Natalie laughed even as she blushed. No way would she be telling Alanna every single detail. She could live with the knowledge that Mike had rendered her absolutely shameless. But she didn’t want anyone else to know.

Still, there was no point in pretending that she and Mike hadn’t become lovers. He’d probably tell his friends. Men did like to brag about their sexual conquests.

And, brother, she was a sexual conquest to end all conquests! Was there anything she hadn’t let him do last night? If there was, she didn’t know about it. By the time he’d carried her out of that decadent bath, she’d been totally corrupted.

‘Okay, okay,’ she admitted. ‘Yes, all our efforts worked. Mike and I did go to bed together last night.’

My, what a delicate way of putting it, considering their sexual escapades hadn’t been exactly confined to the bed.

‘I knew it!’ Alanna exclaimed. ‘Reece said he wouldn’t be able to resist you. He said Mike and celibacy just don’t go together.’

Natalie winced. As much as she knew she would never have been Mike’s first choice of partner, she still didn’t like to think it was just frustration that had compelled him to accept her offer of sex.

‘So, what do you think of him now?’ Alanna persisted. ‘Do you like him any better?’

Natalie grimaced. She should have known Alanna would start asking questions like that. Natalie had suspected all along that both she and Holly had been harbouring hopes about this marriage.

But Natalie refused to encourage her friends. Or her own silly self.

‘I guess so. But we have absolutely nothing in common.’

‘Opposites attract, you know.’

‘Attraction is not enough for marriage, Alanna.’

‘It’s a start. Do you think you might fall for him in time?’

‘I don’t think that’s likely,’ came Natalie’s hedging answer.

Sexually obsessed with him, yes.

Addicted to his body, yes.

Falling in love with him?

Oh, dear, she sincerely hoped not. To self-destruct a second time over a man would be the final straw. But Natalie suspected that, down deep in that place where unbearable truths tried to hide, she was already treading a fine line between being in lust and falling in love.

‘Unlikely, but not impossible?’ Alanna suggested.

‘Nothing’s impossible.’

‘Where is he now?’

‘He drove over to his place to collect the rest of his clothes for our stay on the yacht. And to buy some supplies.’

‘Really? What kind of supplies? Holly said the penthouse had everything you might need for a short stay.’

Natalie could hardly say more condoms. That would be a dead give-away and lead to more awkward questions.

‘Just the Sunday paper,’ she replied. ‘And some milk. We both like fresh milk in our coffee.’

‘See?’ Alanna said. ‘You do have something in common.’

‘You are an eternal optimist, Alanna.’