Even if he had possessed a chivalrous streak—which he most certainly didn’t—ever since he’d shot to the top of that bloody eligible bachelor list five years ago he’d had the press nosing around his private life, commenting on his relationships and speculating about whether he had any intention of settling down. And following the hideously detailed story Jasmine had sold six months ago, he now hit the headlines pretty much every time he even spoke to a woman, and he had no desire to fan the embers with yet more fodder for gossip.
God only knew how far this particular little farce had gone, but should it get out that he was romantically involved—falsely or not—there’d be repercussions he could barely bear thinking about.
And not just from the press.
Ever since he’d turned thirty his mother had never passed up an opportunity to mention how she wasn’t getting any younger and how she’d like to be able to enjoy her grandchildren while she still could, and, although he hadn’t reached his breaking point yet, the memories she stirred up every time she mentioned it were getting harder and harder to suppress and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand it.
If she got to hear of a relationship then his life would become truly intolerable, so if he had any sense whatsoever he’d be saying goodbye and good luck and sticking to his original plan of buying a pint and taking himself off to a relatively quiet corner of the pub. Even more wisely he’d be heading out of the pub altogether, finding a venue that didn’t contain lunatic women with hyperactive imaginations and texting Pete to inform him of the change of plan.
But Zoe had clearly stolen every drop of sense he possessed because she was blinking up at him with those pleading brown eyes fringed with the thickest darkest eyelashes he’d ever seen, and all he could think about was how she’d felt plastered up against him, how warm and soft she’d been and how desperate she was looking now.
He didn’t think he’d ever seen quite such raw panic or such heartfelt pleading before, and it was making his resolve not to get involved waver. It was giving rise to a weird protective streak that he hadn’t known he’d had and an oddly difficult to ignore sense of empathy.
Even though he’d always considered himself to be way too canny and too cynical to be suckered by a damsel in distress, he did know what it was like to be bombarded with the whole marriage and children thing so relentlessly that you could be driven to recklessness. He did know what it was like to go off the rails and make rash decisions that with hindsight were just plain madness.
So if he could figure out something that wouldn’t require much input from him but would have the maximum impact for her, if it was only for a moment and strictly on his terms, then maybe, just maybe, he could help her out.
Zoe bit her lip nervously, as if trying to stop herself from telling him to hurry up, and as his gaze dipped to her mouth the solution came to him in a flash.
‘All right,’ he said, dismissing the voice in his head demanding to know whether he truly had gone insane, because, really, what harm could come of it? ‘You can have a kiss.’
* * *
Oh, thank God for that, thought Zoe letting out the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.
For one horrible moment she’d thought Dan was going to say ‘no’ to her frankly preposterous proposal, declare she was mad and march off. Like any normal person—as unlike her he seemed to be—would. But he hadn’t. Her decision to enhance her appeal to his better nature with a whole load of very uncharacteristic eyelash batting had worked and he’d capitulated.
Well, sort of, she amended. A kiss wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping him to offer, but it was a start.
‘Haven’t I already had one of those?’ she asked.
His eyes glittered as he considered. ‘I’ll make it a proper one. In full view of everyone. To make up for any doubts that might have been generated by my pushing you away the last time.’
‘I see,’ she said, having to concede that this was a good idea. ‘And then what?’
‘I’ll be leaving.’
‘Oh.’ Zoe felt her face begin to fall and pulled herself together. What had she been expecting? That he’d want to stick around and get even more involved in the craziness she’d created? Why on earth would he—or anyone for that matter—want to do that? She ought to be grateful that he’d offered a kiss, not left her to face the repercussions of her little white lies.
‘Think of it like this,’ said Dan. ‘I popped in to say hello on my way to somewhere else, and once we’ve had the kiss I’ll be popping out again. You can do what you like.’
Logically Zoe knew that that was fair enough, but the thought of all those women eagerly waiting to meet him and the giddy rapture that would ensue when they did was still battering away in her head and scrambling her powers of reason. ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay?’
‘I don’t think that’s a very good idea, do you?’
Well, yes, actually she did, because if she was being brutally honest she didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet. She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted more of him. ‘Why not?’
He frowned. ‘How deep are you in with the details, Zoe?’
She sighed. ‘Pretty deep, I guess.’ Not quite in over her head, but nearly. ‘I think I might have implied that you’re on the point of proposing.’
She thought she saw him shudder, which kind of told her what he thought of that particular idea.
‘Then you should be counting yourself lucky you’ve got away with it this far,’ he said. ‘If you add me into the mix any further when I don’t have any idea of the lies you’ve been drumming up things could get really complicated, don’t you think?’
Hmm, he did have a point. ‘Probably,’ she muttered.
‘Definitely,’ he said, his dark eyes glittering in the soft light of the pub. ‘So that’s the deal, Zoe. One kiss. Take it or leave it.’
Well, what option did she have under the circumstances but to agree? she thought, caving into the common sense she usually valued so highly but seemed to have abandoned tonight.
Dan was absolutely right, of course. There was no probably about it. She’d pushed her luck way beyond its limit this evening and sailed so close to the wind with the story she’d concocted, and what with the emotional turbulence, the stress of having to think on her feet and the horrible sensation that her control was history she didn’t think her nervous system could take any more.
To carry on with the charade would be beyond reckless. She could see that now. She’d achieved what she’d set out to do and she’d got at least some sort of closure to her school days, so there was no need to continue with it any longer.
Therefore Dan wouldn’t be the only one leaving once this kiss was over and done with. She’d be right with him. Hanging off his arm, flinging a wave in the direction of her former classmates and sailing out. Quitting while she was still ahead. Leaving with her head held high and her self-esteem not quite as close to rock bottom as it had been before. And then she’d be heading for home, putting the whole crazy night behind her and moving on.
It had better be one hell of a kiss, though. Her commitment to the idea was irrefutable. Just the thought of having his mouth on hers, properly this time, was making her heart thump and her knees wobble. His, on the other hand...Who knew how he was intending to approach it?
‘OK, well, fine,’ she said, feeling all hot and tingly again at the prospect of the two of them kissing, ‘but could you at least try and make it look convincing?’
Taking her hand and tugging her towards a gap in the crowds from where they’d