Oh, he got her joke.“Let me guess.Nemo is your favorite movie.”
“My nieces’,” Lex said.“We watch Nemo every time I babysit them.It’s the only movie my nephews will watch without moaning about girls.”
Jillian stared at him in utter disbelief.“Youbabysit?”
“You don’t have to say it like that.I happen to be everyone’s favorite uncle.”He went back to his food.“And my brothers, sisters, and cousins have no problem leaving them with me whenever they can’t find a sitter.That’s one of the things you’ll help me with.”
His arrogance was showing its ugly head again, but she loved kids.Probably came from being an only child the first ten years of her life and the youngest within her new family.
“What if I don’t like kids?”That sounded like she was agreeing to his crazy proposal.What kind of a man would pay someone to be his wife?Not that she was complaining.Her family could use the money.And she was intrigued to be honest, possibly excited by the prospect of being close to him.Still, a woman had pride.“Would that be a deal breaker?”
“No.”
She liked that he knew exactly what he wanted, and at the moment, that was her.Somehow, the thought didn’t scare her.Lex with a bunch of kids was something she would love to see.
“Now I understand why everyone I know likes this place,” Jillian said after the waiter replaced their appetizers with the main course.“This is amazing.”
“I’ll let the chef know.Try mine?”Lex extended his fork with a morsel of cod.All Jillian could think about was that the fork had been in his mouth.Her pulse quickened.“It’s very good,” Lex urged when she hesitated.
She opened her mouth and let him feed her.Their eyes met and locked, the moment stretching until Jillian started feeling faint.She realized she was holding her breath.How stupid.He was the first to look away, and she exhaled.
The food was exceptional.Lex kept the conversation light.He neither pushed her for an answer nor acted disappointed that she was still wavering.Every time she looked up, she caught his eyes on her.He wasn’t even trying to hide his interest.How could they work together when he stared at her with such heated eyes?
Listening to him and watching the play of emotions on his face as he talked about his family, Jillian decided that pretending to be married to him might not be a bad idea.The man was interesting.And not bad-looking either.The chemistry between them was something else, but she didn’t hop into bed with any man that stirred lust in her.On the other hand, sleeping with Lex a few times might fix her lustful fascination with him.Men tended to bore her in bed.They lacked imagination.At least the ones she’d dated had.Or maybe she was just too adventurous for the average Joe.
Halfway through their meal, a petite blonde paused in the doorway, wiped her hands on her pants, and entered the room.From the smile on her face, she was nervous.Something about her face seemed odd.Lex was busy sharing a story about his recent business trip and didn’t realize they weren’t alone until the woman spoke.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner, Lex,” the blonde said, coming to stand by their table.He started to get up, but she quickly added, “Don’t get up on my account, please.I just wanted to make sure that everything tastes okay.”
Despite her protest, Lex got up, palmed her arms, and planted a kiss on her cheek.The poor woman looked ready to faint.
“The food is exceptional as usual, Deanna.I want you to meet my guest, Jillian Finnegan,” he indicated Jillian with a nod.“Jillian, this is our gifted chef, Deanna Marshal.She’s family.”
That explains the privileged treatment.
“My sister Nikki is married to his younger brother Chase,” Deanna corrected, laughing as though to downplay the relationship.“Nice to meet you, Ms.Finnegan.”
“Jillian, please.Your food is exceptional.”
She smiled.“Thank you.If you need anything else, just tell the staff and we’ll provide it.”She glanced at Lex, who was still standing, and stepped back.“I’ll leave you to finish your meal.”She threw them another smile and quickly left.
Lex sat, but the frown on his face said he was bothered about something.
“You make her nervous,” Jillian said.
“I noticed.”He tilted his head sideway as he studied her.“I don’t make you nervous.”
He did.“No,” Jillian lied, but it was time to find out the truth.She put down her fork.“Why do you need a wife, Lex?And please don’t say it’s raining naked socialites in your bedroom.”
He grinned.“I do have problems with women,” he insisted.
Who wouldn’t want a taste of him?“Of course, you do.Probably started when you hit puberty, but you’re now…?”
“Thirty-nine,” he supplied.
“Then you must be an expert at dodging them.So why do you really need a fake wife?”
He wiped his lips with the napkin, placed it by his plate, and leaned back, his shirt stretching across his masculine chest.Nice.She found herself wondering whether he worked out.Then she realized she was staring and quickly looked at his face.He wore a smile that said he knew she’d been staring.
