Sky Full of Promise. Teresa Southwick

mate for Dr. Perfect until Sky had put in her two cents and kiboshed his dream and carefully laid plans. What she wouldn’t give for a do-over where she kept her mouth firmly shut.

      “So what do you say?” he asked.

      “I say you’re crazy.”

      “This isn’t a psych evaluation.”

      Sky shook her head. “It will never work. There are a hundred things that could go wrong. Maybe more.” She rested a hand on her hip. “Aren’t there laws against this sort of thing? Fraud? Alienation of affections? It’s a really bad idea.”

      “I’m not asking for your opinion.”

      “Then what are you asking?”

      “Will you be the woman? My woman.” He looked heavenward for a moment, and let out a long breath. “What I mean is, will you be my fiancée?”

      Maybe she was crazy, too, but for a split second she wished he were asking for real. To marry him. How insane was that? “I won’t dignify that with a response.”

      “I’m not looking for dignity. A simple yes or yes will suffice.”

      “I can’t do this, Dom.”

      “Do I have to remind you it’s your meddling that cost me a fiancée? Think about my mother, a courageous woman who sacrificed everything for me. It’s my chance to do something nice for her. With your help. Before I have to lay the bad news on her that I’m not getting married, after all. You owe me, Sky.”

      “When you said you needed a woman, I thought you were talking about something else.”

      “Like what?” he asked, his mouth curving up to let her know he knew what she meant.

      “Sex. I thought you meant sex—as in ‘he needed a drink and he needed a woman.’ Not necessarily in that order.”

      “And you still invited me to dinner,” he reminded her, his deep voice brimming with laughter.

      She sighed. “Yeah. We should both have a psych evaluation. Maybe we can get a group rate.” Shaking her head, she met his gaze and sighed. “Sex would have been so much simpler.”

      Chapter Three

      “Yes, but sex won’t solve my problem,” he pointed out, blue eyes gleaming.

      “Then you’re certainly different from the average man.”

      “Thank you.”

      Sky couldn’t believe she’d brought up sex. Was she hoping to distract him from his crazy scheme? Or trying to veer his focus to something more personal? Not happening. Frankly, she would rather he keep trying to turn her into the great pretender. Since she already felt like the family black sheep who didn’t fit in, why not pretend to be someone else?

      Besides, the idea of getting naked with sexy Dr. Delicious was better than chocolate without the calories, not to mention the benefits of the cardiovascular exercise. Unfortunately, sex wasn’t heart smart in the long run. She had tried to fit in with Wes, but he’d wanted her to be something she wasn’t. Fortunately she’d found out just before marrying him. At least Dom was up front about what he wanted. That was refreshing.

      “Calling you different isn’t necessarily a compliment,” she said wryly.

      “You’re changing the subject. What about this—I’ll pay for the rings after all. Will you help me out then?”

      “It’s not about money. Dom, I feel obligated to point out again that this is wrong. Deceiving your mother. And your grandmother. It’s like tampering with the laws of nature. It’s like unleashing the powers of the universe. Maternal powers. Times two. Messing with the woman who gave you life and the woman who gave her life.” She shook her head. “That’s the double whammy. It’s a scary thing to do. I just don’t know—”

      “You’re stalling. And being overly dramatic.”

      “I bet you’re one of those doctors who doesn’t believe in alternative medicine, aren’t you?”

      “I’m a doctor whose objective is to help the patient feel better using whatever works. If that method is deception, then I guess it can be filed under ‘the wrong thing for the right reason.”’

      “The end justifies the means?”

      “Why not? I told you, I use my powers only for good.” He folded his arms over his chest. “What do you say? Mine is a just cause.”

      “But when they get back from the trip, you still have to tell them the wedding isn’t going to happen. It’s what they want most in the world.”

      “It’ll happen,” he said. “I just need to find another bride.”

      “Silly me. What was I thinking?” she said, smacking her forehead. “Of course brides just grow on trees.”

      “I didn’t mean it like that. All I need is time to look for someone.”

      “Like you’ve got tons of time.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “Your fiancée told me she didn’t have an engagement ring because you couldn’t find time to shop. And you couldn’t find a few hours to come with her to put in your two cents on wedding rings. What makes you think you’re going to have the spare time to find another woman to marry you?”

      “Can we focus on one problem at a time, please? Or would you like to continue to borrow trouble?”

      “If it will prevent you from putting me on the spot, I can keep it up indefinitely.”

      One dark eyebrow rose. “Are you going to help me or not? Yes or no.”

      “I can’t just give you an answer off the top of my head. It’s not that simple.” She sighed. “There’s a lot to think about. I just don’t know.”

      “I’m going back to Houston on Sunday. Is tomorrow enough time to make a decision?”

      “It will have to be.”

      Sky had no idea why she hadn’t simply told him no. Right then and there. No way, no how. Not in this lifetime. But it was too final. And somehow, the simple, two-letter, one-syllable word to end this crazy scheme once and for all would not come out of her mouth.

      Procrastination is a crime; it only leads to sorrow. Tomorrow she had to tell him she couldn’t impersonate his fiancée. Then tell him goodbye forever. She didn’t know when or how it happened, but she would certainly be sorry about that.

      The following afternoon Dom paused in the doorway of the Black Arrow Courthouse and surveyed the ravaged building. Black soot covered the interior walls. Evidence of water damage was testament to the efforts it had taken to put out the fire he’d been told had happened several months before.

      A little while ago he’d stopped by Sky’s shop to see her, but she hadn’t been there. The older woman behind the counter who introduced herself as Sky’s mother, Alice, had told him where her daughter could be found. She’d volunteered the information that Sky was taking the opportunity to say goodbye to her brother before he left for Washington.

      As he wandered through the courthouse, Dom noticed that the damage seemed to be confined to several rooms containing records. The caustic smell of smoke permeated the building and tickled his throat.

      Voices drifted to him. He followed the sound, which led him to a wing off the main building and a courtroom untouched by the fire. The bench, witness chair, defense and prosecution tables and spectator seating had suffered no ill-effects that he could see. As her mother had said, Sky was there with three men.

      He stopped in the doorway and watched from behind the spectator chairs. With their backs to him, the group continued their discussion, the sound of their conversation echoing loudly in the empty room. Two of the men were roughly his