Luca gestured to his car. “We’ve got some shopping to do.”
“Shopping?”
“Yes. You’re my fiancée. You need to look the part. My jeweler is opening a little early so we can pick something out.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re buying me a ring?”
Chapter Four
Luca opened the car door but Constance remained frozen on the asphalt.
“Is something wrong?” he asked. He let his tone convey his irritation at her constant questioning of him but couldn’t keep his amusement from showing along with it. He knew exactly what was wrong, and it was fun watching her squirm.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to get me a ring. This is a temporary thing, for show,” she said, her pert little nose in the air.
“Exactly, and the second our engagement hits the newspapers the cameras are going to start zooming in on your finger. I don’t want people thinking I’m cheap.”
She couldn’t seem to come up with an argument for that one. Thank God.
He went to open the door of his shiny silver Spyder 918, trying to rein in his impatience when he realized she hadn’t followed him.
“Are you coming?”
She still hesitated. She’d agreed to the whole fake fiancée thing, but it seemed like she might be having second thoughts. He couldn’t really blame her there. He’d had nothing but second thoughts since Joe had suggested the crazy scheme to him. On the one hand, it would solve all his problems if they could pull it off. His father wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t going to accept that his son had had an overnight change of heart. And the slew of doubts that had cropped up when he’d hopped in his car to get the whole charade started only multiplied when he’d shown up in her boss’s office.
He knew his reasoning made sense. The director might not believe it was really him had he just called, and they might as well start being seen together. The sooner the better, in his mind. But Constance didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm for getting a move on things, though she certainly hadn’t complained when he’d been in front of her boss fixing her problems.
“What’s wrong now?” he asked.
She shook her head, pink tingeing her cheeks. “I didn’t expect things to start quite so soon. Or be quite so…elaborate.”
His brow arched and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know that doesn’t make any sense.”
Luca sighed and came over to her, standing close enough she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes. God, she seemed so tiny. If she looked straight ahead, as she did now instead of meeting his eyes, she had a great view of the base of his throat. He hoped she enjoyed it, as there were much more appealing views he could offer her if she’d just unclench a little bit. No reason they couldn’t have a little fun while playing their parts. In fact, it would help the whole authentic angle greatly. However, as he was currently having trouble even getting her to let him buy her jewelry, getting to do anything more intimate was going to take a lot more effort on his part.
He gazed down at her. “Are we still going? Or have you changed your mind?”
She looked up, her eyes meeting his, and took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
A slight frown furrowed his brow. “What?”
“This,” she said, waving her hand between them. “I don’t even know you and I’m supposed to pretend like we’re engaged. You’re a stranger to me. How do I convince anyone we’re…we’re…”
“In love? Getting married? Intimate?” he said, his voice deepening on that last one.
Constance glared up at him, which did nothing but spark an amused grin.
“Yes,” she hissed. “All of that.”
“Well,” he said, reaching out to draw her resisting body into his arms, “the best way to get over a case of nerves is to jump in with both feet.”
He cupped the back of her neck and captured her lips before she could open her mouth to protest. She resisted…for all of a half a second before her body softened and she sank into his kiss. He pulled her in closer, his head slanting to get a better angle. He’d only meant to steal a quick kiss, a little demonstration, but the moment his lips touched hers all thoughts of anything but the woman in his arms evaporated.
Up close, the faint cherry blossom fragrance of her hair filled his senses, forever marking that scent as hers. Her soft lips fit against his perfectly, like they were made just for him. His head buzzed when her hands slid up his chest, leaving a trail of fire tingling in their wake. Good God, if this is how it felt kissing her when she was pretending not to enjoy it, how would it be if she truly gave in and let herself savor the passion he could sense running through her? The delightful Stanzia was a volcano long overdue for an explosion. She just didn’t realize it yet. He couldn’t wait to enlighten her.