Chapter Three
Atticus looked on soulfully as Izzy folded the last sweater and stowed it into the suitcase. She had failed miserably. If only she had a crystal ball to see if there’d be repercussions from the agency, or if Derek would keep his word and lie on her behalf. It didn’t sit well. Izzy looked wistfully at the soaker tub, took her toiletries off the vanity, and zipped them into a plastic bag. The dismissal ran bone deep. Her entire life, people pushed her to the side or treated her like less of a person. Everyone except for Gram. She had gotten over her past hurts in adulthood, but this experience sucked her back into her childhood, when she’d been a gangly, acne-riddled youth.
“Well, I guess this is good-bye.” She ruffled the fur on the dog’s head, opened the door, and walked briskly down the hall toward the stairs.
Izzy was edgy as she hustled down the corridor. Call her a coward, but she didn’t want to face him again. She’d been willing to give him a chance, but it turned out her original assessment was correct. Derek Croft was the picture of selfish entitlement. He was ill-mannered and—
The door in front of her swung open, and before she had a moment to deflect, Derek stormed right into her. She rocked back on her heels, losing her balance until strong hands steadied her. They were standing just inches apart, and her eyes were level with his firm chest. She angled her chin up toward his face and found him staring down at her with the most peculiar look.
She stiffened when those dark eyes skimmed down to her lips. Oh boy. Was he going to kiss her? Not a chance. Men like Derek didn’t go for Plain Janes like her. He stood still for one heartbeat, then two, with only the sound of their breathing echoing softly through the halls.
Derek stepped back first. More rejection tightened her throat. It was silly to think that he found her attractive, and hadn’t she just been listing all his deplorable qualities before he smacked into her? There were many things more important than a chiseled body and a handsome face. A little bit of kindness, for starters, went a long way in her book.
“Izzy, ah…” Derek licked his lips, looked at the floor, then back at her. “I’m not very good at this sort of thing.”
“Human interaction?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Derek chuckled in the back of his throat. “That’s one way to put it. Can we talk for a moment in the parlor?”
Izzy hesitated. Something about his tone made her uneasy. “Quickly. If I’m to find a hotel room this late at night, I’ll have to leave right away.”
She followed him down the hall, a tight knot forming in her belly with every step. She’d been vetted before this process started, but had he? What if he was some loon? There wasn’t another home or human for miles. Atticus appeared and padded along beside them. She reached over and stroked his fur, more for her comfort than the dog’s. They walked down the stairs, and Derek pulled open the door to the parlor.
“Sit down. I’ll start a fire.” He turned his back to her, and she studied him as he took pieces of stacked wood and placed them into the hearth. Izzy hated driving at night and wanted to hit the road, but her fingers were like ice. She sat on the leather love seat, trying to shake the sinking feeling that she’d failed at her first assignment. Perhaps Derek needed her help after all. Would she want to stay after how he’d treated her? He turned toward her, and Izzy’s mind momentarily went blank. He was so completely male. His hair brushed his jawline, giving him the appearance of an English duke or a rogue pirate. Her mouth had gone dry, and she swallowed a few times, trying to gain her composure.
Derek sat across from her, rested his hands on his knees, and interlocked his fingers. “For years, my family has nagged and pressured me to settle down. Every family holiday feels like a round of speed dating with the most eligible bachelorettes shoved down my throat.” He shifted and rubbed his hands against his jeans. He looked as comfortable as someone sitting bare-bottomed on a block of ice. Why was he telling her this? He cleared his throat and started again.
“This year, my stepmother, Janet, insisted on bringing a newly single woman, who I can’t stand by the way, to Christmas Eve dinner. I just can’t take another year of their pressure.” The brooding look on Derek’s face returned.
Izzy’s eyes narrowed. “What does it have to do with me?” She crossed her arms around her waist.
“The only way to put a wrench in her plans was to tell her I’d found someone.” Derek broke her gaze and looked down at the floor. It was silly to sit here with the clock hands ticking slowly as Derek circled around the point he was trying to make.
“Congratulations,” Izzy said sarcastically and started to get up. She didn’t have time to listen to how Derek found the love of his life.
“Except, I haven’t. I haven’t even dated in years, and I have no intention to. It’s like being on trial for something, or an interview,” he said. Was that desperation swimming in his eyes? “She insisted I tell her a name on the phone and wants to meet the girl over Christmas.”
“Looks like you’re in it deep.” Izzy scooted to the edge of the couch, ready to get up. She didn’t like the direction this was headed.
“To say the least. The name I blurted out on the phone was Izzy Simon. You were the first woman I could think of—and I told her you lived here.” He looked away and stared into the flames flickering in the hearth.
“So now you not only have to find a woman to play the role of your adoring girlfriend, but she also has to pretend to be Izzy Simon as well?” It was laughable, but his slumped shoulders and the defeated look in his eyes sobered her expression. Surely the reason he couldn’t find someone was a personality issue.
“Unless the real one agrees to help me,” Derek pleaded. Could he be serious?
“Absolutely not.” She was already fed up. He’d tried to get rid of her less than an hour ago, and now he was asking her to stay as his mock girlfriend? There was no way she’d add another layer of frosting to the towering cake of complication currently baking inside the castle’s curved walls.
“I don’t have time to find someone else,” he said.
“That’s your problem.” Izzy bent down and grasped the strap of her duffel with one hand and her suitcase with the other. “I have to go.”
“I’ll compensate you for your time. In addition to your temp fees, I’ll give you twenty-five hundred a week.” Derek sat completely still, waiting for her response.
Izzy had to clench her teeth to keep her jaw from dropping open. What planet was he from that he could dole out that kind of cash, and what did he expect her to do for it? The money would help her get ahead in her payments to Silver Acres, but she wanted to know the terms first. It would be nice not to scrape by for a few months, but she didn’t want to sell her soul to the devil to do it, either.
“What exactly does being your girlfriend entail?” Izzy planted herself back on the couch and leveled her gaze with his.
“My stepmother’s parents live an hour from here. I host the holiday so that they can get there for lunch on Christmas Day. You’d need to sit next to me at meals, hold my hand a bit, attend Christmas Eve dinner, and open presents on Christmas Day. It’s only three people—Janet, her young daughter, and my father.” His dark eyes were sincere and pleading.
“And you think that’s enough to convince them?” Izzy took a pillow off the couch and clutched it to her chest. Was she actually considering this?
“A peck on the lips now and again wouldn’t hurt.” The left corner of his mouth curved up a tiny bit. It was the closest thing she’d seen to a smile since her arrival.
“And your parents won’t find it odd that your live-in girlfriend doesn’t share a bedroom with you?”
Derek was quiet for a moment.
The crackling fire wrapped the room in a cozy heat. She looked at the flames dancing wildly in the hearth as her conscience had a heated struggle. It was deceitful to string along his family. He was lucky to have people who cared about his happiness and well-being. It seemed he was selfish with his family, too, only thinking of how entertaining a single woman over Christmas would disturb his life, inconvenience him.
Maybe Izzy was being a bit critical, but it was hard to feel sorry for him because his loving stepmother and father were trying to set him up. Maybe she should take a lesson from him and think about her own problems for once. Izzy’s bank account was dangerously low. How long could she continue paying two rents? Would his parents even fall for it? It wasn’t like their relationship had been even cordial up to this point—Derek had even tried to bribe her to leave.
“There’s a secret hallway that runs throughout the house. It’s in my office and connects to a door in your closet. You can use that at night to get back to your bedroom.” His deep voice broke through her thoughts.
Izzy breathed in, then out. She was going to do it. Not just be his temp, but the girlfriend of a dashing bachelor in a gorgeous castle. She really should just enjoy it, because it was the closest she’d ever come to living one of the fairy tales she always read. It was going to get her a step ahead of her finances, too, something she hadn’t been able to do in a very long time. Izzy always lived paycheck to paycheck, and there wasn’t much left over after bills.
“Okay. I accept, but I have some ground rules.” She clutched the pillow like it was going to grow legs and run away. Her insides quivered at the prospect of doing something so crazy and very un-Izzy.
“Of course. Just name them.” He leaned forward, and the endless black pools of his eyes glowed.
“You’ll pay me as soon as the two weeks are up, and help me decorate the house for the holidays, including a tree. If a child is spending Christmas here, the house ought to be done up right.” The dog shifted and lay closer to her feet.
“I never decorate. The house is fine as is. Besides, Mary’s practically a teenager at this point.” He crossed his arms over his chest in one defiant motion.
“All the more reason to give her some holiday magic while you still can. And don’t you think a girlfriend would insist on dressing the house up?” She angled her head and waited for his response.
“I suppose so,” he grumbled and pressed his lips together so they disappeared into a hard line.
“Oh, and no sex.” She looked away from him and fiddled with the cuffs of her coat. Izzy didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Her first time would be with someone special.
“Naturally.” He said with a hint of a smile on his face. Heat rushed up to her cheeks, and she was sure they were as red as Rudolph’s nose.
“All right, then we have a deal.” She leaned over the coffee table to shake hands with him. The contact of his rough skin sent a zing up her spine. Yowzer.
“Oh, just one last thing,” Derek said as Izzy was gathering her bags to go back upstairs. “Perhaps you can make a trip into the city with me. I need to pick up some gifts.”
Her brows shot up. “You haven’t done your shopping yet? The malls are going to be mobbed.” They’d be like fish swimming against the current in a shopping plaza at this time of year. She already had new knitting supplies, a book, and some perfume tucked in her suitcase for Gram. Izzy didn’t exchange with her mother who lived in Florida with husband number four.
“I’m a bit of a procrastinator.” The sheepish look made the hard lines of his face look almost boyish.
“I’ll say. We should go as soon as possible. Oh, and on Christmas Day, I’ll need some time to visit my grandmother.” She placed the pillow back on the couch.
“Where does she live?” He shifted and rose to his feet.
“Silver Acres retirement home. It’s only a half-hour drive.” The fire had died down to shimmering embers, and the room was wrapped in heat like a cozy down comforter.
Derek nodded. “Then we have an agreement.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Okay then.” Izzy got up, and the dog followed. “Do you want to go into the city tomorrow?”
“I’m on a deadline. When it’s done, I’ll let you know.” He tapped his foot against the floor ever so slightly.
“In that case, your family might not be getting their gifts until Easter.” She raised one brow at him.
The sour look on his face returned. For a moment, it had been like they were partners in something bigger, but he’d just been on his best behavior until she agreed. Now that she had, he’d gone back to the brooding, scowling man who had greeted her this morning. Izzy gathered her things and turned to leave the room.
“Good night,” she said politely. Just because he was in a constant state of brooding didn’t mean she had to be.
“Night,” he said, already seeming miles away.
Izzy wheeled her baggage back up to the room with the dog clip-clopping at her feet. Once she shut the door, she leaned back against the solid wood and let out a full breath. There was no doubt she’d be getting a pile of coal from Santa with the lies she’d be telling his parents. How would Derek’s family buy their story given the current rapport the two of them had? They’d assume the relationship was hanging on by a tethered thread. But Izzy would do what she could to uphold her end of both bargains—the one with the agency and with Derek.
Atticus hesitated, then scrambled up on the bed with surprising agility for such a large dog. He circled a few times before flopping down with a dull thud.
“Why not?” Izzy’s voice echoed through the large room. For the second time that day, she unzipped her suitcase and started taking the precisely folded clothes and tucking them into the cherry drawers. The attire she’d brought was straightforward and casual. She’d been prepared to be scrubbing, cleaning, and cooking all week, not attending holiday events with Derek’s family. They’d think her very dowdy if she didn’t purchase a few new things for the occasion. Was their opinion of her worth dipping into her meager funds? Sure, she was getting paid handsomely, but she wanted to hold on to every penny so when she returned to her normal life on a librarian’s salary she could afford to eat and pay for Silver Acres.
It didn’t matter what they thought. This was just an act to get Derek’s stepmother off his back. After the holidays, she’d be gone, and no one would be the wiser. Izzy had been used before in a fake relationship. The problem was, she had been naive and believed with her whole heart that she’d found the one. She’d been so blinded by puppy love that she didn’t see that everyone on her college campus was laughing at her until it was too late. Her throat constricted, and her scalp tingled.
Six years after graduation, she still couldn’t let the hurt and embarrassment go. Izzy’s hopes and dreams were much simpler now. She liked the quiet life she led. It was fulfilling to be a librarian in the small town where she grew up. Every Saturday, she ran the children’s reading and craft circle. It was satisfying to know she might be helping those kids develop a lifelong love of reading. For her, it was an escape from everyday pressures. She could get lost in a world where she wasn’t abandoned by her mother or ridiculed by her first love. It was a place of dreams and adventure.
Up until this week, the amount of excitement in her life had been null and void. Now, she’d been dropped into one of the fantasy novels she always had her nose in. Big castle, a handsome man—knee-wobbling, palm-sweating type of handsome—and a kind-of heroine. Hey, a girl could play make-believe. She’d taken more risks on this venture than she had in a lifetime. It made her slightly queasy to imagine all the repercussions that could come from it.
Derek had only mentioned his father and stepmother. Maybe they shared more than they realized. Of course, he could have a loving mother somewhere who visited at a different time of year, or perhaps she had passed away. Maybe his rough demeanor was covering up some past hurt? The holidays were a difficult time for many people. Maybe she should cut him some slack.
Izzy put away the last shirt and slipped on some flannel pajamas. The room was drafty, but she didn’t want to sleep with a fire going and burn the house down. She slipped between the sheets and the thick down comforter. Atticus’s tail thumped against the bed a few times, and he army-crawled a few inches closer to the top of the bed. Izzy snuggled up to the big dog and closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she’d try to root through the house and find some holiday decorations. Her nerves were quickly unraveling at the thought of holding hands with Derek and of meeting his family. It was only for the holidays, though. What was the worst thing that could happen?