Rent a Millionaire Groom

by Judy Christenberry

  “I’m going up to my room. I’ve got some proposals for ad campaigns to review. See you in the morning.”

  Once he was secluded in his bedroom, he was even more restless. He prowled the room, staring at the walls as if he hadn’t seen them before. Would Elise like it? He’d bought the house after his divorce, when his hard work had paid off and he’d had plenty of money. His mother had helped him pick out some things, but he’d made most of the choices himself.

  He was being foolish. When would Elise see his bedroom? Never. She couldn’t see it because she’d know he couldn’t afford the house on Bobby’s salary.

  Besides, she didn’t want that kind of involvement. That much she’d definitely made clear. But he was sure she’d enjoyed their conversation last night as much as he had.

  He stared at the telephone on his bedside table. He even took a step toward it. Then he looked at his watch. It was just barely nine o’clock. He didn’t want her to think he was checking on her.

  Maybe she was spending the evening alone and would welcome a phone call. He could just call and see if she was busy. If she was, he’d hang up at once. Not bug her.

  But it wouldn’t hurt to see.

  Before he could talk himself out of it, he reached for the phone and dialed Elise’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Elise, it’s James. Is this a bad time?”

  “Uh, sort of.”

  His heart sank. “Sorry, I didn’t think about you having company this time of— That is, I’ll call tomorrow as I said.”

  “Uh, James, if it’s about Tuesday night, I don’t think we can—”

  “What about Bill and Frannie’s romance?” he asked hurriedly. He didn’t want her to cancel Tuesday night.

  “That’s the problem. Frannie is here and—and she’s a little upset with Bill.” Elise’s voice had lowered, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear her.

  “What happened?” he asked. He wanted to know, of course, but he was also relieved that it was Frannie distracting her and not another man.

  “Just a minute. I’m going to change phones.”

  Then he heard her ask Daisy to hang up the phone when she picked up in the bedroom.

  “Are you still there?” she asked a few seconds later.

  They both heard the click as Daisy hung up the receiver in the other room.

  “Yeah.”

  Elise didn’t waste any time. “Frannie was with us at The Prickly Pear when Bill came in with another woman.”

  “Who was she?”

  “We don’t know, but Frannie is distraught.”

  “Isn’t she jumping to conclusions?” he asked, thinking maybe Frannie had overreacted.

  “You don’t understand. Frannie was married before, but her husband was very controlling. He didn’t want her to have nice clothes, to wear anything bright, to use makeup. And he never took her out. Then she discovered he was paying for a mistress to enjoy all the things he was keeping from her. That’s why she dresses like she does. She was so hurt. Now, if a man even looks at another woman, she won’t have anything to do with him. For Bill to— Well, it’s broken her heart.”

  “Poor thing. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “There’s not anything. It’s Bill’s business.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Anyway, I have to go, but don’t bother about the tickets Tuesday night. Thanks, anyway.”

  After she hung up, James sat on the edge of his bed, trying to think through what had happened. He didn’t want to give up their date to the hockey game. Could he talk Elise into going without them?

  Probably not. Too bad Bill and Frannie were having problems. They seemed perfect for each other.

  So why hadn’t anyone asked Bill? Elise had said it was his business, but James didn’t think Bill was the kind of man who would two-time a woman. True, he and Frannie weren’t committed, but still…

  He considered calling Bill. Then he checked his watch. Nope. He would go over to visit him. He could tell Bill he was in the area.

  James grabbed the keys to MaryBelle’s car and ran down the stairs. He stopped in the den to tell her he was borrowing her car again. Then he headed for the back door before she could ask any questions.

  In minutes, he was knocking on Bill’s apartment door. It hadn’t occurred to him until then that Bill might not be home. A lot of dates—though not any of his lately—lasted beyond nine-thirty.

  Then Bill opened the door.

  “James, come in. What are you doing here?”

  “I stopped by earlier to see if you wanted to grab a bite, but you were out. So I ate dinner. But I came back by to talk about Tuesday night.”

  Bill looked disappointed. “You couldn’t get the tickets? That’s okay. I appreciate your asking.”

  “No, I have the tickets. Can you still make it?”

  “Of course we can,” Bill said, sounding enthused.

  “Oh, good.” Now what? Bill hadn’t responded to his implied question about earlier. “Were you out with Frannie tonight?”

  “Frannie? Gosh, no. We’re going out Tuesday.”

  Right. Obviously Bill wasn’t as intent on seeing Frannie as James was on seeing Elise.

  “I was showing a condo to a nice lady. I only have the one vacancy, so I wasn’t concerned, but I think she’s going to take it.”

  “Oh, great. So, if you haven’t eaten, I’ll go with you and have a cup of coffee.”

  “Oh, we ate. She asked me to take her to a local restaurant, and we went to The Prickly Pear.”

  “Good place to eat. I like it.”

  Bill smiled in return but said nothing else.

  “Shall we plan on dinner before the hockey game Tuesday?”

  “I’d like that. Make an evening of it. I want Frannie to enjoy the experience,” Bill said, his eyes lighting up. James changed his mind about Bill not being interested in seeing Frannie.

  “Okay. Do you mind driving again? Your car is certainly bigger than mine.”

  “I’ll be glad to. In fact, I’ll buy dinner. After all, you’re supplying the tickets.”

  James insisted they each treat the ladies, because the tickets weren’t costing him anything. They parted then, Bill looking pleased about his visit.

  James was ecstatic. Not only was he going to help Frannie and Bill, but he was also going to see Elise tonight. He hurried up the stairs and rapped on Elise’s door.

  ELISE, DAISY and Phoebe had been commiserating with Frannie for almost an hour. She’d stopped crying, eventually.

  Now she was angry.

  And planning revenge.

  They’d pointed out to her that Bill hadn’t made any promises, so it wasn’t fair to treat him as if he’d betrayed her.

  She’d carefully explained that after finally having her first date with him, after longing for that moment for several years, it was rotten of him to date someone else.

  They all agreed with that, but they tried to move her away from the idea of running into his SUV, or shoving him down the stairs or burning down his apartment.

  A knock interrupted them.

  “Yes?” Elise asked as she approached the door.

  “It’s James.” His strong masculine voice could be heard through the wood.

  Elise was surprised. She’d hoped he’d call tomorrow, as he’d said—but to show up tonight? She opened the door and stepped through.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he complained.

  Startled by that response, she looked up at him. Before she could answer, he kissed her.

  It wasn’t easy to back away from what she’d been longing for. But she did. Though not immediately. Breathlessly, she said, “James, what are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come with information.”

  “About the tickets? I told you—”

  “About Bill.”

  That response brought her up short. She studied his handsome face, noting the smile. “I hope you’ve got good news, because Frannie is turn
ing violent.”

  “I think it is. Do I get to come in?”

  “Of course,” she said, opening the door wide.

  He stepped over the threshold, his gaze scanning her living room. She wasn’t too worried about his approval. She was happy with the decor. Phoebe, who was great with colors, and Daisy, with her artistic talents, had given Elise some suggestions, but she’d done most of it on her own. It suited her.

  “Good evening,” he said with a smile.

  His audience, all three seated on the sofa, stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Elise decided she should explain before Frannie started throwing things.

  “James says he has some news about Bill.”

  That got their attention.

  “I don’t want to hear anything about that miserable excuse for a human being!” Frannie exclaimed.

  Elise opened her mouth to protest, but James responded before she could.

  “Are you sure, Frannie? Because Bill is still counting on Tuesday night. He said he wanted you to have a good time.”

  Frannie burst into tears again.

  “Frannie, don’t cry,” Daisy pleaded. “Let James explain what he means.” She smiled encouragingly to James, then frowned. “You do know about—” After a quick glance at Frannie, she mouthed the words the other woman?

  James nodded. Then he turned to Elise. “I was going to ask Bill to eat with me tonight, but he was tied up on business.”

  Frannie made some kind of noise signifying disgust.

  “Apparently there’s an empty unit, and he showed it this evening to a lady who’s thinking about taking it. She asked Bill to show her a place to eat, and he took her to The Prickly Pear.”

  Phoebe looked at Frannie, then at James. “So it wasn’t a date.”

  “He looked very happy,” Frannie said, raising her head long enough to get the words out clearly before she buried her face back in her hands.

  Phoebe raised an eyebrow. “Of course he did. You know Bill likes to keep Mesa Blue fully occupied. It’s his pride and joy.”

  “She was very attractive,” Frannie said with a sniff.

  “Bill didn’t mention that,” James said.

  Frannie wiped the tears from her face.

  “You know how hard it is to get Bill to notice any woman,” Elise pointed out. “You’ve been working on him for several years. And she wasn’t nearly as attractive as you, Frannie.”

  “He’d never taken me out to dinner until Friday night, and that was only because you suggested it, James.” Then Frannie clapped her hand over her mouth, her gaze darting to Elise.

  James reassured her. “Don’t worry, Frannie. Elise had it all figured out before she even got downstairs. But she wanted you and Bill to have a good time. You’re not going to refuse to go Tuesday night, are you?”

  “You got the tickets?” Frannie asked.

  James nodded.

  “Well, then, I suppose I couldn’t disappoint the three of you. If that woman thinks she’s going to waltz in here and latch on to Bill, she’s got another think coming.” Frannie rose, squared her shoulders and marched to the door. There, she paused. “Thanks, girls, for comforting me. You’re good friends. You, too, James. Oh, and let’s not mention my little upset to Bill.” Then she left.

  Phoebe sagged back against the sofa. “James, I could kiss you.”

  “Me, too,” Daisy agreed, “but I think Elise might protest.”

  Elise felt her cheeks turn red, and she looked anywhere but at James. “It was good of you to help us out,” she said stiffly.

  “My pleasure. We made such progress Friday night, I didn’t want it to fall apart.”

  “You didn’t tell Bill that Frannie was upset, did you?” Phoebe asked suddenly. “She’d be humiliated if he knew.”

  “No. I asked nosy questions, but I didn’t mention that. He probably thinks I’m half crazy, but the hockey tickets kept him from throwing me out.” He grinned at all three of them.

  “Do you think he wants to go with Frannie?” Elise asked. “He might really be attracted to the other woman.”

  “Nope. He said he wants the hockey game to be a good experience for Frannie. That’s why we’re going to dinner first.”

  Elise frowned. That meant more time spent with James. She’d enjoy herself, but that worried her.

  “We’re going in Bill’s car…together,” James added, as if he knew she was worried.

  She rewarded him with a smile. He deserved it. The smile he gave her in return made her want to melt into his arms.

  Suddenly Phoebe and Daisy stood and were heading to the door. “We’ll go now. I’m tired,” Phoebe said, offering a yawn.

  “Yeah, it’s been a long day,” Daisy added.

  “But you haven’t told us about your date with Dave,” Elise protested, partly because she wondered what had happened and partly because she was afraid to be alone with James.

  “Oh, suffice it to say, I won’t be going out with Dave again.” Daisy started out the door.

  “Wait!” Elise called. “What did he do? He’s always seemed nice enough.”

  “For an octopus. He’s got more hands than any man I’ve ever dated. He couldn’t understand my reluctance to have sex with him before we’d even eaten.”

  James stood, frowning. “He didn’t hurt you?”

  “No,” Daisy protested, but her cheeks were flushed. “I’ll admit he scared me a little. I didn’t think he was going to stop…but he did.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” James said, his voice firm.

  All three protested. Elise stepped closer to James. “Really, it’s all right. Daisy is safe, and we like to take care of our own problems.”

  “Independent ladies? I understand, but if you need me, Daisy, or you, too, Phoebe, I’ll do what I can for you. Any friend of Elise is a friend of mine.”

  Elise couldn’t bring herself to mention the temporary nature of their relationship. She believed his words came from his heart, and they were very sweet. She could tell her friends thought so, too.

  They both stepped forward to kiss James’s cheek. Then they said good-night and slipped from the apartment.

  “Well,” she said with a sigh, clutching her hands in front of her to stop herself from reaching out to touch him, “you’ve certainly played the role of Superman, saving the day, James. Thank you very much.”

  He stepped to her side. “I was glad to do it. But don’t make me out to be too heroic. I used Frannie’s problem as an excuse to see you tonight.” He reached his hands out and ran them up and down her arms.

  “But you were already here when you offered to protect Daisy and Phoebe,” she pointed out.

  “No woman should be treated like that.”

  “I know. I feel badly that the man I set her up with did that. I’ve never heard any whispers about Dave. I thought he seemed like a nice man.” Elise vowed to check out any prospective dates for Daisy a little more thoroughly in the future.

  “Don’t feel guilty. That’s not something a woman would know,” he assured her.

  As he said those soft words, he wrapped his arms around her, gently tugging her against him.

  It felt like coming home. Warm, exciting, comforting. She leaned against him, letting her head rest on his strong shoulder. His fingers sifted through her hair.

  “I called because I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he whispered.

  Shivers rolled through Elise. “I hoped you would. But then I got distracted by Frannie. And I’d told you to stay away.”

  “I didn’t want to,” he assured her. He captured her chin and tilted her head up until his lips met hers.

  Elise couldn’t help giving in to his temptation. The man seemed to know every button to push.

  The telephone rang.

  Saved, she thought. Otherwise, she might’ve invited him into her bedroom.

  “Hello?”

  A feminine voice, a young woman, asked, “Is James there?”

  Elise admitted to herself she�
��d needed a reminder of James’s role in her life, but she hadn’t expected one so soon. “Is this Sandra?”

  “Why, yes!” the young woman exclaimed, startled.

  “Just a moment.” Elise held out the receiver to James. “It’s for you.”

  Then she moved to stand beside the door, ready to escort him out of her apartment before he could convince her differently. As soon as he finished his conversation with Sandra.

  Frowning, James took the phone. “Hello?”

  Elise pretended not to listen. There wasn’t much to listen to. Just an “Of course.” “Yes.” “Bye.”

  Then he came toward her.

  She swung open the door.

  “Good night.”

  “Elise, let me explain.”

  “That’s quite all right. I hope she understood.”

  “A lot more than you do,” he muttered.

  If she got any stiffer, she feared she’d never move again. “I apologize if I’m not good at pretending.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Elise, let me—”

  “Please leave, James. I’ll see you Tuesday night.”

  With a sigh, he walked past her.

  Though she longed for a last kiss, she slammed the door after him before he could even turn around. She couldn’t take that risk.

  Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to Sandra.

  Even more, it wouldn’t be fair to her. Just once, now that she was alone, she could admit that she’d done the one thing she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do.

  She’d fallen in love with James.

  Chapter Thirteen

  James drove directly from Elise’s apartment to the Good Samaritan Hospital. Sandra had called because Bobby had broken his arm.

  After making sure his brother was all right, James asked the question that had bothered him. “How did you get Elise’s number? I didn’t think you had it.”

  “It was on caller-ID. Remember, she called the apartment looking for you?” Bobby said.

  James frowned. “You kept it?”

  “I jotted it down. Never know when it might come in handy,” Bobby assured him with a grin. Probably because James continued to frown, he asked, “It wasn’t a problem, was it?”