The Pretense

Chapter 5

FEELING as if the past hour had taken a day to pass, Harper unfolded a woolen blanket and laid it on the bedroom floor.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced up to find Matteo lounging against the bathroom doorway, watching her. His face was stony, but it only highlighted the sculpted jaw that was again in need of a razor. He wasn’t wearing anything other than his black jeans unbuttoned and his biceps bulged where he folded his hands across his superbly naked chest.

“Problem with you shirt?” she said and could have kicked herself when his mouth curled into a knowing smile.

“Only in as much as I don’t wear a shirt to bed.”

Harper raised an unconcerned brow. “Lucky you wear jeans, then.”

“I don’t.”

His eyebrow rose to match hers and she turned back to unfold a second blanket she’d picked up from the end of the bed. Flicking it out, she laid it on top of the first.

“I repeat – what are you doing?”

“Making a bed. What does it look like?”

Matteo shot amusement to her eyes. “If you’re worried about whether or not I’m going to jump under your skin now that we’re alone, I doubt I could get through that passion killer while you’re wearing granny’s clothes.”

Harper stood up and moved to the wardrobe, where she had seen a group of pillows on the top shelf. She was glad that he didn’t like her quit-style night gown. It had been a present from her late father and although the stitching was frayed in places, she’d never get rid of it.

Thinking about her father made her remember the day her parents had told her they were separating. She’d been ten at the time and while they’d talked about it calmly and rationally, Harper had felt sick and confused. Then her mother had driven Pennsylvania to Massachusetts and Harper’s world had gone from cozy and safe to unpredictable and troublesome. A bit like the steely man feigning casualness in the bathroom doorway.

“Or are you worried you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself after that kiss?” he smirked.

Harper cast him a shrinking look and returned to the bed she was setting up on the floor. She wasn’t going to stroke his ego by responding to his provocative comments.

He’d felt her response to his kiss and it still bothers. Afterwards, she’d pretended that she’d been acting for the sake of their audience but she hadn’t been and she needed time to process that.

In the space of a short time, the solid foundation of her secure life had become decidedly broken and she wasn’t going to add that by letting her plans for the future be derailed by a sexy-as-fuck flamboyant racing car driver who treated life like a game. Because Harper knew life wasn’t a game and when things went wrong, you only had yourself to rely on.

It had been a tough lesson she had learned hard after being sent to an exclusive girls’ boarding school, where her opinion hadn’t meant half as much as her lack of money. Teenage girls could be cruel but Harper hadn’t wanted to upset her mother by telling her she was having a terrible time at school. Her mother had needed to work two jobs in order to give Harper a better start in life than she’d had, so Harper had put up with the bullying and the loneliness and made sure not to give her mother any reason to be disappointed in her.

“If you think I’m sleeping on that, sweetheart, you’re mistaken.”

Matteo’s arrogant assurance was astounding and Harper stared open-mouthed as he crossed to the bed and placed his watch on the bedside table.