Holiday for HIre(11)

She tried not to stare, and when that proved impossible, she tried to at least not drool .

“So, this date…?” he asked .

She closed her mouth—yes, she’d been gaping—and forced her attention on the list she’d prepared mentally. “Right. Let me start by saying that in order to show up Blake, well, how can I say this? There are some things that will need some work .”

They’d also need to come up with a fake career and a story about how they met. But before all that, she needed to address his speech. Delicately .

“Let me guess,” Ian said as she worried her lip, trying to find a good way to broach the subject of his unpleasant dialect. “You’d prefer if I spoke like this .”

Again, Jane gaped. His last sentence had been uttered with a perfectly neutral American accent, no trace of Southie in his words at all .

“I think I mentioned I studied acting,” he explained. “I was always good at dialects .”

“I’ll say. I guess I can mark that one off the to-do list .”

“What else you got on that list of yours?” The accent was back, but far less concerning this time. In fact, now that she knew he could turn it off, it was even sort of charming .

“I…I don’t want to offend you.” At least she didn’t have to instruct him on hygiene. His freshly showered scent had wrapped around her as he’d passed her walking into the house. His nails, she’d remarked soon after, were cut short and clean, and the scruff on his face appeared well groomed .

“Listen, there’s nothing offensive about that paycheck you handed me. I’m yours to mold .”

She pretended she didn’t like the way that made her heart quicken .

“Okay then. I’ll want to take you to get a new suit. I know you said you had one, but this will be my treat. To coordinate it with my outfit.” That sounded good. “We should do that in the next week or so to get it back in time. Also, you need a backstory .”

“I can say I work in business. No one ever really knows what that means, I don’t think,” Ian offered .

“Blake does,” Jane said grimly. “How about something even less specific, something more boring? Most importantly, something no one will ever care to look into .”

They looked at each other. His eyes were two brown pools she could easily drown in if she wasn’t on her guard. He was not here to crush on. He was here to do her a favor .

“Import/export?” he offered .

“Perfect,” she said, not totally convinced she was talking about his job. He bent from on top of the ladder as she reached up to hand him a section of the string lights they were hanging around the window. “All that’s left for today is working out our story .”

He quirked a single brow. “Our story ?”

“Of how we met .”

He fastened the string to the last of the hooks he’d placed along the top of the glass frame, and then peered down at her. “Why don’t we just use the real one ?”

She was flabbergasted. “Oh, we’re not telling anyone we met online. That would defeat — ”

With a wave of his hand, he cut her off. “Not that. The first time.” He descended the ladder, then, once on the ground, leaned his elbow on one of the rungs. “I’d gone to see a free exhibit at the Art Institute with the twins as part of a school assignment. They took off with friends, of course, and so I wandered over to the docks. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t realized that something had fallen out of my pocket — ”

“A contract,” she chimed in. “It looked very important .”

He nodded. “—and you ran after me to return it. Good thing you caught me before I had to run for my train .”

“It wasn’t a train,” she corrected, wanting the story to sound less plebian. “You were meeting your driver .”

“Yes,” he winked. “That’s what I meant .”

She picked up on the next part of the story. “Anyway, it was an important contract .”

“Very important. I was beyond glad to have it back .”

“You were so grateful you asked for my number.” She smiled, proud of the direction she’d taken this fable .

Ian shook his head. “That wasn’t the reason I asked for your number .”

Jane wrinkled her nose. “It wasn’t?” It had been a believable transition, as far as she was concerned .

“Nope. It was the dot of buttercream on your upper lip .”

“That’s a silly reason.” It was creative, she’d give him that. But she wanted a story that made her sound romantic and heroic, not like a hot mess .

“So it’s silly. But it was the only thing I could think about the whole time we were talking.” Something about the way his eyes twinkled said that this little detail just might not be made up .

She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped. “I had buttercream on my lip? No !”

“Yes. You did.” His amused tone wasn’t helping the situation .

“Well, that’s embarrassing.” Horrific was more like it. She lowered her head, her cheeks warming .

Ian took a step forward and bent to meet her gaze. “It was adorable .”

She was no longer sure how much of their story was fact and how much was fiction, but her blush deepened as if the compliment he’d given were true. “You should have told me .”