Cinderella Story. Elizabeth August

Both were watching him suspiciously. Tommy was studying him, as well, the worried expression on his face causing the circles under his eyes to seem even deeper. Alex gave them an encouraging smile, but the three pairs of eyes continued to cause a prickling sensation on the back of his neck as he entered the kitchen.

      Inside the small room, Nina wished she’d had an alternative. It was barely large enough for two people to move around in, and Alex Bennett seemed to dominate what space there was. “Now, what is this favor you want to hire me for?”

      “I need a fiancée for a short while.”

      Nina stared in disbelief. “A fiancée? Me?” Anger replaced her disbelief. “Look, Mr. Bennett, I’m having a rough time right now. I’m not interested in playing any game or being the brunt of some joke one of your high-society friends has cooked up. What is it? Some kind of scavenger hunt…find the most unsuitable match?”

      The woman has fire. Alex blocked her attempt to exit. “This is not a scavenger hunt. I told you, it involves my grandfather. He’s dying. I want him to leave this world in peace, and he says the only way he can do that is to know I’ve found a wife.”

      Nina continued to regard him skeptically. “Why me?” she asked again. “I’m sure you have plenty of sophisticated women friends who would gladly pose as your fiancée.”

      “You come fairly close to matching the description I gave him.” Alex refused to admit he’d described her. That could give her ideas, and he wasn’t seeking to get involved with her. Admittedly, if she’d been the type to have an affair he might have considered pursuing a short liaison—he still didn’t think he’d ever seen a more kissable pair of lips. But she didn’t strike him as a woman who would be interested in casual sex. If she was, she wouldn’t have fled the night of the storm. No, Mrs. Lindstrom was more the “wedding ring first” type. “And I figured we’d both be doing each other a favor. You pretend to be my fiancée and I’ll pay for your son to have the very best medical care money can buy, plus living expenses until you find a permanent job.”

      “You want me to help you fool a dying man?”

      Alex scowled at the disapproval in her voice. “Better I find a fake fiancée than marry on his whim and end up with an expensive divorce and a lot of bitter feelings.”

      “You have a point,” she conceded.

      “I spoke to Dr. Genkins after you left. He wouldn’t discuss Tommy’s case specifically, but we talked theoretically. There’s a gifted neurosurgeon in Denver. He’s one of the best in the world.”

      “Denver?” Nina paled. “I thought someone here…”

      Time for the hard sell, Alex decided. “There is a surgeon here who can perform the operation, and if you don’t accept my offer, you can stay here and he’ll probably do an adequate job. But I’m sure you want the best for your son. You want him to have every chance of a full recovery. I’m offering you that opportunity.” Alex knew, even as he attempted using her son to blackmail her into agreeing to his scheme, that no matter what she said, he would pay for the boy to go to Denver. But life would be a lot easier if she would play along. Otherwise, he’d have to find someone else who matched her description.

      In her mind’s eye, Nina saw her son lying on the couch. Everything had happened so fast that she hadn’t even considered how she was going to pay for his surgery. He trusted her to take care of him. Besides, what harm could playing along with Alex Bennett’s scheme cause? “All right. You’ve got yourself a fiancée.”

      Triumph flowed through Alex. “Shake on it?”

      As his hand closed around hers, heat traveled up Nina’s arm. It had a curiously sensual feel to it and wove through her until it reached her toes. Inside her shoes, they curled with pleasure. Immediately, Tom’s image popped into her mind and she experienced a rush of guilt.

      Tom’s gone, a little voice reminded her. She recalled her ringless finger. A year ago she’d removed her wedding band because she’d decided it was time she started getting on with her life. Still, her body tensed. She wasn’t entirely ready to tie Tom’s memory up with pink ribbons and store it away. Besides, even if she was, Alex Bennett wasn’t an option. He would never consider her a real possibility for a wife, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

      Alex was a little surprised by the strength of her hand. He was used to women whose grasp was delicate, as if they were too fragile to participate in a real handshake. In the past, he’d considered that light touch seductive. Now it seemed insipid. The firm contact spread through him, reminding him of how good she’d felt in his arms. He had to fight the urge to pull her to him. Reminding himself that he’d already determined that she was the marrying kind, he released her. “I’ll go with you to see Dr. Genkins tomorrow, and we can begin making the arrangements to take Tommy to Denver.”

      Nina nodded.

      “We’ll need to make arrangements for your other children as well.”

      “They can stay here with their grandparents.”

      Alex breathed an inner sigh of relief that the problem was solved so easily. “That’s probably for the best. Three instant great-grandchildren might be a little too much for my grandfather to take at one time. In fact, it might be best if he was led to believe you only have the one child.”

      Nina scowled at him. “I will not deny my children.”

      “I’m not asking you to deny having them. I’m merely saying that if the subject doesn’t come up, we don’t have to bring it up.”

      They were playing this charade to ease his grandfather’s mind, she reminded herself. “You have a point,” she agreed stiffly. “He could think you were taking on too much paternal responsibility.”

      Alex caught the cynical edge in her voice, suggesting he wasn’t capable of carrying so great a load. He chose to ignore it. “And what will you tell your parents about us?”

      “My parents are dead. It’s Tom’s parents, and I’ll tell them the truth. I don’t like the idea of lying to them. They’re good people and I trust them.”

      Alex wasn’t happy about too many people knowing of his ploy, but he could tell she had her mind set on this. “What about your children? What will you tell them?”

      “I’ll tell them that you’re a friend who’s going to help me see that Tommy gets well.”

      “Since they’ll have no contact with my grandfather, that should work just fine. What time is our appointment with the doctor tomorrow?”

      “One o’clock,” Nina replied, already feeling uneasy about the bargain she’d made.

      Alex read her nervousness. “We’re both doing the right thing.”

      Again she thought of Tommy. “I suppose.”

      Exiting the kitchen, Alex intended to leave, call one of the available women he knew, then have a quiet dinner and an intimate evening. But as he entered the living room to find himself the focus of three worried gazes, he heard himself saying, “How about if I treat you to some pizzas and soda for dinner?”

      “That really isn’t necessary,” Nina said quickly, wanting some time on her own to get used to the idea of the arrangement she’d agreed to.

      Alex had noticed a gleam of excitement in the children’s eyes at the mention of pizza. Now he saw them look to their mother with a plea on their faces.

      Her uneasiness about the arrangement was replaced by embarrassment. Takeout pizza and soda was a treat she couldn’t afford very often. And from her children’s reaction, she knew Alex Bennett had guessed that. Her shoulders straightened with pride.

      Watching her, Alex realized that Nina Lindstrom didn’t like accepting anything she considered charity. “All of us should spend some time together,” he said before she could refuse his offer. “My grandfather will expect me to know some details about you and