She nodded. The hurt in Eric’s voice still haunted her. “I told him that my husband had been about to leave on a particularly dangerous assignment, and we wanted to marry before he went. I can’t tell you how much I regretted the lie—still regret it. But in the end it served two important purposes. It got my brothers off my back about getting married, which I will do in my own way and time, and it opened the door for them to stop worrying about me and move on with their own lives.”
“I still find it hard to believe they haven’t married because you haven’t.”
“I know it seems like I’m reaching, but you don’t understand what happens when you lose both your parents at the same time, especially at such young ages. It created an unusual bond between us as siblings.”
“And yet you don’t feel you can be honest with them.”
“I get that you probably think I’m crazy—or worse. Certainly I could’ve set things right since I made up the marriage. I could even pretend to get a quick annulment, but that would give my brothers free rein to start in again, and wouldn’t accomplish what I want most of all—for them to put themselves first for once, especially Eric.”
Gavin picked up her iced-tea glass and headed into the kitchen. What was he thinking? Had she been too honest? Did she seem pathetic?
He returned in a minute with a fresh glass, ice cubes clinking, and handed it to her. He must have needed a moment to take it all in.
This made her hopeful. Except he didn’t sit down again.
“I admit I don’t understand your connection with your brothers,” he said. “My family life didn’t and doesn’t resemble yours in the least. I don’t identify with your bond, not to the point of creating such a lie. And even though it sounds somewhat intriguing, you need to find someone else. I’m sorry. Good luck, Becca. Goodbye.”
He walked out, pulling the door shut quietly behind him. The moment it closed she felt as if she were drowning in a silent pool of disappointment and, well, shame. His saying it all out loud did make her seem pathetic. Maybe no one else could ever understand the obligation she felt to her brothers, especially Eric.
Becca let out the breath she’d been holding. She picked at the food but had lost her appetite, so she cleaned up the dishes then carried her suitcase into her bedroom to unpack. Her eyes stung. She sat on the bed and tried not to cry.
What a mess she’d created for herself.
Gavin took the elevator to the basement-level parking and headed for the visitor parking. He couldn’t believe he’d even entertained the idea of taking the job—even for Shana. What had he been thinking?
And yet … he was intrigued. Maybe because he’d watched her sleep, as vulnerable as a child. She’d lost the mother in the photo with the matching dress. She’d been left with domineering brothers who obviously adored her, even if they didn’t acknowledge her as an independent adult.
But was that any reason to lie? Couldn’t she just stand up for herself?
He reached his car but didn’t unlock it. She’d also wanted a doctor. He laughed a little, the sound echoing in the concrete structure. He hadn’t bothered to tell her he was a doctor—one on a break for who knew how long. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to continue in medicine, not after what he’d been through.
If he did the job for her he would have to take down his Facebook page….
Dammit. Why couldn’t he just let it go?
He knew the answer. Because spending time with a scattered woman could be a good distraction right now while he made some life decisions.
Or, more likely, drive him crazy.
He climbed into his car, slid the key in the ignition. Really, why should he do it?
First, he recognized a workaholic when he saw one. He’d driven himself too hard, too, for reasons he’d never stopped to analyze beyond the usual escape-from-a-small-claustrophobic-town need that many young people feel after high school when the future is a blank canvas.
He certainly hadn’t experienced the deep family ties she had, but he understood how important they were to her.
Second, he liked her. More than that—he was attracted to her, which could be problematic in the long run.
Third, as Shana had reminded him, he had no life at the moment.
Fourth, and maybe most important, he needed to feel needed.
After a minute, he started the engine, his mind made up. All the reasons he’d listed were self-serving. They were about him, not her.
And it really should be about her.
Just as abruptly, he turned off the ignition. He’d left with barely a goodbye, bordering on rudeness, which wasn’t like him. For her sake he would go back and talk to her, explain why he was the wrong person, tell her the kind of person she should be looking for instead. One who wouldn’t be in it for his own selfish purposes.
He owed her that much, and Shana and Julia, too. He didn’t want to give the agency a bad rap.
Right. That was why he was going back upstairs to see Becca Sheridan.
Becca was back at square one, and she really didn’t want to go through the process of explaining herself again, especially since telling him the story had let her see how truly pitiable it was.
Aside from that, Gavin had intrigued her, especially his integrity. She was offering a lot of money for a day and a half’s work, and he hadn’t jumped at it, which said something. He wouldn’t take the job just for the money.
She had to take his lead and tell the truth. It was too late to call Eric tonight, but first thing in the morning—
Her doorbell rang.
Suki. She’d forgotten to call her. And now she’d find Becca looking red and puffy after a good, long crying jag. Becca didn’t want to talk, not even to her best friend in the world, but she figured Suki might call the police if she didn’t get an answer, worried that the “candidate” had harmed her in some way.
She opened the door.
It wasn’t Suki, but Gavin, looking determined. Then his eyes narrowed.
“Have you been crying?”
Hope got mixed up with embarrassment once again. Why did he keep catching her when she looked her worst? “Do I really need to answer that?”
After several seconds of just staring at her, his expression changed. He looked … resigned.
“Tell me if I’ve summed this up correctly,” he said. “You lied about having a boyfriend for your sake—to get them off your backs about it. But you lied about having a husband for their sakes—to let them to move on with their lives and futures.”
He put her reasoning into words much better than she had. “Yes, exactly.”
“Then, okay, I’ll do it. I understand wanting your siblings, especially Eric, to be happy. I get that they’ve given up a lot for you,” he said. “But I’ve got a few requirements of my own.”
Relief and joy battled inside her. “Come in.”
He did, but he didn’t sit. “Obviously I can’t just show up here next Saturday and pretend to be your husband and expect your brothers to buy it. That means we have nine days to become believable. And nine days to get all this—” he gestured around her messy space “—in order. I’m volunteering to do that for you. If you want your brothers to think your life is in good hands, this place needs to reflect that—because it also reflects on me.”
She didn’t know how she felt about his take-charge attitude, but she knew he was right. “I guess I do need a keeper.”
“And I’ve never been