“Of course I’m not going back to my womanizing ways.” The accusation cuts deep. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a big fan of relationships. The less I knew about the women I slept with, the better. But not Zara. The thought of hurting her makes my chest physically ache.
“And how will you protect her from the paparazzi?” Marnie takes another sip of her drink. Oliver’s eyes are bouncing back and forth between the two of us like he’s watching a tennis match.
“He’s already done that. Next question.” Zara’s warm hand lands on mine. I flip it over, clutching her hand to me. I don’t have to look at her to know that she feels safe now whenever she leaves the safety of her house or school.
“Fine. Do you plan to cook for her?”
Bollocks.
“You do not want James in the kitchen. He burned spaghetti at uni.”
“How in the world do you burn spaghetti?” This time, Zara forces my eyes to hers. Laughter fills her eyes. I love seeing how happy she is. It fills me with a sense of calm that I didn’t know I wanted.
“I didn’t put enough water in.” My voice is quiet as I take a sip.
“You nearly burned down the house, mate!”
“Oy, shut it with the stories already!” I throw my napkin at Oliver. “I’m supposed to be winning over Marnie here.”
“Oh darling, you won me over the second I heard all about the night at the symphony.”
A blush creeps up Zara’s face as I look at her. “You told her?” I grab her by the waist, hauling her into my lap.
“Not everything.”
“Good. Because otherwise there might not be a repeat performance.” I nibble on her earlobe, not caring about the company we’re in.
“And on that note, I think you and I should head to the pub and get some more drinks.” Oliver stands, pulling out Marnie’s chair for her.
“That is a fab idea, Ollie.”
“Cheers then, mates. Zara, you’ll do just fine keeping this wanker in line.” Oliver winks at me as he guides Marnie out of the room.
“Piss off!” I shout behind his retreating back, then turn to Zara and vow, “I blame you for any stories that get leaked to the press tonight.”
She nuzzles her face into my neck. “And why would that be my fault?”
“Because now they’re friends, and Oliver is like a high-speed train anywhere he goes. Best to hold on and see what happens.”
“At least you know we can all hang out and it won’t be boring.”
I squeeze Zara closer to me. The space between us at dinner was far too much. Shite, now I’m sounding like a bloody romantic arsehole.
“You should know by now, Zara, that it will never be boring with me.”
Chapter Fourteen
James
“Ipromise, they’ll love you.” My voice is soft as I kiss along the shell of Zara’s ear. I can’t get enough of this woman. I’ve always been a one and done kind of man. Not something I’m proud of, but given my role in life, women only want one thing. And I was fine with that—until Zara came along. Now, all I want is her with me all the time.
“The last time I saw your mum I didn’t exactly make the best first impression.” She tilts her head just so, giving me better access. Her perfume lingers on the graceful slope of her neck. Christ, if we weren’t on our way to lunch with my family, I’d take her right here. She’s intoxicating.
“It wasn’t the best day for either of us. This will be a much better meeting. Besides, they’ll be so worked up over Ellie that they won’t even pay us any attention.” I drop a hot kiss where her shoulder meets her neck. The moan it elicits is downright dirty.
“Stop it. I don’t want to look like two sex-starved people when we get there.” Zara pushes me off of her, and I grumble a few choice words for her. “I want your family to like me.”
“You’ve tamed me. How could they not like you?” I pull Zara into my arms as we inch closer to the palace. Being with her is the only place I want to be lately.
