Francine snubbed Caroline’s polite gesture and crossed her arms, increasing her already considerable cleavage. She glanced from Simon to the rumpled bed behind Caroline. “Are you two dating?”
The upcoming Christmas holiday flashed before Simon’s eyes like a horror movie trailer. If his brother’s fiancée convinced herself she’d picked the wrong brother, it would take a freight train to knock the idea out of her head. He pictured Francine in his parents’ house and imagined the conflict she would cultivate between him and Dane at every opportunity. He needed something to defuse the tension…
“I’m his—”
“Fiancée,” Simon interrupted. “We’re engaged.”
Fiancée?
“What?” The word burst from Caroline like a violent sneeze. She gaped at Simon, wondering if she’d heard him properly.
“You’re engaged?” Francine’s equally outraged explosion assured Caroline her ears hadn’t deceived her.
“Darling, don’t be angry with me.” Simon stepped between her and Francine. His bright blue eyes glowed with mesmerizing intensity, holding her transfixed and tongue-tied. “I know we agreed to tell my parents first, but I can’t wait any longer for the world to know about us.”
He caught Caroline’s hand and squeezed it hard. A warning. A bid for help? The contact made her skin tingle and her emotions tumble. His touch stirred things in her, a chaotic brew of attraction and wariness. Thoughts spinning, stomach in free fall, she was way out of her element.
“But—”
He placed two fingers over her lips. “I know you’re thinking Francine will run to Dane and spill our little secret, but I assure you, she’s going to keep this visit to herself.”
The man looked and sounded c
ompletely serious. And convincing. He almost had her believing they were getting married.
“As for why Francine is here in her underwear.” His lips tightened into a hard line. “She spilled something on her dress and wanted to rinse it out. Isn’t that right, Francine?”
Francine’s silence spoke louder than words. Something churned below the surface between her and Simon, piquing Caroline’s curiosity. She recognized the redhead from the family photos in Simon’s living room. Given Francine’s state of undress, Caroline had first assumed Simon and Francine were involved in some sort of clandestine affair. Obviously that wasn’t true or he’d never have introduced Caroline as his fiancée. What sort of insane drama was this?
“We’ll leave you to get dressed,” Simon said, towing her past Francine.
Her mother had often said rich people had a whole lotta crazy in ’em, and Penny Sampson had witnessed a whole lot during the twenty years she’d worked as a housekeeper for the wealthiest family in Barrisville, Alabama.
“Have you lost your mind?” Caroline whispered when they reached the living room.
Simon released her hand and strode to where a coat lay on the floor. “What do you mean?”
“You just introduced me as your fiancée.” Caroline tucked her freed hand beneath her opposite arm to preserve the warmth of his touch. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s complicated.”
“No kidding.” His brother’s fiancée shows up and starts taking her clothes off. Caroline was glad Simon hadn’t been too keen on it, but why did he have to pull her into the middle of the family drama?
“You were just in the right place at the right time.” He dropped the coat over the back of the couch and returned to tower over her. “And I’ve never been so glad to find a woman sleeping in my bed.”
Her heart hiccupped as a sensual light flowed into his eyes, instantly transporting her back to his bed, to the moment she’d awakened to find him standing over her, watching her sleep.
The enormity of her screwup slapped Caroline in the face.
Heavens, what had prompted her to lie down on the man’s bed?
The tantalizing scent of his cologne for one. The softness of his Egyptian cotton sheets for two. Exhaustion brought on by too much work and too many worries for three.
As for what had prompted her to eye him like a half-starved cougar in search of its next meal, that could only be blamed on the man himself. Hunky daredevils with wavy blond hair and delicious blue eyes were not something she stumbled upon every day. And this one had enough charm and sex appeal for ten men.
Her temperature ratcheted upward a notch.
“Look, I’m sorry about falling asleep in your—” To Caroline’s intense embarrassment she felt her cheeks go hot again. She clapped her hands over the betraying color.