The Proposal (6 page)

But he couldn't be her
boyfriend really. Could he? She tried to imagine her parents’ faces when she
told them he was a male escort. They would be horrified, she was sure. Keira
would be curious and she was certain that Edward would feel threatened at
least, if not disgusted.  She was curious about the services he provided
as a male escort. Not that she wanted them. Not as services. But it hurt, in a
way, to know that he was going on dates with other women.

He’s not going on a
date with you. This is strictly business.

By the time Ethan arrived
at her door on Friday at three, she was ready for him.  She would drive
and they would check in together at the Stormont in Sacramento.  She
wondered what it would be like to share a room with him.  Part of her was
dreading it and part of her was looking forward to it, a little too much.

He helped put her luggage
in the trunk of her car.

"Ready?" she
asked, glancing at him. He looked rugged, ruffled, sexy and unhurried. It was
an effort for her to take her eyes off him and focus on the road ahead.

As they set off, he
seemed in high spirits and said, “I'm looking forward to this Nadine. I have to
admit."

She could feet him
looking at her from the side. She didn't like this disadvantage one bit. She
would have to keep her eyes on the road ahead yet he would be free to look at
her. He was already doing already. She hoped the new Estee Lauder eye wrinkle
cream would work its magic. She also thanked her lucky stars that he was
getting her best side profile.

It was about a two hour
drive to the Stormont and she wasn't planning to stop off anywhere for a
break.  She wanted to be there for five which would give them an hour or
more before meeting everyone for introductions in the lounge for cocktails.

"So tell me again
why this is a very important event for you?" he asked, glancing at her.
"Who is it that I need to impress?"

She laughed out loud at
this, then looked at him. His now bright blue eyes pierced through her. Her
eyes fell to his strong jaw line before she reminded herself to keep her eyes
on the road. "You don’t need to impress anyone. I do. You just need to
look good. We're supposed to be in a balanced, loving and healthy
relationship."

"Is that so?” He paused
thoughtfully.  “We'll need to get some chemistry going then." He
placed his arm lazily on the car door.  

Nadine carried on,
wondering which facts he needed to be most aware of.  "Sandra
Donnelly is my boss. She's a ..........cold, icy, not very nice woman,” and
before she could finish, Ethan interrupted her, "Basically, she's a
bitch."

"Yes. You could say
that."

"Older than you and
worried that you're better?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Perhaps. She's been
dumping a lot of her work on me, ever since I got this promotion."

"So what are you
now? What's your job title?"

"My title?" she
glanced at him, wondering why he needed to know every little bit of detail.

"You're more than a
secretary, am I right?"

"I'm an executive
creative director."

Ethan whistled. "Whoa!
I'm with the head honcho?"

She turned to him, he
didn't seem all that surprised, even though he made out he was.

"Sandra is the head
honcho above me and the guy we're both out to impress is Michael Zimmerman.
He’s the one who owns the company."

"I had you figured
for a smart woman right from the beginning, Nadine. It doesn't surprise me one
bit that you are where you are. What does surprise me is that you're still
single." 

He was bringing the
conversation around to that whole relationship topic again. What should she
tell him, that she had always focused on her career? That she had met and dated
someone who she thought was
the one
but she broke off the engagement
because she woke up one day and realised he wasn't?  That since then she
had dedicated herself to working up the career ladder and that men and children
were the last thing on her mind.

"Ethan, I don't have
time for relationships. That's why I hired you to pretend to be my
boyfriend." Wanting to put an end to that line of questioning, she closed
her lips firmly together.

"You know, you
shouldn’t purse your lips together like that, it'll make your nasolabial folds
more pronounced.”

“You’re not gay are you?”
she shot back. He was jesting with her but he had picked something that was a
sensitive topic for her. It annoyed her that he was picking on her in this way.
Normally she wouldn't have given a hoot. But this was Ethan, and she wanted to
know that he found her appealing.

“A hot blooded man like
me? You’re kidding me right?”

Unable to find more words
to shoot at him, she shot him a dirty look instead. "Are you always so
nice to the women you wine and dine?" she asked finally.

“I can’t tell you about
the women I wine and dine. That’s strictly top secret information, I’m afraid.”

For a minute she believed
him, until he burst out laughing at her naiveté.

*         
*          *

They arrived at the
magnificent Stormont Hotel just under two hours later. It was a uniquely
beautiful hotel set amidst acres of lush green grounds and gardens. They felt a
sense of peace and tranquility as soon as they entered the hotel itself.

As soon as they had
checked in, Nadine and Ethan went up to their room which was on the fourth
floor.  Nadine felt very nervous and for the first time she wondered if
she had done the right thing.  As they walked along the lobby floor to get
the lift, Ethan grabbed her hand and felt her surprise as she instinctively
tried to tug it away. But he held on tightly and drew her hand closer to his
body so that the back of her hand almost brushed his thighs as they walked.

"Nadine! Well
hello." They turned, still holding hands, and found themselves face to
face with Sandra Donnelly.

Thank goodness I'm
holding his hand
, thought Nadine.
She felt a burst of pride as she saw the surprised look on Sandra's square
face. The other woman’s eyes narrowed slightly as she hooked her gaze on
Ethan. 

"I see you made it
here without any difficulty then?" She stared at him, swallowing him up
with her all-pervading gaze.  Even Ethan was taken aback. This woman is a
man-eater, he thought to himself. He slipped his hand out of Nadine's hand and
slipped his arm comfortably around her waist, drawing her even closer to him so
that their bodies touched.

Nadine felt as though she
held the upper hand. She snuggled further into Ethan’s body. "It was only
a two hour drive. When did you get here Sandra?"

But Sandra neither looked
at nor heard Nadine. She ignored her completely and instead took a step closer
towards Ethan. She put out her hand, "And you must be?" she continued
to stare at him, finding him totally appealing and attractive.  

Ethan took her hand and
shook it tightly, moving in ever so slightly, knowing he was casting a spell on
this voracious woman.

He whispered in a low,
husky voice, "I'm Ethan, Nadine's partner. So nice to meet you
Sandra." She seemed shocked that he knew her name and wondered what
stories Nadine had been spreading about her. No doubt that little minx would
not have painted her in a good light.

When he managed to prise
his hand out of Sandra's, he hugged Nadine closer to him and then planted a
tender kiss on the top of her head. "Nadine has told me so much about
you."  He smiled at her, his lips turning up slightly at the corners,
giving a hint that whatever they had discussed was a secret and a funny
one at that.

Sandra threw a quick
cursory glance at Nadine, acknowledging her for the first time. "See you
later for cocktails," she said firmly and sailed past them.

"Well thank you for
that," said Nadine happily, "the look on her face was
priceless."  She felt elated. Sandra had just given a big heads up to
Ethan and even though Nadine had known he was a big, ruggedly handsome man, she
was still unprepared for just how attractive he would be to other women.

Still holding her close
to him Ethan led Nadine into the lift. Once inside Nadine tried to move
away.  "We can drop the pretence now," she hissed, but lightly
so that he knew she was toying with him.

"Shush.
Cameras," he said, pointing to the CCTV camera perched high up above the
door. "We don't want to blow our cover." He clasped her hand, only
releasing it as the lift arrived on their floor.

"Room four one
seven," Nadine , as they walked along the hallway moving ever closer to
their room.

"Here it is, lucky
lady."  Ethan leaned against the door, looking at Nadine.

The thought of entering
their room was giving Nadine palpitations. "Will you tone it down a bit
please? There’s no-one around so you don’t need to put on your show."
 

He grinned even more at
this.

Her heart was beating
wildly, Nadine opened the door.

They stepped into a
beautiful suite which had a huge double bed at one side of the room.  The
colour scheme was cool mocha and warm browns making for a sedate and peaceful
room to rest in. The side of the room opposite the door had no brick wall but a
floor to ceiling pane of glass, overlooking the woods. It was a breathtaking
sight to behold.

"Look at that would
you!" exclaimed Ethan in adoration. He walked up to the wall of
glass.  "It’s stunning isn’t it?" said Nadine, taking her place
by his side as he looked out in wonder. They were standing so close together,
staring out at the field of green before them.

It was breathtaking. And
calm. A sudden knock at the door broke the quiet. 

Nadine rushed to answer
it; it was only the bellboy bringing up their luggage.  "Thank
you," she said appreciatively, handing him a tip.

"We’ve got an
hour," said Nadine, putting her suitcase on the bed and opening it up.

This was going to be so
awkward, she thought to herself. It was too late to back out now. She looked at
the huge bed, so comfortable and inviting. Then she wondered how she would
share it with Ethan. She barely knew him. It dawned on her suddenly, that what
she had done was more than foolhardy. She barely knew the man. He was a
stripper. No, he was a bit better, he was an escort. Was that better or worse?
She didn’t really know. A variety of thoughts ran riot through her mind and her
heart raced as she started to panic. What if he was a psycho? Or had a split
personality? What if he had a sexually transmitted disease? Not that she had
any intention of sleeping with him but even so. She pushed this thought away.
Of course she was not going to sleep with him. Nothing of that sort was going
to take place. She realised with a sudden thud, that her most immediate problem
would be using the toilet.  Hers was a fast metabolism and she would need
to use that toilet to empty her stomach but with the two of them sharing, and
her hardly knowing him, she shivered at the thought of conducting this delicate
operation.  She would take something to constipate her.  That would
be a solution.

"Having second
thoughts?" Ethan wandered over to her before sitting down on the bed. He
thought of making a small joke about the bed but from the look on her face, he
could tell something was up. He thought better of it.  "What is it
Nadine?" he asked gently. She gazed at him. His face was suddenly serious
again and the mischievous spark in his eyes had disappeared.

"I hardly know you,
"  she said looking down.

"Hey, if you're
worried about anything, I'm not going to touch you. I promise." He was
being serious.

"Sorry. I'm just
panicking."  She breathed in slowly. He was Ethan, the nice guy. They
had met a few times and they knew each other, it wasn't as though he was a
total stranger. She had the number of his friend, Billy. But other than that
she didn't know anyone else and nor had she told anyone that she would be here,
not even her sister, or her mom. What would they think if they knew she was
sharing a room with someone who was almost a stranger?

All manner of thoughts
swerved through her brain, which only filtered out and fed to her the gory
ones. What if they found her body parts all strewn around the hotel room the
next morning? Her mother would never forgive her. But by then, it wouldn’t
matter since she would be dead anyway.

Ethan read her thoughts,
"You're chickening out aren't you?"

"What, of this
relationship?"

"Of something. Looks
to me like the thought of sharing a bed has freaked you out. Don't worry, the
couch looks comfortable enough,” he said, moving over the chaise longue and
reclining on it.

It was hard and
uncomfortable and there was nowhere to rest his head comfortably. He looked at
her weakly.  "It'll be fine. I'm thinking you want to get ready for
the cocktails - so I'll go on downstairs and sit in the bar while you get
ready. Sound okay to you?"  A little consoled by his thoughtfulness,
Nadine brightened up a little.