The Accidental Engagement (9 page)

Ivy was a better liar than he would ever have imagined. If he hadn’t been there to broker the fake engagement himself, he may have even fallen for her story. He would have no trouble believing that Jack had tumbled head over heels for this woman.

She was attractive, that much had been obvious since the first moment he set eyes on her. Okay, so maybe she was gorgeous. A knockout. And tonight she was the only woman in the room, as far as he was concerned. One look at Brunelli and Angelo and he knew they felt the same. It was hard to look away from her. Aside from her obvious physical beauty, she seemed lit up from within as she teased and charmed her way through dinner.

Ivy’s laughter brought him back to the moment with a start. He drank a little too deeply from his wineglass and summoned the waiter to bring another bottle. Ivy turned to him with a funny little grin that made him forget how to breathe.

She dropped her voice and leaned in so only he could hear. “Admit it.”

“Admit what?”

She was so close he could feel her breath on his cheek and feel her leg brush up against his. His brain was scrambled and his cock hardened instantly at the touch—Jesus, he was as bad as a teenager.

“You’re having fun.” She was looking up at him through her lashes, teasing him, flirting with him.

She was irresistible.

His gaze flickered to her lips, so tantalizingly close. For a split second he almost leaned in to claim her lips, the temptation was so strong.

He glanced over at Brunelli but he was talking to Angelo in Italian with dramatic hand gestures and wasn’t paying any attention to them. He leaned over a little closer, so close he could smell the soft floral scent of her shampoo as he whispered back, “You caught me, I am having a good time.” Before he could stop himself, he added, “Every man at this table is enthralled by your charms.”

He saw her eyes widen in surprise and a flicker of awareness before she tossed back her head with a laugh that was so contagious, Brunelli and Angelo soon joined in without having heard the joke.

He drained the last of his glass. This woman was a virus that had gotten under his skin and he needed to get it out.

Dinner lingered on into desserts and then after-dinner drinks and soon the foursome were the last patrons left. Ivy and Daniel bid Brunelli and Angelo farewell and headed back to their rooms.

He should let her go ahead. He should tell her he was sticking around for one more drink at the bar. The tension and sexual frustration that had been building all night threatened to overtake him. He didn’t know how much longer he could be right next to Ivy and not touch her.

Once in the elevator, Ivy leaned against the wall and her head fell back, leaving the full expanse of her neck exposed. She closed her eyes and sighed. “What a fun night.”

Daniel didn’t respond. He couldn’t speak.

He wanted her. He wanted to taste those lips and explore every inch of her skin until she was drunk with desire. He wanted to trail kisses down her neck, to the tantalizing edge of her dress, where her breasts strained against the material. He wanted to hear her moan in delight and feel her hands on his body. He wanted to pull her into his arms and feel those curves pressed against him. He wanted to inch that sexy dress up her thighs and wrap her legs around him so he could bury himself inside of her and bring her to the brink of ecstasy.

Dear God, he wanted to take her right then and there in the elevator and he wanted it more than anything in the world.

* * * *

Ivy opened her eyes to find him watching her, his eyes darkened with desire. It was definitely not her imagination this time. He. Wanted. Her.

She couldn’t seem to catch her breath as she watched his eyes caress her face and her lips before moving to her cleavage, which was exposed thanks to the dress’s low neckline. Heart racing under the intense scrutiny, she parted her lips. In one fluid movement he was before her, pulling her into his arms with an urgency that would have been frightening if she hadn’t felt the same way.

When his lips closed over hers she melted into a hot molten kiss that erased every thought in her mind and left only a sweet, melting sensation that coursed through her like liquid fire.

His arms tightened around her and the kiss deepened. His tongue slipped between her lips and she moaned aloud, her arms encircling his neck as she tried to get even closer to his warmth.

A ding of the elevator coming to a stop at their floor brought her back to reality with a start. She knew he felt the same when he lifted his head and quickly distanced himself from her. There was a moment of silence as they left the elevator and headed toward their hotel rooms.

All the thoughts that had been banished by Daniel’s kiss were flooding her brain as she followed him down the long hallway.

What was that?
It was amazing, whatever it was. Did he expect more? Would he invite her into his hotel room? And if he did, would she say yes? She wanted nothing more than to revel in the sensations she’d just experienced but the sane part of her brain was begging her to slow down.

When he stopped in front of her room, she still hadn’t figured out what she wanted to happen next. Daniel decided for her. “I apologize for my behavior back there,” he said, nodding toward the elevators. “I lost my head. It won’t happen again.”

He was so formal, so in control—so at odds with the passionate man she’d just kissed moments before.

“It’s fine,” she said. She offered a conciliatory smile to ease the awkward moment. She opened her mouth to say something but he had already started to head to his own room.

“Good night, Daniel,” she called after him.

“Sleep well, Ivy.”

Sleep well? Fat chance of that
. And she was right. Despite being utterly exhausted and jet lagged, Ivy tossed and turned for hours. Her brain refused to stop replaying that kiss in vivid detail.

When Ivy arrived in the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast the next morning, Jack was already there scarfing down a large stack of pancakes.

“Ivy!” he called out. She went over to join him and was soon embraced in a bear hug. “I hear you were a hit last night.”

He was grinning and Ivy’s mood lifted in response. The knot of nerves in her belly loosened up a bit. “Where’d you hear that?”

“I saw Danny last night. He kept me up half the night hashing out details of the merger.”

So Daniel had been up all night, too. She looked around pointedly. “Where is he?”

“Danny? Oh, he never eats breakfast.” And just like that, the remainder of the nerves went away and Ivy began to enjoy her breakfast.

“So how’d it go when you told your family about us?” Jack asked.

Ivy recounted the conversation and Jack was sympathetic. “What about you?” she asked. “Did you talk to your family?”

He was unusually somber as he told her about his parents’ reaction to the news. “My mom was so happy I thought she was going to cry,” he said. “I feel terrible about how hurt she’ll be when all of this is over.”

Ivy winced in empathy. She hadn’t even considered the fact that Jack was going through the same thing—lying to everyone he knew for the sake of money. Or at least, she assumed money was Jack’s motivation as well.

“What do you get out of this merger deal?”

Jack stole a grape from her fruit cup and popped it into his mouth. “Money,” he said with a grin.

So she’d been right.

“And,” he added, “access to Brunelli’s manufacturing company means I have a whole new playground to work on my toys.” His eyes lit up with an excitement that was contagious. “I could make a working model of every idea that pops into my head. Do you know how cool that is?”

Ivy stuffed a piece of muffin in her mouth. “But you’re world-famous, right? I’d bet investors would line up to work with you. And, don’t take this the wrong way but…you’re filthy rich, right? Why do you need to go along with this at all?”

Jack cringed. “I may be smart when it comes to technology but it turns out I’m an idiot when it comes to business. Let’s just leave it at that.”

She watched him eat his breakfast and was struck by his unusually serious expression. “Okay, you’re right. It’s none of my business. So why don’t you tell me about these new toys you’re working on?”

That was enough to keep Jack talking for the next twenty minutes straight.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Daniel’s completely unapologetic tone startled them both. He was standing over their table with his arms folded and wearing a fierce scowl.

The knot of nerves came back with a vengeance at the very sight of him. From his perfectly tailored suit to the slight cleft in his chin, the man looked like he’d stepped out of an ad for Ralph Lauren; not at all like a man who’d been up half the night working.

If there was any question of how he would act in the wake of the previous night’s encounter, it was soon clear that it would not be an issue. He barely acknowledged her existence and when he did it was with his usual calm, businesslike poise.

“Jack, Brunelli expects us at his office in an hour. You’d better get up to your room and get ready. I’ll meet you in the lobby in forty-five minutes.” Jack scrambled to clean his plate as Daniel turned his attention to Ivy.

“You’ll be all right on your own today, I assume. I’ve arranged for a tour guide to take you around the city but feel free to change the scheduled itinerary as you see fit.”

She nodded and gave him a jaunty salute, which he ignored. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist with a frown and Ivy wondered if he was going to suggest that they synchronize their watches.

“Jack and I will meet you here for dinner tonight once we return so we can review our strategy for tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” She glanced at Jack to clue her in but he was still too focused on shoveling food in his mouth to notice. Ivy turned back to Daniel, who was responding to an email on his smartphone.

“What’s going on tomorrow night?”

Daniel looked up in surprise. He’d clearly already forgotten her existence at the table. “Brunelli’s company is hosting a gala for charity. He’s invited all of us to attend as his guests. Jack was supposed to tell you about it over breakfast.” He gave Jack a withering look that went completely unnoticed.

“This will be the first time he sees you together as a couple so we have to make sure you’re both prepared.” He put away his phone and pointed a finger at Jack. “I’ll see you in the lobby. Don’t be late.”

“Yes, sir,” Jack mumbled through a mouth full of omelet.

Ivy watched Daniel walk away, aware of a stab of pain that she didn’t want to acknowledge. She had told herself that what happened last night was wrong, that it shouldn’t happen again. But if she was honest, there was a part of her—the part that had developed a crush at first sight—that had hoped last night had meant something.

* * * *

Ivy’s tour that morning was fantastic—the tour guide was lovely and filled with interesting facts. She arranged for Ivy to have the best access to every museum and historic site she desired to see. But despite all that, the sightseeing paled in comparison to Daniel’s tour the day before. It was like seeing the city in Technicolor one day and then seeing it in black and white the next.

When lunchtime hit, Ivy begged exhaustion and asked to postpone the rest of the sightseeing for the next day. Instead she went off on her own, strolling down alleys and side streets and absorbing the daily life in Rome. While the bustle on the streets was noisy, it was relaxing to have some time alone with her thoughts.

Ivy was not one to have flings or make out with random men in hotel elevators. Not that she had anything against that sort of thing, she just never did it. She was the good one, the stable one, and the honest one. Her family wouldn’t even recognize her these days. She didn’t recognize herself.

Who was that woman who threw herself into a hot, passionate kiss in a public elevator? And then lay awake all night fantasizing about the way the night could have ended?

He was right to end it when he did or at least, that’s what she kept telling herself. A tipsy, one-night fling was so not what this situation needed. She was already in over her head with the lies and the acting
—
a secret affair would only add to her troubles.

So why was she so annoyed that he’d walked away?

It was just residual sexual frustration. And pride. It stung that he had been the one to come to his senses when she was a heartbeat away from inviting him in to her room. He’d been swept up in it, too, she knew that. But he’d managed to get back in control. Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, he was always in control.

And she was roaming the streets of Rome, obsessing about him like she was in junior high.

When the sun started to set she returned to the hotel but was at a loss as to what she should do. Ivy hadn’t heard from Daniel or Jack all day and wasn’t sure how late they would be. She was sure that they were too caught up in business to worry about checking in with her and getting an update on her sightseeing.

It was a depressing thought to realize her sole purpose on this trip was to sit around looking pretty and possibly play the role of a smitten young woman if necessary.

Ivy sighed and then let out a laugh that sounded much too loud in her solitary hotel room. Who was she to complain? Aside from the guilt and shame factor, this had to be the easiest and most entertaining way to make money she’d ever heard of. She’d been sent on all-expense-paid trip to Italy, for heaven’s sake. She might as well enjoy every moment. With that in mind, she threw on her swimsuit and headed toward the hotel’s rooftop pool.

The sun had already begun to set and the lounge chairs along the pool’s deck had been abandoned. Ivy barely hesitated before diving in to the deep end. The water was cold and refreshing and she swam several laps to warm up. When she grew tired of the physical exertion, she switched to floating in the wide pool and watched as the stars began to appear as the sky grew dark.

Hearing a noise behind her she turned to find Daniel standing by the side of the pool, watching her. She floundered for a moment before finding the bottom of the pool with her toes. How long had he been out here?