He stopped that train of thought when he saw they’d attracted Nathan’s attention, and with a slight nod of his head Jacques indicated they go to a quieter corner of the room.
‘I’m glad you came,’ were the first words from his brother’s mouth.
‘You knew I would.’
Nathan sent Jacques a look that had a lance of guilt piercing his chest. It made him think about how he hadn’t seen either of his parents there that evening—Surprise, surprise, he thought, despite the relief coursing through him—and he realised it was disappointment, not accusation, that had Nathan doubting Jacques. And that it wasn’t exactly Jacques, but their whole family.
While Jacques sympathised with his brother, that feeling was capped by the memory of the thousands of times Jacques had warned Nathan to stop hoping with their parents. Jacques had learnt a long time ago that it would get him nowhere. His anger about it had ended his career, after all. Had taught him to stop trying. And, since he hadn’t seen them in seven years, he figured he’d succeeded in that.
‘Congratulations,’ Jacques said, remembering that this was the first time he’d seen his brother and his fiancée since they’d got engaged.
He brushed a kiss on Caitlyn’s cheek, enjoying the smile that spread over her pretty face, and then went in for the obligatory handshake and pat on the back with his brother.
‘While that was both amusing and touching,’ Lily interrupted with a small smile, ‘I know you both have to do the rounds, so we just wanted to tell you we’re going to pretend to be dating so that I can make Kyle feel a fraction of what I felt when I walked in on him and her—’ she nodded a head in the woman’s direction ‘—naked.’
By the time she was done Jacques could tell that she was out of breath. Which didn’t surprise him, since with each word the pace with which she’d spoken had increased. What did surprise him was what she had said—that Kyle had cheated on her. While he’d been amused at being roped in to being a pretend boyfriend earlier, he understood why she’d done it now. And he no longer felt amusement over the situation.
There was a stunned silence, and then Caitlyn said, ‘Honey, are you okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ Lily brushed one of her delightful curls from her face. ‘We just wanted to warn you in case you wondered. Or got asked about it. And, while we’re speaking about that, we’ve been dating six months. You and Nate introduced us.’
Jacques’s lips twitched at the way their story had evolved, but the amusement faded when he wondered how Kyle could have cheated on someone like Lily.
Someone like Lily? a voice questioned, and he realised it sounded crazy. He barely knew her—she might have cheated on Kyle first. But given what he knew about Kyle and the few moments he’d spent with Lily he highly doubted that she’d been in the wrong.
His opinion of Kyle dropped another notch, and the temptation to relive the night he had knocked the man out boiled in Jacques’s blood. He frowned, wondering where the intensity of his feelings—a mixture of anger and protectiveness—came from. And then he felt his brother’s gaze on him, and looked up into a flash of warning.
Since he’d experienced a surge of protection for Lily himself, he understood it. But it singed him to know Nathan was thinking about Jacques’s past with women. And it burned to know his brother’s warning was on point, considering what he planned to use Lily for.
‘You don’t have to worry, Cait,’ he said, distracting himself.
He knew Caitlyn was the one to win over if he wanted his plan to work. Caitlyn gave him a quick nod, then turned her attention to Lily.
‘You know I never liked him—especially after everything...’ She trailed off, glancing at Jacques. Then she quickly said, ‘I give my blessing for this fake relationship in the name of payback.’
Caitlyn had sparked his curiosity, but it was forgotten when Lily smiled and his chest constricted.
Simple attraction.
He willed himself to believe that when his skin prickled as she took his hand again. And when she looked back with those beautiful eyes of hers to check whether he was okay with it and his heart raced.
He gave her a quick nod, and she started towards the doors that led to the side of the balcony that held the pool. Before he could take more than a few steps with her, someone touched his arm and he looked back.
‘Please...be careful with her,’ Caitlyn said, looking at him with eyes that reflected her plea.
‘I... I will,’ he answered, before he could think to say anything else, and the gratitude that shone from her face had his stomach dropping.
He glanced at his brother, saw the frown that suggested Nathan didn’t believe him, and his stomach dropped even further. He turned back to Lily, following her until she stopped next to the pool, and tried not to think about the interaction he’d just had. It made him wonder what it was about Lily that inspired the protectiveness he’d seen in the two people he’d just spoken to—the protectiveness that he’d felt himself.
He cleared his throat. ‘Are we going for a swim? I didn’t bring my swimming trunks...although I have nothing against stripping down to my birthday suit.’
‘What?’ she gasped, and a smile spread across his face.
‘I’m kidding, Lily. Unless...?’ he teased, and enjoyed the way red tinted her olive skin.
The colour made him think of the other women he’d dated—he used that term loosely—who spent hours in the sun trying to get that tone. Something told him that Lily would never spend so much time on such a vain endeavour. Not when he was sure the messy auburn curls surrounding her face hadn’t been tampered with. When he was sure her beautiful face bore almost no make-up. Her hazel eyes weren’t highlighted by mascara or liner. The blush on her high cheekbones wasn’t artificial, nor was the pomegranate hue of her full lips.
As attracted as he was to the outside—he took a moment to enjoy the way her body filled out the dress she wore, just as he had when he’d been coming down the stairs—he found himself more intrigued by what the outside told him. How many women did he know who would come to an upper-class party without plastering their faces with make-up? How many would leave their hair in its natural state when every other woman had hers sleeked up in some complicated style?
Certainly none of the women he knew, he thought.
And her reactions to his teasing were so refreshing. Endearing. It made her feel more authentic. And it made her perfect for his plan.
It also made him realise how little innocence the women he’d spent his time with in the past had had. But then innocence wasn’t exactly something he’d been looking for in the past. No, he’d been looking to forget the way he’d screwed up his life. And then the public had turned on him—had destroyed him in the media—and he’d begun to wonder what the point of trying was. If they wanted a bad boy, that was what they would get. And they had—for an entire year. The worst time of his life...
‘I don’t know why I let you fluster me.’ Lily’s words tore him from his thoughts. ‘I know you’re teasing.’
‘And if I wasn’t?’
She sent a look at him that had him smiling.
‘Nice try, but it isn’t going to work again.’
‘It was worth a shot. How else would I be able to see the wonderful colour your cheeks turn when you’re flustered?’
She shook her head, and with her bottom lip between her teeth looked away.
Because he saw the very colour