“If you say so. He’s pretty easy on the eyes.”
“Did you look him up?” I bite my lip, remembering the way his suit pants stretched across his tight rear.
“Looking at him now. Very, very nice.” Mina purrs. “He’s got that goatee look down.”
“It definitely works for him. And damn but he can wear a suit. Not that I’m attracted to him or anything.”
“Of course not.”
I frown at her mocking tone. “It’s fake, Mina. All fake. I’m just going to do this as… a favor. Another job, like pet sitting.”
Mina snickers. “More like duke sitting.”
“Oh my god.” I cover my face. “No.”
“The question is, are you sitting on his lap or his face—”
“Mina! Enough.” I swallow, but it’s no use. My cheeks are burning, and my belly fills with a lazy swell of desire. I will take care of you, the duke said, his voice soft and strong and swoonworthy. Almost enough to make me rethink my opinion of spoiled rich guys.
“Frankie and the duke, sitting in a tree. F-U-C-K-I-N—”
“My god, Mina, how old are you? Stop!” I sputter. We aren’t… that’s not… we’re not going to do anything. This is a fake engagement. In name only. No touching. Definitely no sitting. On faces or laps.” I’ll chalk up our moment on the couch to the priceless brandy.
Mina stops laughing. “If you say so. You’re only his until the stroke of midnight, and all that?”
“Exactly.”
Mina hits a few more keys before answering, “All right, Cinderella. Be sure to hang on to your shoes.”
Chapter 4
Frankie
Daniel rings the doorbell precisely at nine a.m.
“Ah,” he says when I open the door. “Miss Beaumonde. You look ravishing.”
I roll my eyes, and give a little curtsey.
“But your curtsey needs work.” Daniel struts past me, looking extra fine in a mustard-colored suit, and narrow white ankle boots. Not many men could pull off that shade of yellow, but the color makes his dark brown skin glow. “And where’s Elvis this fine morning?”
“Locked in the jungle room.”
“Good, good. Where shall we hold our little tête-à-tête?”
“In the kitchen?” Already I’m feeling small and drab compared to Daniel. I am properly dressed and wearing a bra, which is more than I can say most days. “I can make coffee.”
“Lead the way. We’ll start with the vetting. Assuming everything goes well, we’ll move on to wardrobe and etiquette.”
“Full day,” I mutter.
“Darling, you have no idea. If you check out, I’m going to turn your entire life upside down. It’ll be grueling, but quite something to put on your resume. Except you can’t, because of the NDA.”
“Got it.” I spread my hands. “Ask your questions. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“How boring.” Daniel drums his fingers on the counter. “I do hope you have at least some naughty skeletons in the armoire.”
“Nope.”
His eyes narrow. “Hmmm.”
Frankie
“So let me get this straight,” Daniel asks, eyes on his clipboard. “Only child, small town, straight A student. Mother passed away, father still living. One boyfriend for six months after you turned eighteen. No college. You moved out and supported yourself by pet-sitting.”
“Yes. I started working as a dog walker and got a reputation for being good with animals. When someone invited me to spend a month in their home watching their dog, I did it. My business grew from there.”
“You move around and stay in people’s homes and watch their pets while they travel.” Daniel makes a note.
“Exactly. I have lots of references, if you need them.” I start to make a joke about a duke being easier to babysit than a mule or a ball python, but shut my mouth. Comparing one’s fake fiancé to an ass or a snake is probably impolite.
“Moving from city to city and living alone with different animals must be hell on your social life,” Daniel muses.
“What social life?” I twist my lips. “I have a large collection of classic movies.”
“What made you take this job in New Arcadia?”
“Um, I always wanted to visit?” I shrug. “Lady Drey liked my references and got it into her mind I was the best person to watch Elvis. She handled the visa.” Daniel’s dark eyes keep probing, and I resist the urge to squirm. “I like to travel. I grew up in a small town and never thought I’d have the money to see the world.” I’ve glossed over a bit, and I’m hoping Daniel doesn’t pry too closely. He’s so cosmopolitan, maybe he’ll assume I couldn’t stand small town living.
“But since coming here, you’ve kept to yourself. You’ve barely left this house since moving into the country.”
“Yes.” I shift on my seat. Where is he going with this?
“It’s official.” Daniel sets down the clipboard on which he’s made copious notes on every memory and moment of my life. “You are the most boring person on the face of the Earth.”
“That’s not true!” I protest. “I’m a very interesting person. I have lots of vices!”
“No lovers.” Daniel ticks off his fingers. “No friends. No family. At least not that you keep up with.”
“I have an online friend; I told you about her.”
Daniel waves a hand, dismissing Mina. “You, my dear, are a recluse. And how I love you for it.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s perfect. No one has seen you. No one knows where you are. I can invent any story about you, and people will believe it.”
I shift on my stool. “You sound like a serial killer.”
“I’m not going to kill you, darling. I’m going to make you a star. Well, a star-crossed lover. You saw the duke from afar, and wanted him. Then, Fate intervened in the form of a parrot, and romance was born.”
“So you think we should do it?” I tilt my coffee cup this way and that, studying the dregs. Are coffee grounds like tea leaves? Can they tell the future?
Daniel takes my hands and leans close. “I think we should not waste this golden opportunity. An engagement will clear the duke’s name, and put the spotlight where it should be.”
“But it would all be fake.”
“Just the teensy tiniest bit fake.” Daniel shrugs. “Like a play. Have you ever acted before?”
“I did a one woman act for the Miss Carrot Pageant. An abbreviated version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It was my talent.”
“A one woman act of Much Ado About Nothing,” Daniel repeats slowly. “I have so many questions. What’s the Miss Carrot Pageant?”
“I told you about it.” I gesture at his clipboard. “The beauty contest I entered when I was fifteen.”
“There’s a beauty contest called the Miss Carrot Pageant?” Daniel wildly pages through his notes.