‘You finally cracked the code to the front door, then?’ he drawled, when she burst in ten minutes later holding a box of dog toys.
‘It’s still on the notes in my phone. I managed to input it without exciting your garage door. Last time I was here, it tried to rip off my top, you know!’
Nic glanced at the low-cut flowery t-shirt and reckoned he’d do the same, if given half a chance. Should he confess now that he’d had dreams where those breasts were taking over his face?
Thankfully, she couldn’t read his thoughts as she babbled on. ‘I thought I’d get on with making this place look like it belongs to a couple. I also wondered if we should tell Sophie that we met when I was in the south. Maybe we connected on an app, had a few dates and picked things up again when I moved back? She has more imagination than Steven Spielberg, so it’s best to give her a story. And I think anything thatwe can do to make this thing seem real will stop us from getting tripped up about our feelings for each other…’ Aria tailed off.
‘And what feelings might those be?’ Nic asked, genuinely interested to see where she was at with it all.
‘Fake ones, of course,’ she quickly confirmed.
***
It took them a while to cart her stuff inside. With it all finally piled up inside the front door, Aria held Tiger’s bed in her arms, unsure of where to put it. ‘He normally sleeps with me…’
Nic sighed. ‘I was thinking he’d stay in the garage, but I appreciate your swift change of mind, so let’s say what you do in your room is your own business.’ When he realised how that sounded, he changed tack. ‘Would you like to check the contract over and sign? Then maybe I can make us both some breakfast and talk you through what I’m thinking? Don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’
She lifted up a box and put it down with a clang on the worktop. ‘No.’
‘No?’ She didn’t seem stupid enough to sign without reading, but if that’s what she wanted, he was more than happy to go with it.
‘I want to add some clauses, so you’ll need to redraft it.’
Nic was taken aback. ‘Clauses?’
She nodded. ‘Your dad was right. Getting into bed with you, speaking metaphorically of course…’
‘Of course…’
‘…would require me giving up my principles. I agreed to this deal on a whim yesterday and it seems most of the benefit comes to you. But I think it could benefit me too. So, I need some sweeteners.’
‘Sweeteners?’ he repeated. Christ, was he a man or a parrot?
‘You know what I’m talking about. Conditions. You have yours and I need mine. I’d like you to ban boats from travelling more than ten miles an hour in the vicinity. There was a guy going hell for leather a while back on a jet ski that could have killed someone. I want the marina cancelled. It isn’t just the eyesore of the building I’m worried about – you’ll need parking for it, if you are opening a restaurant, and that will destroy even more green space. I have a couple of other clauses in mind about regulation and pollution. I’ve written them all down.’ She leaned back on the countertop as though winded. Then she perked up again. ‘Oh, and I take sugar in my coffee. I’m sure we’ll discover many other ways we are different in the coming days.’
Nic cracked his fingers. Cancel the marina? The woman had no idea how that would hamper his plans. He’d have to talk her round. ‘We can discuss the finer details and get Theo to redraft,’ he appeased her for now. ‘Donna Rushton has accepted my dinner invitation. If we can convince her our marriage plans are genuine, I think she may significantly help our cause.’
‘She’s Sophie’s mum you know? Maybe you should have asked her to move in with you, if you wanted access to the big cheese. Funnily enough, I thought you two—’
‘You thought we what?’
Aria blushed as red as the vine tomatoes sitting in a silver bowl on the counter. ‘Were together.’
‘Well, if we were, it might have been easier to manipulate things.’
A little offended, she ploughed straight on. ‘Donna is basically a cross between a nosy neighbour and a bailiff. She does keep the town’s best interests high on her agenda, I’ll give her that, but she also looks after herself.’
‘You know a lot about her.’
‘My dad hated her. But he knew how to butter her up. If we’re going to convince her we’re engaged, we’ll have to really grill each other about our likes and dislikes so we can fool her into thinking we’ve been together a while. Also, Sophie may have told her I didn’t have a boyfriend or that your place looked as sparse as a bachelor pad…’
‘We will cover all the angles.’ He pulled out an iPad and started noting her points.
‘She will also argue luxury homes, even holiday homes like these, force young people like her daughters out of the village or keep them at home into adulthood. I fear both Sophie and Donna may worry you’re building Trump Towers on the lake.’
‘We’ll prepare for those arguments together as well, if you are willing to back me up, just for that night.’ He glanced at his phone. ‘Right, we’re on for a week on Saturday.’ As she nodded agreement, he studied her. Her hair provided a copper-tinged frame to her beautiful face. She was dressed in lilacin this luxurious, impersonal house she seemed bursting with authenticity and life. Picking up the paperwork Theo had sent across, he put it aside for now, vowing to get moving on everything asap. They had less than two weeks to solve their issues and ‘clauses’, get to know each other’s history and convince a third party they were in love. That last part wouldn’t be too difficult – a more pressing issue might be keeping his hands off her. Was she as attracted to him as he was her? He’d never had that much trouble with women. Generally, they fell at his feet. But this one blew as hot and cold as a Lakeland wind and sometimes he thought it was a toss-up between getting burned or freezing his balls off if he stood too close.
29
