A burst of sarcastic laughter hit the air. ‘Obviously not. Because whatever it is about him is hidden under about twenty feet of hair.’
Which would be gone by the morning if Caitlin had her way. She couldn’t abide men with facial hair. As a child they’d had an uncle with a beard who had made her cry every time she was asked to kiss him goodbye.
‘You just need time to get to know him, Cara.’
‘Like you have?’ Cara shook her head. ‘This is just too weird, Caitlin. How can you possibly know this man well enough to want to marry him?’
‘We’ve been talking for months.’
‘On the internet?’
‘Yes. On the internet.’
‘And you know him well enough from that to spend the rest of your life with him?’
‘Yes.’ The lies came almost too easily, ‘And you can’t know him well enough in two minutes to make a judgement on him.’
Cara stared at her for what felt like for ever but was probably only a minute. Then she shook her head. ‘This isn’t like you, Cait. He’s not like anyone you’ve ever dated, and all this camera stuff is mad.’
Caitlin sighed. ‘I told you—it’s just a programme about people who’ve found love over the internet.’
‘And you’re telling me that every time any of us talk with you it’s all going to be filmed?’
‘It’s just a few months and then they’ll be gone.’
‘Well…’ She glanced over her shoulder at the camera again. ‘With any luck it won’t be the only thing that’s gone.’
Caitlin reached a hand out and squeezed her sister’s arm. ‘Give him a chance, Cara. He can’t be that bad.’ She frowned at her mistake. Surely she would know herself that he wasn’t that bad if she was marrying him? ‘He’s a great guy. At least I think he is. Just give it some time.’
Eyes as dark as her own stared at her before Cara sighed. ‘I think I’m more hurt that you didn’t tell me before now. We always talk about everything. This is the first time we haven’t.’
Caitlin’s throat threatened to close at the words that were only too true.
‘It just feels like something has changed with you and me.’ Cara’s voice broke slightly, betraying her emotions. ‘And I hate that.’
Caitlin blinked back tears as Cara pulled her into a hug before turning to leave, with an ‘I’ll talk to you tomorrow’ thrown over her shoulder.
‘This sucks already.’ She glanced into the camera, ‘You have no idea.’
She frowned down at the carpet, then glanced up at the ceiling. It was time to go and meet her fiancé. With a silent plea to the overhead light that a book really couldn’t be judged by its cover, she turned on her heel to go upstairs.
CHAPTER THREE
BY THE time Caitlin reached the hallway he was halfway down the stairs. She tilted her head back and looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. They were the one feature she could see that she liked. So blue they belonged on a movie screen, and they seemed to spark back at her. Surely someone with eyes as blue as a summer’s sky couldn’t be all that bad?
‘Hey.’
She blinked up at him. ‘Hey.’
‘So you’re my fiancée, then?’
She smiled at the statement. ‘So it would appear.’
He nodded and his eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘Big hit with your sister, wasn’t I?’
Caitlin quirked a dark brow beneath the annoying fringe that kept on falling in her eye. ‘Mmm, well, she’s a bit protective. You’re in for a lot of that, I’m afraid.’
Shoving large hands into the pockets of his faded jeans, Aiden studied her before asking, ‘Your family is close?’
Caitlin nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘Then this can’t be an easy thing for you to do.’
She suddenly felt vulnerable as he studied her, her head beginning to pound at the temples. She’d never been with someone who could make the very air around them feel oppressive to her. It wasn’t a nice sensation. Particularly not in her own home.
‘And lying comes naturally to you, I suppose?’
Aiden merely shrugged at the question. ‘I’ve done it from time to time, growing up. When it was called for.’
Her fringe fell back out of her eye as she tilted her head and studied him. This stranger. How could anyone with eyes so warm be so cold? And how would she ever know a word he said to her was true if he was so open about lying?
A sudden burst of male laughter caught her off guard.
‘That shocks you, does it?’
‘I don’t know if shock is the word I would have used. It surprises me that you’re so open about it, I guess.’ She smiled a small smile. ‘But maybe that’s what they had in mind when they chose you. An experienced liar might be able to teach me the ropes.’
He continued smiling. ‘Could be. But they certainly got the opposites thing right.’
Her eyes moved over him again as she nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, so it would appear.’
He removed his hands and started slowly down towards her. Each step seemed measured, controlled. And when he stood on the step above her he leaned his face closer to hers to ask in a low voice, ‘So, how do we make them all believe we’re in love, Caitlin Rourke?’
She swallowed hard as she looked into his eyes close up. They were really stunning. And another sense awoke to discover he actually smelled extremely good. She took a deep breath and found the scent almost calming. Reassuring in its maleness. He was just some guy, after all.
She tilted her chin slightly upwards. ‘I guess it might be an idea to try getting to know each other better.’
Aiden quirked a brow at her. ‘And how do you suggest we do that?’
‘Talking would be the traditional route. And we’re supposed to have been doing months of that on the internet.’ She thought for a moment, trying to get her brain around the problem. ‘Or we could make out a set of questions for each other and write it all out.’
‘Like a study guide?’
‘Exactly!’ She smiled at his understanding. ‘That makes perfect sense.’
Aiden watched as her face was transformed with enthusiasm. Her dark eyes sparkled and she smiled more openly at him. Hell, what was she? Alice in Wonderland, or something? She had the same enthusiasm levels as a ten-year-old. ‘Keep your panties on, honey, it’s only a handful of questions. It’s not an unbreakable guide to cashing the big cheque.’
The smile disappeared. ‘You really are very rude, aren’t you?’
‘Because I mentioned your underwear or because I just rained on your parade?’
Her hands planted themselves firmly on her hips as she glared up at him. ‘Just because I happen to get enthusiastic about the fact that we might actually manage to do something pro-active about this it means you should shoot me down, does it? Why are you even doing this show if you have no intention of us winning at the end?’
‘Oh, I have every intention of winning at the end. And I’m all for anything that achieves that.’
‘So the idea