she knew. The brawny, heavily tattooed guy behind the desk offered a nice range of cubic zirconia engagement and wedding rings. She chose a fat emerald-cut solitaire in a faux-platinum setting. It looked impressive—and real—on her finger, the price was right and the fake stone was really, really big and sparkly.
She took the ring home. Monday, before she went to the office, she slipped it onto her ring finger.
An hour and ten minutes later, when the elevator doors slid wide and Dax stepped off, the art assistant, two associate editors and Lin were gathered in an admiring circle around Zoe’s desk.
Dax wore dark glasses. And even though Zoe couldn’t see his eyes, he looked at least as tired and cranky as he had the Monday before. Had he been with Faye all weekend? If so, the woman must be insatiable. He looked drained of energy—and probably bodily fluids, as well.
“What’s going on?” he groused. “Why aren’t you people working? There’s a planning meeting at ten in the conference room downstairs.”
“Dax.” Lin answered for all of them. “We know. We actually do get your memos. And after we get them, we read them.”
He made a growly sort of sound low in his throat. “I’ll expect at least five solid ideas from each of you. And Zoe, where’s my coffee?”
Lin gave her a big smile. “Zoe, it’s so beautiful. Seriously, I’m beyond happy for you.” She winked so fast that only Zoe could have seen it and added archly, “On more than one level.” She turned to go. The others dispersed with her.
Zoe grabbed the coffee she’d picked up on the way in and held it out to him. “Venti, bold and black. Good morning, Dax.”
He took the coffee. “What’s beautiful? Why is Lin happy for you?”
She held up her other hand and wiggled her fingers. The fake diamond glittered in a satisfyingly blinding fashion. “Johnny proposed,” she announced on a happy sigh. “And I told him yes.”
He took the lid off his coffee and stared down into it. Even though the sunglasses obscured his eyes, she assumed he was checking to make sure she hadn’t slipped a little half and half in there or something. He sniffed at the contents and then demanded darkly, “Who’s Johnny?”
She arranged her expression into a thoughtful frown. “Didn’t I tell you about Johnny?”
“Not one word.”
“Oh, I can’t believe I never mentioned Johnny.” She released another gusty sigh. “What can I say about Johnny?” She waved the hand with the ring on it. Flashes of refracted light bounced off the acoustical tile ceiling. “I met him at Stanford. Years ago. He’s from a really old and important California family. He moved to San Antonio last fall. We’ve been dating— both seriously and exclusively. Saturday, he asked me to be his wife.”
Dax winced as he took off the sunglasses. “Well, give Johnny my congratulations. He’s a fortunate man.” He squinted at her. She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed that they weren’t ever having sex after all. Or if he just had a really bad hangover.
She beamed. “Yes, he’s a lucky man. And I’m a happy, happy woman.” She tried to look deeply in love as well as sexually sated.
His brow crinkled. “So does this mean you’ll be giving me notice?”
She blinked. “Notice? Of course not. I intend to work for you for years and years.”
He reminded her drily, “That is, if you pass your two-week review.”
She brushed a curl of red hair back over her shoulder. “You know I will. Already, after one week, you can’t function without me. And Johnny knows I love my new job. He would never ask me to quit.”
“Johnny sounds like a real prize,” he remarked with absolutely no inflection.
“Oh, he is, he is.”
“In fact, he almost sounds too good to be true.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “He does, doesn’t he? But he is very real. A man of flesh and blood, of—”
“Zoe?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t overplay it.” He gave her one of those looks, both patient and all-knowing. Was he on to her little deception—already, when she’d barely begun it?
Surely not.
She smiled at him, a sweet smile. Angelic, even.
“All right, Dax. I’ll do my best to keep my unbounded, ecstatic happiness to myself.”
“Excellent. We need to prep for the meeting.”
“The caterers from the bakery should be here by nine-thirty.”
“Good. Give me ten minutes to pull myself together. We’ll do a quick once-over of what has to be covered before we go down.”
“I’m ready.”
He shook his head. “Are you always so eager on a Monday morning?”
She beamed. “I’m young, I’m in love and I’ve got a great job.”
“Ugh.” He put his dark glasses back on. “That does it. I absolutely forbid you to smile again until at least 11 a.m.”
“I live to serve.” She mugged an exaggerated frown.
“There. That’s more like it.”
During the first three days of that week, Zoe made up a lot of stuff about Johnny—most of it on the spot when someone would ask her a question about him and she would have to produce an answer. Later, at home alone in the evening, she would open her “Johnny” file and add in whatever new information she’d fabricated about the new love of her life. It worked out well. She made up stuff and then she made sure she remembered what she’d said.
Johnny, as it turned out, was allergic to strawberries. His last name was Schofield—of the Mendocino Scho-fields. He traveled a lot, taking care of various “family interests.” He loved long walks on the beach and quiet nights at home and he was an accomplished horseman.
He had moss-green eyes and dark gold hair that Zoe loved to run her fingers through. He was tender and loving, a good listener. He truly was the perfect man.
Well, except for the fact that he didn’t exist.
Wednesday afternoon, as they were going over Dax’s travel checklist for the last time, Zoe caught him yet again looking at her legs. She went right on with her rundown of his itinerary. There was no law that said he couldn’t look.
She felt much more relaxed around him now. More confident in her ability to resist his considerable charm and powerful sex appeal. Johnny, as it turned out, had been just what she needed to help her keep her priorities in order.
Her big fake engagement diamond glittered at her, reminding her that she knew what she wanted and she would not be distracted from what mattered in her life. She smiled a soft, contented smile. She
