Her words were like cold water over his temper. He had been abrupt and forbidding, refusing to entertain her from the moment she had shown up unannounced at his favourite club. The thought suddenly filled him with cold shame.
‘You laughed at me, Rigo. You humiliated me in front of all your rich, sophisticated friends. It’s probably best that this sham doesn’t go ahead, because I don’t think I could survive being married to a man I know doesn’t respect me.’
‘Nicole...’ He shook his head, needing her to stop talking so that he could process the reshuffling of the facts in his mind.
‘I need to leave, Rigo. Please don’t follow me.’
He caught a glimpse of the tears in her eyes for a split second before she turned and walked away, disappearing through the suite in a blur of long legs and pale blue silk.
With every passing second he felt his temper ebb and the cold realisation of his own actions set in. He had made presumptions about her character from the moment they’d met, just as she had accused him of doing. But was it entirely his fault when she had worked tirelessly to make the media believe she was someone else?
He thought of the woman he had bedded that night, of her hushed moans and the momentary cry of pain that he had presumed was some sort of theatrical move. He had been so blind, and he had coldly brushed the intense feelings from their lovemaking aside once he’d learned her name the next morning.
He had rushed things. He hadn’t known her from the English tabloids so he had powered ahead, giving in to the ridiculous heat that had burned between them. He knew that his reaction on finding out who she was had been exaggerated. But after being fooled by a woman once before on such an enormous, soul-wrenching scale, his pride wasn’t something he took lightly. He had called her a gold-digging whore. And then he had humiliated her.
The memory sat heavily in his gut.
This arrangement was proving more complicated than he had ever imagined. The waters had grown murky and he didn’t like it one bit. He would have to find a way to make peace with his wife-to-be or this marriage was never going to work.
* * *
Nicole sat cross-legged in the middle of the nursery. Anna’s chubby legs kicked hard in the air as she tried to roll over on the carpet. It was already midmorning and there had been no sign of Rigo coming home since last night. She tried to focus on folding Anna’s belongings into her small case, hoping it might calm the storm of emotions going through her brain. She hadn’t planned on letting things get so personal last night. And she hadn’t meant that kiss.
What on earth had been going through her head to let Rigo know that she had been a virgin? It didn’t really make a difference to their situation. It had been her own private secret, along with the memories she held close of the one night when she had trusted a man enough to completely let go and take her own pleasure. She didn’t know why she had waited so long, but there it was. And now the look of horror on his face would ruin that memory for her forever.
Anna squealed, looking at a spot directly behind her. Nicole knew she would find Rigo standing at the door even before she smelled his cologne on the air. His hair was wet, as though he had just stepped out of the shower. His blue eyes were darker than usual—or was it the faint shadows under his eyes that made them seem so? Either way, he looked both terrible and devastatingly handsome at the same time. It was quite an accomplishment.
He was silent for a moment, his gaze trained on Anna as she continued to try to roll onto her stomach, laughing as she fell back each time. ‘The housekeeper told me that you were packing,’ he said finally.
‘I asked her to help but she said she had to clear it with you first.’ Nicole sighed. ‘Thankfully I am under no such obligation.’
‘Can we at least talk before you go barrelling out of here?’ he said darkly. ‘Do you even know where you will go?’
Nicole steeled her resolve. He knew that she had very few options here. But her pride wouldn’t let her stay a moment longer.
She stood up, facing him with her chin held high. ‘I won’t talk to the press. You can pretend the engagement still stands if you want. We can keep this quiet for as long as you need for your deal to go through. Pretend the wedding has been postponed or something.’
‘What can I do to make you stay?’ He stood absolutely still, his hands deep in his pockets as he held her gaze.
Nicole shook her head, looking away from him and trying to find the right combination of words to let him know she couldn’t do this any more.
Rigo’s phone sounded, startling Anna with its shrillness. The baby began to sob. Nicole bent down to scoop her up in her arms, holding her close as Rigo began having what sounded like quite an urgent conversation in Italian.
He ended the call, looking up at her with the closest thing to panic as she had ever seen on his face. ‘Alberto has just called to say that the magazine team is on its way up in the lift.’
‘The interview... It’s today?’ Nicole felt her heart beating hard in her chest.
She had been gearing up for this all week. They were to present the world with an intimate portrait of them in their home to go along with the photographs of their engagement party. The prep work had been done with the PR team, and her pre-approved outfit hung pressed and waiting in the dressing room. It was a vital piece of this facade to set the scandal straight and get the media on their side.
‘I’ve had my phone turned off since last night.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose hard. ‘Nicole, I know that I have no right to ask you for help but...I need you by my side.’
Nicole bit her lip. I need you. She must be mad, but she didn’t want to let him down. She nodded, watching his shoulders sag with relief.
* * *
The magazine that would cover their entire sensational love story had competed against countless others to win the contract. In the end it had all come down to privacy for Rigo. He wanted a respectable British publication to take charge of the coverage, with the money raised from the deal going straight into his parents’ charity.
The team was busy setting up lighting around the seating area. Nicole sat by his side, dressed in jeans and a soft pink top that cut across her collarbone to sit at the tops of her shoulders. She looked deceptively relaxed in the soft morning light.
While they waited Anna sat propped on her lap in pink baby pyjamas, all ready for her afternoon nap.
The make-up artist came over, with her belt filled with brushes. ‘I just want to touch up a few bits, Miss Duvalle, if that’s okay?’ She gestured to a stool set up across the room.
Nicole looked at him for a moment, her expression strange. ‘Would you...hold her?’ she asked quietly, looking up briefly to where the journalist sat near them, taking notes and preparing for their interview. Anna might not be featuring in the photo shoot—both Nicole and Rigo had been clear about that—but even behind the scenes they were on show.
Rigo cleared his throat, nodding as casually as he could before accepting the pink bundle into his arms. He probably wasn’t holding her correctly, he thought suddenly. He looked to Nicole, but she was already sitting on the stool with her eyes closed as the make-up woman deftly swept a brush over her cheeks.
