Snowbound Seduction: A Night of No Return / To Claim His Heir by Christmas / I'll Be Yours for Christmas

‘Do you want an estimate of the combined wealth of the people attending tonight?’

‘No. I assume that the Crown Prince alone is worth a fortune. I wonder why he isn’t married?’

Avery’s smile faded and her pretty face lost some of its colour. ‘Because, like you, he puts duty before his personal needs. Only in his case he intends to marry the boring virgin princess his father has picked out for him. I don’t know who I feel more sorry for.’

‘How do you know that?’ Emma stared at her. ‘Oh! You and he—’

‘Yes. But not for a while.’ Avery gave a bright smile. ‘Our Sultan-to-be needs a well behaved obedient bride prepared to honour and obey and, as you’ve probably guessed, I am so not that person. Even if I could occasionally obey, which is a major struggle if I’m honest, I totally bombed out at the word “virgin”.’

Emma wasn’t fooled by the light tone. ‘You’re in love with him.’

‘God, no,’ Avery answered just a little too quickly. ‘I’d never be stupid enough to love a man who doesn’t like me to argue with him. I’d never be so stupid as to love a man, full stop. Now what are we going to do about shoes for you?’

Emma looked at her closely but Avery was back to normal again as she made arrangements for the dress to be delivered to the hotel.

‘I’m worried this outfit is over the top. I’m his PA. I work for him and I want to continue working for him. This whole thing is so complicated.’

‘Welcome to the real world. Love is complicated. Why do you think I’m so careful to avoid it? Nothing can ruin a perfectly planned and ordered life like love.’

‘I’m not in love.’ Horrified and defensive, Emma removed the dress carefully. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘So here’s a little tip from an expert—’ Avery’s tone was conversational as she helped Emma out of the dress. ‘If you don’t want people to know you’re in love, be careful not to let your face light up like a halogen light bulb when his name is mentioned. I’ll deal with this while you get dressed—no, not the skirt you arrived in. Try this blue linen. It’s cool and professional. Perfect for meetings.’

It was just physical attraction, Emma told herself as she slid into the blue dress. She liked him, of course she did, but she wasn’t in love.

‘How is the dress? Businesslike?’

‘It’s perfect. What about you? Has there been someone else since the Prince? You must meet gorgeous men all the time.’

‘I do. Unfortunately I have a congenital urge to want what I can’t have.’ For a fleeting moment Avery’s eyes were sad and then she shrugged. ‘Are you ready?’

‘But if you have feelings for him then this whole party must be hell for you, because the Prince is going to be here,’ Emma said slowly as the implications sank in. ‘Why didn’t you turn it down?’

‘Pride.’ Avery gave a lopsided smile. ‘If I turned it down, people would think I was broken-hearted and I don’t want him to have that power over me. I intend to go out there and show that his careless, heartless attitude hasn’t made a dent in me.’

But Emma could see that it had. A big dent. ‘You must feel terrible.’

Avery gave a careless shrug. ‘Nothing that a pair of killer heels won’t cure. That and the money they’ll be transferring into my account when I’ve given them a party that no one is going to forget. This is business, Emma. I never feel terrible when I’m parting the rich from their money.’

Emma felt a flash of admiration. ‘You make me feel guilty for moaning. If you can go out there and pretend you’re not bothered so will I. Just share the secret of how you do it.’

‘Look fabulous,’ Avery said simply. ‘Show him what an excellent time you are having without him. And if it gets too much just text me and I’ll meet you in the Ladies. We can both cry in the toilet.’

* * *

Seriously distracted, Lucas tried to concentrate as Cristiano Ferrara outlined his objectives for the proposed development in Sicily. Across from him sat Emma, making notes in her usual efficient manner. Her hair was twisted into a severe, businesslike style and today she’d chosen to wear sober navy. A perfect choice. He’d insisted that their relationship remained professional and she was following that instruction with the same efficiency with which she followed every other instruction.

Everything should have felt fine.

It didn’t.

In the past he’d always managed to compartmentalize his life and Emma fell into the category marked ‘work’, but suddenly the edges of those compartments had broken down. Instead of focusing on the business, he found himself focusing on her. He noticed things he hadn’t noticed before, like the way she listened attentively to everything that was being said. She never missed a thing, which was what made her so good at her job. He was used to mixing with women who continually monitored their appearance and the effect they were having on the men around them. Emma did neither. If she was even aware of how she looked, she gave no sign of it.

He, however, was all too aware of it.

Never before had he had trouble forgetting a woman but he was finding it impossible to forget his one night with her. And it wasn’t just the physical, he thought. It was so much more than that. The fact that she’d stayed when she could have left. The fact that she’d refused to leave him even though she had responsibilities elsewhere. The way she’d tidied up all the evidence of the party so that he wouldn’t be upset. The way she’d covered him with a blanket.

He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of anyone’s warmth or compassion. He’d made his own way in the world, nurtured himself and provided his own comfort.

And now...

Just one night, he thought savagely. It had been just one night and he hadn’t been able to concentrate since. His body was in an almost permanent state of sexual arousal and as for his mind...

‘We’ll do a site appraisal,’ he said, realising that his friend was waiting for a response, ‘and then come back to you with an outline design that incorporates the features you just described.’ It had been a mistake to bring her to Zubran. He’d thought he would be able to continue as if nothing had happened, but that was proving more of a challenge than he’d anticipated.

Across the table, Cristiano raised an eyebrow in expectation. ‘Any initial ideas? Concepts? Normally, you’re already sketching by this point in our discussions.’

Normally, his brain wasn’t full of inappropriate thoughts. ‘You want me to build in the shadow of the largest active volcano in Europe. We’ll have to analyse the soil and consider the possible effects of volcanic activity. It isn’t an ordinary project by any means. Naturally we’ll address the usual issues of sustainability but air quality might have a negative impact on photovoltaic systems so we’ll need to be creative in our design.’ They talked at length about the Ferrara vision for the hotel while Emma continued to make notes.

Lucas knew that whatever emails needed to be sent would already be winging their way through cyberspace. She was as ruthlessly efficient as he was. Nothing went undone. Nothing was forgotten.

‘Fly over soon.’ Cristiano’s tone was conversational. ‘Why not spend a few days with us? Mix business with pleasure. I’ll take you to see the site and you can get a better feel for the area.’

Mix business with pleasure.

He’d already done that, Lucas thought, with devastating consequences. He’d thought it would be easy to put that one night behind him, the way he’d put other nights behind him in the past. But this time was different.