Page 19 of Consequences of Their Wedding Charade
‘I didn’t find itdisconcerting, Curtis! I found itbewildering!’ she denied vigorously. ‘I thought there wasn’t going to be any pretending that we were anything other than friends...’
‘Not quite the conversation as I remember it.’
‘Meaning?’ For once, the spectacular panorama of white snow, dazzling despite the darkness, was lost on her as she feverishly looked at him in the semi-darkness of the car.
‘Meaning we agreed that we would let our friendship do the talking. We wouldn’t have to pretend anything because we would rely on assumptions being made and, since it would be perfectly clear that we’re involved with one another, there would be no need for us to define the nature of the involvement.’
‘Well, be that as it may—’ Jess sidestepped that interjection because he was right ‘—you still haven’t answered my question. What’s going on with the bewildering gestures of affection?’ Without thinking, she rubbed the back of her neck in an unconscious gesture to scrub away the feel of his touch there.
Watching her closely, expression veiled, Curtis took in that small gesture and shifted. For the first time in their long history, he had touched her in a manner that wasn’t completely platonic.
Scratch that—there had been one time, the only one, single time, when he had touched her and felt his body respond in a way that had shocked him. That kiss under the mistletoe. It was a million years ago but he must have kept the memory lodged in his head somewhere because it rushed to the forefront now, now that he was recognising that something had shifted between them. At least as far as he was concerned.
From her perspective...not so. That was the gesture of someone who had been irritated by the feel of his hand on her neck.
He could barely admit it to himself, but he had enjoyed being by her side at the party, hadn’t particularly wanted to branch out because her conversation was so much more invigorating and because she demanded more conversationally from the people she was with, and they duly obliged.
When hedidveer off to catch up with some of the guys he hadn’t seen for months, he’d still found himself seeking her out, his gaze resting on her just a little too long. She’d seemed oblivious to the attention she’d been getting but he hadn’t been. He’d seen the way some of the men there had glanced at her, appreciating her curves. They would never have said anything because they’d all been under the impression that she was with him but they still hadn’t been able to stop what had been an automatic gesture of appreciation of her considerably sexy assets.
And when he’d touched her...
That same knee-jerk reaction he’d had at the airport when she’d whipped off the shapeless jumper to reveal a body that had stunned him into utter confusion.
‘Caitlin seemed to think that for our relationship to go from good friends to lovers was open to question, and...’
He raked his fingers through his hair and fell into momentary silence until she prodded, ‘And...?’
‘Possibly a conversation best left until tomorrow morning.’
‘Why?’ Jess asked with genuine puzzlement.
‘It’s complicated.’
‘Does it still matter what your ex thinks about you and your love life?’ she demanded sharply.
After some hesitation, Curtis murmured in a low voice, ‘Yes.’
One word but it was like a physical blow and Jess recoiled from it because if ever there was confirmation that he was still in love with Caitlin, then this surely was it.
As a rule, Curtis Hamilton had never cared two hoots about what people thought of him. They were entitled to their opinions was his take, but he wasn’t interested in letting what they thought influence his behaviour.
He’d once told her that but, even if he hadn’t, she would have guessed simply from watching how he dealt with so many situations. He had always had an inner strength that was completely undeterred by what other people thought of him or said to him.
So the fact that he was willing to alter his behaviour because of his ex said something.
‘Well, maybe, Curtis,Imay not want to play games with you and pretend that we have a relationship if that means you touching me.’ She rubbed the back of her neck again, more vigorously this time, and looked at him with thinly veiled hostility. She was reminded of just how devastating that casual touch had been, throwing her senses into complete disarray and putting her on the back foot when it came to the whole business of getting him out of her system by putting him into perspective.
He stiffened. ‘My apologies if you felt...uncomfortable, Jess.’
‘I didn’t feel uncomfortable.’ She shook her head unhappily. ‘I just... I know she still means a lot to you but that’s no reason... What were you trying to do? Make her jealous? Was that it? By touching me?’ Joining the dots, that seemed the most likely explanation and she did her best not to sound hurt and stung.
‘Far from it.’
‘I refuse to be involved in whatever situation there is between the two of you.’ Jess was loath to let it go. Jealousy was an ugly emotion, in her eyes, yet she could feel it sinking its teeth into her, hard as she fought against it.
She’d barely noticed the scenery moving slowly past them as the car carefully wound its way to their hotel, so she was surprised when it drew to a smooth stop.
The air outside was cold and crisp and they both hurried into the warmth of the hotel. She paused, relishing the change of temperature, before turning to Curtis.
