What A Westmoreland Wants / Stand-In Bride's Seduction. Yvonne Lindsay
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to lean against the doorframe to keep from falling. His Gemma wasn’t wearing jeans and a top today. Instead, she was dressed in a tan-colored skirt that flowed to her ankles, a pair of chocolate-suede, medium-heeled shoes and a printed blouse. Seeing her did something to every muscle, every cell and every pore of his body. And his gut twisted in a knot. She looked absolutely stunning. Even her hair was different. Rather than wearing it in a ponytail she had styled it to hang down to her shoulders.
He’d only seen her a few other times dressed like this, and that had been when they’d run into each other at church. He entered the room and closed the door behind him, feeling a gigantic tug in his chest as he watched her move around the room. He became enmeshed in her movements and how graceful and fluid they were.
“Did you get a good night’s sleep, Callum?”
He blinked when he noticed that she stood staring at him, smiling. Was he imagining things or did he see amusement curving her lips? “I’m sorry, what did you ask?”
“I wanted to know if you got a good night’s sleep. I’m sure it felt good being back home.”
He thought about what she said and although he could agree that it was good being back home, it felt even better having her here with him. He’d thought about this a number of times, dreamed that he would share his homeland with her. He had six weeks and he intended to make every second, minute and hour count.
Apparently, she was waiting for his response. “Sleep didn’t come easy. I guess I’m suffering from jet lag. And, yes, I’m glad to be home,” he said, checking his watch. “Ready to go down for breakfast?”
“Yes, I’m starving.”
“I can imagine. You didn’t eat a whole lot on the plane.”
She chuckled. “Only because I wasn’t sure I could keep it down. There was a lot of turbulence.”
And he’d known how much that bothered her. He was glad when she’d finally been able to sleep through it. He had watched her most of the time while she’d done so.
“I’m ready now, Callum.”
He was tempted to reach out and take her hand in his, but he knew that doing such a thing would not be a smart move right now. He needed her to get to know him, not as her brother’s best friend, but as the man who would always be a part of her life.
“Hey, don’t look at my plate like that. I told you I was hungry,” Gemma said, laughing. Her stack of pancakes was just as high as Callum’s. He had told her this particular hotel, located in downtown Sydney, was known to serve the best pancakes. They not only served the residents of the hotel but locals who dropped in on their way to work. From where Gemma sat, she could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance. It was a beautiful sight.
“Trust me, I understand. I remember my mom bringing me here as a kid when I did something good in school,” he said while pouring syrup onto his pancakes.
“Wow, you mean this hotel is that old?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
He glanced over at her as amusement flickered in his gaze. “Old? Just what are you trying to say, Gemma?”
“Umm, nothing. Sorry. I have to remember that you’re my client and I have to watch what I say. The last thing I want to do is offend you.”
“And be careful that you don’t,” he warned, chuckling. “Or all that information you provided yesterday on colors and designs would have been for naught. How you can keep that stuff straight in your head is beyond me.”
He paused a moment. “And I talked to Ramsey last night. Everything is fine back in Denver and I assured him all was well here.”
Gemma smiled as she took a sip of her coffee. “Did you tell him we were on the flight from hell getting here?”
“Not quite in those words, but I think he got the idea. He asked me if you fainted when the plane hit the first pocket of turbulence.”
She made a face. “Funny. Did he mention how Chloe is doing? “
“Yes, she’s fine, just can’t wait for November to roll around.” He smiled. “She has two more months to go.”
“I started to call them last night when we got in, but after I took a shower and went to bed that did it for me. I hadn’t thought I’d be able to sleep so soundly, but I did.”
During the rest of their meal, Gemma explained to him how they managed to pull off a surprise baby shower for Chloe last month right under her sister-in-law’s nose, and how, although Ramsey and Chloe didn’t want to know the sex of the baby before it was born, Megan, Bailey and she were hoping for a girl, while Zane, Derringer and the twins were anticipating a boy.
Sipping coffee and sharing breakfast with Callum seemed so natural. She hadn’t ever shared breakfast with him before … at least not when it had been just the two of them. Occasionally, they would arrive at Ramsey’s place for breakfast at about the same time, but there had always been other family members around. She found him fun to talk to and felt good knowing he had noticed her outfit and even complimented her on how she looked. She had caught him staring at her a few times, which meant he couldn’t ignore her so easily after all.
They had finished breakfast and were heading back toward the elevators when suddenly someone called out.
“Callum, it’s you! I can’t believe you’re home!”
Both Callum and Gemma glanced around at the same time a woman threw herself at him and proceeded to wrap her arms around his waist while placing a generous smack on his lips.
“Meredith! It’s good to see you,” Callum said, trying to pry himself from the woman’s grip. Once that was accomplished, he smiled pleasantly at the dark-haired female who was smiling up at him like an adoring fan. “What are you doing in town so early?”
The woman laughed. “I’m meeting some friends for breakfast.” It was then that she turned and regarded Gemma. “Oh, hello.”
The first thought that came into Gemma’s mind was that the woman was simply beautiful. The second was that if it was the woman’s intent to pretend she was just noticing Gemma’s presence, then she had failed miserably, since there was no way she could have missed her, when she’d nearly knocked her down getting to Callum.
“Meredith, I’d love you to meet a good friend of mine,” he said, reaching out, catching Gemma’s hand and pulling her closer to his side. “Gemma Westmoreland. Gemma, this is Meredith Kenton. Meredith’s father and mine are old school chums.”
Gemma presented her hand to the woman when it became obvious the woman was not going to extend hers. “Meredith.”
Meredith hesitated a second before taking it. “So, you’re from the States, Gemma?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
She then turned adoring eyes on Callum again, and Gemma didn’t miss the way the woman’s gaze lit up when Callum smiled at her. “Now that you’re back home, Callum, what about us doing dinner at the Oasis, going sailing and having a picnic on the beach.”
For crying out loud. Will you let the man at least catch his breath, Gemma wanted to scream, refusing to consider that she was feeling a bit jealous. And besides, for all you know, I might be his woman and if I were I wouldn’t let him do any of those things with you. Talk about blatant disrespect.
“I’m going to be tied up this visit,” Callum said, easing Gemma closer to his side. Gemma figured he was trying to paint a picture for Meredith that really wasn’t true—that they were a twosome. Any other time she might have had a problem with a man insinuating such a thing, but in this case she didn’t mind. In fact, she welcomed the opportunity to pull the rug right out from under Miss Disrespect. Meredith was obviously one of those “pushy” women.
“And I’m only back home for