Best of Temptation Bundle Page 2

  She pushed away from the door and groaned. Not that his being a stranger mattered. There wasn’t a chance in a thousand that Adam Gardner would agree to her plan. His horrified expression when she blurted out her proposal told her that.

  She moved down the hall toward her own office. She had been stupid even to consider carrying out such a ruse. But when her mother had urged her to come, Eva had immediately agreed. If her mother thought she should be there, then her father’s health must be at serious risk. Eva quickened her step, fear for her father’s well-being spreading through her anew. The thought that she might never get the chance to put things right between them, to repair the rift that had always gaped between them, worried her all the more. Especially now. When the link between generations meant more to her than it ever had before.

  Eva pressed her fingertips against her forehead. If only her mother hadn’t insisted she bring her husband along. And if only she hadn’t caved under Katina Mavros’s loving but resourceful persuasiveness and agreed to that impossible request. Eva suspected that her mother’s insistence grew as much out of concern for her and Bill’s marriage as it did from her desire that son-and father-in-law finally meet. Ever since last week when Eva had inadvertently spilled some of the problems she and Bill were having, she’d regretted saying anything. If her mother only knew how very serious, and very final, those problems were.

  The solution, of course, would have been to tell her mother the truth. But she hadn’t had the guts then, and certainly not now, given her father’s present state. And not when that truth was so new she had yet to completely accept it herself. After all, only a day had passed since she’d received her final divorce papers. She stumbled on the carpeting. How, exactly, did she explain to her father—sick or otherwise—that she was divorced when neither of her parents had ever met her husband?

  A dull ache pounded a threatening rhythm at her temples. Crossing to her office, Eva put her cup on her desk then searched through the right-hand drawer for a couple of aspirin. She took a deep breath and halted her hands midway through working open the childproof cap. Considering her own condition, she wasn’t sure if she should be casually taking even aspirin. With a sigh she dropped the unopened bottle back into the drawer and slammed it shut, the rest of the reason she couldn’t tell her father why she was divorced making her headache double in severity.

  God, could things get much worse?

  She dropped into her chair, reminding herself that yes, circumstances could be much worse.

  Number one, she might be faced with going to Belle Rivage with her ex-husband. A man who had walked out on her without so much as a backward glance, taking with him the furniture and belongings they had accumulated during their one-year marriage. Then she’d have to deal with the prospect of concealing all the pain that still pulsed through her. Pain caused by his callous, piercing betrayal.

  She rested her forehead in her hand, her thoughts making her hurt all over again.

  She forced herself to concentrate on number two: Adam Gardner could agree to her outlandish proposal.

  She lifted her head from her hand, envisioning the scenario. If Adam did accept her offer, she’d be faced with trying to fool her family into believing a man who was alternately awkward and inexplicably provocative whenever he was around her was her husband. She rested her fingers against her neck. No matter how attractive Adam might be if he lost the out-of-style glasses, and stopped putting gel on his hair, the idea of spending so much time around him somehow made her uneasy. She guessed it might be because of the way he’d looked in his office just now. Both shocked and appealing. Shocked, she had expected. Appealing was a different matter entirely.

  She pushed the unwelcome thought away.

  Whatever the outcome of this weekend, one thing rang perfectly clear. She might never bridge the gap between her and her father if she told him the truth now. Her father’s Greek background and his passionate belief in traditional values would never allow him to see past her divorce. No matter that the friction between them had only been aggravated by her having married without his consent a year ago. Her latest failure would only reinforce his conviction that she’d been wrong to marry a man he had never met. And, given her current state, she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to marry her off to the first available, appropriate male. Appropriate in his eyes. A prison term in hers.

  And that was the reason she chose Adam Gardner to play the role of her husband.

  Eva smoothed a shaking hand over her hair. For a full hour after her mother’s call she had mulled over what to do. And she’d decided that making her parents dislike her husband—or Adam in the role of her husband—before she shared the news, would make it much easier for them…and her.

  She only wished she didn’t feel so guilty. Not only for deceiving her family, but because if Adam accepted, she would be thrusting him into a situation where he would be placed so fully, so unflatteringly, on display.

  Glancing at her wristwatch, Eva hauled her heavy attaché case onto her desktop. She opened it and stared at the envelope from her husband’s lawyer sitting on top of a stack of files. Correction, her ex-husband’s lawyer. She’d have to get used to saying that. Ex-husband. She winced. It was disheartening how two little letters of the alphabet could change a family with promise into a past relationship with failure written all over it.

  Slipping the envelope off to the side, she pulled two accordion files from her drawer and laid them inside the attaché. She halted. She’d forgotten she wanted to take the diskettes on the Honeycutt account. She sighed, already having wished Norman Sheffert a happy Labor Day when the next few days would likely prove a virtual hell for her. Norman kept all the accounting diskettes in his office safe, for security reasons he said. Eva called it an inconvenience. Especially since Norman was the only one who had access to the safe. Not even the two senior partners, Gerry Logan or Evan Brace, could get in without Norman’s approval. Though the fact didn’t seem to bother either of them. They were perfectly content to let Norman run the entire operation.

  Eva got up from her chair and hurried down the hall to where she hoped Norman’s secretary, Alice Turley, was still working. The humming computer and covered desk told her the peacock-like woman was around somewhere.

  Sighing, she stepped partway down the hall. “Alice?”

  A sound from Norman’s office caught her attention. Eva stepped nearer. She knocked once, then opened the door. Light from multiple sources illuminated the interior but the office was empty. She stared at the mahogany desk in the corner and stepped farther into the room. That’s odd…what’s the safe doing open?

  “Alice?” a male voice called out.

  Eva jumped and turned to face Adam who stood in the open doorway. “You startled me.”

  “Sorry,” he said quietly. “I was going to ask Alice if she’d seen you anywhere.”

  “I think the applicable question is have I seen Alice anywhere. To which I’d have to say no.”

  He glanced around the room. “I thought Sheffert left.”

  “He did.” Eva shivered, then wrapped her arms around her waist.

  A dark eyebrow lifted above the rim of Adam’s glasses. An eyebrow that was silky and soft and perfectly shaped. “He left his office and safe open?”

  Eva tugged her gaze away from his face, wondering why she always had the baffling urge to study him whenever he was near. “It’s odd, considering how security-conscious Norman is. Not like him at all.”

  “I’ll say.”

  Eva frowned. How would he know about Norman’s behavior? He’d only been here three weeks.

  Adam’s eyebrow dropped and his intense expression melted away. Eva felt slightly relieved. For a moment there, she’d questioned bashful Adam Gardner’s behavior.

  “Maybe he was in such a hurry he forgot to lock up, that’s all,” he said, offering a shy smile and pushing up his glasses.

  “Yes, that’s probably it.” The way his lips turned up at the sides gave him a
wry appeal. Her gaze lingered on his mouth. “Anyway, what are the odds that on the same day Norman overlooks locking his safe, someone would be in here to steal the contents?”

  “Good point.”

  The reason Adam might be looking for her suddenly dawned on Eva. A knot pulled tight in her stomach. Both at the thought that she might have to live up to her ruse, and that if she did, for the next day she would have to act as this man’s wife. Aman she felt both emotionally safe and unsafe around. Safe because his appearance made him seem like nothing more than geeky, brother material. Unsafe because the way he sometimes looked at her, like now, with that inexplicable gleam in his eyes, made her want to rub a hand over his nerdy exterior to learn what truly dwelled within.

  “So, are you here to answer my proposal?” she said carefully, her palms growing damp.

  “Yes, you could say that.” He ran long and lean fingers down the length of his hideous tie then cleared his throat.

  “And?” Oh please, don’t let him say no. No! Please don’t let him say yes.

  His eyes locked with hers. She could swear by the subtle quirk of his eyebrows that he was teasing her. As if he knew exactly what he was doing by dragging out his answer. His gaze raked over her face and she battled the urge to pull her suit jacket closer as protection against…protection against what?

  Finally, he said, “And…despite whatever misgivings I may have, I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to help you out in your time of crisis.”

  A mixture of relief and uneasiness saturated her tense muscles. He’s doing it.

  “Best interest?” she repeated.

  “You are my superior. I figure it couldn’t hurt to have you owing me one come review time.” He pushed up his glasses. “Besides, I’ve never been to New Orleans. Is it nice?”

  Review time. Yes, she supposed she could put in a good word or two for him then. Her gaze dropped to his mouth. He’d already proved himself a competent accountant, so it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship. He fingered his tie, apparently uncomfortable with her assessing gaze. She fought a small smile. Adam wasn’t to blame if his social skills were a bit lacking. She wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t tell the difference between Chinese food and the northern version of Creole fare. But he would learn.

  “Yes, New Orleans is very nice,” she said, thinking the word didn’t come near describing the sultry city. The image of Adam Gardner standing in the middle of decadent Bourbon Street held a certain appeal. She straightened slightly, finding that the thought more than attracted her, it stirred something fundamental within her. A mixture of curiosity and disquiet that left her wanting to expose him to the naughtier side of life, yet at the same time protect him from it. A reaction she didn’t welcome even in passing. In fact, maybe this whole thing wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “I guess we have a deal then,” Adam said, extending his hand, nervously retracting it, then thrusting it out again.

  She stared at his large hand, noticing the blunt ends of his fingers, the dark hair that dusted the back of his hand. She hesitantly gave it a brief shake. Her own palm was slick where his was remarkably warm and dry. The brief friction as skin met skin sent a trail of awareness up her arm. She quickly withdrew her hand.

  “Good,” she said, accepting that the ruse she had concocted was actually going to happen.

  Adam wiped his palm on his slacks.

  “I can’t believe I almost forgot why I came in here.” Eva turned away from him, then stepped to the open safe and crouched down. She searched for the needed diskettes, disappointed to find her hands trembling.

  “What are you two doing in here?”

  Eva started and watched two cases tip forward, spilling three-and-half-inch disks all over the carpet around her knees.

  Alice-the-Hun, wearing one of her psychedelic skirts with a fuchsia blazer, hurried into the room and fairly swooped down on Eva.

  “Norman asked me to take over the Honeycutt account from Oliver. You know, to prepare for their review,” Eva said to Sheffert’s secretary, reaching down to collect the scattered disks. She shoved half of them back into the safe and nearly yelped when Alice snapped the safe door closed.

  “I’ll see to the rest,” she said curtly.

  Eva rose with hesitant help from Adam.

  Alice turned. “All requests for disks come through me, you know that. And from what I know about Honeycutt’s schedule, there’s no reason for you to need those diskettes now. Their FTC review isn’t for three months.”

  Eva faced her. “I thought I’d take a look at them this weekend—”

  “No harm done, Alice,” Adam said smoothly. “Why not just let Eva go ahead and get what she needs.” He turned on a smile that made Eva blink. “Certainly there isn’t a problem with that?”

  “Problem?” Alice’s hand fluttered to the costume-jewel pin at her throat. She looked at a spot behind them before her gaze hastened back to their faces. “Yes, there is a problem. While Eva may have been given the go-ahead on the Honeycutt account, I haven’t yet been told.”

  Eva stared at her. Was Sheffert’s fiftyish secretary attracted to Adam? She shifted her attention to the tall man next to her. She hadn’t noticed exactly how tall Adam was until that moment. Usually when she saw him, he was sitting behind a desk or at a conference table. Now she noted that he towered over her five-feet-five-inch height in heels by more than half a foot.

  She glanced behind her to see what had caught Alice’s eye.

  “There they are.” On Sheffert’s desk sat a small pile of diskettes Eva identified by their labels as belonging to the Honeycutt account. She crossed the room to pick them up. “Norman must have taken them out for me before he left.”

  She turned from the desk to find Alice standing obstinately in front of her. “To the contrary, Norman left the safe open so I could put the disks away.”

  “Look, Alice,” Eva said, wondering what was with the woman, “Norman won’t mind my checking the disks out. Now that Oliver is…no longer with the company, the account is mine and I’d like to familiarize myself with it. If it bothers you so much, why don’t you check with Norman yourself?”

  Alice’s gaze again flicked to a spot over Eva’s shoulder. “I think I’ll do that.”

  “Good,” Adam said. “Since we’ve reached an agreement of sorts, we’ll be on our way then.” His smile held a hint of charm, drawing Eva’s gaze to the cleft in his chin. Little more than a dimple she had once thought added to his nerdiness, she now found it incredibly appealing. “Have a nice weekend, won’t you, Alice?”

  Adam wrapped his fingers around Eva’s arm, helped her from between Alice and the desk, then steered her toward the door and out into the hall. His grip was oddly commanding. Eva was thankful for the slight change in his personality, if only for the fact that it got her out from under Alice’s scrutiny.

  He let her go the instant they stood in her office. Eva released a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding.

  “Thanks,” she said, brushing a strand of hair back from her face, unsure how she felt about Adam’s casual, though self-assured touch.

  “For what?”

  She looked at him, searching for some sign that he’d noticed her reaction. He hadn’t. Good. “For helping me out. I didn’t know anyone could handle Alice.”

  Adam grimaced. “I wouldn’t say I exactly handled her. I…I happen to like her, that’s all.”

  Eva twisted her lips. If he was telling the truth, then he was the sole person in the place who did like the stern, flashy woman. “She obviously likes you, too, Adam.”

  She rounded her desk.

  “Eva, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

  She glanced at him. “Go ahead.”

  “How much of you asking me to play the role of your husband has to do with my being, well, a friend of mine says I’m a geek?”

  Eva gave him a once-over, choosing her words carefully. Especially considering the curious thoughts she’d had abou
t him just a short time ago. But now that there was a desk between them, and he no longer towered over her, she found it much easier to resist such thoughts. “Geek? Why, Adam, I don’t think you’re a geek.”

  Boy, she was going to pay for that whopper. She shrugged off any odd, lingering attraction to him, questioning her own faculties. God didn’t make them any nerdier than Adam Gardner. Sure, he might be a little over six feet tall, and she guessed his hair was golden blond under all that gel he used. And she supposed his eyes were well-lashed and nicely shaped, and his grin the type that might attract attention with that yummy dimple. But Adam Gardner used none of these qualities to his advantage. Instead, they were lost behind his thick glasses, hidden under the hair gel and diminished by his nerdy, sometimes awkward movements and unpolished smiles.

  He was the type of man her father would hate on sight.

  She tugged her gaze away from him, reminding herself that was exactly the reason she’d chosen him. Still, it wouldn’t do to insult the very person she needed to help her out of this jam.

  “What would make you ask such a question?”

  He shrugged his wide shoulders. “I don’t know. I can’t help wondering why you would ask me to do this for you.” He pushed his glasses up so high Eva was certain his lashes brushed against the lenses when he blinked. Which was often. “Wait a minute. Does this situation require we sleep in the same room?”

  Eva nearly choked. The concern was one she’d addressed immediately upon concocting her outlandish plan. “Um, yes, it does, Adam. But don’t worry,” she said quickly, resting her palms against the desk, afraid the prospect of sharing a room would scare him off. “My room at my parents’ house has twin beds. Besides, our charade will only be for public purposes. I wouldn’t expect you to, well, you know….”