A Proposal For The Officer. Christy Jeffries
“Why not?”
“Because then she’ll tell my sister, remember?”
He rolled his eyes, then swiped his finger across the screen. “Hey, Kylie.”
Molly dragged her tote bag onto her lap and pulled out her black case. She may as well check her glucose levels before Hunter returned. The distraction might also keep her from listening to Kaleb’s smooth, deep voice.
As she pricked her finger and pressed out a droplet of blood, she heard him make several noncommittal sounds to whatever his sister was saying on the other end.
“Mmm-hmm.” He walked around the coffee table to stand beside her, the waistband of his jeans right in her line of vision. Lately, in the guy department, Molly thought she’d been working on autopilot. However, a shot of electricity zipped through her, activating the dormant wiring circuits in her lower extremities.
“Uh-huh.” He leaned over to see the digital reading on her compact machine. She tightened her lips, taking in a deep breath through her nose. Whoa. Did all billionaires smell this amazing?
“Is that good?” he whispered to her, his hand over the speaker and his eyes soft with concern. She had to force her own eyes away from his flat abdomen and toward the numbers on the screen in front of her.
She was almost back within normal range, yet still gave him an “okay” sign with her thumb and forefinger. His smile mirrored the relief she should have felt. Or would have felt if her heart hadn’t started hammering at how close he was to her.
“No, Molly’s fine.” His voice snapped her brain out of whatever trance she’d just been in and she began waving her arms in front of her face, inadvertently hitting him in the hip and causing him to glare down at her.
“Don’t say my name,” she whispered.
“Too late,” he mouthed.
“Here, let me talk to her.” She reached for his phone, but her energy hadn’t fully recovered and her crisscrossed legs got tangled when she tried to stand up. He sidestepped her and held his palm out, probably trying to cut her off because he thought he had the conversation under control.
“No, she wasn’t too sloshed to drive,” Kaleb told his sister indignantly.
Molly gave him a nod of encouragement. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”
“Oh, c’mon, Kylie. I’m not going to ask her if she’s pregnant.”
Hmm. Molly tilted her head to the side and tapped a couple of fingers against her lip. As far as red herrings went, it wasn’t ideal. But she could work with it. Maxine knew about the breakup with Trevor and Molly hadn’t exactly corrected her sister when she’d offered up the use of her apartment as a refuge for mending her broken heart. Pregnancy definitely would be a lot simpler to explain, at least for a few months while she bought herself more time.
“Because it’s none of my business,” Kaleb said into the phone. “And it’s none of yours.”
Molly’s eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t believe that he was jumping to her defense, but she nodded her encouragement, anyway.
“Uh-huh.” Kaleb pushed his hair off his forehead, then ran a hand through his dark brown curls, which fell in waves to his chin. “Fine. I’ll be there in thirty minutes and we can talk about it then.”
Molly collapsed backward, her head falling into a pile of down throw pillows. It would’ve been nice if he could’ve stalled a bit more. As it was, she would now have half that time to coach Kaleb on exactly what to say to throw his family off her trail. Or to figure out a way to prevent him from walking out of this apartment.
“No, you do not need to send Dad to come get me.” Kaleb spoke into the phone, but he was staring straight at Molly. And his annoyed expression promised retribution for this farce she’d gotten them both into.
* * *
When he arrived at Kylie’s house a while later, Kaleb surrendered the margarita fixings and tried to give his incredibly nosy family the look that usually sent his employees scurrying back to their cubicles. Or at least the look he intended to convey his authority and his unwillingness to discuss a matter. Unfortunately, his family didn’t work for him and they certainly didn’t respect any boundaries when it came to his personal life—or any facet of his life, really.
“Maybe you should’ve called one of her relatives,” his mother suggested.
“Or brought her here so we could check her out ourselves,” Kylie advised.
“You mean interrogate her in person?” Kaleb asked, and his sister rolled her eyes in response. “You guys, she was totally fine. It’s probably some twenty-four-hour bug that’s going around. In fact, I should probably quarantine myself in case I was exposed. Wouldn’t want to get any of you sick.”
“Nice try, Brainiac,” Kylie replied. “As if Captain Markham would be felled by some pesky flu. That woman is as tough as they come. Maxine told me that one time, when Molly was in flight school, she got her thumb stuck in a busted air shaft vent and almost ripped it clean off. Rather than tell her instructors or call for a medic, she used her good hand and a utility knife and cut off the strap of her bra to hold the digit in place. She would’ve cut into the fabric of her flight suit, but she didn’t want to be out of uniform.”
“Still,” his mom said. “You probably shouldn’t have left her alone if she’s sick.”
Kaleb had told himself that same thing during his walk back to the truck at Duncan’s, during his wait at the checkout line at the market with a fresh—and unmelted—bag of ice and then throughout the entire drive here. “She was already feeling better when I left and she’s not alone. She’s with her nephew. And trust me, that kid is smart enough to call in for reinforcements even if his stubborn aunt isn’t.”
“So, you think Molly’s stubborn?” His sister’s eyes lit up and Kaleb knew from experience not to let her bait him.
“No, you said she was stubborn when she tried to fix her own thumb instead of getting help.”
“I said she was tough, not stubborn.”
“What’s the difference?” Kaleb asked, then thought better of his question when he saw both his sister and his mom open their mouths to answer him. “Never mind. Listen, I’m gonna head over to Kane’s house just in case I caught whatever bug Molly has. I’ll call you guys in the morning.”
Kaleb knew full well that what Molly had wasn’t contagious, but if it got him out of the line of fire quicker, he’d say whatever he could to get a few hours’ reprieve. And in his defense, he was doing it to protect her. To protect her secret. He wasn’t avoiding his family because they drove him nuts. Truly.
Although, if his relatives even got the slightest suspicion that he, in any way, was attracted to an eligible woman, the teasing would never cease. Not that Molly was eligible. Or that Kaleb cared either way. Dating led to obligations and obligations led to commitment. The only commitment he had time for was his company.
On the drive to his brother’s house—where he was staying alone since Kane had moved into town with his fiancée—Kaleb picked up his smartphone several times to call Molly and check on her, each time realizing he never got her phone number. He’d programmed his number into her cell and told her to call him in case anything came up. But she’d never offered to do the same.
Which was for the best. He had no business calling her, let alone fostering this bizarre sense of responsibility he now felt toward her. When he’d dealt with scoliosis, he’d hated people babying him, wondering if the brace he wore was uncomfortable, telling him he’d be able to play sports again soon enough. Kaleb couldn’t imagine she’d respond any differently than he had as a surly teenager, determined to prove to the world that he was just as healthy and capable as everyone else in his athletic family.
But