Wife Wanted. Christine Rimmer
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led him back downstairs, through the study and the big master bedroom, with its private bath. There was also a spacious kitchen, a pantry and laundry room with a half bath. Between the parlor and the kitchen was a formal dining room. And branching off from the kitchen was a breakfast area and a big, open family room, which Natalie referred to as the great room.
Once Rick had seen it all, they settled at the breakfast table to talk things over. Natalie said she’d hoped to find a renter who would take the house “as is,” with all her furniture.
“That would be fine with me. But if we do this, I’d like to use the study for Toby’s bedroom. Sometimes he has nightmares, and I want to be close by.”
“I understand. I wouldn’t mind at all if you brought down one of the beds from upstairs.”
“Great.”
She was grinning. “I think this just might work out.” She braced her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her hand.
It hit him then. He remembered a spread he’d seen in some glossy magazine. A gorgeous redhead sitting at a table with her chin in her hand and an impudent grin on her lips. Her eyes had captured him as he thumbed the magazine: big and brown and soft. Just like the eyes of the woman across from him now.
The caption under the picture had read Fortune’s Face: Your face. Then, now and always…
He couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You said your grandmother was named Kate? Kate Fortune?”
She sighed. “The truth comes out.”
“The Kate Fortune? Of Fortune Cosmetics?”
“Yes.”
“You know, you look a little like—”
“Allison Fortune.” She said the name of the world-famous model and spokesperson for Fortune Cosmetics with resignation. “She’s my sister. Actually, she’s married now. Her last name’s Stone. Allie Stone.”
She didn’t look very eager to say more, and Rick wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He remembered reading how her grandmother, an expert pilot, had died tragically over a year ago. The plane Kate Fortune was flying had crashed in the jungles of the Amazon. The body, from what Rick recalled, had been burned beyond recognition.
“If you decided to take the house,” Natalie said, a little stiffly, bringing them back to the topic at hand, “the groundskeepers from my family’s estate, across the lake, will look after the property, so you won’t have any worries there. And a woman will come in once a week to clean the place.”
“Fine.”
She looked down at her hands, which she’d folded on top of the table.
“What?” he asked.
She met his eyes again, and her white teeth worried her bottom lip.
“You look as if there’s something you don’t quite know how to say.”
She chuckled. “You’re right.”
“Just say it.”
“All right. There’s one condition, if you did decide to take the house.”
“I’m listening.”
“You’d have to take care of Bernie while you’re here.”
He really hadn’t been prepared for that one. “You want me to watch your dog for you?”
Her face was flushed again. “I know, it’s crazy. But Bernie comes with the house.”
“But why?”
She glanced away, then back. “This is Bernie’s home.”
He knew there had to be more to it than that, but she was obviously reluctant to tell him what. Rick considered her request, remembering the sight of his son standing in the doorway, with his hand on the dog’s neck. And there were ten acres of property around the house; enough even for a dog that large.
While he thought it over, Natalie provided more detail about her plans. “I’m renting the house because I want to take a long vacation. I’m going on a cruise of the Mediterranean. I’ll be leaving July twenty-eighth, to return at the very end of August so I can get ready before school starts. But if the time frame’s wrong for you, I can stay across the lake, at the family estate I mentioned, either before or after I leave for my trip. My parents have split up and my father’s living alone at the estate now. He’d be glad to have me.” Her big eyes clouded a little, making him wonder whether there was some problem with her father.
The Fortunes were a very important family. And since Kate Fortune’s death, it seemed to Rick, there’d been a lot of news in the papers about them. A missing heir had turned up, and Fortune Industries stock was down. In fact, Jacob Fortune, CEO of the Fortune companies, had made the front page of the Star Tribune only this morning. The article had not been flattering. Could that particular Fortune be Natalie’s father? If so, it was no wonder she was worried about him.
Rick studied the woman across from him, thinking how uneasy he’d been about this whole “vacation” idea. He was a professional man, after all. He’d started out with nothing, and the whole focus of his life had been making something of himself. He’d never had much time for kids—and he didn’t understand what made them tick. The painful truth was, he’d been scared to death that he would blow this experiment royally.
But fifteen minutes ago, he’d seen firsthand that his little boy could be reached. Natalie Fortune had reached him—just by smiling and saying hello.
Now, she was watching Rick anxiously, no doubt worried by his extended silence. “Mr. Dalton?”
“Call me Rick. What?”
“Is there some problem?”
“No. No problem at all. This sounds just right for us. And I’d be glad to look after the dog. I need a couple of weeks to arrange a leave of absence from my job and tie up my affairs in the Cities. So I’d like to move in on July twelfth, and stay until August thirty-first. And don’t move across the lake unless you want to. It’s a big house, and you’re welcome to stay right here until you leave on your trip.”
The smile she gave him then took his breath away. “Whew. Relief. That’s what I’m feeling now. Capital R. I thought for a moment there that you were going to say this wasn’t what you were looking for.”
“No, this is exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Good. Because you and Toby are perfect. Bernie will be so happy you’re the ones.”
“Bernie will be happy?”
She rolled her eyes. “I really wasn’t going to go into it.”
“Into what?”
“You’ll think it’s odd.”
“Tell me.”
She shrugged her spangled shoulders. “All right. It’s like this. Bernie was my grandma Kate’s dog. When she left me the house in her will, she stipulated that Bernie always had to have a home here. Also, until I get married, the house always has to be occupied.”
Rick understood then why she’d seemed so uncomfortable when she requested that he look after the dog. He couldn’t help asking, “What does your getting married have to do with anything?”
Around her neck she wore a thin gold chain with a single charm, a golden rosebud, hanging from it. Her fingers closed around the charm. “If my grandmother were still alive, you can be certain that I’d ask her.”
Rick shook his head, marveling at the eccentricities of the very rich.
“So. Do we have a deal?” she asked.
“You haven’t named a price.”
She did.
“That