Temporary Fiancée (11 page)

Rand laughed, beginning to find Phyllis’ quirkiness captivating.

“Did you have relations with Haley last night, young man?”

Her question caught him off guard, and he felt himself flushing. “That’s none of your business, Phyllis.”

She raised an eyebrow, and stared up at him with a wide, unblinking stare. Then as much as he resisted, some mystic power of hers had him admitting the truth.

“No. We didn’t. There was a problem. I couldn’t...” He was going to tell her about the emergency trip to the hospital and then stopped cold. Heat rose from his neck to the top of his head. Was the woman a witch? In a few seconds he’d be spilling his guts to her. He folded his arms across his chest and refused to say any more. To his horror, she misinterpreted his abrupt silence.

Her eyes softened, and she patted his chest in a comforting manner. “Don’t worry, young man. I have a potion that can cure your problem.”

He eyed her warily. “What problem?”

She patted his arm. “Impotence is nothing to be ashamed of, Andrew. It strikes many men at certain times, even young men.”

“Impotence! Who said I was impotent?”

She shook her head sadly. “My third husband, Ernie had the same problem for years. So humiliating for him. He could hardly lift his head at his club, and he was just about your age. He was referred to me, and I fixed him up with one of my potions.” She smiled dreamily. “He never had the problem again, and we married a week later.” She sighed, her face suddenly sad. “The darling man passed over three years ago.”

Rand gritted his teeth. Talking to her was like trying to hold water in your hands. “I am not impotent,” he said, wondering why he was even bothering.

She patted him gently, as if he were a child. “Don’t you worry, young man. By the day of the wedding, you will be just fine.” Clasping her wrists together, she twirled slowly around the room, fluttering her fingers in that weird manner he had first noticed.

Nutty as a fruitcake!
He wished Haley would hurry up with the damn dog. Phyllis was making him very nervous.

On that thought, Haley appeared in the doorway, followed by Delphine and Carrie. As soon as the dog spotted Phyllis, she uttered an almost human moan and then sank to the floor, her paws covering her face. She continued to moan piteously for several minutes.

The dog deserved an academy award, Rand thought. He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself. Phyllis rushed to Delphine’s side and fell to the floor next to her, crooning and stroking her head. The topknot on the older woman’s head loosened and a clump of silver hair fell down on one side of her face.

“There, there, Duchess. Everything will be fine. Your bambinos will be rescued, and you can be happy again.” Phyllis looked up and announced in a soft voice, “Her children were stolen by their father in 1630 and never found.”

Rand felt as if he were caught in some weird episode on the SYFY channel. Phyllis, while evidently bonkers, did not seem dangerous. Still he would feel more comfortable if she left and took the duchess with her. Delphine’s piteous moans were getting to him. He tried to catch Haley’s eye. She was watching the small tableau with a resigned expression on her face.

Carrie finally piped up, her voice tremulous. “Why is Delphine crying like that? She was all right when we were in the back yard.”

“It’s okay, honey.” Haley walked over to the child and wrapped her arms around her. “Delphine and Phyllis have a special relationship. This is what they do when they see each other.”

Relief poured through Rand. At least Haley didn’t believe in this reincarnation mumbo jumbo. “Haley, the Blakelys will be down in a few minutes. Do you think...?”

She nodded and knelt beside Phyllis, gently touching her shoulder. “I’ll help you get her to the car. She’ll be better off at home.” She then turned to Carrie. “Honey, would you get the bag of dog food from the kitchen and bring it to the car for Phyllis?”

Carrie ran off, and Phyllis slowly stood. As her gaze traveled from Haley to Rand, a smile of such sweetness filled her face that Rand blinked.

“Your auras are the same color. That’s very rare. Moving close to Rand, she patted his hand and her eyes twinkled up into his. “Don’t you worry, young man, my potion will fix you right up. However, I don’t want you too virile before the wedding, or you’ll become very frustrated.”

Turning, she caught Haley’s amazed look. “I know about his problem, dear. It’s nothing he has to be ashamed of. I believe the x-rays from computers often make a man impotent.”

Haley’s face contorted as she tried to keep from laughing. “Im-impotent? You think he’s impotent?” Her voice cracked, and she pressed a hand to her mouth trying to muffle the laugh. Suddenly a giggle escaped, followed by a loud snort of laughter. “I’m sorry, Rand,” she gestured helplessly then bent over, holding her sides, trying unsuccessfully to repress her mirth.

Phyllis frowned. “It’s not like you to be insensitive, Haley. I’m sure Andrew is embarrassed enough.”

Haley nodded, wiped her eyes, and tried to look penitent. “Please forgive me,” she said, staring into his face with mock solemnity. As his eyes narrowed, she ruined the apology with another fit of laughter. Rand fought the smile threatening to curve his lips. Haley’s laughter was contagious, even if it was at his expense.

Rand forced the smile away. Enough was enough. “It’s not funny, dammit! Tell Phyllis I don’t need a potion.”

She grinned, her eyes still lit with laughter. “How would I know that?”

“Haley!”

She was driving him crazy. Instead of saying anything to Phyllis, she scooped up Delphine and walked out of the room.

Carrie who had just returned, followed her down the hallway. “Haley, why does Delphine’s mother think Uncle Rand is important?”

Rand heard another wild burst of laughter from Haley until she controlled it enough to answer his niece. “Well, he is, sweetheart. Uncle Rand is very important.”

He glared at Phyllis. “I do not have a problem, Phyllis, and I don’t need a potion.” He felt ridiculous having to defend his masculinity. “Actually, Haley and I are not really engaged. I only met her yesterday. I hired her to help get rid of Angela, and that’s why we didn’t sleep together.” He felt a twinge of guilt at the lie.

Phyllis eyed him shrewdly. Finally, waving her hand in an abrupt gesture of dismissal, she said, “Then I must have been mistaken about your aura. I can see now that it does not match Haley’s at all.” She made a graceful turn and left the room in a swirl of multi-colored chiffon.

As she walked away from him, Rand recognized a vague disappointment at her dismissal of his aura. What the hell was happening to him? Had he wanted her to insist that he and Haley were a match made in heaven? He shuddered. Haley would be out of his life as soon as the Blakelys left. And none too soon. His household had become a zoo.

Chapter Nine

Haley and Rand stood together on the front porch, presenting a united front as the Blakelys left. Rand had his arm slung casually over Haley’s shoulder as she leaned against him. She kept a friendly smile pasted on her face, trying to ignore the sensual impact of the smell of his aftershave and the faint prickling of his arm hairs on the back of her neck.

George Blakely, still suffering the effects of the flu, was anxious to get home. “We can let our lawyers do their thing now.” He nudged his sulking daughter down the steps.

Oblivious to the glowering Angela, he patted Haley on the shoulder. “Thanks for all your work, little lady. The contract agreement you typed up is just the ticket. I’d say Rand got himself a great package deal when he got engaged to you.”

Haley smiled demurely, and Rand tightened his arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. “She’s a treasure all right.”

Haley smothered a laugh. Rand’s attempt to look besotted actually gave him the appearance of someone suffering from severe gas pains.

At the bottom of the steps, Angela turned back, the petulance erased from her expression. She directed the full power of her beautiful, long-lashed eyes on Rand. “We need to talk. Why don’t you call me later today?”

The blatant sexual invitation in her tone stiffened the muscles in Haley’s back as she waited for Rand’s response. He squeezed her shoulder again. “I think we’ll let the lawyers do the negotiating from now on, Angela. Haley and I have plans for this afternoon.” He gazed into Haley’s eyes, his voice lowering seductively. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

Haley almost choked. Rand made it sound as if they planned to spend the afternoon in bed. A shock of sexual awareness zipped down her spine to settle in her lower abdomen. They could spend the afternoon in bed if she was the type to jump into a sexual relationship after only one day. Which she wasn’t, she reminded herself.

“I’d be careful what you eat from now on, Rand,” Angela said with a dark look at Haley. “She’s obviously putting drugs in your food.”

They both chuckled as Angela stomped to her car, no longer bothering with the rudiments of polite behavior. As she slid into the passenger side of the vehicle, they heard her snap at her father to start the car. Haley would bet money that very few people had ever witnessed Angela in a snit. It made her look like a six-year old having a temper tantrum.

As soon as the vehicle turned out of the circular drive, Rand dropped his arm and moved away from her. Resignedly Haley looked up at him. Gone was the look of false adoration he had assumed for the Blakelys. His handsome face was stern and unsmiling, reminding her of the first time they’d met.

They obviously wouldn’t be heading straight for the bedroom. Their pretend engagement was over. If Rand had felt anything for her, it was a fleeting physical attraction at best. She was confused and alarmed by how bleak she felt. As unreasonable as it was, she felt as if they were dissolving a real engagement. She needed to get away from him and regroup.

“I’d better pack my things.”

He looked surprised. “Where are you going?”

“Home. The Blakelys are gone. You don’t need to be engaged any more.”

“I still need a secretary. Especially now that the merger is definitely in the works.” His tone was brisk, businesslike. “I need all the contract changes typed, plus I dictated several letters into the machine before you got here. They all need to be transcribed. And there’s a backlog of work my secretary left.”

Haley wanted to punch him. How dare he speak to her as if she were an ordinary employee after all they’d been to each other? “When’s your regular secretary coming back?” She tried to match his tone.

He hesitated. “I’m not sure. She’s pregnant and sick. It may be a full month.”

No way could she work for him for a month. The past two days had taken too much out of her. Haley wasn’t sure she could work even one more hour with Rand without succumbing to the unlikely chemistry between them. She nearly laughed at the absurdity of the millionaire and the temporary worker. She toyed with the idea of asking Terry to send someone to take her place.

“What’s the problem? You act like you don’t want to stay.”

“I’m not sure I do,” she stared down at her shoes. “I guess I can stick it out until you can get someone else.”

It was embarrassing to feel this sudden sense of urgency just standing next to him. He wasn’t having the same problem. In fact, he was once again looking at her as if she were an annoying mosquito. She reminded herself that although he was occasionally attracted to her, they hadn’t connected on any other level. And he was making her an emotional wreck with his Jekyll and Hyde personality changes.

He placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her face, as his blue gray eyes coolly assessed her. “If you’re concerned that we’ll end up in bed, let me assure you what happened last night was an aberration, a mistake. It won’t happen again. Angela’s gone, and you can resume the status for which you were originally hired.”

Her ego reeled from the impact. An aberration? Humiliation burned through her, and she batted his hand away from her chin. “Do you have any idea how arrogant you sound with this employee/employer crap?” She glared at him. “I don’t have a problem ‘resuming my status’ as you so quaintly put it, but I did pull your butt out of the fire yesterday, and a little appreciation might be nice.”

Rand’s jaw tightened. “I am sure the appreciation will be evident in your paycheck, so if you can put a lid on your temper, there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Without another word, she turned and stalked back into the house. Fuming silently, she vowed to call Terry and demand a replacement right after lunch.

Rand watched the sway of Haley’s trim hips as she stamped back into the house. For a small woman, she was packaged very nicely. Rand shook his head. He had provoked her to fury and was now admiring her backside. Involvement with Haley Marchand was the last thing he needed right now, and he refused to allow the electrical awareness between them to go any further.

He should call her back and apologize. Dammit. Why was he always in jackass mode around her?
You
’
re running scared, boy, and that
’
s the truth.
He realized that in trying to put their relationship back on a professional footing, he’d gone overboard. He was still surprised how much the idea of her leaving had bothered him. There were other secretaries, lots of them. He’d be better off if she did leave.

Suddenly, the memory of her body barely covered in a flimsy towel sent a burst of desire rocketing through him, and he knew he was kidding himself.

He wanted her. Beyond all logic and reason.

He contemplated whether one intense sexual episode with Haley would get her out of his system. Then he remembered the hazy wonder in her eyes the night before when they’d almost made love. She wasn’t experienced enough to have sex just for the sake of scratching the itch. The truth was she would convince herself that it meant something.

Cursing all romantics as fools, he followed her into the house. Angela’s disloyalty had soured him on women in general, but he’d been celibate way too long. Lusting after Haley reminded him that intense frustration could not easily be alleviated with a cold shower when you had your leg in a cast.