Page 131 of Tuxedos and Tinsel
‘You’ve done your research well, Walter,’ Dominic said. ‘Yes, I haven’t yet told Andie about the centre. I wanted to take her to Brisbane and show her the work we do there.’
‘I’ll look forward to that, darling,’ she said, not having to fake her admiration for him.
Dominic addressed both her and Walter. ‘When I started to make serious money, I bought the abandoned shopping centre site where I’d sought refuge as a troubled runaway and redeveloped it. But part of the site was always going to be for the Underground Help Centre that I founded. I recruited Jim, the social worker who had helped me, to head it up for me.’
Andie felt she would burst with pride in him. Pride and something even more heartfelt. He must hate having to reveal himself like this.
Walter leaned towards Dominic. ‘You’re a self-made man and I admire that,’ he said. ‘You’re sharing the wealth you acquired by your own hard work and initiative and I admire that too. What I don’t understand, Dominic, is why you keep all this such a big secret. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in having pulled yourself up by your bootstraps.’
‘I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done,’ Dominic said. ‘But I didn’t want my past to affect my future success. Especially, I didn’t want it to rub off on my business partner, Jake Marlow.’
Andie felt as if she was floundering. Dominic had briefed her on business aspects she might be expected to know about tonight, but nothing about this. She could only do what she felt was right. Without hesitation, she reached out and took his hand so they stood united.
‘People can be very judgemental,’ she said to Walter. ‘And the media seem to be particularly unfair to Dominic. I’m incredibly proud of him and support his reasons for wanting to keep what he does in Brisbane private. To talk about that terrible time is to relive it, over and over again. From what Dominic has told me, living it once would be more than enough for anyone.’
Dominic squeezed her hand back, hard, and his eyes were warm with gratitude. Gratitude and perhaps—just perhaps—something more? ‘I can’t stop the nightmares of being back there,’ he said. ‘But I can avoid talking about it and bringing those times back to life.’
Andie angled herself to face Walter full-on. She was finding it difficult to keep her voice steady. ‘If people knew about the centre they’d find out about his living rough and the assault charge. People who don’t know him might judge him unfairly. At the same time, I’d love more people to know how generous and kind he actually is and—’ She’d probably said enough.
Walter chuckled. ‘Another thing he’s done right is his choice of fiancée.’
Dominic reached over to kiss her lightly on the lips. ‘I concur, Walter,’ he said. Was it part of the act or did he really mean it?
‘Th...thank you,’ stuttered Andie. She added Walter to the list of people who would be disappointed when she dumped Dominic.
‘I’m afraid I can’t say the same for your choice of first wife,’ Walter said.
Dominic visibly tensed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I met with her and your former employee this morning. He’s an impressive guy, though not someone I feel I want to do business with. But your ex-wife made it clear she would do anything—and I stressanything—to seal the deal. She suggested that to me—happily married for more than forty years and who has never even looked at another woman.’
Dominic made a sound of utter disgust but nothing more. Andie thought more of him that he didn’t say anything to disparage Tara, appalling though her behaviour had been. Dominic had more dignity.
‘The upshot of this is, Dominic, that you are exactly the kind of guy I want to do business with. You and your delightful wife-to-be. You make a great team.’
Dominic reached over to take Andie’s hand again. ‘Thank you, Walter. Thank you from us both.’
Andie smiled with lips that were aching from all her false smiles and nodded her thanks. The fake engagement had done exactly what it was intended to. She should be jubilant for Dominic’s sake. But that also meant there would soon be no need to carry on with it. And that made her feel miserable.She wasn’t doing a very good job of guarding her heart.
When Andie said goodnight to Dominic, she clung to him for a moment longer than was necessary. Playing wife-to-be for the evening had made her start to wish a real relationship with Dominic could perhaps one day be on the cards.
Perhaps it was a good thing she wouldn’t see Dominic again until Christmas Eve. He had to fly out to Minneapolis to finalise details with Walter, leaving her to handle the countdown to the Christmas party. And trying not to think too much about what had to happen after Christmas, when her ‘engagement’ would come to an end.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ITWASMIDDAYon Christmas Eve and as Andie pushed open the door into Dominic’s house she felt as if she was stepping into a nightmare. The staircase railings were decorated as elegantly as she’d hoped, with tiny lights and white silk cord. The wreath on the door was superb. But dominating the marble entrance hall was an enormous Christmas tree, beautifully decorated with baubles and ornaments and winking with tiny lights. She stared at it in shocked disbelief.What the heck was that doing there?
When she said it out loud she didn’t sayheckand she didn’t say it quietly.
Her stylist Jeremy’s assistant had been rearranging baubles on the lower branches of the tree. She jumped at Andie’s outburst and a silver bauble smashed on to the marble floor. Calmly, very calmly, Andie asked the girl where Jeremy was. The girl scuttled out to get him.
Throughout all the Christmas party arrangements, through all the fake fiancée dramas, Andie had kept her cool. Now she was in serious danger of losing it. She had planned this party in meticulous detail. Of all the things that could go wrong, it would have to be this—Dominic would think she had deliberately defied his specific demand. And she didn’t want him thinking badly of her.
Jeremy came into the room with a swathe of wide red ribbons draped over his outstretched arm. Andie recognised them as the ones to be looped and tied into extravagant bows on the back of the two hundred chairs in the ballroom.
She had to grit her teeth to stop herself from exploding. ‘Why is there a Christmas tree in here?’ Her heart was racing with such panic she had to put her hand on her chest to try and slow it.
‘Because this entrance space cried out for one. How can you have a Christmas party without a tree?’ Jeremy said. ‘I thought you’d made a mistake and left it off the brief. Doesn’t it look fabulous?’
