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The same notion had become a litany in his head. If he made love to her. When he made love to her. After he made love to her. A thousand different scenarios had played through his mind last night as he lay on the couch in his father’s study, his forearm resting over his eyes, his body tight with frustrated hunger.
Today he’d witnessed how the last strand of his self-control had begun to fray, and he still had fourteen days and thirteen nights to get through.
Heaven help him.
Chapter Eight
Caroline stared at herself in the full-length mirror. So this was what being Cinderella felt like. Of course, Cinderella never wore a strapless gown of black taffeta with pearls at her ears and around her neck. And she most certainly never had a sexy hunk like Simon playing both her Fairy Godmother and the Prince. Poor girl. She had no idea what she was missing.
A soft knock sounded on her bedroom door. Caroline caught up her black-and-white clutch, dropped in her lipstick, and surveyed her reflection one last time. After experimenting with a few different hairstyles, she’d decided on a loose French twist with lots of cascading tendrils to frame her face. The dress’s simple style bordered on severe and required some softening. She hoped Simon would approve.
Her stomach clenched in anticipation of seeing him. Heat bloomed in her cheeks as the memory of that afternoon’s kiss replayed through her mind. Had she really begged Simon to take her upstairs? If Hannah and Sarah’s arrival hadn’t interrupted them, would that have happened? Was she crazy to want to take that step with a man she barely knew? Caroline couldn’t deny that she was playing a dangerous game with her heart, but being in his arms felt so right.
Opening the door, she found Hannah and Sarah awaiting her in the hallway. They looked beautiful in their gowns. Hannah wore a white empire-waist dress overlaid with black netting. The style flattered her rounded belly. She’d accessorized with long black gloves and black open-toe pumps. Her long blond hair had been curled and pinned into place on the crown of her head.
Sarah had chosen a form-fitting sheath of black satin sewn with hundreds of black beads. She shimmered with every movement. Her straight, mink-brown hair in its chin-length bob suited her sharp bone structure and angular features. Diamond chandelier earrings cascaded from her ears and added the perfect amount of glamour.
“Well, don’t we all look amazing,” Hannah exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see what Mom’s wearing. She always flies to New York City and brings home something extravagant.”
Hannah, the more gregarious of the pair, linked arms with Caroline and Sarah. The trio headed toward the stairs. Delores advanced along the hallway from the opposite side of the house, and they waited until she joined them before heading down. The magnificent curved staircase was wide enough for the four of them to walk abreast. They glided downward, a graceful quartet that captured the attention of the four men awaiting them at the bottom.
Caroline had eyes only for Simon. He stood beside his father, elegant in his tuxedo, gaze glued to her as if no one else existed. When she paused on the last step, he walked over and took her left hand. He turned it over and kissed the underside of her ring finger. The gesture spread heat through her body.
“You look beautiful.” No smile accompanied his compliment but the intensity in his expression told her everything she needed to know.
“What, this old thing?” she teased breathlessly, awed by the possessive blue flames flickering in his eyes, aware a similar fire consumed her. It might be only for two weeks, but she wore this man’s ring on her finger, and she was determined to make every moment count.
“Have you seen your mother?” Charles questioned Hannah after he’d been suitably appreciative of her dress. “She chased me out of the bedroom over two hours ago.”
“We stopped at her door, but she said she wasn’t quite ready to make an appearance,” Hannah answered.
“She probably wanted to make sure all of us would be at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her,” Sarah added.
And when Elizabeth arrived at the curve of the staircase, resplendent in a strapless dress of white chiffon with a band of black satin and beading edging the bodice and another band cinching in her
tiny waist, they were all attentive. Today’s wig had been styled into an intricate knot at the back of her head. She wore a string of huge black pearls around her long graceful neck and matching earrings dangled from her ears. As elegant as Caroline had felt standing in front of the mirror ten minutes earlier, she now felt like an ugly duckling.
“You all look wonderful,” Elizabeth exclaimed, surveying them with satisfaction. She turned to Caroline. “I have a diamond choker that would be perfect with that gown.”
Before Caroline could refuse, Simon chimed in. “Thanks, Mom, but I think she looks perfect.”
Elizabeth patted him on the arm. “Of course you do, dear.”
The “bachelors” of the group, Harold and Dane, drove separately, leaving Simon and Caroline to chauffeur Hannah and Sarah. Hannah’s chatter from the backseat masked the fact that Simon didn’t have two words to put together. Caroline guessed at the source of his pensive mood. She hadn’t had an opportunity to tell him what little she’d learned about his sister that afternoon because he’d slipped in to dress while she was in the shower. He probably thought she appreciated the space and privacy to get ready for the party. He’d been wrong.
In fact, when she’d emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel, and found the room empty, she’d collapsed onto the bed, swamped by a heightened sense of longing and an ache in her heart. Grappling with her disappointment, she’d come to a decision. She only hoped she’d have the courage to follow through.
They arrived fashionably late for cocktail hour and had fewer than twenty minutes to socialize before dinner was announced. Caroline noticed their arrival caused a bit of a stir. Thanks to the lunch Elizabeth had invited her to, the news of her recent engagement to Simon made her the focus of a great deal of interest.
While Simon seemed oblivious to the attention they drew, he never released her hand. Caroline appreciated the support, but couldn’t shake the feeling that each set of curious eyes drilled right through her sophisticated outer layer to the destitute law student below. For a moment the expensive gowns and jewelry that circled the room reminded her of the parties the Barry family used to host. The ones her mother worked. The same parties Caroline helped at once she got old enough. It felt weird to be here as a guest instead of one of the waitstaff.
She spotted Dane across the room, conversing with a bubbly brunette. He looked relaxed and very handsome in his tuxedo. Would he be equally at ease when Francine showed up on Monday? Or would the redhead create the sort of chaos Simon had hoped to avoid by pretending to be engaged to Caroline? Would Francine stir up trouble between the brothers? Caroline dreaded finding out.
“Stop staring at my brother.” Simon lifted her left hand and kissed it. The diamond on her engagement ring was no match for the sparkle in Simon’s eyes. “Concentrate on me.”
“I wasn’t staring at your brother, I was wondering who the beautiful woman standing next to him was.”
Simon shifted his stare. “Jasmine something or another. They dated once upon a time.”
