Would that job still be hers if she continued to plague him, to delude herself that they could ever get back together? Possibly not. Or possibly she could be transferred. The magazine was global. Life on the other side of the world would be quite different, she would find, and maybe not to her liking.
Who knew?
He had suggested an emergency of an unknown nature, too private to share, might be an excellent excuse for her hasty and premature departure from Courchevel. He was quite certain John and Philippa would understand.
In the end, he had thought, life was all about survival. He had learnt that from a young age. An irresponsible and drug-dependent parent and a couple of years in foster care, at the mercy of strangers, was a terrific lesson in instilling toughness and if he had wavered for a brief window in time, he was determined not to do so any longer.
Caitlin had read his message loud and clear. Her time was up. She’d left on the first flight back and there had been no further need for any public displays of affection.
‘So you can relax,’ he had informed Jess, and he’d raised both hands in a gesture of amused mock surrender as she had breathed an audible sigh of relief and smiled.
Since then...? The battle against temptation.
He wanted to touch her. He wanted to touch her when they were away from public scrutiny and he wanted to touch her when they were in the presence of other people and he didn’t really care who those other people were.
It all went against the grain. He had never been the kind of guy who liked public displays of affection. His friends were well aware of that, which was why Jess, as his plus one, had been such a good idea. Their ‘relationship’ would require no physical proof.
But he hadn’t banked on her getting under his skin in all sorts of ways he would never have dreamt possible.
The more he itched to touch her, the greater his realisation that it would be a sign of weakness to do so. Worse was the fact that Jess wasn’t one of his hot blondes with a sell-by date. He cared about her sufficiently to know that if he ever hurt her, he would never forgive himself. He was incapable of love and would never be willing to try and Jess was a woman who would never want anything less than a proper relationship.
So he fought the urge.
And he was aided by the fact that the attraction did not seem to be mutual. Zero. Zilch.
Aside from that one kiss when he had spotted Caitlin. Then he had kissed her and she had given herself utterly to that kiss, had moved her body against his until he had lost sight of the fact that they should have been kissing for effect only.
But since then she had returned to that comfortable place where they were great friends. Unfortunately, that place was one he no longer had much interest in occupying, even if it made sense.
Waiting for her now so that they could get to the venue for the wedding, his mind was a million miles away, playing with imagery he wanted to banish but couldn’t.
Had he learntnothingfrom his bruising experience with Caitlin? Hadn’t it hit home that letting any form of emotion take precedence over common sense was something to be avoided at all costs?
Evidently not because his body was calling the shots and it infuriated him.
In the midst of his mental meanderings, he was only alerted to the fact that Jess had appeared because the noise levels of the people around him seemed to fade for a few seconds and then he raised his head, focused and saw her...
He’d thought that seeing her in that dress the other night, sexy as hell, couldn’t be topped when it came to being knocked for six. He’d been wrong.
She was wearing a long red velvet figure-hugging dress that had a sufficiently dipped neckline to reveal the shadow of a bountiful cleavage. The dress was sleeveless, and a cream faux fur wrap was casually draped over her shoulders.
And the shoes... High enough for her to be on eye level with him and certainly to tower over every other woman in the vicinity.
Curtis took deep breaths and forced a smile on his face as he moved towards her.
‘You look...’
‘Incredible?’ Jess laughed and looked up at him. Did she sound normal? She hoped so. She’d spent the past day and a half trying to appear very normal. Everything back on solid ground! Friends as they always had been! No more nonsense, having to pretend to be in a phoney relationship!
Caitlin had disappeared. She had no idea what Curtis had said to her but, whatever he’d said, it had worked.
She should have been sagging with relief that she would no longer have to put her weakness for him to the test, would no longer have to endure the dangerous racing of her pulse whenever he casually touched her to keep up appearances.
That kissshe had decided to conveniently shove to the back of her mind. He hadn’t said anything since and there was no way she had any intention of raising the subject.
But it had been a heroic feat of willpower, trying to reveal nothing for the past day and a half and to be jolly and affectionate, the way she always had been, whilst being acutely conscious of the fact that lines had been breached whether she wanted to face it or not.
Lines had been breached...and words had been uttered that couldn’t be taken back.
