‘Good to meet you. Please come in.’
He guided the man into the hallway, just as Soli made a timely appearance at the top of the stairs.
The two men looked up at her as she descended, and Pinker once again held out his hand in greeting as Soli reached the bottom stair.
Soli, to her credit, appeared to be totally relaxed as she shook his hand and introduced herself, giving Pinker a warm smile that lit up her whole face.
Xavier’s stomach did an odd swoop as he once again thought how attractive she looked with her wild curls framing her pretty face and her cheeks pink and a little sleep-creased. The robe she’d found in his bedroom was far too big for her, but it only enhanced how feminine and delicate she was.
He had the strangest compulsion to wrap his arms around her, to protect her from Pinker’s searching gaze, but he held back, not wanting to spook her and give the two of them away.
To his surprise, Soli appeared to have the same urge to touch him, and he gave a small involuntary grunt of surprise as she walked straight up to him and slid her arms around his middle, pulling herself close so they were chest to chest. He looked down to see she was gazing adoringly into his eyes.
His heart did a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn.
Remembering the exercise they’d done only the night before, he maintained eye contact with her, immediately recalling that same close connection he’d experienced, so didn’t even blink when she stood on tiptoe to plant a light, soft kiss on his mouth.
The sweet, sleep-warmed scent of her invaded his consciousness, making his senses reel and his body instinctively tighten with lust.
Ah, hell. If she pressed herself any closer to him there was a good chance this could turn into a very embarrassing moment indeed.
Luckily, she pulled away before he completely lost control of the situation and turned to smile at Pinker, who was watching them with a focused sort of smile on his face.
‘Can I get you a cup of coffee, Mr Pinker?’ she asked him. ‘We were just about to have one.’
To Xavier’s surprise, Pinker shook his head. ‘No, thank you, Mrs McQueen. I only popped in so I could tick the “living together” box on the paperwork. It’s very clear you both live here, what with me turning up at such an ungodly hour at the weekend and finding you in residence. I do apologise for any inconvenience caused – it’s my job, you know?’
‘Of course! We totally understand,’ Soli said, with warmth in her voice.
‘Well, I’ll let you good people enjoy the rest of your morning,’ Pinker said, tipping Soli a courteous nod and offering Xavier a smile. ‘No doubt I’ll see the two of you again at some point. Until then…’ He made for the door, giving Xavier a nod of thanks when he opened it for him, and vanished outside.
Xavier waited until he saw Pinker’s car pull out of the driveway before shutting the door with a sigh of relief and turning to face Soli.
‘Well done,’ he said, walking towards where she still stood by the stairs. ‘I think we convinced him.’
Soli smiled back, looking a bit sheepish now. ‘Sorry for kissing you like that without warning, but I thought it would look more authentic. It’s the sort of thing I’d do if we were really married.’
‘No problem,’ he said, lifting a hand to touch his lips where the ghost of Soli’s kiss still lingered. ‘It’s a good job you insisted on that eye-gazing thing yesterday – it made it a lot easier for me to look at you.’
‘Thanks. I think,’ Soli said, flashing him a rueful grin.
‘I didn’t mean…’ He shook his head, irritated with himself. ‘I meant it made it easier to be immediately intimate with each other.’
‘I knew what you meant,’ Soli said, widening her grin, evidently enjoying winding him up.
He couldn’t help but smile back at her, a surge of relief-filled happiness appearing out of nowhere. Clearly, he’d made the right choice in Soli for his pretend wife. Her quick reaction today gave him confidence they’d actually be able to pull this thing off at the party this evening.
‘Oh, wow!’ Soli said loudly.
‘What?’ he asked, startled.
‘Your smile. It’s incredible. You should do that more often.’
‘Uh, thanks.’ He smiled again in a show of nonchalant acceptance, but her words had made a tingle shoot straight up his spine. No one had complimented him on his smile in a very long time. Perhaps because he hadn’t had much to smile about.
They stood there, just looking at each other for a couple of beats, and once again Xavier had the weirdest feeling that Soli was someone he could really trust and rely on. Strangely – considering she was still practically a stranger to him – she was one of the few people he’d ever felt that about.
She looked back at him with curiosity in her eyes. And something else. Something that made his skin heat and his body tense with arousal.
