Fantasy for Hire

The phone on the countertop rang, breaking into Austin’s thoughts. He glanced down the short hallway toward her bedroom, wondering if Teddy was available to pick up the line.

The phone pealed again, loud and insistent.

“Teddy?” he called, and got no response. Figuring she was in the bathroom, he decided to do her a favor and take the call, just in case it was important.

He lifted the cordless receiver to his ear on the third ring. “Hello?”

Silence greeted him.

He frowned. “Hello?” he said again, more assertive this time.

“Hi, uh, is Teddy there?” a female voice tentatively asked.

A girlfriend, Austin guessed, and could only image what the other woman was thinking. “Yes, she is, but she’s busy at the moment. Can I take a message?”

“Who is this?” the voice queried.

Austin hesitated. He had no idea how many people thought Teddy was seriously involved, especially considering she wore a ring all the time. So he decided to stick with the story he and Teddy had come up with.

“This is Austin McBride, her boyfriend.”

“Her boyfriend?” The woman sounded genuinely delighted. “I didn’t realize Teddy was seeing someone. Isn’t it just like her to keep something like this a secret from the family?”

Her family? Shit. Austin cringed. “Could I ask who is calling?”

“This is Teddy’s sister-in-law, Susan,” the woman said, introducing herself in a bubbly tone. “Have you and Teddy been seeing each other for long?”

Austin glanced down the hallway, hoping to see Teddy coming to his rescue. No such luck. “We’ve been friends for a while,” he hedged. Three days, at least, he mentally justified. “And just recently started dating.” How recent, he wasn’t going to elaborate on.

“Wow!” Susan released a gust of light laughter. “The rest of the family is going to be thrilled. Teddy hasn’t dated since her breakup with Bartholomew.” She paused as if realizing she’d revealed too much. “Uh, she did tell you about Bart, didn’t she?”

Austin could feel himself being ensnared in a trap of his own making, and wasn’t sure how to escape. “Oh, absolutely,” he replied, certain he was sinking in way over his head.

“Her parents still haven’t gotten over the fact that she’d throw away a great catch like Bart to pursue a career. But for as long as I’ve known Teddy, which is going on ten years now, she’s always been the rebellious one in the family. Not that I blame her, considering how stifling her parents and brothers have been,” Susan added wryly.

All Austin could manage was a quick nod, because Susan-the-talker didn’t give him a chance to respond to her steady monologue.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she continued. “I love my husband and the rest of the Spencer clan, but they are a bit old-fashioned in their thinking. It took me years to knock some sense into Teddy’s brother and make him realize that I’m an independent woman, who doesn’t need to be coddled. Teddy has been trying to prove the same thing to her family, but they just don’t seem to understand how important it is to Teddy to make it on her own, without the influence of Spencer money or connections.?

?

Austin’s stomach bottomed out, and old bitter memories threatened to swamp him. So, Teddy did come from money, as he’d suspected. He couldn’t help but wonder how someone blue collar like him might fit into her group of Ivy League friends and family. Not well, as he’d learned from experience.

“So, in some ways, I’m not all that surprised that Teddy has been keeping you all to herself. When I was dating Teddy’s brother, Brent, I was the one subjected to the Spencers’ scrutiny. It wasn’t fun.”

Austin pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. As fascinating as he found Susan’s rundown on Teddy’s family, he didn’t like hearing this stuff secondhand. Or maybe he just didn’t care for what he was hearing, period.

“Well, Susan,” he managed to break into the conversation when the woman finally took a breather. “Is there some kind of message I can pass on to Teddy for you?”

“Oh, of course!” She laughed brightly. “Here I am, talking your ear off, and I’m sure Teddy is waiting on you. Tell her that Christmas Eve dinner next week is at six, and to be on time. I think she shows up late just to annoy her mother.” Humor, and understanding, followed up that statement.

Austin grinned at Teddy’s display of defiance, and jotted down the message on a notepad situated near the phone. “Will do.”

“You will come with her, won’t you?” Susan asked hopefully.

Austin’s insides clenched tighter. “I don’t think I’ll be able to make it,” he lied. Not only was he certain he wouldn’t fit in with the Spencer clan, he didn’t think Teddy would appreciate him tagging along to meet Mom and Dad. “I have other plans.”

“Surely you can make the time to meet Teddy’s family, even if it’s just to stop by for a few minutes?”