To Catch a Man (In 30 Days or Less) (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) (6 page)

Slowly, she rested her novel down
and leaned forward to peer at the sleeping man.  She might as well do it now,
get to know every inch of his face.  She guessed that normally it would take at
least three dates to be able to memorize a face down to the last detail.  She
didn’t have the luxury of leisurely ‘getting-to-know-you’ dates so she would take
advantage of the opportunity she’d been given and absorb every detail while she
could.

She slid off her seat and slipped
into the one beside him.  Then, trying not to seem too obvious in case anyone
walked in, as casually as she could she rested her chin in the hand she’d
propped up on her knee and leaned over for a better look.

Stone Hudson wasn’t a man you’d
call eye candy.  For one thing, his jaw was too firm for that description.  And
his forehead was too broad and strong.  And his lips?  Too tight.  But there
was a manliness about him that could not be denied.  When you looked at him you
knew that this was a man who was no walk-over.  He was the kind of man who
would defend his woman, protect her, be a source of strength for her.  Indie
gave a little smile.  She liked that.

She was still smiling when Stone’s
eyes opened and he looked straight at her.

Indie jerked away and pressed back
into the seat.  Then she stole a sideways glance and saw that Stone was
laughing at her.

He began to straighten up.  “Was I
snoring?”  he asked with a rueful smile.  “Don’t tell me I was so loud you
couldn’t get any reading done.”

“Not at all.”  Indie shook her
head.  “You were quiet as a mouse.  I just thought I saw a…mosquito or
something.  I didn’t want you to get stung.”

He gave her a slow smile.  “Thanks
for looking out for me.”

“No problem at all,” she replied
then she escaped back to her seat across the aisle, picked up her novel and
sought refuge behind it.  That was a close one.  She’d better watch herself
from here on.  Few people took kindly to being stared at.  She should know. 
She hated it herself.

Indie kept a low profile until they
boarded the plane and even then she tried to keep a safe distance between her
and Stone, making sure there was a seat that separated the two of them and
reaching for a magazine she could hide behind.  But then she remembered the
real reason she was there – to attract this man, get him to want her so much
that he would ask her to marry him.  So far she’d been doing the exact opposite. 
She definitely had to work on her alluring side.

She dropped the magazine onto the
middle seat and looked over to where Stone was peering at the screen of his laptop. 
She’d pretty much ignored the man since takeoff but now she would repair that. 
They had almost a day's worth of travel ahead of them so what better time to
get to know him?  Proximity, Tessa had said.  She’d certainly have lots of
that, stuck in a plane with Stone for the next several hours.

She cleared her throat and he
looked up immediately.  “Sorry,” she said, giving him an apologetic smile, “I
didn’t mean to disturb you.”  Of course she'd meant to disturb him.  She knew
that and he knew that but it was the polite thing to say.

“Not at all,” he said and pushed
the laptop onto the nearby counter.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  Just a bit…bored.”

Stone laughed.  “What?  With all
the entertainment on the plane?  You’ve got your choice of newspapers,
magazines, music, movies and, my favorite, video games.”

“You’ve got video games?  Point me
to them.”  Then she chuckled.  “Just kidding.  If you don’t mind,” her laughter
softened to a smile, “I’d prefer talking to you.  I mean, isn’t it weird that
I’m working for you now and I don’t know that much about you?”

He shrugged.  “Not weird at all.  I
have lots of employees I’ve never even met.  But you’re right.  It makes sense
for us to get more acquainted.  What do you want to know?”

“Well, for one, what made you get
involved with an orphanage all the way in South Africa?  Are you in some kind
of competition with Oprah?  She built a school for girls and you decide to take
on the boys?"

Stone’s lips twitched with
amusement.  “Nothing like that.  Oprah’s in a class by herself.  For me, it all
started two years ago when I visited the country to launch Hudson Broadcasting
Corporation in Johannesburg.  I met a little boy, Moekebi Okechuckwu, a bright
and shining star on the South African landscape…” as his voice trailed off his
face looked thoughtful, “…and he was dying of AIDS.”

“Oh, no.”  A familiar pain gripped
Indie’s heart.  Since leaving university her whole life had been dedicated to
working with children just like Moekebi.  And no matter how many little ones
you held in your arms while they made their finally journey to the next life,
you never got used to it.  Each case was a fresh, new heartache.  She had a
pretty good idea what Stone must be feeling right now.

“But that wasn’t the worst part,”
Stone said, his eyes going back to her.  “He was leaving behind a little
brother who was only six years old and a sister who was only two.  At twelve,
he’d been both mother and father to these little ones.”

“Their parents?”

“Already dead from the disease.” 
Stone was silent for a moment then he spoke, and his voice was filled with the
determination and hope now reflected on his face.  “It seems like a daunting
task, taking on the problems of a nation, but then I thought, no matter how
small, doing a little is better than doing nothing at all.”  He shifted
slightly in his seat, turning toward her.  “Before he died I promised Moekebi I
would take care of his little brother and sister.  He died whispering my
promise.  That means a lot to me.”

“And the children, they're at the
orphanage now?”

“No, they live in a home just
outside Johannesburg.  I hired a home mother to care for them.  She provides me
with regular updates on their progress.  Little Someleve just started
kindergarten and Botuli is in the second grade.”

Indie cocked her head to one side. 
“So how does the orphanage fit into this picture?”

“Here’s the thing.  Once I’d
decided to help one family I felt I had to do more.  Then, as if by some
predetermined destiny, one of my South African employees mentioned the
orphanage.  It had fallen into severe disrepair.  The orphans often had nothing
to eat."

“But, how is that?”  Indie
frowned.  “What about the social services?”

“This wasn’t a government
institution.  It had been run by missionaries who, for whatever reason, packed up
and returned to their countries.  My best guess is that it was due to lack of
funding.”

Indie gave him a genuine smile of
gratitude.  She’d long since given up on any attempt at being flirtatious.  In
fact, she’d almost forgotten about that part of the plan.  Rather than trying
to tempt him, her smile meant she was truly interested in his story.  “And that
was when you stepped in.”

He nodded.  “Correct.  That gift
fell into my lap and I snapped it right up.  And never felt better.”

Indie shook her head in
admiration.  Who would have thought a Canadian billionaire would find so much
joy in helping others so far away?  “I can see that for you it's more than just
giving money to a worthy cause.  You’re actually involved in what goes on in
those kids' lives, aren’t you?”

“I try to be, as much as I can. 
That’s why I didn’t mind the excuse to head back to South Africa to get you
settled.  I’ll introduce you to each one of them.  We have sixty boys in the
home.”

“A good number,” Indie said,
nodding.  She was going to have her hands full but she was up for the
challenge.  Then as she looked over at him her curiosity got the better of
her.  “You’ve done a great job in creating a surrogate family but what about a
family of your own?  Is that something…you want to do?”

Then, just in case he thought she
was zany to ask such a personal question she leaned back and put up her hand. 
“Just curious.”

He gave her an unfathomable look
then tightened his lips.  “I was looking forward to having a family once.  It
didn’t work out.”

“I’m…sorry to hear that.”  Now she
was really curious but there was no way she could dig deeper without coming off
as rude.  She gazed over at him, hoping he would continue but, typical male,
that was where he shut up.  Just when things sounded interesting.

“Yeah, life.”  He shrugged.  “I
learned my lesson.  Walk cautiously in life, especially when making huge
decisions.  Some people are just not what they seem to be.”  He gave a grunt of
what must have been disgust because on his face was a pained expression.

Interesting-er and interesting-er. 
So he’d been hurt…or betrayed…by a woman.  That much she could guess from what
he’d said.

And here she was, trying to trap
him into the very thing he seemed bent on avoiding.

But hers was for a worthy cause,
she reasoned.  And besides, there was no denying she was genuinely attracted to
him.  And the more she learned about him, the more she liked him.

But the man was obviously suffering
from the emotional bruises of a past relationship.  So how in the world was she
going to get him to fall in love with her now?

CHAPTER
SIX

Twenty-five days to the deadline
and Indie still had a long way to go in getting Stone Hudson to fall in love
with her.

After the longest airplane journey
she’d ever undertaken they’d rested at one of the grandest hotels in the city
then a chauffeur wearing khakis came to pick them up in a Jeep Wrangler that
looked perfect for the rugged terrain.

Stone was casually dressed today
looking like an outdoors man in army-green slacks, khaki-collared shirt rolled
up to the elbows, and boots.  Indie couldn’t help staring, maybe for a few
seconds longer than she should have.  She liked this rugged look of his.  It
was how she’d pictured him from the first day they’d met – big and tall and
imposing against a wild landscape.

Her attire was pretty much the same
as it always was – jeans, denim shirt and boots.  She blended in perfectly.

Today they would be heading out to
the boys’ home in Enkosi and she would meet Jenna Pringle who had been running
the place for the past year and a half.  She would also be introduced to each
of the boys.  And, before the day was out, she would get Stone Hudson to kiss
her.

Indie’s lips curled at her private
joke. Now where had that thought come from?  She hadn’t had that in her plans
for the day.  Not at all.  But there it was.  The thought had popped into her
mind and now she couldn’t get rid of it. Tessa’s spontaneity and craziness was
definitely rubbing off on her.  And, as crazy as the idea was, she would do
everything she could to make it happen.  Time was going fast and she had to get
this party started or she’d be on the losing end of this challenge.  And
Indiana Lane was not a loser.

The journey along the highway took
a little over an hour until they turned off onto a smaller road that led into
more rural terrain.  Eventually the asphalt road ended and then they were
bumping along a dirt road which became more like a track.  That portion of the
journey lasted almost forty-five minutes until finally they saw the compound up
ahead.  They pulled up in front of a long, low building painted white with a
strip of red and yellow flowers running along the length of the wall.  As the
Jeep pulled up in the yard a very pregnant woman with fiery red hair ran out of
the front door and headed toward them.  Ran may not have been the best word
choice, though.  Waddled would be more accurate. 

“Stone!"  The woman didn’t
even wait for him to get out of the vehicle.  As soon as she got close enough
she reached into the open-back van and gave him a fierce hug.

As Indie watched she cocked an
eyebrow.  She couldn’t help it.  Strange employer-employee relationship, where
the woman felt comfortable to hug her boss like that.  But then again, she was
pregnant.  Indie would lighten up and give her that.  When pregnant, anything
was possible.

“I’m so glad you came back so
soon,” the woman was saying.  “You would not imagine.”  Then she turned to look
at Indie sitting in the back seat with her bags beside her.  “And this is my
salvation.  Thank you so much for coming.”  And before Indie could even reply
the woman had come around to the back seat, leaned over and was hugging her,
too.

Indie couldn’t do a thing but hug
her back.  She couldn’t be rude, of course.  And it seemed that the woman was a
natural-born hugger.

The redhead pulled back then
grinned at Indie.  “I’m Jenna, by the way.  Jenna Pringle.  We’re just
finishing up lunch.  Come on in and meet the boys.”

She stepped back so that Indie
could hop out of the Jeep and then she took her hand, leaving the men to follow
them.  There was no shyness about Jenna Pringle, not an ounce of reserve.  She
seemed to be the kind of person who would just welcome you into her home, no
questions asked, no explanations expected.  Was this how she’d be expected to
behave in this job – effervescent and bubbly?  If so, they’d have a long wait
because Indie didn’t do bubbly.

Jenna walked quickly but Indie’s
longer legs helped her keep up quite easily.  Soon the three of them – the
driver seemed to have disappeared – were in a long, brightly lit dining room
with about ten tables around which sat boys ranging from toddlers to teenagers
around fifteen or sixteen years old.  As the visitors entered they all stood
and, in unison, said a polite, “Good afternoon.”  They were smiling brightly
and all eyes were on Stone.  It was obvious to Indie that he was known and
loved.

Jenna waved to them to be seated
and as they did, the previously quiet dining room began to buzz with the
chatter of sixty excited boys.  One of the youngest, eyes bright as stars,
jumped up from his seat and ran over to Stone where he wrapped his chubby arms
around a green-clad leg.