by Cathie Linz
“What are you doing standing out here?” This time the question came from Serena’s assistant, Kalinda Patel. The nineteen-year-old college student had long black hair and beautiful dark brown eyes. She also had the look of someone who needed coffee…badly. “The cappuccino machine is inside and I need my caffeine.”
Lightning flashed as if emphasizing Kalinda’s statement. “Okay, okay, I’m going inside.” Quickly unlocking the door, Serena walked into her pride and joy—her bookstore.
While Kalinda hurried to set up the cappuccino machine behind the counter for her morning drink, Serena flipped on the lights and looked around. Serena’s imprint was everywhere. She’d helped build the bookcases alongside the handyman she’d hired. She’d found the pair of comfy reading chairs at a local Goodwill store and had sewn the chintz slipcovers herself. They framed the entrance to the romance section, one of her bestselling areas.
Beyond that was the alcove housing the mystery section. Mock yellow-and-black plastic crime scene ribbons lined the shelves. A vintage movie poster of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles hung on the wall.
The science fiction section was next, with Star Wars posters and signed covers from authors who had visited her store. Nearby she’d just recently started a young adult section with a variety of selections for adolescents. The area where westerns were shelved was relatively small, but very homey with a twig chair covered with a Native American woven blanket.
The children’s section was tucked into an alcove and featured inviting beanbag chairs and a colorful alphabet area rug. Some of the shelves were lower and many of the books were positioned face out. She changed the posters every month—Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat had the central place of honor at the moment. That still left room for Olivia the Pig to one side and Sandra Boynton’s latest to the other side.
In the far corner at the front of the store was the reading nook where Serena set her author appearances. A right-angled corner pine bench with vintage needle-point pillows appeared to be built into the shelves all around it. She’d deliberately made this area look like a home library, placing classic books like Pride and Prejudice along with framed photos on the shelves.
A selection of handmade gift items, including scented candles and potpourri, were tucked in various nooks and crannies around the store.
The Reader’s Place focused primarily on fiction, although she did carry some of the bestselling nonfiction titles, especially self-help books which were very popular with her customers.
Serena made a mental note that she needed to update the display of mass market paperback bestsellers, and do something with an autumnal theme for the Weekly Spotlight otherwise known as a metal baker’s rack in its previous lifetime. It was also time to place her weekly book order with Ingram’s and to pull returns to make room before the rush of new holiday titles arrived.
“Ah.” The moan of delight came from Kalinda as she sipped her drink. “Now I can face another day. Speaking of days, how did that Career Day thing go at the school?”
“There was a Marine there.”
“I thought you were speaking to fifth-graders.”
“I was.”
Kalinda frowned. “Aren’t they a little young to be recruited in the Marines?”
“He wasn’t there to recruit them, he was there to talk about the Marine Corps.”
“And judging from the expression on your face, you didn’t approve of the way he did that.”
“He was incredibly arrogant and bossy. When I told him that, he claimed to be displaying confidence and leadership skills.”
“Hang on a second.” Kalinda’s dark eyes widened. “Did you say you told him he was arrogant and bossy?”
“Yes.”
“And you lived to tell the tale?”
“He knew better than to mess with me.”
Kalinda grinned. “Oh, yeah, I can see how a lean mean Marine would be scared spitless by a bodacious bookseller like you.”
“I was wearing my red dress.”
“Oh, well, that’s different. You used your stealth weapon. Your sex appeal. You go, girl!” She gave Serena a high five.
“I did not use my sex appeal.”
“Why not? Was he a dog?”
“No, he was extremely good-looking in a dark, brooding, sexy, gleam-of-wicked-humor, Adrian Paul kind of way.”
“Adrian Paul!” Kalinda shrieked. “You found a guy who looks like Adrian Paul and you let him get away?”
“He was bossy and arrogant.”
“So? Those are fixable things.”
“Not always.”
“You’re thinking about your father, aren’t you?”
Serena nodded. She hadn’t told her assistant much about her past, just that her father was ex-military and extremely controlling. Her parents now lived in Las Vegas and Serena didn’t see them very often.
“I can understand about impossible fathers. Mine is still demanding that I only date Indian men.” Kalinda took another sip of her cappuccino. “Major bummer. Let’s change the subject. Did the new order of category romances come in yet?”
“They arrived late yesterday afternoon after you left.”
The rest of the day passed by quickly as it always did for Serena. A lot of her customers came in two or three times a week, allowing her to get to know them. She heard about their husband’s jobs, their kids schooling, their problems and their triumphs. She also heard which books they loved.
Whenever a new customer arrived, Serena went out of her way to make them feel comfortable, in the hopes that they too would turn into a regular. Handselling was an important part of her job as she worked hard to unite readers with the books they were looking for, even if all she had to go on was, “It’s a mystery with a red cover.”
She deliberately tried to keep the thought of her impending meeting with the new building owner out of her thoughts. But once five o’clock rolled around, she couldn’t help taking note of the time every few minutes.
The storm promised by the threatening thunder earlier in the day had skirted them without raining. Which meant Serena would have to water the store’s window boxes today after all. She grabbed the plastic watering can and filled it with water from the washroom in the back. On Thursdays like today, she closed early, at five-thirty.
The bell on the door signaled her departure into the steamy heat outside. The petunias looked as wilted as she felt. Think positive. Find the silver lining. Get chocolate…Hmm, she did have a secret stash in the storeroom….
Turning, she bumped into a broad chest. “Sorry…” Her voice trailed off as she saw who was steadying her. Rad. Her pulse surged into overdrive, proving the point that her intense reaction to him the other day had not been a fluke. He wasn’t even wearing his impressive dress blues uniform today. His blue jeans fit him to perfection as did the dark blue polo shirt he wore. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you.”
“This isn’t the time.” She stepped away from him and held the watering can in front of her, as if it could protect her from the sex appeal he radiated. “I’m expecting someone any moment regarding an important business matter.”
“I know. You’re expecting me.”
Jeez, the man was arrogant. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” He followed her inside.
“I’m expecting the new owner of this building.”
“That’s right. That’s me.”
“But you’re a Marine.”
“Affirmative. A Marine with money. Not usual, I know. But I inherited a great deal of the green stuff from a Texas oil baron grandfather I barely knew.”
She tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Why did you buy this building?”
“Because it’s a good investment. And because I need your help.”
“You bought the building because you need my help?”
“Affirmative. But then I always have been the radical one in my family.”
&nb
sp; Okay, clearly she needed to close early today. She flipped the sign from Open to Closed even though it was only five twenty-five and the store normally stayed open that night until five-thirty. This wasn’t a conversation she could have in front of any customers. Luckily the store was empty and her assistant had already left for the day.
Serena got right to the point. “What about my lease?”
“I’ll be glad to renew it at the present terms…if you help me out.”
“If I do what you want, you mean?”
He nodded. “You help me and I’ll help you.”
Serena could see where this was going. “Well, you can forget it. I will not have sex with you!”
“Sex? Who said anything about sex? I don’t want a lover, I want a fiancée. Or more accurately, someone who’ll pretend to be my fiancée.”
The mental light bulb finally went on. Serena had heard about the military’s position about sexual orientation—don’t ask, don’t tell. She nodded understandingly. “I get it. You’re gay.”
“Gay?” Rad repeated incredulously. “I am not gay!” he growled before tugging her into his arms. The heat of his body permeated through the Indian cotton dress Serena wore. She was so close to him she could see the sherry-colored flecks in his brown eyes. Lowering his lips to just above hers, he whispered, “Want me to prove it to you?”
Chapter Two
Somehow Serena found the willpower to resist the temptation Rad presented. Hastily stepping away from him, she tried to keep her expression calm. “No, I don’t want you to prove you’re not gay. I’ll take your word for it.”
“What made you think I was?”
“You said you didn’t want a lover, you wanted a fiancée.”
“And that made you think I was gay?”
“It was a logical assumption.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
She was about to argue with him over that fact when she realized that that’s probably what he wanted. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what it is you’re proposing? Then I won’t have to jump to conclusions.”
“I’m not proposing.”
“That was a figure of speech.”
“Just so we’re clear. What I need is a make-believe fiancée. Not the real thing.”
“Why do you want someone to pose as your fiancée?”
“Because I’m having some trouble with the general’s daughter Heidi.”
“What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything. I smiled at her when I met her. That’s about it.”
“What’s she done to you?”
“Made my life miserable. She’s convinced she’s fallen in love with me at first sight, which is ridiculous.”
“It certainly is!”
Her instant and emphatic agreement shouldn’t have irritated him, but it did. “You don’t think a woman could fall for me?”
“I didn’t say that. I said that falling in love with someone you don’t know is ridiculous. She must not realize how arrogant and bossy you can be.”
“She’s a general’s daughter. Her father is ten times bossier than I am. Clearly that’s not a problem for her.”
“It would be for me.”
“Your father’s not a general or something is he?” Rad demanded, his expression suddenly suspicious.
“No, my father has been out of the military for some time. He’s in construction now.”
“Is he the reason you have this thing against what you mistakenly perceive to be bossiness?”
There was no way she was confessing anything about her past to Rad. The less he knew about that part of her life the better. “Why don’t we get back to your reasons for needing a fictional fiancée?”
“Fine. As I was saying, Heidi has been chasing me for several weeks now. When I didn’t ask her out, she asked me. When I refused, politely of course, she warned me she was going to make my life difficult.”
“What did she do?”
“For one thing, she got her father to give me that stupid assignment speaking at the middle school’s Career Day.”
His dismissal of the event irritated her greatly. “There was nothing stupid about the event. The only indication of a lack of judgment came when you spoke to the kids as if they were a bunch of recruits instead of children.”
“At least they paid attention to me.”
“And you’re a man accustomed to being paid attention to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Go ahead. The general’s daughter is making your life difficult.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t afford to risk my military career by upsetting the spoiled daughter of a powerful general. So I came up with the idea of a fiancée. I figured that if I said I was engaged, then Heidi would back off.”
“Why me?”
“Because Heidi caught me by surprise and your name slipped out.”
“Slipped out?”
Rad nodded. “When she asked me for my fiancée’s name. She cornered me as soon as I returned to the base after meeting you the other day. What are you smiling at?”
“The idea of a female cornering a big Marine like you. How old is this Heidi?”
“Eighteen. Why does that matter?”
“I was just curious, that’s all.”
“You’ll probably get to meet her yourself pretty soon. It’s only a matter of time before she comes here to check you out.”
“So let me get this straight. You want me to pretend to be your fiancée to discourage Heidi from chasing you? For how long?”
“A few weeks. Until she loses interest.”
“What if she doesn’t?”
“She will.”
“I don’t know…. She sounds the determined type.”
“Okay, then a few months. In return I’ll cut your rent in half for the next year.”
“Say that again?”
“You heard me.”
“I’d need that to be in writing.”
“I figured you would. So I had my attorney draw up a contract.” He pulled it out of his back pocket.
The folded paper was still warm from his body heat. She tried to ignore that fact and focused on the legal terminology. While the length of the mock engagement had been left vague, the drop in her rent was right there in black and white, along with the reminder that she was aware this was not a real engagement and did not constitute a promise of marriage.
Clearly he’d thought ahead somewhat, despite the fact that buying the building in the first place was a radical idea. Not to mention faking an engagement.
Had anyone said to her this morning that she’d even remotely be considering going along with Rad’s plan, she would have said they’d lost touch with reality. Rad was everything she wanted to avoid in life. He was big and bossy and arrogant and powerful.
Sure, he had that Adrian Paul thing going for him, with his dark hair and brooding eyes, and that slash of a smile that changed his entire face. But she’d never been a sucker for the dark, brooding type before. She preferred intellectual, sensitive types who shared her love of books.
But in the end, the offer was too good for Serena to pass up. She’d been struggling to make ends meet since she’d opened her bookstore a year ago. She was no longer a child unable to defend herself from a commanding personality. She could handle Rad.
“So what do you say?” he prompted her.
“Okay.” Her voice was deliberately brisk.
“You’ll do it?”
“Yes. But I have to warn you that things may get more complicated than you anticipate.”
“Why? Is there some guy in your life who will be upset that you’re engaged?”
Serena shook her head. She hadn’t had the time or energy to date much since opening the store. The few men she had gone out with hadn’t impressed her enough to see them for more than a few dates.
“Lies have a way of coming back to haunt you,” Serena told him. She should know. There were things in her past that she
feared would one day catch up with her.
Watching the way she nervously nibbled on her bottom lip made Rad wonder two things. First, what personal knowledge did she have about lies in her past? Second, how would her lips feel beneath his? Okay, so maybe he thought about that first, but he did take a moment to think about what she’d said before getting caught up in a fantasy about her mouth.
He’d noticed her lush lips the moment he’d first met her. And her legs. He couldn’t see much of them today, as she was wearing a dress that swirled around her ankles. The thin material did have a nice way of clinging to her curves, however.
As for lying, well…Rad looked on this operation as more of a dark ops mission. Subterfuge and deception were requirements for a successful outcome, which in this case meant getting Heidi off his back.
Rad was confident that he could handle things. His sexual attraction to Serena was an added bonus. Not that he was looking to settle down and get married at this point in his life. That might be fine for his two older brothers but not for him. He valued his freedom.
But there was something to be said for hanging out with a gorgeous blond bookseller. Not that she was the kind of female who flaunted her good looks. No, she seemed to take care to keep them under wraps, like that ankle-length dress of hers. Which just made him want to unwrap her all the more.
She intrigued him. Made him want to learn more about her. Because there was a lot going on beneath her cool surface. When he’d touched her, the heat had been immediate. He’d always been good at intel and recon work. He looked forward to doing a little of both on her.
That wasn’t all he wanted to do with her. He wanted to know if her lips tasted as lush as they looked. He wanted to feel her long legs wrapped around his bare hips….
Chill out, he ordered his throbbing body. She’s just a female. Enjoy the moment, but don’t go looking for complications here.
He got out his PDA and got to work. “There are a few details we should get straight. Like how we met, how long we’ve known each other, that sort of thing. Then there’s the ring. What’s your ring size?”
“Seven. You’re not going to buy a ring, are you?”
“You have something else in mind?”
