A Virgin for a Vow

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  He frowned. ‘And for you too, surely?’

  Abby kept her expression blank while her mind suddenly raced off with images of her holding a baby—a little dark-haired angel with deep blue eyes. She blinked away the image and pasted a smile on her face. ‘Of course it would be a disaster. I’m still building my career. I don’t want to have kids until I’m in my late twenties at the earliest.’

  Luke’s expression was guarded, as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not. ‘The Pill is mostly reliable but I don’t want to risk it.’

  ‘It’s fine, Luke, really,’ Abby said. ‘I’ve written heaps of columns about this. It’s too easy to get lost in the heat of the moment and then it’s too late to undo. I’ve had heart-wrenching letters from followers who’ve had to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, more often than not to a guy they no longer want anything to do with. You’re being sensible and responsible and I’m grateful for it.’

  He gently tucked a wispy strand of hair behind her ear. ‘So, swimming lesson first and then we’ll finish this later.’

  * * *

  An hour later Abby wasn’t quite ready for the Olympics but she could get from one end of the pool to the other without ending up with a lungful of water. The pool contained saltwater, which added extra buoyancy, and with Luke’s excellent coaching she was reasonably confident she wouldn’t drown if she stepped out of her depth.

  She completed another lap and stood at the end and blinked the water out of her eyes. ‘How many have I done now? I lost count.’

  ‘You’ve done enough for one day,’ Luke said. ‘Besides, the sun is starting to pink your skin. The sunscreen’s probably washed off by now.’

  ‘I’ll sit in the shade for a bit,’ Abby said. ‘You’ve been so patient with me but you must be dying for a swim yourself. Go on. I’ll enjoy watching you. It’ll be like watching a training video.’

  Abby covered herself with a towel and sat on one of the sun loungers and watched Luke glide through the water with such economy of movement and graceful skill it was a delight to watch. He tumble-turned at each end with supple agility, and even more delightful was seeing all of his powerfully sculpted muscles coming into play. The strong back and shoulders, the long and muscled legs, the toned arms, the clever hands that were placed at just the right angle to maximise propulsion through the water. He had the sort of skin that tanned rather than burned, and even in the short time they’d been out here in the pool his skin had darkened.

  After a few laps, Luke propelled himself out of the water by his hands on the edge of the pool. Abby sucked in a breath as the muscles in his arms and on his abdomen contracted at the movement. He wasn’t the slightest bit uneasy about being naked, but then she wasn’t uncomfortable being naked with him either. Physically or emotionally, which was even more surprising. She had told him more about herself than she had told anyone. Was it because he was a good listener or was it because he too had suffered? Whatever the reason, it gave them a common ground on which to communicate.

  Luke came over to where she was sitting and perched on the end of her sun lounger near her feet. He shook his head like a wet dog and sprayed water droplets all over her legs.

  ‘Hey—’ Abby laughed and gave him a playful shove ‘—get away from me.’

  He leaned over her, anchoring his arms either side of her waist, his eyes dark and gleaming. ‘Are you sure that’s what you want?’

  Abby touched his lean tanned jaw with her hand, his dark regrowth grazing her fingertips. She looked into the bottomless blue of his eyes and knew in that moment the last thing she ever wanted was to have him away from her.

  She wanted him close.

  As close as she could possibly be to him. Wasn’t she already closer to him than anyone? Her eyes fell away from his to study his mouth instead. She traced it with her fingertip, memorising it so she would never forget its sexy contours. ‘You have a nice mouth. Strong and firm and masculine and yet soft too.’

  He captured her finger with his mouth, drawing on it like he had suckled on her nipples. ‘I’m rather fond of yours too,’ he said once he released her finger. ‘As you’ve probably noticed.’

  Abby gave him a half smile. ‘Do you think when this week is over we will still be able to be friends?’

  A frown flickered over his forehead. ‘I don’t see any reason why not.’

  ‘I know...but these things have a habit of becoming complicated...’

  He pushed up her chin once more, locking her gaze with his penetrating one. ‘Are you having second thoughts?’

  Abby made sure her choice of words wouldn’t betray her doubts. ‘No. It’s just it gets tricky running into exes at family gatherings and stuff. I mean, Ella is practically family to me and you too, so—’

  ‘It won’t be tricky, okay?’ He stood from the sun lounger so quickly it nearly overbalanced. One of his hands scraped his damp hair back with such force it left deep groove marks along his scalp. ‘I’ll deal with it. We’ll both deal with it like adults.’

  ‘I don’t see why you’re so upset,’ Abby said. ‘I’m just expressing concern about how we’re going to handle this going forward. We both have to be clear on how we’re going to handle it.’

  ‘Are you trying to ruin this holiday?’ He glared at her so heatedly it made the bright sunlight seem dim by comparison. ‘Is that what you’re doing? Because if so it’s working. We’ve only got a few days. Let’s not waste them by worrying how we’re going to look each other in the eye at Christmas and Easter, okay?’

  Abby bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry...’

  He let out a long slow breath and came back over to sit beside her. He took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth, pressing his lips against her bent knuckles. ‘I’m sorry too.’ His eyes were soft again. ‘I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly. Forgive me.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have pressed your buttons.’

  He tucked another strand of her hair back behind her ear. ‘Your nose is pink.’

  Abby screwed up her face. ‘I hate you for being able to tan without tears. I go pink and then I peel and get more freckles. Go me.’

  He sent his fingertip down the slope of her nose. ‘Your freckles are cute.’

  She smiled and touched his mouth again with her fingertip. ‘Are you going to finish what you started before we had a swim?’

  He got off the lounger and pulled her to her feet. ‘I’m all for a bit of alfresco sex but I don’t want you to get sunburnt or the rest of our week will be ruined. Let’s go inside.’

  ‘Sounds like fun.’

  He pressed a hot kiss to her mouth. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’

  * * *

  Luke woke from a relaxing post-sex snooze to find Abby had disappeared from the bed beside him. He could see the indentation of her head on the pillow and the tangle of the bedclothes from when they had made passionate love. He glanced at his phone on the bedside table for the time and was a little shocked to see a couple of hours had passed. He could hear sounds of activity in the kitchen downstairs and smiled to himself at the thought of Abby bustling about in there as if it was her idea of a good time. His approach to food was purely functional. He ate when he was hungry and he stopped when he was full. But he suspected that came from long years of living alone.

  Luke’s mind drifted back to his conversation with Abby by the pool. He wasn’t sure what her motive was in talking about them running into each other in the future. Had she wanted him to consider the fact that she was bound to meet someone else and make him jealous at the thought of her bringing a new man home to meet his family? Why would he be jealous? She had a perfect right to get on with her life once their fling was over.

  That was the deal—one week and one week only.

  But the thought of running into her with a new partner made something in his stomach twist. Would he have to go to her wedding? Would he have to stand and watch some other guy promise to love her and stay true to her for the rest of their lives?

  No
t going to happen.

  Luke came downstairs to find Abby laying a table on the terrace overlooking the ocean. She was dressed in one of the casual outfits he’d bought her on their shopping spree and her hair was on top of her head in a loosely arranged knot that gave her a bohemian hippy look. She glanced up from folding a napkin and smiled. ‘Nice sleep? I checked on you an hour ago and you were out for the count.’

  ‘You should have woken me.’

  She made a mock pout. ‘Uh-oh, you’re frowning. Maybe you should have stayed in bed a bit longer.’

  It’s no fun if you’re not there with me.

  Luke would never say it out loud because he didn’t even like thinking it. It would be admitting he needed her. He didn’t need anyone. He made sure of it. ‘What can I do to help with dinner?’

  ‘You can open the wine, or should we have champagne?’

  ‘What would you like?’

  ‘Champagne,’ she said, eyes shining. ‘This is my first ever private island holiday, well, yours actually since I’m gatecrashing.’

  ‘I was happy to bring you,’ Luke said. ‘It’s good to see you enjoying yourself.’

  She gave her lower lip a nibble and started fussing with the flowers she had arranged in the middle of the table. ‘Actually...there’s something I need to ask you...’

  ‘Yes?’

  She turned from the table with a sheepish look. ‘I got a text from Felicity. She wants me to post some pictures of us on our holiday on my Twitter and Instagram feed.’

  Luke didn’t even have to think about his answer. ‘No.’

  Her face crumpled with disappointment. ‘But surely a couple of photos won’t hurt? It will make—’

  ‘You can post photos of yourself if you must but please leave me out of it. No way am I going to have my photo plastered all over social media.’

  ‘You didn’t seem to mind the night of the ball.’

  ‘That was different,’ Luke said.

  ‘How is it different?’ she asked. ‘You were pretending to be my fiancé then and you’re pretending now. What’s a few more photos going to do?’

  ‘None of this is real, Abby,’ Luke said. ‘You. Me. Us.’

  Her brown eyes flinched as if he’d struck her. ‘But our fling is real...isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes. For one week and one week only.’

  ‘Fine. I’m okay with that,’ Abby said, folding her arms across her body. ‘I just don’t see the problem with taking a few photos and sharing them online.’

  ‘Look, you might be happy about sharing your life with the rest of the planet but I’m not,’ Luke said. ‘Once that stuff is out there you can’t take it back. It’s out there for ever.’

  She chewed her lower lip as if she was thinking about something. ‘I guess it might be a bit awkward for Kimberley’s family...’

  Luke set his mouth in a flat line. ‘It’s not about her family. They know this is a fake engagement.’

  Her eyes rounded in alarm. ‘You told them about us?’

  ‘I couldn’t let them find out in the press,’ Luke said. ‘I thought it was better to give them the heads-up that it was a charade to spare their feelings.’

  ‘But what about my feelings?’ she asked. ‘What about my job? What if they told someone it was a charade? What then? Did you think about that? My career will implode if they spill anything to the press. How could you do that without asking me first?’

  Luke released a weary sigh. This was why he stayed out of relationships. He was rubbish at handling people’s feelings. He hurt them without even trying. ‘Look, I admit I should have discussed it with you first. But they’re discreet and will keep it to themselves.’

  ‘They’d better because otherwise I’m never going to forgive you if this blows up in my face.’ She folded her arms and glowered at him. ‘So...no photos. Is that your final word?’

  ‘I just prefer to keep my life private. It’s no one’s business but mine.’

  Worry flickered through her gaze. ‘But what am I going to say to Felicity?’

  ‘You could tell her the truth,’ Luke said with a wry look.

  Shock flashed over her features. ‘I can’t do that. I could lose my job.’

  ‘You’re going to have to tell everyone some time.’

  She unlocked her arms and shifted her gaze. ‘I know. I have it covered. I’m going to do a breakup blog. But don’t worry; I won’t make you sound bad. I’ll make it that I broke it off because of my issues not yours.’

  Luke came over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. ‘Look, how about I take some photos of you instead? How’s that for a compromise?’

  She seemed to mull it over for a moment before she let out a breath. ‘They’d better be pretty damn good photos.’

  He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. ‘They will be.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  AFTER DINNER, ABBY sat with Luke in the moonlight on the terrace. He had taken several photos of her over the course of the evening and all of them were good. Some of them even brilliant. He had a good eye for lighting and with the golden and muted light during twilight and sunset he had made her look almost beautiful.

  But she couldn’t help feeling disappointed he didn’t want to be in the photos with her. What harm was there in a photo or two? At least it would be something she could keep after this week ended. Would it have hurt him to allow her one little keepsake photo? She had no childhood photos to speak of. This was another reminder of how alone she truly was.

  But she didn’t want to be alone any more.

  Not after this week. Not after being with Luke and experiencing the passion of being in his arms. Why couldn’t they extend their fling? Why wouldn’t he broaden the time frame to see how well they worked as a couple? Sure, they had little disagreements, but that was normal and even healthy. His refusal to be in the photos was a reminder of his unwillingness to commit to anything long-term and her stupidity in secretly hoping he would change his mind. How many times had she written about this in her column? Women always thought they could change men but it nearly always ended up in heartbreak. People could only change when they believed they had to change, when they felt the need to change. When they wanted to change. No one else could force you or coerce you.

  ‘More champagne?’ Luke held up the bottle.

  Abby covered the top of her glass. ‘Better not. I already feel a little tipsy.’ Who knew what would come out of her mouth if she allowed her self-control to slip?

  I’m in love with you. I want to be married to you and have your babies.

  How could she have thought she could settle for a fling when all she wanted was for ever with Luke? She wanted to grow old with him, to bring up a family with him, to do all the things with their little family she had missed out on as a child. But how could she tell him that? It was the last thing he wanted to hear. The last thing he wanted was a permanent commitment. How could it have taken her this long to realise she loved him? Or had she been lying to herself all this time?

  It was ironic but for years she had been telling lies. Heaps and heaps of little white lies and yet the one time she wanted to tell the truth she couldn’t. If she told Luke how she felt about him he would be furious. Falling in love was never part of the deal. She had talked him into the charade and now she had to endure the clock ticking on their fling.

  He sat back in his chair and looked at the wrinkled moonlit sea below. ‘This place makes you wish you didn’t have to go home.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ Abby said, thinking of her cramped little flat and the thin walls where she heard her neighbours arguing or listening to their too-loud televisions. Out here in this paradise, all she could hear was the occasional cry of a seabird and the whisper of the wind through the cypress pines.

  And that wretched ticking clock...

  After a moment, Luke reached into his pocket and put a square box on the table between them. ‘This is for you.’

  Abby stared at the jewellery box, her he
art beating so fast she was sure it was going to bounce out of her chest. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Open it and see.’

  She picked up the box and prised open the lid to find a gorgeous diamond pendant winking at her from its bed of lush cream velvet. ‘Oh, my goodness...’

  She lifted the fine white gold chain and the diamond swung with sparkling brilliance as if someone had plucked a star out of the night sky.

  ‘It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous.’

  She looked up from the pendant, trying to stop herself from getting emotional. No one had ever bought her anything so wonderful. It wasn’t just that it was expensive, but more that he had gone out and bought it for her as if she was someone special to him. Someone he thought worthy of a beautiful, timeless diamond.

  ‘But I don’t understand... Why did you buy it for me?’

  He gave a loose-shouldered shrug. ‘I walked past a jewellery store and saw it in the window.’

  Abby looked at the pendant and blinked back tears. But it was impossible for her to control the bubble of emotion in her throat. She gulped and clutched the pendant against her chest, trying to regain her composure.

  Luke leaned forward and took her hand. ‘Why are you crying? Don’t you like it? We can exchange it for something else if you’d—’

  ‘Oh, Luke—’ Abby half-sobbed, half-laughed ‘—I adore it. I’m crying because no one has ever bought me something so gorgeous. I’m used to getting hand-me-downs or charity shop gifts. This is the most perfect present I’ve ever received. It’s very generous of you, but you have to stop spending so much money on me.’

  He rose from the table and came around to her side to help her put the pendant on. His fingers sent shivers through her body when he fastened the catch and then he dropped a light kiss to the top of her head before he came back to sit down opposite her. ‘It’s just a trinket. A keepsake to remember me by.’

  A keepsake to remember him by.

  The words were a wake-up slap to Abby’s momentary slip into happy-ever-after dreamland. ‘I’m not sure I’m going to forget you in a hurry.’ She touched the necklace with her fingers. ‘The last few days have been...the most amazing of my life.’