‘Luiz, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t want any of this stuff. I’ve packed clothes…’
Luiz wondered when he was going to hear some form of gratitude from her. Was it just her pride talking or was his show of wealth really such a big turn-off for her? He decided to go with the pride. Anything else would open the door to disturbing thoughts that she really and truly didn’t like the man she now thought he was, which in turn would bring him back to the mythical soul mate lurking round the corner.
‘Where we’re going will be warm,’ he said bluntly, while indicating the chair next to him. ‘You probably won’t fit into your summer clothes from last year, if you even thought to bring any.’
Holly’s eyes flickered to the two women, who were discreet enough to be making a very big show of being deaf. She didn’t want to cause a scene but more than anything else she wanted to tell him that this wasn’t her thing at all.
‘I’ve brought all my larger-fitting clothes,’ she breathed sotto voce as she flopped into the chair indicated. ‘Where are we going? Do I have to try all that stuff on?’
‘Weirdly, most women would be thrilled to have all this brought to their door,’ Luiz remarked drily.
‘I’m not most women.’
‘More and more I see that as the understatement of the decade and, yes, trying on might be an idea. So…’ He leaned back and stretched out his long legs and lightly linked his fingers on his lap. ‘What about a catwalk?’
‘You’re kidding!’
‘There’s no need to look so horrified. If memory serves me, you used to enjoy strutting your stuff for me…’
A wash of colour flooded Holly’s face. In a heartbeat, she was remembering last winter, when the snow had been falling outside and, giggling and slightly tipsy, she had given him his own private striptease in front of the roaring open fire while he had relaxed, pretty much as he was doing now, his lazy, sexy eyes hungrily appreciating the curves on offer.
‘There’s no point talking about the past,’ she said stiffly.
‘Nor is there any point pretending that it didn’t exist.’ He waved the two girls over and informed them that they could go. ‘What’s not taken will be returned. Tell Bob Harvey to make sure you both get generous tips for your service.’ The second they had left the room, he turned to her. ‘Stop trying to play this game of disconnect. And stop shooting me down every time I try and ease the situation.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘It may not be fair but it’s the truth. Now, are you going to try those clothes on? Pick whatever you want, and please don’t engineer an argument on the difficulties of accepting anything from me. We’ve entered a new phase of our relationship and you’ll just have to get with the programme.’
Holly swallowed hard. She didn’t want to argue with him all the time. She knew it was pointless. Plus it made her feel on edge and at odds with herself. She was just not accustomed to arguing with him, yet there was safety in arguments because they helped her widen the distance between them.
She stood up and took a few tentative steps towards the array of rainbow-coloured clothes on the backs of chairs, still neatly folded in boxes, hanging on the makeshift clothes-rail that had been brought with them. She glanced over her shoulder. ‘I look terrible in bright colours.’ But the silk, cotton and jersey under her fingers were seductive. ‘And I’m not parading in front of you,’ she warned. ‘I’m fat. Much fatter than I was…’
‘You’re pregnant. Pregnant is sexy.’
Holly tried her best to ignore that throwaway observation. She would bet her house that he had never uttered those words in his life before, and she was uneasily aware of just how much he was willing to accommodate for the sake of doing what he thought was best, right down to saying what he thought she wanted to hear in an attempt to relax her. Was it any wonder that she got on his nerves with her stubborn refusal to play along?
Well, she would bite back any retorts and go along with this trying-on charade. Reluctantly, she gathered up a handful of clothes and headed for the partition which had been erected at the end of the conservatory. It made a spacious and private changing room. When she tentatively peeked her head round, it was to see Luiz absorbed in whatever work he was doing on his computer. He might be there in body, but he certainly was not there in mind.
She remembered a handful of occasions when he had displayed that trait, that immense capacity for losing himself in work to the exclusion of everything around him. She had teased him that they should pay him more for having to slave over a computer on a weekend. It struck her that that had certainly not changed. He had always been single-mindedly focused and he still was.
More relaxed, knowing that he wasn’t waiting behind that partition trying to coerce her into coming out, Holly began to enjoy the process of trying on the clothes. She dragged the box over, along with some of the dresses draped on the backs of the chairs, and was rewarded with a brief, abstracted glance from Luiz.
Much as she hated to admit it, she never realised that trying on clothes could be so much fun. In fact, confronted with so much choice, she was finding it next to impossible to select items.
Nor did she look as appalling as she had feared. In fact, the colours suited her. Terracottas, oranges, greens and shades of gold all seemed to bring out the best in her complexion. Had he deliberately hand-chosen those colours? How had he managed to do so well in guessing her size? Everything was loose, but everything she tried on seemed to fit just right. He must have been very specific in his requests. Just thinking that he might have actually gone to a great deal of trouble on her behalf gave her a rush of delighted pleasure which she did her best to stifle.
Unfortunately, having gone to the effort, he had clearly lost interest. Piqued, Holly stepped out from behind the partition. The sundress was wonderfully accommodating for her gently expanding stomach, yet attractive, colourful and very fashionable.
‘What do you think?’ She told herself that this was normal behaviour; shying away and jumping every time he got within five feet of her was not. She gave a little twirl.
Having taken refuge behind his computer in a vain attempt to block out images of Holly getting undressed behind the partition, Luiz looked up. There was no hiding the fact of her pregnancy in the light summer dress, and he had never seen anything so sexy before. The force of his reaction stunned him, because since when had he ever been the kiddy type who waxed lyrical about pregnancy being sexy? True, there was virile satisfaction to be had from the fact that his baby was growing in her stomach, but her fecund body was the most potent aphrodisiac he could ever have imagined. Was she aware of how sheer the dress was? Or perhaps it was the light in the conservatory that made it possible for him to see everything underneath the fine fabric.
She must have removed her bra to try on the selection of swimsuits he had ordered. He could see the perfect shape of her breasts. He could almost make out the dark circles of her nipples.
‘I can’t see properly when you’re standing so far away.’ He snapped shut his laptop and straightened in the chair. ‘Walk towards me.’
‘I told you that I wasn’t going to parade…’ But, Lord, how she missed being the centre of his attention. She sashayed towards him. The dress was so soft and silky and it felt so cool and sexy brushing against her skin.
‘There’s a difference between walking and parading,’ Luiz