No wonder she’d never wanted a permanent relationship with anyone. He mind turned to mush at work.
Griff had stopped again. Quiet now.
“Ah, it’s my turn isn’t it, Boss?”
“Peg, did you call the contractors? We’re all set for next weekend, right?”
She nodded numbly. “Whattda think? Call’s made. Day’s set. We’re good.” Her usually razor-sharp mind took slightly longer to process the request and come up with the answer.
“Good.” He rested his hands on his hips. “Now, first on the agenda is the charity event. The planners are putting the finishing touches on it as we speak. But, I need you here and focused. So, if you got something going on, you need to fix it and fast. Take the afternoon off. I’ll see you here bright and early tomorrow morning.”
He walked away.
She gulped hard. “Dismissed? For the day?” No one had ever done that to her before. But she couldn’t blame him. He’d had to repeat himself several times already. And she’d normally be five steps ahead of him.
“Thanks, Boss,” she called out, racing back upstairs to her office. She’d get her things, lock up her desk, and skedaddle outta here and back to her apartment to check on Austin.
Less than twenty minutes later, she was on the first floor of King’s Department Store again when she realized she’d better tell Rico she couldn’t meet up with him for lunch.
There were a few people standing near the Charmings Wedding Boutique. She spotted Rico and his assistant, Evelyn, with a few other people. “Yoo hoo, gang! How’s the wedding biz today?” The figures on sales and weddings jumped higher than ever now that Kings, more specifically, the owner Charolotte King Royale, designed one-of-a-kind wedding dresses for the store, so they were adding more employees to help out. That must be it. They must be newbies.
“Oh, honey, that color is all you,” Rico called out, referring to her bronze silk blouse and brown skirt. They match the caramel highlights I added to your hair.”
“Geez, Louise, Rico, it’s only ‘cause you picked it out for me…” Her voice trailed off as she came upon the circle of people. “Ma? Pop? What are you doing here? You weren’t due until next week,” she squeaked out.
Her brother’s wide grin and cheeky smile made her groan. “Hey, sis. Doc told Buffy the baby is coming two weeks early, so we decided to come now instead of cancel altogether.” He put his arm around his beaming wife. “So here we are.”
But it was the man slightly behind her brother who caught her attention and held it. He was wearing a brand new black baseball cap, low over his eyes, but still she knew him, would know him anywhere. She gulped hard.
Rico grabbed her elbow and tugged her closer. “You know Evelyn’s brother, don’t you?” His tone was too sweet.
Evelyn grinned, reached back and pulled her brother to her side. “This is my big brother, Austin.”
“We’ve met,” Austin said.
“Brother?” What was this going to do to her plan?
“Half,” both brother and sister inserted, but smiled, clearly fond of each other.
“Holy crap, Batman and Robin,” Peg whispered, but it carried. Austin chuckled.
Peg’s brother, Chip, turned to look at him. “You look familiar.”
His wife clutched his arm. “Oh my God. It’s Austin Rhoades! He’s the founder and lead singer for the Rhoadies!” she nearly shrieked and gushed as she stared at Austin.
Looking from her sister-in-law to Austin and his slight nod of agreement, Peg felt the blood drain from her face. What in the flying fig had she gotten herself into? She’d never pull this off now!
Back to square one with the date thingy. Damn, if only they hadn’t figured it out about Rico; she could have tried to pass him off as her one and only.
Not gonna happen.
Chapter 5
Austin watched Peg, her slack jaw, pale face, and wide questioning eyes. His heart tugged. The jig was up before it had even started. How in the world did he think he could pull this off? How could he have thought he could hide in plain sight?
His plans on being incognito while in Dallas dissolved right before his very eyes.
The end of the charade.
He could see the disappointment in Peg’s face, the various emotions coming and going. There, he saw the flash of betrayal. That hit, hard and swift.
Somehow she conveyed her feelings, silently letting him off the hook.
So he shouldn’t be feeling guilty about a damn thing, right? Wrong!
Could he leave her hanging like that? She’d let him sleep over, gave him a key to her place, and had gone along with his wishes thus far. He’d done nothing for her at all.