I was either jetlagged or I had lost my mind. Either way, I had no idea what came over me. A combination of his mesmerizing eyes, hurt by his ex’s words, and the way his warm hand for some reason made me feel so safe, had made me want to do something, anything, to make the tongue-lashing she was giving him stop.

I couldn’t tell her to mind her own business without blowing my cover and my feeble attempt at a Russian accent, but I wouldn’t allow her to have a go at my savior. He had, after all, got me home, so he apparently wasn’t all bad. And once I’d gotten over my shock that the man holding my name wasn’t Sebastian, and met the real man I was supposedly due to marry, my legs had turned to jelly.

And then there was a tongue-lashing of whole other kind.

My arms wrapped around his neck, melting into the kiss further, as he pressed me against his body. He molded me to him like I’d belonged there all along. Like this was meant to be, fate pushing us together.

Breathless, we pulled apart, our eyes locked. The rush of sound from our surroundings came flooding back, like a wave that had been held back.

What was I thinking? This wasn’t meant to be, no matter how yummy he looked… or tasted. I was only doing this for one reason: Gran. I wasn’t here to fall in love and get married.

Silently I followed him and his driver, Big Jim, to the town car at the curb. Every time I looked up, Sebastian’s gaze was on me, as if he was worried I was going to bolt like some timid creature. And I supposed he had a right to be concerned, that had been my exact thought only minutes earlier. I gave him a weak smile to reassure him that things had changed, that I was staying—seeing this through—and he opened the car door for me.

Cradling my now-lukewarm coffee, I glanced around the interior, the smell of leather intense, noticing the plush fittings. This guy had to have some money to be able to afford a driver. Maybe this would work out for the best. There was a promise of an allowance, which I could use for Gran’s care. He wouldn’t miss it.

Sebastian slid in beside me. “Drop us off at the diner on South Street, will you, Big Jim?”

“Sounds good,” the driver said from the front, then the privacy partition slid upward.

I swallowed another sip of coffee, anything to make my nerves go away… something to cling on to. I still couldn’t believe I was doing this, lying my ass off, and deceiving this sweet guy.

Both of us kept quiet for the short drive into the city and soon Big Jim was helping me out of the car. Sebastian, with a hand on my lower back, steered us into the busy diner and we were seated almost immediately, even though there’d been a waiting queue of hungry people.

“So what will you have?” Sebastian finally said after we’d picked up our menus.

I hid behind mine, giving me some much-needed time to figure out how I could play this. I’d acted in high school, but this, pretending to be a Russian woman who barely spoke—yet understood some written and spoken—English was a different kind of challenge.

Before I could answer, our waitress had arrived filling our coffee cups.

“Maybe for your first day, I should order for you? Give you a taste of a real American breakfast? Tanya, give us both the works will you?”

The waitress nodded and scribbled fast on her notepad. “You got it, sweetie. I’ll be right back.”

Tanya was true to her word, in what seemed like mere seconds she was back with plates brimming with pancakes, bacon, waffles. It was a mountain of food and my eyes bulged as my mouth watered. It had been months since I’d seen so much food, I almost drooled with my saliva glands working overtime.

Sebastian chuckled as I didn’t wait on ceremony and dug in, attacking the feast with my knife and folk, wielding them like weapons.

As soon as the fluffy pancakes touched my tongue I moaned and rolled my eyes. It was so good to be home.

“Whoa there, don’t they feed you in Russia?” Sebastian said, a smile on his lips as he watched me demolish the stack. In comparison, his plate was practically untouched and I mischievously snagged a piece of his bacon.

“So good,” I said with a mouthful of food, hoping my fake accent was still intact through the mumbling.

“You’ll have to ease up there if you want to fit into the dress for the wedding,” Sebastian said, an easy smile on his face.

I suddenly stopped chewing. This was actually happening. He was serious. There was going to be a wedding, a dress, probably a church. And now that I’d kissed him, willingly, he probably thought I was eager as a puppy to head down the aisle. I nodded and washed the sticky remnants down with strong, hot coffee.

We finished our meal, my eyes starting to droop from all the traveling and the hearty food.

“I know this isn’t ideal, especially since it’s your first day in a strange country,” Sebastian said as we walked back to the car, “but I need to go into work today. So I’ll show you around the apartment, but then I have to go. Is that all right? Tomorrow I promise I’ll figure out a way to take some time off, to show you around the city. Get you settled in properly.”

That sounded like heaven to me. All I wanted to do was crash and have some time with my thoughts without the danger of accidentally blurting something out in my regular and very American voice. Acting was hard!

I wasn’t expecting riches or anything fancy, but his apartment a few blocks down from the diner was the prettiest building I’d ever seen. We rode the elevator up to the thirty-fifth floor and from the well-maintained hallways and public spaces I presumed the same would continue into his apartment. But then he opened the door.

“Here’s home,” he said having the good grace to wince and look slightly ashamed. “I’m sorry it’s such a mess… I didn’t have the chance to tidy up before you arrived. I’m barely here if I’m honest.”

Standing stock-still I stared into the apartment. Holy crap, did this man-child not have any pride? And yet considering his appearance and slick, expensive suits, this was the last thing I thought he’d be. He was an utter slob. He gestured for me to enter further. I stepped over discarded tennis shoes, then a trail of running gear that stank of old sweat, as I made my way down the hallway and into an open kitchen and living room. The same kind of mess continued. A few stacks of pizza boxes lay on the kitchen counter, clothes were everywhere, not to mention all the empty glasses on every surface around the place.

“I know, I know, I’m not giving off the best impression right now am I? Would you believe it if I said the cleaner was on vacation?” he said and smoothed the hair at the back of his head. Then he darted forward, claiming a sliver or red material. He stuffed his catch in his pocket. A ladies’ man, huh? Either that or he had a kinky pastime wearing women’s knickers.

I smothered a chuckle, but it did nothing to diminish my frustration. Had he ordered a bride or a maid? Maybe he wanted a woman to clean up after him, cheap labor who took care of all his needs—in the bedroom and the kitchen. I bristled at the thought.

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out knowing there was no way I could live in this kind of place without cleaning up first. It was annoying, but it was a small penance to pay to have a roof over my head for the foreseeable future. Hell, I’d been doing the same thing back in the hostel. This wouldn’t be any different.

“Shit, I have to go.” He paused looking at me. “Will you be okay?”

I nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be back around six. It might be best for you to stay in, don’t go wandering around. Not just yet at least. I’ll figure something out about this mess, I promise. And I’ll get you a key made up.” Sebastian took an uneasy step forward, placing his hands on my upper arms. “Make yourself at home. And Anna, I’m happy that you’re here.”

A waft of his aftershave fluttered around my head, making me feel woozy, but that was nothing compared to when he leaned down and kissed me again. This time, my hands completely free, I clutched him. Suddenly I didn’t want him to leave. It was insane, and I’d only just met him, barely said two words to him. But the last thing I wanted was for him to be gone, even if that did mean I had to be silent for the rest of the day.

He gave me a cocky grin and stepped back. “See you soon, Anna.”

“Holy shit,” I muttered thinking he was gone. But his head popped back around the corner.

“Did you say something?”

Vehemently I shook my head and gave him a wave, hoping to god he hadn’t heard me properly. Thankfully he didn’t seem suspicious. He nodded and this time I heard the door shut. That was close.

Trying to relax, and release the tension I felt like I’d been holding since the moment I’d met him, I paced around the apartment. Looking at the place a little closer, now I could see that it wasn’t so bad. The mess was mostly a top layer of abandoned stuff that hadn’t been tidied away. There wasn’t—thank goodness—a layer of grime hiding beneath the detritus. It could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, I told myself. But still, I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to feel at least partially comfortable here. I rolled up my sleeves and began to gather up the abandoned clothes, shirts, and socks that were strewn over the furniture. Thankfully, there was only the smell of stale sweat that made me wrinkle my nose when I picked up his clothes.

Heading to what I thought were the bedrooms I looked around for a hamper. Sebastian’s bedroom was as to be expected for a workaholic who seemed to spend little time at home—a large bed, a dresser, and minimal accents. I dumped the dirty clothes and went exploring some more. There was a small office space in an alcove, and when I opened the next door along, expecting another bedroom, I only found a closet. It was jam-packed with sports equipment and random tools. I spun around counting the doors. There were none left to explore.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I growled as the realization dawned on me.

There was only one bedroom. And only one bed.

Well if he thought that I would be sharing one with him straight away—if ever, I corrected myself—then he had another thing coming. I’d sleep on the sofa if I had to.

You can do this, I told myself. I’d suffered much worse than having to sleep on a sofa in the last few weeks. Partly feeling like I’d been transported into some fairytale, emulating Cinderella, I swirled my hair into a high topknot and headed to the corner of the kitchen to find the cleaning supplies. No time like the present to get this place ship-shape. It was then I saw on the stainless steel fridge a card for Big Jim’s driving service and got a better idea instead.