congratulating me and saying I must bring you to some fund-raising event we’re sponsoring on Thursday.’ He sighed. ‘I can’t believe how quickly it’s all got out of hand. I didn’t think anyone in London would need to know about our so-called engagement,’ he confessed. ‘I obviously didn’t think things through properly.’
‘You weren’t to know anyone from work would be at the wedding fair,’ Cassie pointed out consolingly.
‘No.’ Jake brooded, trying to work out where it had all gone wrong. He wasn’t used to his plans going awry. He spent so much of his life keeping things under rigid control; this was way out of his comfort zone.
‘Perhaps I should have laughed it off when Ruth first mentioned it,’ he said. ‘But it seemed humiliating to admit that my engagement was just a marketing exercise. Ruth knew Natasha, too. She would have felt sorry for me.’
He didn’t need to tell Cassie how much he would have hated that.
‘The upshot is that I let her believe that you and I really were engaged,’ he went on, looking directly at Cassie. ‘I’m sorry about this, but I wondered if you would mind putting on an appearance at this do on Thursday, and any other similar events in the next couple of months?’ He took a breath. ‘If you don’t want to do it, I’ll understand, of course.’
‘What, no more blackmail?’ said Cassie, brown eyes dancing.
Jake set his teeth. ‘No. This wasn’t part of our agreement. I’m just asking you to help me.’
‘Of course I will,’ said Cassie, regretting now that she’d teased him. He so obviously hated the whole situation. ‘It’ll be fine. Honestly, I don’t mind.’
‘It’s not likely to be a big deal,’ Jake said. ‘Just a couple of outings.’
‘There you go, then. No problem.’
‘Well…thank you.’
Jake was taken aback by how relieved he was, and he had a nasty feeling it wasn’t just because Cassie was prepared to save his face at work. It was barely two weeks since she had-literally-tripped back into his life, and already she had changed things more than Natasha had in six months.
That wedding fair on Friday…Jake had thought about it all weekend. Cassie had dragged him round every stall. She had tried on tiaras and sampled cupcakes. She had sighed over shoes and chatted to other brides-to-be about make-up and hen parties and how to keep children entertained at a reception.
It should have been Jake’s worst nightmare, but oddly he’d found that he was enjoying himself. He’d liked watching Cassie’s animated face as she talked and waved her arms around, her intent expression as she’d studied the dizzying array of goods and services on offer, and the way she’d licked her fingers after trying a piece of fruit at the chocolate fountain.
They had wrangled over table decorations, pretended to choose a honeymoon destination, dodged behind stalls to avoid Michelle and the ever-silent Mark, and generally laughed more than Jake could remember since…Well, he couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed like that. And all the time he had been aware of Cassie, of her bright face and her warm smile, and the memory of her kiss was like a hum underneath his skin.
So when Ruth had congratulated him on his engagement, instead of quietly admitting that it was all a mistake he had imagined seeing Cassie again, and he had found himself playing along.
It was only after Ruth had gone that he’d realised how much he had taken it for granted that Cassie would agree. He had blackmailed her into this charade, for goodness’ sake! That didn’t happen to nice middle-class girls like her. Jake wouldn’t have blamed her if she had told him to stuff his pretence.
After all, it wasn’t as if she could like being with him. They’d got on well enough at the wedding fair, but in lots of ways being there had just pointed out the differences between them. Cassie was ridiculously romantic, he was rigidly practical. She was warm, vibrant and spontaneous, he was cool and controlled. The only thing they could agree on was that they were completely incompatible.
Jake had told himself he would deserve the humiliation of admitting to Ruth that he had lied if Cassie didn’t agree.
But she had agreed. ‘It’ll be fine,’ she had said easily, and Jake had felt his heart lift.
‘Thank you,’ he said again.
‘When do you want me?’
Cassie misunderstood his silence. A blush unfurled in her cheeks. ‘On Thursday, I mean.’
‘Can you come to my office at six?’ said Jake, recovering. ‘The reception starts at half past. We may as well go together and look like a proper couple.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘DON’T say anything!’ Unbuttoning her coat, Cassie collapsed onto one of the sofas in Jake’s office. ‘I was so determined I was going to be on time for once, but it’s really not my fault this time,’ she told him. ‘I’ve been stuck on the tube for
Jake didn’t sit down. He needed a few moments to readjust. Had he actually been worrying about her? He had certainly started looking at his watch a good half-hour before she was even due to arrive, and as the minutes ticked past six o’clock he had looked more and more frequently.
And now she was here, lying on the sofa in a pose of exaggerated exhaustion, looking extraordinarily vivid. Her coat had fallen open to reveal a party dress. Jake had an impression of a vibrant blue colour, and some kind of satiny material, but all he really noticed was that it was rucked up over Cassie’s knees, and in spite of himself his eyes travelled over the legs sprawled over the leather. His mouth dried. Had Cassie always had those spectacular legs? Surely he would have noticed if she had?
Clearing his throat, Jake made himself look away. ‘If you’re too tired, we can always give the party a miss.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Cassie sat up. ‘How can we convince everyone we’re engaged if we don’t turn up? I’m fine,’ she said, pushing back her hair.
Getting to her feet, she crossed to the window, and looked down at the street below. The traffic was nose to tail, the pavements choked with umbrellas, everyone anxious to get home or heading for the nearest pub. Thousands of people, all with somewhere to go and something to do, even in the rain. She loved London like this, busy, purposeful and pulsating with energy.
Jake was reaching for his coat when he stopped. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot…’ He patted his jacket and pulled a small jewellery-box from the inside pocket. ‘You’d better have this.’
Cassie turned from window. ‘What is it?’
‘Open it.’
Jake handed the box to Cassie, who opened it almost fearfully and found herself staring down at a ring set with three large square-cut rubies separated by two dazzling diamonds.
‘Oh…’ she said on a long breath.
Watching her face, Jake found himself rushing into speech. ‘I remembered how all the other brides at the wedding fair had a ring,’ he said. ‘I thought you needed one for tonight. It would be odd if we’d got as far as announcing our engagement and you didn’t have one. Do you like it?’ he finished abruptly.
Cassie raised her eyes from the ring to look directly into his, and Jake felt as if a great fist was squeezing his heart. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said.
‘Perhaps I should have gone down on one knee.’ He tried to joke in a weak attempt to disguise his relief. He didn’t want to admit even to himself how long he had spent choosing the damn thing, or how determined he had been to find exactly the right ring for her.
The brown eyes flickered and dropped again to the ring. ‘There’s no need for that,’ she said. ‘It’s just a prop.’
A prop he had spent a whole afternoon agonising over. ‘Yes,’ said Jake.
Cassie pulled the ring out of the velvet and slipped it onto her finger. She couldn’t help imagining what it would
