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Giova
Lucas smiled. “Oh, come on, Giova
Giova
And therein lay the problem.
He flicked Lucas a questioning look. “And when it’s all over? What woman is going to take kindly to being dumped?”
“Not a one…unless you tell her the truth first. Number-one rule of spin — don’t tell lies; just be sparing with the facts.”
“But that would mean trusting them.”
“And there isn’t anyone…?”
Giova
“No,” he answered shortly. “There isn’t.”
The silence that followed was splintered by a smart, seasoned rap on the door.
Giova
The woman who pushed the tea trolley into the elegant drawing room was just short of her thirtieth birthday and didn’t really have a job description.
In the days when even the aristocracy had the bare minimum of people working for them, Misty Carmichael had a number of skills at her disposal. She was able to cook, clean and serve food and sometimes she was called on to do all three in rapid succession.
She looked across at her not-quite-Lord, but certainly her master — the arrogant but drop-dead-gorgeous Giova
“Coffee?” she asked.
“Please,” said Giova
Lucas.”
But Lucas did not reply. He was watching the woman as she poured coffee — the steam making her pale cheeks grow pink.
Misty offered a plate of tiny macaroons, thinking how strained Giova
“No, I wouldn’t,” said Giova
Irritated, he glanced over at Lucas. Why the hell was he staring at Misty like that? He followed the direction of his spin-doctor’s eyes and for the first time noticed that Misty’s checked working dress was pulling very tightly across her bottom. Two tight globes thrusting against the man-made fiber. It was as though he was seeing her for the very first time and inexplicably, a nerve began to work in his cheek.
Misty glared at them both. What were they staring at? Had her hair suddenly turned green? “Will that be all?”
“Er, yes. Thank you.”
Lucas turned to Giova
“Why not her?” he questioned simply once she had gone.
“Her?” Giova
Chapter Two
“What’s wrong with getting engaged to a member of your staff?”
Giova
“That could be useful,” said Lucas.
“And she is a single mother!” Giova
“So?”
“So I have my reputation to think about!”
Lucas shook his head. “But this is a bogus engagement, remember? Designed to take the heat off your sister’s spell in rehab. The more unsuitable the candidate, the more press coverage it will get. Think about it, Giova
Giova
From the other side of the door, Misty froze. She had just crept back to hear the tail end of Giova
Plain?
She bit her lip and blinked rapidly. Plain?
So it was true what they said — that eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves. And how! Listening in to her employer’s conversation wasn’t her usual pastime, but who could blame her on this occasion?
The peculiar way that Giova
“So ring and ask her,” came Lucas’s voice from the other side of the door.
Ask her what, she wondered?
Hurriedly, Misty pushed the tea trolley back into the kitchen. There was only a second to check her appearance in the mirror before the bell began to summon her back again.
Frizzy hair, flushed cheeks and PMS making her tummy look fat. She winced. Plain indeed. Why feel insulted by Giova
She rapped on the door and walked into the spotlight of Giova
“I want you to do me a favor, Misty,” he said, his velvety voice tinged with his faint Italian accent.
Perplexed by his tone, Misty clasped her hands together at her waist. “M-more cake?” she asked stupidly.
Giova
How the hell did he go about asking her something like this? Especially with his enigmatic spin doctor looking on…
“You can leave us now, Lucas,” he ordered.
“Sure.”
Misty allowed herself a smug moment as Lucas left the room — he wasn’t so high-and-mighty now, was he? Dismissed like a servant himself!
“Sit down,” said Giova
Misty was tempted, but she resisted. Something told her she needed all her wits about her, and flopping down onto one of those priceless brocade chairs in her working uniform would surely unsettle her even more.
Especially with Giova
Giova
And when he stopped to think about it, mightn’t her inferior status actually work to his advantage? Because if the woman he involved in his scheme was beautiful and his equal, he might be lured into making love to her — complicating matters more than they needed to be. Whereas there would be zero temptation from this pleasant but very ordinary looking woman….
Then he remembered her pert bottom thrusting against the check material of her uniform and once again, he felt the heat to his groin. Damn Lucas for drawing his attention to it!
“I want you to pretend to be my fiancée,” he said huskily.
There was a momentary, pin-drop silence.
Contents
Cover
Dear Reader
About the Author
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Copyright