Lukas would never change. Hardly anyone came into his home and still he wanted to put barriers around what they shared. Hoard as much of the relationship for himself so no one else could peer in. Did he realise that that kind of behaviour made people more curious?
‘Come here,’ he called as he kicked off his shoes and settled on the large bed with one arm under his head, the other stretched out beckoning her.
She couldn’t resist.
She joined him, marvelling at how tranquil, how content she was when his arm curled around her.
‘I suppose that’s a pretty good spot for it,’ she said. ‘In the morning, when the sun catches the crystal—’
‘You’ll be here to see it because you’ll be in my bed.’ He hovered over her and she ran her fingers over his soft lips.
‘I thought you wanted some separation.’ An assumption based on him having given her a room on a different floor. Her workspace was also away from his. So this was a big change. One that emphasized how real the feelings in this fake romance were becoming.
‘I want you in my arms and in my home, Katherine. We might not be blessed with a lot of time, but we can make the most of what we’ve been given.’
But what if they had more time? She could wake up beside Lukas on some mornings, on others she would wake to the scent of coffee and him shirtless and sweaty. She could work in the office he provided her. Maybe they would travel to the tracks together. He’d race and she would report and then they would come back to each other every night. That didn’t seem so bad. He’d had a vasectomy so there was no risk of a family that might force her to give up her dreams.
With Lukas, she was safe to pursue the life she wanted.
‘I want that too,’ she whispered, and he kissed her. It was volcanic. Their passion erupting around them. Sweeping them away and then a loud ping pierced the air.
Katherine groaned. ‘I need to check that. It could be work.’ It most likely was.
Lukas loosened his hold, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw a new email from Jennifer. She opened the email and her stomach sank.
…I know you asked me not to run the article…Katherine read…but it will be out tomorrow.
Tomorrow!
No. No! This couldn’t be happening!
‘What’s wrong?’ Lukas asked.
‘I’m not sure yet. I need to call Jennifer.’ She tried to hide her trembling and gave Lukas a crushing kiss. This call would be make-or-break for them.
Katherine went down to the lounge, as far away from Lukas as she could get, and called her editor. Jennifer answered immediately.
‘You said you’d pull the article.’ Katherine didn’t bother with pleasantries now. This was a disaster. Lukas could never see what she had written. Those words felt like a lifetime ago.
‘I know I did, but there’s so much buzz around you two right now, Kat. That article is a goldmine.’
Katherine pulled off the ring she wore on her free hand, anxiously toying with it while she tried to figure out a way to get Jennifer to change her mind.
‘That’s not the truth. Tell me why you’re really publishing it,’ she demanded.
‘You want the truth? Fine. The truth is we asked the two of you to pose as a couple. Generate interest. What we got is a shopping expedition, Lukas trying to hide you away from the cameras and some shots of you standing on a boat.’
Every one of those moments was so much more than Jennifer made them sound. Right now, Katherine was in a room filled with Christmas decorations because that was how far they had come. ‘That’s enough to hint at a relationship, Jennifer.’
‘Did we ask for hints? We wanted you to leave the meeting hand in hand. What does that tell you, Kat? I warned you in that meeting what would happen.’
‘Warned me? Bringing up the article was more like blackmail, Jennifer. We established that the things I wrote aren’t true. We have more information now that surely warrants a rewrite.’ Maybe if she could speak to Lukas, she could pen something that he would be happy with being out in the world. A piece that didn’t shatter this dream they had only just found.
‘They aren’t untrue, Kat. There’s still a valid angle here,’ Jennifer said, ‘And having the article come from you is going to blow up traffic to the site, which is what I care about. But you know the others will be happy too, because people will tune in just to see what happens between you and Lukas in the aftermath.’
She was nauseous.
‘Is there any way at all I can convince you not to run it. Anything?’ She knew she sounded desperate now but she didn’t care. The thoughtful man up in his room who had made her feel seen and protected deserved better.
