Lahat ng Kabanata ng MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE: Kabanata 281 - Kabanata 290

God, but she was gorgeous. A bag of nerves, perhaps, but utterly, utterly gorgeous.The last week had been difficult in the extreme, with Elmo waiting for her to make a mistake, waiting for her to slip up, to show her true colors. Only to date, all she had been was a breath of fresh air, clipping in and out of his office with her wide smile, charming his colleagues and the boss to boot! There was no question she was capable of the role—would, in fact, be extremely capable once she’d mastered a few more of the basics.Sometimes he actually forgot for a moment just who she was...At moments like this one, he actually forgot that she was Maya’s cousin. Elmo could see her hands in her lap and her knees bobbing up and down, and he wanted to still them—wanted to trap her legs with his thighs, wanted to take that mouth with his and taste it. Why couldn’t he have felt like that last night? listening to Mandy—or was it Mindy?—droning on and on. As beautiful as she was, he hadn’t even been both

Brianna watched as his free hand bunched into a fist and saw the little bit of color that was left in him literally drain away. His Adam’s apple bobbed a couple of times before he managed to carry on. "How was Mum?" He closed his eyes on the excited chatter, raked his hand through his hair, and dragged in vital oxygen."Of course I hope to see them." It just depends on when we go to Rome. I’m glad you’re calling him that—no, really. I’m fine with it now...Just for a second, his voice broke, and so evident was his pain, so abject his misery, that Brianna had to force herself not to go over—had to literally stop herself from walking over and taking the phone from his hand, telling Annabella he would call back later.But Elmo recovered quickly, nodding blindly and forcing himself to go on, his cheery voice absolutely belying his hopeless stance. "Elpido would be very proud."‘A boy?’ He didn’t look over; he just clicked off the phone and stared out of the window into the darkening night

Did she think he was that stupid?China-blue eyes stared up at him. That full mouth was quivering with nerves, waiting to be kissed some more, and he was tempted to silence her with just that. What the hell was she playing at? He’d seen her pills in the bathroom, for God’s sake, and she’d told him that she’d just broken up with her boyfriend of six months—now she was telling him she was a virgin?Please!A very scathing remark was on the tip of his tongue—whatever game she was playing with him was about to be abruptly concluded. The muscles in his arms tensed as he prepared to push her away—only he didn’t.If she wanted to play virgin and pretend that he was her first, then who was he to stop her? In fact, somehow it made it easier to just block out the whys and hows—easier to lower his mouth to hers, to play whatever game it was that she was playing, and lose himself.Pulling her back towards him, Elmo kissed the shell of her ear as he spoke. "Then we’d better take things slowly!"So

Sciocco! Sciocco!The word pounded in Elmo’s head as he showered and dressed, beating in his temples like a pulse as he headed down to breakfast.Fool! fool for forgetting who she was—and he had forgotten.Holding her, making love to her, kissing her, tasting her, he’d lost himself, lost his mind... For a few blissful hours he had forgotten about everything—Elpido, Annabella, the baby, Gilberto...Elmo’s face hardened.She’d lied to him—she still hadn’t told him that Maya was her cousin, and as for being a virgin!Elmo snapped his fingers at a waitress and jabbed at his cup, asking her to refill it.Well, she might have won this round, but the game wasn’t over—a fool he’d be no more.‘Good morning!’ His deadpan face didn’t even change as she staggered into the dining room—utterly business as usual, he was looking through his schedule and tapping away on his laptop as a very untogether Brianna rather shakily poured coffee and picked at a croissant.Jeremy will drive you back to Melbour

They breezed through check-in and customs and took off on time. The journey was in fact perfect—except for the two coiled springs sharing the first-class cabin.As they hurtled across time zones, Brianna played a game with the night sky, convincing herself that the day that had started so perfectly was being extended so it could end on a better note, and that somehow he’d look over and smile, as if pleased the universe was giving him these extra hours. Only Elmo didn’t use them wisely. Barely a word passed between them even as they landed, renegotiated customs, and stepped out into the freezing morning.Freezing!Melbourne winters weren’t exactly warm, but they were positively tropical compared to this. Her breath was blowing out white clouds, her teeth chattering as they headed to the waiting car, jumping like a puppy left behind into the heated warmth as the driver loaded their cases.But nothing—not Elmo’s black mood nor her earlier confrontation with Gilberto—could dim the beauty