“And in exchange I locate your father.”
She nodded again.
“Let me think about it.”
“There’s one more thing,” she said slowly, suddenly feeling awkward. Why now after already broaching the ridiculous subject she didn’t know. But the awkwardness grew steadily. Clearing her throat, she tilted her chin. “I’d have to live here in New Orleans so we’d have to pretend to my family that it’s real.”
“Why?”
“My sister Caroline’s pregnant. She miscarried her first pregnancy and we don’t want anything upsetting her this time. If we pretend to be married for real, she won’t have anything to worry about. We don’t have to tell her about our deal. Time enough after the baby’s born.”
“Let me get this straight—in exchange for searching for your father, we get married, pretend to the world we’re madly in love, and you’ll take Penny to day care, live here and cook?”
Michelle nodded slowly. Saying it aloud made it sound totally preposterous. Glancing around the kitchen, she smiled brightly. “I’m a great cook.”
“Do you realize most of the time I’m in the office during the day and home every night like any businessman, but there are occasions when I need to go somewhere on business or handle a surveillance, or monitor some particular activity which means I won’t be home that night? Are you willing to watch Penny under those circumstances?”
“Of course. I’ll be living here.”
She didn’t want to tell him she normally didn’t have much to do in the evenings. That’d lead to all sorts of questions she didn’t care to answer.
He studied her for a long moment, then rose.
“I’ll think about your offer.”
Feeling let down, Michelle nodded. She was sure once she had a chance to think about what she’d just suggested, she’d change her mind. But for a few minutes it seemed so perfect.
How long could it take him to find her father? Even a few months pretending to be married wouldn’t be a hardship. Just until Caroline had her baby. She’d help him out with Penny.
“I’ll leave you my number,” she said.
“That won’t be necessary. If I can’t find you here in New Orleans, how do you ever expect me to find your father?” he drawled.
Michelle felt like an idiot as she headed out to the Garden District to visit her sister. Since she wasn’t working today, she might as well make the most of her day off. But she continued to dwell on her meeting with Josh. What had possessed her to offer a marriage of convenience? The man probably suspected she had ulterior motives and wanted something else.
And she didn’t want to involve her sisters. Brandon and Caroline had enough with their baby coming and renovating their new house. From something Caroline had said, Michelle wasn’t sure her older sister felt strongly about actually finding their father. She seemed satisfied for now to learn that he had not abandoned them as children. Of course with all the recent changes in her life, she didn’t have time to go searching.
Caroline had held the belief for years that she’d been the reason for their father’s desertion. Discovering the truth had ended that lie and gone a long way into making Caroline more trusting around men—and her estranged husband Brandon in particular. They had reconciled and were now expecting. With her move, new job, new home, it was no wonder she didn’t have time to search for a missing person. Michelle wouldn’t expect her to.
But she could. She’d lived in her apartment for four years, no work needed there. She currently wasn’t dating anyone. Work was steady and dependable.
Michelle and Abby had discussed trying to locate their father, but for the time being, her younger sister was too wrapped up in her new nursing course and her normal duties to have time to explore further.
That left it up to Michelle. She was the perfect one to go searching.
Wistfully she wondered if her father had missed her after he’d left. Whatever he’d done since then didn’t matter to her. She just wanted to know.
Caroline wasn't home. Michelle was disappointed. With nothing else pressing, she headed for the nearest mall. She’d indulge herself by shopping this afternoon. And hope there was a message from Josh on her answering machine when she returned home.
Her phone rang as Michelle entered her apartment several hours later. She dumped her bags and pulled it from her purse. Had Josh decided?
No such luck. Caroline’s face filled her screen.
“Hi Sis, how are you?” Caroline’s serene voice came across the line.
“Hi, I’m doing fine. More importantly, how are you?” Michelle ignored the tinge of disappointment she felt that it wasn’t Josh. “Hold a minute. I just got in and have groceries to put away.”
“No rush, I just called to chat. Brandon’s working late tonight. Call me when you have a minute.”
“So we’re both eating alone? I'll call you while I eat, so we can have dinner together,” Michelle suggested.
While a good cook, she rarely prepared a full meal for herself—saving that effort for when she had friends over.
Tonight she heated some soup, toasted French bread and cut up fresh fruit for a salad. Then she called Caroline.
She didn’t know what Josh would decide, but just in case, she’d better lay the groundwork with her family. Caroline would worry just as much with an unexpected wedding as she would knowing the circumstances behind this one.
“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Caroline said, once the preliminaries were out of the way.
“I’ve been busy,” Michelle said, taking a deep breath. “Actually, there’s this guy—”
Silence greeted her announcement. She frowned. Was it so shocking that she could attract a man?
“Really?” Caroline asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.
“Really. His name is Josh.”
“Where did you meet him? When? Does he work at where you do? How serious are you?” Caroline asked.
Michelle laughed at the barrage of questions. “Whoa, slow down. Let’s see. I met him at the office.” No need to mention which
