“Thank you so much for taking care of my husband while I was busy over there,” she said, giving the saleswoman’s hand a hearty shake. “He’s a little clueless when it comes to furniture, I’m afraid.”
Ben blinked down at her. Husband?
“Er, your husband?” The saleswoman took a step back, casting a nervous look at the woman with the strangely beautiful eyes.
“Yep! We’ve been married for—gosh, almost five years now, honey?”
The saleswoman glanced at Ben’s hand again, and he understood what she’d been looking for. A ring. Which he didn’t have.
Fortunately, his patron saint was well ahead of the saleswoman.
“His ring’s at the jeweler having a little repair work done, but the bonds of matrimony are stronger than gold. Isn’t that right, baby?” The brunette cuddled tighter against him, and Ben found himself instinctively putting an arm around her. She felt nice there. Warm and soft and—
“Of course,” Ben agreed. “Uh, sweetie—weren’t you saying you wanted to check out some of the items from the new catalog?”
“Absolutely! Their fall line is always so spectacular.” She smiled up at him like he’d offered her diamond earrings wrapped in bacon, and he wondered what she was wearing under that silky black top.
“I’m sorry, will you excuse me a moment?” the saleswoman said, taking another step back as she folded her hands together. “I need to—uh—check something.”
“No problem,” Ben’s fake wife said, beaming up at him. “We’ll be right here talking about where this will fit in our living room.”
“Er, right.”
The saleswoman turned and scurried away, leaving Ben to stare down at the wife now affixed to his arm. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and glanced in the direction the saleswoman had retreated.
“I hope I read that right.” The brunette scooted out from under his arm, and he instantly missed her softness. She looked up at him with those odd violet-gray eyes and smiled. “You looked like you were being eaten alive there, but too polite to tell her to back off.”
“Eaten alive,” he repeated, a little mesmerized by the woman’s eyes. “I’m not entirely sure.”
“Seemed like that’s what was going on. Salesgirl sees a big guy with a big budget and big—” She paused, then gave a small shrug. “Well, sometimes it brings out the worst in women.”
“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “I’ve been flying back and forth between cities all week, so I’m a little jet-lagged and distracted. I guess I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure I was being—uh—”
“Hit on? Ogled? Mentally undressed?”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Not until you pointed it out. Thanks for the rescue.”
“No problem. Pay it forward sometime.”
“Is that real? It’s huge.”
She blinked, then glanced down at the paperweight-sized rock adorning her ring finger. “Nah, I keep it in my purse for when I want to avoid getting hit on at ladies’ night.”
“Does it work?”
“Not with the real jackasses, which probably defeats the purpose, huh?”
He nodded, not sure what to say to that. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“Holly. Holly Colvin. I’m the owner of First Impressions.”
“First Impressions?”
“We’re a public relations and branding firm that specializes in creating and remaking corporate identities.” She fished into her purse to pull out a business card. She held it out to him and Ben started to reach for it, but Holly withdrew her hand.
“Shit. Vampira the Sales Queen is headed back here.”
Before he could say anything, Holly was sliding her hand around to cup his ass. For a few beats, he thought she was copping a feel, and he hoped like hell she kept doing it. Then he realized she was tucking her card into his back pocket. She grinned and tilted her head back to look up at him.
“Gotta commit to the role, right?”
“Right,” he murmured, staring down into those slate-speckled eyes. “We certainly do.”
“I suppose we could throw in a little something extra if you really want her to buy it.”
“Like what?”
Her lips parted slightly, almost like she was braced for a kiss. Or was that his imagination? It seemed hot in here, and he was getting dizzy, and now all he could think about was claiming those perfect lips.
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” she murmured.
Her mouth looked so soft, so inviting, and he could have sworn her lashes fluttered low the way they might if she were waiting for him to make a move. A big move.