body’s posture was loose...relaxed. He was a man looking forward to an evening out with the woman he would show off to the world as his wife-to-be.
No wonder her mother thought that the man was the next best thing to sliced bread. Theo had his act down pat. He was so socially adept at handling any situation that anyone looking in would have just seen a prospective son-in-law dedicated to charming his in-laws. Anyone looking in would have probably thought that he had asked her father for her hand in marriage and proposed on bended knee. Which just went to show...
She took a deep breath and began walking down the winding staircase.
Theo turned slowly. Carlo Caldini was proving to be both amusing and intelligent. In fact he reminded Theo of his own father. He could understand why they had been inseparable friends for such a long time. Without much time to spare there had seemed little point in having a drink, so they had remained at the bottom of the staircase, chatting.
It had come as no great surprise that Alexa had not been waiting for him when he arrived. As long as she wasn’t hiding out in the broom cupboard in the hope that he would leave without her, then that was all right. He was prepared to wait for as long as it took—whether they arrived on time or not was of little importance to him. In fact the later the better, to some extent, because not only would that limit the hours spent in tedious chatter but it would also ensure that the maximum number of people would witness their arrival, arm in arm.
In Rome, even more than in London, news of the happy couple and their impending nuptials would spread faster than the speed of light.
With his mind toying with the question of how best he could assimilate a wife into his lifestyle without having to alter his day-to-day routine very much, it took Theo a few seconds to focus on the woman gliding with effortless grace down the stairs.
So she’d taken him at his word. He hadn’t known what to expect—whether she would actually do what was necessary or else jump aboard her independence bandwagon and don some paint-spattered overalls and hiking boots for the social event to which he had been invited.
Where had that figure come from? She’d hidden it well... With the dress clinging lovingly to her, he could see that she had the perfect hourglass shape. Full breasts narrowed to a slender waist, and even in the floor-length gown he could see that her legs would be shapely. She was the absolute opposite of the stick insects he was accustomed to dating.
Their eyes met and she pursed her lips—just sufficiently to remind him that she was doing this under duress.
If either of her parents had noticed that little show of rebellion they were hiding it well under their broad smiles and proud gazes, but as soon as he had followed her into the chauffeur-driven limousine, Theo turned to her.
‘You’re going to have to do a bit better than that...’ he drawled, making sure that the privacy partition between the driver and the rear seat was firmly up.
She had pressed herself as far away from him as she could physically get without falling out of the car.
‘And the evening isn’t going to kick off on the right footing if you behave as though I’m carrying the plague,’ he went on, keeping his voice even and detached.
‘I’ll be fine once we get there,’ Alexa told him defiantly.
She had noticed that he hadn’t complimented her on her outfit. Whilst her father had been holding her at arm’s length and showering her with over-the-top compliments Theo had stood back, face impassive. Anyone in that situation would have felt hurt, so it wasn’t strange that she had.
Clearly when there was no pressing need to make an impression he wasn’t that bothered, so why did he expect her to cosy up against him now? Just in case the driver got suspicious?
‘I’m not even sure where we’re going,’ she said, because yet again his show of good manners had made her feel like a silly kid.
‘Art exhibition,’ Theo said succinctly. ‘Under normal circumstances I would have been in London, but as I happen to be here...’
‘An art exhibition...?’ She had gone to a couple of those ages ago, with her parents. The art had been incomprehensible and the crowd had been shallow and overdressed.
‘There will be no need to stay long,’ Theo said mildly. ‘Just long enough to create an impression. Although...’
‘Although what?’ Alexa tensed and looked at him.
In the blue-grey twilight his face was all angles and shadows. She felt a dangerous ripple of response snake through her body and she caught her breath and held it for a few panicked, confused seconds before slowly releasing it.
‘Although perhaps we might stay a bit longer than absolutely necessary. After all, it would a shame to waste a dress like that on a forty-minute appearance...’
Alexa was lost for words. He had paid her a compliment, in a backhanded sort of way, and his lazy velvety voice swirled around her like a mind-altering drug. He was leaning against the door, utterly relaxed, and his eyes were broodingly sexy as he watched her, obviously not caring that it was rude to stare.
Of course, she told herself feverishly, what he had meant was that it was a dress designed to grab the headlines, so why waste it? Why not stay as long as they could so that it had maximum effect? It hadn’t been a compliment directed at her personally.
At any rate, it didn’t matter one way or the other. This was a business arrangement. They were co-workers, so to speak.
‘I’ve never liked those sorts of things.’ Alexa rushed into nervous chatter. ‘I think that was the best thing about being away from Italy...not having to go to openings and art shows and film premieres... Not that I was ever forced to, you understand, but I think my parents enjoyed showing me off. The hardship of being the only child of a rich family!’
She was blabbering, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself because she knew that if she did she might have to analyse the rush of giddiness that had assailed her on the back of his stupid compliment. And then she would have to link it up with the weird way her body seemed to behave in his presence.
Did it all stem from her lack of experience with the opposite sex?
Blabbering on seemed an easier option than wrestling with those kinds of questions.
‘Most people would kill to endure that sort of hardship.’
Cheeks flaming, Alexa turned to look through the window before glancing back at him. The space between them was as big as it could possibly get on the back seat of a very big car, but it still felt tiny. If she reached out she would be able to touch him.
‘I get that,’ she said stiffly. ‘I wasn’t complaining. I was talking too much because...’
‘Because you’re nervous?’
‘Aren’t you?’
Theo shrugged. He liked the way her hair fell in waves around her. It was much longer than he had originally thought, and it wasn’t poker-straight, which seemed to be the only style women below the age of thirty-five wore their hair in the circles he mixed in. A year out from them might be a pleasant break in the monotony. She looked as though she had just climbed out of bed and run her fingers through its length
