Leigh Michaels - Bride On Loan

“Help him…. You’ve got to be joking.”

“He can use a hand just now. Twenty-four hours a day, in fact.”

“Caleb Tanner wants you with him around the clock? What’s the man taking for pain medication, and does his doctor know he’s showing symptoms of psychosis?”

Sabrina went straight on. “So that means I can’t handle my regular clients.”

“I suppose you want to pass them off to me? Sabrina, you know I’m only scheduled to work half days till my wedding—”

“What were you saying about the Tanner account being very important just now?”

Cassie swore under her breath. “All right, give me your list.”

Sabrina closed her eyes in relief. It was one small blessing—not so much for her sake but for Cassie’s—not to have to give her partner every last detail. Why should both of them have the whole mess to worry about? “Thanks, Cassie. It’s not that long a list, really. And I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”

By the time she put the telephone down, Jennings was taking containers of food from the refrigerator, stacking them almost haphazardly on a tiny strip of countertop nearby. “Is there anything particular you’d like for lunch, miss?”

“Heavens, no. Don’t go to any special trouble for me.”

He caught a paper-wrapped bundle just as it slid off the pile. “I’d be happy to cook whatever you’d like. Of course, if you’d prefer to make yourself at home in the kitchen—”

Sabrina said hastily, “I’m not big on kitchens. Is this one really as inconvenient as it looks?”

“It’s the worst arrangement I’ve ever seen, miss, but then there hasn’t been time to do much about it. I expect when Mr. Caleb gets back on his feet, there’ll be some changes.”

“Then this house is a new purchase? That’s a relief—I was thinking it might be the family homestead, handed down for generations.”

Jennings almost cracked a smile. Sabrina felt rewarded.

“Oh, no, miss,” he said. “Mr. Tanner’s parents live in Boulder, and until last month he had an apartment in one of the new developments downtown.”

“Really? But he moved here? Why?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “No, let me guess—I bet the landlord objected to the bimbos getting into a traffic jam in the lobby. Actually, it’s too bad he didn’t stay there, because the doorman could have doubled as a security guard.” And I’d have been saved a lot of trouble.

An asthmatic-sounding chime wheezed from the front hall. There’s Angelique, Sabrina thought. She said she’d be back in an hour.

It was apparent that Caleb had heard it, too. He called, “Sabrina! Come in here, will you? And bring Jennings with you.”

She carried the vase into the living room, setting it with exaggerated caution in the precise center of the coffee table, just out of his reach. Then she picked up the motorcycle enthusiasts’ magazine that had slid off his lap, gave it back and said, “What do you want me to tell Angelique?”

“Nothing. Just let her in, Jennings.”

Silently, Jennings headed for the door.

“I thought you wanted me to defend you,” Sabrina said.

“You’re going to. Sit down. No, here on the floor right beside me, with your back to the couch.”

She looked doubtfully at him, but there wasn’t time to argue; she could hear the squeak of the front door opening. As Sabrina folded herself up on the carpet, she bumped the sore spot on her shin where the car door had caught her yesterday and grimaced.

“I see I’m not the only one who suffered damage in our collision,” Caleb said. “You should have told me.”

“Would it have made any difference in your demands?”

“Of course not. But we could have felt sorry for each other.” He shifted onto his side and swore irritably. “Not being able to turn over without help is going to get mighty aggravating, you know.” He draped one arm around her shoulders and slid the magazine onto her lap. They must look, Sabrina thought, as if he was leaning over her to point out something. It was a nice, friendly little pose….

“Darling,” Angelique said, “I do hope you’ve gotten some rest, because—” She rounded the end of the couch and stopped dead in her tracks. “What in the—”

“Hello, Angelique,” Caleb said calmly. “I’m glad you stopped in. Sabrina was just telling me a minute ago that she wished she could thank you properly for helping out this morning till she could get here. In fact, she said when this is all over, she’ll throw a back-to-good-health party for me and invite you.”

Angelique opened her mouth and shut it again.

Sabrina, half-stunned herself, had no trouble imagining what the woman was feeling.

“You can’t mean this,” Angelique said. “You can’t toss me aside like this, Caleb. You need me, especially now….” Her voice trailed off.

His voice sounded oddly gentle. “I told you days ago that we were finished, Angelique. You wanted to follow through with the Halloween party since you’d gone to so much trouble over it, and I agreed. But the party’s over, honey. And messing up my knee didn’t change my mind.”

Angelique’s tone was suddenly venomous. “You didn’t say anything about her.”

“Surely you’re not surprised. It would hardly have been respectful to drag Sabrina into it, because she didn’t cause the breakup, you know. It was just time, Angelique.”

“Of course she didn’t cause it.” Angelique’s voice dripped sarcasm. “I’m sure she just happened to be innocently standing there when you started looking around.” She glared at Sabrina. “Well, let me warn you, girl, you’ll be just one more in a long line. Whatever he tells you, the truth is as soon as he’s got what he wants, he’ll start looking around again. So enjoy it while it lasts—because it won’t last long.” She tossed her long hair and stormed out of the room. The bang of the front door told Sabrina that this time Angelique hadn’t waited to be respectfully bowed out.

Sabrina slammed the magazine down on the carpet with a satisfying bang. “That was the worst, most obnoxious, horribly callous piece of behavior I have ever seen.”

Caleb leaned heavily on her shoulder in order to push himself into position on the couch. “Angelique isn’t known for her tact, but I didn’t expect she’d be quite so unrestrained. I’m sorry about that.”

Sabrina wrenched herself around to face him. “I was not talking about Angelique,” she snapped. “I’m not in the least offended at what she said, because every word of it’s absolutely true. Crude, maybe, but I’ll make allowances for that, since she got her cataracts ripped off without an anesthetic. But as for you, making me look like just another one of your bimbos in order to hold all the other ones off—”

“Can you think of a better way to discourage all the women who’d like to step into Angelique’s shoes?” He sounded perfectly calm.

“Yes. Rent a medevac helicopter and take off for Costa Rica!”

“Do be serious, Sabrina. As soon as they know there’s a new woman in my life, they’ll realize there’s nothing to be gained by making spectacles of themselves, and they’ll stop.”

“Or else they’ll redouble their efforts. For all I know they’ll lay siege to this house, and—”

“Not once they’ve seen you.” He sounded very sure of himself. “That’s what makes you so perfect for this job, Sabrina. You’re exactly the kind of woman I like.”

Sabrina almost screeched. “You are a piece of work, Tanner! I ought to kick you in the kneecap for insulting me like that.”

He looked vaguely puzzled. “What can you possibly find insulting about me saying that you’re my kind of woman?”

“Make that your other kneecap!”