Read The Sweetheart Hoax Online
Authors: Christy Hayes
The Sweetheart Hoax (26 page)
“Congratulations on the job,” he said. Everything he wanted to say died on his tongue as she stared up at him, her eyes huge and unyielding.
“Thank you.”
She wasn’t going to make it easy for him. He turned away from Danny’s dad and step-mom and guided her to an empty corner of the room with a hand on her arm. “I was hoping I’d see you. As a matter of fact, I called Danny to make sure you knew Kate was in labor.”
“I work here now, as you can plainly see. If you wanted to see me, Phil, you know where I live.”
She was nearly shaking with anger. “I know you’re mad at me.”
She snorted. “I’m not mad.” She looked at her watch. “But I do have to run.”
He stepped in front of her and blocked her path. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Excuse me.”
When she tried to move around him again, he sidestepped and blocked her way.
“Phil,” she said. “I have to go to work.”
“You’re not on until eleven.”
“Yes, I know. But as the newest member of the team, I like to review the charts before shift change.”
“I want to talk to you,” he said.
She slapped her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “So talk.”
“Can we sit down?”
She huffed out a breath and sat in a chair, gripping the arms in a white-knuckle grasp. Her feet tapped a hasty beat on the rug.
“I know you’re mad at me because I haven’t called you in awhile, but—”
“I know why you haven’t called. I know you met Ashley and you figured out who I am.” She snuck a look at him. “And as much as I want to hate you for it, I understand completely. I have more baggage than anyone you’ve ever met. I have more baggage than anyone
I’ve
ever met. And you hate women with baggage.”
“I do hate women with baggage. I do try to avoid women with baggage. I broke up with Kelly because of her baggage.”
She tried to hop up and he stilled her with his hand on her leg.
“End of story, Phil. I make Kelly Bristow look low maintenance. My baggage and me have to get to work. I’ll see you around.”
“Did Ashley tell you we talked?”
She whipped her head around to face him. “When?”
“A few days ago. I went to see her at The Coffee Bean.”
“She didn’t mention it.”
“Good. I asked her not to.” He let go of her leg when she relaxed against the chair and he didn’t think she’d jump up and run away. “She’s very protective of you.”
Her lips twitched. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Ashley? Five-five, long brown hair, green eyes.”
“One and the same.”
“Well.”
“She told me about your father, how he’s treated you, how her whole family has treated you.”
“I don’t blame her mother for hating me,” she said in a voice so soft he wondered if she were crying. When she looked at him, her eyes dry and cold, he recognized the spine of steel that had gotten her through years of being on her own. “I’ve never wanted anything from him.”
“He’s an ass,” Phil said. When she slanted her eyes at him, he explained. “He’s a member at the club. He treats the staff like dirt, lords over the place like he’s the king and everyone else are his minions.”
“That sounds like him. If it makes you feel any better, he doesn’t treat family any better.”
“I don’t care if he’s an ass, and I don’t care that he’s your father.” He reached over and pulled her hand into his. “I’ve missed you, Margot.”
“I know,” she said. “You’ll get used to Rebecca. You just have to give it more time.”
Silly woman didn’t recognize an honest plea for her attention. He couldn’t blame her for that. “I’m not talking about the office, although I still don’t care for Rebecca.”
She stared at him, her expression guarded and weary. “What do you mean?”
“When we got back from Cash, I thought we were…I thought you and I would…I wanted to be with you.”
“You did?”
“And then you took off with
McBain
.”
“Me? You threw me at him as fast as you could. You wanted me to go with him.”
“I thought you were…dating. The whole ride to the airport that morning I was trying to think of a way to ask you to come back to Cash for Thanksgiving. I’d forgotten about
McBain
.”
“We weren’t dating!”
“I saw you kiss him. You’d said you had a date and later that night I saw you and him kissing.”
“Oh, well, that was just one date. And I didn’t kiss him, he just kind of…” she twirled her hand in the air, “swooped in and caught me off guard.”
“That’s not what it looked like.”
“Well, that’s how it was. You know him. You know he doesn’t ask, he just does what he wants.”
“I also know you broke up with him.”
“We’d actually have to be dating for me to break up with him, but I did tell him I didn’t want to go out with him again.”
“I heard,” he said and cleared his throat. This is the part she might have a problem with. “And then I found out about Hennessey and I felt blindsided.”
“I can understand that.” She dropped her eyes and kneaded her hands in her lap.
“But once I got over the fact that you hadn’t told me, that you’d in fact lied to me, I realized I’d have done the same. I did the same. I never tell anyone about my family.”
“At least you have a family. A nice, normal family.”
“True, although normal is debatable. And they like you.”
She gave him a sheepish smile and a shrug. “Ashley thinks you’re hot.”
He looked her square in the eye. “She’s not my type.”
“No? An attractive woman from a wealthy
Lowcountry
family is not your type? Since when?”
“Since you.”
“Phil…”
“Look, I just want to take you out to dinner. Spend some time with you. I’m not going to lie,” he said, “I want to sleep with you again. I can’t be around you and not want you.”
He recognized the look in her eye; he’d seen it before in the moonlight. “I work nights now.”
“So have breakfast with me.”
“When?”
“In the morning. Come on, Margot. I know what you like. Something hot and sweet.”
She held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
“It’s a sweetheart of a deal.” He leaned over to kiss her and jerked back when Danny burst into the room.
“She’s here,” Danny announced with tears in his eyes. “Faith is finally here, and she’s tiny and so beautiful.” He rushed over to his dad and step-mom.
“Well,” Phil took Margot into his arms. “Seems like a night for new beginnings.”
“Yes. It certainly does.”
He brought his mouth to hers in a kiss that tasted of home. He reluctantly pushed away before he lost his mind and backed her against the wall. He looked down at Margot, her eyes unfocused,
a
sly smile on her gorgeous lips. “You lied to me about something else, you know.”
“I did?” she asked.
“You, nurse Manning, look incredibly good in puce.”
She nuzzled against the crook of his arm. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
Margot struggled to untangle herself from Phil’s arms and legs. Even with his enormous king sized bed, he had to sleep on top of her. Margot didn’t mind, but it made slipping out of bed difficult without waking him up.
“
Ummm
,” he stirred and gripped her tight. “You’re not leaving.”
“I’ve got to grab a quick shower before my shift.”
He shifted so that he lay atop her, pinning her hands above her head. “How about a different kind of quickie?”
“Phil, you’re not playing fair,” she moaned.
“I never said I would.” He nipped from her jaw, down her neck, and lingered on her breasts. “When’s your next day off?”
“Saturday,” she managed through gritted teeth.
“Friday night, when we get in this bed, you aren’t leaving until Sunday.”
“Not even to use the bathroom?”
“You’ll have to earn a pass.”
“A test? I’m pretty good at tests.”
“Speaking of tests,” he said with a bite to her shoulder. “I’ve got one for you. Since you didn’t come home with me for Thanksgiving and you won’t get any time off for Christmas, my family’s coming here for the holidays.”
“Here?” Why did the mention of his family make her heart pound in fear? Maybe because she and Phil had monkey sex in their guest room and she couldn’t quite get over her wonton behavior.
“
Here.
”
“That’s nice, but what’s the test?”
“My dad’s upset that I’ve never put a ring on your
finger since our last visit
home. He’s convinced we’ve already consummated our relationship.”
“Well,” she said with a pinch to his ass, “he wouldn’t be wrong.”
“So…” He reached across her to the nightstand and pulled open a drawer. Margot’s jaw dropped when she recognized the robin’s egg blue box. “I’m going to need you to wear this.” He opened the box to the most spectacular antique diamond solitaire Margot had ever seen.
“You want me to pretend to be your fiancé?” Her heart physically ached from disappointment. She’d thought, in the last few months, that they’d started building a foundation for a real future together.
“Nope. I don’t want you to pretend.” He slipped the ring from the box, grabbed her hand, and glided the rock over her knuckle. “I want you to say yes.”
She felt sick with excitement. “Say yes to what?”
“To me.
To us.
To our life together.”
“For real?” she asked. “You’re not playing with me, are you Phil?”
“Oh, I’m going to play with you.” He cupped her face in his hands. “But not about this. I love you, Margot. Will you marry me?”
He’d given her everything she’d ever wanted. “I love you, too.
So, yes.
It’s a deal. And there’s no backing out.”
“We’d better seal the deal.” He glanced at the clock. “You may want to call in. You’re going to be a little late for work.”
About the Author
Christy Hayes writes romantic women’s fiction. She lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children, and two dogs.
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