Page 27 of Twelve Nights of Nights of Christmas

When Rio Zaccarelli wanted something, he got it. And apparently he was willing to go to any lengths to secure this particular ‘deal’.

‘Why didn’t I think this through? I’ve just raised his hopes and that’s an awful thing to do.’ Frantic, Evie reached for the phone again. ‘I have to tell him the truth, now, before this whole thing escalates and he tells everyone I’m marrying a billionaire.’

‘Leave it.’

‘Rio, he thinks I’m going to get pregnant any moment! He wants to bounce his great-grandchild on his knee! I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.’

But Rio had slipped the phone back into the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘You agreed to the plan.’

‘Because you railroaded me. I didn’t have time to think it through, but I can see now this is going to be really complicated and—’

‘It’s done. Too late.’ With an infuriating lack of emotion, he scanned the screen of his BlackBerry. ‘The switchboard at my corporate headquarters is jammed with journalists seeking confirmation that I’ve just become engaged. The story is out there.’

Her stomach lurched. ‘And your people have confirmed it?’

‘They’ve said “no comment”, which is as good as demanding that the press print an announcement. It’s too late to change your mind now. Stop panicking. Your grandfather sounded fine about the whole thing. Tell me about Jeff.’

Evie tried to ignore the throbbing pain behind her eyes. ‘I don’t want to talk about Jeff.’

‘I’m not surprised.’ Rio sprawled in his seat, texting with astonishing speed and dexterity. ‘He sounds like a total loser.’

Evie stared at him in helpless disbelief. She wanted to explain how worried she was about hurting her grandfather’s feelings, but she knew she was wasting her time. Rio Zaccarelli didn’t care about feelings, did he? All he cared about was making sure his business proceeded unhindered.

‘I really don’t think I can go through with this.’

Rio watched her, a deadly gleam in his eyes. ‘We made a deal.’

‘Yes.’ Evie croaked the word, knowing that she was trapped. If this was the only way to prevent that photograph being published, then she had no choice.

Deals, deals, deals…

She’d made a deal with the devil. And now she was going to pay.

CHAPTER FIVE

DRAGGING her aching limbs into the Penthouse suite, Evie toed off her shoes in relief and crumpled onto the rug. ‘How does anyone walk in these things?’ Staring up at the ceiling, she moved her toes gingerly. ‘I feel as though both my legs have been chewed by a shark.’

‘That is why you are lying on the floor?’ Rio paused in mid-text, his eyes bright with incredulity. ‘If you’re tired, lie on the sofa.’

‘I can’t make it that far. I may never walk again.’ Evie gave a long groan and flexed her sore feet. ‘I bet you’ve never tried to squash your feet into a torture device before. Who invented heels? The Spanish Inquisition?’

Rio pocketed his phone, scooped her up and deposited her on the sofa.

‘Oh—that’s better.’ Evie rolled on her side and closed her eyes, trying not to think about how his hands had felt on her skin. How strong he was.

‘Most women find shopping a pleasurable pastime.’

‘Yes, well, most women don’t have to buy an entire wardrobe after just three hours sleep, and most women aren’t shopping with you.’ Yawning, Evie snuggled into the soft pile of cushions, twisting and turning to find a comfortable position. ‘You said “no” so many times I thought that poor stylist person was going to throw herself out of the window. I thought the objective was to have a high visibility shopping trip, not give some innocent woman a nervous breakdown.’

‘I was trying to achieve a compromise between “wholesome” and “sexy”, which proved to be something of a challenge.’

‘Why do I have to look sexy?’

‘Because it’s important that you look like someone I’d date.’

Squashed flat by that comment, Evie curled up in a ball. ‘Do you have any idea how insulting you are? Once in a while you could think about my feelings, otherwise I’m going to dump you long before this farce is supposed to end. And it doesn’t really matter what the clothes look like, does it? It isn’t as if we’re going anywhere.’ She glanced round the Penthouse, taking in the luxury. Something seemed different about the place, but she couldn’t work out what. ‘You won’t even let me look out of the window in case someone takes my picture.’

‘Astonishingly enough, I am thinking of you. It’s precisely because we are going out that I expended all that time and effort in making sure you had an appropriate wardrobe,’ he gritted. ‘Tonight you’re going to be walking down that red carpet with film stars and celebrities—I didn’t want you to feel out of place.’