Needed: One Convenient Husband(20)

       

Kyle introduced her to Ambrose Wilson, the manager of a store that was  very familiar to Eva, because a branch of her family owned it.  Originally Ambrosi Pearls, the Auckland branch had recently expanded  into diamonds.

Wilson indicated the long, low coffee table on which were placed  several black velvet display trays that glittered with an array of  diamond rings.

As Eva sat down, she fought a sense of disorientation that her wedding was in two days' time.

As she stared at the gorgeous rings, words she hadn't meant to say spilled out, "Was Elise important?"

Kyle, who had shrugged out of his jacket, tossed it over the back of  one of the couches and loosened off his tie. "We dated a few times.  Mostly at business functions."

And they hadn't slept together, she was suddenly sure of it. Relief  flooded her. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  She didn't want to feel all twisted up and jealous, but lately she  seemed unable to control her moods and Elise had pushed some buttons she  hadn't even known she had.

Kyle frowned. "Does it matter?"

Eva forced a smile and picked a ring at random. "Of course not."

But if Kyle had been sleeping with Elise while he had been acting as  the trustee of Mario's will, surveilling her and preventing her from  getting married, all bets would have been off.

The thought pulled her up sharply as she considered where it was taking  her. She could only ever recall feeling like this once before, and that  had been years ago when Kyle had gotten engaged to Nicola and she had  been fiercely, deeply jealous. But that had been because she had been in  puppy love with Kyle, and she was not in love with him now; she could  not be.

A little dazed, she slipped the ring onto her finger without really seeing it.

Kyle frowned. "That one isn't right."

"How can you know that?"

"I don't spend all my time with my head buried in stocks and bonds."

She examined the ring, with its delicate bridge of three perfectly  matched diamonds. It was an expensive but very conventional ring, and he  was right, she didn't like it.

Kyle picked up a ring that had its own velvet tray, a classic  square-cut diamond that blazed with a pure white fire. The central  diamond was large but elegant and framed by tiny white diamonds that  glittered and flashed. The setting was platinum, which added to the  clean, classical look of the ring. "You should wear something like this.  It's pure. Flawless, wouldn't you say, Wilson?"

Wilson, who had been sitting at a side table with his laptop open,  strolled over to look at the ring. "That's correct. It was originally a  ten-carat diamond, but we worked with it until we achieved an utterly  flawless gem."

Eva met Kyle's gaze. He lifted a brow, and she suddenly realized what  he was getting at with the ring. He knew. He knew that she had been a  virgin when they had first made love. She went hot then cold. Normally  when she had a fight-or-flight reaction, her instinct was to fight. This  time running would have been the preferred option.

With an effort of will, she smoothed out her expression and replaced  the ring she had picked up. When she would have slipped the ring Kyle  had selected onto the third finger of her left hand, he preempted her  and did it himself, the brush of his fingers sending tingling heat  shooting through her.

Kyle's gaze was unnervingly intent. "Do you like it?"

She was trying not to love the ring too much, but it was as perfect as  Kyle's unexpected gesture in acknowledging the gift she had given him  when they had made love. She cleared her throat so her voice wouldn't  sound thick and husky when she spoke. "Yes, it's beautiful. Thank you."

"Good." Kyle turned his head in Wilson's direction. "We're taking the ring."

Wilson produced another box from his briefcase. "Now would be a good opportunity for you to both try on wedding rings."

Reluctantly slipping the engagement ring off, she tried the platinum  band Wilson handed her for size. The band, which had been made to match  the engagement ring she'd chosen, fit perfectly, so in the end the  choice was a no-brainer. Returning the band to its box, she slipped the  engagement ring back on her finger.

Within minutes, Wilson had packed up the cases of rings and departed.  Eva had no clue what the ring cost, although she could hazard it would  run into the hundreds of thousands, if not more. No money had changed  hands. But, since the Messena family were bankers for The Atraeus Group  and related by blood, no doubt the transaction would take place in a  more relaxed way.

Kyle checked his watch. "We need to eat then I'll take you back to work."                       
       
           



       

While Kyle was taking plastic-covered plates of preprepared food that  had been delivered by one of the restaurants downstairs out of the  fridge, Eva excused herself and went in search of the bathroom. She  stepped into a wide spacious hall with several bedrooms opening off it.

The hall, like the rest of the apartment, was stylish, but bare, as if  Kyle had no interest in creating a home. She had noticed the lack of  artwork and family photos in the sitting room, so the two framed photos  gracing the wall at the far end of the hall stuck out like a sore thumb  and immediately drew her.

The largest one was of a woman with long, tawny hair and a striking tan  as she stood on a street in a bright, summery dress, her arms bare as  she grinned and waved at the camera. Eva instantly recognized Nicola,  Kyle's wife. The second frame was much smaller and showed Kyle cradling a  sleeping baby, his expression intent and absorbed as he studied the  small, slumbering face.

Her heart squeezed tight as she looked at the baby, and she suddenly  understood why the pictures were here and not out in the sitting room,  or even placed more privately in his bedroom. It was as if Kyle couldn't  bear that kind of constant exposure to his loss, but neither could he  bear to not have the photos, so he had placed them in the hall, an area  he didn't linger.

The look on Kyle's face as he held his son briefly riveted her and, for  a splintered moment, the years spun back. Her own mother hadn't coped  with losing her children. And suddenly, she understood that Kyle didn't  just not want more children; after what had happened, he couldn't bear  to have any more.

Eva had lost her brother and sisters and, ultimately, her mother. But she could not imagine the grief of losing a child.

Feeling subtly unsettled by the window into Kyle's past, she stepped  into the cool, tiled bathroom. After using the facilities, she found  herself staring at her reflection and wondering how on earth she could  compete with the wife Kyle had loved and chosen, and who had died.

On impulse, Eva took the pins out of her hair and let it fall around  her shoulders, much as Nicola's had in the photo-then, feeling foolish,  recoiled and repinned it.

She wasn't Nicola and never could be. Nicola had been fresh-faced, cute  and athletic, while Eva was curvy and sultry and city sleek. From  everything she had heard about Nicola, they were very different. There  was no way she could compete. But it was also true that Kyle had never  forgotten her.

Heart beating too fast, mind working overtime, Eva reviewed every  conversation, the clashes and the fights, the heavy-handed surveillance,  the lovemaking and the one salutary fact that couldn't be ignored.  After staying away from her for ten years, Kyle had come back. And he  hadn't just blended into the scenery. He had been the dominant male in  her life for the past year and had systematically gotten rid of every  man she had chosen.

When Eva returned from the bathroom, Kyle had set out a selection of  salads, cold meats and a savory quiche on the table. She met his gaze  briefly. When his scrutiny dropped to her mouth, the undisciplined  tumble of thoughts coalesced into clear knowledge. Kyle had honored her  condition that they did not sleep together, but at the same time he had  made no bones about the fact that he still wanted her, and not just  sexually. She was certain now that he wanted her.

Delightful warmth suffused her. Until that moment, she hadn't realized  how much that would matter. But since they had made love, she felt more  intimately connected with Kyle, to the point that whenever he was near  she hummed with awareness.

Conscious of the weight of the ring on her finger and the flash and  glitter of the pretty diamond, Eva filled her plate from a tempting  selection of salads. After choosing sparkling water, she followed Kyle  out onto the patio.

While she ate, Eva kept glimpsing the diamond on her finger and  couldn't help the rush of pleasure that, aside from the conventional  need of a ring, Kyle had been so thoughtful. Under the circumstances,  she hadn't expected a ring, let alone one that was so utterly gorgeous.

Kyle caught her gaze. "I ran into Sophie and Francesca this morning."