He wasn’t responsible for the ad in a national paper asking for a wife, till death do them part. But an unsuitable, temporary wife? Yes. That had been his ad.
He was done with his father’s machinations. No matter how well-meaning they were. He was tired of tripping over daughters of “old friends” at family gatherings. Tired of dodging women who had been set on him like hounds at a fox hunt.
He was going to win the game. Once and for all. And the woman he hoped would be his trump card was on her way.
His first respondent to his counter ad—Danielle Kelly—was twenty-two, which suited his purposes nicely. His dad would think she was too young, and frankly, Joshua also thought she was too young. He didn’t get off on that kind of thing.
He understood why some men did. A tight body was hot. But in his experience, the younger the woman, the less in touch with her sensuality she was and he didn’t have the patience for that.
He didn’t have the patience for this either, but here he was. The sooner he got this farce over with, the sooner he could go back to his real life.
The doorbell rang and he stood up behind his desk. She was here. And she was—he checked his watch—late.
A half smile curved his lips.
Perfect.
He took the stairs two at a time. He was impatient to meet his temporary bride. Impatient to get this plan started so it could end.
He strode across the entryway and jerked the door open. And froze.
The woman standing on his porch was small. And young, just as he’d expected, but... She wore no makeup, which made her look like a damned teenager. Her features were fine and pointed; her dark brown hair hung lank beneath a ragged beanie that looked like it was in the process of unraveling while it sat on her head.
He didn’t bother to linger over the rest of the details—her threadbare sweater with too-long sleeves, her tragic skinny jeans—because he was stopped, immobilized really, by the tiny bundle in her arms.
A baby.
His prospective bride had come with a baby.
Well, hell.
* * *
She really hoped he wasn’t a serial killer. Well, hoped was an anemic word for what she was feeling. Particularly considering the possibility was a valid concern.
What idiot put an ad in the paper looking for a temporary wife?
Though, she supposed the bigger question was: What idiot responded to an ad in the paper looking for a temporary wife?
This idiot, apparently.
It took Danielle a moment to realize she was staring directly at the center of a broad, muscular male chest. She had to raise her head slightly to see his face. He was just so...tall. And handsome.
And she was confused.
She hadn’t imagined that a man who put an ad in the paper for a fake fiancée might be attractive. Another anemic word. Attractive. This man wasn’t simply attractive...
He was... Well, he was unreal.
Broad shouldered, muscular, with stubble on his square jaw adding a roughness to features that might have otherwise been considered pretty.
“Please don’t tell me you’re Danielle Kelly,” he said, crossing his arms over that previously noted broad chest.
“I am. Were you expecting someone else? Of course, I suppose you could be. I bet I’m not the only person who responded to your ad, strange though it was. The mention of compensation was pretty tempting. Although, I might point out that in the future maybe you should space your appointments further apart.”
“You have a baby,” he said, stating the obvious.
Danielle looked down at the bundle in her arms. “Yes.”
“You didn’t mention that in our email correspondence.”
“Of course not. I thought it would make it too easy for you to turn me away.”
He laughed, somewhat reluctantly, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Well, you’re right about that.”
“But now I’m here. And I don’t have the gas money to get back home. Also, you said you wanted unsuitable.” She spread one arm wide, keeping Riley clutched firmly in her other arm. “I would say that I’m pretty unsuitable.”
She could imagine the picture she made. Her hideous, patchwork car parked in the background. Maroon with lighter patches of red and a door that was green, since it had been replaced after some accident that had happened before the car had come into her possession. Then there was her. In all her faded glory. She was hungry, and she knew she’d lost a lot of weight over the past few weeks, which had taken her frame from slim to downright pointy. The circles under her eyes were so dark she almost looked like she’d been punched.
She considered the baby a perfect accessory. She had that new baby sallowness they never told you about when they talked about the miracle of life.
She curled her toes inside her boots, one of them going through a hole at the end of her sock. She frowned. “Anyway, I figured I presented a pretty poor picture of a fiancée for a businessman such as yourself. Don’t you agree?”
The corners of his lips tightened further. “The baby.”
“Yes?”
“You expect it to live here?”
She made an exasperated noise. “No. I expect him to live in the car while I party it up in your fancy-pants house.”
“A baby wasn’t part of the deal.”
“What do you care? Your email said it’s only through Christmas. Can you imagine telling your father that you’ve elected to marry Portland hipster trash and she comes with a baby? I mean, it’s going to be incredibly awkward, but ultimately kind of funny.”
“Come in,” he said, his expression no less taciturn as he stood to the side and allowed her entry into his magnificent home.
She clutched Riley even more tightly to her chest as she wandered inside, looking up at the high ceiling, the incredible floor-to-ceiling windows that offered an unparalleled mountain view. As cities went, Portland was all right. The air was pretty clean, and once you got away from the high-rise buildings, you could see past the
