by Cat Schield
Having worked every spare second since she was fifteen years old, Caroline couldn’t imagine the sort of lifestyle Simon lived. She rarely took a weekend off, much less spent precious dollars on something as frivolous as a vacation.
“Come on.” Simon stripped off his tie and tossed it toward the couch. His suit coat followed.
Her heart gave a vigorous thump of gratitude when the only thing separating her from his well-developed muscles was a cotton dress shirt.
“What could be better than coming home with me?”
Nothing. In fact, the idea sounded great.
“It’ll be fun.”
Picturing Francine’s skepticism and flair for the dramatic, Caroline shook her head. “Fun? I don’t think so.”
“My family is great,” Simon coaxed, bending forward from the waist as if inviting intimacy. “You’ll love them.”
That’s exactly what she was afraid might happen.
Already excitement had taken hold of her. For the last six months she’d dusted the built-in bookshelves that housed photos of his family. A happy group of five to eight people jostled together wearing big smiles in front of a Christmas tree or by the pool. She’d never known a big, loving family like that. Those casual family portraits aroused an uncomfortable pang. Simon’s family looked like the sort of people who would welcome a stranger into their home for Christmas, and she’d spend the entire visit lying to them.
“I’m sure they’re wonderful, but—”
“Have you been to Savannah at Christmas?” His wide, enthusiastic grin invited her to forget her hesitations and join him for some fun. He hadn’t yet figured out she’d never learned how to do that.
“I haven’t been to Savannah at all.” But she’d seen pictures of the stately Victorian mansions and squares filled with live oaks and promised herself she’d visit one day. Maybe even move there once she passed the bar. Living in Atlanta these last eight years had taken its toll on a small-town girl like her.
“Then you’re missing something special. The city has a magical feel year-round, but even more so at Christmas. And my mother always goes overboard with holiday plans. You won’t want to miss it.”
Simon’s descriptions aroused the ache she felt every year at this time. Spending the holidays surrounded by family, even one she had no connection to, would be like a dream come true. Growing up, it had only been her and her mother. Christmas was a quick opening of presents while the Barris family was at church, followed by a day where her mother prepared an elaborate Christmas feast for her employer while Caroline played by herself in their tiny rooms.
Not much different from her solo Christmas celebrations these ten years since moving to Atlanta.
Caroline squashed her longing before it overwhelmed her.
When you let down your guard and started to open your heart and trust, what then? That was when you got your heart broken. When you found yourself on your own once more with no one to count on but you.
“It sounds perfect.” Her tight throat gave her voice a strangled quality. “But I can’t.”
“You can’t be worried about missing school.”
“No. I’ve got my last final tomorrow.”
“Then there’s no problem.” He settled everything with a nod, somehow forgetting the issue of their fake engagement, and headed toward his kitchen.
“That’s not exactly true—” To Caroline’s dismay she realized part of her wanted to be talked into spending Christmas in Savannah with Simon.
“If you’re worried about taking time off work, I’ll bet they can find someone to cover you for a couple weeks.”
“A couple weeks?” she echoed, dumbfounded.
“I usually go home for that long at Christmas. Business slows down. It’s a good time for me to take off.”
Take off from what? He was gone all the time. How much more fun could one guy have?
“I just don’t understand why you need me to come with you to Savannah at all.”
As if someone snuffed out a candle, all animation vanished from Simon’s expression. “Francine has been coming on to me for a couple of months, nothing serious, until tonight. She’s got it into her head that I’m still not over her.”
An irrational dip in Caroline’s spirits compelled her to ask, “Is she right?”
Simon pulled a face that left little doubt about his true feelings. “She’s insecure because she and Dane have been engaged for almost three years, and Dane’s dragging his feet about setting a wedding date.”
“Maybe she’s the one with cold feet.”
“Not likely.” So he said, yet he frowned. “Francine set her sights on marrying the Holcroft millions long ago.”
Millions?
Intuitively she’d known Simon had money. The condo and all its contents pointed to vast financial resources. But hearing him speak of his family fortune widened the gap between their situations and made an engagement between them even less realistic.
“Is that why you broke up with her? Because she wanted to marry you for your money?”
“No. I broke up with her because she may be gorgeous, but she’s as shallow as a dry creek bed.” Simon pulled a bottle of wine from his refrigerator.
“Don’t you think you should tell your brother what’s going on? He’s not going to want to marry someone who’s not sure which brother she wants.”
“She doesn’t want me.” Simon shuddered as he uncorked the bottle. “We weren’t good together. Besides, telling my brother his fiancée stripped down to her underwear in my condo is not a conversation I want to have a week before the only holiday my entire family gets together. It’s really important to me that we have a peaceful Christmas. I’ll worry about what I’m going to tell him after the first of the year.”
“You shouldn’t lie to your family about something this important,” she said, wishing she could make him understand. “Someone is going to get badly hurt.”
“And you know this because?”
“I just do.”
Simon stared her a long moment, waiting for an explanation that wasn’t going to come. At last he poured a glass of wine and pushed it across the counter toward her. “Taste the wine. You’ll find it’s an excellent vintage.”
To be polite, she took a tiny sip. The pale gold liquid smelled of pineapple and grapefruit and had a slightly mineral aftertaste she found appealing.
“This is good.”
He nodded. “I thought so too. I found it at a little winery in New Zealand at the beginning of the year. It’s been a good seller.”
A good seller? “What is it you do?”
“I import wine.”
So, he was employed. This knowledge made her reevaluate her impression of his lifestyle. Maybe she’d been too quick to write him off as a party guy.
“From where?”
“All over the world. It’s why I travel so much. I visit wineries to find unique wines.” He sat on the stool beside her, facing so their knees practically touched, and topped off her wine. “Drink up.”
She shook her head as she watched him pour, noticing she’d drunk half the glass. Already her head spun from the alcohol. “Getting me drunk is not going to change my mind about going home with you.”
The corner of his lip twitched, but Simon left her accusation unanswered. “I think we can help each other.”
“How so?”
“I saw the bill for your tuition in your textbook.”
Her muscles tensed, making her voice tight. “I’m a little behind in my law school tuition.”
“A little behind? They said you couldn’t return next semester unless you pay what you owe. How much longer do you have to go before you graduate?”
“Spring would…will be my last semester.” Her promise to her mother rode her shoulders like a friend she carried to safety. The burden might slow her, but nothing would persuade her to set it down. “That’s, of course, providing I pass my test tomorrow. A test I really should head home and study for.” Her light
tone masked her anxiety.
“You wouldn’t know this, but I’m from a family of lawyers. I’m the black sheep, the only one, excluding my mother, who didn’t become an attorney. My father is a federal judge, my uncle was the district attorney until he retired and my brother is assigned to the Judge Advocate General.”
“J.A.G.?” she echoed. Something about the way she said it made Simon frown. Her lips twitched when he muttered something that sounded like damn uniform.
“So, here’s the deal. You need something. I need something.” He leaned forward, intent and earnest. “You owe almost ten thousand dollars for tuition and I’m going to guess you don’t have enough money for your final semester. If you help me, I’ll pay what you currently owe and enough so you can finish.”
Caroline’s mind reeled at the enormity of what he’d just offered. Temptation dazzled her like the flash of paparazzi cameras. But as clarity returned, so did her common sense.
“I can’t accept money from you.” She shook her head at his astonishing offer while possibilities rolled around in her mind.
“You already do. For cleaning my house.”
“That’s different.”
Simon’s mild expression belied the calculation glinting in his eyes. “How?”
“It’s a job.” Honest work.
“So, I’m offering you the job of my fiancée for the next two weeks.”
The charade continued to disturb her. She wasn’t keen on lying to anyone once, much less spending two weeks doing it. “Don’t you have a little black book full of women you could ask? I’ll bet Francine won’t even remember what I looked like.”
“Maybe.” He drew the word out with a smoldering grin. “But I want you.”
Those last three words did funny things to her on two levels. The first gave her a warm sense of belonging. She’d been on the outside looking in for so long, being wanted filled her with delight. The second left her pierced straight through as his jewel-bright eyes took on a look of sensual consideration. Want as in desired. She curled her fingers inward until her nails bit into her palms.
Speechless, she shook her head.
“Think about what the money can do for you.”
How could she help but think about it? She’d stretched her student loans as far as she could and had no idea how to come up with the money to finish anytime soon.
Just the thought of putting her financial woes behind her loosened some of the tightness in her shoulders. She luxuriated in the notion she could finish law school next spring. All her years of hard work and sacrifice would pay off. Not bad for a small-town girl with no prospects.
But to be paid for taking part in a deception didn’t feel right. “I can’t be bought.”
“No?” He brushed his fingertips across her knuckles. “But I’ll bet you can be persuaded.”
The contact made her nerve endings pay attention. An insistent emotion shimmered deep inside. She liked being touched by him. Unexpected. Usually she shied away from physical contact with strangers. Being on her own for so long, she’d relied on being isolated to keep her safe.
“Persuaded?”
Her pulse danced a slow rumba. Sex appeal rolled off him in waves, setting her head to spinning. Was he planning to seduce her? How would she react if he tried?
“Let me explain why it’s so important that I can’t tell Dane about Francine until after Christmas.” He caught both her hands with his and grew serious. Their knees bumped as he leaned forward. “Six months ago my mother found out she had breast cancer. She finished her last round of radiation two weeks ago. She’s been through so much this year, I don’t want her upset.”
Caroline shifted her gaze to avoid the entreaty in Simon’s eyes and winced as pain ripped through her. Of all the things he could have said to convince her to go along with his plans, this was the one thing she had no defense against. She exhaled in defeat and stared at his large, tanned hands holding her smaller, pale ones.
“If,” she began, emphasizing the word while cursing her susceptibility to Simon’s persuasive skills, “I agree to go home with you, what would you expect me to do?”
“Keep Francine off my back.”
Although Simon looked more like Dudley Do-Right than Snidely Whiplash, she remained cautious. “And that’s all?”
He must have seen where her mind went because one side of his mouth lifted. “Well, naturally there would be some public displays of affection required.”
“How many is some?”
His gaze locked on her mouth as if it were a big, juicy strawberry he was dying to sample. “What if I limit it to one kiss per day?”
Her stomach hit the floor and bounced. He might be making fun of her, but something electric and dangerous sparked, setting fire to her blood. This sophisticated man had moves she’d never even imagined and might prove too big a handful for a girl with her limited experience.
Her pulse hammered out a warning, but his sensual pull was hard to resist.
“I think I can live with that.”
“Anything else?” he prompted.
As fast as he demolished her reservations, she groped for new ones. “Would we be expected to share a room?”
“No. My parents’ house is quite large. You can have your own room.”
Caroline chewed her lower lip. Simon made the whole thing sound so reasonable, but she’d ignored her instincts before and found herself in a tight spot a few times thanks to a smooth-talking operator. Like the last cleaning service she’d worked for. The guy who owned it assured her the money she would make working for him was due to her extensive housecleaning résumé. Before she went on her first assignment, he’d neglected to mention that his clients liked their maids to vacuum in lingerie, a bikini or even less. The ink had scarcely dried on her W-4 when she stormed back into his office and tossed her “uniform” at him.
“I’m not comfortable lying about being your fiancée.”
Simon must have heard capitulation in her voice because he nodded. “But you’ll do it.”
“I’ll do it, but under one condition.”
With her answer, his grin bloomed, roguish and compelling. “Done.”
His quick agreement worried her. What was she getting into? She knew nothing about this man. Why had she let him entice her to stay and listen? No matter how attractive the man or desperate his circumstances, she was crazy to get caught up in his family drama. She should run out the door, jump on the elevator and not look back until she reached home. What he proposed activated every alarm in her body, but the notion of being able to finish school on time messed with all practical thought.
Or maybe she was so exhausted she’d rationalize anything if it meant taking a two-week, all-expense paid vacation. Didn’t she deserve a little rest and relaxation? She’d return from the holiday rested and refreshed. No more worrying how she was going to scrape together enough to pay the rent on her crappy studio apartment, eat and pay tuition. It was like being sprung from jail on a technicality.
“Don’t you want to ask me what my condition is?”
“I can’t imagine it’s too outrageous.”
Okay, so she was conservative by nature. Besides, her life hadn’t afforded her the luxury of taking risks and making impulsive decisions. No need to feel resentful that Simon had assumed she wouldn’t demand something excessive.
“I will take your money, but only as a loan. I’m going to pay you back everything, with interest. Okay?”
“Yes to the loan. No to the interest.” He held out his hand. “Deal?”
She hesitated before putting her hand into his. As a law student, she knew a handshake and a verbal agreement were binding. Every instinct screamed at her to turn him down. “Deal.”
“Here’s my business card. Call me after your last class, and we’ll make plans for the trip.”
She stared at the card to avoid meeting his gaze. Beneath Simon’s name embossed on the expensive cream vellum were gold letters that read: President and Owner Ho
lcroft’s Fine Wines. She noted the website, intending to check out the company when she reached home. Ever since she began cleaning the condo, she’d developed an overactive curiosity about its owner. Meeting him tonight, especially in such an unorthodox manner, had raised as many questions about him as it had answered.
“I hope you realize how much I appreciate you helping me out,” he said, rousing her from her musing.
She’d been so consumed by her thoughts she hadn’t noticed they’d stepped into the hall and now stood before the elevator. The familiar weight of her backpack tugged at her right shoulder. She clutched her law book to her chest like a shield.
Simon’s wide, muscular chest filled her vision, the sort of raw masculinity that tempted a girl to forget about studying for final exams. Strong, persuasive impulses erupted. Unnerved by her body’s acute and persistent joy at his proximity, she took a half step backward, discovered a wall behind her and realized she had nowhere to run. Her heart tripped, steadied, then tripped again as he offered her a knowing grin. He recognized his effect on her. No doubt seduction came as easily to Simon Holcroft as walking.
She jabbed at the Down button, noticing too late he’d already called the elevator. “I hope you realize what an insane idea this is.”
“It’s going to buy me a peaceful holiday with my family. I’m not going to stay silent forever. I just want to pick the right moment.”
He looked so damned satisfied now that she’d agreed to help him. She couldn’t leave without reminding him that this situation could go very wrong.
“I hope your family doesn’t find out you’re lying to them.”
His amusement dimmed, throwing shadows over the bright blue of his eyes. He tapped her law book where it rested against her chest. The vibration passed through two cardboard covers and five hundred pages and made her nipples contract.
“If we do this right, they’ll never know.”
* * *
Simon pinched the bridge of his nose to distract from the pounding in his temples as his mother’s voice poured from the speakerphone and surged over him like class-five rapids.