eyes blazing fire. “I wouldn’t believe any of them if they swore on a stack of Bibles. They’re probably afraid they’ll be fired if they don’t agree with you.”
In spite of his frustration, there was something about Emily Holmes that struck a chord in him. He’d never been attracted to passive personalities, women included. Hell, he wasn’t one himself. What did attract him to Emily was the way she was willing to fight for what she wanted. It was just too bad he was what she wanted.
Tim’s reason for sending Emily to the building site as a surprise for him was fast becoming clear. It was a setup by his comedian of a brother calculated to put Emily and him together.
Although he’d made a point of avoiding lasting relationships, he was no saint. For that matter, he’d had his share of dates and that was as far as he was prepared to go. The last thing he needed or wanted was to have Tim set him up with a woman who was looking for a husband.
“Sorry, there’s a strong resemblance between my brother and I, but this isn’t me,” he said, mentally kicking Tim. “I was here working overtime with a building inspector yesterday afternoon.”
He handed the photograph back and started to explain again that he and his brother Tim looked so much alike they were often taken for twins. As he tried to ignore Emily’s attraction, he had to convince the lady he didn’t intend to be her husband. Not to pretend. Not ever.
Then he gazed into Emily’s proud, innocent hazel eyes.
Skimpy attention-getting attire and an innate sensuality aside, T.J. sensed there was a vulnerability about Emily Holmes. He’d been in the business world long enough to know people weren’t always what they seemed, and that included Emily. He was even willing to bet she wasn’t a sexpot or a flirt out to get her man. What he did sense was that, for some unknown reason, she needed him desperately.
His first instinct had been to turn her down. His second was to reconsider. Maybe there was some way to help her without getting too involved.
He thought of trying to reach his brother. Make him come back to face up to his “commitment.” Bad idea, he thought with certainty as he gazed into Emily’s troubled eyes. Left to Tim’s devil-may-care clutches, the lady would be in deeper trouble than ever.
Mulling over his choices, he felt guilty, although he wasn’t sure why. After all, while Tim had been busy matchmaking, he was the one who had been taking care of the family business.
If his brains were functioning properly, he’d make his apologies for his brother and get back to work. And yet, as he studied the firebrand in front of him, he had the strong feeling she was clearly in need of his services.
What was one day out of his life?
And why did she have to look at him with such proud and trusting eyes?
He motioned to Emily to sit down and tried a sensible, if not reasonable, approach. “Let’s talk this over, okay?” She nodded, but he had the sinking feeling she wasn’t going to give an inch. “Mind telling me why you need a husband so desperately, and why you didn’t explain yesterday?”
The glint in her eyes told him he wasn’t going to like her answer. “Because I wasn’t sure I would need you today.”
He smothered a sigh. “If you ask me, there’s nothing simple about any of this. As far as I’m concerned, three hundred and fifty dollars has earned me the right to know the entire scenario. Besides,” he added with a wry smile, “I figure I’m entitled to make sure the masquerade would be on the up-and-up.”
When she bit her lip, he had the sinking feeling that whatever plan she was about to share with him wasn’t going to be strictly legitimate. “Anything we can get arrested for?” he went on to ask. “I’d hate to wind up in jail.”
“Of course not! What do you take me for?”
She tried to look insulted, but he sensed a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “You tell me, Miss Holmes. If I’m going to be your husband, however briefly—” he rushed to make clear “—I need to know the whole story.”
She hesitated and eyed him with suspicion. “Does that mean you’ve decided to go along with me?”
He could tell by her frown she wasn’t too happy with him. “Maybe,” he said reluctantly. “It all depends on the facts. Just give them to me straight.”
For fear the truth would scare him off, Emily debated the wisdom of sharing the whole story with T.J. What she wanted him to do wasn’t exactly honest, but surely it couldn’t get them arrested. She mentally crossed her fingers and plunged right in. Lies, even white lies, didn’t come easily to her.
“My great-aunt Emily passed away recently and left me some property in Venice,” she began. “I’m her only relative. I was named after her.”
To her relief, T.J. began to look interested. His blue eyes focused on her. “Venice, Italy?”
“No, Venice, California. It’s a small suburb outside of Los Angeles.”
“Yeah, I know the place,” he agreed. “The story of the area has always fascinated me. I remember hearing that seventy years ago a builder tried to recreate the original Venice, canals and all. Poor guy went broke when the Great Depression hit.”
“That’s the place,” Emily agreed. “My aunt told me he built the canals and a house or two and ran out of money when the depression hit. She and my late uncle bought one of them for a song.” The wistful smile that curved her lips touched him in spite of his determination to stay clear of women like her, no matter how desirable. “I used to visit during the summers when I was a little girl and dream I was in Italy.”
Gazing into Emily’s smile, T.J. began to imagine her as a little girl dreaming of faraway places. Such thoughts were not only dangerous, he told himself, they were too like the “husband” scenario she proposed. The next thing he’d be doing was picturing a little girl of his own. A little girl with auburn hair and hazel eyes just like her mother’s.
“Interesting,” he said, eyeing Emily in a speculative way that made her senses spin and her cheeks warm up. “But what does that have to do with me pretending to be your husband?”
Emily took a deep breath and decided to go the whole nine yards. “Aunt Emily used to keep after me to settle down and start a family.” When T.J. raised an eyebrow, she felt herself blush. “I know it sounds a bit old-fashioned, but after my broken engagement, Aunt Emily obviously worried I would be left alone the way she was after her husband passed away. I suppose that was why she left me the property with the provision I had to have a husband of my own in order to inherit.”
Mental wheels started to turn. For the first time, a ray of hope sprang into T.J.’s mind. “Pardon me for asking, but couldn’t you solve your problem by asking your former fiancé to do you a favor and pose as your husband?”
“No way,” she replied. A hard look came into her eyes. “Not when he left me for another woman. Under the circumstances, I don’t want him to know about the inheritance.”
With that door closed, T.J. thought rapidly. “The more I think about it, I can’t believe the marriage clause in your aunt’s will is legal. Or that a probate court would hold you to it.” He studied the hazel eyes that revealed so much of her thoughts. “You don’t really believe it,
