Adam walked up the stairs towards Sophie’s flat with some anxiety. He’d never been nervous picking up a woman for a date in his life. It’s not a date. God, James’ pep talk all week had him jittery. He took a deep breath, adjusting his jacket collar, about to ring the doorbell, when the door opened unexpectedly and he jumped, staring at Sophie.

She looked different to the bland engineer he’d seen on Friday. For some reason, he’d expected to see her in the same style of plain – and unflattering – trouser suit. Instead, Sophie was wearing a fitted summer dress, cut just above the knee, revealing an appealing figure. Her chestnut hair hung loose, shaping her face and there was colour in her cheeks. Hell, he’d been wondering what he had got himself into, but maybe this weekend wouldn’t be too bad after all.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, clearing his throat, and straightening his tie. “I thought I’d come help you with your bags.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Sophie said, putting down the case outside the door, and grabbing a small holdall and her handbag.

“We agreed – eight a.m.?”

“Yes. For some reason I thought … ” She shrugged.

What? He wouldn’t show?

“Doesn’t matter. You’re on time.”

She wouldn’t look him in the eyes and seemed nervous as hell – especially the way she fumbled to get the key into the lock.

“Here, let me.” He gently took the keys out of her hand and locked her front door.

“Thank you,” she said as he gave her bundle of keys back.

“Not a problem.” Adam picked up the case, then frowned, feeling the weight of it. “We’re going for the weekend, right? Not the week?”

“I know, I know.” Sophie winced as she spoke. “I couldn’t think what to take, and decided to pack for every eventuality.”

“You are normal then,” he said, smiling, as he walked down the stairs to his car with Sophie following.

“What?”

“I wasn’t sure the woman I met Friday was the sort to pack everything but the kitchen sink.” She had appeared to be a minimalist, not the type to lug a tonne of make-up about with her.

Her expression sobered.

Great, Adam. Before you start teasing her, maybe you should wait until you get to know her better. It had been his intention during this week, but got too caught up with work – he’d had two days out of the office sprung on him, after all. Now he was glad he’d insisted on driving when making the arrangements; it would give him something to concentrate on and he’d keep his mouth shut.

“I didn’t mean … well, you look great.”

“Oh … thanks,” she said, combing a hand through her hair, then smoothing her dress.

Adam looked at her speculatively. James was certain something was troubling Sophie. The last few days, whilst mulling it over, he’d been assured by James, over and over, this weekend would be good fun and that he would appreciate the break from work. But Adam was still not comfortable with this whole plan. How far would the pretending have to go?

Hopefully it would be a case of standing to the side, making idle chit-chat. As James had said, if he couldn’t sweet-talk a few old dears …

Adam hid a grin as he placed Sophie’s luggage in the boot. He’d noticed her stunned expression as she looked at the huge car – a brand spanking new BMW. He’d thought this would be more comfortable for the journey, and they could arrive in style. If Sophie wanted to impress someone, this would do it.

His expression sobered. What if it’s too flashy? This wasn’t the car he used for work. Sophie didn’t know who Adam really was. To her he was just some account manager. Only James knew his secret – had kept it for ten years, too.

Hell, he hoped he hadn’t over-done it – first impressions and all that. He needed to put her at ease, not make her think he was some poser.

“Hang on.” He shut the boot. “Let me get that.” He strode around and opened the passenger door for Sophie, smiling. She stared at him, opening her mouth, then closing it.

“Thank you,” Sophie said, settling into the black leather seat. “I can see why you insisted on driving - beats my poky little car.”

Adam chuckled, shutting her door. He took off his suit jacket and hung it up in the back. Once seated, he smiled at Sophie, receiving a fragile smile back before she looked down into her lap, then out the window. He really needed to reassure her he didn’t bite.

“Right, Cornwall it is then,” he said, starting the car.

“I said I’d pay for the fuel, and I mean it,” Sophie said in a worried tone.

Adam thought best not to disagree. Not that he would let a lady pay where he could help it. But maybe she was fretting because, although James had talked him into this, she didn’t want to look like she was sponging off him. For the sake of her pride, he wasn’t going to argue with her – yet. Besides, it had been his choice to bring the gas-guzzler of a car compared to using hers. Was she worried about the expense?

“Don’t worry about it for now, we’ll sort it out later. There’s a full tank. Let’s enjoy the weekend, yeah?” He winked and she smiled again, lighting up her face.

“Okay. But you’re doing me a favour, so I don’t want you out of pocket.”

“For services rendered?” He grinned at her, then turned his attention to the road.

Luckily, Sophie giggled, realising he was teasing her. “Yes, something like that.”

She stayed quiet while Adam drove. He wondered what to discuss. Cornwall wasn’t a trip around the corner; they had a good four to five hour journey ahead of them – providing traffic was good. Would they have enough in common to talk about or would they be stretching out conversations on the weather for the next few hundred miles?

“It’s a very nice car, by the way,” Sophie said after ten minutes, breaking the silence. Internally, Adam cringed. At least they weren’t discussing what a nice day it was.

“We could have used the convertible, but it gets a little uncomfortable after about an hour.” From experience, he knew most women didn’t enjoy the roof down; it messed up their hair, especially if going some place they’d dressed up for. And Sophie was dressed up. Besides, he wouldn’t have got his golf clubs plus all the luggage in the boot.

“Oh.”

Now you do look flash. Shut up.

“Depending on the traffic, we’ll stop after half way,” Adam said, glancing down at the clock in the dashboard. “But tell me if you need a stop before then, otherwise I’ll carry on.” He didn’t want her sitting there, too scared to ask him to stop, desperate to stretch her legs – and what fine legs they were, too.

You promised James you’d behave.

“Okay.”

“You’re very quiet, Sophie.”

“Oh, I thought you’d want to concentrate on the road,” she said.

“I don’t mind. If you want to talk, talk.”

“I’m happy listening to the radio.”

“I can put on a CD,” he said

“No, radio is fine.”

He adjusted the volume of the radio. Not too loud they couldn’t hear one another, but wanting to make sure they could listen to it. Did he usually worry this much? She seemed on edge. It’s not every day that a stranger picks you up and takes you away for a weekend.

They listened and commented on the morning broadcast. Occasionally, he’d catch the subtle scent of her floral perfume and glimpse to see Sophie staring out of the window. What was so bad about this wedding? Or was it him? He didn’t usually have a problem charming women. Was she intimidated? Shit, what had James told her about him?

Well, if he was going to do this, he was doing it properly. Adam certainly hated looking like an idiot. He didn’t want them turning up to this wedding and it being obvious that they didn’t know one another. He wanted them to step out of this car and look like a couple. This journey would be a good time to work out the finer details, and get to know the shy engineer better.

“Should we get our story straight?” Adam asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

“Story?” Sophie replied, frowning at him.

“Yeah, how we met and all that. Am I going to get the third degree?”

“Hopefully not, but maybe we should have matching stories. Sorry, I didn’t think,” Sophie said, laughing nervously.

According to James, she was supposed to be a brilliant designer and could put Thomas Robotics ahead of all its competitors. Maybe talking about work would bring her out of her shell.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult. We both work for the same company,” he said, concentrating back on the matter at hand. “What about Ted Phillips’ retirement party a few weeks ago?”

“Did you go?”

“Yeah, didn’t you?” He frowned. Thinking about it, he didn’t recall seeing her there, because if she’d been dressed like this, he’d have noticed – wouldn’t he?

“Um … no.”

“Why not?”

“I was out with friends, I think.”

She’s lying. Friday nights at The White Lion was about her limits as far as Adam knew. He didn’t think she had other friends outside of work.

“How was it?” she asked, looking at him. “Did many people go?”

“Yeah, a good night.” Adam chuckled. “James got up and sang his rendition of You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling to a couple of ladies who work in Accounts.”

“He never told me.”

“I don’t think he remembers.”

Sophie laughed. “Well, we can still say we met there.”

“Okay, Ted’s retirement party.” He nodded, liking her laughter. There was honesty about it. He would like to hear it more often. It meant that she was relaxing, too.

Adam concentrated on the road, looking in his wing mirror and moving the car into the outside lane, although he wanted to get a better look at the woman sitting beside him.

Plenty of time. He had all weekend. And his job was to stay in close proximity – oh, what a shame! Not.

“I’ve got my clubs in the boot,” Adam said, first thing entering his head, his mind wandering to the hotel. Golf was something he did to relax and entertain important clients.

“What?” Sophie frowned.

“I checked out the hotel facilities. They’ve got a golf course.”

She looked at him, almost mortified. She didn’t think he’d be trying to escape her every given minute, did she? That’s not why he’d brought them. He thought it might be a place they could escape to.

“I know nothing about golf.”

“Then I’ll have to teach you.” He grinned. Now there’s a heart-warming thought and a subtle way to get close to this woman.

“To be honest, I’m pretty useless at any sport. You’d need longer than a weekend.”

“My contract is only for this weekend.” He raised his eyebrows, giving her a mischievous smile. “If you need me for longer, we’ll have to renegotiate.”

“Oh, um, I didn’t mean –”

“I’m kidding!” Adam chuckled. “I was going to suggest the tennis courts – they have those, too, but it looks like you’ll be using the pool.”

“Yes. I can swim.” She chewed her lip.

Okay – so she didn’t look keen on going swimming either. Probably the idea of them going together. She didn’t come across confident in her own skin – but why? He’d give her privacy, if that’s what she wanted.

Changing the subject, Adam filled Sophie in about Ted’s retirement party and the conversation moved on, allowing them to get to know one another better.

He stumbled over an old girlfriend’s name, internally kicking himself as he quickly washed over it. One thing he’d been trying very hard to avoid; past girlfriends – he had a few. He could see it had set off alarm bells inside her head, her eyes widening.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” Sophie asked him, hesitantly.

Adam shook his head. “No, don’t worry.”

“For a minute there I thought I’d put you in some awkward predicament.”

“Well, actually James got me into this predicament, because it was his idea.” Then, more seriously, he said, “But if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not that kind of guy, either.”

“Of course not. Sorry.”

Her cheeks flushed pink – the English rose look suited her. What would she look like … ? Adam swallowed, burying his inappropriate thoughts. Where did that come from anyway? He didn’t need to be thinking along those lines. He’d promised James. Besides, she wasn’t even his type.

“I hope you don’t feel bullied into this,” she said, frowning.

“I wasn’t bullied. I can’t be made to do things I don’t want to do. We should have some fun, right?”

He hoped she could have fun. Something had stopped her from wanting to attend this wedding. Now Adam was with her, maybe she could enjoy herself. If that’s what she needed – company? Or would Adam add to her stress? They were strangers after all.

Sophie turned in her seat and Adam kept his eyes on the road. Occasionally he glanced and smiled at her. It was working; she was relaxing.

“I hope you don’t mind me being nosy, but … ” Sophie stopped.

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I don’t mean this to sound as bad as it does, but you’re an account manager … and this car … ?”

Adam relaxed. “Not exactly standard issue company car?”

“No.”

“Long story. Might tell you one day. Might not.” He winked and tapped his nose. “It’s a secret.”

“What? You’d have to kill me after?” she said, giggling, then sobered.

Adam noticed her anxious expression, and chuckled. “Sophie, you’re safe. I promise. I wouldn’t hurt you – James would murder me for a start.” He wanted to put her at ease.

He decided to stick with work topics. “Hey, the other week, I was in Bracknell stripping down one of our old QB13’s.”

“Oh, now you are showing your age,” she said, unable to hide a smile. “They’re an old model, way before my time.”

“I was on the shop floor making them.” He narrowed his eyes. “And I’m not that old. I’m thirty-three.”

“Oh, definitely old,” she said, sarcasm lacing her words.

“Experienced.” In many things. Adam liked the fact she was flirting.

Sophie coughed and sobered, her cheeks flushed. “So why were you st-stripping it down?”

He pretended he hadn’t heard her stutter over the word stripping. “Well, it was either that, or they’d have to wait three days for our engineer,” he said. Had Adam taken it too far flirting back, or did he look like he was bragging? Shit, he felt like he was treading on eggshells. He wanted her to loosen up, get to know him, even like him. It felt important.

Of course it was important; they needed to at least get on this weekend to be remotely believable.

“Why?” she asked.

“He was on holiday.” Adam grinned. “And our other engineers were busy with other projects.”

“When things go wrong, they go wrong at once.”

“Exactly. We couldn’t get anyone else there sooner.”

She giggled. “I can’t believe you got your hands dirty.”

“Me neither. But I didn’t want to break our service agreement.”

“Ah, yes, very costly,” she agreed.

“Yes. And I wanted them to purchase the new QB20s. Wasn’t going to be likely if they had to halt their manufacturing line for three days.” Adam chuckled, and Sophie laughed with him. Yeah, and he’d won the contract.

And maybe he was worrying about nothing. They’d become comfortable with one another inside the car, all tension had ebbed away. But what would happen once they set foot on the grounds of the hotel, meeting Sophie’s friends and family? Adam’s stomach churned. Then he’d really have to turn up the charm. A whole different experience awaited them. Would he be believable enough for her? Or would they see through him?

No, he’d be fine. She was pretty, after all – not much pretending required there. But he would be pretending. Sophie didn’t seem like his usual girlfriends. And they worked under the same roof. He needed to tread carefully. Do enough to keep her friends at bay, but not too much to send mixed messages to Sophie.

“So who’s getting married?” Adam couldn’t believe he hadn’t asked this question.

“Oh, a second cousin of mine.”

“Family?” Adam’s eyes widened, he nearly swerved the car. “Are your parents going?”

“No.” She shook her head, and chuckled. “They’ll be on holiday.” Relief waved over Adam and he relaxed.

Adam pulled into the services around eleven o’clock, suggesting an early lunch. They’d been on the road three hours, and his stomach growled, reminding him he’d skipped breakfast.

They stood in silence, waiting to be seated in the small roadside restaurant on the A303. They were shown to a table and their orders taken.

“So what does your father do?” Adam asked.

“Pardon?” Sophie looked at him, frowning.

“What does your father do? And your mother? Where do they live?” Adam asked as the waitress arrived with their meals. Sophie smiled her thanks at the waitress, then met Adam’s gaze. Her dark brown eyes flitting with worry.

“Why do you want to know about my family?” Sophie’s voice was hesitant.

“Well, have I met them or not? We need to decide.”

“Oh, right. I didn’t think of that, either.” Sophie sighed, resting on her elbows.

Neither had James when he’d come up with this harebrained idea – ‘just pretend you’re her boyfriend.’ Adam started making a mental list of the things he was going to ‘thank’ James for when he returned.

He waited, patiently, watching her deep in thought. She frowned, fiddling with a paper napkin.

“Is it easier if you haven’t met them?” she said.

“Probably. Not really a lie then, is it?” Better to keep this fabrication to a minimum. Believable too, if they had only been seeing each other a few weeks.

Sophie agreed.

“But I might need some background about your family,” Adam said. “I mean, it’s not like you wouldn’t have talked to me about them.”

Sophie picked up her fork and sighed. “Okay, I’ll fill you in.”

As they ate, Adam listened to Sophie explain she’d grown up in Cornwall, and her parents were still living there, although currently on holiday. They had booked a once in a lifetime trip before the wedding had been announced.

“They’re probably in Hawaii as we speak,” Sophie said, after sipping her coffee. “Sunday, I think they fly to New Zealand.”

“Nice.”

“They decided to retire last year. They owned a couple of restaurants but sold up last autumn,” Sophie said. “So, what about your parents?”

“They’re in Surrey.” Adam didn’t look at her. Hell, what should he tell her? He finished his coffee, aware she was watching him, waiting.

“Um … shall we say I haven’t met your parents either? Being a bit early in the relationship.”

Adam met her gaze and nodded. “Yeah, good idea. I’m not really close to them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Now what would it look like if she found out the truth?

He sighed heavily. “They’re divorced.” That was true.

She finished her cappuccino. Adam felt relieved she was too polite to ask about the gory details – albeit they’d separated fifteen years ago.

“I’ll get the bill then.” Sophie clutched her purse.

“Wait.” Adam grabbed her arm, stopping her rising from the table. “You’ve got chocolate on your lip.” He reached out and gently rubbed the top of her lip with his thumb, removing the smudge.

Sophie flinched, rising out of her chair. She looked mortified, rubbing the same spot on her lip with her own finger automatically. She sure knew how to blush.

“Uh, thanks.”

Shit, had he done it again? Moved things too quickly? Had he frightened her?

Once she’d paid, they were back in the car and on the road again. They’d stopped for no longer than an hour.

“Nearly there,” Adam said, pointing to the sign on the motorway, ‘Welcome To Cornwall’.

“So how did you escape Cornwall and wind up in Surrey?” he asked, lowering the volume on the radio.

“Oh, I did my degree in Guildford,” she replied. “I came straight out of Surrey University and landed this job at Thomas Robotics.”

“Do you go home much?”

“Sometimes. My parents tend to visit me though. They like to stay in London, see a play, shop in Oxford Street – that’s more my mother rather than Dad.”

“Your dad carries the bags,” he said.

“Yes, and holds the credit card.”

“Of course.” Adam chuckled.

After half an hour of winding through the narrow country lanes of Cornwall, their journey ended as they pulled into the drive of Tinners Bay Hotel. A large, five star contemporary hotel was positioned on the hill of Tinners Bay, like someone had sunk a luxury cruise liner into the hillside. It stood three storeys high, with balconies on the top floors to admire the golden sandy beach below.

Adam took a deep breath and cool, salty, sea air filled his lungs. The wind whipped up Sophie’s hair, so she turned to face the oncoming wind and looked out towards the ocean.

This was it. Now they started pretending.

Lying.

As they approached the entrance, with the glass doors opening and the doorman greeting them, Adam instantly noticed Sophie slow down. Adam held out his hand, gesturing Sophie to go first. They entered the circular atrium, white and fresh, with the contrast of rich orange and blue furnishings. It had a definite seaside resort feel with bold stripes of colour and plenty of natural light.

Adam gently nudged Sophie in the small of her back to get her walking again. He kept his arm around her as they made their way towards the reception desk, following the porter with their luggage. She nervously glanced around, possibly searching for anyone who would recognise her. He gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Miss Trewyn. Part of the Staplehurst wedding party,” Sophie said to the receptionist.

“I’m sorry, Miss Trewyn. Your room isn’t quite ready yet. Please accept our apologies; we had some problems this morning and housekeeping is catching up,” the receptionist said with a professional smile, looking up from her computer screen. “Why don’t you go through to our lounge and have a complimentary drink? I‘ll arrange for your luggage to be taken to your room once it is ready.” The receptionist had the porter secure their luggage. “If there is anything else you may need, please see our concierge, who will be more than happy to help you.”

Sophie slowly nodded, mumbling a thank you.

Adam frowned. She’d come such a long way in the car, opening up, laughing with him, even flirting. Now she’d turned back into the shy, nervous wreck he’d picked up this morning.

“Thank you,” he said to the receptionist and grasped Sophie’s arm to lead her through to the lounge.

“No, Adam.” Sophie placed her arm across his chest to stop him entering the room. “I can’t do it.”

“Of course you can.”

“No, I can’t. This is ridiculous. No one will believe it,” Sophie replied, her voice low. He could barely hear her. “Let’s drive home.”

Adam’s jaw clenched. There was no way in hell he was driving home. He needed a drink. Strong one, too. He softened his mood, and touching her chin, made her look at him. “I promise, I’ll be convincing. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Adam, I don’t doubt you can charm the spots off cheetahs.” She nervously fiddled with an earring. “But I don’t think they’ll believe I’m seeing a guy like you.”

Adam chuckled and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist to pull her closer, liking the way she felt against him. Soft. Warm.

“Of course they will.”

“It’s a big lie we are trying to pull off so I can save face,” Sophie whispered. She tried to step away, but he kept her held firm against him, so they looked close – like lovers? That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?

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