What a Westmoreland Wants / Stand-In Bride's Seduction: What a Westmoreland Wants

“Callum,” she said and smiled.

“Gemma. Thanks for agreeing to see me,” he said as he took her oustretched hand.

“No problem,” she said, sitting down once he released her hand. “You said something about meeting to discuss a business proposition.”

“Yes, but first how about us grabbing something to eat. I’m starving.”

“Sure.”

As if on cue, a waitress strolled over with menus and placed glasses of water in front of them. “I hope this place is acceptable,” Callum said, moments later after taking a sip of his water.

“Trust me, it is,” Gemma said smiling. “It’s one of my favorites. The salads here are fabulous.”

He chuckled. “Are they? “

“Yes.”

“That might very well be, but I’m not a salad man. I prefer something a lot heavier. Like a steak and the French fries I hear this place is famous for.”

“No wonder you and Ramsey get along. Now that he’s married to Chloe, I’ll bet he’s in hog heaven with all those different meals she likes to prepare.”

“I’m sure he is. It’s hard to believe he’s married,” Callum said.

“Yes, four months tomorrow and I don’t recall my brother ever being happier.”

“And his men are happy, too, now that Nellie’s been replaced as cook,” he said. “She never could get her act together and it worked out well for everyone when she decided to move closer to her sister when her marriage fell apart.”

Gemma nodded. “I hear the new cook is working out wonderfully, although most of the guys still prefer Chloe’s cooking. But she is happy just being Ramsey’s wife and a mother-in-waiting. She doesn’t have long now and I’m excited about becoming an aunt.

“Are you an uncle yet?”

It was his turn to smile. “Yes. My two older brothers and one sister are married with a child each. I’m used to being around kids. And I also have a goddaughter who will be celebrating her first birthday soon.”

At that moment the waitress returned. Callum resented the interruption.

Gemma appreciated the interruption. Although she had been around Callum plenty of times, she’d never noticed just how powerfully built he was. Her brothers and male cousins were all big men, but Callum was so much more manly.

And she had to listen carefully to what he said and stop paying so much attention to how he said it. His thick Australian accent did things to her. It sent a warm, sensual caress across her skin every time he opened his mouth to speak. Then there were his looks, which made her understand perfectly why Jackie Barnes and quite a number of other women had gone bonkers over him. In addition to being tall, with a raw, masculine build, he had thick chestnut-brown hair that fell to his shoulders. Most days he wore it pulled back into a ponytail. He’d made today an exception and it cascaded around his shoulders.

Gemma had once overheard him mention to her sister, Megan, that his full lips and dark hair came from his African-American mother and his green eyes and his square jaw from his father. She’d also heard him say that his parents had met on an airplane. His mother had been a flight attendant on his father’s flight from the United States back to Australia. He’d told Megan it had been love at first sight, which made her wonder if he believed in such nonsense. She knew there was no such thing.

“So what do you think of Dillon and Pamela’s news?”

Callum’s question cut into her thoughts and she glanced up to meet his green eyes. She swallowed. Was there a hint of blue in their depths. And then there was his dimpled smile that took her breath away.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said, suddenly feeling the need to take a sip of cold water. “There haven’t been babies in our family in a long time. With Chloe expecting and now Pamela, that’s two babies to spoil and I can’t wait.”

“You like children?”

She chuckled. “Yes, unfortunately, I’m one of those people who take to the precious darlings a little too much. That’s why my friends call on me more often than not to babysit for them.”

“You could always marry and have your own.”

She made a face. “Thanks, but no thanks. At least no time soon, if ever. I’m sure you’ve heard the family joke about me never wanting to get serious about a man. Well, it’s not a joke—it’s the truth.”

“Because of what you witnessed with your brothers while growing up?”

So he had heard. Any one of her brothers could have mentioned it, especially because she denounced their behavior every chance she got. “I guess you can say I saw and heard too much. My brothers and cousins had a reputation for fast cars and fast women. They thought nothing about breaking hearts. Ramsey usually had a steady girl, but Zane and Derringer were two of the worst when it came to playing women. As far as I’m concerned, they still are.” Unfortunately, she’d overheard one of Zane’s phone calls that very morning when she had stopped by to borrow some milk.

“I can clearly recall the times when Megan and I, and sometimes even Bailey, who was still young enough to be playing with her dolls, would be the ones to get the phone calls from love-stricken girls in tears after being mercilessly dumped by one of my brothers or cousins.”

And they were females determined to share their teary-eyed, heart-wrenching stories with anyone willing to listen. Megan and Bailey would get them off the phone really quickly, but Gemma had been the bleeding heart. She would ease into a chair and take the time to listen to their sob stories, absorbing every heartbreaking detail like a sponge. Even to the point at which she would end up crying a river of tears right along with them.

She’d decided by the time she had begun dating that no man alive would make her one of those weeping women. And then there was this inner fear she’d shared with no one, the fear of falling in love and having the person abandon her one day … the way she felt whenever she thought about her parents. She knew she had no logical reason for feeling abandoned by them because she was certain if they’d had a choice they would have survived that plane crash. But still, as illogical as it might be, the fear was there for her and it was real. She was convinced there was no man worth a single Gemma Westmoreland tear or her fears, and intended to make sure she never shed one by never giving her heart to anyone. She would be celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday in a few months and so far she’d managed to keep both her heart and her virginity intact.

“And because of that you don’t ever plan to get seriously involved with a man?”

She drew in a deep breath. She and her sisters had had this conversation many times and she was wondering why she was sitting here having it with Callum now. Why was he interested? It dawned on her that he probably wasn’t; he was just asking to fill the time. “As far as I’m concerned that’s a good enough reason. Those girls were in love with my brothers and cousins and assumed they loved them back. Just look what that wrong assumption did to them.”

Callum took a sip of his water, deciding not to respond by saying that as far as he was concerned her brothers’ behavior was normal for most men, and in some cases women. Granted, he hadn’t been around Zane and Derringer while they had been in their teens and could just imagine some of the things they had gotten in to. Now, as grown men, he knew they enjoyed women, but then most hot-blooded men did. And just because a man might be considered a “player” somewhat before finally settling down with one woman—the one he chose to spend the rest of his life with—that didn’t necessarily mean he was a man who totally disrespected women. In fairness to Zane and Derringer, they treated women with respect.

He wondered what she would think if she knew how his behavior had been before he’d met her. He hadn’t considered himself a womanizer, although he’d dated a slew of woman. He merely thought of himself as a man who enjoyed life and wanted to have a good time with the opposite sex while waiting for the girl destined to share his life to come along. Once she had, he’d had no trouble bringing his fun-loving, footloose and fancy-free bachelor lifestyle to an end. Eventually, the same thing would happen to her brothers and cousins.

No wonder her brothers thought she was a lost cause, but he refused to accept that. He was determined to show her how things could be if she were to fall in love with a man committed to making her happy.

In a way, he felt he knew Gemma. He believed that beneath her rough and tough “I’ll never fall in love” exterior was the heart of a woman who not only loved children but loved life in general. He also believed that she was a passionate woman. And that she was unknowingly reserving that passion for the one man capable of tapping into it. The same man destined to spend the rest of his life with her. Him.

The waitress delivered their food, and they engaged in chitchat while they ate their meal.

After they had finished eating and the waitress removed their plates, Gemma leaned back in her chair and smiled at Callum. “Lunch was wonderful. Now, about that business proposition?”

He chuckled, reached over and picked up the folder he had placed on an empty chair. He handed it to her. “This is information on the home I purchased last year. I would love you to decorate it for me.”

Callum saw how her eyes lit up. She loved her work and it showed in her face. She opened the folder and carefully studied every feature, every detail of the house. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was giving her 9,200 feet of house to do with as she pleased. It was an interior designer’s dream.

She lifted her gaze with a look of awe on her face. “This place is beautiful. And it’s huge. I didn’t know you had purchased a house.”

“Yes, but it’s still empty and I want to turn it into a home. I like what you did with Ramsey’s place and thought you would be the ideal person for the job. I’m aware that because of the size of the house it will take up a lot of your time. I’m willing to pay you well. As you can see I haven’t picked out any furniture or anything. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

Now that much was true, Callum thought. What he didn’t tell her was that other designers had volunteered to decorate his new house, but he had bought it with her in mind.

She glanced back down at the papers in front of her. “Umm, eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a huge kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, theater, recreation room and sauna. That’s quite a lot of space for a single man.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t plan on staying single forever.”

Gemma nodded, thinking that evidently Callum had decided to settle down and send for that girl back home. She glanced down at the papers again. She would love taking on this project, and he was right in thinking it would take up a lot of her time. But then she definitely needed the money.

“So, what do you think, Gemma?”