Until shesaid. And that was never going to be tonight.
Darcie followed Elias back into the waiting jet.
‘The flight to San Francisco isn’t long,’ he said almost bracingly. ‘It’ll be better to get there tonight so we’ll be fresh for tomorrow.’
‘Do you really need me to attend the dinner?’
‘You know Vince Williams has strong views. If he hears I’ve got married—and doubtless he will—then he’ll deeply disapprove of my not bringing you.’
‘I really don’t know that I can project the image you’re going for,’ she muttered.
‘You don’t think you can look happy to be married to me?’ He shuddered. ‘Darcie, you devastate me.’
She rolled her eyes as she fastened her seatbelt. ‘I just don’t see how it’s going to be believable.’
‘Why not?’ he asked.
There was chemistry that was obvious between a couple, wasn’t there? And there clearly wasn’t any on his side. She was still smarting from that no-nonsense, barely happened kiss. She gripped the armrests and braced through the take-off and kept her mouth firmly shut.
‘We can say we kept our affair under wraps for a long time,’ he said when the plane finally levelled out. ‘What with the sticky issue of you being my employee until today.’
‘What about the fact that your other employees all knew I was getting married and that itwasn’tto you,’ she couldn’t resist pointing out. ‘It’s going to cause a huge gossipy scandal.’
‘At your job interview with me you told me you weren’t there to make friends, but to get the job done,’ he said. ‘But it wasn’t true. You were friends with them. You told them about your wedding.’
‘I hadn’t intended to. It slipped out the night before.’
‘At the dinner you didn’t invite me to.’
‘You wouldn’t have attended even if I’d asked you. It’s not what you do.’
‘Dinner isn’t what you do either,’ he pointed out. ‘But it was only pizza, right?’
She stared at him, startled. Because yes, it had been exactly that. Pizza when they were all standing at a bar, not even at a table.
Then his smile suddenly appeared. ‘Given that I stormed out of the office after you this morning, I think they’ll spin it as some great romantic story—’
‘You what?’
‘I was too shocked to think.’
‘Shocked that I was getting married?’ she asked, stung.
‘No. Because I thought you were...’ He frowned. ‘Cheating or something.’
Oh. ‘That really pushed your buttons,’ she said softly.
‘I was so angry I couldn’t tell you what I was thinking.’
It had been strong emotional response. Though she knew it wasn’therhe’d responded to, but the situation. The fact he thought she was cheating. He’d felt for hergroom, right? Plus, he’d been annoyed that she’d walked out on him. Elias was used to getting what he wanted. But maybe he hadn’t always in the past.
They were married. Surely they now needed to learn some personal things about each other—at least to project the illusion of being happily married. ‘Have you...had experience with how horrible it is to go through that? To be betrayed by someone?’
His expression shuttered. ‘I’ve seen the fallout from an affair—I know how bad it can be.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But anyway, all my employees are paid extremely well. Their contract includes discretion. They won’t sell us out. Not if they want to keep their jobs.’
He was probably right. And he hadn’t wanted to explain anything more about whatever—whoever—that affair was. She got it. She didn’t like considering her past much either. And that thought made her realise another danger.
‘Shaun might,’ she said.