Cinderella's Christmas Secret - Sharon Kendrick Page 0,45

said. ‘I’ll go and get my things together. Would you like to come inside?’

‘No. I’ll wait here in the car. I have a few calls to make.’

It took her less than twenty minutes before Hollie rushed out of the door with her little suitcase, half imagining that the limousine might have disappeared in the interim, like Cinderella’s fancy coach turning into a pumpkin. But, no, it was still there—and the six-year-old twin boys who lived in the house opposite were gazing at the shiny black livery as if Santa’s reinvented sleigh had made a post-Christmas appearance. As the chauffeur shut the door behind her, Maximo lifted a narrow-eyed gaze from his computer and Hollie got the distinct feeling he had forgotten she was there.

Through towns decked with Christmas finery, they were driven at speed to London, where Maximo announced his intention to buy her a completely new wardrobe, so she could arrive in Madrid suitably clad.

Which left her wondering exactly what was the matter with the way she looked now.

She stared rather moodily at her well-polished brown leather boots before lifting her gaze to his. ‘Because I’ll let you down, I suppose?’

‘It’s not a question of letting me down. You look like a college student,’ he informed her, almost gently, his fingertips whispering over her mane of hair. ‘Which is undoubtedly a wildly sexy look, just not one which is particularly appropriate for my future wife. If you aren’t dressed suitably it will make you self-conscious, for you will be mixing with women who will undoubtedly be wearing very costly clothes.’

‘Gosh, you’re making our future union sound like it’s going to be fun, Maximo.’

He smiled then—a slow, sensual smile which curled over her skin like a wisp of smoke. ‘Oh, I can offer you fun, Hollie. Be in no doubt about that. Now wipe that apprehensive look from your face and kiss me instead.’

And wasn’t it crazy how his kiss had the power to dissolve every last doubt?

The limousine dropped them at an expensive-looking department store in central London with doormen who looked as if they had stepped straight out of a Victorian novel. And although the post-Christmas sales had just started and there were stampedes of people buying sequinned dresses and puddings which would shortly reach their sell-by dates, Hollie was assigned a personal shopper all to herself, though Maximo’s insistence on accompanying her took her a little by surprise.

He watched as she paraded before him in a variety of outfits and the molten smoulder of his eyes when he approved a particular article of clothing was flattering, yes—but his attention quickly turned back to his computer, as though his work was more engrossing than anything else. Of course it was. He was just dressing her up like a doll so that she wouldn’t disappoint him in front of all his rich friends.

But she couldn’t deny that the exquisite garments felt wonderful against her skin—more than that, they made her look like someone she’d never believed she could be. Why, at certain angles she looked almost...pretty.

‘I suppose you’ve taken lots of women shopping in the past like this?’ she probed.

‘Not a single one,’ he admitted. ‘But then, I’ve never asked anyone to marry me before either. Just as I have never been quite so much in physical thrall to a woman as I am to you. And so, to avoid unnecessary repetition of predictable questions, shall I simply assure you that having my full attention like this is not the way I usually operate? Does that put your mind at rest, as well as flattering your ego, Hollie?’

It did. It made her feel...special. It made her want to whistle a tune, to sing out loud at the top of her voice. She felt as if she could conquer the world.

And when the shopping expedition was concluded and they had eaten lunch in a hushed restaurant with thick white tablecloths and women who watched him with predatory eyes, Maximo dropped her back at the store, where she was whisked off to a basement spa which smelt faintly of sandalwood and tuberose. There she had her first ever bikini wax, a pedicure and make-up lesson, though she begged them to go easy on the mascara. Next, a sweet girl in a white uniform took her to the hairdressing section to have a couple of inches snipped off her mane and some choppy layers added. And when it was all done, she stood in front of the full-length mirror in her new