The Sweetheart Hoax (10 page)

“You think it’s for real?” he asked. “I thought you were worried he’d bring any old woman home.”

She tapped her finger to her lips asking him to please keep his voice down. There was no way for them to come down the creaking stairs without notice, but she didn’t want to take the chance her husband’s deep baritone would carry. “I thought he would if he didn’t have someone special in his life, but I get the impression there are feelings involved.”

“I’m still not real sure why you did this. Don’t you think if he were serious with a woman, he’d eventually bring her around?”

“Bo, I can’t wait to meet my future daughter-in-law on the eve of the wedding. He’s been down in South Carolina for too long. He never talks about the women in his life and if I have to use underhanded tactics to find out about him, I will. The good Lord knows my motives are pure.”

“The Lord may know, Judy, but the citizens of Cash sure don’t. I can’t stand people thinking he’s gay because Devon can’t keep his mouth closed.”

“Devon told me you’re the one who blabbed while a customer was in the store.”

Bo tried again to reach for a biscuit and Judy maneuvered between him with a breadbasket. “I was whispering,” he said. “He’s the one who can’t talk without shouting. Paul Reynolds’ son overheard and the next thing I know he’s screaming, ‘Daddy, did you know Mr. Williams’ son is gay?’ Devon was so embarrassed he made sure Paul knew it was Phil and not
him
. Now everybody knows.”

Judy shook away the unpleasant idea that Phil’s reputation had been ruined by her antics and insisted it would all work out in the end. “So Margot solves everyone’s problem. He can show her off this weekend, we can find out more about our son’s future, and we’ll squelch the rumor at the same time.”

“I don’t know, Judy. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

When the stairs began groaning under the weight of their guests, she shushed her husband and waved her arms in the air. “Act natural,” she told him. “The show is about to begin.”

***

Phil placed his hand at the base of Margot’s spine and carefully led her toward the kitchen where he knew his dad was waiting. He didn’t remember being this nervous when he’d first brought Julianne home at the tender age of sixteen. Of course, what parent didn’t want their son to date the beautiful daughter of the town’s most respected minister?

Phil wasn’t nervous about convincing them he and Margot were a couple; for the last few hours, he’d had a hard time convincing himself they weren’t a couple. When she stormed into the bathroom, he’d walked over and fingered a piece of lace lingerie that had draped over the edge of her suitcase. He reclined on the bed and tried not to envision her wearing the sweet nothing when he heard the roar of his dad’s engine outside. Dread crawled up his spine like a spider up a web. Bo Williams had come home to face his pansy son.

Margot stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the hallway, only inches from the kitchen door. She spun around and looked up at him with panic in her eyes. “I need to go change,” she said and slid past him onto the stairs.

He caught up with her when she’d only gotten three steps up, turning her around. For the first time, they stood eye to eye. “Why do you need to change? You look…” He hadn’t really noticed what she had on as he’d been so focused on the upcoming confrontation with his father. He glanced down at her cheetah print ankle boots, army green cargo pants, and tight white t-shirt hiding under a denim jacket with a cheetah scarf. She looked like a sexy kitten on the prowl. “You look amazing,” he said with a purr in his voice even he recognized as a come on. “Don’t change a thing.”

“Are you sure?” She sandwiched her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes glimmered in the muted light. Had he ever noticed the flecks of gold against the brown?

“Margot…” His body moved toward her like a magnet.

The sound of his mother’s voice had him pulling back with a jolt. “Dinner’s ready,” his mother called. “If you two are going to eat before the game, we need to get to it.”

“Don’t change,” he said.

She rewarded him with an unsteady smile and nodded her head. “Okay.”

He slid his hand down her arm and laced his fingers through hers. When she didn’t move, he gave her a gentle tug and she joined him at the base of the stairs.

He didn’t feel nervous walking into the kitchen where his dad poked through the breadbasket while his mom carried bowls to the table she’d set. He felt confused by the woman at his side. He couldn’t quite put a name to the feelings she stirred, but he did know they made him uncomfortable. What had he been about to say to her when his mother called them into the kitchen? Had he really considered kissing her? His universe, it seemed, had turned on its axis.

His dad dropped a biscuit on his plate and dusted his hands off on the orange napkin that matched his mother’s sunflower themed kitchen. He got to his feet. “Phil,” he stuck his hand out, forcing Phil to drop Margot’s hand. His dad inspected him from head to toe. “We’re going to the game tonight, son, not the rodeo. What the hell are you wearing?”

“Dad,” Phil said, ignoring his father’s insult. “This is Margot Manning. Margot, my dad, Bo Williams.”

His father fumbled around the table and gave Margot a dainty handshake. Phil had never seen him act so clumsy.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Williams,” Margot said. “You have a beautiful home and I appreciate you welcoming me into it this weekend.”

“Oh, we’re glad you’re here, Margot. And please call me Bo.”

“You two have a seat,” his mother instructed. She ushered them to the built in bench along the window. His mother and father sat in the chairs opposite Margot and him. “Go on and get your fill. The burgers at the game don’t taste nearly as good as they smell. This should tide you over until later. I’ve got pie in the oven for after the game.”

“Apple?” Phil asked hopefully.

“Of course.”

“Margot loves pecan, but she’s never tasted your apple, Mom.” How had he come to know Margot’s taste in food, he wondered as he shoveled in
spoonfuls
of stew. He’d gotten into the habit of bringing her snacks, mostly the sweet kind, not long after she’d first begun working at the office. He’d never given much thought to why he brought her sweet treats or how her simple appreciation of them kept the tradition going. When she really liked something he’d brought her, she’d give a moan of delight. Maybe they’d eat their pie in the bedroom later and see just how—

“Phillip?” His mother asked. “You’re a million miles away.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Is everything set for the party tomorrow?”

“As set as its going to be,” his mother said. “I’m going over to the American Legion tomorrow afternoon to decorate with Sheryl.”

“Sheryl’s my sister-in-law,” Phil explained to Margot.

“I know,” Margot said without thinking. “She owns the flower shop. She and Devon have been married for eight years.”

“Well,” his mother’s eyes lit up with delight. “I guess Phil does mention us every now and again.”

Margot flashed him a playful grin that had the blood draining from his brain. “You’d be surprised how much I know, Mrs. Williams.”

“Call me Judy.” Phil passed his mom the butter tub after she’d put a biscuit on her plate. “So tell us about you, Margot. What do you do?”

“I’m a nurse, well…almost a nurse. I take my licensing exam next week, and then I’ll be on staff at the hospital in Charleston.”

“A nurse? How exciting. I can’t stand the sight of blood.”

“That’s fairly common,” Margot said.

“And does your family live in the area or are you a transplant like Phil?”

“I was born and raised in Echo. My mother died a few years ago.”

“I’m so sorry, dear.” His mom reached out and patted Margot’s arm. “I lost my mother two years ago. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you and your father.”

“I’ve never met my father.”

“You haven’t?” Phil asked before he thought better of revealing how little he knew of her personal life. She spared him a fleeting glance before dropping her eyes and fiddling with her spoon.

“How about you, Judy?” Margot asked. “Do you work outside the home?”

Phil had to stifle a snort. His mother hadn’t been employed in over thirty years and if Margot had read his bios she would have known.

“Oh, I haven’t had a job in years, not since putting Bo through school. I do some volunteer work for the church and I run a book blogging site.”

“A book blogging site?” he asked before Margot could get the words out.

“Honey,” she said with a pink glow to her cheeks. “You know how much I love to read. Devon set me up a website and I post reviews and do author interviews. I’ve got over five hundred followers.”

“Followers?”

“For the blog,” she answered. “I’m even on Twitter.”

“You’re on Twitter?” he asked.

“The book blogging community is very forward thinking. I’m on it all—Facebook, Twitter, Google plus. If you’d ever get on Facebook like I asked you to, this wouldn’t be a surprise.”

He washed away the distaste in his mouth with a swallow of tea. “I hate that kind of stuff, Mom.”

“You may hate it, but it would do wonders for your business.”

He put his spoon down after finishing the bowl. “Business is fine.” He looked at Margot and smiled. “Can you imagine if I asked Danny to get on Facebook?”

“How is Danny?” Judy asked. “Such a surprise to hear he’d gotten married and is now expecting a baby.” She glared at her son. “His family must be so proud.”

“Shocked is more like it,” Phil said. “No one ever thought he’d settle down.”

“Amazing what the right woman can do to a man. Isn’t that right, Bo?”

“Yeah, yeah,” his dad mumbled and then thankfully changed the subject. “So how’s business, Philly? You working on anything big?”

His dad thought he should be designing skyscrapers or at least multi-story office buildings. Phil felt sure his dad equated environmentally friendly residential and commercial buildings to gay bars. “We’ve got another development in the works, but with the economy the way it is, we’re scaling back. We should break ground on a doctor’s building after the first of the year.”

“You are?” Margot asked. “I don’t remember you mentioning that. Which practice?”

Oh, this ought to be good. If only they were alone and he could press her for information. “Randall
McBain
,” he said and sent her a pointed stare. “He's a golfing buddy and a plastic surgeon. We discussed his building on the course. Have you heard of him?”

Her brows lifted under her bouncing curls and her eyes darted to the stew. “The plastic surgeon? Yes, I’ve heard of him,” she said.

He should have asked if
she’d ever been kissed by the scalpel wielding skirt chaser
. All of the sudden it struck him. He was spending the weekend with the possible girlfriend of a friend. He and Randall had played golf together for over two years and, despite their different outlooks on life, they’d developed a friendship of sorts. He wouldn’t poach a friend’s girlfriend. Furthermore,
McBain
was a client. Which made Margot completely off limits. Shit.

His mom stood up and carried Bo’s and her dishes to the sink. “We’d better get a move on if we’re going to make kickoff. Phil,” she called over her shoulder, “you and Margot take a separate car in case those bleachers get my hip to acting up. I wouldn’t want you two to have to leave early.”

He didn’t want to go at all, but he’d suggested the game to his mother earlier in the week thinking a public outing at the football game with his “girlfriend” in tow would squelch the gay rumors fast. Now the only thing he wanted to squelch was his mounting desire for Margot.

Chapter 11

Margot felt nervous as Phil inched the rental into a parking lot in a grassy field across from the football stadium. The Cash water tower loomed over the distant trees illuminated by the football lights.

“We don’t have to stay long,” he said.

“It’s your weekend,” she said and reached for the door handle. The feel of his hand on her sleeve had her turning around to face him.

“Margot, I’m sorry this weekend hasn’t started out so well. I know you’re uncomfortable sleeping in the same room, and I promise you’ll have time to study tomorrow.”

“Look, Phil, its fine. We’re here to clear up your reputation.
If we have to sleep in the same room to do it, that’s okay.
It’s not a big deal.” She couldn’t sit there another minute in the small space with a console and a mountain of lies between them. Sleeping with him was the biggest deal in her life. She opened the door, careful not to hit the car next to them, and took a gulp of fresh air. She could smell the grass under her feet, the rich pungent soil of the Midwest, and felt as if she’d landed on another planet. There were no ocean waves crashing just beyond the line of trees, but miles of freshly plowed farmland. She felt adrift in the waving plains of wheat or whatever crop lined both sides of the road and danced in the cool evening breeze.