A Secret Worth Keeping?. Robyn Donald
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head around to stare at the closed door. Wrenching it open, she found herself momentarily breathless when she found him filling the space, one arm raised to rest across the top of the doorjamb, making him seem impossibly tall.
She pushed past him and tried to ignore the skitters of sensation that raced through her as her body brushed his. Anger. It was only anger firing her blood.
Taking a couple of calming breaths, she turned to face him. ‘No one is going to believe we’re a couple.’
‘Why not?’
Miller rolled her eyes. ‘For one, I don’t exactly mix in your circles. And for two, I’m not your type and you’re not mine.’
‘You’re a woman. I’m a man. We share a mutual attraction we can’t ignore. Happens all the time.’
To him, maybe.
Miller smoothed her brows, her mind filled with an endless list of problems. ‘You’re right. We can’t say we met at yoga...’
‘Listen, you’re blowing this out of proportion. Let’s keep it as close to the truth as we can. We met at a bar. Liked each other. End of story. That way you’ll feel more comfortable and it’s highly probable—not to mention true.’
Except for the liking part. Right now Miller couldn’t recall liking anyone less.
Valentino opened his bag on the bed.
‘Why are you here?’ she asked softly.
His eyes met hers. Held. ‘You know why I’m here,’ he said, just as softly. ‘You challenged me to be here.’
Miller arched an eyebrow. ‘I thought you said you were thirty-three, not thirteen.’
A crooked grin kicked up the corners of his mouth and he pulled his shirt up over his rippling chest. Lord, did men really look that good unairbrushed?
Last night’s dream flashed before her eyes and she was relieved when he turned his back on her. Only then she got to view his impressive back, and her eyes automatically followed the line of his spine indented between lean, hard muscle. ‘What exactly are you doing?’
He dropped his T-shirt on the bed and turned to face her. ‘Changing my shirt for dinner. I don’t want to embarrass you by coming across too casual to meet your friends.’
Ha! Now that she knew who he was she knew he’d impress everyone downstairs even in a clown suit.
* * *
Tino shrugged into his shirt and tiny pinpricks of heat glanced across his back as he felt Miller’s eyes on him. A powerful surge of lust and the desire to press her up against the nearest wall and explore the attraction simmering between them completely astounded him. He’d been trying to keep things light and breezy between them—his usual modus operandi—but his libido was insistently arguing the toss.
‘Next time I’d prefer you to use the bathroom,’ she said stiffly. ‘And these people aren’t my friends. They’re business colleagues—although as to that I doubt I’ll know many of the other people in attendance.’
‘How many are staying here?’
‘I think six others tonight. Tomorrow night at TJ’s fiftieth party I have no idea.’
‘I thought this was a business weekend?’
‘TJ likes to multi-task.’
Tino rolled his silk shirt sleeves and noticed her frowning at his forearms. ‘Problem?’
His question galvanised her into action and she crossed to her small suitcase and started rifling through it.
‘I’ll be ten minutes.’
Five minutes later she reappeared in the doorway and padded over to the wardrobe. She barely looked different from the way she had when she’d gone in. Black tailored pants, a black beaded top, and a thin pink belt bissecting the two. She perched on the armchair and secured a fancy pair of stilettos on her dainty feet. The silence between them was deafening.
‘Am I getting the silent treatment?’
She exhaled slowly and he noticed the way the beads on her top swayed from side to side. ‘I hope you’re not currently in a relationship.’
‘Would I be here with you if I was?’
‘I don’t know. Would you?’
Her chin had come up and he was surprised he had to control irritation at her deliberate slur. She didn’t know him, and he supposed, given his reputation—which wasn’t half as extensive as the press made out—it was a valid question.
‘Okay, I’m going to humour that question with an answer—because we don’t know each other and I understand you feel compromised by the fact that I’m a known personality. I don’t date more than one woman at a time and I never cheat.’
‘Fine. I just...’ Her hand fluttered between them. ‘If we really were going out you’d know I hate surprises.’
‘Why is that?’
She glanced away. ‘I just do.’
Her answer was clipped and he knew there was a story behind her flat tone.
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance you can just fade into the background and not draw attention to yourself, is there?’
Tino nearly laughed. So much for coming on to him once she found out who he was. He shook his head at his own arrogance. But, hell, most women he met simpered and preened and asked stupid questions about how many cars he owned and how fast he drove. This gorgeous female was still treating him like a disease. And she was gorgeous. She’d dusted her sexy mouth with a peach-coloured gloss that made him want to lick it right off.
‘We need to go downstairs.’ She sounded as if she was about to face a firing squad.
She grabbed a black wrap from the back of the cream chair and stopped suddenly, nearly colliding with him. He felt a shaft of heat spear south as he touched her elbow to steady her, and knew she felt the same buzz by the way she pulled back and went all wide-eyed with shock, just as she had by the car.
A shock he himself still felt. He hadn’t anticipated being this physically attracted to her. He reminded himself of his iron-clad rule of not getting involved with a woman this close to the end of the season—particularly this season, which had started going pear-shaped three months ago.
So why couldn’t he stop imagining how she would taste if he kissed her?
He stepped back from her, out of the danger zone. ‘You might want to think about not jumping six feet in the air every time I touch you.’ He sounded annoyed because he was.
‘And you might want to think about not touching me.’
Large aquamarine eyes, alight with slivers of the purest gold, stared up at him, and the ability to think flew out of his head. Her eyes reminded him of a rare jewel.
Then she blinked, breaking the spell.
Get a grip, Ventura. Since when did you start comparing eyes to jewels?
‘You really have the most extraordinary eyes,’ he found himself saying appreciatively. ‘A little glacial right now, but extraordinary nonetheless.’
‘I don’t care what you think of my eyes. This isn’t real so I don’t need your empty compliments.’
How about the back of my hand across your tidy tush? The thought brought a low hum of pleasure winging through his body. He did his best to ignore it. ‘Are you usually this rude or do I just bring out the best in you?’
Her shoulders slumped and she stepped back to put more space between them. ‘I’m sorry. I’m...uncomfortable. This weekend is important to me. I wish I’d just given you chicken pox and handled everything myself. I let Ruby convince me this would be a good idea.’
Tino