Anything You Can Do(74)

"Don't give me too much credit," Bailey said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'd probably only make it worse. You're on your own, Romeo."

"Paula, let's go to dinner and discuss this," he pleaded.

"No way. We're here to save Bailey from herself, and we can't leave until we do." She folded her arms and glared at him.

Gordon threw his hands up. "Fine. I wanted to do this right, with flowers and champagne and a diamond. Can you at least corroborate me on this, Bailey?"

"Absolutely. I'll give you a notarized statement. He asked me to help pick out a ring this evening, Paula." Bailey stroked Samantha's head, enjoying the exchange, glad to be temporarily diverted from her own problems.

Paula stood unmoving, making no response, but Bailey saw the corners of her mouth quiver slightly just before she compressed her lips to stop the incipient smile.

"Well?" Gordon demanded.

"Well what?"

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"Why should I?"

Gordon rolled his eyes then tried to take one of her hands. She tucked them neatly beneath her still-folded arms.

"I want to marry you," he shouted.

"So you two won't have your social consciences upset by watching me working for a creep, earning a pittance?"

"No. So I can live with you. So I can take care of you. Because I love you!"

Paula's eyes wavered, and Bailey thought she was going to give up her resistance, but her stance didn't relax. "I don't intend to stop working at the firm until I get my degree."

"Your degree?" Gordon's eyes widened in surprise.

"She's going to night school," Bailey explained. "So she won't have to work for a creep and earn a pittance."

Gordon backed onto the sofa. "A legal secretary by day, a student by night—it doesn't sound like you've scheduled any time for me."

Paula finally gave in and sat down beside him.

"Maybe I could work you in on weekends and holidays."

Gordon shook his head. "Why couldn't I fall in love with a lazy woman?"

"I suppose for the same reason I couldn't fall in love with someone in an honorable profession."

As her two friends sat gazing into each other's eyes like total idiots, Bailey tried to tiptoe quietly from the room.

"Hold it!" Paula called just before Bailey reached the safety of her bedroom door.

"I think the two of you can carry on from here without my help," Bailey protested.

"Maybe, but you haven't been carrying on very well without us."

"I'll try to do better in the future," she promised sarcastically, "if you'll just go away for a little while and let me have some time to sort out this mess."

Paula nodded. "Will you promise to think about calling Stafford Morris to apologize? This is your career, Bailey. I know how important it is to you."

"True. But my career isn't dependent on Stafford Morris. I could open my own office." Though she hadn't considered it before, the idea didn't sound so bad. "And you could come to work for me."

"That's about as dumb as the time you decided to dye your hair black using fountain pen ink."

"Do I have any chance at all of getting rid of the two of you?" Bailey asked, ignoring Paula's rude memory. There were obvious drawbacks to lifelong friends.

Finally, though, they left, arms wrapped around each other, sappy expressions on their faces.

But she and Samantha barely had time to get situated on the sofa before the doorbell rang.

Bailey studied the solid rectangle separating her from the outside world. She couldn't think of anybody she wanted to see. Moving Samantha to her shoulder, smiling as the little dog curled against her neck, she elected to ignore the doorbell.

The second ring was long and insistent and seemed louder, though of course, that was impossible.

She wasn't surprised to hear Austin's voice. "Bailey, I know you're in there, and I'm not going away until you open the door."





CHAPTER 14



Austin knew he'd screwed up big time, but how could he apologize if Bailey wouldn't speak to him? He jabbed the doorbell again. When he'd passed Paula and Gordon in the parking lot, they'd assured him she was home and even wished him luck, but they hadn't warned him he'd have to break down the door.