Husband for Hire by Susan Crosby Read Free Book Online Page A

“Thank you for arranging everything today. And for being such a good sport. I—”
    â€œBecca?”
    The two young men who’d stepped in front of Gavin and Becca were poster children for the term nerd, with their uncombed hair, T-shirts that looked as if they’d been pulled out of a heap, raggedy jeans and trendy sneakers. One was tall and thin, the other short and stocky. But both had eyes filled with intelligence and curiosity.
    When Becca failed to introduce them right away, Gavin introduced himself. He wondered how she felt about being caught holding hands.
    â€œI’m Jacob,” said the tall one.
    â€œMorgan,” said the other. “We work with Becca. Known her since grad school. I’ve never seen you that dressed up, Bec.”
    â€œWe just came from a wedding,” she said. “What are you two up to?”
    â€œWe were in a twenty-four-hour poker tournament. Texas hold ’em,” Jacob said.
    â€œHow’d you do?” she asked.
    They both grinned. “We did okay,” Morgan said. “Chip won big.”
    â€œOur Chip?” She said to Gavin, “He’s our president and CEO.”
    â€œCraig’s here, too,” Jacob added, looking around. “And—”
    â€œBecca,” a woman called out.
    Gavin watched Becca react to a woman with a short black ponytail as she came in fast for a hug.
    â€œThis is Suki,” Becca said, looking bemused. “My best friend.”
    Others approached. Gavin shook hands, endured speculative looks and enjoyed watching Becca be teased by her coworkers. Everyone looked about the same age. Then he remembered her saying that most of them had met in an MBA program at Wharton, then formed their company right after graduation, all of them moving to Sacramento.
    The man called Chip, the head honcho, arrived, apparently the last of their group. He was a little more put together than the others. Although he wore jeans, he’d topped it with a sport coat, and his hair was short and neat.
    Gavin had chosen Lake Tahoe over Reno for the fake wedding because Reno was closer to his home town of Chance City, therefore with a much stronger possibility of running into people he knew. He hadn’t considered that Becca might come up against a similar situation. Now he felt responsible for the jam she was in.
    She gave Chip the same story as she had to the others, that they’d just come from a wedding.
    â€œHow come we weren’t invited?” Chip asked.
    She frowned. “Why would I—”
    She stopped when Gavin gripped her hand hard, seeing what she apparently hadn’t—Chip was eyeing her wedding band. No one else had noticed.
    â€œIt was spur-of-the-moment. My fault,” Gavin said, subtly moving her finger to touch his ring. “I’m old-fashioned. First things first.” Let them make of that what they would, he thought.
    â€œAnd impatient, apparently,” Chip said as everyone else went quiet, including the woman named Suki. As Becca’s best friend, she should’ve been the most talkative, which made him wonder if she’d been in on today’s plan.
    â€œI didn’t fight it.” Becca looked at him as if he were the only man in the world.
    â€œLet us buy you dinner,” Chip said, everyone else chiming in.
    â€œThey probably want to be alone,” Suki said with a wink, which she followed up with a completely different expression directed at Becca, one Gavin couldn’t read.
    â€œAre you taking a honeymoon?” Morgan asked.
    â€œNot yet,” Becca answered. “I’ve got that deal going with Keller-Magnuson Industries, and Gavin can’t get away at the moment, either.”
    â€œRight,” Gavin said.
    â€œWhat do you do?” Chip asked.
    â€œI’m a doctor. Ob-gyn.”
    Everyone’s gaze zeroed in on Becca, whose cheeks flushed but who managed a weak smile.
    â€œWell, at least take tomorrow