Fiancee for Hire Read Online Free PDF

say.
    This is a business relationship. You don’t need to make small talk .
    “What’s aulophobia?” he asked. “And helmintophobia? Those things you said to Anna back at the restaurant.”
    Kelli smiled, and straightened the hem of her skirt. “Aulophobia is a fear of flutes. Helmintophobia is a fear of being infested with worms.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “Nope.”
    “How the hell did you know that?”
    She looked out the window, and for a moment, he saw two frown lines between her brows. Then they vanished, and Mac considered the possibility he’d just imagined them.
    “My mother was—um, different.”
    “Different?”
    “She had a number of mental-health issues.”
    “I see. She died when you were fifteen, right?”
    She looked over at him, startled, and he felt the urge to apologize. “I’m sorry. It was in the report from the private investigators.”
    “Right. Yes, well, then you may or may not know my mother was crazy as a bedbug, which is part of why my father left when I was eight.”
    “And you were raised in a series of foster homes, correct?”
    “Yes. Then I graduated from high school and went on to college and vet school and lived happily ever after.”
    There was something wistful in her words, something that made him turn to look at her. She smiled, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, but he noticed her hands had clenched into fists.
    “Your mom—was she violent?”
    “No, not violent. Just highly delusional. She suffered from all kinds of paranoia, which is how I know so much about it. She battled chronic depression, and I suspect she would have been diagnosed as bipolar if she’d bothered to go to the doctor. Meds probably could have helped, or therapy, but she refused both.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said lamely, feeling stupid for repeating such a banal phrase.
    “It’s okay.”
    It wasn’t, not really, but he didn’t know what else to say. “Here we are,” he announced, then turned to watch her face as he pulled into the driveway of the villa.
    She pulled off her sunglasses and he watched her eyes go wide as she took in the massive stucco walls, the tasteful ironwork, the artful cobblestone driveway, and the views of the sparkling Pacific on the horizon.
    “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, reaching for her door handle. “You live here?”
    “Part-time,” he said. “My work takes me all around the world, but I’ve had several missions in the area these last few years, what with the drug wars and gang slayings. The U.S. military has quietly increased its presence throughout the country as things have escalated.”
    She nodded as though only partly hearing him and opened the door, stepping out onto the cobblestone driveway. The ocean breeze fluttered her skirt and her hair, making Mac ache to gather in her arms the way he had on the beach.
    He settled for gathering her luggage. As if on cue, his personal assistant—a former Marine named Brian—came hustling out to help.
    “Sir, let me get that,” he said, pushing a wheeled cart up to the car. “Ma’am, how was your flight? Oh, and congratulations. Both of you.”
    Kelli beamed, then looped her arm through Mac’s in a way that sent his pulse thudding in his ears. “Darling,” Kelli said, smiling up at him so sweetly his teeth ached. “You’ve been talking about me?”
    “I wanted the household staff to know you’d be here making plans and getting ready for our wedding. Everyone’s been informed to do whatever you need, whenever you need it. Come on, let me show you the house.”
    He led her up the walkway as she cooed over the flowers and cactus garden. He opened the door, feeling strangely nervous all of a sudden.
    “Señor!” Maria gushed, swooping in to give him a big hug. “You bring her here at last!” She zeroed in on Kelli and crushed her in a huge hug. “Señorita, you are every bit as beautiful as I expected.”
    “Thank you,” Kelli said, beaming at Mac. “I look forward to getting to