the warmth of her skin, the comfort of the contact. ‘I promise this is the last time. We won’t have to pretend again, ever, no matter what.’
She turned to face him, her eyes huge in her face. ‘Do you really mean that?’
‘Yes.’
‘What if Tyson asks for another meeting? What if he wants us to come to the opening of the resorts?’
‘He won’t,’ Luca stated flatly and Hannah shook her head, her expression turning wild.
‘But don’t you see, Luca? The pretence never ends. He might be expecting an invitation to our wedding—’
‘He won’t. And in a few weeks or months, we can quietly announce our broken engagement.’
‘Oh.’ She sat back against the seat as if she’d been winded. ‘I see. So I’m thrown over for the next supermodel?’
‘I never suggested such a thing,’ Luca returned sharply. ‘We can make it a mutual decision, or you can be the one to throw me over. I deserve it, after all I’ve put you through.’ And yet the thought made everything inside him clench in denial. They were talking about a fake engagement and yet he still felt rejected. Because he didn’t want to end things with Hannah. Not yet. Not until...when?
He knew he was being ridiculous. It was better to be safe than sorry. Better to be alone and strong than broken-hearted and weak. He’d lived by that. He’d built his life on that knowledge. He couldn’t change now.
Could he?
‘We should go in,’ Hannah said tiredly as she reached for the door handle. She turned her face from him, and Luca felt the loss.
* * *
The excitement Hannah had felt at spending the evening with Luca had fizzled out. She felt tired and sad and strangely empty, and the prospect of pretending for several hours filled her with despair. She didn’t want this. She wanted Luca to love her for real. She wanted to be honest about her feelings, not play this wretched game—and for what? A business deal that was practically pocket change to a man like Luca?
He hadn’t wanted to tell her about his history with Tyson, and his flat, final tone had made her afraid to push. Luca had made it clear she had no rights in his life, even if she wanted them.
The restaurant was quiet and elegant, with each table afforded maximum privacy. Waiters moved discreetly around the room with its frescoed walls and plush carpeting, and the only sound was the tinkle of expensive crystal and silver, the low murmur of conversation.
The understated ambiance reminded Hannah poignantly of that first dinner she’d had with Luca, when he’d bought her clothes and she’d felt gauche and unsure and yet also excited. Before everything had begun. It hadn’t even been two weeks ago, and yet it felt like a lifetime. She felt like a different person, one who had lived and loved and lost.
Hannah told herself she was being melodramatic. Two weeks. You couldn’t fall in love with someone in two weeks, especially when you hadn’t even been looking for love in the first place.
But you’ve known him for three years.
‘Luca, Hannah.’ Andrew Tyson’s melodious voice floated out to them as he stood up at the private table he’d reserved for them in a corner of the restaurant. ‘So nice to see you again.’
Luca’s arm snaked around her waist and he drew her close enough so their hips nudged. Heat stroked along Hannah’s veins at the contact. The attraction she felt for Luca was as potent as ever.
Tyson stuck out his hand for Luca to shake and after the tiniest pause Luca shook it. ‘Andrew.’ His voice was even, businesslike without being friendly.
Tyson kissed Hannah’s cheek and then they all sat down while he had the waiter bring them a bottle of the restaurant’s best champagne.
‘To celebrate your engagement,’ he said with a smile. ‘Among other things. Have you set a date?’
Hannah snuck a glance at Luca, waiting for his cue, and watched as he smiled easily. ‘In the summer. You always hear talk of June weddings.’
June? That was only two months away. Hannah schooled her face into a smile as Tyson turned to her. ‘Will that give you enough time to plan, Hannah?’
‘Oh, I think so.’ Her smile felt as if it were stretching like a rubber band across her face, ready to snap. ‘With Luca’s contacts, things can happen quite quickly.’
‘Oh, I’m sure.’ Andrew gazed at them both speculatively, and Hannah tensed, wondering if he suspected. What if Daniela had whispered something into his ear? Then his face relaxed and the waiter popped the cork on the champagne, and then Andrew raised his glass of bubbly in a toast.
‘To marriage,’ he said. ‘And family. And true love, of course.’
‘To all three,’ Hannah said as gamely as she could, and they clinked glasses.
‘Are you planning on having a family?’ Andrew asked. ‘I know that’s a personal question, but—’
‘We both want children,’ Luca cut in swiftly. ‘Two or three, at least. I prefer an even number.’
‘Why not four, then?’ Hannah suggested a bit tartly. This from the man who had told her less than an hour ago that he didn’t want children at all.
Luca slid her a burning glance. ‘Four it is, then.’
And just like that she imagined a dark-haired baby in her arms, a toddler on Luca’s shoulders, which was idiotic. This was pretend.
‘Good thing they come one at a time,’ Andrew said with a laugh. ‘Generally speaking.’
They ordered their food then, and Hannah tried to relax. Tried not to take every smiling glance or casual caress that Luca gave her like a dagger to the heart, but they hurt all the same. Because he was only acting for Andrew Tyson’s sake, and yet no amount of reminders could keep her body from responding, her heart from yearning.
When he held her hand throughout the first course, and gave her a bite of his dessert as he smiled into her eyes, and referenced an in-joke she hadn’t even known they’d had...all of it made her feel a potent, impossible mixture of hope and despair. This wasn’t real, she knew that, and yet it felt real. She wanted it to be real.
By the end of the evening her nerves were well and truly frayed. Andrew had remained jovial, Luca loving. Hannah had been the only one who had seemed to feel the strain.
As they were settling the bill she excused herself to go to the ladies’. She needed a break from the play-acting. In the bathroom mirror her face looked pale, her eyes too dark. She touched up her make-up and tried to find a smile. Not much longer now, a thought that brought both relief and disappointment. As soon as they left the restaurant, would Luca revert to his normal, businesslike self?
Luca and Tyson were shaking hands as she came out of the bathroom. ‘I’ll be in touch soon,’ Tyson promised.
‘Has he not told you for certain yet?’ Hannah asked as they left the restaurant for the waiting limo. Luca opened the door for her
