She glanced around and, satisfied there was no one within listening distance, slid a little closer to him. ‘Because we know that night was an aberration. We’d both divulged too much at the picnic and mistook it for closeness.’ She shrugged. ‘Throw in the natural attraction between us, wasn’t any great surprise we ended up in bed.’

  Everything Lucy said made sense but it didn’t mean Cash had to like it. From the moment she’d dismissed their sensational night together as an aberration, he’d wanted to protest. Wanted to tell her he’d never had a night like it. Wanted to say that he liked her, beyond the sex.

  But he didn’t say any of those things, because Lucy had just given him the perfect out. What he’d wanted since last night.

  She didn’t want to complicate what they had with emotions and he respected her for that. She didn’t expect their night of sex to equal a relationship. She didn’t want anything from him beyond the money.

  He should be ecstatic. She’d articulated brilliantly what he’d been trying to achieve with that god-awful text. So why the burning disappointment?

  ‘Glad we’re on the same page,’ he said, feeling like a heel as he snagged her hand. Because despite how she’d brushed off their encounter, and how much he wanted to agree with her, dismissing their connection that night felt plain wrong.

  ‘Are these people for real?’ Eager to steer the conversation onto safer ground, Cash held Lucy’s hand tight as they waited their turn to enter the roller-skating rink. ‘Who does this once they’re past the age of ten?’

  Lucy laughed, the joyful sound making something in his chest twang. ‘I used to love skating when I was a kid.’

  ‘Not me.’

  He’d been too busy doing his homework or tidying up the two-bedroom flat he’d shared with his dad to have time to indulge in frivolous activities.

  ‘But you can skate, right?’ She shot him a concerned look and he decided to have a little fun.

  He bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing and shook his head. ‘Not very well.’

  Her concern morphed to panic. ‘You’re not going to fall and drag me down with you?’

  ‘Maybe I need you to hold my hand real tight and not let go?’ Any excuse.

  A tiny crease appeared between her brows. ‘You should hold onto the rail along the outskirts of the rink. I think that’s safest.’

  ‘For who?’

  ‘Everybody.’

  He ducked down to whisper in her ear, throwing in a little stumble for good measure, and her arm instantly shot out to steady him. ‘You should give me a kiss for good luck.’

  She eased away to glare. ‘I’m not falling for that—’

  He kissed her anyway, a soft tender melding of lips that quickly escalated into heat and yearning.

  He’d thought having sex with Lucy would get her out of his system, would assuage what he assumed was a raging case of lust because she was so different from the women he usually hung out with.

  It hadn’t. If anything, he wanted her even more now. And damned if he could figure out how to extract himself gracefully from this unfamiliar scenario.

  ‘You’re up, folks.’ An attendant interrupted them and not a moment too soon, considering he wouldn’t be able to skate at all if he was physically impeded below the belt.

  He expected Lucy to look annoyed at yet another public display of affection. Instead, her goofy grin as she entwined her fingers through his told him she liked hanging out together as much as he did.

  ‘Was that one for the cameras?’ she said, pointing to them on the sidelines.

  He shook his head. ‘That one was for me.’

  He hauled her against him and planted another hot quickie against her lips. ‘That one’s for you.’

  She cupped his cheek with her free hand and stared at him with a seriousness that scared the crap out of him.

  ‘I think all this fake relationship stuff is starting to get to us.’

  He nodded. ‘It’s starting to feel pretty real to me.’

  Cash unwittingly held his breath, waiting for Lucy to say something, anything, to reinforce what he already knew: they were halfway to being crazy about each other.

  ‘Move it along, people.’ The attendant all but shoved them onto the rink, shattering the moment.

  Cash should’ve been glad. Last thing he needed was for Lucy to articulate she’d developed feelings for him. So why did he feel incredibly let down?

  She nudged him towards the railing. ‘Hold on there and watch an expert strut her stuff.’

  He managed a meek nod. ‘Okay.’

  He watched Lucy shoot out into the crowd, weaving her way through the skaters with poise and speed. She didn’t hesitate once, darting and weaving like a pro. She was magnificent. And damned if his chest didn’t give another betraying twang.

  He waited until she hit the final turn and made eye contact, before he pushed off the railing, picked up speed and executed a perfect backward-double turn.

  Lucy gaped as he grinned and shot her a jaunty half-salute.

  Who’s the expert now? He wanted to yell across the rink. Childish? Absolutely, but he loved teasing her. Loved making her eyes sparkle and her lips part a smidgeon before she smiled.

  He skated in slow half-circles on the spot, waiting for her to catch up.

  Snapping out of her shocked trance after his little display, she sped up, racing towards him.

  She didn’t see one of the other couples skate a tad too close.

  She didn’t anticipate the girl’s skate snagging on her guy’s.

  She didn’t have time to avoid the couple that sprawled at her feet.

  Cash saw it all as if in slow motion. Powerless, he watched the woman he cared about trip and land hard.

  He swore and raced across the rink. A crowd had gathered by the time he reached her side and he knelt, unable to breathe, pain ricocheting through his chest.

  ‘Luce, are you okay?’

  She groaned in response and pushed herself up into a half-sitting position.

  ‘Don’t move. I’ll call an ambulance.’

  She shot him a death glare. ‘I don’t need an ambulance, you dufus, but you might by the time I’ve finished with you.’

  His sheepish smile didn’t help matters. ‘You were so cocky and condescending, I wanted to take you down a peg or two.’

  ‘You succeeded.’ She winced as she tried to straighten her legs. ‘Now help me up.’

  ‘Show’s over, folks,’ he said, dispersing the crowd by waving them away before sliding his hands under Lucy’s armpits and helping her stand.

  He heard her muttered curses and bit back a smile. She’d be sore and bruised for a while, and he’d like nothing better than to massage her pain away.

  ‘Make sure you kill each and every one of those bloody cameramen before my fall ends up on the website,’ she said, taking his arm when he offered it.

  ‘Anything for you, sweetheart.’

  The moment the tongue-in-cheek response fell from his lips, Cash knew it was true.

  He’d do anything for this strong, capable, amazing woman.

  Those few seconds when she’d gone down and he couldn’t stop it? They might just have been the worst of his life. He’d do anything to protect her. Which meant...

  Hell, he liked her. Really liked her.

  Crap.

  This was so not in his plans.

  He needed to get back on familiar territory, to keep things light-hearted between them. It was the only way.

  He helped her off the rink, eased her onto a seat and knelt at her feet, loosening her laces. ‘There’s an upside to your humiliation.’

  Not amused by his try at levity, she frowned. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He eased off her first skate. ‘Just think of all the sore bits I get to kiss better.’

  Her glower immediately softened. ‘But I’m sore all over.’

  ‘Now you’re talking.’ He winked and eased off the other skate. ‘Want to cut this session short, head back to my place and make out?’

  She rolled her eyes, but not before he’d seen a spark of excitement. ‘Just because we’re at a skate rink doesn’t mean you need to resort to teen vocab. Make out? Seriously?’

  ‘I’m deadly serious.’ He stood and scooped her into his arms to prove it.

  ‘Put me down,’ she said, a half-hearted protest tempered by her silly grin. ‘You’re still wearing skates. We’ll both go down.’

  ‘That’s what I’m hoping,’ he murmured, seeing the exact moment she cottoned onto his innuendo when her cheeks flushed crimson.

  She glanced away, unable to meet his eyes. ‘The faster you put me down, the faster we can get our shoes on and leave.’

  ‘Eager to get me alone?’ He lowered her back to the chair and sat next to her, undoing his skates in record time.

  ‘Eager for a long, hot soak in some Epsom salts more like it,’ she muttered, grimacing as she raised an arm to run a hand through her hair.

  ‘Be back in a sec.’ He grabbed their shoes in record time, eager to sink into that hot bath right alongside her.

  Kneeling at her feet, he held out her shoe and took her foot in the other. ‘These yours, Cinders?’

  ‘You’re no Prince Charming,’ she said, tempering her comeback with a coy smile as he carefully slid her shoes onto her feet.

  ‘I’d like to be.’

  He meant it too. He’d like to sweep this wonderful woman off her feet, because he had a feeling she wasn’t used to the attention.

  Didn’t take a genius to figure out she’d been burned badly by her bastard ex cheating on her. And for her to marry, she must’ve loved the guy very much. Which was interesting, because Lucy didn’t seem the impulsive type, so how long had she dated the ex? Who was he? A family friend? Love at first sight?

  For the first time ever he actually found himself caring about a girlfriend’s past.

  As to his feelings for Lucy, he had his answer right there. Using the girlfriend label with a woman wasn’t in his DNA. He dated women. He had female acquaintances. He had female friends with benefits.

  But he didn’t have girlfriends. Girlfriends conjured up visions of lust fading to dislike, irrational demands and a badgering for lifelong commitment. Only to have the whole thing fall apart when one or the other in the partnership got tired of the other.

  He’d seen it firsthand with his parents; and the resultant fallout. It hadn’t been pretty. In fact, it had scarred his dad for life and he never wanted to depend on another human being for his happiness. Ever.

  So where did that leave his relationship with Lucy?

  He cared too much about her to revert to being acquaintances once this week was over. But he didn’t want to care too much for fear of stuffing up everything.

  ‘You want to be my Prince Charming?’ She made it sound as if he’d offered to push her out of a plane without a parachute. ‘Good one.’

  She winked, as if he’d made a gaff.

  And the fact she hadn’t taken him seriously hurt more than it should.

  So Cash did the only thing possible. Shirked the hard stuff for now, until he could get his head around all the new feelings ricocheting around inside him.

  ‘If you’ve finished laughing at your rescuer, I’ll get you home.’ He swept her into his arms before she could protest, and, to his surprise, she meekly wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled in for the ride.

  ‘Thanks,’ she murmured somewhere in the vicinity of his chest as she rested her cheek against it.

  As he carried her out of the skate rink to the applause of onlookers, he kinda liked having her dependent on him.

  * * *

  Lucy should’ve been uncomfortable with Cash perched on the edge of the bathtub, filling up her wine glass. But she wasn’t. And that spoke volumes on how she viewed this relationship.

  Because it was a relationship.

  However they liked to dress it up, pretend it was fake for the PR, whatever, Lucy knew without a doubt that they’d moved into relationship territory.

  Cash’s expression after she’d fallen at the rink hadn’t been that of a disengaged guy faking it for the cameras. And for a terrifying second, as he’d skated towards her at breakneck speed, she’d wanted to blurt exactly how she was feeling.

  Like an A-grade ass, she’d fallen for her fake boyfriend.

  Worse, it didn’t terrify her as it should.

  Having him pick her up, look after her, bring her back to her place and draw a bath made her feel good. Maybe being dependent on someone wasn’t so scary if it was the right person.

  ‘I’m hoping the warmth and the glass of Shiraz you’ve consumed has lulled you enough that I can ask you something.’ He placed the bottle on the bathroom cabinet and folded his arms. ‘Have you dated much since your marriage?’

  The question came from left field and Lucy would’ve usually told him to shove it or given a flippant answer. But caring about someone meant letting down her guard. And it had been a long time since she’d done that.

  ‘No. Dating hasn’t been high on my list of priorities since I divorced Adrian.’

  He glowered as she said her ex’s name, as if he wanted to pummel the guy. She knew the feeling.

  ‘Why not? You’re young, you’re gorgeous, you must’ve had a stack of offers.’

  She loved how free he was with compliments, even though he was slightly delusional if he thought she was gorgeous. ‘None of the offers interested me.’

  ‘And now?’

  She had no idea what he was asking so she took a sip of wine, another, buying time to formulate an answer that wouldn’t get her into trouble.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘It’s a simple enough question, Luce. Because I think we’ve moved past our original agreement and entered murky territory.’

  She admired his honesty. But could he handle her bluntness?

  ‘You want me to spell it out? Fine.’ The bubbles shifted as she eased onto her side to face him. ‘You’re nothing like what I expected. I like you. But we’re from different worlds and I’m not sure I’m ready to take a chance on a guy like you.’

  He frowned. ‘A guy like me?’

  She dragged in a breath and blew it out. ‘You’re wealthy, successful and a permanent feature in Melbourne’s social scene.’

  He opened his mouth to respond and she held up a water-pruned finger. ‘You’re also like my ex.’

  He reacted as if she’d called his manhood into question, shooting to his feet to tower over her. ‘I’d never cheat on you.’

  She hated doing this, but if she didn’t articulate her concerns now, there’d be no going forward for them. ‘Maybe not. But Adrian was smitten with me at the start too. He liked our differences. But apparently he got tired of them after a while and that’s why he started looking elsewhere. So pardon me for being a cynic.’

  Cash stared at her as if she’d sprouted horns. ‘You’re kidding, right? You bought that douchebag’s excuses, blaming you?’ His fingers curled into fists. ‘I’m nothing like him and I would’ve hoped you’d have figured that out by now.’

  She shrugged and held out her hands, palm up. ‘I’m just telling you how it is. So there can be no misinterpretations later.’

  His hands relaxed as he shot her a dubious glance. ‘There’s going to be a later?’

  ‘If you’re lucky.’

  She sank back into the bubbles and closed her eyes, needing to blot out the sight of a righteous, indignant Cash ready to slay dragons for her, before she blubbered.

  Because that strange burning in her eyes definitely signalled the onset of tears and she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She’d answered enough questions for one day. No way did she want him asking more.

  For if she did cry it wouldn’t be tears of sadness. For the first time in a long time Lucy was happy.

  She had a guy sensitive enough to ask questions and to respect her answers. A guy willing to protect her. A guy who cared.

  Lucy squeezed her eyes tight to prevent the slightest tear seepage. Until she heard a slight splash, the water lapped higher on her chest and a foot brushed her outer thigh.

  Her eyes snapped open to see Cash settling into the bath, his arms draped on the side of the tub, his grin smug.

  ‘There isn’t room in here for two.’

  He winked. ‘Exactly.’

  Those aches and pains sustained from the skating fall? Faded into oblivion as Cash demonstrated exactly how a bathtub built for one could accommodate two.

  ELEVEN

  The next morning, Cash postponed a seminar to go see the one person who could get him out of his funk.

  His dad. They might not have got on so well as Cash was growing up, but they’d been all each other had for too long not to know each other inside out. If his old man couldn’t help with Cash’s problems, no one could.

  ‘What brings you by?’ Ronnie Burgess sat on his small balcony, sipping black tea, his daily ritual since he’d retired from his job at the local car parts factory a few years ago.

  ‘Do I need an excuse to visit my dad?’ Cash squeezed onto a too-small wrought-iron chair next to his dad and looked out over the backstreets of Collingwood.

  They’d moved into this flat after Mum threw them out and, despite Cash offering to relocate his dad, buy him a house/apartment/whatever he wanted, Ronnie refused. Cash had no idea if it was stubborn pride preventing his dad from accepting his offer, or a determination to remind himself never to repeat the mistakes of the past, but Ronnie was firmly entrenched in this working-class suburb.