Free A Hint of Scandal by Tara Pammi

overlooked the little fact? She had been brazen, finding perverse satisfaction in the fact that she threatened his control. But he had reminded her, once again, she was supposed to be Kim.
    She ran a hand over her forehead, too restless to sit still, a perverse anger rising through her. Just looking at him got her heart racing, her concentration fragmented to bits. Of all the men on the planet, why did it have to be him who could threaten her good intentions? How was she going to be able to even face them when they were back together?
    Her troubled thoughts stumbled as the limo came to a smooth stop. She tried to get a glimpse of their destination but a man in a black suit opened the door and tucked his head in. A swift exchange followed between Alexander and him and then the man closed the door behind him. A dark velvet box in his hand, Alexander settled next to her and the limo gained speed again.
    She leaned back into her seat and crossed her legs as the solid length of his thigh lodged against hers, sending her pulse skyrocketing again. Distaste coated her tongue with a bitter taste as she realized what the box in his hand was. “I’m wearing my sister’s ring. I’m with her man, pretending to be her. Isn’t it enough?” Her throat caught on the words, her heart a squeeze of pain. She pushed the words out, more for her sake than his. It was a bitter reality but it was the only thing that could root her sanity. “Because no amount of window dressing is going to make me like her, transform what’s inside. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Tucking her hands in her lap, she threw him an irritated look hating the tremor in her voice. “And I hate diamonds.”
    He tugged her icy hands into his and held her gaze. It drilled into her, making mincemeat of her fragile defenses. But he didn’t say a word. “I had a feeling about the diamonds,” he said, his gaze still raking her, and clicked open the velvet case.
    A huge ruby pendant nestled on a thin, almost-not-there gold chain.
    She leaned back into the plush leather seat, panic swirling through her. “You ordered that between when we left and now? It must cost a...fortune.”
    He frowned. “It’s a trinket, Olivia, something to wear with that dress.”
    Of course, it didn’t mean anything. She turned around meekly. She took a deep breath, fighting for composure as he put the chain on her. The graze of his knuckles sent ripples of sensation over her skin. But there was no place for the warm, gooey feeling swirling inside her. The fact that he called a pendant that probably would pay for a penthouse in New York, a trinket, said it all. It was nothing but another step in ensuring her cooperation.
    “Thank you,” she whispered.
    She ran a finger over the pendant, nestled in the valley of her breasts and his gaze followed it. She folded her hands in her lap and looked away from him. The quiet surrounding them scraped against her nerves. She needed chatter, something, anything to dispel the cocoon of desire spinning around them. “Did you ever want to be an actor?”
    At his continued silence, she sighed. “So let me get this straight. You can pass judgment on every aspect of my life, but I can’t even ask an innocent question about yours.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Is it an innocent question?”
    “Of course it is. Seeing that you’re the son of Oscar-winning parents, and are particularly easy on the eyes, one does wonder.”
    “Am I?”
    “Are you what?”
    “Easy on the eyes?”
    She shrugged. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on, even when you’re shooting daggers at me for one of my multitude of sins.”
    Heat uncurled in his gaze, the dark pupils shimmering against the blue. “The drama of my parents’ life was enough to keep me away from anything connected to them.”
    “Do you ever see them?” She was skating dangerously close to the edge. His penchant for privacy was as widely known as his business acumen. But she couldn’t stop