Judy Duarte: The Rancher's Hired Fiancée

“Thanks. After I buy the dress, I’ll probably do some window shopping while I’m here. If anyone asks me who I am, I’ll tell them I’m your fiancée. And that I’m staying with you.”

“That’s a good idea.” He probably ought to start the walk back to City Hall, but for some reason, he couldn’t quite tear himself away.

Outside, even in the dappled sunlight, the platinum strands of her hair glistened like white gold. And when she looked at him like that, smiling as though they were both involved in some kind of romantic secret, he noticed the green flecks in her irises that made her eyes appear to be a turquoise shade. It was an amazing color.

And she was an amazing… actress .

In fact, she was so good at what she did that he’d have to be careful not to confuse what was real and what wasn’t.

“Thanks for helping me out,” he said.

“You’re welcome.” She didn’t budge either, which meant she was waiting for him to make the first move. But there were people seated near the windows of Caroline’s Diner, people who were watching the two phony lovers through the glass.

“Well, I’d better go,” he said. “I’ve got to get back to City Hall before it gets much later. Do you have enough money to cover the dress and any incidentals you might need?”

She patted the side of her purse. “I sure do. And it’s plenty. I’ll probably have change to give you this evening when you get home.”

Change? Now, that was a surprise. Even when they’d only been dating, Heather would have spent the entire wad and then some. And once he’d slipped a ring on her finger… well, things had just gone from bad to worse.

He was just about to say goodbye and send Catherine on her way when she eased forward, rose on tiptoe and lifted her lips to kiss him goodbye.

Of course.

Great idea.

There was an audience present, and they were two people in love. A goodbye kiss was definitely in order.

Ray stepped in and lowered his mouth to hers, but as their lips met, he found himself wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, savoring the feel of her in his arms, the scent of her shampoo, the taste of her….

Oh, wow.

As he slipped into fiancé mode, the kiss seemed to take on a life of its own, deepening—although not in a sexual or inappropriate public display. In fact, to anyone who might be peering at them from inside the diner, their parting kiss would appear to be sweet and affectionate.

Yet on the inside of Ray, where no one else was privy, it caused his gut to clench and his blood to stir.

She placed her hand—the one that bore his grandmother’s ring—on his face and smiled adoringly. As she slowly dropped her left hand, her fingers trailed down his cheek, sending ripples of heat radiating to his jaw and taunting him with sexual awareness.

Damn she was good. She even had him thinking there was something going on between them. No wonder Hollywood actors and actresses were constantly switching partners.

He’d best keep that fact in mind. The last thing in the world he needed to do was to get caught up in the act and to confuse fantasy with reality.

When Ray entered his apartment at a quarter to five, he found Catherine seated on the sofa, watching television.

“You’re home early,” she said, reaching for the remote. After turning off the power, she stood to greet him.

But just the sight of the tall, shapely blonde wearing a classic black dress and heels made him freeze in his tracks.

“What do you think?” She turned around, showing him the new outfit she’d chosen.

“It’s amazing,” he said. And he wasn’t just talking about the dress. Her transformation from actress to cover model had nearly thrown him for a loop.

Each time he saw Catherine, she morphed into a woman who was even more beautiful than the last.

Is that what dating an actress would be like? Having a different woman each time they went out?

If so, the part of him that enjoyed an occasional male fantasy sat up and took notice.

“I even found a pair of heels and an evening bag,” she said, striding for the lamp table to show him a small beaded purse.

“You found all of that at The Boutique?” He’d expected her to complain about the out-of-date inventory at Brighton Valley’s only ladies dress shop. Heather, who wasn’t even from a place as style conscious as New York, certainly had.

“No,” Catherine said, “I had to go to Zapatos, the shoe store across the street, for the heels and bag.

What do you think? Will this do?”

Would it do?

“Absolutely.” She looked like a million bucks, which had him thinking he’d better reach for his wallet. “I couldn’t have given you enough money to pay for all of that.”

“Oh, yes, you did.” She smiled, lighting those blue-green eyes and revealing two of the prettiest dimples he’d ever seen. “I even have a few dollars change for you.”

Again, the compulsion to compare her to his ex-wife struck him hard, but he shook it off. Heather was long gone—thank goodness. And now, thanks to Catherine, Ray wouldn’t need to weed out the gold diggers from the dating pool until he was ready to.

“I’ll take a quick shower,” he said. “Just give me a couple of minutes.”

After snatching his clothes from the bedroom, he headed for the bathroom. Then, once inside, he turned on the spigot and waited for the water to heat.

Surprisingly, he was actually looking forward to attending the hospital benefit tonight, especially since he would walk in with Catherine on his arm. A man could get used to looking at a woman like her—and talking to her, too.

Of course, he was paying her to be pleasant and agreeable. If they’d met on different terms, it might be another story altogether.

He had to admit that he’d gone out on a limb by hiring a fake fiancée, but after all he’d been through with Heather, after all their divorce had cost him, he wasn’t ready to date again. And even when he was ready to give it another go, he didn’t think he’d ever want to get married again.

What a nightmare his marriage had turned out to be.

Of course, if he wanted to have a child, he’d have to reconsider. After all, as the only son of an only son, Ray had no one to leave his ranch and holdings to unless he had an heir. But he was still young—thirty-six on his next birthday—so he had plenty of time to think about having children.

He reached into the shower stall and felt the water growing warm, so he peeled off his clothes and stepped under the steady stream of water. As he reached for the bar of soap, he found Catherine’s lavender-colored razor resting next to it, along with her yellow bath gel.

It was weird to see feminine toiletries in his bathroom again. He’d been living without a woman under his roof for nearly two years, so he’d gotten used to having the place to himself.

Still, he reached for the plastic bottle, popped open the lid and took a whiff of Catherine’s soap. The exotic floral fragrance reminded him of her.

Again he realized that he could get used to coming home to a beautiful blonde like Catherine, to having her ask how his day went, to stepping into her embrace and breathing in her scent. But the Catherine who’d spent the lunch hour with him earlier today wasn’t real.

He’d employed her to be the perfect fiancée, and she was merely doing her job.

Even if he got caught up in the act, if he let down his guard, believing Catherine was different and allowing himself to see her in a romantic light, he’d be making another big mistake.

After all, he’d made up his mind to steer clear of big-city women from here on out—and cities didn’t get much bigger than Manhattan.