When You Were Mine (Adams Sisters) (17 page)

“Are you kidding me?  If I broke you off a piece, I’ll never be able to get rid of you.”

Ryan laughed.  “I won’t be the only one whipped.”

Her laughter danced around him as he leaned against the doorframe.  “So how was your shopping today?”

“Surprising, unexpected and way over the top.”

“But you liked it?”

“I had a nice time.”

“Good.  Then you’ll have an even better time tonight.”  He leaned forward to sneak a more revealing peek at her.

“Hey!” She slammed the door but continued to laugh.  “Go get dressed,” Joey directed.

“Yes, ma’am,” he thundered like an army private, and then marched off into another bedroom to carry out the order.

Joey listened as his heavy footfall padded out of the room.  When she glanced up at the vanity mirror, she caught the smile still on her lips.  “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” she asked herself for what seemed like the millionth time.

Slowly she lowered her gaze and pretended not to hear the small voice in her head when it answered, “No.”

#

An hour later Ryan rechecked his appearance in the full-length mirror in his bedroom.  He had prepared for more than a thousand red-carpet events and award shows and never had he worried more about his appearance than he did at that moment. 

At heart, he was a jeans and football jersey kind of man; let it never be said that Ryan Donovan didn’t know how to flip the script.  Tonight’s special, a double-breasted black Armani, fit his body like a glove, and he grew more anxious to drape the ultimate male accessory on his arm: a beautiful woman.

“Joey,” he called, stepping out of his bedroom.  “Are you about ready?”  He headed toward the bar to prepare drinks.

The last thing Ryan expected was for a woman to be on time, but that was exactly what happened when Joey’s bedroom door crept open.  He pivoted in its direction, his breath trapped in his chest.

He had expected her to be beautiful, but in truth she was more than that.  Stunning, striking, gorgeous--no one word encompassed the vision that floated toward him in a floor-length white gown with something that looked like stars glittering around her arms and waist.  To complete the look, diamonds sparkled around her lean, elegant neck and dripped from her ears.

“Aren’t you going to say something?”

Ryan’s eyebrows stretched higher and his jaw slackened, but words continued to fail him.

“You don’t like it,” she said.  Her shoulders immediately drooped.  “I knew it was too much.”  Joey turned, flashing him with her flawless back.  “I better go change.  Just give me a few minutes.”

“Don’t you dare.” His voice returned in full force.

Slowly she faced him.

“Don’t you change a thing.”  Ryan walked toward her.  “You are perfect.”

She cocked her head as though concerned with his mental state.

“You don’t know, do you?” he asked, closing the distance between them in two easy strides.  “You don’t know how truly beautiful you are.”

Joey rolled her eyes.  “I’m no Carlina Leoni.”

He shrugged.  “You’re right.”  Her gaze lowered to the carpet, but Ryan settled his finger beneath her chin and lifted her head so that their eyes would meet.  “You’re better than her.  You’re real.”

Her clear, chocolate-colored eyes glossed with unshed tears.  They widened briefly as they watched his head descend, but then closed a split second before his pillow-soft lips landed on hers.

She was getting used to the taste of him and could feel herself becoming addicted.  That made no sense.   She was in love with...what’s his name? 

Unable to think straight, Joey wondered why she felt as though her body grew lighter, weightless--as though floating on a cloud.  His lips pulled away, but she greedily leaned forward to recapture them and prolong their kiss.

At last, it was Ryan’s soft chuckle that burst her languid reverie, and she jumped back, completely baffled with what she just did.

“No need to look like that.  I enjoyed the it, too.”  He winked and turned back toward the bar.  “Would you like a drink before we go downstairs for dinner?”

Still stunned into silence, Joey lifted her slender hand to her lips.  What was wrong with her?  She was behaving like a fickle teenager who developed crushes on a new boy every week.

“Joey?” he called, setting two glasses on the bar.  “Do you like Cristal?”

“S-sure.” She pushed out the solitary word, and then cleared her throat when she realized that she sounded like Kermit the Frog.

Ryan smiled.

“So.” She composed herself and joined him at the bar.  “What is the next step in your master plan?  Sure there is more to it than a hostile makeover.”

“Hostile?”

She bit her lower lip.  “Forced?”

His brows dipped and collided together.  “Sergio held a gun to your head, did he?”

Her gaze dropped.  “Fine.  A
fun
makeover.”

Ryan’s smile returned.  “Yes, there is more to my plan.”  He filled their glasses.  “Joey, did you know that men are
very
simple creatures--animals, actually?”

Her lips sloped into an uneven smile.  “I’ve heard rumors.”

“It’s true.”  Ryan handed her a glass.  “Simple.  Primitive.  Even in the twenty-first century when we don expensive Armani suits, drive fast cars and drip diamonds over our prey...”

Joey shifted nervously on her feet and sipped her drink.

“...a man is still a hunter.  We live for the hunt, the thrill of the chase.”  Ryan clinked his glass against hers.  “A man wants the very thing he thinks he can’t have.”  He took his first sip of his drink.

“Okay,” she said slowly, but still looked confused.

“When Larry¾”

“Laurence.”

Ryan exhaled impatiently.  “When
Laurence
sees you tonight,  he will see a magnificent creature, undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the room.  You will be happy, exuberant and you will act as though you’re completely over him.”

“What?”

“This is a very important part of the plan,” he said, and took another sip.  “Because another unfortunate male truth is--men view the woman they’ve been with as marked territory.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Yes, but it’s true.  It’s vital for a man to feel that he can return to the arms of any woman of his past.”

“But he broke up with me,” she said indignantly.

“Doesn’t matter.  If Dr. Benson sees you happy with another man¾especially so soon after the break up--he will come obsessed with trying to prove to himself that he can still have you.  And you will behave as though he can’t.”  Ryan watched her and finished his drink while his words sank into her head.

“So, all I have to do is just laugh?” she asked, lifting her beautiful eyes up at him.

“That...and pretend that I’m the most important man in your life.”

Her brows rose in suspicion.

“Think about what I said,” Ryan reminded her.  “He views you as his property so—”

“He doesn’t want to see another man with his property?” she asked, catching on.

“Exactly.”  His chest filled with triumph.  “Do you think you can do it?  Do you think that you can pretend to make me the center of your universe?”

“Well, I’m no actress.”  She shrugged.  “Speaking of which…what will Carlina be doing while Laurence is fawning over me?”

“Don’t worry about her.”

“How can I not?”

“I’ll take care of Ms. Leoni.”

Joey’s face, once again, twisted in confusion.  “How?”

“Well, let’s just say that it’s time for me to see if I can salute another woman.”

“Oh.” She blinked, startled by a stab of jealousy.  “Oh, so you think your...little problem--?”

“Shouldn’t be such a problem.”  A wicked smile slithered across his face.  “I’ve been feeling pretty good lately.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want you...want you to do that just for me.  I mean, that’s a little above the call of duty, don’t you think?”

“Ah, well.  It’s a favor I don’t mind doing.”

“I see.”  Joey took a deep breath and drained the rest of her champagne.

Ryan chuckled.  “Don’t forget your low tolerance.”

“I might need another.”  Her gaze darted around and seemed to have trouble landing on him.

“You should wait until dinner.”  He winked and offered his arm.  “It’s better for you to glide into the restaurant instead of stumble.”

Joey nodded and fluttered a smile, even though her stomach twisted into knots.

“Oh, wait a minute,” Ryan said and reached into his jacket pocket.  “I forgot to give you this.”  He withdrew a small jewelry box and popped it open.

Chapter 20

              Hotel Principe di Savoia’s five-star Galleria was celebrated for impeccable cuisine.  Tonight it was also the stage for Ryan and Joey masterful performances as a newly engaged couple.

              As Joey glided past the hotel’s check-in counter, she recognized the tall, lanky, young man who’d cut up her credit card and, judging by his sudden double take, she guessed that he’d recognized her, too.  She favored him with a triumphant smile and clung tighter to her escort.

              “I see you’re already getting the hang of this,” Ryan whispered, mistaking her smile.

              “Practice makes perfect.”

              They continued their stroll across the hotel’s grand marble flooring until they reached the restaurant’s door.  The establishment’s host, a distinguished septuagenarian with a silver widow’s peak, glanced up from his long reservation list and instantly recognized Ryan.

              “Ah, Signore Donovan.  We were thrilled to learn you and your beautiful guest would be dining with us this evening.”

              “This beautiful guest is my fiancée,” Ryan amended.

              The host took the correction with a smile.  “My apologies,
signore
.”  He looked to Joey and gave a half bow.  “I’m pleased to inform you that your table is ready,” he said. “If you will follow me.”

              “Ready?” Ryan whispered.

              She drew a deep breath, stilled her wobbling legs, and then nodded to start the show.

              Together they fell in line behind their host, and the moment they entered the main dining room, all eyes, whether blatant or covetly, followed them.

              Joey could hardly breathe let alone smile and gaze adoringly at the man whose arm she still clutched like her personal life-support machine.  Yet, somehow, she managed.

#

              “Who the hell is she?” Carlina hissed as her bejeweled fingers gripped her salad fork.  Her eyes narrowed and then widened as the roamed over each diamond that clung to the mysterious girl’s ears, neck, wrist and hand.  “She looks familiar.”

              Laurence would have answered, but he was almost certain that his eyes were playing tricks on him.  It simply couldn’t be.  But when the woman’s soft laugh drifted over to him, he knew there was no mistaking it.  “Jo-Jo.”

              “What?” Carlina’s head snapped toward him.  “Your Jo-Jo?”

              “Well, technically she’s not my Jo-Jo anymore.”  He laughed, but his fiancée looked far from being amused.

              “What is she still doing with Ryan…wearing an engagement ring?”

              “What?”  He half stood out of his chair to see for himself, but Carlina quickly pulled him back down into his chair.

              “Don’t look so obvious,” she snapped.  A scowl marred her once-beautiful features and then, as she forcibly composed herself, it disappeared.

              Another bubble of Joey’s laughter floated throughout the room, and Laurence squirmed in his seat as though he waited for a root canal.  It didn’t make sense.  Joey, honest almost to a fault, had stated that she wasn’t dating anyone else.  So how was it possible that within a week’s time she was sporting a ring from one of Hollywood’s powerful directors?

              Hollywood moves fast, but this had to be a record.

              “Larry, did you hear me?” Carlina hissed at him again.

              “No, dear,” he said with his gaze still piercing across the room.  “What did you say?”

              “I
said
I want to know what’s going on with them.”

              “You’re not the only one.”

              Joey opened her mouth and allowed Ryan to plop a piece of their delicious Italian bread into her mouth and then moaned seductively.  “That is good.”

              “You keep moaning like that and I’m going to have to cut your boy when he comes over here to try and steal you away.”

              She laughed at his confidence.  “I seriously doubt that he will come--”

              “Ryan,” Carlina’s syrupy voice interrupted.  “What a surprise seeing you here.”

              Ryan cast a quick glance over his shoulder.  “Not really.”  He returned his attention to Joey.  “The American cast is staying at the same hotel.  It’s reasonable to think we’ll bump into each other during meal time, as well.”

              Joey smiled and kept her eyes locked on Ryan, mostly because she was afraid to look at Laurence--afraid that he would see through her performance.  After all, she’d only been an actress for twenty minutes.

              “Aren’t you going to say hello, Jo-Jo?”

             
Damn.
  Slowly, calmly, she glanced up, widened her eyes to the appropriate degree to covey surprise, and then laugh.  “Laurence, I didn’t see you standing there.”