Husband for Hire (3 page)

She opened the door.

It wasn't Suki, but Gavin, looking determined. Then his eyes narrowed.

“Have you been crying?”

Hope got mixed up with embarrassment once again. Why did he keep catching her when she looked her worst? “Do I really need to answer that?”

After several seconds of just staring at her, his expression changed. He looked…resigned.

“Tell me if I've summed this up correctly,” he said. “You lied about having a boyfriend for
your
sake—to get them off your backs about it. But you lied about having a husband for
their
sakes—to let them to move on with their lives and futures.”

He put her reasoning into words much better than she had. “Yes, exactly.”

“Then, okay, I'll do it. I understand wanting your siblings, especially Eric, to be happy. I get that they've given up a lot for you,” he said. “But I've got a few requirements of my own.”

Relief and joy battled inside her. “Come in.”

He did, but he didn't sit. “Obviously I can't just show up here next Saturday and pretend to be your husband and expect your brothers to buy it. That means we have nine days to become believable. And nine days to get all this—” he gestured around her messy space “—in order. I'm volunteering to do that for you. If you want your brothers to think your life
is in good hands, this place needs to reflect that— because it also reflects on me.”

She didn't know how she felt about his take-charge attitude, but she knew he was right. “I guess I do need a keeper.”

“And I've never been anyone's keeper, but I do need a challenge right now.”

“So you would be free all week to help me? I'm not taking you away from another job?”

“I'm between jobs at the moment.”

Which could mean anything, she thought. He could have been fired, laid off, or quit. Maybe temp jobs were his mainstay. “What kind of work did you do?”

“My last job was at a hospital.”

“Really?” This was even better than she'd hoped. “So you'll be able to toss in a few medical words and sound like you know what you're doing? You could sound like a doctor?”

“As long as no one needs brain surgery.”

“When can you start?” she asked, grinning.

“What time do you leave for work?”

“Seven-thirty.”

“I'll be here at seven. I'll bring breakfast.”

“I don't eat—”

“I'll bring breakfast. I saw the inside of your refrigerator. You have very little on hand.” He headed to the door, grabbed the knob. “I have to be home for the weekend, but I'll do an assessment of what needs
to be done tomorrow then come back on Monday. I'll call Julia and let her know.”

“Wait!” She walked to him, the door open. “How can I reach you?”

“I'll give you my cell-phone number tomorrow. Sleep well.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “Everything will work out, Becca.”

With those softly spoken, comforting words, he left.

Becca closed her mouth after a moment, her eyes watering and throat burning. Then she shut the door and went to bed, where she fell asleep within a minute.

Life was good.

“I
'm trying to remember the last time I ate oatmeal,” Becca said, scraping her bowl clean. “And I'm sure it didn't taste this good.”

Gavin had guessed what she might like to eat and decided on oatmeal loaded with raisins, walnuts and brown sugar for both of them, something hearty he'd picked up at the restaurant of the hotel where he'd stayed overnight.

She looked fresh, her eyes bright, her spirits high. Maybe a little too high. There was nothing leisurely about her this morning. She moved quickly, spoke with rapid-fire speed and continually bounced a foot while talking. He hadn't noticed anything like it last night, but she was definitely wound up now.

“Are you all right?” He picked up her empty bowl and set it in the kitchen sink with his.

She hopped off the barstool. “I feel good. Hopeful.”

Hopeful.
An interesting word. “What's your plan for your second bedroom? Office? Guest room?”

“Both. Suki has crashed on my couch a few times, but it would be good to have a real guest room.”

“How much work do you do at home?”

She scooped up her briefcase, which she'd tossed onto the couch, and checked the contents. “Lots. But I usually sit here on the sofa with my laptop. I don't have to spread out much.”

He found himself staring at her rear, which was round and taut, her jeans fitting her like a second skin. She was slender but toned, her breasts small and firm. “Do you need all the trade journals that are stacked up around the place?”

“Probably not.” She straightened and faced him in time to find him staring.

He felt like a teenager, caught ogling. It'd been way too long since he'd been on a date, having no interest while the lawsuit was being investigated then tried. He supposed it was a sign of emotional progress that he was thinking about sex again, but it was disconcerting in this situation. For all intents and purposes, she was his boss.

Not to mention she lived in Sacramento and he in San Francisco, too far apart to see each other often. Although in a week's time they would
need
to look
as if they were married, with all the intimacy that implied. Interesting contradictions, he thought.

“This is my cell-phone number,” he said, passing her a scrap of paper.

“And here's a key for you,” she said. “So, I won't see you again until Monday?”

“Right.” He could have changed his plans at home but decided he'd rather work without her around— which meant putting it off until Monday. It had been a year since he'd spent time with a woman he liked
and
was attracted to. “You must have a casual workplace,” he said, “to wear jeans as a vice president.”

She flashed a grin. “Actually I'm dressed up.” She pulled an orange cardigan over her crisp white shirt. “We don't see many visitors, although we're doing a lot more video conferencing these days, so some of the guys may need to start wearing dress shirts instead of T-shirts.”

Gavin got caught by her smile, which spread from her mouth to her eyes, their dark brown depths sparkling. How she could look both at ease and wound up was beyond him, but it described her.

“If there's something you need me to do over the weekend, let me know,” she said as she headed to the door.

“Will you go grocery shopping?”

She frowned. “What for?”

He laughed. “Eat out a lot, do you?”

“I don't have time to cook. Or the interest.”

“Then I'll take care of it before I get here on
Mon day. I think if you want your brothers to believe you're married, your kitchen should be a little better stocked.”

“They know I don't cook.”

“People have a different expectation for a married person, I think. I won't overdo it.”

She smiled, obviously happy. “We already feel so domestic,” she said. “I feel like I should kiss you goodbye and call you honey.”

Feel free.
The words stayed trapped in his head.

“But I'll just say thank-you. You don't know how relieved I am, Gavin.”

“Have a good day. Honey.”

She laughed then waved goodbye.

The apartment seemed unbearably quiet after the door shut. Becca Sheridan had presence. He wondered if she knew what a potent force she was.

Gavin planned to spend the next few hours looking through boxes, sorting stacks and making lists. He was excited to get started, anxious to create order out of her chaos. He had work to do, physical and mental.

And he felt better than he had in a long time, lighter, unburdened. Focused.

Sane.

He hoped it was worth living the lie.

 

Suki shadowed Becca from the front door all the way to her office. She'd been lying in wait, had texted Becca four times this morning demanding to know
how the interview had gone. Becca couldn't explain it adequately via text message, so she waited, although knowing Suki would pounce.

“Tall, blond and handsome, like he'd just come out of the ocean with a surfboard under his arm,” Becca said as soon as Suki shut the door. “Intelligent. Easygoing. Good manners. Knows how to take care of a person. Jackpot.”

She started to laugh after that, feeling like a teenager, light and carefree.

“Wow,” Suki said, sitting back in her chair. “And he works as a temp? Something's gotta be wrong with him.”

“I kept looking for flaws. I didn't see any.”

“Did you make him strip down? Maybe it's where you can't see it.”

Becca grinned. “Why didn't I think of that? I could've brought out my casting couch. I'm telling you, he's one gorgeous man. And he intends to take care of my needs.”

“Do you have to pay more for that?” Suki waggled her eyebrows.

Warmth suffused Becca. She hadn't intended to give things a sexual spin, but those visions simmered below the surface without conscious thought. She was more than a little attracted to Gavin. If she'd put together the man of her dreams, feature by feature, Gavin Callahan would've been the end result.

“I meant,” Becca said to Suki, “that he accepted
the job, and I'm sure he'll do a great job of being a pretend husband.”

“Can I have him when you're done?”

Becca had no glib comment in return. She didn't want to share him.
He's mine,
she wanted to say. Then her phone rang, saving her as Suki slipped out of the room and the workday began.

Except it wasn't work related.

“Hey, Bec,” her brother Eric said, his voice deep and sure.

Becca always felt safe when she heard him. He'd been her lifeline after she left home, even as she'd craved the independence. “How's life in the Big Apple?” she asked.

“Dog-eat-dog. How's everything with you?”

“Busy and good. I'm looking forward to seeing you. All four of you. Are your plans all set?”

“Our flights will arrive within an hour of each other. Sam and I will hook up in Chicago then fly to Sacramento together. Trent and Jeff will do the same in Dallas. So, only two flights to contend with in the end. We should get to your place around noon.”

“I'll have lunch ready.” Or catered or something, she thought.

“Are you cooking these days? Have you become the little wife?”

She didn't know why that stung, but it did. “Chauvinist. I think I can manage sandwiches.”

“Sounds good. We'll take the newlyweds out to dinner Saturday night, though.”

“Thank you. I'll let Gavin make reservations for us all.”

“Oh, he has a name finally.”

She'd referred to her mystery boyfriend as Doc whenever she spoke of him to her brothers. It had become a joke, although she knew they were annoyed at not knowing the real name of her fantasy man.

“And his last name?” Eric prompted.

“I'm not telling. You can meet him and form your own opinion, not whatever information you might dig up on him in the meantime.”

“Spoilsport. And you'll share pictures from your wedding with us, too, since we haven't received any either by mail or email.”

A statement, not a question, she realized. “Of course.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Eric spoke again. “Are you happy, Bec?”

“I am.” Except for lying and deceiving and being attracted to a man without any potential for a future relationship. “Don't be too hard on Gavin, okay? Eloping was my idea.”

“He went along with it.”

She heard condemnation in his voice. “He'd do anything for me, Eric. Isn't that what you've always wanted?”

He sighed. “Of course it is.”

“Then just be happy for me.”

She hung up the phone a minute later feeling lower
than low. What a sincerely stupid thing she'd done, even if for what she thought were the right reasons.

After a minute of remorse, she sat up tall in her chair. She would get through the weekend and the lie somehow, because it mattered. She'd made her decision for good reasons, solid reasons. She couldn't backpedal.

Except…now she had another tricky situation to deal with. She drummed her fingers on her desk, debating, and then finally called Gavin's cell phone.

“We have a new complication,” she said.

“The first of many, I imagine,” he said drily. “What's up?”

“I just talked to Eric. He's looking forward to seeing pictures of our wedding.”

There was a long moment of pause. “Okay. You find the right dress to wear. I'll take care of everything else. I'll pick you up around noon on Sunday.”

For a woman used to making decisions herself, she gave in easily to his taking charge. “Thank you, Gavin. Thank you so much.”

“It's something any good husband would do.”

She heard the smile in his voice. “What about your weekend plans?”

“I can be done by then. See you on Sunday.”

“Gavin,” she said in a hurry before he hung up— and before she lost her nerve.

“What?”

“If your plans include getting a haircut, please don't.” She wanted to run her fingers through it,
had been hoping for a chance while they were “married.”

She could almost hear him frown.

“I should look my best for our wedding photos,” he said. “They last a lifetime, you know.”

“I think it adds to your philanthropic, selfless-doctor look,” she said.

He laughed, soft and low, a sound that registered in her as if their bodies had been touching. She liked him too much. Way too much.

“I guess I can make that sacrifice for my wife.”

“Thank you,” she said, the phrase becoming all too common. “If there's something you think of that I can do, you'll let me know, right?”

“Look like a bride. I'll handle the rest. And relax, okay? It'll be fine.”

“Giving up control is hard for me,” she admitted.

“No kidding. Let go of the wheel, Becca. Control's an illusion, anyway, so you might as well just have fun.”

Was that his philosophy? Was that why he was happy working temp jobs, not having a particular career? She wished she could be more like him. Well, a
little
more like him. She couldn't give up the career she'd worked so hard for.

“You win,” she said. “Please keep track of your expenses.”

“See you later.” Then he hung up, without waiting for her to even say goodbye.

Becca looked around her office. If she had a window, she would've taken advantage of it to stare outside while she considered their conversation.

Look like a bride,
he'd said. She took a mental tour of her closet, but nothing appropriate came to mind. She needed to shop. Normally she would ask Suki to go with her, but she didn't want to involve anyone else, if possible. As it was, Eric would wonder why Suki hadn't attended her best friend's wedding.

A wedding without a honeymoon.

Somehow that didn't seem quite fair.

She laughed, let herself relax as Gavin had pretty much ordered her to and then got down to work. After all, someone had to bring home the bacon in this marriage.