Constance shook her head. She couldn’t possibly, although, the house was gorgeous and huge. And she would love for her girls to get to experience living in a place like this. It might make it more difficult to return to their modest home. Perhaps, as long as she made it seem like a holiday…
She couldn’t believe she was entertaining the thought, even if there was a certain logic to the plan. That didn’t mean she had to like it. Only she was afraid that that was the problem. Somewhere deep inside, she did like it. Some long neglected part of her was nearly crying for joy at the thought of belonging to this man. It was a part she was going to need to tear out by the roots if she was going to get out of this in one piece.
“So,” Luca said, his face once again relaxing into his usual smug expression. “What’s it going to be, Stanzia? I’m going to be calling your directors one way or the other in the morning. What will I be telling them?”
Constance stood, praying her legs would support her long enough to get her to her moped.
“Fine. You’ve got yourself a fiancée.”
Chapter Three
Constance checked her watch for the fifth time and scanned the street again, even though there was no way a car could have come in without her seeing. Just great. Luca was supposed to have walked into the office with her, a solid, united front to help give their ridiculous story a little credence. Instead, she’d have to slink in there on her own, since he couldn’t be bothered with showing up. If she lost her children, their deal was so off. She took a deep breath and walked into the building to face the music.
Within five minutes, she was sitting before her director’s desk, praying the cold sweat she was sure hovered near the surface of her skin would stay put long enough for them to spin their load of crap and get out of there. The grim countenances of the Reverend Mother, Ms. Castellanos, and even Mrs. Ballas didn’t give her much hope for that, especially as Luca still hadn’t deigned to join her.
What if he’d changed his mind? Gotten a call from his dad or someone that the charade wasn’t necessary so he’d decided to call the whole thing off and hadn’t bothered to tell her? He wouldn’t do that, would he? Just bail on her like that?
The fact she even questioned whether Luca would hesitate to ditch her showed how far past her usual defenses he’d already gotten. Of course he would bail on her. Bailing is what Luca Vasilakis did best. Just ask his father…or the dozens of perfectly formed models he’d dated and then discarded when his interest ran out.
Constance tried to swallow past her suddenly dry mouth as the Reverend Mother stared her down until she wanted to curl up in a hole and die. And still Luca didn’t show.
“Miss McMurty, I’m afraid we can’t wait any longer. Apparently, Mr. Vasilakis has thought better of joining you if indeed he ever intended to be here in the first place.”
Constance’s mouth dropped open but the Reverend Mother gave her no leeway to defend herself.
“We’ve called you in today to discuss your shocking behavior yesterday. Your conduct until now has always been above reproach. What possessed you to behave in such a…reprehensible fashion, I have no idea, and in front of the children, no less.”
Constance tried to think of something to say but before she could the door opened and in breezed Luca. Pure relief blew through her. He hadn’t ditched her after all. The identical expressions of shock that graced the faces of the three women at the desk would have been comical if the girls she loved weren’t on the line.
“Sorry I’m late, darling,” he said, marching over to her.
Before she could respond, he bent over, captured her face in his hands, and kissed her, hard, fast, and so thoroughly that all four women in the room, Constance included, were gasping and clutching their figurative pearls by the time he was finished. Constance grabbed at his shirt, meaning to shove him away yet somehow only pulling him closer. The smug and completely male sound of his low, deep laugh hit her right in the belly and spread like fire.
She blinked up at him, completely blindsided. What the hell had that been? And how was it possible to be so pissed off and completely turned on at the same time? She wanted to slap him for thinking he had the right to touch her like that…and push him up against the wall and make him do it again. It took her a second to shake off the haze of hormones his lips had unleashed and pull herself together. He grinned at her and pressed a much more chaste kiss to her forehead.
Anger won out over desire. How dare he march in there and ambush her like that? In front of two of the most conservative women on the island and her friend, who looked like she wasn’t sure if she should applaud or shout for help.