Hired Husband. Rebecca Brandewyne

so objectionable, then, that you can’t bring yourself to tell me, for fear of offending me?”

      He cleared his throat, took another long drag from his cigarette. “No, it’s…ah…not that at all, Kate. Among other things, Caroline is quite lovely, creative and intelligent—and most men would consider themselves lucky to have her. But…well, her past relationship with Paul Andersen is pretty common knowledge at Fortune Cosmetics, as is the fact that ever since then, she’s held men at arm’s length. So I just simply can’t imagine that she would agree to this wild scheme of yours.”

      “Well, we won’t know until we ask her. What’s important at the moment is whether you’re willing to consider it, Nick. To paraphrase your own words about Caroline, you’re a handsome, creative, intelligent man—and most women would consider themselves lucky to have you. But from what I hear, you pretty much play the field. And of course, that will no longer be an option for you if you marry my granddaughter.” Kate’s pleasant but firm tone made it plain that she would expect Nick to treat Caroline with every respect and consideration due her as his wife, even though theirs would be a marriage of convenience rather than one born of love.

      “Of course, if I agreed to marry Caroline, I would do so with every intention of settling down and doing all that’s right and expected, Kate.” Nick was indignant that his employer might have thought otherwise. “I just don’t know if this is such a good idea, that’s all. Caroline and I hardly even know each other, for pity’s sake.”

      “Well, why don’t you give it some thought, Nick. Sleep on it, and let me know your decision tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I’ll have Sterling start checking into the various legalities of the matter. After all, there’s no point in even considering the idea if the INS is going to be able to declare the marriage a sham and deport you, anyway. I’ll also speak to Jake, let him know what’s happening. The first thing I want you to do when you get into the office tomorrow morning, Nick, is to clear your calendar, so you can meet with Sterling and me, and possibly Jake and Caroline, as well.”

      “Fine. That sounds good. I’ll plan on that, then,” Nick replied—although, inwardly, he groaned, thinking that this whole thing had “harebrained scheme” stamped all over it. How could he possibly ask Caroline Fortune to marry him, just to save his life here in the United States? He remembered how frostily she had stared at him this morning, how coolly she had attempted to put him in his place. She would never say yes.

      Not in a million years.

      Three

       C aroline simply couldn’t believe the conversation taking place in her grandmother’s luxurious penthouse office at Fortune Cosmetics. She thought she must be imagining the fact that she was sitting here listening to Kate calmly explaining Nick Valkov’s troubles with the INS, as well as what seemed to all to be the only practical solution—all, that was, except for Caroline.

      She thought with dismay that her grandmother must finally have slipped into senility, must surely have taken leave of her senses. The idea that she, Caroline Fortune, should marry Nick Valkov was absolutely ludicrous. She was astonished and mortified that her grandmother had even suggested it. That Kate’s expression and tone clearly indicated that she expected her to comply with the proposed plan filled her with panic.

      From beneath her long, thick black lashes, Caroline stole a surreptitious glance at Nick. Much to her surprise and relief, she saw that at least he wasn’t sitting there grinning mockingly at her, as he had yesterday morning. Today, in fact, he actually looked as uncomfortable as she herself felt at this moment.

      Caroline didn’t know whether to empathize with him or to be indignant at the realization that he obviously wasn’t too enthused at the prospect of becoming her husband. Despite the fact that she certainly did not want to become his wife, she was piqued by the realization that he didn’t want to marry her—although, as an incentive to agree to the scheme, her father had offered to up Nick’s salary handsomely, as well as to pay him a six-figure bonus on the wedding day.

      The wedding day, Caroline thought a trifle bitterly. The wedding deal was more like it. Because that’s exactly what this arrangement was: a business deal, pure and simple. Her grandmother and father were paying Nick Valkov to marry her, so he wouldn’t get involved in a protracted legal battle with the INS and wind up being deported, unable to complete the secret youth formula of such vital importance to Fortune Cosmetics.

      Why, it was worse, somehow, than if she had married Paul Andersen! Caroline told herself hotly. At least Paul had had some feelings for her, had cared about her as much as he was capable, even if it had been her money he had loved more than her.

      “Caroline…you’ve barely said anything at all,” Kate observed, not without a note of caring and compassion.

      She knew it must be hard for her granddaughter to be placed in such a difficult, seemingly unpalatable position. Nevertheless, Kate intended to continue to apply pressure upon her to accept the proposed marriage. It had not escaped the older woman’s keen notice how her granddaughter had withdrawn socially after her broken engagement with Paul Andersen, how she had, with a fierce, determined vengeance, thrown herself into her work, cutting herself off from all men.

      Caroline was twenty-nine now—and not getting any younger, Kate thought wryly, both anxious and exasperated at the idea that her granddaughter was missing out on all life had to offer. It was not that the older woman wanted to meddle in the younger’s business, but she felt that Caroline could use a push in the right direction—as could Nick Valkov, for that matter. He was in his prime and ought to be thinking about a wife and children.

      Kate wanted everyone around her to be as happy as she was—and in her book, happiness included having a partner with whom to share all of life’s ups and downs. “Caroline?” she said again, expectantly.

      “Forgive me Grandmother.” Caroline started nervously from her reverie. She wished she could speak to her mother, but Erika Fortune was out of town for the rest of the week. “I guess I haven’t said very much because, quite frankly, I’m at a complete loss as to know what to say. I’m sorry for Nick’s difficulties with the INS, of course. But I just can’t believe there isn’t some other solution to his problem.”

      “The trouble is that there really isn’t, Caroline.” Her father, Jake, spoke soberly. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone along with this marriage notion of Mother’s and Sterling’s, because it’s as wild an idea as any I’ve ever heard. But surely you can see how Nick’s being deported would affect Fortune Cosmetics at this point in time, Caro. We’ve invested both years and millions of dollars in the research and development of the secret youth formula. To lose Nick now, when we’re so close to completion of the product, would be a devastating blow. And of course, we’re talking about a marriage in name only. Once enough time has passed and the INS has lost interest in Nick, you and he can quietly divorce, and that will be the end of it.”

      Not for the first time, as she felt the red creeping into her cheeks, Caroline silently cursed the fact that she blushed so easily. Her father’s words about her marriage to Nick being in name only had inadvertently conjured up images of the exact opposite in her mind. She had pictured her and Nick together, naked and making love. She hoped he couldn’t see into her brain. But from the sudden, speculative gleam in his eyes, she suspected that he knew what she had thought. Worse, she suspected that he had thought it, too.

      Because now, as though he had, indeed, read her mind, Nick asked, “Well, Ms. Fortune, what do you say? Are you going to be responsible for my being packed off to Russia or not? All I need is a simple answer. Will you marry me? Yes or no? And then we can all get back to work—which, since I may not have as much time remaining as I had thought to finish Fabulous Face, would seem expedient under the circumstances.”

      Caroline swallowed hard, her heart racing, her palms sweating. Plainly, everyone expected her to agree to wed Nick. “Sterling, isn’t there really any other way?” she inquired tentatively, unconsciously licking her dry lips to moisten them.

      “No, not that I can see,” the attorney replied, shaking his head sympathetically,