The Sweetheart Hoax (6 page)

“Oh, well, that makes me feel worlds better.” His attempt at sarcasm didn’t even make her smile.

“I’m going to have to think about this.”

“Okay, but I should probably tell you that I need to book the flight by tonight.”

“Tonight?” she squealed. “You need an answer by tonight?”

“Not until almost midnight.”

“Oh, well. That make me feel worlds better,” she mimicked his Midwestern drawl to perfection.

“Please, Margot, just think about it. It’s only a weekend. The party’s on Saturday night and we’d be out of there early Sunday. You could study on the plane and God knows there’s nothing to do in Cash.”

“Give me some time to think, Phil. If you keep trying to sell me on the trip, I’m going to get mad and turn you down flat.”

“Okay,” he stood up and walked her to the door. “I’ll be right here whenever you decide.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I know where to find you.”

***

Margot parked at the end of the long drive and looked up at the impressive structure. Two stories of sand colored, rammed earth with an intricate garret’s nest at the top. She imagined the view over the trees facing the ocean was perfect for watching the sunset and wondered what it felt like to be blissfully in love and have the perfect house for romantic nights.

As if she’d conjured her, Kate appeared on the doorstep, rubbing her back and holding a large black and white dog by its collar. Margot got out of her car and joined them on the porch.

“I see you found it okay,” Kate said.

“You gave perfect directions.” Margot leaned down and tapped the dog on its head. “Your home is beautiful, Kate.”

“Thanks.” She led Margot past the foyer and into a two-story den featuring a massive stone fireplace. “Go to bed, Teddy,” Kate ordered and pointed to a large crate in the corner of the room. The dog obediently jogged to the crate and
laid
down on the dark cushion embroidered with his name. “Danny built this place from scratch. Every time I walk in, it’s like getting a great big hug.”

“There you go being annoyingly happy again,”
Margot
said.

“Sorry. Jeez, no wonder I don’t have any friends.”

Margot gaped at Kate as she sank into the leather couch. “You don’t have any friends?”

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” She maneuvered a small pillow behind her back and let out an audible sigh. “Danny’s been harping at me to make girlfriends, but I haven’t exactly meshed with the ladies on the island. I’m hoping once the baby’s born, I’ll find a group of new moms.”

“The ladies on the island fall into two basic categories,” Margot explained and sat in an oversized fabric chair. She felt swallowed up as it drew her against the fluffy back and left her feet to dangle. “The new residents tend to hang around the country club and shops around Andover. The natives, like me, stick to Echo. You’re kind of an in-
betweener
being married to a native, but not native yourself. Besides, I’ve heard more than one woman complain about you snatching Danny off the market.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve heard that myself,” Kate complained. “One woman actually told me not to get too comfortable in his life because he’d dump me within a month. When I explained we were married, she nearly swallowed her tongue.”

“Oh,” Margot laughed. “I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall.”

“As satisfying as it was to set her straight, I think the encounter only added to my reputation. So,” she readjusted the pillow and stretched her legs out on the couch, “what’s the big emergency?”

Margot dropped her face into her hands. “It’s Phil.”

“What’s he done?”

“He asked me to go home with him.”

“What?” Kate dropped her feet to the floor. “How…when…?”

“Not home with him as in to bed with him. He asked me to go home to Illinois with him for the weekend of his dad’s retirement party.”

“Oh. Okay.” Kate’s brow furrowed over her electric blue eyes. “I’m confused.”

“So am I.” Margot shot to her feet and began pacing in front of the fireplace. The dog lifted his head, but stayed put. “He needs me to go with him.” She stopped and held her hand up to Kate like a traffic cop signaling to a driver. “Correction, he needs someone to go with him and he’s so desperate he asked me.”

“Why does he desperately need someone to go home with him? As far as I know, he’s never taken a woman home before.”

“That’s the problem, and before you ask me what that means, I’d better tell you I can’t explain.”

“Okay…”

Margot continued along her path, back and forth in front of the imposing glass coffee table topped with books and a beautiful pottery bowl filled with river rock. “So he’s desperate and he’s asked me and he needs an answer by tonight.”

“Tonight? When did he ask?”

Margot looked at her watch. “About thirty minutes ago.”

Kate shook her head in dismay. “For a man who appears to have it all figured out, he certainly takes a wrong turn every now and again.”

“What should I do? I mean
,
I know I shouldn’t go—it’s ridiculous to even consider going, but he’s so good at making me feel sorry for him. He practically admitted he scoured both islands and Charleston proper for a more suitable woman and yet I’m seriously considering going.” She halted and faced Kate. “What is wrong with me?”

“For starters, please sit down. You’re making me dizzy.”

Margot curled up in the chair and tucked her legs under her. “Sorry.”

“Now, nothing is wrong with you except that you’ve got a serious crush on him and have for some time.”

“True,” Margot admitted. Amazing how an hour ago she would have denied it, but now, with Kate, she found it easy to face her most shameful secret. “Which makes the fact that I’m considering going that much more stupid. I’ve got a lot at risk. This crush, for lack of a better term, could morph into something more dangerous if I spend the weekend with him. On the other hand,” she said before Kate could interject, “it could prove why we’d never make a good match. This whole experiment could finally break the spell I’ve been under and help me make a clean break.” She took a deep breath and looked at Kate. The perplexed expression on her face made Margot feel a little light headed and queasy.

“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind,” Kate said.

“No, I’m of two minds, and I’d like for you to help me choose which one to go with.”

“Why don’t you ask yourself how you would feel if you turned him down?”

“Well,” Margot dropped her knees and imagined walking into Phil’s office to decline his offer of help. “I’d probably feel guilty and selfish.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s got a pretty good reason for needing someone to go home with him. I’d much rather it be me than his usual dating disaster.”

“And how would you feel if you accepted?”

Margot dropped her eyes and played with the fraying edges of her skirt. “I’d feel nauseous and a tiny bit excited,” she admitted. “I’d also feel like I was setting myself up for heartache.”

Kate sat back against the couch and sighed. “You want to know what I think?” When Margot nodded her head, she continued. “I think if you didn’t go, you’d be giving up an opportunity to find out what could have been between the two of you.”

“Don’t misunderstand, Kate. He’s not asking me because he’s in any way interested. He told Danny I was young and plain.
‘Between her clothes, snorting laugh, and crazy curls, no one would believe we were a couple.’
”

 
“Well, you do a mean Phil impression. And I do mean
mean
.”

“He didn’t know I was listening.”

“I’m sure that didn’t ease the sting,” Kate said.

Margot couldn’t stand the pity in her eyes. “It helped me to quit and it certainly helps me understand exactly what he’s asking for with this trip. I’ve got no illusions about his intentions.”

“So with no illusions or expectations, are you going to go?” Kate asked.

“I came here hoping you’d talk me out of accepting, but you haven’t done that.”

“Sometimes you have to take a risk. There’s no guarantee it’ll work out, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.” Kate looked down at her hands where she twisted them in her lap. “If he breaks your heart, are you going to blame me?”

Look at her, Margot thought. The woman with everything didn’t have everything after all. “I could use a friend as much as you, Kate. If things don’t work out, I’ll do the mature thing and blame Phil.”

“Good.” Kate eased up from the couch and reached her hand out for Margot. The dog got up, stretched, and wagged his tail. “Come with me and we’ll see what we can do about your clothes.”

Chapter 7

 
Phil sat in his office and tried to work the design for the restaurant they were building on Andover, a project he’d fought hard to win and one that deserved his full attention. But he couldn’t concentrate on anything but what was going on in their lobby. The girl Margot had recommended and he’d hired had the loudest voice. As he sat back in his chair, reached for his ball, and began tossing it from hand to hand, he decided loud wasn’t the most appropriate word. Annoying. There was something about her voice that grated on his nerves.

He’d have to learn to live with it, he told himself and flicked the ball away, stood up, and closed his office door. He returned to the computer and his initial drawings, but he still couldn’t concentrate. He felt silly for feeling panicky at the thought of Margot leaving. She was their receptionist, not a major player in their organization. She’d made it sound like a monkey could do her job the way she went on about how much time she’d had to study over the years. But something about the change in employees had him feeling uneasy.

He considered the fact that maybe he felt edgy because, in one day, he and Margot were scheduled to leave for their weekend in Cash. He’d been thrilled when she accepted and had spent the last week sharing detailed notes on his family history and what to expect when they arrived. She’d rolled her eyes every time he’d handed her another typewritten sheet and tucked it away in her bag. He only hoped she’d read his mini-biographies of his brother and his wife, his mom and dad, and the assortment of people they were certain to run into over the weekend.

He called, “Come in,” to the knock on his door and felt relieved to find Margot alone on the other side. “Good,” he said. “Come on in and sit down. I need to talk to you.”

She stayed at the entrance of his office, her hand still on the doorknob. “I just wanted to let you know that Rebecca and I are going to the office supply store.”

“Oh,” he said. “I guess we can do this when you get back.”

“I’m leaving on time tonight, Phil, so whatever you want is either going to have to wait or you can give it to Rebecca.”

“I need to talk to you about the trip.” He pulled more notes from his briefcase and caught the tail end of her look toward heaven. “I’ve typed up a few more notes and I’d like to go over them with you.”

“It’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” she said.

“We leave tomorrow.” He sighed and looked down at his calendar. He’d scheduled a haircut for later that night and had to run by the dry cleaner and pack, but if she was going to be difficult… “I guess we can do this over dinner. I’ll have to reschedule some things, but why don’t you meet me at that new café on 5th around 6:30?”

Margot’s cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink before she shifted her glance to his floor and said, “I can’t do dinner tonight. I have a date.”

“A date?” He couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d said she was running with the bulls. “You’re going on a date the night before our weekend together?”

“You mean our ‘pretend’ weekend together? Yes, I’m going on a date.”

“Well…”

“Look,” she said. “Our flight doesn’t leave until three. We can either go over your notes in the morning or on the plane.” She stepped back. “Don’t worry. I’m a quick study.”

When she shut the door in his face, he felt…angry and a little bit upset. They were supposed to be in sync with each other for the weekend. How was that supposed to happen when she would be full of whomever she planned to spend the evening with?

And just
who
the hell did she plan to spend the evening with?

***

Margot tried to ease the tension that had settled just at the base of her skull without drawing attention to her rising headache. She didn’t want to be distracted while dining at a restaurant she’d wanted to visit since she’d heard Phil rave about its inventive Italian dishes. She didn’t want to be irritated that her date seemed perfectly fine with the snail’s pace with which the meal was progressing. She didn’t want to wonder if Phil was jealous she had a date. She didn’t want to think of Phil at all.

Phil was her gold standard, the man she judged every other man against, and even though his shine had dulled in the last few weeks, she felt more excited than she should to be spending the weekend with him and his family. That excitement and her mental list of things to do before she left had the muscles of her neck seizing just as dinner finally arrived.