Mills & Boon Stars Collection: Sinful Proposals. Cathy Williams

work. She had no boyfriend, she’d had a sad and challenging life, and now...she worked late every night, did a second job in her free time to earn money and on the weekends caught up on her sleep...when her head wasn’t buried in her books.

      She recalled him saying that he worked hard but he played as well...

      She imagined that, deep down, he would expect her to turn up in work clothes if they were going somewhere where the dress code wasn’t jeans and a T-shirt and some trainers.

      Was that why he had kindly warned her that they might be going somewhere dressy? Because he feared that she might show up, whatever the occasion, in her stiff little suit and crisp white blouse?

      ‘Okay—’ Sunny shrugged ‘—but I hope he doesn’t mind waiting. Girls can be...er...indecisive when it comes to choosing clothes...’

      Stefano raised his eyebrows wryly and she flushed because she had the annoying feeling that he could see straight through her—which made her want to carry on protesting.

      Yes...girls take time getting their appearance right! And that includes me, whatever you might think!

      She was stubbornly determined to prove him wrong and to prove to herself that she hadn’t forgotten what it was like to dress up and think of something other than her long-term plans and passing exams.

      * * *

      She’d expected Amy to be horrified at her unexpected arrival but instead the plump, good-natured brunette dimpled smugly and pulled her to one side when she was through the front door.

      ‘The meal was a disaster,’ she whispered, giggling. ‘Honestly, Sunny, I swear I followed every instruction in the recipe book, more or less, but it was an absolute disaster!’

      ‘Why are you grinning?’

      ‘Because Jake thought it was hilarious! He said he’s a brilliant cook and he’s been looking for a woman who can be impressed by his culinary skills! Anyway, he’s disappeared to the Thai down the road to get us a takeaway and then we’re going to watch a movie. You’re not staying, are you? I mean, that’s fine, but would it be awful of me to ask if you could hide out in your bedroom? Just for a bit?’

      ‘I’m not staying!’ Sunny laughed. ‘But I need you to do me a favour and I need you to do it before Jake gets back with your Thai...because I need your undivided attention...’

      * * *

      Half an hour later, Sunny looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her friend’s bedroom.

      Her selection of dressy clothes was pitiful. She had casual and she had work and then, in between those two polar opposites, she had a paltry array of drab skirts and jumpers that seemed to be neither one thing nor the other.

      She’d become accustomed over the years to playing down her looks. Her looks had always earned her the sort of unwarranted attention she’d hated. As far as she was concerned, what mattered was what lay beneath the surface and the only way she had ever felt she could be taken seriously was by muting her appearance. Even when she’d been dating John, dear, thoughtful John, she’d made sure not to dress up. She’d always had the sneaking suspicion that he had been a little threatened and overawed by her appearance and so she had unconsciously accommodated his insecurities.

      For the first time, she had the crazy urge to make the absolute most of herself and the only person who could help her was Amy.

      Amy had the clothes she lacked and, although they weren’t really the same size at all, Amy’s clothes were tight, small and stretchy. Many of them were a one size fits all variety and Sunny, having had her first few picks ruled out as way too boring for a night out on the town, had allowed herself to be led.

      ‘It’s not a night out on the town,’ she had protested, stepping out of one dress and straight into another. ‘His daughter is going to be there!’

      ‘You’re going out and it’s night time. It’s a night out in my book, and he’s cute, isn’t he? You said so before when I asked.’

      ‘He’s full of himself.’

      ‘But cute and sexy.’

      ‘Arrogant and way too...too...much for my liking.’

      ‘I notice you didn’t dispute the sexy bit.’ Amy had laughed and spun her round to the full-length mirror.

      And now Sunny was staring at the young woman she had spent a lifetime making sure to hide.

      Her long slender legs seemed to go on for ever and were on full view in the little stretchy skirt which was a demure pale pink in colour with a far from demure cut. She was taller than her friend, so what would have sat a couple of inches above knee level on Amy just about managed to skim Sunny’s thighs.

      She had a driving urge to tug the skirt down and had to squeeze her hands into fists to stop herself from doing it.

      The skirt was accompanied by an equally small stretchy top with a scooped neckline and three-quarter length sleeves. Together, she appeared to be wearing a dress, were it not for the fact that when she moved little slivers of her flat belly were exposed.

      ‘Perfect,’ Amy declared with satisfaction. ‘You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to get my hands on you and do this. You can leave your hair the way it is; just run your fingers through it to make it look a little wilder and if you stay still for a couple of seconds I’ll put some eyeshadow, mascara and lipgloss on you.’ Amy shot her a sly look. ‘I must say you’re putting yourself out for someone who is arrogant, full of himself and way too...too...much for your liking...’

      Sunny didn’t reply because she was too busy staring at the stranger staring back at her.

      Despite the disparity in their height, she and Amy both wore the same shoe size and Sunny had been persuaded into a pair of her friend’s shoes which weren’t particularly high and weren’t particularly flamboyant, at least compared to the revealing outfit, but which still managed to make her look...

      Sexy...

      She had a sudden attack of panic. She would never, ever have worn anything like this if she’d been going out with girlfriends. She would have been far too terrified of attracting unwanted attention from all the wrong sorts but she would be going out with Stefano and Flora and she was wickedly excited at the prospect of showing him that, yes, she was a fun girl. She was someone who went out, who did all sorts of exciting things in her free time.

      She was a sheep in borrowed clothing but he wasn’t to know that, was he?

      She teamed the outfit with her own denim jacket and hung onto her casual backpack even though Amy did her best to entice her into something small and sparkly.

      ‘You look fab,’ her friend said, practically pushing her out of her door because her legs suddenly felt quite leaden. ‘Your arrogant dinner date is going to be bowled over! Now, shoo! I have to work on bowling my own dinner date over! Hurry up so that I have time to spray some more perfume and get myself arranged in a way that makes it look as though I haven’t been hanging around waiting for him to get back!’ Amy smiled and impulsively stood on tiptoe to kiss Sunny on her cheek. ‘And have fun, Sunny. You don’t do enough of that...’

       CHAPTER FIVE

      STEFANO STROLLED OVER to the French doors overlooking the garden and stared in the general direction of the swimming pool. It was darkening outside, the bright turquoise of the sky fading into violet and navy. Upstairs, Flora had taken herself off to change. He hadn’t seen her so animated since she had come to live with him. It wasn’t to do with him or a sudden interest in developing a father-daughter relationship. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that. She had been energised by the excitement of the afternoon because, no matter how surly, grown-up and serious she was, she was still too young to really appreciate the potential danger Sunny had been in.

      He shoved his hand