A Convenient Proposal(8)

“Not a problem,” she lied. Seeing him again awakened all her anxieties, as well as her yearnings. “Igor and I just followed our usual schedule.”

“Stick chasing is a great way to start the day.” Griff stretched down a hand to Igor, who had parked himself, stick in mouth, at her feet. “Want me to throw for you, son?”

Igor bared his teeth.

Griff straightened up. “I’m guessing that’s a no.”

Arden stopped herself from apologizing. “Are you feeling okay? No hangover?” No memory of the crazy plan we talked about last night?

“Nope. You make great coffee. The perfect antidote for the morning after.” His grin revealed even white teeth and showed off the lips she remembered tasting last night.

“Well, you must be starving. Let’s go back to the house and I’ll make some eggs and toast. I don’t have bacon, I’m afraid.”

He held up a hand. “Not necessary. I saw you had some yogurt in the fridge, so I added nuts and honey and made a meal. Couldn’t do much about my clothes except shake them out, but I did borrow a towel and take a shower.” He scratched his fingers over his stubbly chin. “Not your razor, though. I look pretty rough.”

“Oh. Well…well, good.” Stunned by the idea of a man who ate yogurt and didn’t steal her razor, Arden started up the beach toward the cottage path. “You’re planning to fly back to Georgia today, is that right? From Miami?” The sooner he left, the better. Even more than last night’s drunk, this morning’s version tempted her into fantasies that would destroy her peace of mind. “I was. My flight left—” he squinted at his watch as they stepped under the palms at the start of the trail “—twelve minutes ago.”

She walked ahead of him, preparing herself for the worst. “What will you do now?”

“That,” Griff said, “is what we have to talk about.”



THE SILENCE IN PLACE OF her reply said all Griff needed to know. Arden had reconsidered last night’s agreement and wanted to back out. As a gentleman, he should allow her that option.

But he simply didn’t want to. Standing in her neat little cottage, holding a cup of coffee to fight the headache he’d pretended he didn’t have, Griff decided he wasn’t ready to let this woman escape so soon.

She faced him from the other end of the kitchen, standing with her back to the window above the sink, which left her face shadowed. Now that he could see her in daylight, he recognized shadows in her eyes, too. The lady owned a troubled past.

He leaned a hip against the counter and took a long draw from his mug. “I gave you the high points of my life last night—or low points, depending on your perspective. You’ve got some mystery going on, though, and I’m curious. Are you on vacation down here, escaping the cold and snow up north with a few weeks in the Florida sun?”

She sipped from a delicate china cup. “I’ve lived here full time for the last year.”

“Alone?”

“I have Igor for company.” She’d left the dog outside when they came in.

Griff was grateful to be free of the canine’s disapproval, at least temporarily. “So this is your own private piece of Florida?”

After a pause, she shook her head. “The island belongs to…a friend of mine. I’m the—the caretaker.”

“You’re here to keep an eye on the place, chase off trespassers, that sort of thing?”

“Exactly that sort of thing.” She frowned into her coffee. “Obviously, I need more practice at the chasing off trespassers part of the job description.”

He didn’t believe her, but he let the lie pass. “My mother always said I was obstinate.”

“I believe that.”

“Good. Because I’m asking you again this morning if you’ll come back to Sheridan with me and pretend to be my girlfriend for a couple months.”

Now she frowned directly at him. “It’s a ridiculous idea.”

“For that reason alone, it’ll work. Nobody would expect me to do something so…so—”

“Ridiculous.”

“I was trying for a synonym. But okay. People won’t be looking beyond how beautiful you are and how lucky I am. That’s all I ask—the chance to ease back into my life without a bunch of fanfare. You can make that possible.”

She gazed at him for a long moment, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking until she said, “And in return you’ll give me a baby?”