He poured himself a coffee. ‘I’m not close to my parents.’
‘You’re not going to tell them?’ She stilled.
‘I’m sure they’ll find out. But not from me.’
‘Won’t they wonder if—’
‘I don’t care about other people’s speculation.’
But they weren’t talking about other people. They were talking about hisparents. She watched as he pulled some papers closer. Back to work?Really?
‘You don’t care about anything much as long as it doesn’t impact on the business,’ she said slowly.
‘That’s right.’ He glanced up, his tone unapologetic. ‘And my taking on a wife and a foster child certainly isn’t going to look bad for the business.’
‘But if you don’t care, then you really don’t need us to rehabilitate your image so people think you’re actually human.’
He suddenly laughed. ‘Am I all cold-blooded capitalist, Darcie? Maybe you’re right. I must admit I spent most of last night trying to figure out just how I ended up here.’
‘Temporary insanity?’ she suggested.
‘I think partly it was because it was thelastthing you expected of me. I enjoyed confounding you.’
She stiffened, a little annoyed. Because yeah. She’d seen that. ‘You’ve landed yourself with a whole lot of trouble just for the momentary thrill of one-upping me.’
His smile turned wolfish. ‘Who says the thrill is momentary?’
Awareness prickled, followed by a lurching desire to provoke something more from him again. She looked down and fiddled with the coffee cup. ‘Fortunately for you, our marriage isn’t consummated. It’s not too late to get an annulment.’
The silence stretched. Ultimately Darcie couldn’t resist it. She had to look back up at him.
Elias was simply staring at her and Darcie found that not only could she not move, she couldn’t breathe. She gazed back, amazed at the swirling depth of emotion in his eyes. He usually kept that masked. Kept it contained. But there had to be an outlet for it sometime, right?
Beautiful women in strappy dresses.
‘Darcie, you know me well enough to understand that I’m not someone who quits,’ he said softly. ‘Not ever. We’re in this together until we win.’
Were they? She wasn’t sure what the prize was anymore.
‘Actually, I do have something I’d like you to wear tonight if you’re so inclined.’ He reached into his pocket and put a box on the table. ‘A little material possession for you.’
Another jewellery box. Was it another item from his collection of emergency pacifiers for problematic dates he wanted to detach himself of? ‘Trophy ofyourpossession, you mean?’ she asked acidly.
‘You were concerned about believability.’ His eyes glittered as he opened the box. ‘And people will never believe that a man as wealthy I wouldn’t bestow a trinket upon my bride.’
‘Atrinket...that’s what you call this?’
‘What would you call it?’
‘Ostentatious.’
She refused to appreciate the stunning piece. This meant nothing to him. This was money he didn’t know what else to do with.
He took her hand and she battled the instinctive tremble.
‘I like that it can be seen from a hundred feet. It makes it fit for purpose.’ He slowly slid the sparkling diamond solitaire down her finger. ‘You’re the one who wanted this.’
‘Notthis.’