Love by Proxy by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online

to his own. “You have a black temper,” she told him curtly.
    He folded his arms across his broad chest and studied her quietly. “Go ahead. Point out my shortcomings. Don’t be bashful.”
    “You’re overbearing,” she obliged. “Insolent, arrogant, insensitive…”
    He glanced at his watch. “I only have another hour before I’m due at a trustee’s meeting.”
    “…maddening and hardheaded,” she concluded agreeably.
    “Fine,” he replied. “Now. How would you like a thumbnail sketch of your own shortcomings?”
    “I don’t have any,” she informed him smugly. “I am courteous, friendly, kind, thoughtful, cheerful and an asset to the world.”
    He looked as if he was trying not to laugh, but the absurdity of the pat answer got to him. He turned away, his shoulders shaking.
    Amelia got out her pad and pen and tried to look professional. “Would you like to take notes?”
    He stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced down at her. “Why, am I supposed to write a testimonial for you?”
    “About the building site! That is why you brought me along, isn’t it?”
    “Oh. That.” He glanced up and around. “Let’s go walking.”
    He started off down the street. She almost had to run to keep up with him, aware of city smells and sounds, and longing halfheartedly for her home and the crash of the Atlantic against a shimmering white beach and the cry of sea gulls.
    “Where are you going?” she asked breathlessly. Her high heels were uncomfortable, much too high and spiked.
    He studied her feet. “Why do you wear those things? Do you like risking your neck every time you move?”
    “They’re stylish,” she defended.
    “They’re stupid. Next time, wear flats.”
    “How was I supposed to know I was going to be press-ganged into an expedition at the breakfast table?” she wanted to know.
    “I suppose you were looking forward to tea and cakes and polite conversation, with an occasional scribbled letter from grandmother to give you the illusion of working?” he prompted.
    “Your grandmother does need someone with her,” she said angrily. The morning was hot, and her temper wasn’t helping. She pushed at a loose strand of dark hair. “Except for the maid, most of the staff are almost retirement age. What if she fell?”
    His face hardened. “You aren’t a nurse,” he said.
    “I was a nurse’s aide,” she informed him. “I’ve done a lot of odd jobs in my life, and that was one of them. At least I know first aid. And surely she does need a secretary to help her do things?”
    He stopped in the middle of the block and glared down at her. He wasn’t contradicting her, though.
    “I can give you three or four character references,” she continued. “Two of them are ministers, one in the city and one back home. About the only illegal thing I’ve ever done in my life was to jaywalk. And in Seagrove, in tourist season, that is really an act of valor more than a crime.” Her blue eyes in her softly tanned face held his. “I’ll start looking for another job in the morning,” she promised. “Just let me stay with her until I find one. Is that fair enough?”
    “All right,” he said, relenting. His eyes narrowed.
    “I know.” She sighed. “You don’t trust me. My grandfather wouldn’t trust you, either,” she added with a grin. “He thinks Chicago is full of gangsters. He wouldn’t speak to Dad and Mom for days after I left home to come here. He even calls me sometimes to make sure I haven’t been the victim of a gang murder.”
    He smiled in spite of himself. “Flinty character, I gather?”
    “A real hell-raiser,” she agreed. “He was a fisherman until times got hard and he lost his boat. He retired and now he does odd jobs. He hasn’t been the same since my grandmother died. He said it took the color out of the world for him.”
    “What did she die of?”
    “A heart attack. It was quick. And kind of nice, if death can be called that, because she died working in her