* * * *
As he stood in the corner of Professor Flanders’ impressive living room, his stomach twisted. He really should’ve had a word with Edwards before the luncheon. Made sure he knew he wasn’t engaged. Problem was, Jack hadn’t brought it up since the morning he walked in on them, and had acted as though nothing happened when they got together that Monday. Flanders hadn’t asked him about his engagement either. So it appeared Edwards didn’t mention it to him and Shane didn’t want to do anything else to rock the boat. Pretend it never happened had seemed like a good plan up until now. When one word from Edwards could ruin everything. He liked the guy well enough, but he wouldn’t put it past him to pull a dirty trick like that.
With a cognac in one hand, his other tugged at his tie. Wearing a suit made him uncomfortable, but he felt looking professional on such occasions was more important than coming across as a free-thinking artist. Although some of his colleagues hadn’t bothered. Including Edwards. Who was wearing a tie, but also wore jeans and a blazer. You never knew when something as simple as being professional could give you an edge. And if ever he needed an edge, it was now.
He stiffened before dropping his hand from his tie and balling it into a fist, then shoved it in his pants pocket. He squeezed his eyes shut, but when he opened them she was still there. He polished off the glass of cognac in one go. It was an injustice to the drink, but at that moment he needed all of it in him, rather than in the glass.
What was Dani doing here? And why was Flanders escorting her over to him? God she looked magnificent in that dress. The color matched her eyes, the slinky fabric clung in all the right places and was short enough to show off her delectable legs to perfection. His fingers itched to capture it all on canvas. Damn you, muse. I’m not doing it. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. It had taken a bit of an effort to slick it all back neatly into its ponytail.
“No need to hide in the corner now, Shane, your fiancée is here.” Flanders smiled like he was proud of himself. “There’s no reason to keep it a secret either, and I heartily approve of your choice.”
He smiled again, this time at Dani and then at Shane. Good god, what exactly about her did he approve of? Her beauty? Or had he investigated her when he found out they were engaged? He fought the urge to hole up on an island somewhere and spend the rest of his life painting and sculpting, to hell with what his parents thought. And he refused to let Dani be part of said fantasy.
Dani smiled back, moved to stand next to him and wrapped her arm around his. Shane didn’t know what to do, so he stood there stiffly, trying to ignore the lush curves pressing into his arm. What the hell was going on?
“It felt like this day would never get here. Thank you so much for inviting me, Professor Flanders. And for making sure it was a surprise for Shane.”
“You sly devil, Flanders. I had no idea you knew I was engaged. Edwards let the cat out of the bag, did he?”
“Indeed. About a week ago. As soon as I knew, I called Danielle to see if she could be here, even though it’s her graduation day and most of the graduates have their own celebrations planned. Again, I’m thrilled you were able to join us, Danielle, and now you’re here, we can head to the dining room for the delicious meal my wife prepared.”
With a nod of his head, he turned and moved to the center of the room to let everyone know it was time to eat.
“What the hell is going on Dani? I thought this engagement thing was over.”
“Apparently not, but I don’t think now is the time to discuss it.”
“Damn straight. I’m tempted to tell everyone this moment there’s been a huge misunderstanding. There’s no reason on earth for you to do this. Go celebrate your day with your friends.”
“My friends are green with envy that I’m engaged to you and celebrating my graduation here.”
Terrific. She told her friends. He muttered several crude words under his breath as they trailed behind the guests making their way to the dining room. “Why are you doing this?”
He looked down at her and bit his tongue when he saw the tears glistening her lashes. She blinked them quickly away and turned to him with a bright smile.
“You could be a little more grateful, Professor. I’m doing you a huge favor.”
“That remains to be seen, but I appreciate the gesture.”
“You might want to lighten up a bit. You’re besotted with me, remember? You could at least pretend you can’t keep your hands off me.”
“What I’m trying to do is not put my hands where they shouldn’t be in public.” He growled the last part and couldn’t decide if he wanted his hands around her throat or on her ass. It was a good thing they were in a room full of people, and his boss was one of those people. It was the only thing making him behave like a rational person. This engagement should’ve been stopped the moment it started. Now what was he supposed to do? Marry her?
Watching her over the course of the luncheon he realized what a great Professor’s wife she’d make, and it was harder than ever to keep his resolve to end their fake engagement. Initially he planned to wait until everyone was gone and then set the record straight with Flanders, but by the time people started to leave, he wanted it to be real. Dani wasn’t some silly school girl, she was a mature woman. A woman he desperately needed at his side. He hardened his heart. It wasn’t going to happen. He must remember that.
“Where’s your car?” Shane asked as they left the professor’s house and headed down his driveway.
“At the campus. I came here in a taxi. With all the activity there it was quicker to take a taxi here than drive myself.”
He nodded, took her by the arm and escorted her up the street to his car. As he held the door open for her, he told her, “We need to talk. Where do you want to go?”
“Your house is fine.”
Her words rendered him immobile for a moment before he closed the door, walked around the car and climbed behind the wheel. After inserting the keys into the ignition, he draped an arm over the steering wheel and looked at her.
“What’s going on Danielle?”
Her eyes snared his and as he looked into those iridescent-blue depths, coherent thought left his head but for one thing. He loved her. He always had and always would. He wanted the engagement to be real more than he wanted to breathe. He wanted to marry her this instant and make her his forever. What was to become of him? What did he do now? He wasn’t sure he had it in him to pretend to be her fiancé and stay sane.
He shook his head in an effort to escape her spell and started the car. “Flanders told me I’ve got tenure.” He blew out a frustrated breath. Things were getting complicated. “I’m not discussing this in front of my boss’s house. You’re sure my place is okay?”
“Positive Shane,” she whispered. “I’m not afraid of you.”
His tires squealed as he pulled away from the curb. He couldn’t get home fast enough. Even though his gut told him it was a bad idea to be alone with her in his house.
Dropping her purse on the red velvet couch that was the centerpiece of his living room, she turned to face him as he closed the front door. He stood there for a moment, his back to her, his hand on the door knob, and her eyes feasted on his lean length. The breadth of his shoulders, the strength of his back, his thick blond ponytail that glistened like gold in the sunlight pouring in from the big bay window. He looked so hot in a suit she thought she’d melt.
He turned and leaned against the door with his hands behind his back, and the picture of him there made her heart pound and her brain quit functioning. The expression in those gorgeous green eyes of his was so emotive it made her palms sweat and her knees weak.
“I’m not sure coming here was such a good idea,” he told her softly.
“Maybe not, but we’re here.”
“Yes. We are.” He took in a deep breath, blinked once and all the emotion was gone from his eyes. “Tell me why you’re pretending to be my fiancée. Wh
y I don’t freak you out anymore.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think. About everything, not just you.”
“Dani, you know I’m not going to hold you to anything right now. You’re grieving and not emotionally in a place to make rational decisions.”
“What? You think I’m pretending to be your fiancée because I don’t want to be alone right now?”
“It’s crossed my mind more than once. Why else would you seek out someone you think is stalking you?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Don’t insult me, Shane, and don’t insult yourself.” She wanted to call him a nasty name but it would only confirm his opinion of her. Getting mad and acting childish wouldn’t accomplish anything.
He shrugged. “Give me a better reason then.”
She dropped her hands from her waist and tried to keep her incredulity from showing on her face. Did he really think he was a horrible person for painting those pictures of her? He must hate the way she made him feel. Her stomach sank at the thought.
“Tell me something, Shane. It’s obvious you don’t like the way I make you feel. Why exactly is that?”
What if it was because his motives were nefarious? For a split second she was nervous again. Since he was blocking the front door, she looked around for another way out of his house, then mentally shook her head at herself. Get a grip. He was not that kind of guy. A strong imagination and living alone for the first time ever made for some crazy thoughts.
He glared at her and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “While you’re around I can’t get on with my life. I can’t feel anything for anyone else. As long as there’s some remote possibility of a relationship with you, no other woman appeals. Your turn. Why aren’t you still afraid of me?
“Because you haven’t done anything, Shane.” She gave him a small smile. “Once I had some time to think about things rationally, I realized that. The only difference between you and me, is that you expressed how you felt in an artistic way. I’m the one here who manifested stalker tendencies.”
He pushed away from the door and came a few steps into the room. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Turning slightly away from him she ran a hand up and down her arm. Her heart was thundering. Why was she so afraid to tell him, when she knew how much he cared about her? Even if he hadn’t said it out loud.
“After I dropped your class, I spent an entire semester hanging around where I knew you’d be, hoping you’d notice me. I followed you around a lot too.”
He laughed and she turned back to him. He thought it was funny?
“Well, I’ll be damned. That semester is when I was became obsessed with painting you. Every time I turned around, you were there and I had to do something to keep myself from acting on my attraction. When school started again in the fall, it was a bit of a relief you weren’t popping up everywhere again. I figured it was because your classes were elsewhere on campus.”
“My classes were always elsewhere on campus. I just realized over the summer I was acting like a stupid teenage girl with a crush on her teacher, so when classes resumed, I made sure I stayed away. Well, most of the time. There were times I’d wander over by the art buildings hoping to catch a glimpse of Professor Hunk.”
He came across the room to stand in front of her, the expression on his face holding her transfixed.
“Do you have any idea what a relief it is to know that? There were moments I wondered if I was crazy and hated myself for feeling the way I do about you. Every time I saw you I had to talk myself down from the ledge so I didn’t pursue a relationship with you. I’d go home and work on a painting of you, or draw a picture, instead of doing what I really wanted to do. I’d be fine until I saw you again, then the cycle would start over. When I resisted the urge and tried to paint some other subject, I couldn’t. But if I got you out of my system, my creative juices flowed.” He moved another step closer and took her hand in his. “Saying it sounds rather creepy.”
She squeezed his hand. “It’s not. It blows my mind, actually. It’s like you said, all artists have something that inspires them to greatness. For some of them it’s nature, for others it’s a person. Think of all the love songs that have been written about a real woman. Degas, Matisse, Monet, they all painted the same subject more than once. Because they loved it, it inspired them. I do that for you, Shane. How could I not love you for it?”
His hand trembled in her grasp and he swallowed convulsively before he gathered her in his arms and buried his face in her hair.
“I’ve loved you from afar for so long, Dani, I find it hard to believe this is really happening. That you feel the same. My god, have I died and gone to heaven?”
He pressed her tightly against the length of him, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss that sent her reeling. If this was a dream, if this was heaven, she never wanted to return to the real world. The kisses they shared before paled in comparison. Now they didn’t need to hide the love that fueled their desire. To have a man of this caliber, someone she never believed would look twice at her, trembling in her arms was enough to make her faint. And those hands…hands that could create such amazing art were moving over her with a talent that rivaled anything they put on canvas.
He ended the kiss and buried his face in her neck to whisper in her ear. “Dani, I love you so much. Please. Marry me for real. I’ll wither away into nothing if you’re not mine.”
She put her hands on the side of his face and lifted his head so she could look into his eyes. “Shane, I’ve loved you from afar for years and I want you to know if you’d asked me to marry you a month ago, my answer would’ve been ‘yes’, and that hasn’t changed. My ‘yes’ today has nothing to do with losing my parents or not wanting to be alone, and everything to do with needing to be with you more than needing to breathe. The time I’ve spent with you has merely reinforced the feelings that exploded to life the first day I saw you in class.”
He mimicked her and put his hands on either side of her face, resting his forehead on hers. “My love, if for no other reason, the fact that my feelings and thoughts mirror yours, tells me we were meant to be together. I feel like I’ve finally found the other piece of me. That without you, I’m not whole.”
“Me too, Shane. These last few weeks without seeing you, talking to you, being with you, has reinforced how much I care about you. How much I long for you to be part of my life. It’s crazy, I know, because we’ve hardly spent any time together, but losing my parents so suddenly has made me realize I don’t want to regret not doing something when I had the chance. Tomorrow isn’t a guarantee. I don’t want to miss out on you. I want you in my life. Forever. However long that actually turns out to be.”
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw tears gather in his eyes and her throat ached, making it hard for her to say anything. The tears that never seemed to be far away these days, filled her eyes and when she blinked, they rolled down her cheeks.
“Dani, I promise you, you will never regret saying yes. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that every night you fall asleep convinced marrying me was the right thing to do.”
“I love you Shane.”
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