stepped up and made his senses reel by straightening his tie and patting it into place. ‘Really,’ she told him, ‘you look good. You just need to relax.’
‘Relax, right,’ said Max, taking refuge in sarcasm. ‘I’m just going for the most important interview of my career so far, which means lying through my teeth to my new boss. What’s there to feel tense about?’
‘We don’t have to lie if you don’t want to. Why not just tell Bob the truth about Emma?’
For a moment Max was tempted. Wouldn’t chucking in the towel be easier than spending the evening trying to convince Bob Laskovski that it was remotely credible that a girl like Allegra would choose to be with him? She was so clearly out of his league.
When she had opened the bathroom door and smiled at him, it had been like a punch to his heart. ‘Do I look sufficiently sensible?’ she had asked while he was still struggling for breath, while he was trying to wrench his eyes off the way her dress clung enticingly to her slender body.
True, her arms and shoulders were covered but that sheer black stuff was somehow even more tantalising than bare skin would have been. It seemed to beckon him forward to peer closer, hinting at the creamy skin half hidden beneath the gauzy film of black. Between the sheer arms and shoulders and the tight-fitting dress, Max felt as if there were great neon arrows angled at her throat, at her breasts, at the curve of her hips: Look here! Look here!
The dress stopped above her knees—Look here!—revealing those killer legs of hers—And here!—ending in absurd shoes that were studded with mock jewels. Her earrings swung and glittered in the light and her hair, twisted up and back more neatly than usual, gleamed.
Once the oxygen had rushed back to his head, Max had been able to think of lots of words to describe Allegra right then: sexy, erotic, dazzling, gorgeous... Had he already mentioned sexy? But sensible? Suitable? Max didn’t think so.
Now she was adjusting his tie and standing so close her perfume was coiling into his mind, and lust fisted in his belly. For a wild moment the need to touch her was so strong all Max could think about was grabbing her, pushing her up against a wall and putting his hands on her, touching her, feeling her, taking her.
Horrified by the urge, he took a step back. What was happening to him? He didn’t do wild. He was sensible, steady, an engineer, not some macho type acting out his caveman fantasies.
Max shook his head slightly to clear it. This whole article business was getting to him, that was all. The sooner he got to Shofrar, the better. That was what he wanted, not to rip his little sister’s friend’s clothes off. And for Shofrar he needed Bob Laskovski’s approval. Was he really going to risk blowing the project manager role he’d coveted for so long just because he was distracted by Allegra’s perfume?
‘No,’ he said. His voice was a little hoarse, but firm. ‘I want to stick with what we agreed.’
‘Okay.’ Allegra smiled at him and tucked her hand through his arm. ‘In that case, let’s go and get you that job, tiger.’
At work, Bob Laskovski was always referred to in hushed tones, and Max was expecting his boss to be an imposing figure. Headshots on the website showed a serious man with a shiny pate and a horseshoe of white hair but, in person, Bob was short and rotund with an easy smile and eyes that crinkled engagingly at the corners.
Max was relieved when Allegra let go of him so that he could shake hands with Bob, who turned to introduce his wife. No trophy wife for Bob: Karen Laskovski was silver-haired and very elegant. No doubt Allegra could have described what she was wearing in exhaustive detail, but Max just got an impression of warmth and charm and a light blue outfit.
And now it was his turn. Allegra smiled encouragingly when he glanced at her, and Max cleared his throat.
‘This is my fiancée, Allegra.’
There, the lie was out. Max was sure he could hear it clanging around the restaurant and waited for the other diners to look up and shout Liar! Liar! but nobody seemed to notice anything unusual, least of all the Laskovskis. Couldn’t they see what an ill-assorted couple he and Allegra were?
But no, apparently not.
‘What a pretty name!’ Karen exclaimed as Allegra beamed and shook hands.
‘It means cheerful,’ said Allegra.
‘And you look like it’s a good name for you,’ said Bob, who had blinked a couple of times at Allegra’s shoes.
Allegra smiled and, to Max’s horror, she took hold of his arm once more and leant winsomely against his shoulder. ‘I’ve got a lot to be cheerful about,’ she said, fluttering her lashes at him. ‘I’m just so excited to be marrying Max and going out to Shofrar with him. Hopefully,’ she added, beaming a smile at Bob, who nodded approvingly.
‘It’s a great thing when you’re both looking forward to a posting,’ he said as he gestured for everyone to sit down. ‘Especially a place like Shofrar, where there isn’t much to occupy you if you’re not working. Too often we see young engineers coming home early because their wife or partner isn’t happy. But you’re obviously going to be an ideal engineer’s wife,’ he said to Allegra.
Max covered his choke of disbelief with a cough. Hadn’t Bob noticed Allegra’s shoes? Couldn’t he see that she was the last person who would be happy in the desert?
As for Allegra, she was well into her role. ‘I don’t mind where I am, as long as I’m with Max,’ she said.
Forget journalism, she should have been an actress, thought Max, unaccountably ruffled. But Bob and Karen seemed to be lapping it up.
‘It reminds me of when we were first married,’ Karen said with a reminiscent smile at her husband. ‘I didn’t care as long as I could be with you.’
‘Mind you, we were never really apart,’ said Bob, covering her hand with his. ‘We were high school sweethearts. I fell in love with Karen the moment I saw her, didn’t I, honey?’
Max couldn’t understand it. Bob was supposed to be talking about contracts and deliverables, or quizzing Max on his project experience, not wittering on about love. Naturally, Allegra was encouraging him.
‘Oh, that’s so wonderful!’ she cried, clapping her hands together. ‘So you two believe in love at first sight?’
Max wanted to drop his head onto the table.
‘We sure do,’ said Bob with a fond glance at his wife, who gazed adoringly back at him. ‘How about you two? You known each other a long time?’
‘Years,’ said Allegra, launching into an explanation of her friendship with Libby. ‘For most of that time, Max and I ignored each other completely.’
‘Aha!’ Karen leaned forward. ‘So what changed?’
For the first time, Allegra’s cheery confidence faltered. ‘I...well, I’m not sure...it just crept up on us, I guess.’ And then she had the nerve to turn to him. ‘What do you think, Max? When did you first realise that you were in love with me?’
It was as if the restaurant
