The Christmas Wife by Elizabeth Kelly Read Free Book Online

about my
life?  If you have more specific questions, you can ask me, okay?”
    He glanced at his watch.  “I have a meeting in fifteen
minutes, Ms. Brooks.”
    “I’ll make it quick,” she said.  “Also, maybe you should
start calling me Claire.”
    “I’m sorry?”  He gave her an odd look.
    “You’re calling me Ms. Brooks.  I get that you’re stand-offish
and not really the ‘lovey dovey’ type but I’m pretty sure even you wouldn’t call
your fiancée by her last name.”
    His cheeks reddened slightly.  “Of course.”
    “Okay, let’s see.  I’m allergic to penicillin and have a
mild allergy to mushrooms.  My favourite colour is red.  I love to read – I’ll
read anything I can get my hands on - and when I had a TV and could afford
cable I was embarrassingly addicted to “The Real Housewives” reality shows.  My
best friend is Ellen – you’ll meet her on Monday – and she works at the
cleaning company as well.  I hate eggs and I’m terrified of spiders.”
    She gave him a sheepish look.  “Seriously terrified.  If I
see one, I’ll either freeze in absolute terror or run screaming.”
    “Suffers from severe arachnophobia.  Got it,” he said and
made a note in his journal.
    “I graduated high school and went to college for an arts
degree.”
    He made a face and she grinned.  “Yeah, I know, but I wanted
to be an actress.  I was going to move to LA and be the next big thing.”
    “What happened?”  He asked.
    “Well, I met Kevin in my second year and six months after we
started dating I got pregnant with Hattie.  We used condoms and I was on birth
control but apparently it was no match for my fertility powers,” she laughed.
    “So you dropped out of college?”  He asked.
    “I did.  The plan was to go back and finish my degree once
Hattie turned a year old but Kevin bailed on us when she was seven months.  I
needed to work to support Hattie and me so I took a job with the cleaning
company.  I thought I could maybe take some business courses at night but
daycare costs and just day-to-day living costs were so expensive, you know?”
    “No, I don’t,” he said honestly.  “Even when Stone Toys was
failing my family always had money.”
    “The toy company was failing?”  She asked.
    “Yes.  Ten years ago it was on the verge of bankruptcy.  I
took over after my father’s death and turned it around.”
    There was more than a hint of pride in his voice and she
smiled at him.  “Well done.”
    “Thank you.  Go on.”  He was oddly fascinated by her life
story.
    “Well, for me there just never seemed to be enough money for
anything but the necessities, and I couldn’t really work two jobs because the
extra earnings would just be eaten up with babysitting costs.  I was making it
work though.”
    Deacon frowned at her.  “Selling your stuff and being
evicted is ‘making it work’?”
    She flushed.  “How do you know I sold my stuff?”
    “Hattie told me when you were in the shower.”
    She touched the base of her throat before dropping her hand. 
“My car crapped out on me and I needed it to get to work.  I had to use my rent
money to pay the repair bill and I ended up behind on my rent.  I sold a bunch
of stuff to try and get the extra I owed for rent.”
    “Obviously it didn’t work,” he said.
    “Obviously,” she replied.  “But then you came along with
your ‘marriage’ proposal and now I can give Hattie the life she deserves.”
    There was silence for a few moments before he closed his
journal and glanced at his watch.  He pushed a file folder across the desk to
her and she opened it and leafed through the typed pages.
    “I’ve taken the liberty of typing up my information,” he
said.  “Please read through it carefully.  If you have any questions, just
ask.”
    “Right,” she said as he glanced at his watch again.  He was
obviously dismissing her and she stood as he reached into the drawer again.
    “One more thing, Ms.