Lady Love

“A month?” He looked hunted.

“She’ll be company for Amanda and me,” Lila said shortly. “Amanda likes her.”

So this was the little girl’s father, Merlyn thought. Cameron the Cold Heart. He did fit the image of a businessman who was all business all the time. No wonder the little girl looked so repressed. She didn’t have a chance with a father like that. She studied Cameron Thorpe quietly and wondered how he’d look in red polka-dotted boxer shorts. She had to bite her lip hard to keep from bursting out laughing.

“I thought children were supposed to be perceptive,” he muttered.

Merlyn gave him the once-over and tugged her blue robe closer. “I’m so glad you like me, Mr. Thorpe,” she sighed theatrically. She grinned. “I like you, too. Dark, somber men really turn me on.”

Once again, he looked as though he might explode. His mother, kind soul, moved quickly in front of Merlyn.

“Now, dear,” she told Cameron gently, “it’s late and you must be tired. Why don’t you get some rest? Can you stay the entire weekend?”

“Yes,” he said. “And if you could keep Jane Eyre here out of sight while my guests are in residence…?”

“Guests?” Lila asked.

“Charlotte and Delle Radner,” he said. “They’re coming up from Atlanta tomorrow.”

Lila sighed. “Oh.” She didn’t look enthusiastic. “Of course, your friends are welcome.”

“You’ll get used to them,” he promised her with a slight softening.

“I suppose I’ll have to,” came the resigned reply.

“I suppose one of them is your girlfriend,” Merlyn said, letting her full lips pout at him. “Well, I want you to know that my heart is broken, just broken. And I did love you at first sight…uh, what was your name again?”

He started to speak, then sliced the air with that big hand, turned on his heel and stomped off down the hall with steps heavy enough to rattle the glass in the windows.

Lila collapsed in muffled laughter. Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Merlyn, you’re so good for me. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

“I don’t imagine many people have,” Merlyn mused, glancing down the deserted hall. “My goodness, he frightened me to death when he came storming in. I remembered that you had a son, but you hadn’t mentioned that he’d be coming tonight.”

“I’d forgotten, in the excitement of your arrival,” Lila replied with a smile. “He did drop a hint that he might invite Delle and her mother up for the weekend while they were visiting relatives in Atlanta. It’s not far, you know.” She looked momentarily worried. “Charlotte Radner—here.” She sighed heavily. “I can hardly believe she’d actually brave the great outdoors long enough to blemish her white skin.”

“Which one is the girlfriend?” Merlyn asked hesitantly.

“Delle,” came the hard reply. “She’s mama’s little girl. Oh, my, the Radners—here. And I did so want to start work tomorrow.…No matter. We’d better get some sleep, dear. Maybe we can work around them.”

“I’ve been doing some preliminary research tonight,” Merlyn said as they walked down the hall together. “I think I’ve found you a feisty period in the founding of the Tudor line. Would that suit?”

Lila’s eyes brightened. “Perfect! I can save the Plantagenets for another book. By all means, let’s start there. In the morning we can start laying out the plot. This is going to be great fun,” she said with a smile.

“I hope so,” Merlyn said dryly, glancing down the hall where Cameron Thorpe had disappeared.

“Don’t worry, you and I will be a match for him,” Lila promised. “I just wish that once or twice he’d come alone and spend some time with Amanda. He’s only here on the weekends, and she’s been with me most of her life. Cameron divorced her mother years ago, and he got custody, but he lives in Charleston and he really doesn’t have anyone else to leave her with.…Her mother’s dead now, as you know.”

“Why can’t Delle keep her?” Merlyn asked matter-of-factly.

Lila looked horrified. “Delle? Look after a child?”

“Sorry,” Merlyn murmured. She was beginning to get an interesting picture of Cameron’s so-called friends.

“I’m sorry that Cameron upset you,” Lila said, letting the subject of Delle drop, as though it bothered her.

“In all fairness to him,” Merlyn replied, “he couldn’t have expected to find me wandering the halls. I was going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate, but after all this excitement, I’m so exhausted I think I’ll be able to sleep without it.”

“You’ll love it here when the rains stop,” Lila promised. “I’ve lived on the lake for four years now, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. It’s so peaceful. And when the weather begins to get warm, as it will be soon, there will be sailboats dotting the lake.”

“I’ve seen the lake from the road many times,” Merlyn murmured, not wanting to mention her friend Dick’s enormous house, which was right on the lake. “It provides drinking water for Atlanta and the metro area, as well as being a marvelous recreational facility. Isn’t that right?”

Lila smiled. “My, you seem quite familiar with the area already. Sleep well, my dear.”

“You, too.”

Merlyn shot one last glance down the hall before she went into her room and quickly closed the door. Talk about flies in the ointment! Cameron Thorpe was going to be trouble, and she had a feeling that his lady friends were going to foul things up, too. All her confidence in being able to maintain her new identity was draining away. She’d have to be on her guard every minute, or she’d blow her cover. It looked as if this job wasn’t going to be the plum she’d first expected it to be.

Well, she thought with a sigh, as she climbed into bed and pulled up the covers, perhaps things will improve tomorrow.

***

They didn’t. The next morning, which dawned clear and warm, Cameron Thorpe was sitting at the breakfast table on the patio with his mother when Merlyn walked in. The look he gave her would have stopped traffic.

His dark eyes—they were almost black at close range, deep-set under a jutting brow—ran up and down Merlyn’s slender figure. She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a flaming orange pullover T-shirt that read “Kiss me, I’m a frog!” Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes were a pale, sparkling green. She wasn’t beautiful like her late mother, but she had delicate features and a perfect figure, and normally she dressed with a flair that set her apart. Today, however, she’d deliberately worn her most outlandish T-shirt, hoping to get a rise out of Mr. Conservative. And she did. Immediately.

“Do you normally dress like that?” Cameron asked.

“Why, yes, when I’m not going naked,” she replied with a careless smile. She stared at him. He was wearing a dark business suit with a dark tie and a white shirt. She’d have bet that he had a closet full of them, all alike.

“More eggs, Cameron?” Lila asked quickly as Merlyn sat down and helped herself to toast and coffee.

“No, thanks,” he said, and his eyes never left Merlyn. His face was broad and hard, his nose was formidable, and he had a jaw as square as the way he dressed.

“Sizing me up?” Merlyn asked “I wear size ten slacks and a medium T-shirt. And there’s nothing underneath,” she whispered, leaning forward.

He came as close to a flush as she’d ever seen a man come, and his black eyes glittered at her. “I don’t find your attitude amusing,” he said curtly. “And I won’t have my daughter subjected to remarks like that.”

“Amanda isn’t downstairs yet,” Merlyn told him, “and you’re hardly a child.” She studied him. “Mrs. Thorpe said you were a banker.”

“Yes,” he said, sounding as if he found speaking to her distasteful.

“How exciting,” she murmured, stifling a yawn.

“Where did you take your degree?” he asked out of the blue.

“The University of Georgia.”

“Did you specialize?” he persisted, as he sipped his coffee.