The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

other than magnificent sex,’ Noah said between kisses, ‘what’s in it for you?’

      Eloise considered, but it was hard to think with his mouth against her skin. ‘I like how I feel when I’m with you. Who I am when I’m with you.’

      ‘Yeah?’ Noah stilled, resting his head against her hip.

      ‘Yeah.’ How could she explain it without adding to his ego? ‘I couldn’t have done anything like performing on the stage at the Frost Fair without you there, telling me it would be fun. Maybe a few more days with you will give me the confidence I need to move on in my life. Get out of my rut.’ Maybe chase the dreams she’d long given up on—her own business, getting away from this place, finding her own success. Maybe even finding a man she could love, who would stay, and want her for who she was. She didn’t mention that part, though. Not as Noah began kissing her stomach again.

      She wasn’t thinking about any man but him for the time being.

      * * *

      By the time Eloise emerged from the pleasurable haze Noah had put her in, the sun was fully up and she was in danger of running late.

      ‘Maybe tonight we can do this in my room,’ Noah said as he kissed her goodbye at the door. ‘Try out the four-poster.’

      Eloise grinned. ‘Maybe. Now go! We need to be downstairs for the wedding party photo shoot and interviews in half an hour.’ She pushed him out of the door and he headed off down the corridor, whistling. ‘And remember...’

      ‘Nobody knows,’ he said, turning and walking backwards. Then he blew her a kiss and she shook her head.

      Maybe trusting Noah with a secret relationship was expecting too much from him. As much as he said he wanted it kept between them too, to help convince that director, she wasn’t sure he was actually capable of being discreet. But the thought of being in his bed tonight...that was too good to give up. She’d just have to hope he could act discreet, just for a few days.

      Then he’d be gone. But Eloise wasn’t thinking about that.

      Instead, as she headed towards her bathroom, she thought that if only she’d known this was going to happen from the start, the bedroom crisis she’d faced on arrival day could have been solved an awful lot more easily.

      Thirty minutes later, Eloise hurried from the lift into the lobby. Most of the wedding guests were already milling around, ready to go out on the local tours Laurel had arranged for them while the wedding party were busy with the photographer and the journalist from the celebrity magazine covering the wedding.

      ‘You look nice,’ Laurel said as she approached, clipboard in hand, from the reception desk. ‘Kind of...glowy.’

      ‘Thanks.’ Eloise tried not to blush.

      She might have spent just a little more time than normal on her hair and make-up that morning, and put a bit more effort into her choice of suit—a deep charcoal skirt and jacket with a silky cream blouse and high heels. Even though the magazine people would be providing outfits for the photo shoot, and doing her hair and make-up, Eloise had felt like making the effort.

      After all, trying to match up to the kind of good looks parading around Morwen Hall at the moment was a full-time job. Nothing to do with the gorgeous guy who’d just spent the night in her bed. Probably.

      Oh, who was she trying to kid? She wanted to look nice for her boyfriend. That was what Melissa and the other girls would have chanted, back when they were pre-teens at school. But Noah wasn’t her boyfriend. And he wasn’t sticking around. Two more days and it would all be over, so there was to be absolutely no falling for the guy.

      He’d just stay her own delicious little secret.

      Well, not so little, actually.

      ‘Are you okay?’ Laurel asked, her eyebrows drawn together in concern. ‘You’re turning red.’

      ‘Fine. Just fine.’ Eloise willed her skin colour to return to normal.

      ‘Well, good. Because Dan and I are off to supervise the coach tours, so you’re on your own with Bridezilla today.’ Across the lobby, Eloise saw Dan watching, waiting for Laurel, as if he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Obviously a man besotted. Good. Whatever concerns she’d had when she’d first seen them together must just have been nerves—coming out as a couple could do that, she supposed.

      Something else she and Noah wouldn’t have to worry about. Nobody would ever know about them.

      ‘You’re not staying for the photo shoot?’ Eloise asked.

      Laurel shook her head. ‘One of the advantages of not actually being part of the wedding party. We are surplus to requirements this morning. Plus we’ll probably have a lot more fun on the tours.’

      ‘I bet.’ The lift pinged behind her and Eloise turned to watch it open, even as she spoke. ‘Wish I was coming with you.’

      The lift doors opened and Noah stepped out, his dark hair perfectly messy above those dark chocolate-brown eyes, his stubble just the right length for scraping over her skin and his shirt collar open under his jacket, showing hints of the collarbone she’d kissed her way along the night before...

      ‘Are you sure?’ Laurel asked, watching her. ‘Seems to me you might have your own fun right here.’

      ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Eloise said, and went to go and see her not-boyfriend.

      * * *

      ‘Ready for your close-up?’ Noah asked as Eloise approached across the lobby.

      She certainly looked ready. She’d left her hair down and it tumbled in waves over her shoulders, blazing red against the dark grey of her jacket and the creamy shirt that matched her skin. He wanted to touch it, to touch her. To reach out and kiss her, to show every other person in the hotel that she was his, even if only for a few days.

      But he couldn’t. Because he’d promised her they’d be a secret, and because one more fling might ruin his chances at getting the film role of the decade.

      He knew the reasons. But it still felt like a stupid idea. Anyone who looked at them would know they’d been together, he was sure. At the very least, anyone who’d been paying any attention to Eloise would know she’d been up to something last night. Her whole body screamed relaxed satisfaction, and the smile she gave him told him everything he wanted to know—that they’d be doing it again. And soon.

      Thank God. The self-imposed time limit was already weighing heavily on him. In only a few days he’d be gone. That was not a lot of time to make the most of his connection with Eloise Miller.

      He didn’t let himself consider the possibility of it carrying on beyond New Year’s Day. Eloise’s life was here, and his was everywhere else. She wanted for ever love, the deep and lasting kind, the sort she could rely on. He wanted anything but that. And, to be fair, she’d not given him any signs that she wanted anything more from their fling. Yes, their connection had been immediate and their chemistry explosive. But just because they’d shared secrets and feelings didn’t mean they had to share a life.

      Maybe he was destined to only ever have meaningful relationships that lasted a day or two. And maybe that wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

      At least this time, when it was over, it would be his choice and everyone involved would still be breathing. He’d take that as a win.

      ‘I can’t believe they actually want to take photos of me,’ Eloise said, standing just an inch or so too close. She wanted to keep this a secret but she didn’t even know what she had to hide, Noah realised. Understandably. Eloise wasn’t the sort of woman who would have done this before.

      ‘You’re the maid of honour,’ he pointed out, shifting his weight from one foot to the other to create the illusion of distance between them. ‘Kind of important to the wedding party.’

      Eloise rolled her eyes.