Read Online Sweet Seduction by Jennifer St George - Free Book Online Page B

what.’
    ‘That we were being photographed?’
    ‘Photographed?’
    ‘Yes. I’ve sold our engagement pictures.’
    Sienna frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘A photographer from
High Life
magazine captured it all on camera. I sold the rights for a million euro.’
    ‘You did what?’ She jumped from her seat. Her champagne glass fell, staining the white linen with an ugly yellow puddle.
    ‘Keep your voice down,’ he hissed. ‘The whole restaurant will hear you.’
    ‘I don’t care who hears me,’ she said, fury blurring her vision.
    He stood and took her hand. ‘I thought you knew.’ Confusion etched his face. ‘You kissed me back.’
    She pulled from his grasp. ‘The kiss, the ring, everything. It was all staged?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And will be published?’
    ‘Yes.’
    She stared at him, all traces of affection gone. ‘You should have told me we were being photographed.’ Her cheeks flamed as she remembered how she’d responded to his words – his touch.
    ‘But —’
    ‘You played me.’ Humiliation coursed through her as she slumped back into her seat.
    He sat across from her. ‘No, Sienna, I’m just ensuring this deal works,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Remember, you signed up for this.’
    ‘I didn’t sign up to have my emotions blatantly manipulated for all the world to see.’
    ‘The world will see a passionate woman kissing the man she loves.’
    Loves?
    She leant over the table. ‘I could never love you,’ she snapped.
    ‘Exactly, that’s why deception is necessary,’ he said. ‘And so we are clear, you have to continue that level of passion or this will never work.’
    She couldn’t stay another moment. Grabbing her purse, she walked quickly to the bathroom. She held herself together until she’d shut and locked the bathroom door. Slamming down the toilet seat, she sat, put her head in her hands and hauled in deep breaths.
    How could she have believed Antonio felt something for her? The kiss seemed so real. She’d stupidly allowed herself to be caught up in the moment.
    She sat up. This was a business agreement, pure and simple. She needed to remember that – burn it into her psyche. Whatever moves Antonio made, he did so only to secure the hotel he wanted. She was incidental. A means to an end.
    She stood. From this minute on, she’d lock her emotions away and play the game that needed to be played. He’d get his hotel and she’d get hers.
    She smoothed down her dress. Yanking open the door, she marched from the bathroom.
    Antonio, I hope you’re ready for this.
    Antonio waited outside the bathroom. The paparazzi were camped at the front of the restaurant. After Sienna’s reaction to the engagement photos, he should protect her from the press for the rest of the evening. They’d leave the back way.
    He drummed his fingers against the wall. He’d planned to tell her about the photographer but hadn’t found the moment. She’d looked so alluring in that dress that he’d found himself proposing before he’d meant to.
    And the way she responded to him . . . she must have known they were being filmed. She acted her part so well. He’d certainly been convinced. If she’d run her hands over his back one more time, he’d have had her there on the table.
    The bathroom door opened and Sienna stepped out.
    ‘Everything all right?’ he asked.
    ‘Absolutely.’ Her face sported a brilliant smile. He found it disconcerting.
    ‘The press won’t let us be,’ he said, pointing to the front of the restaurant.
    ‘No doubt at your command.’
    ‘No, I planned a press conference to announce the engagement for the morning.’
    ‘And you were going to tell me about this . . .’
    ‘Tonight.’
    Sienna looked past him to the window, her face illuminated by the camera flashes. ‘So something’s not going to your rigid schedule?’ Her face was innocent but her voice had an edge.
    He studied her carefully. ‘We’ll go out the back,’ he said, taking her hand and