I’ve got to finalise the furniture hire for the Christmas party. With two hundred people for lunch, we need more tables and chairs. It’s sobering, to have all those families in need on Christmas Day.’
‘Hannah assures me it’s the tip of a tragic iceberg,’ said Dominic.
They both paused for a long moment before she spoke. ‘I also have to work on a tiaras-and-tuxedos-themed twenty-first party. Ironic, isn’t it, after what we’ve just been saying?’ But organising parties was her job and brought not only employment to her and her partners but also the caterers, the waiting staff and everyone else involved.
‘I didn’t think twenty-first parties were important any more, with eighteen the legal age of adulthood,’ Dominic said.
‘They’re still very popular. This lovely girl turning twenty-one still lives at home with her parents and has three more years of university still ahead of her to become a veterinarian. I have to organise tiaras for her dogs.’
‘Wh...what?’ he spluttered. ‘Did you say you’re putting a tiara on a dog?’
‘Her dogs are very important to her; they’ll be honoured guests at the party.’
He scowled. ‘I like dogs but that’s ridiculous.’
‘We’re getting more and more bookings for dog parties. A doggy birthday boy or girl invites their doggy friends. They’re quite a thing. And getting as competitive as the kids’ parties. Of course it’s a learning curve for a party planner—considering doggy bathroom habits, for one thing.’
‘That is the stupidest—’
Andie put up her hand. ‘Don’t be too quick to judge. The doggy parties are really about making the humans happy—I doubt the dogs could care less. Frivolity can be fun. Eliza and I have laid bets on how many boys will arrive wearing tiaras to the vet student’s twenty-first.’
She had to smile at his bah-humbug expression.
‘By the time I was twenty-one, I had established a career in real estate and had my first million in sight.’
That interested her. ‘I’d love to know about—’
He cut her off. ‘Let’s save that for the question-and-answer session, shall we?’
‘Which will start...?’
‘This afternoon. Can you come to my place?’
‘Sure. It doesn’t hurt to visit the party site as many times as I can.’
‘Only this time you’ll be coming to collect your engagement ring.’
‘Of...of course.’ She had forgotten about that. In a way, she dreaded it. ‘And to find out more about you, fake fiancé. We have to be really well briefed to face my family tomorrow evening.’
She and Anthony had joked that by the time they’d paid off their student loans all they’d be able to afford for an engagement ring would be a ring pull from a can of soft drink. The ring pull would have had so much more meaning than this cynical exercise.
She felt suddenly subdued at the thought of deceiving her family. Her friends were used to the ups and downs of dating. A few weeks down the track, they’d take a broken engagement in their stride. If those kisses were anything to go by, she might be more than a tad upset when her time with Dominic came to an end. She pummelled back down to somewhere deep inside her the shred of hope that perhaps something real could happen between them after the engagement charade was done.
‘When will you tell your parents?’ Dominic asked.
‘Today. They’d be hurt beyond belief if they found out from someone else.’
‘And you’ll talk to Hannah about Timothy?’
‘At the family dinner. We should speak to her and Paul together.’
‘I hope she won’t be too difficult to convince. I really want to help that little boy.’
‘I know,’ she said, thinking of how grateful her family would be to him. How glad she was she’d agreed to all this for her tiny nephew’s sake. But what about Dominic’s family? This shouldn’t be all about hers. ‘What about your aunt? Do we need to tell her?’
The shutters came slamming down. ‘No. She’s out of the picture.’
The way he said it let her know not to ask more. Not now anyway.
Dominic shrugged on his leather jacket in preparation to go. She stared, dumbstruck, feasting her eyes on him. He was so hot. She still felt awkward after their passionate kissing session. Should she reach up and kiss him on the cheek?
While she was making up her mind, he pulled her close for a brief, exciting kiss on her mouth. She doubted there could be any other type of kiss but exciting from Dominic. ‘Happy to fulfil Condition Number Six at any time,’ he said, very seriously.
She smiled, the tension between them immediately dissipated. But she wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.
‘Before you go...’ She picked up her smartphone again. ‘The first thing my friends who don’t know you will want to see is a photo of my surprise new fiancé.’
He ran his hand over his unshaven chin. ‘Like this? Can’t it wait?’
‘I like your face like that. It’s hot. No need to shave on my behalf.’ Without thinking, she put her fingers up to her cheek, where there was probably stubble rash. His kiss had felt so good.
‘If you say so,’ he said, looking pleased.
‘Just lean against the door there,’ she said. ‘Look cool.’
He slouched against the door and sent her a smouldering look. The wave of want that crashed through her made her nearly drop the phone. ‘Do I look cool?’ he said in a self-mocking tone. ‘I thought you liked hot?’
‘You know exactly what I mean.’ She was discovering a light-hearted side to Dominic she liked very much.
Their gazes met and they both burst into laughter. He looked even more gorgeous when he laughed, perfect teeth white in his tanned face, and she immediately captured a few more images of him. Who would recognise this good-humoured hunk in jeans and leather jacket as the billionaire Scrooge of legend?
‘What about a selfie of us together?’ she asked. ‘In the interests of authenticity,’ she hastily added.
Bad idea. She stood next to him, aware of every centimetre of body contact, and held her phone out in front of them. She felt more self-conscious than she could ever remember feeling. He pulled her in so their faces were close together. She smiled and clicked, and as she clicked again he kissed her on the cheek.
‘That will be cute,’ she said.
‘Another?’ he asked. This time he kissed her on the mouth. Click. Click. Click. And then she forgot to click.
After he had left, Andie spent more minutes than
