Temporary Fiancée (5 page)

“Pompous iceberg comes to mind,” he said mildly.

Haley flushed, realizing he’d overheard her muttering in his bedroom. He smiled at her discomfort, then leaned toward her, his smile changing. For a second, a flicker of interest and curiosity crossed his face. She held her breath as he moved closer. Her pulse accelerated. Was he going to kiss her? When his nose was a hair’s width away from her cheek, he sniffed.

“What is that scent you have on? It’s been driving me crazy. I recognize it, but I can’t identify it.”

Shaken to realize how disappointed she was, Haley averted her eyes and spoke to his left shoulder. “It’s peach body cream. Do you want me to pick up some for you?”

He grabbed her left hand and brought her wrist to his nose. “Peach. I knew it was something familiar. It smells good.” He had a strange look on his face as if he considered licking her wrist to see how it tasted.

His breath on her wrist felt so erotic, she had to bite her lip to keep from lifting her hand the inch or so to his lips. She wanted to feel his mouth against her wrist. Against other parts of her.

Get a grip
.
You only met the man an hour ago.
Wondering if her cycle was out of whack, she pulled her hand away.”

“I better get going so I can shop and change clothes and get back here in time to fix dinner. I’ll have to call a cab.”

Rand stared at her for a second as if coming to a decision. “Do you drive?”

She nodded. “My car’s in the shop.”

“How good a driver are you?”

“Very good. No tickets since I was sixteen. The transmission place is holding my car for ransom. I’ll need to use your phone because mine is dead.”

“Dead car, dead phone—just how efficient are you really?” But he smiled as he said it. “I guess you can drive my car if you want,” He dug in his pockets for the keys. “It’s in the garage. The BMW.”

She was surprised he’d even made the offer. “Great. Not a lot of people would let a stranger drive their car, especially an expensive car. Aren’t you afraid I’ll wreck it?”

Another small smile crossed his face as he pointed to the ring on her finger. “We’re engaged, so it’s all right. And it’ll be more convenient than a taxi. I let my housekeeper drive the BMW, and she’s a terrible driver.”

Dumbfounded, she stared at him. Just when she thought she had him pigeonholed, he’d make a comment that had her rapidly adjusting her opinion. “You can’t care all that much about the Beemer if you lend it to terrible drivers.”

He nodded. “You’re right.
My
car is the new Porsche that’s next to the BMW. No one drives that but me.”

She laughed. “What if the President of the United States wanted to borrow it?”

He shook his head. “Especially not him.” He grinned as he handed her the keys to the BMW.

If she had more time, she’d make it her mission to see how many times a day she could make him smile. He was not nearly as intimidating when he smiled, but his lighthearted expressions were fleeting, and most of the time he reminded her of Old Stone Face, her high school principal.

Chapter Four

Haley tapped the steering wheel of the dark green Beemer as she maneuvered through the afternoon traffic. What a sweet car. After shopping for groceries, she went to her favorite specialty fish market for two pounds of salmon. When she finally pulled up in front of her apartment building, it was only three-thirty. She had plenty of time to change and get back to prepare dinner.

As she raced up the stairs to her second floor apartment, her landlady, Marian Spinner, poked her head out of her apartment on the first floor. “You’ve got company,” she said.

Haley paused on the third stair and looked down. “Who?”

“Delphine. That woman came about twenty minutes ago and left her.”

Haley groaned. “Didn’t you tell her I was gone?”

Marian shook her head. “I didn’t know how long you’d be gone. I told her you were on a job, that your car was in the shop, and you took a taxi.”

“I can’t do it this time,” Haley muttered. “I really can’t. Marian, can you...”

Marian edged back into her apartment. “No, I can’t. My sister and I are going to visit our cousin in Pocatello. We’re staying overnight.”

“I thought your cousin lived in Idaho Falls.”

“This is a different cousin.” Marian closed the door before Haley could beg.

Delphine, a golden cocker spaniel, slept peacefully on the mat in front of Haley’s apartment, her leash wrapped around the doorknob. A bag of gourmet dog food leaned against the door. Delphine’s owner, Phyllis Riddick, a seventy-year-old astrology buff and part time psychic, was so influenced by astrological phenomena that when her vibrations went haywire, she hired a sitter for Delphine so the dog’s health wouldn’t be affected.

After testing the auras of all WorkForce employees, Phyllis had pronounced Haley to be the only suitable person to watch her precious dog. Since Phyllis, a wealthy widow, willingly paid the exorbitant amount the agency owner, Terry Engles, charged for dog sitting, he’d assigned Haley the task of rescuing Delphine from evil auras several times in the past nine months.

She had come to love the dog and its quirky owner, but this was definitely not a good time to dog sit. Terry would have to assign Delphine to another employee. Despite her dismay, Haley laughed when she read the note taped to the bag of Delphine’s gourmet dog food:

Haley, please watch Delphine carefully. Scorpio is ascending which, of course, can be traumatic for those with a Leo sun rising. Every time this happens, Delphine gets depressed. I had to remove her from this atmosphere, but was unable to stay with her because my mahjong group is meeting at my house tonight. I will pick her up tomorrow. Even though she’s depressed, she was very happy to be going to you.

Love, Phyllis

Haley unhooked the leash from the doorknob and nudged the sleeping dog with her toe. Delphine bounded to her feet, barking in sharp, staccato sounds, stubby tail waving ecstatically. Delphine hid her depression better than any dog she’d ever come across. Haley stepped aside after she unlocked the apartment door, and the dog pranced in, trailing the leash behind her. She jumped on the couch and gazed at Haley with a goofy, how-can-you-help-but-love-me expression.

Moving swiftly to the phone, she finally tracked Terry down and begged him to send someone to pick up Delphine.

“No can do, Haley girl,” Terry said cheerfully. “You know The Riddick only wants you to watch her dog. Besides, nearly everyone on the staff has the flu. I came home early because I don’t feel well. You’d better get the shot. We don’t want to lose the McNally job because you got sick. I plan to take my wife on a cruise with the money you’re making for us.”

“It’s Rand McNeil. McNally is the Atlas company,” Haley said, but she was talking to an empty phone line. Terry knew the man’s name; he just liked to pull her chain.

After a few unsuccessful calls to other people, Haley resigned herself to taking Delphine back to Rand’s house. He wasn’t going to be a happy camper when she showed up with a cocker spaniel in tow.
He probably likes dogs as much as he likes me
, she told herself morosely, wondering why she was even subliminally attracted to a man who didn’t approve of anything about her except her body lotion.

Still smarting from his comment about her clothes, she rummaged through her closet and finally settled on a crisp white sundress with a splash of red across the bodice. The dress had cost her almost a month’s salary. The deceptively simple design molded to her figure, accentuating the firmness of her small breasts and tiny waist. She turned several times in the mirror, wondering if Rand would consider the dress feminine enough.

With a quick glance at her watch, she sighed, picked up a brush and attacked her hair, pulling on the spiky curls until they were nearly smooth. She sighed, knowing that in a matter of minutes they would begin popping up all over her head like miniature jack-in-the boxes. She added the useless straightener and a can of hair spray to the small overnight bag containing, a bathing suit, makeup, a large apron, and a robe. After debating with herself, she threw in her navy silk nightgown for window dressing.

Juggling the overnight bag and the dog food in one hand and Delphine’s leash in the other, she locked her apartment door and headed down the stairs. Now she
would
have to hurry. At least she didn’t have to worry about getting Delphine into the car. Always a well-behaved traveler, the dog allowed herself to be buckled into the front seat of Rand’s BMW, and sat there gazing serenely out the window.

Tossing the rest of her things into the back seat, Haley was about to buckle herself in when she remembered the salmon. Damn. It had been in the hot car for almost two hours. She poked at the package with her fingers. It had been frozen and still felt cold to the touch. It’ll be okay, she reassured herself. It has to be. I don’t have time to go shopping again. For dinner she planned to make salmon almandine, one of her specialties. It was impressive, delicious and easy to prepare.

It was after five o’clock when she pulled into Rand’s driveway. She’d have to hustle to get dinner ready by seven. As she popped the trunk to get the groceries, Rand hobbled out of the house leaning heavily on his cane.

“Do you need some...what the hell is that?” he pointed at Delphine, who was still strapped into the seat belt, nose pressed against the window.

Haley approached him and offered an apologetic smile. “I had to bring her. There was no one else to watch her. She’s a really good dog, Rand. You won’t even know she’s around.”

He shook his head. “You can’t bring that dog into my house. I don’t allow animals on my property. He’ll have to go somewhere else.”

“Delphine’s a female. And there’s nowhere else for her to go right now. It’s only for a little...” Her voice trailed off as he continued shaking his head.

“I don’t care if it’s male or female, good or bad, or trained for the circus. The dog is not staying.” He banged his cane on the ground for emphasis.

Haley thought he looked like a kid about to throw a tantrum. “Didn’t you have pets when you were a child?”

“No. My mother didn’t believe in having animals in the house either.”

“No wonder you’re the way you are,” Haley muttered under her breath, but Rand still heard.

“What I am, Miss Marchand, is your employer. Therefore, I get to set the rules. The dog goes. End of discussion.”

That did it! Who did he think he was, Hitler? Defiantly, Haley marched to the other side of the car, opened the door, and released Delphine from the seat belt. Immediately the dog bounded out, her long ears flapping and her small stub of a tail wagging furiously. Before Haley could prevent it, Delphine raced over to Rand and playfully attacked the base on his cane.

To his credit, he didn’t threaten her with it. As the dog tried to latch her teeth around the rubber stopper, he said sharply, “Sit, Delphine!” She sat immediately, gazing up at him with an adoringly goofy look.

“Is this
your
dog?”

“No. I dog sit for the owner occasionally. When I got back to my apartment, Delphine was there with a note from Phyllis. I tried to find someone to take her, but...” Haley shrugged.

“Then find a kennel for her. I don’t care how you get rid of her, just do it.”

She stalked toward him, her hands on her hips. Pausing directly in front of him, she poked him in the chest with her index finger. “I will not put Delphine in a kennel. She suffers from depression. Being in a kennel makes it worse.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Depression? You’re just saying that. Dogs don’t suffer from depression.”

Haley’s temper escalated, and she uttered an ultimatum. “If Delphine goes, I go.”

“That’s blackmail.” He glared at her. “We have a deal.”

Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he cursed. Without warning, he placed his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her full on the lips, the cane thumping to the ground. Delphine rushed to it and laid on it to keep it from rolling down the driveway. The cocker spaniel cocked her head with interest as she watched Rand plant ardent kisses behind Haley’s ear, along her neck, then back to her lips.

At the first brush of his lips, Haley stiffened. A few seconds ago he was ripping on her, and now his lips were all over her as if she were a juicy T-bone.

She struggled to think, but his lips pressing against hers made her dizzy. The man certainly knew how to kiss. She shuddered then melted against him. Her hands rose to clutch at his shirt and pull him closer. When Rand’s leg insinuated itself between hers and his hands traced her back, it felt as if her blood was on fire. She uttered a tiny moan and locked her arms around his neck. He softly bit her bottom lip. This was it. This is what it felt like to be consumed by a kiss. Rand’s hand cradled the back of her head, tilting it so he could slant his mouth more fully over hers.

She opened her mouth to catch a breath, and he thrust his tongue in, searching for hers. Hot and wet, their tongues dueled in an erotic mating dance. Cursing softly, he lifted her to fit against his growing erection, and they rocked together in a motion so sensual, Haley thought she’d faint from the sheer power of it.

Moving from her lips, Rand’s mouth slid up her neck with gentle, sucking kisses leaving her gasping for breath. Then his tongue swirled against her ear lobe, causing a delicious languor and turning her muscles to jelly. Nothing had ever felt so good.

“They’re here,” he murmured in her ear. “They just pulled into the driveway.”

Who’s here? Haley wondered. Her whole body pulsated, aching to get closer. Reacting to the need, she placed her hands on each side of his face and drew Rand’s lips back to hers. As his mouth once again took possession, it hit her. The Blakelys. The Blakelys had arrived, and this performance was for their benefit.

As if she’d been dumped in an icy bathtub, the heat evaporated so quickly she shivered. Embarrassed at how responsive she’d been, she struggled to calm her pounding heart until she felt the hard bulge of his erection pressing against her. Rand may have been acting at the beginning of the kiss, but somewhere along the way his body had certainly become involved.