The Trouble with Valentine's

Such a fleeting touch shouldn’t have had the power to throw Jasmine’s world into chaos. Kai had always been beautiful to her. He’d always been her hero.

But just for that moment in time she hadn’t thought of him as a brother.

She’d bought flowers for the household after that and had them delivered, and she’d tried not to dwell on Kai’s touch and the awkwardness that followed. Such an innocent, everyday touch. Kai had meant nothing by it. Nothing at all.

Kai hadn’t wanted to go to the nearby bird market but Jasmine had persisted and finally got her way. Walk it off, she told herself. Focus on something else, something other than Kai. She’d heard that sentiment just days earlier, when Kai had confronted her father, and all of a sudden she saw a reason behind Kai’s impassioned words on her behalf.

A reason she barely knew how to acknowledge.

Morning had flowed around them, warm and bright as they’d made their way on foot to the bird market. Early morning, full of bright-eyed songbirds in their tiny bamboo morning cages. Plain little things, some of them, until she closed her eyes and listened, and then the beauty of the sound had taken her breath away.

So many birds, so many cages; all sorts of birds and everything one could possibly think to feed them. Expensive, the best of these birds. Doting owners who lavished their attention upon them. It had been such a welcome distraction from the memory of Kai’s touch. Something else to think about besides the smooth weight of the little plastic turtle against her skin. Jasmine had loved strolling through the bird market.

Kai, upon reflection, had not.

‘What do you see?’ he’d asked as they reached the end of one crooked alley way and turned to step into the next. ‘Why do you like it?’

‘I like it because there’s life here, and celebration, and beauty and sound and old men whose smiles fill their faces when their favourite songbird sings. There’s colour here, and frenzy. A social structure built around these alleyways. Why wouldn’t I like it?’

‘Have you ever wondered,’ he said, and his voice was low and rough and he would not look at her, ‘what they’d sound like if they were free?’

Three days after the marathon shopping trip, Hallie boarded a plane to Hong Kong. She’d been manicured, pedicured, pampered and polished and was corporate-wife chic in her lightweight camel-coloured trousers and pink camisole. Her shoes matched her top, her handbag was Hermès, and Nick was at her side, thoroughly eye-catching in a grey business suit and crisp white business shirt minus the tie. She was the woman who had it all and it was all pure fantasy.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t embrace the moment.

Wispy streaks of cloud scattered the midday sky, their seats were business class, the take-off was perfect, and Hallie relaxed into her seat, prepared to be thoroughly indulged, only to discover that any woman sitting next to Nick was more likely to be thoroughly ignored. That or she was currently invisible to the women of the world as they dimpled, sighed, primped and preened for him.

The flight attendants settled once the flight was underway and went about their business with efficient professionalism, but the encouraging smiles of the female passengers continued. One innovative young lady even managed to trip and fall gracefully into Nick’s lap amidst a flurry of breathless apology and a great deal of full body contact.

‘Do women always fall over their feet trying to get your attention?’ she asked once the woman had gone.

‘Actually, she fell over my feet,’ said Nick. ‘They were sticking out into the aisle. It was my fault she landed in my lap.’

‘And her breasts in your face? That was your fault too?’

Nick shrugged, trying to look a picture of innocence and failing miserably. ‘She was trying to get up,’ he said in her defence. ‘These things happen.’

‘So I see.’

He was used to it, Hallie decided. He was just plain used to women falling all over him. ‘You know, you’d save yourself a lot of unwanted attention if you wore a wedding ring,’ she said. She was wearing one, along with the terribly traditional diamond engagement ring. As far as the world was concerned she was well and truly taken. Nick’s hands, however, were ring-free.

‘I wasn’t wearing one last time I visited,’ he countered. ‘It’d seem a bit strange if I turned up wearing one now.’

‘No it wouldn’t, considering what happened.’ She was beginning to sense some reluctance here. ‘Say we really were married, would you wear a ring then?’

‘You’d have to insist.’ He slid her a sideways glance. ‘You would too, wouldn’t you?’

‘Absolutely.’ She held her left hand up between them, angling her fingers so that the diamond sparkled in the light. ‘Some people actually respect the sanctity of marriage and don’t hit on a person wearing a wedding ring.’

‘Funny,’ he said dryly. ‘You don’t look that naïve’

‘Hah. It just so happens I don’t think I’m being naïve. But I do concede that if you never wear one we’ll never know.’

The clumsy young thing was back, all purring solicitousness as she asked Nick if she’d hurt him, if he was feeling all right, and was there anything, absolutely anything, she could do for him.

Honestly!

‘Oh, I think we’ve got it covered.’ Hallie smiled, sharp as a blade, as her hand- the one with those shiny rings on it – came to rest high on Nick’s trouser clad thigh. Nothing subtle about that particular manoeuvre; she was claiming ownership and the other woman knew it. ‘On second thoughts, darling, you feel a bit cold,’ she said to Nick as she squeezed gently and slid her hand a fraction higher up his thigh. Muscles jumped beneath her palm even as the rest of him went absolutely still. ‘Would you like a blanket for your lap? There’s one in the webbing in front of you.’

With an annoyed pout and a narrow-eyed glare for Hallie, the other woman made herself scarce. Not that Nick noticed. His wife had his attention now. His complete and utter attention.

‘What are you doing?’ he rasped.

‘Practising.’

‘For what? The mile-high club?’

Hallie’s smile widened. Really, his imagination was so delightfully easy to manipulate. ‘I’m practising my possessive moves for when I meet Jasmine.’

‘Well, would you mind practising with your hand somewhere else? I’m not made of stone.’

This was debatable. Right this minute, Nicholas Cooper’s thigh was hard as a rock. ‘Sorry, my mistake. I thought we agreed on physical contact in public places,’ she said as she withdrew her hand, reached for the blanket and draped it across his knees. She shouldn’t bait him; she knew it. But she couldn’t resist. ‘This is a public place,’ she said sweetly. ‘And we did have an audience.’

‘You know you’re right. You’re absolutely right,’ he said. He flicked off the overhead light, brought her hand back to his thigh and drew the blanket over his lap with a smile that was pure challenge. ‘Feel free to continue.’

Okay, so there was a slight chance she’d been asking for it. Now he was asking for it and she was tempted, very tempted, to deliver. But if she did, things would get out of hand. Or out of trousers and into hand, so to speak, and heaven only knew what would happen after that. Come to think of it, she had a pretty good idea what would happen after that …

And what if they were caught?

They’d be thrown off the plane in disgrace. A big red ‘deviant’ stamp would appear in her passport and then Interpol would sign her up for sexual misconduct reform school and Tris would find out and, oh, the horror …

Nick wasn’t the only one with a vivid imagination.

Feigning nonchalance, Hallie withdrew her hand from his thigh and reached for her glass of water. She was flustered; she was aroused; she was totally out of her league.

She was enjoying every minute of it. ‘Actually, I’ve changed my mind,’ she said.

‘Good call.’ He exhaled deeply.

‘After all, it wouldn’t do to forget that this is strictly a business arrangement.’

‘Exactly.’

Exactly. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach was not disappointment. Nick was her employer, nothing more, and only for one week. After that it was contract fulfilled and goodbye. Surely she could resist his considerable charms for one lousy week.

All she needed was a more professional approach.

‘So how do you want to approach this business of being married?’ she said crisply. ‘Are we aiming for warm and fuzzy or a fiery attraction of opposites?’