they lied for sport. Valentina had been the biggest liar of them all. She had told him she loved him and then she had left.
Annie changed out of her dress and low heels. She usually put on jeans after she got home from school, so there wasn’t anything unusual about that. The difference was this time she wasn’t just going to be hanging out at home. She would be seeing Duncan again and as much as she told herself it wasn’t a big deal, she’d yet to be totally convinced.
To be honest, the man confused her. He’d bought her services as a pretend girlfriend to improve his reputation. Not exactly something that happened every day. She’d gone online and read several articles about him, which had proven he really was considered something of a bastard in the business world. But he’d also paid for an impressive party wardrobe, given Tim a second chance and he’d kissed her.
The kiss was actually the most startling event, but she didn’t like to think about it too much. It had probably been for show, so everyone would think they really were together. A meaningless, practically sexless gesture. Well, for him. For her…there had been tingles.
Not like the tingles when they’d danced. Those had been in her chest, more about feeling safe and content than anything else. But the kissing tingles were completely different. They’d zipped and zinged all the way through her body, pausing in her breasts and between her legs. Those tingles had made her think about kissing him again and what Duncan would be like in bed.
Focus, she thought as she pulled on jeans. All the articles she’d read had talked about how he always got the details right. It was an excellent quality for a man to have in bed.
She didn’t usually daydream about making love with a guy after a single date. Especially not a date that wasn’t real. But something had happened when his mouth had briefly claimed hers. Something wonderful.
Now she reached for a red sweatshirt with Christmas geese marching across the front. Before putting it on, she wondered if she should wear something less boxy and more flattering. Something that would cause Duncan to see her as a…
What? A woman? He already did. An actual girlfriend? Not likely. They were only pretend dating. She couldn’t let herself forget that. Besides, two guys had already broken her heart. Was she going for a personal best by making it three?
She grabbed the sweatshirt and pulled it firmly over her head. She knew better, she reminded herself. The trick was going to be remembering that.
“We won’t be decorating the tree tonight,” Annie said as she sat next to Duncan in the cab of the truck he’d driven to her house. “The girls all have something they have to get to. A class or work. Besides, you’re supposed to let the tree sit out in the garage for a couple of days before bringing it in.”
“Why? It’s not a puppy. It doesn’t need to get used to being away from its mother.”
She laughed. “I think it’s about the branches settling. I have the tree stand set up in the garage, so we can put it in water as soon as we get it home.”
Duncan had arrived right on time. Based on the suit he wore, he’d come from work.
“Did I take you away from something important?” she asked.
“Nothing that can’t wait.” He smiled. “My assistant was surprised when I said I was leaving.”
“Imagine what she’d think if she knew where you were actually going.”
He chuckled.
She studied his profile. She liked the strength of his face, the chiseled jawline, the shape of his mouth. Her gaze lingered on the latter as she thought about him kissing her. Would he do it again? If he kissed her in a nonbusiness setting, then she would know for sure that he’d liked it as much as she had. Craziness, she told herself. She couldn’t think about Duncan as anything but her boss. The hard part was that she wanted a husband and a family to love, but all she had was a bruised heart and a fear that no man was going to think of her as more than a friend.
They pulled into the Christmas-tree lot. Jenny, Julie and Kami were already there. Duncan parked next to Jenny’s car.
“Brace yourself,” Annie told him. “You’re about to meet your match.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I can handle it.”
She grinned. “That’s what every man thinks, right before he runs into trouble. You’ve been warned.”
Annie watched Duncan get out of the truck and introduce himself to her cousins and Kami. By the time she reached them, the easy stuff was done.
“That article about you in last March’s issue of
“A hazard of my occupation,” Duncan said calmly.
“Except there are a lot of CEOs out there,” Jenny pointed out. “They’re not all hated. Although I’ll give you the coverage of the purchase of the mobile home park wasn’t fair. You offered the residents a fair deal and made sure they were taken care of.”
“The thing is,” Julie added, “If one person thinks you aren’t nice, it’s probably them. But if all the press people feel that way…”
“I’m misunderstood,” Duncan said.
“Uh-huh.” Jenny and Julie moved between him and Annie. Kami seemed more comfortable keeping out of the conversation.
“What is this, the Inquisition?” Annie joked, warmed by her cousins’ protective questions but trying to lighten the mood. She might not have a husband and a baby, but she still had a family. She had to remember that.
“They have bright futures in the law.”
“I’m not going to be a lawyer,” Jenny said. “But I am watching out for Annie. We all are.”
Duncan did his best to look attentive rather than incredulous. Were these two college girls going to threaten him? They had neither the money nor the resources, and if it came to a battle of wills, he would leave them coughing in the dust.
None of which he said to them.
“I don’t need that much defending,” Annie said, looking uncomfortable. “Duncan, I’m sorry. I didn’t know the twins were going to gang up on you this much.”
“But a little would have been okay?”
“Sure.”
He turned to the cousins. “Annie and I have a business arrangement. She’ll be fine.”
“You have to promise,” one of the twins said. Duncan couldn’t tell them apart.
“You have my word on it.” Even if he and Annie didn’t have an agreement, she wouldn’t be at much risk. He didn’t get involved enough for anyone to get their feelings hurt. Life was easier that way.
They went into the lot. The girls fanned out to look at trees, but Annie stayed by him.
“I’m sorry if they offended you,” she began.
“Don’t be. I respect them for thinking they can take me.”
She tilted her head. Blond curls tumbled to her shoulder. “No, you don’t,” she said slowly. “You think they’re foolish.”
“That, too.”
“It’s a family thing. We’re a team. Like you and your uncle.”
He and Lawrence were many things, but a team wasn’t one of them. Duncan nodded because it was easier than having to explain. He watched Annie turn her attention to the rows of cut trees.
The air was thick with the smell of pine. There were a few shoppers talking over the sound of Christmas carols.
As Annie moved from tree to tree, he scanned the lot until he found the girls checking the price tag on a tree. Kami shook her head. The twins looked frustrated before moving to another tree. He turned back to Annie, who was gazing longingly at a tree that had to be fifteen feet, easy.
“You have eight-foot ceilings,” he said, coming up behind her. “Learn from your past mistakes.”
“Meaning we shouldn’t buy something that won’t fit.” She sighed. “But it’s beautiful.” She glanced at the price tag. It was eighty-five dollars. “Maybe not.”
“How much did you want to spend?” he asked.
“Under forty dollars. Less would be better. This is a family lot. They bring in the trees themselves. They cost a little more, but they’re really fresh and it’s kind of a tradition to come here.”
