She made a frustrated sound at the back of her throat. “I’m going to have to pretend one hell of a lot. Give me terms. Contract duration, remuneration, confidentiality clauses, adherence to all known employment laws. Etcetera. I want them.”
He rolled his shoulders lazily. “I want lots of things, but it doesn’t mean I always get them.”
“Really?” she snapped. “I’d love to see the list of things Matt DeLeo wants, but can’t have. Santa let you down last year?”
A bitter thrill shot up his spine and he resumed eye contact. “The contract will run for four weeks starting today. I’ll pay you three times what you’re on now plus overtime at time and a half. I’ll cover all your expenses, because I need you looking super hot.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I’m not hearing this.”
“Clothes, hair, pedi, mani, fake tan, reiki, whatever you need.” He cocked his head to get her attention back on his face. “You see? I understand the needs of high-maintenance women. And as for confidentiality, I won’t tell anyone your darkest secrets if you don’t tell anyone you’re a girlfriend of convenience as well as my reluctant beer pin-up girl.”
“You said companion, not girlfriend. And my secrets aren’t that dark.”
“Not on a world scale maybe, but bad enough to keep Passion Creek gossiping for a few years.” He blew air through his teeth. “Heck, I’m still blushing when I think back to the things you told me in the Parrot Bar. And then later, back at the condo—”
“I don’t think we need to go into all that,” she said, her voice catching.
She was bluffing just like he was, but this cat-and-mouse game was fun. He wondered again what she thought she’d told him after drinking her way through the cocktail menu. It was tantalizing. “Then that’s okay. I’ll keep it all to myself if you go along with what I’m suggesting. And if you want to use my body again–”
“I don’t.”
If Piper made the first move, he’d have nothing to feel bad about, would he? She was a contractor for a set period of time and if she chose to seduce him…he was only flesh and blood, after all. It might not happen as quickly as he’d like it to, but it would. It was arrogant of him to have that sense of certainty, but the sexual tension between them crackled in the air already. He would play it cool and she would come back to him in the end.
He smiled contentedly. “A few weeks, all expenses paid, lots of parties, a good wage, and a priceless opportunity to push Silver Bells and Cockle Shells.”
She looked surprised. “I can do that? Promote my business?”
“Why not? It’s not as if we’re in direct competition or anything. I can get the media team to run off some extra photo shoots for your own use. Maybe in time we can talk about your products and how they could be useful to the brewery, our bars, retail outlets. The possibilities are endless.”
There was a hint of a dreamy smile forming. He was doing something right at last. Her voice lost its sharp edge. “Cool.”
“So?”
“So…I have no real choice.”
“But it’s not so bad after all?” He saw her slender throat move as she swallowed before she spoke again.
“Will all this be happening in Passion Creek?”
“Mainly, but we might need to go out of town now and then. Problem?”
“Maybe.” She frowned. “I have a pregnant cat in the house.”
“Okay, we can probably sort something out about that.”
“And a sister. Also pregnant.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Maybe she thought he was a little dumb, but he could tell when he was being conned. “And the due dates are?”
“Both pretty much imminent.” She must have seen the incredulity he was feeling displayed all over his face. “I’m not lying.”
Of course she wasn’t. Much. “So the daddy, he can take care of your sister, right?”
“The daddy is out of the picture. It’s just us.”
“Holy…”
“Yeah, it’s not ideal, but family is family. You understand?”
He didn’t. “Yes. I’ll make sure we don’t go out of Passion Creek together unless it’s by helicopter. Thirty-minute return time. That okay?”
“Thirty minutes to where?”
She should have taken up law or insurance claims. Talk about a need for detail. “Back to a helipad I have access to twenty-four-seven within a few blocks of your place.”
She looked shocked. “You know where I live?”
“It’s on the resume the agency emailed me. Don’t worry. I haven’t been trawling your name on the internet. Believe me, I have personal experience of that happening, and it’s not funny.”
Her eyes widened. “Like what happened?”
“Bad stuff. Seriously, I have stalkers even now. Legal restraint doesn’t seem to make any difference to some of these nutcases.”
“Stalkers. How scary is that?”
“All it took was one article in Vanity Fair. I was naive. I’m not anymore.”
“What do they want? Why do they do it?”
He laughed. “Being on Forbes’ most eligible and stinking-rich bachelor list might have something to do with it.”
“Jeez, you must have come up front and personal with a lot of silicone.”
“And Botox, but I prefer people to be real.” He looked out the window toward the backyard where a beer truck loaded with barrels was reversing, and then turned his attention back to her. “So how about a cocktail with me since I haven’t converted you to beer yet? Maybe a few, then dinner. Around seven o’clock?”
The color rose in her face. “I can’t tonight, it’s too short notice.”
“Of course, no problem. Do you have a current boyfriend in town? I never asked, but assumed since what happened in Florida…”
“No, no current boyfriend. Not since Christmas Eve.”
Not since Christmas Eve? Nasty of whichever one of them did the dumping, but none of his business. “So if tonight’s out, we’ll do lunch instead. Now. During the time you’d been planning on working on a pile of really boring spreadsheets with a sweaty peanut butter sandwich at your desk.”
“Are you really suggesting cocktails halfway through the work day?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t too worried about daytime drinking in Sanibel. There’s no need for either of us to come back to the office today. Are you driving?”