Living the Charade(3)

       
           



       

She might be pert and blessed with an angel's face, but she was also  waspish, uptight and controlling. Definitely not his type after all.

'Aren't you taking a client out on Dante's yacht this weekend?' He  reminded his brother of the expedition both he and Dante, their older  brother, had been trying to drag him along to.

Sam groaned as if he'd just been told he needed a root canal. 'Damn, I forgot.'

'Oh, really?' Ruby sounded as if she'd been given the same news.

'Okay-well, time to go,' Miller interjected baldly.

Tino wondered if she was truly thick, or just didn't want to see what was clearly going on between her friend and his brother.

'You do it.'

Tino's eyes snapped to Sam's.

'You said you were looking for something different to do this weekend. It's a great solution all round.'

Tino looked at his brother as if he had rocks in his head. His manager  and the team owner had told him to take time out this weekend and do  something that would get his mind off the coming race, but he was pretty  sure posing as some uptight woman's fake partner was not what they'd  had in mind.

'I don't think so,' Little Miss Sunshine scoffed, as if the very idea was ludicrous.

Which it was.

But her snooty dismissal of him rankled. 'Have I done something to  upset you?' His gaze narrowed on her face and he almost reached out to  grip her chin and hold her elusive eyes on his.

'Not at all.' But her tone was curt and her nose wrinkled slightly when her eyes dropped to his T-shirt.

'Ah.' He exhaled. 'It's just that I'm not good enough for you. Is that it, Sunshine?'

Her eyes flashed and he knew he'd hit the nail on the head. He wanted  to laugh. Not only had this chit of a woman not recognised him-which,  okay, wasn't that strange in Australia, given that the sport he competed  in was Europe based-but she was dismissing him out of hand because he  looked a bit scruffy. That had never happened before, and the first real  smile in months crossed his face.

'It's not that, I'm just not that desperate.'

She briefly closed her eyes when she realised her faux pas and Tino's  smile grew wider. He knew full well that if she had recognised him she'd  be pouting that sweet mouth and slipping him her phone number instead  of looking at him as if he was about to give her a fatal disease.

'Yes, you are,' her friend chimed in.

Tino casually sipped his beer while Miller glowered.

'Ruby, please.'

'I can vouch for my brother,' Sam cut in. 'He looks like he belongs on the bottom of a pond but he scrubs up all right.'

Now it was Tino's turn to scowl. He was about to say no way in hell  would he help her out when he caught her unwavering gaze and realised  that was just what she expected-was actually hoping-he would say, and  for some reason that stopped him. He wouldn't do it, of course. Why  enter into a fake relationship when he had zero interest in the real  deal? But something about her uppity attitude rattled his chain.

Before he could respond Sam continued. 'Go on, Valentino. Imagine Dee  facing the same problem. Wouldn't you like some decent guy to help her  out?'

Tino's glare deepened. Now, that was just underhand, reminding him of their baby sister all alone in New York City.

'It's fine,' the fire-eater said. 'This was a terrible idea. We'll be  on our way and you can forget this conversation ever happened.' Her  voice was authoritative. Calm. Decisive.

He took another swig of his beer and noticed how her eyes watched his  throat as he swallowed. When they caught his again they were more indigo  than aquamarine. Interesting. Or it was until he felt his own body stir  in response.

'You don't think we'd make a cute couple?' He caught the wild flash of her eyes and his voice deepened. 'I do.'

Her tipsy friend was practically clapping with glee.

Miller held her gaze steady on his, almost in warning. 'No, I don't.'

'So what will you do if I don't help you out?' Tino prodded. 'Let the client have another crack at you?'

He ignored his brother's curious gaze and focused on Miller's pained  expression at his crude terminology. Man, but she was wound tighter than  his Ferrari at full speed, and damn if he didn't have the strangest  desire to unravel her.

He tried to figure out his unexpected reaction, but then decided not to waste time thinking about it.

Why bother? He was about to send her packing with four easy words.

He threw her his trademark smile as he anticipated her horrified response. 'Okay, I'll do it.'                       
       
           



       

* * *

Miller sucked in a deep breath and gave the man in front of her a  scathing once-over. He was boorish, uncouth and dirty-and he had the  most amazing bone structure she had ever seen. He also had the most  amazing grey-blue eyes surrounded by thick ebony lashes, and sensual  lips that seemed to be permanently tilted into a knowing smirk. A  sexually knowing smirk.

But clearly he was crazy.

She might need someone to pose as her current boyfriend, but she'd  rather pay an escort the equivalent of her annual salary than accept his  help. His brother would have been a different story, but no way in the  world could she pretend to be interested in this man. He looked as if  all he had to do was crook his index finger and a woman would come  running. If she didn't swoon first.

Swoon?

Miller pulled in the ridiculous thought. The man had holes in his jeans  and needed a shower, but all that aside he was far too big for her  tastes. Too male.

The loud clink of a rack of freshly washed glasses brought her out of  her headspace and Miller felt a flush creep up her neck as she realised  she'd been staring at his mouth, and that both Ruby and Sam were waiting  for her to respond.

Her eyes dropped to the man's tasteless T-shirt. Ruby must have be more  affected by alcohol than Miller had realised if she seriously thought  Miller would go along with this.

'Well, Sunshine? What's it to be?'

She hated his deep, smug tone.

About to blow him out of the water, she was choosing her rejection  carefully when it struck her that he wanted her to say no. That he was  counting on it.

Miller exhaled slowly, her mind spinning. The sarcastic sod had never  intended to help her at all this weekend. That momentary soft-eyed look  he'd got when his brother had mentioned their sister was just a ruse.  The man was a charlatan and clearly needed to be brought down a peg or  two. And she was in the mood to do it.

Pausing for effect, Miller steeled herself to let her eyes run over  him. She was so going to enjoy watching him squirm out of this one. 'Do  you happen to own a suit?' she asked sweetly.





      CHAPTER TWO

TAPPING her foot on the hot pavement outside her Neutral Bay apartment  building, Miller again checked to see if she had any missed calls on her  phone. She still couldn't believe that rather than squirm out of her  phony acceptance of his help last night that thug of a man had collapsed  into a full belly laugh and said he'd be delighted to help.

Delighted, my foot.

It wouldn't surprise her one bit if Valentino Ventura did a no-show on her today. He seemed the type.

Something about the way his full name rolled through her mind pinged a  distant memory, but she couldn't bring it up. Maybe it was just the way  it sounded. Both decadent and dangerous. Or maybe it was just the  sweltering afternoon sun soaking into her black long-sleeved T-shirt  combined with a sense of trepidation about this situation she had  inadvertently created for herself.

She'd spent years curbing the more impetuous side of her nature after  her parents had divorced and her safe world had fallen apart, but it  seemed she'd have to try harder. Especially if she wanted to create a  life for herself that didn't feel as precarious as the house of cards  she'd grown up in.

Miller sighed. She was just tired. She'd averaged four hours' sleep a  night this week and woken this morning feeling as if she hadn't slept at  all.

A pair of slate-coloured eyes in a hard, impossibly handsome face had  completely put her off her breakfast. As had the dream she'd woken up  remembering. It had been about a man who looked horribly like the one  she was waiting for, trapping her on her bed with his hands either side  of her face. He'd looked at her as if she was everything he'd ever  wanted in a woman and licked his beautifully carved lips before lowering  his face to hers, his eyes on her mouth the whole time...

Miller's lips suddenly felt fuller, dryer, and she shivered in the  afternoon heat and scanned the street for some sign of him. It must have  been all those images of escorts that had set off the erotic dream,  because no way could it have been about someone as reckless as she felt  this man could be.

Okay. Miller gave herself a mental shakedown. She wasn't waiting around  any longer for Mr Ripped Jeans to turn up. He'd had no intention of  helping her out-perfectly understandable, given they were strangers and  would likely never see each other again-but she couldn't fathom the tiny  prick of disappointment that settled in her chest at his no-show.