Heart and Soul by Carrie Elks

9

“Okay.” Meghan nodded. “I’ll do it. Or we can do it.” Her smile was shy. “Whatever. But I have one proviso.”

Rich looked exhausted, as though all the work and late nights had finally caught up with him. She could understand how he felt. She hadn’t slept much last night either. She was so aware of him being just a few inches away from her through the wall.

Why the hell did she have to crush on her neighbor? It was so cliché.

“What’s the proviso?”

“We keep Isla out of it, and I don’t need you to pretend to be my boyfriend to my parents. I can handle them.”

He frowned. “But then it’s not even. What do you get out of it?”

She shrugged. “I help out a friend. Isn’t that enough?”

From the look on his face it wasn’t. Not for him. “I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll think of something else.”

Pulling her lip between her teeth, Meghan tried to think of an appropriate response. The weird thing was, she wanted to pretend to be his girlfriend. Wanted to know what it would be like to actually be with this gorgeous, strong man.

Pretend. That’s all it would be.

“How about if you do something else for me in return?” she suggested.

“Like what?” A half smile played at his lips.

“You can take Isla out for a swim in the ocean. She keeps begging me to take her swimming and I can’t stand the thought.” Meghan gave a mock shiver. “It’s way too cold right now.”

Rich blinked. “Let me get this straight, you pretend to be my girlfriend and get a persistent stalker off my back, and I just have to go for a swim?”

“It sounds fair to me,” Meghan pointed out. “I get to stare at you with doe eyes. You get to freeze your ass off for however long Isla insists you stay in the water. I’m happy with that exchange.”

His smile widened.“Are you sure? Because there’s no hard feelings if you change your mind. You’ll still be my favorite neighbor.”

“Don’t tell Gloria that. She thinks she’s your number one.”

He looked amazing this morning, his hair wet from the shower, his strong body encased in jeans and a grey t-shirt that skimmed every ripple in his stomach and chest.

“It’s our secret.” He winked at her. “Let’s not ruin her day and tell her.”

“So, what’s happening tomorrow morning that you need me to be there for?” Meghan asked, passing him a coffee. They were in her apartment. Isla was at school, and she’d been getting things ready for work when he’d seen her message and come over. Her purse was on the kitchen counter along with some handwritten recipe notes. She took a sip of coffee as she looked at him.

“My sister’s meeting with Carlyn to discuss her graduation show.”

“Carlyn’s the stalker?”

Rich nodded. “Yeah.”

Meghan’s eyes widened. “You need to backtrack a bit. Why is Carlyn involved with your sister?”

“My sister’s at college studying art. Her show is part of her assessment for graduation. She can either have it at the college or in a private gallery. Belle wanted to have it in a gallery, and here we are.”

“Belle’s your sister?”

“Yep.”

“And you were okay with her contacting Carlyn?” The thought of it made her stomach feel queasy.

Rich swallowed. “Honestly, I had no idea they were in contact until Carlyn blindsided me the other day. We only went on two dates, I’d forgotten what she even did for a living until she mentioned Belle had been in touch about the show. I’m kicking myself for letting it play out like that. I’m kind of overprotective of my sister, and I hate to see her being used.”

Meghan’s gaze softened. Did he have to be so sweet? “Does she know about you and Carlyn?”

He shook his head. “It was never an issue. We went out to dinner twice and that was it. I try not to worry Belle about my work. She has enough things to contend with already.”

“So tomorrow is when Belle and Carlyn are meeting? Where?”

“At The Sunshine Gallery. I figure we can go in together, make up something about having breakfast afterward. And when Carlyn sees me with somebody else she’ll back off.”

“Will you need me to come to the show, too?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He nodded slowly. “Would that be a problem for you?”

She swallowed. “I was thinking it could be a problem for you.” She gestured at him to emphasize her point. “You’re a good looking man. If we’re pretending to be dating won’t that scupper any chance you have with anybody else.”

His eyes dipped to her lips. “I don’t want anybody else.”

A thrill shot through her at his words. Even though she knew he didn’t mean them that way.

He gave a little chuckle, as though he could read her mind. “I guess what I’m saying is a few months of celibacy would be worth it. But what about you? You’re young and single, what if you wanted to date? I don’t want to be the person standing in your way.”

“I’m a single mom. Finding somebody to date is like finding a unicorn.” Her voice was warm. Amused. “Seriously, it’s not going to ruin my non-existent sex life.”

Rich blinked again. “Okay.” His voice was thin. “How about we agree that if either of us meet somebody we’d like to date we talk about it. We can have a get out clause.”

“It’s not going to happen for me, but thanks. And yeah, I’m happy with that if you are.”

There was a strange look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite understand. The way he stared at her made her cheeks flush. As though he knew exactly how to make something like that happen. Her skin blazing, she pulled her eyes from his, her gaze sweeping to his hands. They were big, strong, and she knew from their trip to the ER how gentle they could be.

For a moment she imagined him touching her. Awakening her body cell by cell. If he could set her on fire just by looking at her, how would she react at his touch?

He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. “Okay. What time are you dropping Isla to her friend’s house tomorrow?”

“At nine. They’re both early risers.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty. If that works for you?”

“Yeah, that works.” She nodded, a smile playing at her lips. Because tomorrow she got to pretend that she was Rich Martin’s girlfriend. It was weird how much that thought excited her.

Pretend. That’s all.

And that was fine. Better than fine. She’d get all of the fun stuff without any of the angst. She knew their little arrangement had a time limit, and then they’d go back to being neighbors and friends.

But while it lasted, she’d get to enjoy being with the strong, handsome doctor with eyes like the ocean. And there was something exciting about that.

* * *

The Sunshine Art gallery was nestled in a chic row of shops to the south of Angel Sands itself, separated from the beach by wide, grassy dunes, whose emerald blades seemed to dance in the breeze. To the left was a dress shop that Meghan knew was beyond her means, and to the right was a sunglasses shop full of expensive designer lenses.

If the boardwalk was all about fun and tourists, this part of town was about money and elegance. It was midway between the town itself and the Silver Sands Resort, which attracted the kind of top notch guests these shops would thrive off.

Rich parked on the road behind a dark blue van, and clicked his tongue, muttering something about his sister being early. Turning to Meghan, he gave her a disarming smile. “Are you ready for this?”

“Of course. Let’s go.” She was interested to see if he treated her any differently, now that she was his girlfriend – in name at least. Reaching out to open her door, he put his hand over hers.

“I’ll come around,” he told her, his voice certain. “And help you out.”

It was strange how such a small gesture made her feel warm. He reached for her hand, helping her stand and then closing the door behind her, leading her over to the gallery where he pressed the buzzer on the front door.

His fingers were threaded through hers. His hold felt reassuring. She squeezed her fingers a little and he squeezed back.

“Okay?” he murmured.

“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted. She didn’t want to let him down, that was all.

He brushed the back of her hand with his thumb. How did he make her react just by touching her? “It’ll be fine. We’ve just started dating. We’re getting to know each other. There are no right or wrong ways to act. Just be yourself.”

The door opened and behind it was a tall, elegant brunette, with shining waves tumbling to her shoulders, and a face perfectly made up. She was wearing the kind of dress you saw in the shop next door – made of luxurious fabric that clung to her every curve.

Her eyes swept from Rich to Meghan, then back again. “I didn’t know you were bringing a friend,” she said, her voice tight.

Rich slid his hand around Meghan’s waist, pulling her against him. “We have a brunch date, I figured it would kill two birds with one stone. Meghan, this is Carlyn, she runs the gallery. Carlyn, this is Meghan.”

“I suppose you’d better come in.” She looked flustered. “Your sister is in the back.”

Rich kept his arm firmly around Meghan’s waist as they walked inside. The interior was as beautiful as the window, with shelves displaying beautiful sculptures that captured the light, walls filled with paintings that depicted the beach, the city, and portraits, too. Her eyes didn’t know where to look first.

“Rich!” a young woman in her early twenties called out, propelling herself on her wheelchair to navigate her way around the shelves. “I didn’t know you were bringing somebody.” There was a cheeky smile on her face as she gave Meghan the once over. It had to be his sister, they had the same dark hair and piercing blue eyes. But her face was softer, with gentle curves rather than his hard angles.

“We’re heading off to brunch after this, so Meghan kindly agreed to come.” His voice was full of affection as he released Meghan’s waist and dipped to brush his lips across his sister’s cheeks.

Hadn’t he said his parents died when he was nineteen? For the last decade and a half it had been him and his sister. No wonder they were close. Belle had to have been a young teenager when they died. How hard that must have been.

“Belle, this is Meghan,” Rich said, looking over his shoulder at her. “Meg, this is my sister.”

“It’s a pleasure.” Meghan grinned at Belle, holding her hand out.

“Hi. This is a lovely surprise. It’s lovely to meet you.” She turned to Rich. “She’s pretty. Well done.”

Carlyn cleared her throat. “We should start talking about the show. I have to open the gallery in an hour and I have a lot to do before that. Belle, Richard, would you like to come to the office.” She gave Meghan a cold glance. “Maybe you’d like to look around while we talk. My office isn’t big enough for all of us.”

Belle glanced at them both. “It’s fine, I can handle this. Why don’t you and Meghan take a look around the gallery while we talk business. I want to pick your brain later about the layout for the show.”

Carlyn frowned. “We need a second signatory for the contract. I really need him to come in, too.”

Rich looked at Belle. “Call me when you’re ready and I’ll come in to sign it.” He’d go in with her now if she wanted. But it was her call, not his.

“I will.” Belle winked. “Now you two kids have fun without us.” She turned her chair and followed Carlyn to the office. Before she closed the door, Carlyn took another glance at Meghan and Rich, her eyes dark with annoyance.

Rich slid his arm around her waist, kissing her brow with his warm, soft lips. Meghan looked up at him with surprise.

“Just go with it,” he murmured. Carlyn slammed the door shut and he released his hold on Meghan. “Sorry.” He grimaced. “She just pisses me off.”

“She didn’t seem that bad.”

He swallowed. “She just finds it hard taking no for an answer. Thank you for being here, you made my life easier.”

It was weird, because her heart was thumping against her chest. Her skin felt like it was burning where he’d pressed his lips against her brow. For a moment, she’d imagined him cupping her jaw, sliding his lips down her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

Ugh. What was wrong with her? She was here as a decoy, nothing else. This wasn’t real, no matter how much her body reacted to him.

“Shall we look at some paintings?” he suggested, his voice light, as though he had no idea how he affected her.

“Sure, I’d like that.” She smiled at him, walking over to a seascape with stormy skies and a boat surrounded by foaming waves.

Looking up at the painting, she let herself get lost in it, because she definitely didn’t want to get lost in him.