Molly Matthews Meddles in Marriage by Jill Steeples

described as pleasant you just knew hadn’t even got off the starting blocks. Poor Alice, she thought, with a pang of sympathy.
    “That’s the thing, Rory, you’ve exhausted my supply of gorgeous, clever women. I simply don’t have any more to put forward at the moment.”
    “Well, you said yourself that it took a couple of years to find a partner for one of your clients. Maybe it’ll be the same in my case.”
    “Yes, but that client wasn’t working to the same strict time limits as you. He didn’t have a film premiere he needed a date for. He was prepared to wait until the right woman came along.”
    “And I’m prepared to wait too.” He wandered around to Molly’s side of the room, reclaiming his position on her desk, stretching out his long legs and crossing them over at the ankle. “To be honest with you, I’m going to be incredibly busy with rehearsals these next few weeks so I wouldn’t have time for dating anyway. And as far as the premiere is concerned, we’re already fixed, aren’t we, so I don’t need to worry about that.”
    Those eyes were working their magic again as they traveled the length of Molly’s body, before landing on her gaze, challenging her to say anything to the contrary.
    “Oh, Rory, I hope you don’t mean that ridiculous bet we made?”
    “There was nothing ridiculous about it. You said you’d come with me if I hadn’t found someone else in the meantime, so…” He held up his palms to the sky, a smile twisting on his lips.
    “Yes, but…” Yes, but what? She’d only said that in the heat of the moment. She hadn’t expected him to dismiss all those women she’d fixed him up with. She’d never thought for one moment that she’d actually have to go with him.
    Her sharp intake of breath hung heavily in the air. A mix of embarrassment and nervous anticipation filtered through her bones. She laughed it away. “I’m sure one of your actress or model-type friends would like to go with you.”
    “I’m sure they would. But I want you to come with me instead, Molly.”
    His voice had taken on a quiet determination that sent a shiver down her body.
    “It’s hardly appropriate for me to date my clients. That would give out the wrong message entirely.”
    “You are your company, Molly. You make the rules. You can do what you like. Besides, I’m single. You’re single. Where’s the problem?”
    She could think of all sorts of problems.
    Mad thoughts whirled around her mind. A film premiere. How ridiculous was that? The wild excitement tormenting her mind lasted precisely three seconds before it was replaced by a sinking terror. The red carpet, flashing cameras, beautiful, thin people wafting about the place in gorgeous frocks. It sounded like her idea of hell. Only she’d have Rory on her arm and as wrong as it was, she could think of nothing more exhilarating.
    “No problem,” she said nonchalantly. “I’d love to come.”
     
    * * * *
     
    “I think he loves you, I think he loves you!” Pippa twirled around the office floor, singing the schoolgirl chant, her excitement evident in her flailing limbs.
    “Stop it!” scolded Molly, who was regretting ever telling Pippa, although not as much as she regretted having got herself into this mess in the first place. She’d wanted to back out even before Rory had waltzed out of the door, but somehow he had a knack of maneuvering her into doing exactly what he wanted her to do. So much for her telling him he was an ex-client. Now he was still a client and she’d agreed to go on a high-profile date with him too.
    He intrigued her, he infuriated her, and also managed to creep beneath her skin, unleashing all those emotions Rory had spoken about earlier, that rush, that tingling, that heightened anticipation every time you were in the presence of that special person. Whether she liked it or not, Molly’s celebrity crush at a distance had developed into a full-on real-time infatuation. And she hated herself for