The Twelve Nights of Christmas

by Sarah Morgan

  ‘If you mention your bottom again, I will be forced to strip you naked and examine it in detail,’ Rio promised silkily and Evie exited the car faster than rum from a bottle.

  Just as he’d predicted, a flashlight immediately exploded in her face and she would have stopped if he hadn’t propelled her forwards through the doors that had been opened for him as soon as he’d stepped out of the car.

  ‘I thought you wanted to be seen,’ Evie hissed under her breath and he curved his hand around her waist and guided her into the exclusive store.

  ‘I never talk to the press,’ he purred. ‘I never give interviews. I have no intention of altering that pattern. We want this to look as authentic as possible, remember?’

  Exasperated, Evie stared up at him. ‘How are they supposed to know we’re engaged if you don’t tell them?’ Her face cleared. ‘Oh—I get it. I’m supposed to strategically flash the ring on the way out.’

  ‘We’ll leave by the back entrance so that no one will see us. In the event that there is a photographer covering the rear of the building, you hide the ring. You put your left hand in your pocket so that no one can get the shot.’

  ‘So we’re buying a ring to convince them we’re engaged, but we’re not going to let them see it?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Have you banged your head or something? You’re not making sense.’

  ‘I’m making perfect sense.’

  ‘Not to me. If we go out of the back of the building it’s going to look as though we don’t want them to see us.’

  ‘Exactly right.’ He smiled at the manager who was hovering discreetly. ‘Franco—’

  ‘Signor Zaccarelli—’ the man oozed deference ‘—it’s good to see you again.’

  ‘Again? How many women have you brought here?’ Evie muttered under her breath, but the only indication that Rio had heard her was his vice-like grip on her hand. ‘Squeeze any tighter and you’ll break my fingers and then you won’t get a ring over my knuckle.’

  Rio released his grip and urged her forward. ‘We need a diamond, Franco.’ He glanced down at Evie, a smile on his lips. ‘A very special diamond for a very special woman.’

  Evie was about to tell him that his smooth talk wasn’t the slightest bit convincing when he lowered his mouth and kissed her.

  Somewhere in the distance, through the swirling clouds of desire that descended on her brain, she heard one of the sales assistants sigh with envy.

  To her, it appeared completely staged but apparently Franco was convinced because he smiled, almost convulsing with delight as he led them through to a private room. ‘A very special diamond. Of course. You’ve come to the right place.’

  Evie sat there shell-shocked from the invasive pressure of his mouth, wishing they’d had a conversation about how they were going to play this. Had he said anything about kissing? And what was she supposed to do about the ring? Was she supposed to pick the least expensive one? Or maybe that didn’t matter. Presumably a man who considered a private jet to be an ‘economy’ wouldn’t care about the price of a diamond. Or maybe he was planning to ask for a refund when this was over.

  She threw Rio an agonized look but he simply smiled. The fact that he was so relaxed simply added to her growing tension.

  More aware than ever of the differences between them, Evie shifted uncomfortably and was about to say something when a slender girl entered the room carrying a box.

  A hush fell over the room and Evie glanced around her, wondering what was going on. Why was everyone silent?

  ‘It’s the Apoletta diamond,’ Franco told them in reverent tones, taking the box from the girl and opening it himself. ‘A thing of beauty and perfection, like your love.’

  Evie was about to suggest that if the ring was supposed to be a manifestation of their relationship then a small lump of coal might be more appropriate, but one look at Rio’s face stopped her. He was looking at her with such intensity that for a moment she stopped breathing and, during that one intimate glance, she made the unsettling discovery that she was as vulnerable to his particular brand of sexual magnetism as all the other women in the room. Even armed with his frank admission of his long list of deficiencies, she couldn’t control the explosion of excitement that held her in its grip.

  Rio ignored a question from Franco, his attention entirely on her. Then he slid his hand behind her neck and slowly but deliberately kissed her mouth, his lips lingering against hers for long enough to send her heart racing frantically out of control.

  ‘Ti amo,’ he said huskily and Evie, dazed by the look as much as the kiss, wondered what it would feel like if a man looked at you like that and meant it.

  Without taking his eyes from hers, Rio removed the ring from its velvet nest and slid it onto her finger with cool, confident hands and an unmistakable sense of purpose.

  Evie stared down at the incredible diamond, thinking about the sunny morning a few months earlier when Jeff had done the same thing. The ring Jeff had given her had been too big for her finger, whereas this one—‘It’s exactly the right size.’

  ‘Like Cinderella,’ one of the girls sighed and Evie frowned, wondering what was meant by that remark. Did she look as though she’d been cleaning the cellar in rags?

  ‘She means that it’s a perfect fit,’ Rio said dryly, apparently developing a sudden ability to read her mind. ‘And she’s right. It’s a perfect fit. We won’t have to have it adjusted.’

  Finding the fact that it fitted slightly spooky, Evie wondered whether it was a fluke or whether Rio was as skilled at guessing the size of her finger as he was her underwear and dress size.

  Good guesswork or a man experienced with women?

  Another girl entered the room. ‘I just thought you should know that it’s a media circus out the front.’ She sounded apologetic. ‘I have no idea how they discovered you were here. Someone must have tipped them off.’

  Rio’s jaw tightened and for a moment Evie genuinely believed he was annoyed.

  ‘Do you have another entrance?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  He made a swift phone call and rose to his feet, drawing Evie close to him. ‘My driver will meet us out the back. That way, no one should see us.’

  Evie hurried alongside him, conscious of the strength of his fingers locked with hers as they were led towards the back of the store. ‘Rio—’ she hissed his name ‘—don’t we have to pay or something? I don’t want to set the alarms off and have to spend Christmas in custody, if it’s all the same to you.’

  He didn’t slacken his stride. ‘It’s been dealt with.’

  ‘How? Where?’

  But he simply propelled her to the back of the store. Moments later, Rio’s driver was speeding through the back streets of London’s most exclusive area.

  Evie flopped back against the seat, twisting the ring on her finger. She tilted her hand, admiring it from every angle, watching as it sparkled and glinted. ‘I still don’t understand why you went to all that trouble to buy a ring if you’re not going to let anyone see it. You didn’t even let them see you leave the shop.’

  ‘They know I’ve left. The fact that I’m being secretive will make them more interested.’

  ‘I hope you don’t have an over-inflated idea of your own importance. Otherwise, this whole idea is going to fall flat on its face.’

  Rio’s response to that was to hold out his phone. ‘Call your grandfather.’

  ‘What, now?’ Evie had been putting off that moment and her stomach plummeted as she anticipated what her severe, principled grandfather would say about her current situation. ‘What am I supposed to say? Hi, Grandpa, you may be seeing a picture of me naked in today’s papers so I just wanted to tell you that I’m not starting a career as a glamour model—’

  ‘It won’t be in today’s papers. It’s too late for that. There’s a strong chance it will make tomorrow’s editions, but it may already be up on the Internet. Call.’

  ‘My grandfather doesn’t
surf the Internet. He’s eighty-six,’ Evie squeaked but her observation merely earned her a lift of an eyebrow.

  ‘What does his age have to do with anything?’

  ‘You wouldn’t be asking me that if you’d been to the Cedar Court Retirement Home. They celebrated when they got a decent TV picture. They probably think high speed broadband is another type of dressing for varicose veins.’

  He didn’t withdraw the phone. ‘Call.’

  ‘I can’t.’ Evie’s voice was a whisper and she shrank back against the seat as she tried to delay the inevitable. ‘This is the guy who took me on my first day at school. He taught me to ride a bike. He doesn’t believe in holding hands or kissing in public. I’m all he has in the world and he thinks I’m a really decent, old-fashioned girl… In fact, I am a decent, old fashioned girl, or I was until I met you.’

  ‘All the more reason to call him before he hears it from someone else.’

  Running out of excuses, Evie took the phone reluctantly. Her hand shook as she keyed in the number. As she waited for him to answer, she pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and tried not to think about how disappointed her grandfather was going to be.

  After all he’d done for her, after all his love and affection, he didn’t deserve this…

  ‘Grandpa? It’s Evie…how are you doing?’ Her voice sounded false to her and she wondered how long it would take her grandfather to pick up on the fact that something was wrong. ‘Are you staying warm there in all this snow?’ Maybe that was a good link, she thought desperately as she listened to his cheerful response—I was a bit too warm, Grandpa, so I thought I’d take my clothes off…

  ‘No, nothing’s wrong; I just thought I’d ring you for a chat.’ Aware that Rio was watching her, Evie carried on making small talk about the weather and listening to her grandfather’s observations about his friends. When he mentioned that he’d been boasting about her again to Mrs Fitzwilliam, two huge tears slipped from Evie’s eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand.

  With a sigh, Rio removed the phone from her. ‘Mr Anderson? Rio Zaccarelli here—no, we haven’t met, but I know your granddaughter—yes, I’m the same Zaccarelli that owns the hotel and spa chain—’ he leaned back in his seat, not looking remotely discomfited by the prospect of dealing with what could only be described as a hideously awkward situation ‘—yes, it’s still doing well, despite the economic climate—absolutely—’ he smiled ‘—that’s how I met Evie—’

  Worried that Rio might actually say something that would make things even worse, Evie gulped down her tears and tried to grab the phone but he held it out of reach, laughing at something her grandfather had just said.

  ‘I’ve already learned that to my cost—yes, she is—’

  Evie frowned. ‘I am what? What are you saying?’

  Rio ignored her. ‘I know about that. Yes, she told me. But his loss is my gain.’

  Were they talking about her broken engagement? Evie covered her eyes with her hands, all too able to imagine what her grandfather was saying.

  ‘Yes, a total loser—’ Rio’s voice became several shades cooler ‘—she’s better off without him… No, not too badly—that’s what we rang to tell you. We’re engaged. I know it seems sudden but you can blame me for that—when I see something I want, I have to have it and I’ve never felt like this about a woman before.’

  Evie peeped through her fingers and waited for Rio to pass the phone across so that she could receive a giant telling off from her strict grandfather. Instead, she heard laughter as Rio controlled the conversation.

  ‘We wanted to warn you that there might be some revealing photographs in the press. My fault entirely—they follow me around, I’m afraid—’ Rio’s voice was smooth and he gave a slight smile in response to something her grandfather said. ‘I agree—I’ve always said the same thing—that’s right. No—no, she’s fine—just a bit embarrassed because she’s pretty shy about that sort of stuff… Yes, I know she’s modest—’ he shot her an ironic glance ‘—well, I have my lawyers onto it but if anyone mentions it to you, you can tell them the photographer was trespassing in a private room—yes, I’ll hand you over—good to talk to you—look forward to meeting you in person—’ Having moulded her rock-hard war veteran grandfather into the consistency of porridge, Rio handed her the phone, a smug expression on his face. ‘He’s delighted. He wants to congratulate you in person.’

  Evie tentatively lifted the phone to her ear. ‘Grandpa—?’ She was unable to get a word in edgeways as her grandfather told her how delighted he was that she’d finally met a real man and proceeded to spend the next five minutes extolling Rio’s virtues, all of which appeared to centre around his ability to buck the market and grow his business, no matter what the economic challenges. The issue of the naked photograph appeared to have been absorbed along with all the other news.

  Finally, her grandfather drew breath. ‘Answer me one question—are you in love with him, Evie? That’s all I want to know.’

  Oh, dear God, how was she supposed to answer that? ‘I—’

  ‘It doesn’t matter that a man is rich—what matters is whether there’s strength and responsibility in his character. Rio Zaccarelli has all those qualities, but none of it matters if you don’t love him.’

  Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire. In order to stop her grandfather thinking she’d had a one-night stand, she’d gone along with Rio’s idea but suddenly she was being sucked deeper and deeper into the charade.

  Knowing her grandfather would worry, she gave the only answer she could. ‘I love him, Grandpa.’ She scowled as Rio raised his eyebrows, amusement shimmering in his black eyes. Doubtless he was so used to hearing besotted women say those words that he barely registered them.

  Her grandfather sounded ecstatic. ‘So it looks as though I might be bouncing that great-grandchild on my knee next Christmas after all.’

  Great-grandchild?

  Evie’s mouth dropped in dismay. Somehow she’d gone from naked in bed, to engaged and then straight to pregnant!

  How was she ever going to unravel this mess?

  Hoping Rio hadn’t overheard that particular part of the conversation, she lowered her head, allowing her hair to fall forward in a curtain, shielding her face. ‘Well—let’s just see how things go, Grandpa—no hurry—’

  ‘Of course there’s a hurry! I’m not getting any younger—’

  ‘Don’t say that. You know I hate it.’ The thought of losing him horrified her and, when Evie finally ended the call, her hands were still shaking. Listening to her grandfather’s animated voice had made her feel hideously guilty.

  Oblivious to her mounting distress, Rio took the phone from her, smiling with satisfaction. ‘That went well.’

  She rounded on him, her eyes glistening with tears. ‘That did not go well, Rio! I just lied to my eighty-six-year-old grandfather. How do you think that makes me feel?’

  ‘A great deal better than having to tell your eighty-six-year-old grandfather why you had a one-night stand with a man you’d never met before,’ he said coldly. ‘Calm down. If there happen to be any paparazzi around, I’d rather they didn’t print the fact that we were having a row within ten minutes of putting the rock on your finger. Your grandfather was delighted to hear that we’re together—a little surprised, perhaps, but basically pleased. I’m considered an incredible catch. You don’t have anything to worry about.’

  He reminded her of an armoured tank, forging forwards regardless of what was in his path. Her feelings were no more than blades of grass, easily squashed and ignored under the weight of his own driving sense of purpose.

  When Rio Zaccarelli wanted something, he got it. And apparently he was willing to go to any lengths to secure this particular ‘deal’.

  ‘Why didn’t I think this through? I’ve just raised his hopes and that’s an awful thing to do.’ Frantic, Evie reached for the phone again. ‘I have to tell him the truth, now, before this whole thing escalates and he
tells everyone I’m marrying a billionaire.’

  ‘Leave it.’

  ‘Rio, he thinks I’m going to get pregnant any moment! He wants to bounce his great-grandchild on his knee! I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.’

  But Rio had slipped the phone back into the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘You agreed to the plan.’

  ‘Because you railroaded me. I didn’t have time to think it through, but I can see now this is going to be really complicated and—’

  ‘It’s done. Too late.’ With an infuriating lack of emotion, he scanned the screen of his BlackBerry. ‘The switchboard at my corporate headquarters is jammed with journalists seeking confirmation that I’ve just become engaged. The story is out there.’

  Her stomach lurched. ‘And your people have confirmed it?’

  ‘They’ve said “no comment”, which is as good as demanding that the press print an announcement. It’s too late to change your mind now. Stop panicking. Your grandfather sounded fine about the whole thing. Tell me about Jeff.’

  Evie tried to ignore the throbbing pain behind her eyes. ‘I don’t want to talk about Jeff.’

  ‘I’m not surprised.’ Rio sprawled in his seat, texting with astonishing speed and dexterity. ‘He sounds like a total loser.’

  Evie stared at him in helpless disbelief. She wanted to explain how worried she was about hurting her grandfather’s feelings, but she knew she was wasting her time. Rio Zaccarelli didn’t care about feelings, did he? All he cared about was making sure his business proceeded unhindered.

  ‘I really don’t think I can go through with this.’

  Rio watched her, a deadly gleam in his eyes. ‘We made a deal.’

  ‘Yes.’ Evie croaked the word, knowing that she was trapped. If this was the only way to prevent that photograph being published, then she had no choice.

  Deals, deals, deals…

  She’d made a deal with the devil. And now she was going to pay.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  DRAGGING her aching limbs into the Penthouse suite, Evie toed off her shoes in relief and crumpled onto the rug. ‘How does anyone walk in these things?’ Staring up at the ceiling, she moved her toes gingerly. ‘I feel as though both my legs have been chewed by a shark.’