Sophie felt the blood rush to her cheeks again. As first impressions went, she had certainly given Alex something to think about. She didn’t usually dance for an audience.
“Then I guess the two of you had enough time to get acquainted in my absence,” Damon said.
“Oh, yes.” Alex’s half smile sent a surge of heat through her.
She’d certainly had enough time to become acquainted with the hard lines and solid planes of his body. A bit of information she would be wise to forget as soon as possible. She would have to talk to Damon about shortening the length of their stay to a few days. Undoubtedly, she would have made a bad enough impression on his upper-class family by then to achieve his goal.
She should have heeded the warning she’d read in the tarot cards last week. Even her mother had voiced concern via a rare long-distance phone call yesterday. There was no such thing as a little white lie. And now, she was in too far to back out.
“So, what do you think?” Damon asked Alex. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”
She twisted her fingers together. “He needs glasses.”
“There’s nothing wrong with his eyesight,” Alex said, his gaze never leaving her face.
Damon stroked his finger along her jaw. “Would you like to see your room, babe?”
“Yes, please.” Sophie needed to put some distance between herself and Damon’s all-too-curious brother. She understood the need for Damon’s possessive gestures. After all, he wanted to convince the family they planned to wed. But under Alex’s scrutiny, she couldn’t repress the sense of guilt that made her want to blurt out the truth.
Did Alex notice her lack of response to her fiancée?
“Which room did Mother have prepared?” Damon asked.
“The guest room in the east wing.” Alex arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Unless you want her in your room.”
“No!” she said too sharply. She glanced at Damon for help, but he offered none. “I wouldn’t insult your mother by sharing a room before we’re married.”
“Let me get you settled.” As Damon took her arm and led her away, she heard Alex’s hearty chuckle mocking her.
On the walk to the room she expected Damon to explode with anger at her stiff and unemotional responses. He never did. Instead, he strode up the stairs and down the hall looking very pleased with himself. Only when they entered the bedroom did he say anything at all.
“So, what do you think?”
“The room is beautiful.” The polished antique furniture left the faint scent of lemon in the air. The bedspread and drapes, in shades of teal and peacock blue, were the most elegant she had ever seen. She sat on the tapestry-covered window seat and glanced outside. From the second-floor vantage point the woods beyond the stone wall were visible.
“Not the room. What did you think of Alex?”
She turned to face him. “I think he suspects there is something odd about our relationship.”
“Besides that?”
“He was polite.” Considering she had sent him flying into a wall, he had been downright gracious.
Damon sat on the sleigh bed and tucked a pillow behind his head. “That’s all?”
She also happened to think Alex was incredibly sexy in his flannel shirt and jeans, not at all the three-piece-suit type she had been expecting. He had a body to die for, thick eyelashes she would kill for, and warm brown eyes that sent her pulse racing.
And her entire purpose for being here was to make a lousy impression on this man.
Damon waved his hand. “Sophie?”
She blinked and met his amused gaze. “What else do you want? I’m only supposed to have eyes for you, honey.”
“He couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“I was standing right in front of him.”
“You were blushing.”
She sprung to her feet. “What’s going on? Are you trying to set me up with your brother?”
“Of course not,” he protested.
“Good. Then we probably won’t need to stay the entire week.”
“Anxious to leave already?”
“You know us Gypsies. We need to wander.”
“We have to stay the week. Really make them worry about our marriage. They’ll be so relieved when I dump you that they’ll stop interfering in my business.”
“How come you get to dump me? Maybe I don’t want you.”
He grinned and rose to his feet. “You can tell our friends anything you want to save face.”
“Get lost.”
He reached for the door handle. “By the way...if you should get a case of wanderlust during the night, be careful. Alex has the room next to yours and you share a bathroom.”
“What?”
“This wing of the house was originally designed for the master and mistress of the estate.” He blew her a kiss and sprinted away.
She dropped down on the bed and sighed. Was Damon trying to play matchmaker? If so, why had he told his family they were engaged? Certainly no brother would intentionally make a play for the other’s fiancée. No, Damon must have something else in mind, but she wasn’t going to discover what until he was good and ready to tell her.
Alex clicked on the computer and dialed into the office. Although he trusted his manager with the daily running of the company, he wanted to check over the orders for the day—
Nice try, but he wasn’t buying his own excuses. He wanted something to take his mind off the sultry beauty who had invaded his home and his thoughts.
He would bet the family business that there was no intimate relationship between Sophie and Damon. She couldn’t even pretend to like his touch. What were they up to, and was his stepmother, Elaine, also in on the plan? With six empty bedrooms in the house, why had she chosen to put Sophie in the one next to his, while Elaine and Damon took residence in the opposite wing?
Alex smiled. It wasn’t Christmas, although he wouldn’t mind unwrapping Sophie under a tree.
He tried to focus on the figures on the computer screen, but he couldn’t concentrate. The image of Sophie dancing across the floor as if she were making love to the music, left him with a consuming ache. A kind of hunger he hadn’t felt in a long time. If she was brought here to seduce him, she had made one hell of a good start. But to what end?
“I thought you were on vacation.” Damon
