The Wedding Charade

Nic clenched his teeth and strode into the bathroom. We’ll see, indeed, he thought as he turned on the shower full blast.

When Nic came out, Jade was sipping more champagne. She had her face on—the face he was used to seeing: heavy smoky eye-shadow and eyeliner, scarlet lipstick and a brush stroke of bronzing powder to highlight her model-like cheekbones. She was back in another pair of heels, even higher than the previous ones, and she had dangling earrings on that sparkled now and again behind the dark screen of her loose hair. She had a sulky look about her mouth, however, which warned him there might be another scene on its way.

He had thought through his options in the shower.

He would marry her because he didn’t really have a choice, but he would dictate the terms. She thought she had manipulated him into agreeing to it but he wasn’t doing it for her, but for his family.

‘Before we go to dinner I want to lay down some ground rules,’ he said as he reached for a fresh shirt.

She crossed her legs and swung one high-heeled foot up and down in a bored schoolgirl manner. ‘Go on then, tell me what they are and I’ll tell you whether I’ll agree to them or not.’

Nic whipped out a tie from the wardrobe. ‘You will agree to it or I won’t marry you. You’re the one who needs the money more than me, don’t forget.’

She set her mouth in a mulish line, her eyes hardening as she held his. ‘So what are your stupid little rules, then?’

‘I insist that at all times and in all places you will behave with the decorum your position as a Sabbatini wife requires of you,’ he said. ‘You have met both of my sisters-in-law, sì?’

‘Yes, they are very nice,’ she said. ‘I met Bronte briefly at your grandfather’s funeral. I met Maya, Giorgio’s wife, in London. She had taken the time to call on me to show me the baby since I was unable to attend the christening. Matteo is adorable.’

‘Yes, he is,’ Nic said. ‘So why didn’t you come to the christening? ‘

Her eyes stayed determinedly away from his, her tone dismissive. ‘I had another engagement.’

‘And what about Luca and Bronte’s son Marco’s christening?’ he asked. ‘It was only a month later. Did you have another engagement that day too?’

This time she looked at him directly. ‘I always keep myself busy. My social calendar is booked for months ahead.’

Nic felt his top lip curl. He could imagine her shoe-horning in party after party, nightclub after nightclub, and shallow date after shallow date. ‘It was good of you to come to my grandfather’s funeral,’ he said with no intention of it being a compliment. She had obviously known she was going to be included in the will, for why else would she have made the effort? He knew her well enough to know she didn’t do anything for anyone unless she got something out of it for herself. ‘You also came to see him before he died, didn’t you?’

She nodded. ‘It was the least I could do. He had always been so good to me. I was just his godchild. No one takes that role all that seriously these days, but he always looked out for me.’

‘Apart from the will, of course,’ Nic pointed out.

‘Yes, well, he must have had his reasons.’

‘Why do you think he did it?’ Nic asked. ‘To us, I mean. It’s not as if we’ve been the best of friends over the years.’

She gave a little shrug of her slim shoulders. ‘Who knows? Maybe he thought it would be a way of bringing the two dynasties together: the Sommervilles and the Sabbatinis. It has quite a ring to it. My father no longer has a male heir so this is the next best thing. I expect they cooked it up together.’

Nic studied her for a moment. ‘You were supposed to be with your brother on that skiing holiday, weren’t you?’

Her eyes shifted away from his. ‘I missed the flight.’ She gave a little shrug, as if it was just one of those things. ‘I overslept after a night out.’

‘Have you ever thought of how you could have both died if you had gone on that trip?’ Nic asked. ‘You would have been on the slopes with him when the avalanche hit.’

She gave him a glittering glare. ‘Do you mind if we get back to your stupid little rules?’

‘You don’t like talking about Jonathan, do you?’

‘You lost your baby sister,’ she said. ‘Do you like discussing it?’

‘I don’t even remember it,’ he said. ‘I was only eighteen months old. But Jonathan was twenty, almost twenty-one, and you were just weeks off turning eighteen. It must be very clear in your memory.’

‘It is and it’s off-limits,’ she said, looking him in the eye. ‘You might think you have certain privileges as my husband-to-be but that is not one of them.’

Nic pulled his tie up to his neck and straightened it, his eyes still following every nuance on her beautiful, now ice-maiden face. She could change so quickly it was amazing. ‘The second rule is I will not tolerate you playing around,’ he said. ‘I am prepared to give and take a little, but I am not going to be cuckolded.’

‘I won’t play around on you,’ she said, looking at him with a cat-that-got-the-cream-and-the-canary smile. ‘I’ll be too busy counting my money.’

‘If you don’t behave yourself, there will be consequences,’ Nic said. ‘One false move and you will be out without a penny. It’s written in the will. We both have to remain faithful, otherwise we automatically nullify the terms set down by my grandfather.’

‘You will have to be very discreet then, won’t you?’ she asked with an arch look.

‘You don’t think I can do it, do you?’

She pulled her long black hair over one of her shoulders in a mermaid-like arrangement. ‘Do what?’ she said. ‘Stay celibate? No, quite frankly, I don’t. Who is your latest lover, by the way? Is it still the Brazilian heiress, or have you got someone else by now?’

His lips jammed together for a moment as if he was biting back a retort. ‘A year without sex is a long time, Jade, for both of us. I can’t see why we can’t have our cake and eat it too.’

Jade rolled her eyes at his play on words. ‘I want the money, not you, Nic. I thought I had made that perfectly clear.’

‘You say it with your mouth but not with your eyes,’ he said. ‘I give it a month at the most before you have them in sync. It’s all part of the game, isn’t it? It’s what you do to every man: make them want you so badly they forget about promises and principles.’

‘I can see you think you know me inside out,’ she said. ‘At least there won’t be any nasty surprises once we are married.’

‘I am afraid we will have to have a full-on wedding with all the regalia,’ he said after a short tense pause. ‘I hope that is not going to be a problem for you. It’s just that my family will expect it and so will the public.’

‘Fine,’ Jade said. ‘But I am not going to wear white or a veil.’

He tilted his head at her, a smile teasing the edges of his mouth upwards. ‘You’re not thinking of wearing black, are you? ‘

Jade held his look with defiance. ‘I’m not a virgin, Nic. I am not going to pretend to be something I am not.’

He frowned as if he found her statement somewhat bewildering. ‘I don’t recall saying that was a requirement of this arrangement. When it comes down to it, I am no angel myself. I probably should be ashamed to say this but I have lost count of the lovers I have had. You can probably still do a reasonably accurate tally.’

‘Nope,’ she lied, inspecting her nails. ‘I’ve lost count too. Ages ago.’

The silence pulsed for a beat or two.

She looked up to find him watching her with a brooding expression. ‘Is there anything else?’ she asked. ‘Any more tedious little rules I have to abide by?’

‘NO,’ he said, snatching up his jacket and shrugging himself into it. ‘That will be all for now. Just leave the press to me. I will handle the questions.’

Jade uncrossed her legs and got to her feet. ‘Yes, Master,’ she said and flicked the fine chain strap of her evening purse over her shoulder as she walked with swaying hips over to the door.

‘Careful, Jade,’ he warned. ‘One step out of line and the deal’s off. And don’t think I wouldn’t do it.’

Jade refused to let him see how unnerved she was by his threat. He might be calling her bluff but how could she know for sure? Of course she needed the money much more than he did. He had plenty of his own while she had nothing. But a year was going to change all that. She would finally be independent of her father. She would no longer need anyone’s largesse to survive. She schooled her features into meekness. ‘I will be a good girl, Nic, you just watch me.’