“A mess,” Magee clarified for her neighbor and friend. “It’s not a situation, it’s a mess. A major one.” Tightening the sash of her satin bathrobe, she scoured her cramped walk-in closet for an appropriate outfit for the practice date Justin had proposed before he’d bolted out of their lunch to meet his realtor.
A shrewd one, that Justin Kane. A practice date might settle her nerves—or at least help her pre-pare for tomorrow.
When the Willoughbys arrived.
Gulp.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I have no one to blame for this current mess but myself,” she said to Susannah. “I never should have lied to Justin about the mountain biking in the first place.”
“You can blame me.” Susannah joined Magee in the tiny closet. “It was my brainwave that you tell him you’re an expert mountain biker. You wanted to win his account so badly.” Susannah flipped through the clothes on the opposite rod.
“Just because you suggested the idea didn’t mean I had to do it.” That decision had been hers alone, the last in a string of questionable choices. Considering she’d realized Justin would only switch advertising agencies to secure the insight of an account executive who mountain biked, her fib had been a shady method to land his business. “At least Dad’s still on holidays. I couldn’t face telling him right now that I’ve made another mistake.”
“Will you tell him when he returns?”
“I haven’t decided. It took forever to convince him to take Mom on this vacation. I don’t want him to regret going.” Also, she wanted a chance to rectify the situation before it became necessary to tell him.
She studied a short knit dress. Too clingy.
“I want him to have faith in me again, Susannah,” she added, riffling through her clothes. “If I’m going to accept this promotion to account director, I need to feel like I’ve earned it. Yet every time I turn around, I lose the agency money…or clients…or both! No matter how hard I try, I screw up. First the billboards, then the Barnacle Beer ad. And let’s not forget the little day-to-day snafus. I swear I’ll pull my hair out if I can’t get my act together soon.”
Susannah’s muffled giggle drifted to Magee’s ears. Spinning in the closet, she squinted at the rear view of her friend. Susannah searched the opposite rod, her long blond curls bobbling around her shaking shoulders.
“What?” Magee asked.
“The billboard mix-up.” Susannah faced her. “You have to admit, that one was funny.”
“Susannah!” Magee smacked her friend’s arm. “ ‘Do Your Buns Get Freezer Burn?’ is not appropriate copy for sun block. And ‘To Soothe And Protect’ only marginally suits freezer bags.”
“Yeah, but the buns line looked fantastic splashed on the billboard of the handsome cop slathering sunscreen on the female model. Come on, Magee, you thought it was cute, too.”
Magee drew in a breath. “It was mildly entertaining. But my father wasn’t impressed with the mix-up, and neither were the Sear-Soothe people—and I can’t figure out how it happened. Nope. No more, Susannah. I lost two clients over that disaster. I don’t intend to lose another.” Squaring her shoulders, she selected a knee-length black skirt for her friend’s inspection. “How’s this?”
Susannah stuck a finger down her throat. “Gag. This is a date, old buddy, old pal. Remember, he’s your lover.”
How could she forget that most intriguing detail? Justin Kane might treat his women like dirt—otherwise, why would Tina Whoever dump him?—but his eyes, body, and deep, sensual voice inspired fantasies of Magee locking him in her bedroom, oh, for the next fifty years.
She waved a hand at the row of clothes. “You choose.”
Susannah grinned. “With pleasure.”
“Great. I’m hot.” And bothered. Extremely so when she thought of Justin Kane. “I need a pop. Want one?”
“No, thanks.”
Leaving her friend in the closet, Magee strode barefoot to the miniscule kitchen of her U-shaped apartment. She grabbed a diet cola from the fridge. She’d worked for her father for over three years. She could afford to rent a newer place if she wanted. However, she loved the flavor of her Kitsilano neighborhood with its tree-lined sidewalks and old houses remodeled into apartments. The layout of her suite left something to be desired, with the bathroom accessible only through the living room, but Magee didn’t mind sacrificing convenience for the nobler pursuit of character. If doing so entailed traipsing through the kitchen and living room to reach the bathroom in the dead of night, that was fine by her.
She set the pop can on the counter and tinkled ice cubes into a glass. A huge gray cat meowed at her through the gable window spanning the length of the kitchen in the top-floor apartment.
Magee pushed open the window. The cat sauntered in, front paws meeting the counter with a grace that belied his bulk.
“Hi, Monster. Time for your milk, baby?” Magee picked up the cat and stroked his soft fur. Monster tolerated her cuddling for thirty seconds before scrambling to the floor. Magee filled a saucer with the evaporated milk she stored in the fridge for the cat. Purring, Monster slurped his treat. Flying flecks of heavy milk dotted the linoleum.
“Magee?” Susannah appeared in the bedroom doorway, several garments slung over her arm. “You’re feeding that cat again?”
“As if you don’t when he visits you. I can’t let him starve.”
A wry smile tipped Susannah’s mouth. “His real owners feed him daily. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s 7:35. Aren’t your dinner reservations with Justin for eight?”
Magee zapped a glance to the wall clock. “Omigod, you’re right. He’ll be here in ten minutes.” She sloshed the diet cola into the glass, then scurried to the bedroom. “What are my choices?” Sitting on the bed, she sipped the cold pop.
“Well, you said he’s taking you to The Dock. That’s outdoors, but it’s a warm night. Perfect for something short and sexy.”
“I’m not trying to seduce him, Susannah.”
“Why not? He’s your lover.”
Magee rolled her eyes.
Susannah held out a vintage, fuchsia leather mini-dress. “How about this?” she asked.
“Not on your life. That’s my hooker outfit from last Halloween.”
“It’s cute.”
Magee jabbed an imaginary buzzer on the bed. “Bzzzt. Try again.”
Monster, evidently finished his milk, strutted in from the kitchen, hopped on the mattress, and resumed purring. Gripping the cool glass of cola in one hand, Magee petted the cat as Susannah presented another dress.
“This?”
Magee shook her head. “Too short.”
“This?”
“Too flirty.”
“This?”
Magee’s heart pounded. “Too tight!”
Susannah planted a hand on her shorts-clad hip. “Magee, other than your work clothes, every summer outfit you own is either too short, too flirty, or too tight.”
“Not the black skirt.”
“You are not wearing the black skirt. Time is of the essence here. Take a leap of faith and close your eyes.”
Magee obeyed.
Rustle, rustle.
“You can open them again.”
Magee opened her eyes.
Susannah stood beside the bed, shaking out a beautiful turquoise slip dress.
“Susannah, yes! I forgot about that dress.” Magee glided a finger over the cool silk. She bit her lip. “Uh, maybe not. Look at the skinny straps. I don’t own a bra in a coordinating color anymore.”
Susannah shrugged. “Go braless. It wouldn’t be the first time. You’re lucky in that department.”
In other words, Magee’s barely-Bs didn’t strictly require a bra.
“But to not wear one this time?”
“Honey, you’re not thinking clearly. Repeat after me, ‘Justin Kane is my lover.’ ”
“Justin Kane is…my lover.” A delicious thrill vibrated through Magee as she spoke the words that would guide her
thoughts and actions over the next three days. Her body warmed in strategic places. Even her cheeks heated to a burn.
She placed her cola glass on the nightstand, accepted the dress from Susannah, and began to change. She was running out of options.
Susannah strolled to the dresser and withdrew a wispy silk wrap in shades of turquoise and deep pink. The bright tulip shade almost matched Magee’s modified raspberry manicure. Clever friend.
“Cover up with this if you’re shy.”
“Thanks. You’re a genius.” Magee arranged the wrap around her shoulders, then stepped into flat silver sandals. Standing at the dresser mirror, she finger-fluffed her hair around her face and slipped dangly silver earrings into her lobes.
Susannah applauded. “Now the finishing touch. Perfume.”
Magee grabbed the nearest bottle. She read the label. “Possessed. Perfect. That’s how I feel after agreeing to this weekend.” Aiming at the base of her throat, she pressed the sprayer.
T-sss.
She lifted her finger, but the pump stayed down.
Ssssssst! T-ssssst!
“Ack! It’s jammed!”
A dense cloud of sultry perfume engulfed her.
She yanked the sticky sprayer top. The round bottle slipped out of her hands and bounced on the carpet, spitting perfume on her legs before the pump finally dislodged.
It was not her day!
“Magee!” Coughing, Susannah tented her hands over her nose.
Magee kicked the bottle toward her friend. “Trash that for me, will you? And make sure Monster’s okay. I have to clean up!” Racing through the kitchen, she cursed the dimwit who’d situated the bath-room on the other side of the U.
At the bathroom sink, she dampened a washcloth and dabbed it gingerly to her upper chest. On top of everything else, it would not do to wet her dress.
At the third dab, a knock rapped on the apartment door.
Her heart flew into her throat. Justin!
No time. She had no more time. Had she de-Possessed herself sufficiently? Justin Kane didn’t strike her as a man who liked to be kept waiting.
Shaking her shoulders loose, she opened the bathroom door.
Play it cool, like nothing’s wrong.
And pray he’s lost his sense of smell.
~*~
Justin planned to kiss her and get it over with.
Not as soon as she answered the door, though. That seemed crass. However, in order to pull off their roles as lovers, they’d need to kiss in front of the Willoughbys at some point over the weekend. They might as well accomplish the deed before dinner and abolish any awkwardness Magee might be feeling right from the beginning.
He raised his hand to knock again. Before his knuckles met the wood, the door swung inward and a blast of heavy perfume seared his nostrils.
His eyes watered. Possessed. He’d recognize the cloying scent anywhere. It had been Tina’s favorite perfume, and she’d never missed the opportunity to announce the expensive brand to anyone who’d asked.
At least Tina had applied the musky scent with a light touch. Magee emitted enough vapors to asphyxiate a troop of enemy soldiers.
“Hi,” she said in a chipper voice. “I have to grab my purse. Come in.”
She didn’t mention the perfume. Didn’t she realize she’d overdosed?
Nose twitching, Justin trailed her into the apartment. Only the distraction of her bare, tanned legs stretching off into forever beneath her sassy, short dress prevented him from asking for a gas mask.
She left him standing in the living room, and the perfume stench slowly dissipated. Rocking on his heels with his hands in his trouser pockets, Justin surveyed her apartment. When Magee had pro-vided her Kitsilano address, he’d assumed she rented an apartment. However, he’d expected some-thing new and contemporary from the heiress-apparent to Sinclair Advertising. This house, while sol-id-looking from the street, appeared every day of its eightyish years. Magee had decorated the place nicely. Rattan furniture cheered the living room and potted plants flanked a bookshelf. In contrast, an ancient radiator rested against the wall and, in the entrance, a white-painted ladder climbed into a drafty attic opening.
What did she see in the place? Without a doubt, she could afford better.
Justin’s lips curled. He sounded like his father—the last thing he wanted. And this whole fake-girlfriend scheme could have been torn from the pages of the Richard Kane how-to handbook.
But Justin was stuck. Only a fool would change his plans now that Magee had agreed to help him.
After another moment, his partner-in-mischief sailed into the living room, a tiny silver evening bag hanging from her shoulder. A tall blonde carrying a hairy gray cat accompanied her. Neither woman appeared to notice the sickly-sweet perfume billowing around Magee.
“This is my friend, Susannah.” Magee introduced the woman to Justin. “She lives in the other up-stairs apartment. Susannah, this is Justin Kane.”
“Hi,” Susannah said. The overgrown cat bared its vampire fangs and hissed at Justin. Susannah grabbed the cat’s paw as it swiped toward him.
“Whoa!” He stepped back. He wasn’t partial to cats, but neither did he dislike them. What did this one have against him?
“Monster!” Magee admonished the animal. She wagged her finger in the feline’s whiskered face. “Bad cat,” she said in a curiously soothing tone. “You hear me? Baaad.”
The aptly named Monster squirmed in Susannah’s arms and released a sour meow.
“Okay, okay.” Susannah lowered the cat to the carpet. Ears flattening, the beast dashed into the kitchen, around the stove, and out of sight.
Magee groaned. “He’s hiding under the bed again, I just know it.” Long-lashed eyes widening, she glanced at Justin. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have let him in. He’s shy with strangers.”
“Unless they come bearing food,” her friend said.
Magee chuckled. Fiddling with her purse strap, she asked Susannah, “Can you find him and put him out after Justin and I go? I shouldn’t leave him inside all night without a litter box.”
Susannah nodded. “No problem.”
The soles of Justin’s feet tingled. “You don’t have a litter box?” He lifted one shoe and wiggled the heel.
“I don’t need a box for Monster. That’s the Campbells’ department.” Quickly, she added, “The couple in the basement suite. Monster’s theirs, not mine. I just feed him from time to time.”
Justin turned up a hand. “Why?”
Magee’s gaze swung to Susannah’s in a time-honored female expression Justin loosely interpreted as Men.
“In case he’s hungry,” Magee replied as if the answer were obvious.
“He’s a co-op cat,” Susannah chimed in. “The Campbells work twelve-hour shifts in a hospital, so Magee started feeding the cat while they’re gone. Next thing we knew, the rest of us were feeding him, too. All four apartments.”
Now Justin had heard everything. “A co-op cat that’s afraid of people?”
“Shy,” Magee corrected. “He’s shy around strangers. There’s a difference.”
“Uh huh.” And that difference was that apparently the cat was as crazy as Magee Sinclair.
Funny how Justin hadn’t noticed this quirky side to her before. But then, until nine hours ago, he’d been devoted to Tina.
As devoted as he could manage at this stage of his life, anyway.
Before tonight, he’d never allowed himself to think of Magee as anything other than a business associate. However, now, because of business, he had to take a personal interest in her.
To think in terms of touching her, kissing her.
Right, he still needed to kiss her.
Preferably without Susannah watching.
“Ready to go?” he asked, stepping in to help Magee adjust a frothy shawl thing around her shoulders. He maintained a polite distance, avoiding a lungful of Possessed.
She nodded, thanking him, then said goodnight to her friend. “Don’
t forget Monster.”
“I won’t,” Susannah said. “Have fun.”
Justin placed his hand on Magee’s upper back. As he escorted her to the door, his fingers skimmed smooth, warm flesh beside a spaghetti-thin dress strap. Her skin pebbled beneath his touch, creating a ticklish hum against his palm.
He lowered his head to her ear. “Is it wise to leave someone in your apartment?” he half-whispered.
“Susannah has a key,” Magee announced, whirling to her friend. “You’ll lock up for me, won’t you, neighbor?”
“Consider it done. And if you promise to tell me all about your date, I won’t even steal anything.” Susannah winked.
“See?” Magee shrugged. “She’s trustworthy.”
“Point taken,” Justin conceded. Obviously, the two women were close. Magee was nothing like Tina, who would no more allow a neighbor to stay alone in her apartment than she would a colony of red ants.
But then maybe he didn’t know Tina as well as he’d thought. He’d never pegged her for mother material, that was for certain. Until this morning, she hadn’t provided indication that she liked kids. Was he so consumed by work that he hadn’t heeded her signals?
He set his jaw. Any soul-searching needed to wait until after he signed the Willoughby Bikes deal.
One step at a time. That was his motto, and he was sticking to it.
He and Magee exited the apartment. The door clicked shut on Susannah, leaving them alone on the diminutive landing between the two upstairs apartments. The strong scent of Magee’s perfume swept around them like a thick coastal mist.
Justin steeled himself against the impending onslaught. Carpe diem. Seal off the nasal passages and seize the day. Or, in this case, the woman.
Clasping her hand, he tugged her close. “How about we start practicing right away?”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“A kiss.”
“A kiss?”
“A kiss.” The idea increased in appeal every time he said it. He hovered his mouth above hers. Her pink lips parted.
God, she was beautiful.
He inhaled. A mistake. Possessed coursed up his nose and blazed a trail down his throat.
He leaned back. Regrouped. Tried again. This time closing his stinging eyes.
Deceiving Derek Page 5