The Borrowed Boyfriend (5 page)

“Slicker.”

“I’ll just bet,” Allison said with a giggle. Then she climbed from the car and made her hasty retreat, catching runaway strands of hair as she went.

Grady watched her scurry into the convenience complex that housed the restroom, thinking everything was right on target. Allison was already warming up to him, he could tell. So what if she didn’t like opera? He supposed he could live with that for a week. It wasn’t like they’d have tons of time for music appreciation at the shore anyway.

Grady stepped from the car and filled his tank, whistling the tune to “Light My Candle” from the film
Rent
. Perhaps Allison didn’t know the movie was based on
La Bohème,
and he could get away with playing the soundtrack?

Allison returned in record time, appearing just as stunning as she’d looked when she’d left. Grady conceded to himself once again what an attractive woman she was, which made him curious as to why Allison had not yet nailed down a man. Surely, with a face like hers, she’d had plenty of opportunity. Plus, she was brainy and talented. The way she filled out the pair of stretch jeans tucked into her calf-high leather boots wasn’t bad either. Grady mentally slapped himself for even thinking that. He had a girlfriend! Sort of. “That was fast!” he said as Allison climbed back in the car.

“Long line,” she explained with a grimace. “Maybe I’ll try the coffee place?”

“Sure thing.” Grady replaced the gas cap and opened the driver’s door. “Allison?” he said suddenly. “I forgot to ask. How do you take your coffee?”

“Coffee?”

“Seems like something we should know about each other. Don’t you think?”

She teased him with a smirk as he slid into the driver’s seat. “You should know. You’ve seen me drink it often enough.”

Grady tightened his fingers around the steering wheel and thought hard. After a moment, a mental picture appeared. “Milk, no sugar.”

“Yes!”

Grady didn’t know why she seemed surprised. “How do I take mine?” he asked.

Allison looked blank. “I…uh…”

“You don’t know, do you?” Grady wondered why he felt a dig. It wasn’t Allison’s job to pay attention to how he took his coffee. Just like it wasn’t Grady’s fault that he always minded details, as well as remembered them.

“Black?” she finally guessed.

Grady nodded. “With sugar.”

Allison smiled tightly. “I was about to say that,” she lied.

Grady gave her a serious look. “I thought we’d covered everything. Little details like that could trip us up.”

“I’ll remember now!” she blurted out. Her face reddened.

Grady rumbled a laugh. “I’m sure you will. I just hope there’s nothing else.”

“It’s not like anyone’s going to quiz us,” she told him.

“Maybe we should go over everything one more time, just in case.”

“Grady, you’re being paranoid.”

“I like to think of it as being prepared.”

Allison sighed with resignation. “All right. Once we’ve made our pit stop and picked up our coffees—
one black with sugar,
” she added pointedly, “we’ll review our story.”

Grady plastered on a grin. “It’s a sweet one.”

“Let’s keep it
short
and sweet,” Allison returned, deadpan. “That will leave less opportunity for messing up.”

Chapter Five

When they were a little more than halfway through their journey, Grady felt his stomach rumble. He guessed Allison was hungry too. Neither one had grabbed anything to eat with their late morning coffees, so she couldn’t have eaten since breakfast. Neither had he. “Hungry?” he asked, getting her attention.

“Starved!” She still seemed to be battling the wind, but somehow appeared less troubled by it. Perhaps Allison was actually starting to unwind and enjoy this trip. That would make things go more smoothly for the two of them.

“There are a couple of choices in the next town!” Grady called back. The road sign ahead showed a burger joint, a hoagie shop and a pancake restaurant. “What do you feel like?”

Allison shot him a megawatt grin from behind her glam girl sunglasses. “Breakfast!”

Grady didn’t mind her choice, particularly since the place was a chain known for serving big, greasy burgers too. While he generally tried to eat healthy, road food was in a category unto itself. No one could fault a guy for getting his grease on during a ten-hour drive. That, plus a few more cups of strong coffee, would keep him stoked for the rest of the trip. They’d planned to arrive at the beach house right around dinnertime, and another one of the couples, Patrick and Deb, had offered to cook. That’s apparently how things were done. Allison had explained that each of the four couples took turns cooking one night; that they ordered something simple, like pizza, on another; and that they all went out to eat one night as well. On some random evening in between, at everybody’s choosing, the entire group cooked one mega meal together, to which each of them contributed.
 

Grady supposed it must have been awkward for Allison when she’d been paired with some guy she didn’t know for chef duties. Then again, that couldn’t have felt any weirder than sharing a bedroom with a stranger. Grady didn’t know
what
her friends had been thinking. It wasn’t like Allison was some endangered species that could be put in a pen to mate. That might work in the animal kingdom, but it was hard to imagine such a scenario playing well for someone like Allison. Didn’t artists need to feel inspired, in one way or another?

Grady steered them off the interstate and onto the rural road that housed the restaurant, thinking things were looking up. Though Allison had begun this excursion in a sour mood, her spirits had seemed to brighten throughout the trip. Who knew? A meat-stuffed omelet might push her right over the edge and clear into euphoria!

“Thanks, Grady,” she said, when he pulled into one of the empty spots in front of the building.

“Not a problem. I like this place too. Besides…” He studied her slyly. “I hear they make great omelets.”

She gaped at him. “How did you know what I was in the mood for?”

“I’ve seen you make that thing with eggs, sausage and bacon…” He raised an authoritative finger. “And ham! Can’t forget the ham!”

Her cheeks went pink. “You remember all that?”

Grady winked and her color deepened. “I pay attention.”

Allison entered the restaurant ahead of Grady, feeling her face flame. She was wrong to think Grady had been flirting with her. He’d just made a simple statement. It wasn’t such a big deal that he knew how she liked her eggs—and took her coffee. Lots of people who’d hung around her might make similar observations. But, the truth of the matter was, none of them had. She’d dated Colin a full eight months and he’d still thought she was a tea fanatic. Turned out he hadn’t been able to get his former girlfriend, a yoga instructor who owned a juice bar, out of his mind. She’d let that be a lesson to her. Any man who repeatedly failed to note her beverage choices spelled trouble.
 

Allison didn’t know what to make of a guy who paid such great
attention
. If this were a normal dating situation and Allison was interested in Grady—which she absolutely, positively wasn’t—she might even be flattered that he’d taken care to note her preferences. As things stood, she’d do well to recall this entire arrangement was a farce and nothing like a real date. To top it off, Grady was dating Kate! Allison found herself puzzling over that. For a man who noticed so much, Grady seemed patently unaware of how shabbily Kate treated him.
 

Perhaps that was just from Allison’s perspective, as she had keener insight into her roommate’s behavior. Allison was sure Grady didn’t know how blatantly Kate flirted with other guys during their “girls’ nights” out, and Allison understood it wasn’t her place to tell him.

A pleasant waitress greeted them and led them to a snug booth near a front window. “Would you like to hear our specials today?” she asked, handing each one a plastic-coated menu.

“I think we know what we want,” Grady said confidently.

Allison raised an eyebrow. Wasn’t he even going to give her a chance to order?

“But I’ll defer to my lady friend,” he continued. “Just in case she surprises me.”

The slight, middle-aged waitress with springy dark curls positioned her pen above her order pad and waited.

Allison fixed her gaze on the menu, tempted to select something different just to show Grady he didn’t know everything. Though that ham and cheese omelet did look awfully good. If only they could throw in—

“Say,” Grady asked, interrupting her thoughts. He pointed to an item on the menu and the waitress craned her neck to see. “Would it be possible to add bacon and sausage to that?”

The woman appraised him wryly. “I guess you’re not worried about your cholesterol.” She winked conspiratorially at Allison. “These young guys never are.”

“Oh, it’s not for me,” he said, beaming. “It’s for my girlfriend.”

“What?” Allison practically croaked before she realized what he was doing. Of course, a dress rehearsal…and why not? It might help them to practice.

“What’s the matter, dear?” the waitress asked her. “Not watching your figure, I hope. You seem very fit to me.”

“Boy, is she ever,” Grady said suggestively.

Allison swatted him—hard—with her menu, then smiled sweetly at the waitress. “I’ll take the omelet, please.”

“With ham and cheese,
and
bacon and sausage…?” she asked, as she wrote.

“Yes, please. And a glass of water and a cup of coffee.”

“And I’ll take the BLT burger with a side of fries,” Grady said when the waitress looked up. “Also with water and coffee.”

“All good choices for a windy day.”

Grady and Allison stared out the window, seeing a nearby stand of pines move as fierce winds rustled through them.

“That’s what we get for driving north,” Grady said when their server departed. “I told you Jamaica would have been better.”

“My friends aren’t vacationing in Jamaica”

“Oh, right,” he said, pretending. “I forgot.”

Allison shook her head and peered back outdoors. “Those look like rain clouds moving in. I guess it’s a good thing you put up the top.”

Their waitress returned a few minutes later carting two cups of coffee and two iced waters on a tray. Grady scanned the table, then queried politely, “Do you think we could have some cream for the coffee?”
 

Since he didn’t use it himself, Allison knew he was asking on her behalf. She couldn’t help but find the gentlemanly gesture endearing. Why did Grady have to be such a lout in his professional life? She’d read about his recent “successes” in the papers, and each one of them had involved closing a smaller business down.
 

That wasn’t progress to Allison; it was imperialism. It was like Grady’s megacorporation thought it was some huge king that could annex anybody’s land that it wanted. Lately, Grady’s firm, Total Wines, had been doing exactly that—eating up more and more of the fertile ground surrounding Marydale by buying out the independent vineyards.

The waitress tugged some individual creamers from her apron pocket and placed them on the table. “Sugar’s over there,” she said, motioning to the metal bracket stand beside the napkin holder. “Help yourselves.” She laid down their flatware, and they thanked her as rain began to streak the window.

Grady fixed his coffee while Allison added creamer to hers. “Looks like we’re in for a storm.” Just as he said it, thunder boomed and lightning tore up the sky.

“I hope it won’t make for bad driving,” she said, unable to mask her concern.

“No worries. I grew up in Seattle. We get rain there too.” He seemed so confident sitting there, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Wasn’t Grady the least bit concerned about the week ahead?

Allison toyed with her cup before asking, “So, you think we can be convincing?”

“As a couple? Sure. Just look at the waitress.” He furtively glanced sideways. “She already thinks we’re an item.”

Allison leaned toward him and whispered, “How do you know?”

Grady’s eyes twinkled. “Because I told her so,” he whispered back.

Allison’s shoulders drooped. “Are you used to
everyone
believing what you tell them?”

Grady stroked his chin in thought. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Some would call that arrogant,” she said, annoyed. Nobody got everything they wanted. Not even the stupendous Grady O’Brien.

“Others might use
confident…convincing…captivating…
”

Allison narrowed her eyes at him, then said coolly, “These are the charms you use during your take-overs, I suspect?”

Grady’s mouth dropped open. For ten seconds he said nothing. He just assessed her. “You don’t think much of my career, do you?”

“I never said that.”

“Didn’t have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I observe things.”

“What things?”

Grady scrutinized her for a beat. “Like how you’re pretty dismissive of me whenever I come over to visit Kate. And the little digs about ‘big business’ you tend to drop into casual conversation. Oh yeah…” He scratched his head as if remembering. “And then there was that front-page newspaper article covering my buyout of Voltaire Vineyards…”