Emergency Engagement (Love Emergency 1)

The prompt made her smile. She opened her eyes and winked at him. “They offered me a nine-month fellowship starting in January.”

“Congratulations.” The sincerity in his voice quickly shifted to curiosity. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? You could have celebrated the news with your family.”

“What? And steal the spotlight away from our big announcement?”

“We could have celebrated both.”

She let go of the sheet and snugged into his “guest” pillow. Her eyelids weighed a thousand pounds. She had to leave soon, or she’d fall asleep in his bed. “The two pieces of news don’t really mesh all that well.”

“How so? I’m all for your career.”

“Hmm. The fellowship is in Venice.”

The mattress shifted as he raised his head. “Venice, Italy?”

“Uh-huh. I’m afraid my career opportunity comes at the expense of my relationship.”

He settled back against his pillow. “Huh. I can’t believe you’re choosing Venice over us.”

“It’s the chance of a lifetime. If you really loved me, you’d support my decision.” Yeah, like Mitch. He’d encouraged her to apply, mentioned the firm had offices in Rome and how he could visit often and steal her away for weekends in Paris. And keep her at arm’s length the rest of the time, while he planned his wedding to another woman.

“This works, you know.”

“Yeah. I figure we make the announcement in between Christmas and New Year’s, and explain to our families we’re postponing the wedding until I return. Then during the time apart we realize we’re not meant to be. We break up. An Italian prince sweeps me off my feet, we have half a dozen bambinos, and live happily ever after.”

“I think they dismantled the Italian monarchy after World War II, but I have no doubt the men of Italy will line up to sweep you off your feet and make you happy.”

“Easy for you to say.” But then again, maybe it wasn’t. She detected a hint of something cautious beneath the humor. He didn’t believe in happily ever after. She wished she could see his face, but it was too much trouble to open her eyes.

“Are you falling asleep on me?”

“I’m awake.”

“Okay. So answer me this. What did I get you for your birthday?”

She frowned into the darkness. “Nothing. We didn’t know each other yet…or again…whatever.”

“We didn’t?” His rumbly voice sounded a little soft around the edges.

“No. I moved here in April. My birthday is February fourteenth.”

“Valentine’s Day?” His finger traced her upper lip. “How’s that working out for you?”

Hearts and flowers mixed with cake and presents? Could be worse. But she had a hard time finding her vocal cords to reply. Instead she rested her head against his shoulder, enjoying the combination of fresh-washed T-shirt and his scent. A random thought skipped through her mind. “You lied to me.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t sleep in the nude.”

“I dressed up for you.” He flexed his shoulder to scoot her head into a more comfortable position. “You do.”

She ran her hand along the collar of her robe. “I dressed up for you.”

“Savannah?”

Her name sounded sexy in his low, lazy voice. “What?”

“No need to dress up on my account.”