by Susan Meier
Her soft, breathless voice did something to his soul. She was as turned on as he was. Though she used her wit to try to divert his attention, he could feel the quiver that ran through her small frame.
He smiled. This was a game he could play. “Julia thinks you’re beautiful.”
She caught his gaze. “No, she doesn’t.”
“Why else did she keep you out all day except to limit the time you had to prepare for the gala?” He whirled them around again. “But you fooled her. You didn’t need three hours of prep work to be beautiful.”
The song ended. He kept her pressed against him, staring into her eyes. “You are beautiful tonight. More beautiful than she is.”
Her eyes shifted, softened. But she said, “Music has stopped.”
“So? We’re in love, remember?” He dipped his head slowly, desperately wanting a kiss, desperately curious about what she’d do if he kissed her for real, not a quick brush of a goodbye kiss.
Everything around them melted away. She studied his eyes, her own pale gray orbs curious, but wary. She wanted the kiss as much as he did, but something held her back.
She pulled away. “I think I need a club soda.”
He released her, but took her hand and headed for the bar. As much as he wanted to kiss her—really kiss her—the fact that she’d stepped away told him that he couldn’t until he knew what was going on with her. Was she pregnant? Was that why she wanted another job?
He already knew he couldn’t ask her something so personal, so private until he really got to know her. She’d slid out of every chance to have a conversation, but she wasn’t wiggling out this time. There were no parties, no galas scheduled for Thursday night. Tomorrow, there’d be no one to save her.
CHAPTER FIVE
LILA WOKE THE next morning with plenty of time to spare before the family breakfast. She showered, fixed her hair, put on makeup and slid into a comfortable skirt and silky top. When she stepped out into the sitting room, Mitch was at the table in the small kitchenette, his tablet in front of him. He was probably online, reading the morning news. The delicious aroma of fresh coffee permeated the small space. So did the scent of toast.
“Good morning.” She carefully walked through the seating area to the little round table with four chairs. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened the night before, but her heart tripped over itself when she remembered that minute on the dance floor when she was absolutely positive he was going to kiss her. She’d called herself all kinds of crazy for even thinking he’d wanted to kiss her. But she couldn’t discount the fact that something had sizzled between them, and now the mood in their apartment felt different.
He smiled at her. “Good morning.”
He wasn’t just smiling. There was a weird gleam in his eyes.
Her heart bumped against her ribs. Something absolutely, positively had changed.
“Nanna called. No family breakfast this morning.” He pointed to a silver coffeepot. “The cook sent up coffee and a tray of cheeses and breads for toast.”
“Oh.”
“Nanna has an appointment with her stylist today to figure out her hairdo for the wedding.”
Lila couldn’t help it; she laughed.
“What?”
“It’s funny to hear you talk about girl things.”
“I know about girl things.”
Oh, she would bet he did. But she wasn’t opening that door. Instead, she picked up a coffee cup and poured herself a mug of the hot, dark liquid from the silver carafe. She set the cup on the table and was about to pull out a chair, but hesitated when she saw the wicked gleam in his eyes again. That’s when she put two and two together and realized that no family breakfast and Nanna leaving for hours on an errand meant she would be alone with Mitch. Maybe all morning.
“So what’s your mom doing?”
The light in his eyes intensified. “Worried you’ll have to spend time with me?”
Heat rose to her cheeks.
“Well, don’t. We have a board meeting at eight. My mom has to attend, so Nanna invited you to go with her and help her decide on a hairdo.”
The breath returned to her lungs. “I can do that.”
His head tilted as he looked at her, studying her hair. “Last week, I might have wondered if you could.” He smiled again. “Today, I know you can.”
The way he kept looking at her, smiling at her, sent a ripple of unease through her.
He rose from the table. “These meetings frequently last all day.” He headed for the door. “I’m assuming you and Nanna will have lunch in town and probably shop. Riccardo said you still have the credit cards.” He glanced over at her. “Use them. And don’t bargain hunt. I want Nanna to see you spending my money as if you’re accustomed to it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He turned to the door, then faced her again. “And don’t worry about missing me while I’m busy. I’ve arranged for us to have a private dinner, here, in the apartment tonight.”
Lila’s breath froze. Private dinner? She remembered those thirty seconds when he’d yanked her against him on the dance floor. The sizzle. The confusion.
And the longing.
She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut. She’d had a crush on this man forever. When he’d pulled her so close—well, her thoughts had spun out of control and she’d felt so many wonderful things.
What if he’d felt them too?
Oh, boy.
The words private dinner took on a whole new meaning.
But he opened the door and was gone before Lila could blink let alone argue. She straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap of thinking he intended to seduce her. They’d shared one “crackly” moment the night before. He hadn’t instantly fallen in love with her. He probably wanted to have dinner alone so he could catch her up on whatever happened at their family business meeting that day.
She was, after all, his assistant—
No, she wasn’t. She’d quit his employ. Anything his family decided for the company today made no difference to her.
There was only one reason left for his wanting private time with her. One logical, part of the charade reason: he wanted her to tell him things about her past.
After the way he’d looked at her the night before—
The way he’d smiled at her all morning—
There was something going on in that Ochoa brain of his. He definitely had a plan for getting her to spill the beans she’d kept to herself for an entire year in his employ. And he seemed pretty cocky about it. Which meant he had an idea that he genuinely believed would work to get her to talk.
The phone in the sitting area rang. She set her coffee on the table and raced to get it, hoping it was Mitch telling her he’d only been teasing about the private dinner, or he’d changed his mind, or something had come up that meant they wouldn’t be alone.
Because the one thing she hadn’t factored into this charade was that they’d be alone. Somehow she’d always pictured them at parties and family dinners, or dressing for parties and family dinners.
The phone rang again and she picked up the receiver and cautiously said, “Hello?”
“It’s me. Nanna. I’m just calling to let you know I’m already in the limo. Breakfast by myself takes a lot less time than with family.”
Lila squeezed her eyes shut. She was not getting out of a private dinner with Mitch. “I’ll be right there.”
After grabbing her purse from her bedroom, Lila raced down the stairs and outside where she found the family limo sitting in front of the duplex. A driver opened the door for her and she slid inside.
Smiling at Nanna, she said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Nanna squeezed her hand. “We’re going to have such fun.” She le
aned in and whispered, “You got a credit card from Mitch, right?”
She laughed. Two minutes in Nanna’s company and she already felt better. “Yes. And he said to use it.”
“That’s my boy.”
The driver started the limo and pulled out.
“Once we get this hair nonsense out of the way, we’ll have lunch—then we can shop.”
Lila laughed again. She should have felt guilty about using Mitch’s money or maybe her pride should have stopped her from buying a skirt, two blouses and a new pair of shoes, but Nanna made it very easy to get into the role of playing fiancée to her grandson. Nanna was inordinately happy that Mitch was happy. All in all, they had a great day.
But ten minutes into the drive back to the vineyard, Nanna said, “So, aside from what you told me yesterday about your childhood, what else do I need to know about you?”
“Actually, I pretty much told you everything.” Lila shrugged. “There’s not much to know about me.”
Nanna turned her rich, dark eyes on Lila. “Really?”
“I have an uncomplicated past. I grew up, went to university, got a job.” She smiled at Nanna, but Nanna didn’t smile back. “Honestly. There’s not much to tell.”
“I believe there is much to tell,” Nanna contradicted. “But I think you look around and see a world beyond yours and assume we wouldn’t be interested.”
Now that was perceptive. No wonder Mitch worried about her figuring out the ruse. “That’s part of it.”
“And maybe you compare yourself to Julia?”
Lila winced. For as much as she knew Nanna was digging for something, she also couldn’t lie to her. She doubted anyone could lie to her. The woman should work for the CIA. “I try not to compare myself to Julia. We’re clearly two different people. I think comparing us would be a big mistake.”
“Yes. Mostly because New York changed Mitch. For the better. His taste in women certainly improved.”
“That’s not really fair to Julia.”
“Julia is a lovely woman.” Nanna straightened the pleats in her skirt. “But she is also complicated.” She met Lila’s gaze. “I’m sure you can figure that out from the switch in choice of brothers. She loved Mitch, but she also loved the fact that his older brother would someday run the family business.”
“Ah.”
“Ah, indeed.” Nanna took a quick breath. “But I have no doubt now that she loves Alonzo.” She shook her head. “Complicated.”
“Love usually is.”
“And you believe Mitcham is over her?”
Lila laughed slightly. “Absolutely. In fact, he’s happy for Julia and Alonzo. You should see the lengths he was willing to go to to make sure the focus of these two weeks was on his brother and future bride. This is their time. He wants them to enjoy the celebrations.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes, he did.”
Nanna studied Lila’s eyes for a few seconds. “He trusts you.”
Those terrible feelings about deceiving Nanna rose in Lila again, but she wasn’t really deceiving her. Mitch really did trust her. That’s why they were in this charade. Talking about trust wasn’t lying.
“Yes. He trusts me with a lot more than you’d ever believe.”
Nanna squeezed her hand. “That’s good. After the mess with him finding Alonzo and Julia, he needs to be with someone he trusts.”
That nudged a little bit of guilt into her thoughts. But when Lila weighed the pros and cons, and considered how this one little charade really had assured this celebration would be about Julia and Alonzo, she couldn’t feel too guilty.
The limo pulled up to the apartment building first. Nanna kissed Lila’s cheek before Lila slid out of the car. The driver handed her purchases to her, and happy after the fun day with Nanna, she all but skipped up the stairs. Until she remembered she was having a private dinner with Mitch.
Damn it.
She walked up the rest of the steps slowly. They were a good hour away from dinner. Mitch could still be at his family’s meeting. She could use the time for a bubble bath and to dress.
And then—
Then she would do what needed to be done. It wasn’t like they would be out in public where she had to play a role. Actually, that was the first sane thought she’d had about this time alone. Technically, she was working out a two-week notice. In fact, with this dinner being private, she shouldn’t be Lila, Fake Fiancée. She should be Lila, Mitch’s assistant.
The very thought that she should be herself put a spring back in her step. Mitch wasn’t curious about that woman—his assistant—or attracted to her. She’d spent tons of time alone with him as his assistant and he’d barely looked at her.
She raced into the apartment, tossed her new things on her bed and got into the shower instead of a bubble bath. She washed her hair, intending to let it frizz out again, but the straightener the beautician had used was doing the job it promised to do for the next sixty days. Her hair, even after using a blow-dryer, was sleek and shiny.
She really shouldn’t have put on makeup, but she liked the way she looked with a little mascara and eyeliner. And a dab of lip gloss wasn’t a sin.
Luckily, she did have a pair of her old jeans—but, darn it, she really wanted to wear one of her new blouses.
But she wasn’t putting on shoes.
And she wasn’t wearing her contacts.
A few minutes after she entered the sitting room, a member of the kitchen staff arrived with dinner. She was about to tell him Mitch hadn’t come back from his meeting when he stepped out of his bedroom, pulling a polo shirt over his head, looking freshly showered. He also wore jeans. His feet were bare. He intended to be as comfortable as she was.
“Thank you, Tomas,” he said, indicating that Tomas could roll the cart containing dinner and wine into the kitchenette area, near the table.
Tomas did as he was told and exited with a smile and a quick nod.
Amazed, Lila watched him go, then faced Mitch again. “You have some wicked good staff.”
“We pride ourselves on knowing how to pick excellent employees. It’s why we don’t usually expect them to ask us to find them a new job.”
Wow. Direct hit. Right for the jugular.
She sucked in a breath. “These are special circumstances.”
“I gathered that.”
He motioned for her to join him at the table, then he took the two covered dishes off the cart and set them at the two place settings. He removed the lids, revealing steak and potatoes.
“Smells good.”
“It should be. Our chef trained all over Europe before he finally settled in to work for our restaurant.”
“Nice.”
She took her seat and he sat across from her. “I expected to see more surprise from you at how we live.”
She shrugged. “You forget that I see how you and Riccardo live in New York. Plus, I’m playing your fiancée. I’m supposed to know you enough that how you live doesn’t surprise me.” She paused for a second, then said, “Nanna and I had another bit of a conversation today. She appreciates that you trust me.”
“I do trust you.” He plunged his fork into his steak. “Did you tell her anything I need to know?”
“No. I’ve pretty much been able to keep the conversations neutral and simple, focused on a few main facts.”
* * *
Frustration rolled through Mitch. If direct and outspoken Nanna couldn’t get Lila to talk, he wondered if he’d be able to. Still, the purpose of this dinner was to get to know her so that eventually she’d tell him why she wanted to leave his employ, why she didn’t drink and if she was pregnant.
The best way to get her to open up would be to talk to her, to let a personal conversation evolve naturally. Let it ebb. Let it f
low. Let a little trust in him build for her—the way he trusted her.
“So in spite of the fact that you were able to keep your secrets from Nanna, I take it you had fun with her.”
“The woman’s a shopping machine.”
He laughed. “And you spent money?”
She pointed at her blouse. “This shirt’s new. And it set you back more than my part of the month’s rent.”
“That’s right. You share an apartment. With your friend Sally?”
She glanced up, surprised.
“I heard you telling Riccardo you would be taking a friend shopping with you the day before we left.”
The way she could talk to Riccardo rankled, but he smiled. After all, he was trying to get this woman to trust him the way he trusted her. He couldn’t get mad that she was closer to his cousin. That’s what he was trying to fix.
“You mentioned her name was Sally.”
“Actually, Sally got a promotion about a year ago and can now afford her own apartment.”
“Oh.” And maybe that was the reason for her sudden interest in a new job?
Before he could ask, she said, “My roommates are Joselyn and Jennie.” She laughed. “I call them the two jays. Like blue jays only two jays.” She shook her head. “I have a weird sense of humor.”
He cut into his steak. “No. I just think your mind is always working.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
The conversation died as they began to eat. She took a bite of her steak and groaned. “Holy cow.”
He leaned in. “The chef’s secret ingredient is butter.”
Her eyes rose to meet his. That’s when he noticed she was wearing her glasses. He was making the connection between her as his assistant and her as his fake fiancée so completely that he hadn’t even noticed her glasses. Right now, she was just Lila. Something of a cross between the two.
“Your chef adds butter to meat that’s already loaded with fat?”
“I know. Decadent, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But it’s also probably ten million calories.”
He cleared his throat. Knowing what he was about to ask her was personal, and she’d probably shut him down, he nonetheless said, “You don’t look like the kind of woman who has to watch her weight.”
