Marriage Bargain With His Innocent (HQR Presents)

by Cathy Williams

  He stood up, strolled to the window, peered out at an uninspiring view of the back of the building, where tall plastic bins were arranged like soldiers against the wall.

  He slowly spun round to look at her, half sat on the broad window ledge. ‘You were right. She’s the happiest I’ve heard her in a long time. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.’

  ‘So,’ Georgina said slowly, ‘what you’re saying is that you didn’t tell her that it’s off...?’

  ‘How could I?’

  ‘That’s a bit of a problem, then, isn’t it? Considering you told me in no uncertain terms that you weren’t going to pretend anything for the sake of your mother.’

  Matias flushed darkly. ‘Don’t think that I approve of the way you auditioned me for a role I hadn’t applied for,’ he reminded her abruptly. ‘But here we are. I didn’t have the heart to break the bad news down the phone so we’ll play this game—but the way I see it this will be a temporary situation. It beggars belief that my mother has fallen for your outrageously improbable scenario, but if it’s aiding her recovery then it’s something I will have to accept.’

  Georgina didn’t say anything. She had thought so far and no further when it came to this charade. Now a shiver of unease rippled through her and she looked at Matias from under lowered lashes.

  He was the king of urban, sophisticated cool and he was supposed to be going out with her. She, too, marvelled that his mother hadn’t fainted with disbelief at the improbable scenario.

  They were supposed to be an item. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Lovers...

  Her stomach lurched, because her imagination threatened to veer off in all sorts of uncharted directions.

  ‘So...’ Matias picked up the thread of the conversation. His voice was clipped and businesslike, ‘I’m here to briefly discuss the mechanics of this situation. What have you told my mother about us? How much winging it have you done?’

  ‘Can’t we discuss this another time?’ she replied vaguely.

  ‘Another time?’

  ‘Next week? On the phone, perhaps?’

  ‘Are you living in the real world, Georgie? My mother thinks we’re going out with one another in some happy-against-all-odds scenario and you want to discuss the details of our so-called relationship on the phone next week? Maybe?’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I’m saying,’ Matias imparted coolly, ‘that we’ll both be leaving for Cornwall in the morning. My mother is expecting us. When we get there, having our stories match up might be an idea.’

  ‘You say that you see this as a temporary situation...do you have a timeline in sight?’

  Georgina regretted every second of whatever crazy impulse had plunged her into this mess. It had been a lot easier dealing with a fictional situation. Even when she had boarded that train to London she had not really thought about facing Matias in the flesh. He’d been much easier to deal with in her head. Less intimidating, less forbidding, pretty much less...everything.

  ‘I have—and it’s not a long one. We go down...we indulge in this charade for a few days... Sooner rather than later things can begin to go downhill. I’m happy to carry the can for the inevitable. There are too many differences between us... It’s only become apparent now that we’re spending a lot of undiluted time with one another... Put it this way: I can spare a couple of weeks and then I have meetings in the Far East. It would be preferable if all this is sorted before I go.’

  ‘A couple of weeks...’ She felt as though she’d hopped on a rollercoaster only to find that it was spinning a lot faster than she’d anticipated.

  ‘I don’t see a problem with that.’

  ‘But your mother might be down in the dumps again at the rapid demise of our relationship.’

  ‘Which is something you should have considered before you had your light bulb moment. We could hash all this out on the drive down tomorrow, but I think it better if we cover the basics now. I’m going to have to work for the majority of the trip, bearing in mind I’ll be leaving the office without warning.’

  ‘You’re going to work while you drive?’

  ‘Of course not, Georgie! My driver will take us and I’ll work in the back. You can bring a book, or some knitting, or whatever you need to occupy your time. We can fine-tune our stories just before we reach my mother’s house.’

  He fixed his amazing eyes on her and Georgina had the curious sensation of free falling. Her stomach lurched and swooped as her eyes drifted down to his mouth and then immediately skittered away. She licked her lips and croaked some nonsense about having some work to do for her next job.

  ‘Right,’ he said, as her voice tapered off, ‘how is it that we’ve gone from war zone to bedroom in such a short space of time?’

  ‘I haven’t thought through the details,’ she admitted. ‘I suppose we can say it was just one of those things. Opposites attracting. It happens. I mean, you have a long history of being attracted to women who are nothing like you.’

  ‘Nor are they like you,’ he inserted smoothly. ‘Aside from which, I’ve never had a serious relationship with any of them—not like the one we’re supposed to be having...’

  ‘I acted on impulse,’ Georgina said in a muted voice. ‘I would never normally think of deceiving anyone, but before I could think things through—work out how it’s even credible that the two of us could ever have anything going—I’d come right out and spun a story. I’m sorry about that. You’ve been cornered into doing something you don’t want to do, and I don’t blame you if you’re seething.’

  ‘Forget it.’ Matias looked at her.

  ‘I never even stopped to think that you might actually be going out with someone...one of your ditzy blondes...’

  ‘You were so wrapped up in cheering up my mother that rational thought took a back seat?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘So, it’s a very good thing that I’m going to be in charge of making sure that that doesn’t happen again. We will do what is necessary and make sure that the boundary lines are firmly in place.’

  ‘Meaning...?’ Georgina automatically bristled.

  Matias didn’t say anything for a few taut seconds. Out of the blue he was thinking back to that luscious body—a body he would never have guessed lay beneath the layers of unattractive flowing sacks she was so fond of wearing. His libido kicked into gear again and he scowled.

  ‘Meaning we don’t forget that this is a convenient charade...’

  There was no way Matias was going to give in to that sudden, inexplicable surge in his libido. When it came to relationships Georgina White was after the real thing. Once upon a time she’d been engaged, and she’d been stood up at the last minute. That didn’t mean she’d shut the door on her dreams. That wasn’t her nature. But she’d been hurt once. There was no way he would ever be responsible for hurting her again by taking what his libido had wanted when he’d seen her in those next-to-nothing pyjamas.

  ‘I won’t forget,’ Georgina returned stiffly. ‘And once again I apologise for landing you in this mess. Your life is so well ordered—this must be a nightmare for you to take in.’

  ‘Now, why do I sense an implied insult behind that butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-your-mouth remark?’ Matias drawled, glancing at her full lips and absently noting how perfectly defined they were. Like rosebuds the colour of crushed raspberries. Funny he’d never noticed that before...

  He lifted his dark eyes to hers. ‘I really wouldn’t waste time regretting what you’ve done. What’s the point? The fact is that we’re here now...in this together for better or for worse, so to speak.’

  ‘I didn’t stop to think things through.’ Georgina chewed her lip and shot him a worried glance. ‘I never considered the ramifications of how your mother would feel when it all...you know...collapsed...’

  ‘That’s a bridge to be crossed when we get
to it. You’re projecting ahead. She’ll be fine.’ He looked at her, his dark eyes brooding. ‘At least once it’s over she’ll be able to think that I’m capable of holding down a relationship with a woman who isn’t obsessed with her physical appearance.’

  ‘Until you return to your catwalk model blondes,’ Georgina pointed out absently.

  He shot her a crooked grin that did all sorts of annoying things to her heart-rate. Had she spent her entire life oblivious to just how spectacular Matias was? she wondered. No, that wasn’t it. She’d always known just how spectacular he was. It was just that now the situation between them was leading her to think thoughts that were taboo—wicked thoughts about what that lean, muscular body might look like underneath his clothes.

  A Pandora’s box was opening and she knew that she had to make sure it stayed shut. She wasn’t an impressionable teenager any more! And, as he had coolly pointed out, this was a charade—a piece of fiction with no basis in reality.

  ‘Maybe I’ll go for a different type next time round,’ he drawled, standing up. He stretched, flexed his muscles and strolled towards the door.

  ‘What about all these details you want to put into place before tomorrow?’ Georgina remained where she was. ‘I thought you rushed over here to iron everything out because you’re going to work in the car on the way down?’

  His hand was on the doorknob as he turned to look at her thoughtfully. ‘Question: did you ask for the house tour because you needed some background information to consolidate the myth that we’ve been meeting secretly, and it would have seemed odd if my mother had asked you about my house and drawn a blank?’

  Georgina reddened, and then nodded sheepishly, at which Matias burst out laughing.

  ‘You’re one of a kind, Georgie,’ he mused, rocking on his heels and looking at her in silence for long enough for her to start feeling hot and bothered. ‘And one of a kind is certainly going to be a novelty for me.’

  He opened the door. ‘I’ll text you before I leave tomorrow to come and fetch you. And then our little adventure will begin...’

  CHAPTER THREE

  HE’D PHONED TO SAY he would be there at two sharp, and right on time Matias arrived to collect her. He didn’t leave the car, instead choosing to phone her mobile and then wait, working in the back seat of the Mercedes, while she settled the bill and exchanged a few pleasantries with the owner.

  It was another lovely day. Summer was promising never to end and Georgina wished that she had brought something other than the long skirt she had worn the day before and a change of top.

  Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, she walked briskly towards the one and only car on the road she knew had to be his because it was the one and only car that had tinted windows and looked as though it had been driven straight from a showroom. She stepped into air-conditioned cool and shut the door behind her.

  Knowing that her plan was in danger of being put into action, she had spent what had remained of the night tossing and turning and projecting into the future. Matias had made it sound easy. They’d appear together, they’d begin to argue, they’d break up and lo and behold everything would be done and dusted in two weeks, leaving a saddened but more upbeat Rose who would no longer be prone to depression.

  Georgina was uneasily aware that she might have bitten off more than she could chew, and that the easily digestible scenario Matias had painted might turn into a horrendous nightmare. But he had come on board and it was too late to back out now.

  She met his eyes as she shuffled to find a comfortable position next to him while strapping herself in. Suddenly she was lost for words, and shy in a way she never had been before in his presence.

  ‘I’ve had a few hours to think about this,’ he opened without preamble, snapping shut his computer and fixing her with his amazing silver-grey eyes.

  He slid shut the partition separating his driver from them for privacy.

  ‘Have you had a change of mind?’ she asked,

  ‘On the contrary,’ Matias drawled. ‘If you knew me at all, you’d know that once I make my mind up on a certain course of action I stick to it. Which brings me to what I was thinking about after I left you.’

  ‘Which was what?’

  The car had slid silently away from the kerb, and with the tinted windows and the lack of noise she felt cocooned in a luxurious bubble. The outside world had ceased to exist. From his house to his car, every single aspect of him oozed extreme wealth. No one would ever guess that he came from a working class background where luxuries had been few and far between.

  ‘However weirdly unquestioning my mother has been about the details of our so-called relationship, she’s not stupid. She does know me, and she knows that it’s unlikely that I would suddenly be attracted to someone who doesn’t at the very least make an effort to dress properly.’

  A slow wash of colour rushed to her cheeks and Georgina felt a swell of rage. ‘What are you trying to say?’

  ‘You know what I’m trying to say. Flowing skirts? Baggy tops? Shoes made for hiking in rough terrain?’

  ‘Do you have any idea how rude you’re being right now?’ she said tightly.

  ‘You have my sincere apologies—’

  ‘I’m a food photographer.’ She ignored the token lip service he had paid, trying to placate her. Her voice was cold and steely. ‘I’m freelance. There’s no need for me to have a wardrobe of power suits and cocktail outfits.’

  ‘Which is exactly why we won’t be heading for that section of Selfridges.’

  ‘What are you talking about? Why would we be going to Selfridges?’ The rollercoaster sensation was back with a vengeance. ‘I’m not following you.’

  ‘If we’re going to do this, then we’re going to do it properly, Georgie. No half-measures. We need to be convincing. The alternative is that my mother suspects it’s all a crock of lies and her health is set back even more than before. She will lose trust in both of us.’

  Georgina didn’t say anything because he was painting a graphic picture. He was also making her realise just how sketchy she had been when she had told that first little white lie.

  ‘We might be able to gloss over the little technicality that we’ve previously spent most of our time together engaged in a series of low-level arguments... We might just be able to pull off that old chestnut of—as you’ve said—opposites attracting. But beyond that the details have to carry some verisimilitude.’

  And after a long line of catwalk models, Georgina thought furiously, it would beggar belief that he would go for someone who didn’t think twice about snapping up bargain buys in the clothes section of a supermarket.

  ‘Well, what about you dressing down?’ she fired back.

  ‘For example...?’ he returned smoothly, with an undercurrent of amusement in his voice.

  ‘Well, less of the designer cool and more of the beach bum!’

  ‘Interesting thought.’ He sat back, leaning against the car door, his legs sprawled apart, one hand resting loosely on his thigh. ‘What would that be? Ill-fitting flowered shirt? Cheap shorts? Flip-flops? Is that the kind of look you would go for?’

  Georgina blushed and looked away. The man was so good-looking that he would pull off a bin bag and he knew it. Hence the smile that made her want to grind her teeth together in frustration.

  ‘No one would ever believe that you would wear anything as casual as flowered shirts and flip-flops, Matias. Even when you’re relaxing you give the impression that you’d really rather be working.’

  ‘I had no idea you could be so accurate when it came to reading me. Maybe there’s more substance to our relationship than meets the eye...’

  ‘We don’t have a relationship—and I won’t be dressing like that woman you dispatched yesterday.’

  ‘I’m shocked you’re not kicking up more of a fight over this,’ Matias admitted with honesty.
>
  ‘Is that what you think I do? Kick up a fight over everything?’

  That stung for some reason, because there was an element of truth in it. She knew that she picked at him, but she quickly told herself that he deserved it. He hardly ever came down to visit his mother...he always made it abundantly clear that he had moved on and was bored with the place he came from...he hadn’t even shown up to his dad’s funeral!

  And yet so much about him refused to be corralled into neat little boxes.

  ‘Not everything,’ Matias conceded. ‘At least not in the company of other people. I’ve seen you laugh, so I know that when it comes to picking fights I’m the special one in your life. I get the folded arms and the scowls.’ He grinned, watched her colour rise, perversely enjoying it.

  ‘We’ve had our differences...’ Georgina could feel her cheeks suffused with colour. ‘But it’s only because I’ve always been close to your parents.’ She hesitated, then found herself confiding, ‘I adored mine, of course, but I didn’t have loads in common with them. I liked art and taking pictures and rummaging in the undergrowth. And you know my parents, Matias...they were all about intellectual pursuits. I think they pretty much packed it in with me when I hit my teens.’

  This was something Georgina had never confessed to anyone, and she was surprised that she was confessing it now—especially to Matias—but then wasn’t that part and parcel of his compelling personality? So cool, so controlled, so annoying. And yet...and yet...he could engage with her on levels no other man she had ever met had been able to.

  ‘Meaning...?’

  Georgina laughed, and that did something to Matias’s libido again, reminded him of those sexy, unexpected little curves he had glimpsed the night before.

  ‘I stopped getting big, thick books for birthday presents,’ she said drily, ‘and my mum stopped slipping law, international politics and university into the conversation.’

  ‘I never knew you were bothered by that,’ Matias murmured, an element of surprise in his voice.

  ‘A bit. But they were great when it came to supporting my decision to go into photography.’