The dazzling man blinked in charming confusion. “I’m not—”
She sighed as she closed the door. “I appreciate that you got all dressed up, so I’ll make it easy for you. I’ll tell Autumn you were perfect, a fabulous date. And I’ll even give you a tip. She won’t want you until you don’t want her. Then her legs will part like the Red Sea. The night’s young, and if you hurry, you can still make it to a premiere or whatever beautiful people normally do on a Friday night.”
“Hey, lady, I’m just here to see if you want a copy of the Watchtower.”
Gwen laughed out loud, amazed that someone Autumn knew actually had a sense of humor. “Very good. It’s Sam, isn’t it?”
“No, actually it’s Paul. Paul Bennet. I’m Sam’s pinch hitter. He had to leave town. His mother broke her hip.”
“Ah, well, then this really is your lucky night. Seriously, you don’t need to stay.”
“I didn’t need to come. But I’d still like to take you to the party.”
“Trust me. You don’t.”
Paul leaned back slightly and cocked his right brow, which made him even better looking. “Okay, so you really are Autumn’s sister.”
“What do you mean?”
“Stubborn.” He took a step toward her. “I haven’t got a single thing to do tonight. I’m dressed for the part. And I wouldn’t mind checking out the rest of the family.”
Wouldn’t her whole clan just die when she walked in with Paul Bennet on her arm? It wouldn’t last—a heartbeat after the shock wore off they’d all figure out that he was a mercy date. Still, it would be fun to see Faith with her perfect little mouth agape. “I’ve given you the secret to getting Autumn into bed. Don’t you believe me?”
“I prefer to reach my own conclusions. What do you say then?”
“I say you’re nuts.”
“That’s probably true. On the other hand, I was promised an open bar and a great buffet.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. Honestly, there’s not enough booze in the world to make this a delightful evening.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
She looked at him, taken aback once more at how damn gorgeous he was. It was ridiculous, really. No one person should be allowed all that beauty. But then, beauty wasn’t fair at all, was it? There was no doubt in her mind that she should put a stop to this madness right now. The whole situation was ludicrous. Could she actually be considering going to the party with this Adonis?
“Good, it’s settled. Get your bag, Gwen. Let’s go have some fun.”
Even as she shook her head, she walked over to the dining-room table to pick up her purse. And when he held out his arm for her, she took it. It didn’t surprise her that he had a shiny black Mercedes. But it did surprise her that she felt a little shiver in her tummy as he helped her inside.
PAUL SETTLED THE CAR onto the freeway and stole a glance at his companion. Autumn had exaggerated her sister’s unattractiveness. She wasn’t in Autumn’s league, no, but she wasn’t hideous, not by a long shot. Gwen was what he would consider plain. Nondescript eyes, a nose that could benefit from a good cosmetic surgeon, a too-broad jaw. Her body was nice, although bigger than most of his women friends. She carried herself confidently and put herself together well. But frankly, if he’d seen her at a party he’d have walked by without a second glance. It wasn’t noble. Then again, he’d never claimed to be a paragon of virtue. He liked beautiful things. Cars, clothes, women. It wasn’t a crime.
“So how do you know her?” Gwen asked.
“I met Autumn at a party for one of my author clients.”
“Autumn knows an author? Autumn knows how to read?”
“I don’t believe she knew him,” he said, choosing to ignore the dig. “She was there as someone’s guest.”
“You can understand my confusion. She’s not exactly a charter member of the book of the month club.”
He smiled, thinking Gwen was right. “She has other charms.”
“Yes, I suppose she does.”
“You two aren’t close?”
“No. Her circles and mine seldom intersect.”
“So tell me about your circles.”
She turned a bit to look at him and he felt as if he should have brought his college diploma to show her. “I’m a headhunter for Rockland-Stewart. Mostly scientific positions.”
“Really? I’ve used a headhunter once or twice.”
“For…?”
“Public relations. Primarily in the entertainment field.”
She nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Why?”
She went back to staring at the road. “You seem the entertainment industry type.”
“Do I hear a note of disdain?”
“No, I’m sure it’s fascinating work.”
“Actually, it is.”
“Why PR?”
“Why not? I’m good at it.”
“That, I’m sure of. You were quite smooth stepping into this awkward position.”
“So you would have preferred the original arrangement? Sam is a pretty interesting guy.”
Gwen sighed. “I’m being horrible, I’m sorry. My sister believes she’s doing me a favor, setting me up like this. I’ve told her at least a dozen times, if I wanted a date, I’d bring a date.”
“You like going stag? Even to something like this?” Paul got over to the right lane, ready for the interchange. The party was at the Marriott in Burbank. It wasn’t a long trip from her place in Pasadena, not by L. A. standards.
“It depends.”
“On?”
She gave him a look that he couldn’t make out as most of her face was in shadow. “My sister and most of my family don’t have a clue about my life. Just as I don’t have much of a clue about theirs. It’s just easier to go to family gatherings alone.”
“I see.”
“There’s a chance you’ll enjoy yourself, though,” she said. “It’ll be packed. Aside from all my parents’ friends, there’s my incredibly gigantic family. You know there are eight of us kids. Five of them are married and Faith is engaged. That’s not counting their children.”
“Whoa. I had no idea.”
“All of them are more like Autumn than me. It was a joke my whole life that my mother had an affair with the postman.”
“Unique is good.”
“And there’s the PR maven at work.”
Despite the fact that Gwen was right, he wasn’t liking this. Not even a little. Come on, he was doing a favor here. A rather large one. She could at least be gracious about it.
“I’m sorry. There I go again. It’s nothing personal, I assure you,” Gwen said.
“No problem.”
“It is. You’re doing a nice thing, even if your motivation is less than pure.”
“Okay, I’m not a saint, but I still think we could make the best of it. If it will make you more comfortable, I can drop you off and arrange for a car