A Spanish Engagement (15 page)

‘Maybe so.’ He sounded nonchalantly indifferent. ‘Are you going to come out and say good morning before I leave?’

Carrie hesitated. She knew she was going to have to face him at some point, but not now. Just say he guessed how she felt…? It was humiliating.

It was a relief when she heard the sound of Molly’s footsteps running in towards the bedroom and her voice calling out, ‘Auntie Carrie…where are you?’

Hurriedly she reached for her bathrobe. Facing Max when Molly was there would be infinitely easier. She could hide behind the child, pretend indifference about last night under the guise of looking after her.

She checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was wet and slicked back from her face and her skin was a little pale. She wished she had some make-up in here, then was cross with herself. It didn’t matter what she looked like.

Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the door.

She could hear Molly chatting with Max. ‘When are we going to the party?’ she was asking him excitedly. ‘Will it be soon?’

‘You haven’t even had breakfast yet,’ Carrie said as she stepped into the room.

Molly was standing at the foot of the bed in her pink pyjamas.

‘When will we be going, Uncle Max?’ Molly looked over at him earnestly.

‘We’ll be going late this afternoon. After you have had your siesta.’ Max didn’t prevaricate.

‘That’s ages away!’ Molly wrinkled her nose.

‘No, it’s not. It will be here before you know it.’ Max’s eyes connected with Carrie’s as she turned.

He looked incredibly handsome in blue jeans and a blue open-necked shirt, and her senses seemed to just dissolve into chaos as she remembered how good his body had felt next to hers. Remembered how easily he had been able to turn her from sane and sensible to wild and wanton.

‘Good morning.’ He smiled a lazy, attractive smile that made her heartbeats increase even more.

‘Morning.’ She looked away from him towards her niece. ‘Now then, Molly, it’s time for your shower. Don’t be detaining Uncle Max any longer.’ Her voice was brisk and businesslike.

‘I’ll get off, then,’ Max said, and ruffled the child’s hair as she started to protest that she didn’t want a shower. ‘Be good for your auntie Carrie.’

He walked towards the door and then turned back for a moment. ‘By the way, I’ve told my parents that we will arrive a little earlier than everyone else because we have something important to tell them.’

Carrie felt her heart slam fiercely against her chest.
‘You’ll have to do most of the talking, Max, because I won’t know what to say.’

‘Yes, you will, you’ll be fine.’ He smiled at her. ‘In fact you’ll be more than fine. They will all fall madly in love with you and think you are great.’

Carrie turned away from him. She didn’t want everyone—she just wanted him.

T
HE
sun was climbing higher in the azure-blue sky. And as the temperatures increased the rainwater from the storm last night steamed from the earth in the still morning air.

Carrie was alone with Molly on the terrace. Max had driven Carmel and Bob into the nearby town because they wanted to look around. He was going to drive straight back as Carmel and Bob had said they would get a taxi to Max’s parents’ house for the party this afternoon. Everything seemed settled. Yet Carrie couldn’t relax—all she could think was that the time was ticking nearer and nearer towards meeting Max’s family and making their fake engagement public knowledge.

In an effort to take her mind off things she stretched out a hand towards Molly. ‘Come on, let’s go for a walk in the orchard,’ she suggested brightly.

Molly had been playing quietly in the shade, but instantly ran to take hold of her hand, and together they made their way out and down the grassy lane that led towards the grove of citrus trees.

The air was heavy with the scent of lemons and oranges, made fresher by the fact it had rained so heavily in the night, and some of them lay in the long grass.

‘Can I have an orange?’ Molly asked, stooping to pick one up.

‘Yes…but let’s get one off the tree.’ Carrie reached to pick one. It was harder to take the fruit off the branch than she had thought, and she was struggling to twist it
off when a voice said sternly, ‘There is a heavy punishment for people caught vandalising fruit trees in this area.’

She turned and saw Max watching them from the shadows of the trees, a glint of humour in his expression that belied the serious tone of his voice.

‘Max! You made me jump.’ She smiled. ‘I didn’t expect you back so soon.’

‘Well, it’s not far into town.’ Max strolled across towards them and then smiled at Molly, who looked up at him with a mischievous glint of innocence in her dark eyes.

‘Was it you who was vandalising my trees?’ he asked.

‘No, it was all Auntie Carrie’s fault,’ Molly told him impishly.

Carrie laughed. ‘Thanks a lot, Molly!’

‘Fingered by a four-year-old.’ Max grinned at her and then reached to take the orange off the tree for them. As he caught hold of the branch he gave it a violent shake, sending a little sprinkling of diamond rainwater washing down from the leaves over them. Molly giggled in delighted surprise.

‘I told you there was a penalty for messing with the trees.’ Max smiled. He passed the orange over to Molly. ‘Shall I take another one off?’

Carrie shook her head. ‘No, one is enough. If you give it to me, Molly, I’ll peel it for you.’

‘I can do it,’ Molly said stubbornly, moving ahead of them back out of the shade of the trees.

‘Miss Independent,’ Carrie observed cheerfully to Max.

‘Yes…I wonder where she gets that from.’ Max drawled the words with a lazy teasing smile that seemed to set her pulses racing. Then he hurried after Molly. ‘Give that orange to me and I’ll peel it.’

Carrie smiled as a game ensued, Max chasing Molly around a tree, pretending to catch her and then miss.

The child’s laughter filled the air and it made Carrie smile. She walked over to sit down on the low wall that encircled the orchard and watched their antics for a while.

It wasn’t long before Max came and sat down beside her. ‘I’ll catch you later,’ he said to Molly as she teasingly came closer, wanting the game to continue.

Carrie turned her face up to the sun and closed her eyes. If this were for real it would be wonderful, she found herself thinking dreamily. Molly was happy around Max…so was she. Swiftly she tried to veer her mind away from that dangerous direction.

‘Do you think your parents have any inkling of what we are going to tell them this afternoon?’ she asked Max, trying to sound cool and confident.

Max hesitated for a moment. ‘I don’t think so.’

She glanced over at him. And he grinned at her. ‘My father probably won’t believe it until he sees it with his own eyes.’

Carrie felt a renewed dart of nervous tension.

‘I hope I’ve brought the right outfit to wear,’ she murmured nervously. ‘I was just going to put on a summer dress.’

‘You could stay the way you are and be perfect,’ Max said, his glance flicking down over the white vest top and long floral skirt that she was wearing.

Although the tone of his voice was nonchalant, something about the way his eyes touched her body made her remember the way he had touched her last night, the way her body had responded so vehemently…so passionately. And instantly she felt a scorching stab of pure desire.

‘I suppose you are right. It’s only a children’s party, after all.’ Carrie looked away from him hastily and tried
to push the memories of last night firmly away. ‘It’s just that I’m meant to be meeting my future in-laws for the first time. I want to look the part.’

She watched Molly playing happily under the trees, gathering up fallen oranges in the long grass and then piling them up into a pyramid.

‘And you will look the part,’ Max said confidently. ‘Especially if you wear this…’

Carrie looked over at him questioningly and watched as he took a small box out of the pocket of his jeans.

He opened it to reveal a magnificent square-cut diamond engagement ring that sparkled fiercely as the sunlight caught it.

Carrie was so taken aback she didn’t know what to say. She glanced from the ring up into Max’s eyes.

‘Do you like it?’ he asked softly.

A warm breeze rustled through the trees, bringing with it the scent of the orchard and the heat of the day.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, watching as he took it out of the box.

‘Will you do me the honour of wearing it for me?’

Something about the husky way he asked that question made her heart skip violently.

He reached and took hold of her hand, then slowly, yet resolutely, he slipped the ring down onto her finger. The touch of his skin against hers as he gently set it in place on her left hand sent a shiver of poignancy searing straight through her.

‘There.’ He didn’t let go of her hand straight away. ‘It’s a bit big. You’ll have to take it in to the jeweller’s to have it made smaller. But it will do for this afternoon.’

‘If I have it made smaller it won’t be as easy to take it back to the shop,’ she murmured, trying desperately to sound composed and cool. But inside she was feeling any
thing but. Her heart was racing and her emotions were all over the place. Because she wanted this to be for real… she wanted Max so badly that it hurt.

‘I don’t want to take it back to the shop.’ He looked up at her. ‘I want you to have the ring.’

‘You do?’ Her heart seemed to stop beating altogether for a minute.

Max noted how her eyes darkened to a midnight blue…how her skin was pale for a moment.

‘Don’t worry, it’s only make-believe,’ he reminded her, a dry edge to his tone. ‘I’m not going to hold you to anything.’

‘I know that.’

‘Good.’ He let go of her hand. ‘Then we understand each other.’

She nodded. ‘Perfectly.’

There was silence between them for a moment. Carrie pretended she was absorbed in watching Molly as she played. But in truth she was acutely conscious of Max’s every glance, every move. He seemed to be looking at her very closely and she wondered what he was thinking. She wished he would leave her alone for a while. She needed to gather her senses and throw away the unrealistic wish for this to suddenly turn into a genuine engagement. For Max to look at her with love and desire in his eyes.

Carrie looked down at the engagement ring on her finger. ‘So we are going to stick as closely to the truth as possible this afternoon,’ she said, trying to turn her mind to the practicalities of the situation. ‘We met on a plane coming back from a business trip…’

‘Yes…’ Max nodded. ‘We can even say it was love at first sight.’

‘Your mother will like that.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘It will remind her of her meeting with your dad.’

He smiled back.

‘How long do you want to say we’ve known each other?’ she asked, hastily looking away from him again.

‘Realistically we could have met about two and a half months ago. I’ve been flying in and out of Barcelona regularly since then.’

She nodded. ‘And what will we say when they ask us about a wedding date?’

‘We’ll tell them what we told Carmel and Bob. That we’re going to sort that out this week.’

He watched as she played with the ring, twisting it around and pulling it up and down on her finger. Then suddenly he reached across and caught hold of her hand, pushing the ring firmly back in place.

‘Be careful with that,’ he said gently.

‘Of course I’ll be careful with it.’ The touch of his hand instantly threw her senses into chaos.

‘You don’t want to lose it before the party.’

‘I won’t lose it.’ She glanced down at the diamond. ‘I take it it is just a fake?’

He gave a crooked half-smile. ‘Of course. It’s a fake ring for a fake engagement.’

She nodded. It was only what she had expected. And yet as she looked down at the ring she couldn’t help thinking how real it looked. It was exquisitely beautiful. ‘It’s a very good imitation,’ she murmured.

Max stood up from the wall. ‘If you don’t mind I’ve got some work to get on with in the vineyard before we leave.’

‘No, I don’t mind.’ She shaded her hand from the sun to look up at him.

‘Oh, and I suppose I should tell you that Natasha might be coming to the party this afternoon.’ He added the words casually, almost as an afterthought.

‘Natasha…as in your former fiancée?’ Carrie stared up at him in consternation.

‘That’s the only Natasha I know,’ he said wryly.

‘Well…why is she coming to the party?’

‘Her mother and father have the neighbouring vineyard, and they are close friends with my parents. As Natasha is back living in Barcelona my mother has extended the invitation to her and her husband, Erick. It’s just a courtesy invitation.’

‘So they might not come?’

Max paused. ‘I think they will. That’s why I’m telling you about it up front.’

‘I see.’ Carrie wished she could see the expression on Max’s face, but his back was to the sun and his face was in shadow. ‘Will it bother you if she does come?’

Max hesitated for a moment. ‘It will be nice to see her again. It must be about two years since we last met up.’

‘Is that how long it is since your relationship ended?’ Carrie asked curiously.

‘No, that happened over four years ago now.’ Max raked a hand through his hair in a distracted way, and she sensed suddenly that he didn’t want to talk about that.

But Carrie wanted to talk about it; she wanted to know exactly what had happened. She wanted to know every little thing about the relationship, no matter how the facts might disturb her. ‘Did you finish with her?’ she asked softly.

‘Carrie, it’s in the past and I’d rather not rake over it,’ Max said with finality. ‘To be honest with you, I’m trying to forget about it.’

Carrie noted the way he talked about his emotions in the present tense. He was ‘trying’ to forget about it. If he was truly over Natasha wouldn’t he have said he ‘had’ forgotten about it?

‘Anyway, she’s very happy now,’ Max continued brusquely. ‘So you have no need to worry. There will be no bad vibes from Natasha at the party. She’s not like that anyway. I can honestly say she is one of the loveliest people I know… You’ll like her.’

Carrie doubted that, because it seemed obvious to her that Max wasn’t over the other woman; there was still regret in his voice when he spoke of her.

But before she could say anything further Molly interrupted them.

‘Look, Uncle Max, look how many oranges I’ve found.’

Max glanced around at the carefully constructed pyramid. ‘Wow, you have been busy,’ he said with a smile.

‘Will you come and play now?’ Molly asked seriously.

Max crouched down so that he was at eye-level with her. ‘I can’t, Molly, I have some work I must do. But we will have some fun this afternoon at the party, how’s that?’

Molly nodded.

‘Good girl.’ He ruffled her curls affectionately. ‘See you later.’

Molly leaned back against the wall and they both watched as Max walked away from them back towards the villa.

‘I can’t wait for the party,’ Molly said happily.

It was only a short car ride from Max’s villa to his parents’ house.

Molly chattered non-stop in the back of the car, asking Max question after question about the party. Who would be there? What were in the presents that were wrapped so beautifully in gold paper? What would they have to eat? She was so excited that she was hardly able to sit still.

‘We’re here, Molly.’ Max smiled as he turned off the main road and into a driveway that led up towards a large whitewashed farmhouse.

‘Is this where you lived when you were little?’ Molly asked.

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘Where did you go to school?’

‘I went to the same school that my niece and nephew go to now. It’s in a town not far away.’

Carrie liked the way Max answered all of Molly’s questions with great patience, never patronising her.

Max had been lucky to grow up somewhere like this, she thought, noting how the red-roofed building nestled snugly in the valley between the wine terraces and the curve of a river that snaked down from the mountains. It was a picturesque scene. The house looked as if it was a part of the rugged landscape, as if it had always been there and quite simply belonged.

Like Max’s villa, it was partly covered in bougainvillea, but there the similarity ended. This house had none of Max’s villa’s sophistication, yet it exuded charm. A black cat slept on a swing chair in the shade of the porch. And at the side of the house a goat was standing in a bed of marigolds, eating his way through the undergrowth.

Max parked his car beside a pick-up truck in the shade of a giant palm tree. ‘Looks like we are the first to arrive,’ he said to Carrie as they stepped out into the warmth of the afternoon. ‘So we will have my parents’ undivided attention.’

Carrie suddenly wished that Carmel and Bob would arrive in their taxi, and take some of the emphasis off her. Nervously she brushed an imaginary crease from her blue dress and watched as Molly immediately ran ahead of them to sit on the porch and stroke the cat.