Scandalous Sins. Tara Pammi
appeared to think about it for a moment or maybe it was because he was concentrating on the traffic snarl ahead. ‘Nothing specific. Intelligence is always good, a sense of humour.’
‘Looks?’
He gave a lip shrug. ‘Not as important as other qualities.’
‘But you’ve only ever dated incredibly beautiful women. I’ve seen photos of them. Fraser showed me.’
‘Mere coincidence.’
Violet snorted. ‘Well-to-do men are selective when choosing a lover. Women, in general, are much more accepting over looks. It’s a well-known fact.’
‘What are you looking for in a partner?’
Violet looked at her hands where they were clutching her purse. ‘I guess I want what my parents have—a partner who loves me despite my faults and is there for me no matter what.’
‘Your parents are a tough act to follow.’
She let out a long sigh. ‘Tell me about it.’
* * *
The dinner was at a restaurant in Soho. Cam’s client had booked a private room and he and his wife were already seated at the table when they arrived. The man rose and greeted Cam warmly. ‘So good you could join us. Sophia has been excited about it all day, haven’t you, agapi mou?’
Sophia was excited all right. Violet could see the sultry gleam in those dark eyes as they roved Cam’s body like she was mentally undressing him.
Cam’s arm was around Violet’s waist. ‘Nick and Sophia Nicolaides, this is my partner Violet. Darling, this is Nick and Sophia.’
Partner? What was wrong with girlfriend? Partner sounded a little more...permanent. But then he wanted to make sure Sophia got the message loud and clear. ‘Darling’ was a nice touch, however. Violet quite liked that. No one had ever called her that before. She got ‘poppet’ and ‘wee one’ from her parents and her grandad called her Vivi like her siblings did. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you both,’ she said. ‘Cam’s told me all about you. Are you in London long?’
‘Until New Year,’ Nick said. ‘Sophia’s never had an English Christmas before.’
Sophia looked like all her Christmases and New Year’s Eves had come at once when she slid her hand through Cam’s arm. ‘You’re a dark horse, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘You never told us you had a partner. Are you engaged?’
Cam’s smile looked a little tight around the edges as he disentangled himself from Sophia’s tentacle-like arm. ‘Not yet.’
Not yet? Didn’t that imply he was actually considering it? Violet had trouble keeping her expression composed. Even though she knew he was only saying it for the sake of appearances, her heart still gave an excited little leap. Not that she was in love with him or anything. She was just imagining what it would be like if she was. How it would feel to have him look at her with that tender look he was sending her way and actually mean it. For real.
Sophia smiled but it didn’t crease her eyes at the corners, although that could have been because of Botox. Meow. Violet wasn’t normally the critical type but something about the predatory nature of Nick Nicolaides’ wife irritated her beyond measure. Sophia looked like the type of woman for whom the word ‘no’ was a challenge rather than an obstacle. What Sophia wanted, Sophia got. No matter what. And Sophia wanted Cam. It was a wonder Nick couldn’t see it. Or was Nick so enamoured with his young, stunningly beautiful wife he couldn’t see what was right before his eyes?
Violet decided it was time to draw the line, not in sand but in concrete. She gazed up at Cam with what she hoped passed for besotted devotion. ‘I didn’t know you were thinking along those lines this early in our relationship.’
He leaned down and dropped a kiss to her upturned mouth. ‘It’s never too early to say I love you.’
Violet smiled a blissfully happy smile. Who said she couldn’t act? Or maybe she wasn’t acting. Hearing him say those words, even though deep down she knew he didn’t mean them, had a potent effect on her. No one, apart from her family, had told her they loved her. ‘I love you, too, baby.’ She turned her smile up a notch.
Nick slapped Cam on the shoulder. ‘Let’s have a drink to celebrate in advance of the announcement.’
Champagne was ordered and served and the glasses held up in a toast to an engagement that wasn’t going to happen. It felt weird to be part of such a deception but Violet had no choice but to run with it. Sophia kept looking at her, sizing her up as if wondering what on earth Cam saw in her. Violet didn’t let it intimidate her, which was surprising as, under normal circumstances, she would have retreated to the trenches by now.
Dinner was a long, drawn-out affair because Nick wanted to discuss business with Cam, which left Violet to make conversation with Sophia. Never good at small talk, Violet had exhausted her twenty question checklist before the entrées were cleared away.
Cam came to her rescue after what was left of their mains was removed. He excused them both from the table and escorted her out to the restroom. ‘You’re doing great, Violet. Hang in there.’
‘If looks could kill, I’d be lying in a morgue with a tag on my big toe right about now,’ Violet said through clenched teeth. ‘She is such a cow. She’s not even trying to hide how she’s lusting after you. Why can’t Nick see it? She’s so brazen it’s nauseating.’
Cam’s mouth was set in a grim line. ‘I think he does see it but he’s in denial. I don’t want to be the one to take the bullet for pointing it out to him. This project is too important to me. It’s the biggest contract I’ve done and more could follow. Nick has a lot of contacts. Word of mouth is everything in my business.’
Violet studied his tense features for a moment. ‘If she weren’t married would she be the type of woman you’d be involved with?’
‘God, no.’ His tone was adamant. ‘What sort of man do you think I am?’
‘She’s incredibly beautiful.’
‘So are you.’
Violet moistened her lips. ‘You’re terrifyingly good at lying.’
His brows came together. ‘You think I’m lying? Don’t you have mirrors at your flat? You turned every head when you walked through the main restaurant just now.’
Keep it light. Violet smiled a teasing smile to cover her self-consciousness. Compliments had never been her strong point. She knew it was polite to accept them with thanks but she could never quite pull it off with sophisticated aplomb. And if people noticed her when she came into a room, she never saw it. She was always too busy keeping her head down trying not to be noticed. ‘You were lying about the intended proposal.’
His dark blue eyes held hers in a lock that made the base of her spine tingle like sherbet. ‘I can be ruthless when it comes to nailing a business deal, but not that ruthless.’
‘Good to know.’
His phone pinged with an incoming message. His expression turned sour when he checked the screen.
‘Sophia?’ Violet’s tone was incredulous. ‘She texted you while her husband is sitting right next to her?’
Cam expelled a breath and pocketed his phone. ‘Go and powder your nose, I’ll wait for you here.’
* * *
Cam led Violet back to the private dining room. She had reapplied her lipgloss and it made her lips all the more tempting to kiss. Get a grip. This was an act, not the real deal. He wasn’t interested in the real deal. Not with anyone just now and particularly not with a girl he had viewed as a surrogate sister for the last twelve years.
But then last Easter something had changed.
He had changed.
He had