Her mother had worked days and nights to pay the meager tuition and keep food on the table. Then she died abruptly of a heart attack on her way to work a year after Meghan graduated and started work. They’d thought that with their combined incomes, they would be finally able to have some of the things they needed and wanted. And Suzanne wouldn’t have the same financial restraints that Meghan had. But that dream ended, too.

  Thomas. Now there was a dream. He was gorgeous, more of a hunk now than he’d been in high school when sexiness oozed from his biceps. But now there was a sadness about him, too. Meghan thought it had been brought on by the loss of his wife.

  The phone rang and she set her cup on the window seat. She’d left several messages for Suzanne and was expecting a call back. But when she picked up the phone Thomas’s secretary was on the other end of the line.

  “He had to be in the District this morning and wondered if you would meet him for lunch?”

  “In D.C.?”

  “In Chevy Chase, actually. I can send a car for you.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Meghan was a little pissed at his assumption that she had nothing to do but wait for him to send a car for her. “Where am I to meet him?’

  “At Chavalier’s on—”

  “I know where it is,” she interrupted. Chevalier’s was the most expensive restaurant in Montgomery County.

  “Did he say what time?” Meghan asked flatly.

  “Noon.”

  Meghan heard no censure in her voice and felt a little guilty for the way she’d responded. It wasn’t her fault that Thomas had farmed out a duty that he should have done himself.

  “Thank you. I’ll be there.”

  Hanging up the phone, Meghan checked the clock on the mantle. Suzanne had given her the small clock for Christmas last year. Meghan had only a couple of hours to get dressed and drive to the exclusive D.C. suburb. The distance wasn’t that great if there was a straight line to get there, but she had to get through traffic, which was always congested.

  She walked into the restaurant ten minutes late. Thomas stood up as the waiter showed her to his table. He looked perturbed. Meghan got a little satisfaction out of that. He’d had a secretary arrange a lunch with his fiancée and had given her barely enough time to get here. Her time was worth something too, she thought.

  His face changed slightly as she got closer. Then it occurred to her that he might have changed his mind. He’d had her come here so he could tell her in the clear light of day that he wasn’t willing to go through with it.

  Meghan straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. No loss, she told herself. Nothing had happened. Nothing physical. Nothing that couldn’t be undone, unthought. And if Thomas had gone squeamish on the idea, she’d rather know now than later.

  “Hello,” she said, refusing to apologize for the time.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Meghan was too stunned to do anything but stand there. A wave of emotion shot through her like a heat wave.

  “I thought we should talk,” he said.

  “You’ve changed your mind.” It was a statement.

  “I haven’t,” he said.

  Meghan felt relief, although she wasn’t sure why.

  “Have you changed yours?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good, then let’s have lunch.” He smiled and she studied his eyes. Obviously, Thomas could turn the charm on when he wanted to. Several people dropped by to shake hands with him. He introduced her by name, but gave no additional information about her status. Meghan didn’t know how she would feel if he had said she was his fiancée.

  They ordered and waited for their food to arrive. Whatever reason Thomas had asked her to come, he didn’t bring it up initially. They talked about how exciting the capital was, how long she’d lived in Baltimore, where she’d gone to college and Suzanne.

  “Was there something specific you wanted to discuss?” she asked after the salads had been served.

  “I thought we ought to get to know each other better.”

  “You think we can do that over lunch?” She tried for lightness. “So where do you want to start?”

  He didn’t immediately answer. Meghan began to wonder if he’d heard her. Then wondered if he was going to answer.

  “This can’t be what you expected,” he finally said.

  She had no idea what he meant. “I expected a salad, a meal, coffee and dessert. Is there something I’m missing?”

  He smiled. Meghan wondered why her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

  “I meant the engagement. Didn’t you dream of moonlight and soft music, someone saying ‘I love you’?”

  “Was that how it was when you proposed to Ruth?”

  He glanced down at his salad, pushed it around and looked back up at her. He shook his head. “We were in college. It was homecoming.” He smiled as he remembered it. “We’d won the football game.”

  “Were you on the team?” she asked.

  “Me? I was a business school major. Didn’t have the brawn for football.”

  He didn’t have to play football, she thought. He was all right the way he was. He still had his boyish good looks, although his face held more character than it had when they were in high school.

  “Ruth was in the queen’s court. She looked gorgeous on the float. Her gown was yellow and looked as if it was made of flowers. She had yellow flowers in her hair and with all the flowers on the float you didn’t know if she was just growing out of the ground with them. I waited for the float to come near where I stood along the parade route. When it did, I walked out into the street and dropped the ring box among the flowers in front of her.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She opened it and screamed. She looked back at me waving her hand with the ring on it.”

  “That is so romantic.”

  “You say it like it’s a surprise.”

  She took a drink of water. “I have no point of reference.”

  “I guess not,” he grunted. “The way we agreed to marry didn’t have any of the glow associated with an upcoming marriage.”

  “It’s an in-name-only marriage,” Meghan reminded him.

  He nodded.

  “I do have some questions,” she said.

  He gestured for her to continue. Meghan waited for the waiter to exchange their salads for entrees. Attentively, he checked to see if they needed anything else, then quietly left them alone.

  “I’m a little nobody from Baltimore. I used to be a case worker for a social service organization. You’re a businessman, a wizard if I’m to believe the press. Your face has been on national magazines, more than one of which mentioned your eligibility. You travel all over the world. A few moments ago you introduced me to three people and you’ve nodded to several more. Who are you going to tell these people I am?”

  She could see by the blank look on his face that he hadn’t thought about it.

  “The application for a marriage license is not going to go unnoticed.”

  “You’re right,” he said.

  “Do you expect me to move into your house and stay sequestered for the next nine months? To be hidden away until the child is delivered?”

  “Of course not.”

  “And then how are you going to explain the baby?” She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “This is what we need to discuss.”

  “It seems like you’ve already discussed it,” he said. “You want to tell me the outcome?”

  Meghan put her fork down and looked him directly in the eye. “I have not done that. While this marriage may not be the forever-and-a-day kind, I wouldn’t make any decisions that involve you without discussing them first.”

  “I stand corrected,” he said.

  Meghan knew that was as close to an apology as she was likely to get.

  “For the record, I do not intend to hide you away for nine months. I’m sure you wouldn’t allow it if I tried.”

  “I need to tell my sister the truth,” she said.

  “Are you two very close?”

  “She’s a lot younger, I told you that. We keep in touch. If I change my address to the shore, she’s going to ask questions.”

  “And you’ll have to let her know she is not going to be an aunt?”

  “That, too.”

  “Tell her,” he said.

  He made it sound as if she was a student in the principal’s office who’d just gotten out of trouble. Meghan chose to ignore it. She wasn’t here for a fight.

  “Not what you expected when you invited me to lunch?” She raised her eyebrows.

  He smiled as he shook his head.

  “I suppose I’m not the type of woman you usually have lunch with.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. She felt the surge of heat again. Sitting steady under his gaze, she felt his eyes assessing her, as if he could look into her brain and see what she was thinking. Finally, he shook his head.

  “I’m used to being able to determine exactly what someone wants. With you…none of the usual rules apply.”

  Meghan smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “See, not a single woman I know would give me that response.”

  Meghan’s smile widened. “Then I think we should go on.” She felt more relaxed, and resumed eating her meal with gusto.

  “You’re right about other people. What I do will make news. Because you’re with me you’ll make news, too. They’ll want to talk to you.”

  “And they’ll probably ask some pretty probing questions.” She rested her chin in her hand and looked at him. “I’m sure you have a PR department that will be willing to coach me.”

  “Will you take them seriously?”

  “Of course,” she said, feigning surprise. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I believe you like to shock people. You scrutinize me pretty closely when you say things you think I’m not expecting to hear.”

  “And it works,” she teased. “It’s an occupational hazard of being in social work. Sometimes I have to find out what people are really thinking, and not just listen to what they say.” Meghan got serious. “Thomas, I would not say anything to the press to embarrass you.”

  “That’s good to know.” He looked at her seriously, too. “I often talk to PR before going on an interview. It helps me keep salient points at the top of my mind. And they can anticipate what you’ll be asked.”

  “I already said I’d go. What about the marriage?”

  “Let’s keep it to ourselves. The only people who need to know the real reason already know it, except your sister, whom you’ll be calling.”

  She nodded. “Well, that answer makes all the other questions moot.”

  “There’s still background, where we met, how long we’ve known each other, what’s your favorite food, things like that.”

  They quickly settled on a story that was as true as she could make it. The fact that they had met before eluded Thomas. Meghan didn’t take the time to correct him.

  Thomas signaled the waiter and settled the bill. He stood, leaving the credit card slip on the table, and helping Meghan up.

  “There’s only one thing left to do,” he said as they stepped from the darkness inside the restaurant into the afternoon light.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “We need to get you a ring.” He took her arm and led her down the street. “There’s a small shop down here that might have exactly the kind of ring to satisfy you.”

  Meghan walked with him, unsure of what he meant until they turned the corner and she looked up at the imposing sign.

  Tiffany & Co.

  Chapter 4

  It’s a small dinner party, Meghan told herself. There was nothing for her to be upset about. She’d already met Thomas’s in-laws. It wasn’t like she was a real fiancée, meeting the groom’s family for the first time and eager for their approval. Then why was she so nervous? She looked at the ring on her left hand. The stone gleamed against the darkness of her finger. She’d thought of something small, or of no engagement ring at all and only a gold wedding band, but Thomas had other ideas and it appeared that Tiffany’s didn’t sell anything small.

  The ring felt heavy on her hand, it also felt strange, unfamiliar. She found it turned on her finger and caught on things. Unconsciously, she would twist it around, glancing at it again and again. What were the people at this dinner party going to think when they saw it? Someone was bound to ask to see the ring.

  It was the unknown that made her fidgety. Nina and Adam would be there, which was a consolation. After having spent time with them and listening to them speak about the daughter they had lost, Meaghan had come to respect and like them. But they weren’t the only people invited to this small dinner party. Meghan had seen Thomas’s house and the formal dining room looked as if it could seat twenty.

  She’d shopped for hours for the right dress. Nothing in her closet seemed good enough to grace his table. But she had found something she loved. Evelyn, her neighbor, had come over and done her hair and makeup. Evelyn worked as a hairstylist and was also the neighborhood busybody. But Meghan genuinely liked her. When she’d spied Thomas’s car the day he’d come to see Meghan, she’d rushed over as he drove away to dish the dirt. And later when she saw Meghan come in with a dress bag and found out about the dinner party, she’d offered to help Meghan get ready.

  Meghan surveyed her reflection in the mirror. She looked great. Evelyn had outdone herself. Meghan’s hair was pulled up on top of her head with curls cascading down her back. Her eye shadow was anything but subtle. And while Meghan would have thought the dramatic makeup would only look good on a movie star, she was surprised and pleased at how she looked and felt. Any lingering reservations slid away when Thomas arrived and saw her.

  His expression, his in ability to speak for a moment, made it all worth the effort.

  “Will I do?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer. His eyes traveled slowly up from her feet, which were barely covered with strappy high-heeled sandals. The goddess gown was deep violet, made of silk chiffon with a long, full and flowing skirt. The bodice crisscrossed her breasts in glittering sequins and spaghetti straps connected on opposite sides of the low-cut back.

  “Thomas,” she prompted, his silence beginning to unnerve her.

  “Wow,” he whispered.

  Thomas wore a tuxedo and the contrast of the white shirt against his clean-shaven face was startling. He exuded sex appeal, and dressed as he was, Meghan could melt under the force of it.

  She endured his gaze until she felt his eyes were burning through her skin. “Should we go?” she asked.

  He stepped forward and lifted her wrap from the sofa where she’d left it. Then he walked around her and placed it on her shoulders. For a moment his hands rested on her arms. Meghan forced herself to breathe.

  She was paralyzed, unable to move. Her heart thundered in her chest. This was not good, she told herself. She could not react to Thomas this way. They had a business deal. Nothing more.

  “It’s a gorgeous dress,” he whispered into her ear. “And you look gorgeous in it.”

  Meghan turned to face him. His breath had been warm on her skin and she’d felt a sizzle all the way down to her toes. She dropped her eyes for a moment before returning her gaze to his deep brown eyes.

  “It’s a long drive,” she said. “We should go.” Her voice was soft and low.

  Meghan was glad Nina was the first person she saw as she entered the house. “You are beautiful,” she said, hugging her.

  “Thank you,” Meghan replied.

  “Just relax and have a good time.”

  “I will,” Meghan said, but she didn’t believe it. Through a door only thirty feet away was another world. She didn’t know that world, didn’t intersect with it at any point. But she was about to walk freely through the door and be an integral part of Thomas Worthington-Yates’s life.

  Thomas had answered her questions about the dinner guests on the drive there. Meghan took a deep breath and looked back at Thomas. With a smile, he stepped forward and took her wrap, handing it to a maid who appeared quietly out of nowhere.

  “Ready?” he whispered.

  She smiled even though her heart beat faster. She nodded.

  “You’ll be fine,” he reassured her.

  Meghan was thankful that he was on her side. During the drive, she tried to keep her mind off of him. Now she wanted to hold on to him as if he was her anchor.

  As they approached the ballroom, the sound grew louder. Meghan heard laughter. It didn’t make her feel any better. She hoped she remembered all the details they had discussed on their relationship. She wasn’t good at lying, but now it was showtime.

  She looked at Thomas just as they reached the doorway. “Stay close,” she said. Without thinking, her hand found his. It was warm and strong. She grasped it as if it was a lifeline.

  “I’m not throwing you to the wolves,” he said. “These are my friends.”

  “I have the feeling they’re going to hate me.”

  He laughed. “Why?”

  “Because I’m not Ruth.”

  Thomas stopped in mid-stride. He pulled her aside, away from the door. “Meghan Howard. Meghan Howard.” He repeated her name. “You will not be confused with Ruth.”

  “It isn’t confusion I’m worried about. It’s comparison.”

  “They won’t do that.”

  Meghan rolled her eyes. “They will,” she said. “It’s human nature. They won’t be able to help it.”

  He looked at his shoes for a second, then back at her. “Can you handle it?”

  She nodded, not hesitating for a second. She knew how to appear confident, even if she was shaking inside. And some of her shakes had to do with the man in front of her. A man standing so close she could feel the heat of his body.

  Meghan had promised Thomas she would not do anything to embarrass him. After they went in and he got her a drink, he squired her around the room, introducing her to his friends and telling them she was his fiancée.