The Fiancé by Stefanie London

CHAPTER EIGHT

Daniel

ICOMETO find Ava several hours later, right before we’re due to leave. One thing I didn’t consider when concocting this crazy plan was that I’d need to let a stranger into my very private world. My home, which is my personal sanctuary, and my family, which I keep as far from people as possible.

I jog down the stairs to the bottom floor of my apartment, making a little more noise than normal so Ava will know I’m coming.

It’s strange having someone here.

And yet...

The moment we shared in her room was anything but strange. It was totally familiar, intimately familiar. Had my assistant’s call not interrupted us, I would have absolutely followed through and kissed her. Her sweet lips have been on my mind all afternoon, ruining my ability to work. Taking my concentration and shredding it to ribbons.

I took myself in hand in the shower, closing my eyes and thinking about her soft curves and fiery eyes while I stroked myself. I thought about having her there, pinned between me and slick tile, open and willing and wanting. I have to admit, I enjoyed watching Ava battle her attraction—it’s not something I come across very often. The women I’ve dated casually in the past never made an effort to hide what they wanted...which was often what ended up causing the relationship to come to a swift end.

Because wanting my body is fine, and wanting my attention is fine...to a degree. But wanting my money or my commitment is entirely another story.

Those things are off limits.

Hence why I don’t date anymore. A year ago I realised that it was impossible to juggle everything, and I’ve never enjoyed the head games. So that’s why this arrangement suits me fine...even if I’m going to give myself blue balls from hell.

I pause outside her door and knock.

“Coming!” There’s a thud followed by an oof and then the door swings open. Ava’s wearing a simple black dress—not the one my assistant procured for her—but it suits her perfectly.

The cut is subtly flared from the waist, so it skims her hips, falling to her knees in a soft, rippling sheet. The bodice crosses over her bust and there’s a tie at one hip that strangely gets me hot and bothered. I wonder if I tug on that string whether the whole garment will open up.

“Ready to go? I’ll grab my bag and...” Her voice trails off as her eyes snag on the velvet box I pull from my pocket. “Oh.”

“You’ll need to wear this until we’re done.” I’m not sure what the protocol is. I feel like my opening the box for her is a bit too...real. Instead, I hand it to her.

Ava runs her thumb over the velvet before opening it. “Wow.”

“Do you like it?”

“I guess it doesn’t really matter if I do but... I do.” She smiles and it’s free and uninhibited and so damned genuine that the breath stills in my lungs. “It’s really beautiful.”

The ring is unique. When I ducked into the jewellery store this morning, the blue stone immediately caught my attention. It’s an oval cut, surrounded by diamonds, and there’s something charmingly traditional about it. Which is how Ava strikes me. “It suits you.”

She slides the ring onto her finger. “Is it a sapphire?”

“Yes.”

“That’s my birthstone.” Her smile fades a little. “You know, I thought the first time I wore a ring on this finger it would mean something.”

I’ve never considered myself a sentimental person, because such traits are a liability, but hearing that hint of regret in her voice shifts something inside me. Something that I don’t want shifted.

“Apparently it’s bad luck to wear a ring on this finger before you’re married. My mum told me that once,” she says with a snort. “Old wives’ tales.”

“I would think that there’d be a million other things that would cause bad luck in relationships before that.”

“Been a while since you had a girlfriend, huh?” she teases. Her fingers toy with the ring, twisting and turning it around her finger so the blue stone winks at me as if it knows all my secrets.

But I won’t bite. “I don’t talk about my love life.”

“Ever?” She cocks her head.

“Ever.”

“Why?”

“It’s private. And our being together now isn’t an excuse to play twenty questions.” The words come out a little harder than I intend, but ever since I took the role of CEO of Moretti Enterprises, the press have been relentless. Hounding. Intrusive.

They’re all hoping for a front-page-worthy outburst, poking and pushing me so the pain of my past will bubble to the surface. Advertisers might think that sex is the big seller, but I’m convinced pain sells more. And the media preys on it.

“Maybe it would be quicker for you to give me a list of conversation topics that are acceptable,” Ava says, grabbing her bag from the bed and slinging it over one shoulder. “Because every time I ask a question, you act like I’m interrogating you. Unless, of course, that’s your not-so-subtle way of saying you have no interest in talking to me.”

“Even if that was the case, something tells me you’re the persistent type.” I fight back a smile as we walk through the apartment, her heels clicking against the polished boards. Even with the pencil-thin lady stilts, she’s still a shorty.

“I can be quite loud when it’s required.”

I laugh and scrub a hand over my chin. I didn’t shave, and the prickles rub against my palm. “So you’re a screamer, huh?”

“I don’t mean...not like... Get your mind out of the gutter,” she says, whacking me with the back of her hand. “I was not talking about that.”

“That?”

“You knowwhat I mean.” Her eyes plead with me not to tease her anymore, but I can’t help myself.

“I haven’t the faintest clue.”

“Well, if your parents never talked about the birds and the bees with you, that’s not my problem.” She picks up speed, walking ahead of me toward the elevator. I hold back, enjoying the way her dress swishes against the back of her thighs in a way that has my pants feeling suddenly tight.

Add that to the growing list of mental images I need to ignore for the next however many days...

I have to get my head into the game, if I have any chance at all of salvaging this deal and my reputation. Not to mention my relationship with my brother. I can’t let anything distract me from my goals...not even Ava.