Page 35 of Their Diamond Ring Ruse

‘No,’ she said, and he turned to look at her. ‘Don’t do anything that could hurt you later—and I’m not just talking about the Arum deal.’ A boldness gripped her, and she placed her hand over his heart. ‘Some things are more important.’

His eyes shifted into softness, which then morphed into something scorching, before all emotion was cleared away and he pulled away from her, stalking inside, leaving her feeling unbalanced.

She was growing to care deeply for Julian. Especially after what had happened on their date at Crème. But maybe she was reading the situation all wrong. After all, he was far more experienced than her. Maybe for him it was nothing more than a physical reaction and she was overstepping.

Why was it so much harder for her to remember the fake part of their relationship?

* * *

Lily lay in bed, staring at the sky as it was transformed from a black void to a blue and gold painting of sunrise. She threw off the covers and changed into her work clothes, despite it being so early, because she couldn’t remain in this room any longer.

She took a look around the house, noticing the absence of anything sentimental. There were no knick-knacks nor any indication of childhood memories, no pictures on the walls save for artistic photographs clearly purchased at a gallery. It was all so careful not to hint at the past. As if all that mattered to Julian was right now.

She went down to the kitchen, wondering if he would soon join her, but she found a note on the countertop saying he had an early meeting and wouldn’t be back until later.

The note didn’t sit well with her. Surely he would have mentioned the meeting the night before or knocked on her door earlier.

There was a nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her that he was avoiding her.

He didn’t have any reason to, did he?

She got her answer later, after she’d arrived back at his home, having heard nothing from him all day. It was just a simple text saying he was tied up at the office and wouldn’t be back before dinner.

He was definitely avoiding her.

He couldn’t have gone from wanting to rearrange his entire life to being so busy he barely had time for meals that weren’t at his office. Something was going on, and she was determined to find out what it was.

She waited up, finally hearing him enter late into the night.

‘Welcome home,’ Lily said, stepping into the light of his open-plan kitchen.

‘Lily. What are you doing up?’ He gave her the barest of glances before placing a cup down on the counter.

‘Waiting for you.’ She saw his eyes close momentarily, a tick in his jaw. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait.’

‘No, it can’t. I want to know what I’ve done to make you avoid me.’

Her voice was strong. Whatever his answer was, she was resolved not to be hurt by it. There was a problem and they needed to fix it.

‘I’m not avoiding you,’ he said impatiently, placing his hands on the counter on either side of his cup.

‘That’s the first lie you’ve told that I genuinely don’t believe.’

‘I don’t know what you want me to tell you.’

‘The truth. Why are you avoiding me?’ She stood beside him now, not giving him the chance to evade her.

‘Lily...’ he growled.

‘We’re doing this thing that requires us to be honest with each other, Julian. I’m not backing down until you tell me what’s going on.’ When he did nothing but heave a frustrated sigh, Lily pushed. ‘Is it because I’m here? Do you regret it?’

‘Yes, damn it!’

Lily recoiled as though she had been slapped.

Julian pushed away from the counter, running his fingers through his thick red hair as he stepped away from her before whipping around, fire in his eyes.

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