Her heart fell. He was attracted to her friends. Maybe it was Daisy who drew him. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about finding a man for her. Or maybe it was Phoebe, with her starlet looks. James was probably used to starlets.
“Elise?”
“Oh, oh, yes, of course. That would be delightful.”
And she fell into the chair he held out for her.
JAMES THOUGHT ELISE had seemed very tense, until she smiled at her friends. So he’d decided Elise might be more forthcoming if she was relaxed.
Now he knew he’d miscalculated. She was more tense than ever. What had gone wrong?
He sat down next to her, trying to figure out how to get out of his decision.
George rushed up. “The usual, darlin’s?”
Elise frowned. “James hasn’t been here before. I don’t know—”
“What’s the usual?” he asked, not much caring what he ate. He was more interested in Elise.
“A chicken Caesar salad,” Phoebe explained. “But their burgers are really good.”
“I’ll have a burger,” he said at once.
George nodded in his direction. Then, after the three women said they’d have the usual, he moved on.
“So, you three must eat here a lot,” he commented, hoping to see Elise relax.
“Several times a week,” Daisy said. “After working all day, it doesn’t seem worth the effort to cook for one when we can come here and have a healthy salad.”
“I know what you mean. If I didn’t have—” He broke off, reminding himself a struggling teaching assistant didn’t have a housekeeper. “Uh, if I didn’t have my mom nearby, I’d exist on hamburgers.”
Phoebe chuckled. “I don’t think a man ever outgrows his need to go home to be fed.”
“Which one of you has the art gallery?” he asked.
Daisy looked at Elise, then back at James. “That’s me.”
“I’ve been to it. I was impressed with your inventory.”
“Oh, thank you. You’re interested in art?”
“Depends—but I liked what you had,” he said.
The other two grinned in response to his flattery, but Elise did not.
It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know just how much Elise had told her friends. Did she want them to think he was a serious suitor? “Uh, Elise and I just met. I thought if we joined you two, you could tell me secrets about her.” He nudged Elise with his elbow, hoping to draw some response.
“They know,” she said, not looking at him.
James cocked an eyebrow at the other two women. “You do?”
They nodded. Daisy added, “Elise told us because we’re searching for a man for me, and she used the book to find you.”
James sat back in his chair and stared at the three women. What was wrong with the men these three knew? They were all beautiful. Why did they have to search for men?
“Maybe you know more than I do. What book? And why are you searching for a man?” he finished, looking at Daisy.
Phoebe fielded the first question. “2001 WAYS TO WED.”
When he stared at her blankly, she added, “That’s the book.”
James turned to Elise, whose cheeks were rosy red. “You found me in a book?”
“No, not exactly,” Elise said. “It said to look at your neighbors. I told you there weren’t any neighbors who would do, but when I thought about work, I remembered the Drama Department. It sounded like the perfect place to find someone who could—pretend.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed. Then he turned to Daisy. “I know it’s none of my business, but why are you looking for a man? I mean, why do you have to look? I would think any of you could have your choice of men.”
“That’s sweet of you,” Phoebe said with a smile, “but Daisy is the only one looking.”
“And it’s because my biological clock is ticking,” Daisy hurriedly added. “I’m ready to have a child.”
James’s eyes widened. “I think I’m glad I’m helping out Elise and not you.”
“I’m not looking for anything temporary,” Daisy said, squaring her jaw. “I was raised without a father. I won’t do that to my child.”
“Good for you,” he agreed. Then he reached over and picked up Elise’s hand. “How’s your biological clock, sweetheart?”
Elise snatched her hand away. “Just fine, thank you. Remember all those sisters? Who do you think took care of them?”
“Your brother?” he teased, knowing the answer.
“Not hardly.”
“I can’t wait to meet this brother, raised with seven sisters. He’s either overwhelmingly masculine, in self-defense, or he learned to play with dolls.”
“Definitely the first,” Elise said without hesitation.
James looked at the other two.
“We couldn’t tell you,” Phoebe said. “We’ve never met him. He doesn’t come around often.”
“He’s an attorney and has long hours,” Elise said. “I talk to him on the phone, but he doesn’t have a lot of spare time.”
“I guess his job is the reason you said he wouldn’t be marching down the aisle anytime soon.”
Elise nodded.
James knew most people would classify him in the same group. And they’d be right. Which explained why he’d questioned Elise’s motives early on. But somehow he just didn’t see deceit being her strong point.
“So, do you think Elise and I will be able to pull this thing off?”
He read the doubt on her friends’ faces.
“Well, you have three weeks,” Phoebe said. “And you’re an actor. But I don’t know about Elise.”
“Hey! I can pretend,” Elise protested.
Daisy chuckled. “You can’t even pay an insincere compliment, Elise. She blushes a bright red when she tries,” she added to James. “If we really want to know if we’ve bought something we shouldn’t have, we ask Elise.”
Elise scowled at Daisy, but James saw the concern in her gaze. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll teach you method acting. You’ll do fine.” He knew that much from Bobby.
Phoebe chuckled. “Is that your style of acting?”
James knew she understood what he meant, but Elise still didn’t have a clue. “It works best, especially for beginners.”
Their dinners arrived at that moment. The food was good, the conversation even better.
James decided he’d learned more about Elise than he would have on their own. In particular, he noted her friends’ remarks about her honesty.
Sylvia had been an expert liar.
Several hours later, the two friends excused themselves, both claiming chores that had to be done that evening before bedtime.
“I enjoyed meeting your friends, but they don’t seem practical types—especially Phoebe,” James said after they’d left.
“She’s