A Contract, a Wedding, a Wife? Read online

  ‘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.

  ‘Er...yes, sure. If you like,’ she said, folding her arms around her middle and looking suddenly a little uncomfortable about standing in front of him in her nightwear.

  ‘Feel free to get dressed first,’ he said with a reassuring smile, ‘but only if you want to. Don’t do it for me.’

  ‘Nah, I’m fine,’ she said, letting her arms swing down to her sides and pushing back her shoulders. ‘Let’s do it now.’

  He really liked her self-confidence.

  So they started off by chatting about simple things like their favourite books and films and music, then they moved on to which countries they’d like to visit and why.

  ‘So it sounds like you haven’t travelled much yet,’ he said as she reeled off the long list of places to visit on her bucket list.

  ‘I’ve not had much chance,’ she said with a sad smile. ‘Ever since my dad died I’ve had to spend all my time working and looking after my mum and sister.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Xavier said, chastened. He’d almost forgotten how much she’d had to deal with during her relatively short life. ‘That must have been pretty tough.’

  ‘Yeah, it was at the beginning,’ she said, hunching her shoulders, but maintaining her sunny smile. ‘My mum got very depressed after we lost him and started really struggling with her Parkinson’s, and Domino was too young to help out. She still needed someone to look after her and I was the only one available. It didn’t leave a lot of time for me.’

  ‘No. I bet,’ was all he could muster in response. It made him realise how easy he’d had it being an only child with family money behind him. Glancing at his watch, he gave a start of surprise. He’d been enjoying chatting with her so much he’d not noticed how the time had flown. ‘Hey, it’s nearly lunchtime already.’

  ‘Oh!’ she said, looking slightly panicked. ‘I’d better get dressed and grab some lunch. I have a hair appointment at two o’clock.’

  Once she’d dashed off and changed her clothes they reconvened in the kitchen and ate their fill of the delicious food that Soli had loaded the fridge with—which mostly consisted of Mediterranean-inspired fare like brightly coloured salads, a cold meat platter and a range of healthy grains—before she excused herself to go to her appointment, leaving him on his own.

  Experiencing a strange surge of energy once she’d gone, he took himself off for a long, hard session in the gym, followed by a lengthy swim in the pool.

  Finally feeling as if he’d got past the odd edgy tension that had kept him moving, he went for a scorching hot shower, coming down from his bedroom to find a wonderful smell wafting from the direction of the kitchen.

  Striding in, he found the room empty, though it was clear Soli had been in here recently because there were mixing bowls in the sink and a dusting of flour on the work surfaces. The smell seemed to be coming from the large range oven and he peered through the glass to see a large cake rising inside its tin.

  Despite having stuffed himself at lunchtime, he heard his stomach give a growl of hunger. He’d told her he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but he’d make an exception for something that smelt that good.

  ‘I thought we could take it to the party as a gift for your friends,’ came a soft voice behind him and he spun around to see Soli standing in the doorway with a tentative smile on her face.

  There was a strange rising sensation in his chest when he noticed how her wild curls had been tamed into sleek blonde waves, making her look a good few years older than she was. Not that he didn’t like her usual hairstyle. In fact, he probably preferred her hair au naturel, but he appreciated the effort she’d gone to for the party.

  ‘Your hair looks nice,’ he croaked through a suddenly dry throat.

  It must be the heat from the oven getting to him.

  She gave him a wide, delighted smile. ‘Thanks, I’m glad you like it.’

  ‘Are you going to be wearing that later?’ he asked jokily to distract himself from the inappropriate way his body seemed to be responding to her now, pointing to the bathrobe he’d loaned her that morning, which she had wrapped tightly around her.

  She smiled back. ‘I wasn’t planning on it, no. I bought a dress especially for the occasion. I hope it’s the right sort of thing.’ He noticed her jaw twitch and realised she was probably as nervous about going tonight as he was.

  ‘Don’t worry, they’re a friendly crowd, on the whole.’ He took a stabilising breath. ‘I probably ought to warn you that there’s a good chance my ex, Harriet, might be there, and there could be a bit of tension.’ He frowned, wondering how best to explain this without having to go into too much embarrassing detail. ‘We didn’t part on great terms.’

  ‘Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. So it wasn’t a mutual split, then?’

  He looked at her steadily for a second, weighing up whether or not to answer that, before shaking his head. ‘No. It was her choice. But I’m over it now.’

  Soli’s eyes narrowed as if suspicious of this bold statement. ‘How long were you with her?’

  ‘Four years. We met in our last year of university.’

  The usual wave of hurt flooded through him at the thought of Harriet and all that had happened between them, but he was determined not to let seeing her again ruin his night tonight. He needed to concentrate on getting through this thing successfully with Soli and convincing his friends they were a real married couple in order to avoid any more personal humiliation. That had to be his top priority.

  ‘Is there anything specific I need to know? So I don’t make a faux pas if we meet her?’ Soli asked, her expression open and her voice so kind it reached right inside him and tugged at his heart.

  He almost told her everything, right there and then, but decided against it at the last second. She didn’t need to know all the sordid details. It wasn’t as if everyone would still be gossiping about it now. Surely they’d all moved on.

  ‘No. I think it’s probably best if we just avoid her. I don’t want to cause a scene, especially not in front of Hugo and Veronica, who are friends with both of us,’ he said stiffly.

  ‘Okay. Well, thanks for the heads up.’ She was looking at him now with a concerned expression, as if she suspected there was more to it than he was telling her.

  Nothing, it seemed, got past Soli.

  There was an awkward beat of silence where they both smiled at each other and he couldn’t help but think how pretty she looked. Her pupils seemed to dilate as she continued to maintain eye contact with him and she drew in a soft, breathy gasp, opening her lips a fraction as if she couldn’t quite get enough air.

  His gaze immediately moved to her mouth and he had to force himself not to start wondering what it would feel like to kiss those soft, inviting lips again.

  ‘I should get the cake out of the oven before it burns,’ she said a little over-brightly, jarring him out of his lascivious trance.

  ‘Yes. Okay. You do that,’ he said, a little rattled by his body’s instinctive response to her. ‘I’d better go and get ready for the party. We need to leave in about an hour.’

  At the door he turned back to watch her as she busied herself around the kitchen, drawing in a great lungful of the delicious smell of the cake as she opened the oven door and bent down to lift it out.

  ‘There’s a good chance that won’t make it out of t
he house,’ he joked. ‘It’s altogether too tempting.’

  She turned to give him a startled look, quickly recovering her composure when she realised he was talking about the cake. ‘I thought you didn’t like sweet things?’

  He raised an eyebrow, tamping down on his amusement about the misinterpreted innuendo. It wasn’t really appropriate to flirt with her when they were on their own. ‘For that,’ he nodded to the tin she had in her oven-gloved hands, ‘I’ll make an exception. It smells incredible.’

  Her answering blush brought a smile to his lips and he allowed himself to flip her one last grin before walking away to prepare for the party, hyper-aware of his blood pumping hard in his ears.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Cluedo (UK)/Clue (US)—uncover the culprit with deduction and guile.

  IT WAS MORE of a garden party than a posh evening do, as it turned out, which suited Soli just fine. It meant she was less likely to melt into a sweaty, nervous puddle as they mingled with the large throng of elegant, sophisticated guests.

  Xavier was received with a mixture of exaggerated bonhomie and friendly curiosity and he seemed, to Soli, to be completely at ease as they moved from group to group, giving a nod here and there and occasionally stopping to introduce her before politely excusing them and moving swiftly on.

  The comforting weight and heat of Xavier’s arm around her waist kept her grounded as they circulated around the party and after a while she started to relax and chat with the people who asked kind, but slightly bemused questions of her, particularly about how she’d met Xavier. Once she’d given her answer about meeting him through the business she quickly moved the focus of the conversation onto the other person, making sure to ask them lots of questions about themselves.

  They’d been there for about twenty minutes without catching sight of the host or hostess, who according to one guest were either down in the wine cellar stocking up on booze or settling a tantrum-throwing child, when there was a shout from behind them. ‘Xavier McQueen, where have you been hiding?’

  They both turned away from the couple they were chatting with to see a tall, slim woman wearing a flowing cornflower-blue silk cocktail dress striding purposefully towards them. She pushed her long, sleek black hair away from her face as she got nearer and gave them a huge grin, her dark eyes sparkling with delight.

  ‘Veronica. Lovely to see you,’ Xavier said, taking a step towards her. Soli could tell from the smile in his voice that he was genuinely pleased to see her. But if that was the case, why had he not seen his friends for so long? He couldn’t have been that busy with work, surely.

  ‘I’m so pleased you came! I had a bet on with Hugo that you would. He owes me a fiver, oh, he of little faith!’ She raised a playful eyebrow at Soli. ‘My darling husband thought the two of you might be a bit too busy “being newlyweds”.’ She turned to give Xavier a playful wink. ‘But I knew you wouldn’t be so mean as to deny us your wonderful presence at such an important do. Five years we’ve been married, can you believe it?’

  Without waiting for a response from him she turned to look at Soli with wide, discerning eyes. ‘Now, who is this delightful creature? Introduce me to your cute-as-a-button new wife, Xavier.’ She held out a manicured hand, which Soli shook, a little surprised by the strength of the woman’s grip.

  ‘This is Solitaire—Soli for short,’ Xavier said. The sound of her name on his lips gave Soli a strange little shiver of delight. He had such a wonderful deep, gravelly voice—it always did something to her whenever he spoke.

  ‘It’s so wonderful to meet you,’ Veronica said, pulling her in for an enveloping hug. ‘What a gorgeous name!’

  Soli believed she really meant it too—she didn’t seem at all patronising or false; her smile and touch were too warm for that.

  ‘Lovely to meet you too. Thanks so much for inviting us,’ Soli said, returning Veronica’s smile. ‘What a beautiful garden you have,’ she said, gesturing towards what must have been half an acre of land, with its vibrant borders of summer flowers in full bloom and its springy grass that her heels kept sinking into, rooting her to the spot.

  ‘Oh! Thank you! We love being out here in the summer and it’s great for the children when they need to burn off some steam. Which is all the time!’ She laughed, then glanced at Xavier, her smile faltering as an expression that Soli couldn’t quite read flashed across her face. But only for a second. Had she felt as if she’d put her foot in it with him for some reason?

  ‘I probably should mention that we’ve invited Harriet and her partner here today,’ Veronica said, her expression a bit strained now.

  ‘I expected you would,’ Xavier said in a neutral tone, though Soli could have sworn she felt him stiffen beside her.

  ‘I just thought I’d warn you so it wouldn’t be a shock if you saw her here. I understand you haven’t been in touch since...’ She broke off, glancing quickly at Soli before returning her gaze to him. ‘I just mean I can understand why you kept a low profile after what happened,’ Veronica finished in a sympathetic tone.

  Soli stood motionless, listening intently, wondering what the heck she was missing here.

  Xavier shrugged. ‘I thought it’d be better to let Harriet feel as if she could still see her friends without me being around all the time,’ he said gruffly. ‘You were her friends first, after all.’

  Was she imagining it, or was there a hint of pain in his voice? The very idea made her shiver with horror and she experienced the strongest urge to wrap her arms around him, to let him know she was there for him and on his side should he need her. He froze for a second as she gave in to her instinct and slid her arm around his waist, but quickly relaxed again, pulling her closer in to his side.

  Veronica smiled at the two of them, seeming to decide that Xavier must be over it. ‘Well, I’m delighted that you have this gorgeous creature by your side now.’ She gave Soli a warm smile, before moving her gaze back to Xavier.

  ‘You know, there’s a real spark between the two of you—something I never saw between you and Harriet. I always thought she was a bit too straight for you. In retrospect I’m sure getting married wasn’t the right thing for either of you at the time. It was probably for the best that she called it off.’

  Soli’s heart gave an extra-hard thump in her chest. So he’d nearly married Harriet, but she’d called it off?

  There was an uncomfortable pause before Xavier cleared his throat and said, ‘Yes, perhaps so. It would have been nice to have more than an hour’s notice that she’d changed her mind though.’

  Soli’s breath caught in her throat. So Harriet had dumped him at the altar! How humiliating for him. She couldn’t imagine anything worse for someone as proud as Xavier. No wonder he’d been so determined not to get married again—and that his great-aunt had felt she’d had to go to such extremes to make him even consider it.

  Not that he’d married her for love.

  The thought made her stomach do a sickening sort of lurch.

  ‘Oh, darling, I know.’ It was Veronica’s turn to sound uncomfortable now. ‘It was a terrible thing to do to you, but I think she just panicked. She’d been feeling wobbly about it for a while but Hugo and I persuaded her it was just pre-wedding jitters. I’m so sorry we didn’t talk to you about it beforehand. Still, it’s done now and you’re happy with your lovely new wife,’ Veronica said brightly, as if sensing the need to move the conversation onto safer ground. ‘By the way, where did you two meet? I forgot to ask.’

  ‘Through the business,’ Xavier said in a confident tone that even had Soli convinced for a second.

  Veronica smiled indulgently. ‘You know, Xavier, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so relaxed. The two of you are obviously good for each other.’

  Soli stood stock-still, her heart beating rapidly in her throat, wondering what on earth Xavier would say to that. She hoped with all her heart it would
be something nice. It felt incredibly important at that moment that it was.

  ‘Soli is really good for me,’ he said, to her surprise. ‘The first thing I noticed about her was how vibrant and upbeat she is. I find her positivity really inspiring, to be honest, because, as we know, I’m not always the sunniest of people.’ The look of genuine approval on his face when he turned to look at her made Soli’s tummy flutter with exhilaration.

  Veronica gave a tinkling laugh. ‘Don’t do yourself down. You’re a wonderful person and a great friend—when you deign to accept invitations from us.’ She laughed again, but it was plain from her tone that she was genuinely joking around with him.

  At that moment a small child ran up to them, shouting, ‘Mummy, Mummy!’ and did a spectacular trip-dive just before reaching them, splashing her beaker full of blackcurrant juice all over Veronica’s shoes.

  There were a few seconds of noisy disruption as the child began to wail and Veronica half admonished, half comforted her.

  Turning to them with a tearful child pressed up against her, she said, ‘I’m so sorry, will you excuse me for a second? I’d better take her inside and get myself cleaned up. Don’t run off, now, will you? I want to chat more later. It’s been so long! I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to in the last few years, including all the details about your wedding.’

  As soon as she was out of earshot Soli turned to look at Xavier, who was standing stiffly by her side, watching Veronica walk away with a frown on his face. ‘So it wasn’t just your parents that let you down, it was your fiancée too,’ she said quietly.

  She waited, looking up at him expectantly, willing him to trust her and tell her the whole story.

  His frown deepened, then he gave a curt nod.

  So that was all she was getting? Her pulse rate soared as frustration shot through her.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me Harriet stood you up at the altar?’ she blurted into the silence, unable to hold on to her patience any longer.