on her way out and will die before she sees me settled down.’
‘That’s very optimistic projecting,’ Theo declared, in just the sort of arrogantly self-assured voice that got on her nerves. ‘She might have a nervous breakdown when we tell her that, sadly, we’re joining the statistics of the happily divorced...’
‘That’s a risk my father was prepared to take and so am I,’ Alexa told him sharply. ‘Wouldn’t you have done the same if it had been your mother?’
Theo’s face closed down. ‘I don’t deal in pointless hypotheses.’
But it was just the sort of solution his father would have hit upon. Deal with today and let tomorrow be a bridge yet to be crossed. And, yes, Theo would have gone along for the ride. He would have done anything for his mother. He and Daniel both.
‘All that’s beside the point,’ he said, and shrugged elegantly. ‘Now, our little detour has eaten a chunk of my time. I’m going to get my driver to deliver you to your house and you can pack your bags for our trip to the States. And no protest-packing please...’ he added, for good measure. ‘During the day you can amuse yourself, but the evenings will be formal occasions. I expect we will be entertained on a fairly lavish scale.’
‘Fine—but I insist that we check in to separate rooms,’ Alexa told him.
‘Already done,’ Theo returned smoothly. ‘My person in New York has booked us a penthouse suite. Adjoining rooms...’
‘But...’
‘But what...? Do you think I might try and break down the door between us so that I can ravish you?’
Alexa felt hot colour rush into her cheeks. She had been so intent on laying down her ground rules that she hadn’t even considered the obvious—which was that he didn’t even fancy her.
‘You’re getting a little ahead of yourself,’ he said kindly. ‘Aren’t you?’
‘I was just...just...making sure... Of course I don’t think that!’ She thought of the stunning blonde and the nuisance she had eventually turned into and mortification made her skin tingle.
‘Then I’ll text you our timings and get my driver to collect you...’
They were pulling up outside her house and Alexa felt physically and emotionally drained. She was gripping the door handle before the car had even pulled to a stop.
‘Till tomorrow...’ he directed at her as she flipped open the door to step out.
Alexa turned and watched helplessly as the car pulled away. A week in New York, where thankfully their time together would be limited, but then would come their engagement party, and then, in short order, a wedding.
By then she would have to make sure that she...
That she was in control...
ALEXA KNEW WHAT to expect in New York. She had been there several times before and had always loved the buzz of the city that literally never slept.
She met Theo at the check-in desk at the airport, where he was waiting for her, chatting to the woman who had checked him in, who was trying to ignore the fact that there were two other people impatiently waiting in the queue behind him.
‘Is that all you’ve brought with you?’ were his opening words as he strolled towards Alexa, who had joined the back of the queue.
Unlike every other woman he had ever travelled with, Alexa had made absolutely no concession to the fact that they would be travelling first class and he liked that. She was in a pair of loose culottes and a T-shirt, with a cardigan lightly draped over her shoulders and flat ballet shoes. There wasn’t a scrap of colour in her outfit, and she had braided her long, untamed hair into a neat French plait which hung over one shoulder.
‘I have enough for a week—although you haven’t mentioned just how long I will be expected to stay.’
In response to that incendiary way of phrasing her question, Theo slung his arm over her shoulder and felt her tense.
‘What are you doing?’ Alexa squeaked as the line shuffled forward.
‘I’m getting you in the mood.’
‘In the mood for what?’
‘For being my adoring fiancée... And in answer to your question about how long we will be staying...my plans are fluid.’
‘What do you mean...?’ she asked, hopeful that his ‘fluid’ plans might entail a reduction in the time they would end up spending in the city. ‘Might we be there for less than a week...?’
Alexa looked up at him, eyes wide, and he shot her a half-smile before lowering his head and kissing her—a delicate kiss that feathered over her lips with just the lightest touch from his tongue. He pulled back and turned to the woman who had checked him in.
‘Newly engaged,’ he explained, giving Alexa a little squeeze so that she was pulled against him.
‘How romantic.’ The woman eyed Alexa with a look that shrieked, Lucky you, how did you manage that...? ‘When is the big day?’
She fiddled on her computer, checking her in and ticketing her bag at the same time.
‘Not soon enough,’ Theo answered on Alexa’s behalf. ‘The engagement ring is in the process of being altered. Who knows...? We might tie the knot even before the diamond is on your finger—mightn’t we, my darling?’
His low, throaty husk made her blood heat and she stared at the woman with a glassy smile.
‘Maybe not,’ she said gently. ‘I don’t think my mother would stand for that. She’s a stickler for tradition,’ Alexa expanded chirpily, ‘and by tradition I mean taking her time over the wedding arrangements! None of this crazy sprinting up the aisle!’
But then the sooner they tied the knot, the sooner they would untie it. It wasn’t a case of delaying something in the hope that it might disappear altogether if the delay was long enough. No such luck.
‘Speaking of diamonds...’ Theo told her as they headed towards the first class lounge and away from the chaos of the tax-free shopping area, which was packed.
‘Were we speaking of diamonds?’ Alexa used the pretence of stopping to peer into one of the shop windows to disengage herself from his embrace.
‘I’ve brought something for you...’
He left that teaser hanging in the air as they reached the lounge and were waved through towards a couple of cosy chairs, with a table in front of them on which a few business magazines were fanned out.
‘Have you? Alexa looked at him suspiciously. ‘What?’
Theo laughed and crossed his legs. ‘When are you going to stop fighting me? I’ve never met anyone with more of an appetite for arguing.’
‘As I’ve told you
