Undercover Husband

“She’s home tending her younger brother while her parents are away on a trip. What about him? I don’t want him frightened.”

“He won’t be. You can introduce me as your fiancé.”

“But he knows I don’t have a boyfriend.”

A mysterious gleam entered his eyes. “You do now. Tell him I’m the man who once stole your heart, then moved away. Now I’m back to reclaim you.”

This time she felt a quickening inside her, and had the strongest conviction that if he had been her old boyfriend, and had moved away, he might very well have gone off with her heart.

“See if it’s convenient for us to visit Denise before we drop by your folks. You can call them from her house and alert them that we’ll be over around nine tonight.”

Within five minutes they were on their way across town to Federal Heights where both the Martins and her parents lived. En route she was once again seized by the enormity of the decision she’d just made. Only fear could have caused her to enter into a bogus marriage with a stranger, never raising any major objections.

“You probably think I’m the world’s greatest coward,” she blurted in panic.

He sucked in his breath. “On the contrary, any woman who is working in a male-dominated profession like architecture couldn’t possibly be lacking in the courage department.”

Her gaze fastened on him. “You’re one of the few men I’ve ever met who had any understanding of what it’s been like for me.”

“Maybe that’s because in my profession, I have to be a student of human nature. To do my job right, it’s imperative I get close to my clients, whether male or female. So close, I can tell what they’re made of, what strengths and weaknesses form their character. That way I can do my best to protect them. Rest assured I respect your fear, Brit.

“You’re the one who was trapped with that man for five weeks, sensing he wasn’t normal. I’m convinced God has instilled different survival instincts in a woman. Fortunately those instincts drove you to seek help.”

After a thoughtful pause she said, “Then those same instincts are telling me you’re too good a private investigator to take on just any case. What do you know about this man you haven’t told me? Imagination has a lot to answer for as the saying goes.” She lowered her head. “I need to hear the whole truth.”

So help me, I need the answer to that question myself. “That’s the hard part, Brit. I’ve given you the facts. What I’m going on now is like flying blind with no radar.”

She sighed. “I know what you mean. When I’m trying to solve a problem of space and design, and I’ve exhausted every known possibility, sometimes I just have to start playing around, not knowing what I’ll find, but not satisfied until the answer is staring me in the face.”

His mouth quirked. “How well I know what you’re saying. You’ve put it better than I could have myself. The one thing we can agree on is that you could be in danger. We’ll take it from there.”

She nodded before telling him they needed to turn right on South Temple. He followed her directions until they passed Reservoir Park and entered the Federal Heights area where many of the ivy-covered mansions built by the mining magnates of old were elegantly preserved.

“Is Denise prepared to go along with our plan in order to spare her brother?”

“Yes. She said she’d follow our lead, then send Rod on an errand. That will give us enough time to talk in private.”

“Good.”

“Here’s her house.”

Roman pulled the car to a stop at the curb in front of a large, Italian renaissance-style home, then flashed her a probing glance. “From everything you’ve told me, Rod will be a difficult person to fool. Get ready to put on the greatest acting performance of your life. If we can convince him, then we’re home free where anyone else is concerned.”

She watched him reach in his trouser pocket and pull out a solitaire diamond ring. “I picked this up to make everything look real. Let’s hope it isn’t too big. Give me your left hand.”

Brit’s eyes grew huge as he slid the engagement ring onto her finger. To her surprise, it fit just fine. “Now we’re official, but you look as if you could use a little shock treatment to get things going.”

Before she realized it, he’d leaned across the seat and kissed her mouth. “That was for Rod’s sake, in case he’s watching.” He kissed her again, applying more pressure. “You taste of strawberries.”

She drew away, hot-faced. A large blue-white stone sparkled up at her.

“Have you ever been in love, Brit?”

“There was one boy in high school, but like most first love relationships, it couldn’t flourish because we were too young. I met another man in college. I liked him a lot, but not enough to marry. When I realized how serious he was getting, I broke it off.”

“Did you live together?”

“No.” After a tension-filled silence she said, “I don’t intend to sleep with any man until I’m married first.”

“You’re a wise woman,” came the deep-sounding rejoinder.

He slid his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the front porch of the oak-shaded, two-story mansion together. His solid strength felt good to her.

“I’m afraid moving in with me will raise some eyebrows.”

A blush swept over her face. “Yes.”

“We’ll be ‘married’ in three days’ time, which should circumvent any gossip. To outsiders, our marriage will look real.”

He held on to her and rang the bell, his nearness playing havoc with her emotions. Suddenly the door opened.

“Brit!”

She smiled at Denise’s fourteen-year-old brother. “How are you doing, Rod? Can we come in?”

“Sure.”

They moved inside. Rod called to his sister that they had company.

“I’ll be right there,” came a shout from the rear of the house.

“Rod? This is Roman Lufka. Remember I told you that I had a really serious boyfriend in high school?”

“Yeah?” His interested gaze was fixed on Roman.

“Well, it was Roman.”

“That’s right,” Roman broke in, nestling her even closer to his body. “I had to move back east with my parents and then I went in the Marines. But I never forgot Brit, and decided to come back to Salt Lake to live. We’ve been talking since I returned. One thing led to another, and we’re going to get married right away.”

“That’s great. Where are you going to live? I hope it’s close to us.”

“Afraid not, Rod. I bought a home in Olympus Cove. Do you know where that is?”

“Sure. Near the turnoff to Alta and Brighton. Do you ski?”

“It’s my favorite sport,” Roman asserted with a grin.

“Mine, too.”