Chapter 7
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? – KEEP YOUR COOL AND THINK QUICKLY TO WIN THIS GAME.
After having that conversation with Soli, his dreams had been tangled with memories of his time at boarding school – feeling isolated and humiliated when he’d been the only boy whose parents hadn’t turned up to watch an end-of-term performance before they all left for the Christmas break.
It had then changed to him standing in the mostly empty register office with Soli.
In the dream they were reciting the lines they’d been asked to say, except it wasn’t the registrar conducting the service, it was Great-Aunt Faith, who was barking instructions at them as if they were disobedient children.
As he’d turned to apologise to Soli, he’d realised it wasn’t her standing next to him after all – it was Harriet.
‘Really, Xavier? You had to pay her to marry you? How pathetic,’ she’d sneered at him and the ugly look of utter disdain on her face had woken him with a sickening jolt.
It had been so vivid and had drawn such a strong emotional response from him he felt exhausted now, as if he’d not slept a wink all night.
Remembering with relief that it was the weekend, he allowed himself to lie in bed and read the news on an app on his phone, determinedly pushing the unsettling echoes of the dream out of his mind, before finally dragging himself out of bed for a shower then heading down to the kitchen for breakfast.
He’d just got the coffee machine set up and running when the buzzer for the entry phone at the front gate went.
Frowning to himself and wondering who the hell would be so uncouth as to turn up uninvited at this hour on a Saturday morning, he picked up the handset and snapped, ‘Yes?’
‘Mr McQueen? This is Samuel Pinker. I’ve been employed by your great-aunt’s estate to visit you and your wife at home in accordance with her will.’
Heat rushed across his skin, quickly followed by a wave of cold panic that made his hair stand on end. So they were being checked up on already?
‘Okay. Well, you’d better come in,’ he said, forcing his tone to sound jovial and upbeat. ‘Solitaire is still in bed, I’m afraid. It’s a little early for her, so you’ll need to give me a few moments to rouse her.’
‘No problem,’ the voice of Pinker said over the phone. ‘I have a quick call to make so I’ll park in your driveway and give you a knock in five minutes, if that suits you?’
‘That would be fine,’ Xavier said steadily.
‘Thank you,’ the man replied.
Xavier pressed the button to release the gate, then dashed out of the kitchen and down the corridor to Soli’s room, where he banged hard on the door.
It was a full minute before he was able to rouse her.
‘Xavier? What’s the matter?’ she asked, hiding a yawn behind her hand and looking a little bewildered to see him standing there.
‘There’s someone here from my great-aunt’s solicitor’s office to check up on us. You need to get dressed. Quickly,’ he said, determinedly trying not to notice how appealing she looked, all bed-rumpled and sleepy.
Her eyes sprang open at that, and she did a little nervous jiggle on the spot. ‘Should I get dressed?’ she asked, her voice wobbling with panic.
‘No,’ he said, thinking it would seem more realistic if it looked as though she’d just got out of bed. ‘But perhaps put a robe over your pyjamas?’
‘I don’t have one!’ she said, flustered.
‘There’s one on the back of my bedroom door. Go and put that on. It’ll look better if you come from upstairs anyway. As soon as you hear me open the door, come down. Okay?’
She looked slightly terrified now. ‘What am I meant to say to him? We haven’t worked it out yet!’
‘Don’t worry. Let me do the talking. Just try and make it look as though you like me and find me attractive,’ he said, flipping her a wry smile.
She nodded jerkily. ‘Okay. I can do that.’
There was a strange, zingy tension suddenly between them, but he brushed it off, not having the time to consider what it might mean.
Two minutes after she’d dashed upstairs, the doorbell went, and Xavier took a deep, steadying breath before going to answer it.
Their visitor was a portly man, with a shock of russet hair and a cheerful smile.
‘Samuel Pinker,’ he said, holding out a hand, which Xavier shook firmly.
‘Good to meet you. Please come in.’
He guided the man into the hallway, just as Soli made a timely appearance at the top of the stairs.
The two men looked up at her as she descended, and Pinker once again held out his hand in greeting as Soli reached the bottom stair.
Soli, to her credit, appeared to be totally relaxed as she shook his hand and introduced herself, giving Pinker a warm smile that lit up her whole face.
Xavier’s stomach did an odd swoop as he once again thought how attractive she looked with her wild curls framing her pretty face and her cheeks pink and a little sleep-creased. The robe she’d found in his bedroom was far too big for her, but it only enhanced how feminine and delicate she was.
He had the strangest compulsion to wrap his arms around her, to protect her from Pinker’s searching gaze, but he held back, not wanting to spook her and give the two of them away.
To his surprise, Soli appeared to have the same urge to touch him, and he gave a small involuntary grunt of surprise as she walked straight up to him and slid her arms around his middle, pulling herself close so they were chest to chest. He looked down to see she was gazing adoringly into his eyes.
His heart did a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn.
Remembering the exercise they’d done only the night before, he maintained eye contact with her, immediately recalling that same close connection he’d experienced, so didn’t even blink when she stood on tiptoe to plant a light, soft kiss on his mouth.
The sweet, sleep-warmed scent of her invaded his consciousness, making his senses reel and his body instinctively tighten with lust.
Ah, hell. If she pressed herself any closer to him there was a good chance this could turn into a very embarrassing moment indeed.
Luckily, she pulled away before he completely lost control of the situation and turned to smile at Pinker, who was watching them with a focused sort of smile on his face.
‘Can I get you a cup of coffee, Mr Pinker?’ she asked him. ‘We were just about to have one.’
To Xavier’s surprise, Pinker shook his head.
‘No, thank you, Mrs McQueen. I only popped in so I could tick the “living together” box on the paperwork. It’s very clear you both live here, what with me turning up at such an ungodly hour at the weekend and finding you in residence.
I do apologise for any inconvenience caused – it’s my job, you know? ’
‘Of course! We totally understand,’ Soli said, with warmth in her voice.
‘Well, I’ll let you good people enjoy the rest of your morning,’ Pinker said, tipping Soli a courteous nod and offering Xavier a smile.
‘No doubt I’ll see the two of you again at some point.
Until then…’ He made for the door, giving Xavier a nod of thanks when he opened it for him, and vanished outside.
Xavier waited until he saw Pinker’s car pull out of the driveway before shutting the door with a sigh of relief and turning to face Soli.
‘Well done,’ he said, walking towards where she still stood by the stairs. ‘I think we convinced him.’
Soli smiled back, looking a bit sheepish now. ‘Sorry for kissing you like that without warning, but I thought it would look more authentic. It’s the sort of thing I’d do if we were really married.’
‘No problem,’ he said, lifting a hand to touch his lips where the ghost of Soli’s kiss still lingered. ‘It’s a good job you insisted on that eye-gazing thing yesterday – it made it a lot easier for me to look at you.’
‘Thanks. I think,’ Soli said, flashing him a rueful grin.
‘I didn’t mean…’ He shook his head, irritated with himself. ‘I meant it made it easier to be immediately intimate with each other.’
‘I knew what you meant,’ Soli said, widening her grin, evidently enjoying winding him up.
He couldn’t help but smile back at her, a surge of relief-filled happiness appearing out of nowhere. Clearly, he’d made the right choice in Soli for his pretend wife. Her quick reaction today gave him confidence they’d actually be able to pull this thing off at the party this evening.
‘Oh, wow!’ Soli said loudly.
‘What?’ he asked, startled.
‘Your smile. It’s incredible. You should do that more often.’
‘Uh, thanks.’ He smiled again in a show of nonchalant acceptance, but her words had made a tingle shoot straight up his spine. No one had complimented him on his smile in a very long time. Perhaps because he hadn’t had much to smile about.
They stood there, just looking at each other for a couple of beats, and once again Xavier had the weirdest feeling that Soli was someone he could really trust and rely on. Strangely – considering she was still practically a stranger to him – she was one of the few people he’d ever felt that about.
She looked back at him with curiosity in her eyes. And something else. Something that made his skin heat and his body tense with arousal.
He suddenly wanted to kiss her again, just to experience that same thrilling feeling of being connected.
No. No. Not a good idea.
Obviously, it had been much too long since he’d been physically involved with a woman if he was contemplating messing with this precariously balanced business relationship he’d negotiated so carefully.
‘You know, it occurs to me that I didn’t ask anything about you when we did that getting to know each other exercise last night,’ he said, taking a deliberate step back away from her. ‘Want to chat now over coffee?’
The look of surprise on her face made him feel equal parts amused and guilty and a hot sort of discomfort trickled through him. Apparently, she’d not expected him to take any interest in her as a person.
‘Just in case we’re caught out like that again,’ he added quickly, not wanting her to read too much into his offer of friendship.