His Secret Temptation

“I mean it, Simon. I don’t need new clothes.” Borrowing money for her tuition was one thing. The idea that he would spend money on something as personal as what she wore against her skin seemed too intimate.

And the way his gaze slid down her body, assessing and cataloging, didn’t help.

“I hired you to do a job. You need the right tools for that job. New clothes are those tools. Look at what my mother has planned, then tell me you have the necessary wardrobe in your closet right now.”

A glance at the itinerary he carried made her spirits plummet. He’d nailed the situation with maddening accuracy. She had one black dress that she’d bought on sale for a funeral. With the right accessories, she figured she could wear it for a Christmas Eve party. But if they attended even a quarter of the parties on this list she would have to trot out the dress six times. She’d look like an idiot. Caroline couldn’t picture Simon marrying a fool. A gorgeous doll, maybe, but not a stupid one. Someone like Francine, socially clever and beautiful.

“Besides,” he continued with a knowing grin. “What woman can resist a shopping spree?”

It drove her crazy how his arguments made sense.

“Me.” But she was lying. The idea of a brand-new wardrobe was almost as big a temptation as having her tuition paid. The man knew all the right buttons to push. What would her life be like without the specter of financial disaster hanging over her? She couldn’t wait to find out.

“I don’t believe you.”

He would’ve made one heck of a lawyer. His rhetorical skills were far superior to hers. So much so, she was rethinking her choice of profession. How could she advocate for kids in family court if she couldn’t keep a handsome millionaire from buying her an evening gown?

“Okay,” she grumbled. “But just a couple of things.”

“Sure.”

The word should have given her hope that she’d argued him around to her way of thinking, but his smirk left her wondering if he’d told her what she wanted to hear in an effort to get her out of his office and into a store.

Simon opened his car’s passenger door and gestured Caroline in. While she guessed the chivalrous gesture had been trained into him at an early age, she couldn’t stop the rush of delight at his gallantry. While he circled around to the driver’s side, Caroline’s spine was seduced into relaxing by the sport BMW’s contoured leather seat. This was the most luxurious car she’d ever been in.

“Hold this for me, won’t you?” Simon handed her the itinerary and started the car.

Today he wore a beautifully tailored gray suit, crisp white shirt and pale blue tie. A lazy smile tugged at his chiseled lips as he caught her checking him out. She focused on the paper in her lap to keep her fascination to herself.

“Your mother certainly has a lot planned. Do you know all these women?”

“I may have met them at some point or another. I don’t remember.”

“You’re what, thirty…?” She paused to let him fill in the number.

“One.”

“You’ve never been married.”

“And you’re wondering why.”

Not at all. He didn’t seem ready to settle down with just one woman. No doubt he liked keeping his options open. She didn’t hold out much hope for his mother’s matchmaking schemes.

“Don’t you think it will seem odd to your family that you’ve avoided marriage this long and suddenly you produce a fiancée no one has heard about?”

“They will be surprised, but not overly so. I’ve been known to do the unexpected from time to time.”

“This unexpected?”

He shrugged. “To be honest, my mother will be so thrilled I’m getting married, she won’t question the speed or the secrecy.”

Caroline counted the number of women on the itinerary. Nine. No doubt, all of them sophisticated and successful with money to burn. And here she was, working as a maid, living on a shoestring. Simon planned to dress her up and parade her in front of his family as what?

“What’s wrong?”

Simon’s question lifted her out of her dark thoughts as the car sped up the ramp of the downtown parking garage.

“Nothing is wrong.”