‘Of course you did.’ She began to laugh.
‘What’s so funny?’ he queried, but warmth was beginning to glow in his eyes.
‘You,’ she said. ‘You’re funny.’
He stared at her for a moment, and then brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. He always made her heart ache for so much more and that was dangerous. Understanding what made someone tick was the first step to growing close.
‘I always knew billionaires didn’t shop on the High Street like everyone else,’ she said, trying to avoid the risk to her heart with some humour.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘I’M SORRY YOU don’t like the ring, but, as ours was never supposed to be a genuine engagement, I thought it didn’t matter.’
He was right, but each of his words was like a stab to her heart. ‘Even if ours had been a real engagement, I don’t need jewellery like that,’ she said. ‘I’d have no use for it,’ she added with a shrug. ‘I’m just as happy threading daisies for a crown.’
‘You can’t make a ring out of daisies,’ Xavier pointed out.
‘A piece of string, then.’ She laughed. ‘But, please, no more diamonds the size of duck eggs. Okay?’
‘The ring was just a prop for the drama we’re engaged in,’ Xavier said, shrugging it off. ‘It had to make an impact, and look convincing in print, and I think it did that.’
‘My piece of string would have caused more of a stir,’ Rosie argued, slanting one of her grins at him.
‘And been far more you,’ Xavier agreed, his dark eyes dancing with laughter. ‘But that wasn’t what last night was about,’ he said, turning serious. ‘It was about convincing everyone that this is real, so you get the credibility you want, and I get the one thing money can’t buy.’
A child. Xavier’s heir.
‘But now I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you.’
Her heart lurched with dread.
‘I’m going away on business for a few days.’
‘Is that all?’ Her relief was obvious. ‘That’s good news for me, surely?’ she teased, determined to keep things light between them. ‘So, what have you come here for? To get the ring and make sure I don’t bolt while you’re away?’ She could see she had hit the mark from the expression in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you get back, and I’ll be at your side for the wedding. We will be married, and we will see this through.’
‘And I promise you won’t have anything to worry about.’
She wanted to laugh hysterically at that comment.
‘Everything’s in hand,’ Xavier assured her. ‘Our wedding will be held in the cathedral, with a reception at my mansion afterwards. Transport has been organised, so all you have to do is put on the dress and turn up.’
‘Right.’ She nodded her head as if she were accepting directions to a café in town, and had to remind herself that theirs was a marriage of convenience, and that that was how such things played out. Theirs was not a meeting of two hearts.
She might have thought up this idea, but she couldn’t help wishing their wedding day could be something more than this meticulously planned arrangement.
‘It will be a grand affair,’ Xavier told her without apology.
Fabulously lavish, she translated.
‘I hope you’re all right with that?’
And if she wasn’t?
‘I’m fine with that,’ she lied.
‘No expense will be spared. I’ll make it a day for you to remember.’
Was that a promise or a threat? She had no doubt their wedding would be a spectacularly extravagant day. Without intimacy. Without meaning. Without love.