devan. Work on him to secure his support for the deal at Arum and then, once that was in hand, gain the vote of the rest of the board. It was risky, though, as it would spark the ire of Lincoln—the majority shareholder.

There were a few things Julian considered would work in his favour: firstly, Lincoln rarely went against any decision that Devan and the board backed, and secondly, he was more than willing to secure some insurance against Lincoln as a contingency plan. Julian suspected he knew the kind of man he was, so there would be plenty of dirt to find if he looked in the right places. And thirdly, once Julian had insinuated himself into their clique Lincoln would have no choice but to consider IRES. It would look suspicious if he discounted Julian without reason. Especially if he used Lily to garner an invitation into Zenith...

There was also the possibility that with Devan lobbying for Arum to go with IRES none of his back-up plans would be needed.

The first step was to get Lily to agree. Which was why he was outside her shop now.

Pressing the fob in his hand, he locked his black, futuristic sports car, buttoned his grey suit jacket and walked towards glass doors with a quaint sign above it that read Crème.

Even for this city full of food, the place was busy.

He opened the door and slipped in quietly. His first thought was how inadequate the word ‘bakery’ was. Lily’s café-patisserie was a kaleidoscope of pastries in every colour fathomable. Every seat was taken, and queues formed at every cake display.

A ribbon of pride wound around his heart. Perhaps it had something to do with how happy she looked here, compared to the sadness he’d seen behind her façade when they had first met. There was something special about her that went further than her brightness and obvious intelligence. Although he didn’t quite understand why he felt so strongly, given he had only met her the night before.

An apron with curly writing on it covered her front. Her glossy ebony hair was pulled back into a ponytail that Julian wanted to wrap around his fist. He wondered if she would gasp when he tugged on it. What the skin on her neck would taste like...

He shook away the thoughts. Or tried to. He had been failing at that since last night. He couldn’t get her off his mind. From her smile and her eyes to everything she had said, Lily had imprinted herself on his memory.

His urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her wasn’t the reason he’d come, but he did like getting a chance to watch her. She handed a box to a customer with a broad smile and greeted the next person. Every face brightened when she spoke.

He couldn’t relate.

Being who he was, Julian brought out fear, frowns and clenched jaws. The best he would get were fake smiles.

But Lily wasn’t like him. She wasn’t made of darkness.

Julian decided to be patient. What he wanted to discuss would need her undivided attention. So he waited and watched.

* * *

Lily felt a prickling of awareness. A feeling she hadn’t ever experienced until the night before. He couldn’t be here, though. Why would he be? He knew how little power she had over her family and with the Harrisons. She wouldn’t be in the predicament she found herself in otherwise.

Surely she was imagining things.

But one quick glance to the corner of the store told her she wasn’t. Julian was in her patisserie, looking sinful and dangerous, with his hands in his pockets and no hint of a smile on his face.

She wondered what it would take to get one out of him. How handsome that would make him. Why didn’t he smile? He was certainly capable of humour. She had found that out last night.

When Devan and Lincoln had interrogated her, Lily had actually told them that Julian wanted a cake. She’d had to hide the laugh that had threatened to erupt when their faces had reflected confusion and then suspicion.

She had managed to keep it in until she shut the door of her bedroom later, when breathless laughter had escaped her. Lying in bed, she had found thoughts of Julian spinning wildly. Without even touching her he’d made her feel.

When he had stepped into her space it had been as if he had tugged her head back and made her look at him. It had made her achy and flushed. And when he’d walked away after calling her ‘sunshine’ she’d wanted to beg him to say it again, but she hadn’t.

She’d played the sound of his voice over and over in her head until she’d fallen asleep...

She handed a box of pastries over the counter and told one of her assistants that she would be right back.

‘Julian,’ she said when she reached him. ‘This is a surprise.’

‘Do you have a moment? We need to talk.’

His eyes were burning into her the same way they had done the night before, making it hard for her to concentrate. The sunlight coming through the glass illuminated half his fair-skinned face while striking the other half in shadow. Her mouth went dry looking at him.

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