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His head told him that in that event she would have no cause for complaint. His former lovers would have been satisfied with what he had done for little Rosie Lambert today. He knew, down to the last cent, the price demanded at the end of the affair, and what had happened with Rosie could hardly be called that.
So why did his heart sing to a different tune?
‘Oh, my giddy aunt!’ In front of him Rosie stumbled awkwardly and Sebastian instinctively steadied her, clamping both hands around her tiny waist to stop her from falling. ‘Who left all this stuff here?’
She knew she sounded as if all the breath had whooshed out of her lungs and hoped he’d put it down to her having nearly fallen flat on her face over the mounds of boxes and distinctively elegant carriers filling the floor space, and not guess that the dominating pressure of his long supple hands around her waist was responsible for some sort of cataclysmic internal explosion.
‘Whatever is it?’ she squawked, and hated herself for her total lack of cool.
‘Do you really have to ask?’ he parried curtly, immediately dropping his hands. The warmth of her body was stealing through her jacket, scorching his skin. Stuffing his hands in his
trouser pockets, out of harm’s way, he stepped over the pile. I had them delivered. The janitor has a key. I suggest you sort through them and pack what you’ll need for Spain.’
He clamped his mouth on the words, but he couldn’t take them back. She might not be accompanying him to his mother’s home, might she?
Cursing himself for allowing her to tie him in knots, he offered tersely,
I’ll help you carry them to your room,’ and met her wide, shocked eyes.
‘You can’t!’
All those clothes? All the things he’d given the nod to?
Everything she’d modelled for him?
She was horrified. The stuff must have cost a bomb! Accepting the suit and the gold chain had made her uncomfortable.
Accepting this lot was completely out of the question.
Ignoring the anguished look in her beautiful sapphire eyes, he deliberately misread her blurted statement, bending to lift a stack of boxes. I’m not in my dotage. I’m capable of carrying a few boxes,’ he told her curtly, turned his back on her and strode towards her bedroom.
‘But—’ Dismayed, she scurried after him. He’d put the distinctive gold and white boxes on the bed and was already removing the tops. I didn’t mean you were too feeble to carry them,’ she snapped. ‘You know I didn’t!’ She planted her feet apart and folded her arms high across her chest. I can’t accept this stuff. It’s way too much. And I’d never get to wear it, in any case. It’s such a waste. Send it all back!’
‘Can’t. And it’s no use to me.’ Sebastian straightened, the gold tissue evening dress that had made her look so stunningly spectacular dangling from his fingers, taking in her confrontational stance. Warmth flooded his heart, spread rapidly through his veins, prompting him to murmur huskily, I’m not into cross-dressing.’ He badly wanted to see her answering radiant smile.
For a moment Rosie was severely tempted into succumbing to the laughter lights in those compelling silver eyes, to the twitch of humour that softened the hard sensual lines of his kissable mouth. She resisted with difficulty. This was a serious issue.
Injecting scorn into her voice, she ignored his crack about cross-dressing and reminded him, ‘You invented my cover story, remember? I’m suppose to be some sort of ladies’ maid.’
Her upper lip curled with unhidden distaste. The more she thought about the role she would be expected to play, the less she liked it. But it would give her the chance to see her father and, hopefully, get an inkling of what he was like.
Her duplicity in this had her not liking herself very much and had her tacking on in defensive grumpiness, I should look humble, so instead of all this—’ a wild sweep of one arm indicated the results of his morning’s misguided shopping spreeyou should have bought a plain black dress and a neat white pinny and maybe thrown in a sensible nylon overall for when I’m cleaning the lady’s shoes!’
Her reminder came like a slap on the face. The thought of this beautiful creature in a menial capacity, at the beck and call of a woman like Terrina, left a poisonous taste in his mouth.
His lips flattened savagely. ‘Change of plan. I don’t know why I came up with that scenario. You will be going to my country with me as my guest. A true equal in every way there is.’ His eyes glittered. And, on the subject of cleaning her shoes, Terrina’s not fit to so much as touch yours.’
‘Wow!’ Rosie expelled a long, pent-up breath, her eyes widening. He looked all simmering, potent male.
And did he really regard her as his equal? The very idea made her tremble. She had fallen in love with a man so far above her class that the idea of him introducing her as his guest was difficult to assimilate.
She saw the tension leave his wide shoulders, saw his rock-hard features relax into a sudden smile. And when he held out the dress he’d been holding and said, ‘Wear this for me tonight.
We’re eating in. The caterers will be arriving soon. I’ll bring the rest of the stuff through,’ her whole body was flooded with such a strange excitement she felt she was floating, out of control, a puppet being pulled by a master’s strings.
An hour later she surveyed her reflection and tried to control the persistent wriggle of excitement that was squirming around in her stomach.
She hardly recognised herself. She looked expensive, special.
