going to be all right, Alyssa. I promise.”
“I don’t know how.”
She looked so dejected, it was all he could do to keep from taking her into his arms. But that would only add fuel to the fire if someone walked into her office and caught them.
As he continued to stare at her, a germ of an idea began to form. It was crazy enough that it just might work.
“I think I have a solution that will stop the tongues from wagging and allow you to keep your job here,” he said, smiling.
She looked doubtful. “I’m listening.”
“Let’s go along with the rumors.”
He laughed when she looked at him like he might not be playing with a full deck. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Probably.” He took her hands in his, then pulling her to her feet, took her in his arms. “My grandpa used to say that sometimes the only way to put out a fire is to throw kerosene on it.”
“In other words, insanity runs in your family?”
Caleb grinned. “Grandpa did have his share of peculiarities, but most of the time his logic made a hell of a lot of sense. Toss a little fuel on a fire and it burns itself out real quick and that’s the end of it. Leave it alone and it can smolder for a while, then flare up again and again.”
“Would you care to explain how that relates to our current problem?” To his satisfaction, she’d wrapped her arms around his waist and seemed genuinely interested in hearing him out.
“If we come out in the open and tell everyone that we are romantically involved, there won’t be anything left to speculate about.” He paused as something else came to mind. “In fact, as of right now, we’re engaged. Then, in a few weeks, we’ll announce that we’ve changed our minds and decided to just be friends.”
“Now I’m sure you’ve gone over the edge.” Pulling away from him, she stepped back and shook her head. “It would never work.”
“Sure it will. And the sooner we announce our big news the sooner we’ll be back to business as usual.” Giving her a quick kiss, he reached over to press the button on her intercom. He wasn’t waiting for her to come up with any more arguments why his plan was faulty. “Geneva, call a mandatory meeting of all employees for two this afternoon in the lobby downstairs.”
“Consider it done,” the secretary answered. “Is there anything else?”
“Nope. That’s it. Thanks, Geneva.” Turning back to Alyssa, he smiled. She had that deer-in-the-headlights look again. “Relax. In about an hour, we’ll make our big announcement and the problem will be over.”
She sank into her chair as if her knees would no longer support her. “Or just beginning.”
“Trust me, sweetheart. An engagement is just what the doctor ordered to take care of this little problem.”
She sighed. “Which doctor would that be? Kevorkian?”
Laughing, he headed back into his office. “Hang on to your sense of humor and everything will work out great. You’ll see.”
When he closed the door behind him, Caleb walked over to stare out the window behind his desk. A fake engagement? What the hell had he been thinking?
But when Alyssa had shoved her resignation at him, he’d felt like his stomach had dropped to his shoe tops. And it hadn’t been entirely due to the fact that he needed her to stay at the firm and keep things running while he took his classes.
The simple fact of the matter was he didn’t want Alyssa to leave because he had a case of the hots for her and there didn’t seem to be any way he could stop it. Not even reminding himself of his miserable track record with a career woman had lessened her appeal. Since their trip to Roswell last week, all he’d been able to think about was how soft and sweet she’d looked when she slept and how good it had felt to hold her.
He took a deep breath and shook his head in an effort to clear it. If they were going to convince the Sker-ritt and Crowe employees they were wild about each other, it was going to take some planning.
A slow grin spread across his face. They had an entire weekend to get their act together and he knew the perfect place to hold their strategy session. Now all he had to do was convince Alyssa to go with him.
“This is never going to work, Caleb,” Alyssa said as they walked out of her office into the deserted hall.
“Just follow my lead and act happier than you’ve ever been in your life.” He waited for her to step onto the elevator. “I’ll take care of the rest. Did you get your purse?”
She nodded. “Although I can’t understand why you think I need it.”
“You’ll see.”
His grin told her that he had something up his sleeve, but she didn’t have time to think about what it could be. What was about to take place was foremost in her thoughts and had her wondering if they’d both lost their minds. In just a few short seconds, the elevator doors were going to open and they’d tell the entire Skerritt and Crowe staff they were engaged.
When the elevator came to a halt on the ground floor, Caleb grinned and took her hand in his. “Ready?”
“No.”
“Smile,” he whispered as the doors swished open.
Stepping off the elevator, instead of looking deliriously happy, she’d bet everything she owned that she looked more like she was about to throw up. The sick feeling intensified when she watched several of her colleagues exchange knowing glances.
“Since our trip to Roswell last week, there’s been a lot of speculation about the nature of the relationship be-tween me and A.J.,” Caleb said, getting right to the heart of the matter. “That’s why we’ve called you all here this afternoon. We want to end the speculation and set the record straight, once and for all.”
There was no turning back now. She took a deep breath and trained her unwavering gaze on Caleb. She wasn’t certain she’d be able to get through the next few minutes if she had to look at anyone else.
“Yes, there’s something going on between me and A. J. Merrick.” Her heart skipped several beats when he looked down at her and smiled. “I’d like to announce that as of this afternoon, Alyssa and I are engaged.”
Stunned silence reigned for several seconds before the crowd suddenly broke out in a round of enthusiastic applause. But when Caleb pulled her to him and kissed her like a soldier returning from war, the cheers were so loud it was almost deafening.
When he raised his head, he announced, “Alyssa and I are leaving town for the weekend, so don’t try calling us. We’ll be busy making… ” His pause and suggestive grin caused several knowing smiles. “Wedding plans,” he finished. He pointed to Malcolm. “You’re in charge until we return on Monday.”
The kiss and Caleb’s announcement that they were going away together had taken her by surprise, but he shocked her beyond words when he swept her up into his arms and carried
