But she’d created this situation and she’d see it through. So far, Kendall seemed like her best prospect for daughter-in-law number two.
“You’re lucky to have such devoted sons, Mrs. Chandler.”
“Raina, please, and yes my boys are the best. They’ll make wonderful husbands too. Just ask my first daughter-in-law. She nabbed Roman, the world traveler. Rick’s a little easier since he doesn’t have to be convinced to settle down. But you—”
“Ahem.” Rick cleared his throat loudly. “Mom, I like to romance women on my own, without your help.” Rick squeezed Kendall’s hand and she blushed a shade darker than her hair.
“So you admit to a budding romance?” Raina asked, pleased.
“Just leave the dishes, Mom,” Rick said, ignoring her.
But Raina wasn’t deterred. Rick had never brought a woman to their family dinners before and Kendall’s presence spoke louder than anything Rick could have said.
“Cynthia will be here first thing in the morning to clean. Meanwhile, Kendall and I need to get going. I promised I’d help her bomb out a room or two so she could sleep in a clean house tonight.”
“Nonsense. She’ll stay here,” Raina said in the voice that shook her sons’ composure when they were young boys. “That place is a pigsty, not fit for a human being and a couple hours’ worth of cleaning won’t change that. No insult intended, Kendall.”
The young woman shook her head. “None taken. But I can’t impose.”
“You’d never be an imposition.”
“You’re sweet, but I’m used to being on my own.”
“And you young people want your privacy?” Raina guessed, relieved Kendall had turned her down. With a house guest, she’d have killed her prime opportunity to walk the treadmill when her sons weren’t around. When she’d concocted this scheme she should have labeled herself a heart patient, not a patient with a weak heart who had to curtail activity, but she hadn’t been thinking ahead.
Rick rose and Kendall followed. Then he placed a lingering hand on the small of her back. “We’re not going to answer anything private, Mom.” He leaned over and kissed her good night.
Long after Kendall had thanked her and gone off with Rick, Raina’s joy remained, making it difficult to wind down. She hadn’t seen her middle son laugh so freely in ages, not with a woman as the reason, anyway. Not since that Jillian had broken his heart. But that was the past.
Kendall was the future. And though Rick didn’t believe he’d marry again, Raina knew better. Thanks to Kendall and her impulsive nature, Rick would come to believe it too.
Rick held the car door open for Kendall, then strode around to his side and got in, buckling his seat belt before turning toward her. He held his hand high and she slapped it in return. “Mission accomplished.”
“You think?”
“I know my mother and she definitely believes she saw sparks flying between us tonight.” Because they had been, Rick thought.
But that was for another time. Shadows tinged the fragile skin beneath Kendall’s eyes as exhaustion obviously set in. She needed rest.
“She’ll call off the push for a daughter-in-law?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t say that.” He twisted his wrist and the ignition kicked in. “If anything, she’ll step up her campaign.”
“So what was the point of tonight?” Kendall asked.
“She’ll no longer be pushing other women on me. Instead she’ll focus all her attention on the one with the most potential.”
He glanced over in time to see her open and close those lips that tempted him so.
“You mean me?”
He grinned. “I most definitely mean you.” But Rick sobered fast because he had something more pressing to discuss with her. “Kendall, what kind of relationship did you have with Brian?”
She stiffened in her seat, laughter replaced by intensity. “I don’t think that’s relevant.”
“Sure it is. You said he did you favors and you felt you owed him.” Shades of their bargain had risen when he’d heard Kendall’s description, making him uneasy. “We’re entering a similar arrangement. I just don’t want you uncomfortable with me.”
“If you’re worried my past dealings with Brian will affect me pulling off the charade with you, don’t be. At this point I’m a professional,” she said wryly.
That’s what had him worried. In Kendall’s eyes, Rick didn’t want to be another man using her for his own gain. “I know he got you modeling jobs to pay for your aunt’s care.
What did you give him in return?”
Kendall rubbed a weary hand over her eyes.
He grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.
“Brian was coming off a broken relationship. He’d been hurt badly by a model whom he had to face often at industry events. He wanted what he called a pretty woman by his side to show his ex he was over her. He needed me to pretend to be his . . .”
“Lover.” Pretend to be my lover, Kendall. Rick had asked her to do the same thing.
The same thing that had sent her running from New York City in a wedding dress. And because she was desperate, she’d agreed. Which made Rick feel like a shit for putting her in the same predicament again.
He exhaled hard. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I don’t do things I don’t want to do,” she assured him. “And believe me I’m getting plenty out of this arrangement too.”
“Besides my wonderful company?” He forced lightness into the conversation.
“Yeah, besides that.”
She laughed, warming him inside and out. “What would that be?”
“By the time you’re finished fixing up my aunt’s house, I’ll be on my way to a brand-new life.” She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, satisfaction and a smile on those lips.
Well, he’d asked and she’d answered. Too bad for him if he didn’t like her reply.
CHAPTER FOUR
For the duration of Rick’s “off” days, Kendall and Rick cleaned, fixed, and focused on making the guest house livable. Dust and dirt flew fast and furious along with the sexual tension and incredible sparks. Sparks they did their best to ignore or avoid. Kendall had a hunch they were merely tiptoeing through a minefield that was destined to explode anyway, but once Rick returned to his shift, she was given a reprieve.