A Convenient Proposal(20)
She made the duck waddle forward, as if taking a peek at the little girl, and then retreat, still quacking. The second time, a small hand followed. Finally, a child’s head emerged from among the hanging garments. Kristy reached for the duck as her mother reached for her.
“There you are.” The woman got to her feet with her daughter in her arms. “Naughty girl, hiding from Mommy.”
Arden had released the stuffed duck into the little girl’s hold. Kristy put the toy under her chin and hid her face against her mom’s neck.
“Thank you so much.” The mother gave Arden a grateful look. “We’d been searching for an hour when they made the announcement. I was so afraid someone had taken her.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks again. She kissed Kristy’s forehead. “So afraid.”
Arden set a hand briefly on the child’s back. “I’m glad I could help. I just happened to hear her singing to herself.” She gathered her shopping bags and backed up as she spoke. “Let her keep the duck as my present.”
“Oh, no–”
But Arden turned at that moment and began to walk away. Catching a glimpse of her face, Griff pulled a couple of twenty dollar bills from his pocket and dropped them beside a register, then hurried after her.
He caught up in time to open the outside door before Arden could. Once they’d cleared the exit, he stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Are you okay?”
Tears sparkled in her long lashes as she looked up at him. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”
“Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t look fine. You look…devastated.”
“Not at all.” Setting down her bags, she wiped her fingers over her eyes and cheeks. No mascara smeared, proving that her long lashes were natural. “Really, I’m okay.”
Griff took the opportunity to pick up the shopping bags himself. “She was a cute little girl.”
“All those blond curls.” Arden sighed and nodded. “But evidently a handful for her mother.”
“Most kids are, at one time or another. I’m sure my mother will tell you stories about my escapades. One of the drawbacks to this charade, I guess. You’ll know more about me than you ever wanted to.”
“And we should be on the road, shouldn’t we?” Arden started walking briskly toward the parking lot. “We wouldn’t want to be late for dinner.”
Surprised that she hadn’t argued about carrying the bags, Griff followed. Igor greeted them at the car windows, and Arden took him for a brief walk in the chilly fresh air before they resumed the trip.
With her sunglasses back in place and her face turned toward the window, she couldn’t have signaled more clearly that she wasn’t in the mood to talk. Griff left her alone and even left the radio off as he wrestled with his own thoughts.
Arden had said she wanted a child as her “price” for doing him this favor. The expression on her face—part grief, part yearning, he decided—indicated more than just the ticking of her biological clock. He’d seen grieving pet owners wear that look.
Had Arden lost a child? Would she tell him if he asked?
Griff snorted to himself. Not likely.
Not yet, anyway.
THEY HAD THEIR FIRST lover’s quarrel as they passed through Macon around four o’clock.
“I am not a short-tempered man,” Griff said through set teeth. “But you’re testing my limits.”
Arden stared out the side window. “You know as much as you need to. My past is finished and of no interest to anyone, including me.”
His fist thudded on the steering wheel. “Lovers—people who are thinking about spending their lives together—share their histories. Childhood days, teenage years and college…all of it contributes to the person you’ve become. Your memories matter.”
Most of Arden’s childhood memories involved windowless rooms containing a music stand and a violin. “We aren’t spending our lives together. Just a few weeks.”
“Why are you threatened by my questions? Wait—you’re in the Witness Protection Program, right? If I discover who you really are, they’ll find you and kill you.”
She couldn’t repress a chuckle. “I wish I could use that excuse, because you might actually let this rest.”
“You won’t say where you were born?” He sounded almost discouraged.
Perhaps if she gave him a few details, he’d be satisfied. “Okay, you win. I was born in New York City and lived there with my mother until I was nine.”