Chapter Five #3
‘No, but neither did you and now we’re simply making the best of difficult circumstances,’ Tore pointed out without expression.
‘That makes me feel like the last resort in the bedroom,’ Violet whispered truthfully.
Shimmering green eyes caught and held hers in reproof. ‘It shouldn’t. We’re stuck in this situation and we’re dealing with it in the most practical way,’ he argued.
Violet totally blamed herself for the hurt he had inflicted as she went upstairs to dress her daughter in something pretty.
She had made the decision, the choice, to be with him the night before but still she contrived to be hurt.
She had travelled at speed from her raunchy novel to the exciting reality of Tore and had got her fingers burnt.
She hadn’t thought far enough ahead. Had it even crossed her mind that once she cancelled those boundaries, putting them back up again would be an impossible challenge?
And why would Tore say no to commitment-free sex when he had no other female outlet?
He was a normal guy with a libido and she had handed herself to him on a silver platter, thinking that she was being daring, practical and sensible.
But maybe all that she had really been thinking about was that she was hugely attracted to Tore.
She had been all too willing to find a good excuse to allow herself to explore that attraction.
Honestly, what had she expected to happen the morning after?
They were locked together in a temporary marriage and Tore was telling her right now up front that he didn’t want that to change.
He wouldn’t suddenly fall in love with her and decide that he wanted to keep her.
No, Tore was still looking forward to the freedom he would reclaim in three years’ time.
She was the fool who had briefly toyed with the dangerous suspicion that he might want something more from her than her body.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t even admitted that truth to herself.
As Violet finally grasped what had upset her most about his chilly, adamant declarations, she paled and guilty unease gripped her.
She couldn’t afford to catch feelings for Tore.
Succumbing to that stunning beauty and shocking sex appeal of his was one thing; feelings of attachment entirely another.
She gave herself a good, hard talking-to.
In recent years, she had often been lonely.
The weight of her obligations had made it impossible for her to enjoy a normal social life.
What free time she had, had been spent with her mother, her sister and Belle.
Therefore, it made sense that she would be more likely than most women to fall for the first handsome man who paid her attention.
It was just unfortunate that that man should also be the guy she had married as part of a business deal.
Tore was extremely unemotional about their connection, and she would have to learn to think and behave like that as well.
Not only for the sake of conserving her pride but also out of a very real need to look after herself.
Three years down the road, Violet had no plans to reel away from their divorce with a broken heart.
Belle in her arms, Violet clattered back downstairs to be slotted into a very large and comfortable SUV. When they stepped out at their first stop, she was surprised when Stella emerged from one of the cars behind them, immediately moving forward to ask if there was anything she could do to help.
‘Thanks, but if we’re only here for a walk, we’re fine,’ Violet said lightly, choosing not to comment on the new designer stroller that had appeared for her daughter’s use and settling her into its pristine interior.
She had not realised that sightseeing with Tore would require an entire cavalcade of cars, staff and security.
He grasped her hand and planted it on his arm and they strolled along the promenade.
She still had to almost trot to match his pace and it was too much for her in the heat.
At one point she paused to catch her breath and stood by the railings on the esplanade.
The views of Sicily were utterly spectacular.
It was a clear day and Tore pointed out Mount Etna, and she smiled as the sunlight glanced off the pale turquoise water of the sea and almost blinded her.
When a paparazzo darted up waving a camera, one of their bodyguards prevented him from taking a photo. He was soon followed by another paparazzo and then another. A literal mob of the cameramen gathered to hover on the pavement outside the promenade café where they’d stopped for cold drinks.
‘Now I understand why we haven’t been going out,’ Violet admitted, striving to act as if the amount of attention their party was receiving wasn’t spooking her. But it absolutely was.
‘I have a much quieter location picked for the afternoon,’ Tore imparted, stroking a forefinger across the tense clenched back of one of her hands where it rested on the table.
‘Relax. I rarely appear with a woman in public. Now that news of our marriage is out, you are a major source of interest. Belle is an added draw because they haven’t worked out yet where she fits into the picture. ’
‘I had no idea it would be like this for us,’ Violet muttered, goose bumps breaking out on her arm beneath his careless touch and an awareness of him blossoming that she was trying fiercely to ignore. ‘I’m not used to being stared at.’
‘This is your world for the next three years,’ Tore pointed out wryly, his attention locked to her soft pink mouth like a laser beam and making her feel intensely self-conscious. ‘We can only enjoy privacy within our homes but don’t let it get to you. Privilege has to have a downside.’