THE BACHELOR'S BED Read online

  "So pretty," came his soft, husky voice, so silky and light it felt like an embrace.

  Startled, Lani blushed. "I … do?"

  "Lemon in your tea, Lani?" Irene whirled back from the refrigerator. She smiled at the sight of Colin clearly doting on Lani.

  "Please," Lani managed, her gaze never leaving Colin's. "Lemon would be great."

  Colin didn't smile. His eyes gave nothing away except for that flash of recognition of what stood between them.

  She wanted to touch him again, assure herself he was really there and for a little while, hers.

  What was happening? This wasn't just a physical yearning, it went much deeper. And suddenly, the truth hit her. She wasn't capable of making up the feelings that he required for this silly pretense, not when the feelings were becoming real.

  As if he could read her disturbing thoughts, Colin's eyes shuttered against her. He leaned back against the counter, his rugged body moving with easy, economical grace.

  Oblivious to the arrow-taut tension between them, Irene was a study in movement, never standing still as she got a tray, some glasses, sliced a lemon and continued to talk without a breath. "I can only imagine how overwhelming this all is to you, Lani. Getting married! My, there's just so much to do, so much to think about. I hope you'll let me and my sisters help you, we just can't wait."

  Colin, still watching Lani, finally let a smile touch his lips. "Did I mention how wildly enthusiastic my mother would be? Let's hope she tells the entire world so everyone will be sure to stop calling and telling me I need a date."

  "Oh, you," Irene shook her head. "Stay out of this. I'm having a talk with my future daughter-in-law."

  Maybe it was the title, or it might have been the sincere, warm, fondness in which Irene spoke, but at his mother's bubbly happiness, Colin's smile slowly faded.

  It was replaced by worry, guilt, regret. And Lani felt every one of those emotions as well.

  "I've so looked forward to this," Irene said, laughing.

  Colin actually winced at that, and, at his obvious misery at having to lie, Lani's heart ached.

  She reached for his hand. At the touch, he jerked in response, but he didn't pull away. She considered that great progress. "It's lovely that you came to visit, Mrs. West—"

  "Oh, but you mustn't sound so formal! Please, call me Irene." She tossed a grin over her shoulder and looked twenty years younger. "Or Mom, if you think you can manage."

  Mom. How many years had she wished for such a woman in her life? To be so freely given one now, when it was all just a hoax, seemed cruel. Sitting there between Colin, the man of her dreams, and his mother, a sweet, kind woman so full of heart, Lani wasn't sure she could pull it off.

  "It's almost too good to believe." Irene was watching them closely. "Are you sure you're going to marry my son?"

  "I—" Startled by the question, Lani looked at Colin. She'd promised. This predicament was her own doing now. But to out-and-out lie… She'd not imagined how it would make her feel. "Yes, I want to marry your son," she said, and to Lani's relief, Irene accepted that.

  "Good." Satisfied, Irene turned back to the counter.

  It was hard to think with the weight of the lie dragging at her. Some of her happiness drained. Colin lifted her chin with a finger, looking deeply into her eyes with gratitude, and for the life of her, she couldn't turn away.

  "Mom," he said quietly, still watching Lani, "I know you just got here, but I really need a moment alone with Lani."

  "Oh! Of course." Irene smiled slyly as she wiped her hands on a towel. "She just got home and you haven't seen her all day. What was I thinking? I understand what young love is like." With a dramatic sigh, her expression turned dreamy. "And I can't tell you how wonderful it is to know that you've found that kind of true passion, son."

  The remorse and sorrow on Colin's face matched that in Lani's heart. How could they continue to do this? How could they lie to this woman?

  "Well at least I know I can stop trying to help you find it," Irene said. "I can't tell you what a relief that is to me."

  "Or me," Colin murmured.

  Irene backed to the door, watching them with such affection that Lani felt like slime. "I'll just run upstairs and tell Bessie and Lola you're here." She grinned again. "My sisters are dying to meet you."

  "Can you hold them off a few minutes?" Colin asked. He gestured to Lani. "I need—"

  "Oh, Colin." Irene sighed wistfully, her hand over her heart. "Just to hear you say it. That you need. It's so beautiful. I've never known you to need anyone at all, not me, not your father, not friends or even a woman. You've always been so self-sufficient."

  And alone, Lani thought. Could she fix that for him? Could she teach him the joys of true love, even when she didn't know them herself?

  Irene turned to Lani. "In just a few short moments, you've given me such pleasure, you'll never know."

  "I'm glad," Lani whispered, guilt tugging at her.

  "Oh, we're going to have the most wonderful time." Irene's eyes lit up. "We'll throw you an engagement party next weekend. Of course, everyone will come."

  Colin looked decidedly not excited. "Wait a minute—"

  "No, don't thank me, darling." She grinned. "I insist." Then she was gone.

  The silence in the kitchen was deafening.

  Colin made no move to break it. Feeling awkward and uncertain, Lani moved around the table. She lifted her pathetic-looking plants and arranged them in the window.

  Silly as it was, the kitchen instantly seemed homier. Happier. She hoped they lived.

  Behind her, Colin still didn't speak.

  The quiet grew until she couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry," she said finally.

  "She's going to get hurt. Dammit." Colin paced the length of the kitchen, eating up the wide open space with his long, restless legs.

  "Well, what did you think would happen?"

  When Colin whipped around to face her, his dismay and shock evident, she shook her head and laughed. "Come on, Colin. You must have thought about what would happen after your project was finished. About how we'd end this. How she'd feel when I go back to my life."

  Back to her life. Just the words brought a melancholy she didn't want to face.

  Colin looked stunned.

  "You didn't," she breathed. "You, Mr. Planner, Mr. Organization. You never thought about the end."

  "I only thought about getting left alone." He looked disgusted with himself. "And having the phone calls stop. Ending the parade of blind dates." He swore softly before looking at her miserably. "This can't go on. I can't do it. Not to her and not to you."

  "I'm okay, Colin."

  "It's not fair."

  He was going to call it all off. And she'd have to go back to being … without him. "You can't tell her now," she said much more casually than she felt. "It's too late. She'll get hurt either way, Colin. You might as well finish your project."

  "I'm so close," he said wistfully. "So close."

  Though she was beginning to understand that there would always be a project for Colin, each more important than the last, she accepted that. "The pretense is set," she said quietly. "You need time for yourself, and now you've got it I'll keep them busy while they're here over the next few weeks. You just work as hard as you can, and get your project done. We'll face what happens afterward later."

  His eyes were like the sea, black and fathomless. "Are you really up for this?"

  He was talking about them. About what they would have to do to pull it off. "I'm ready if you are."

  A rare laugh escaped him. "Oh, I'm ready," he assured her. "But not for my project."

  "No? What then?" Was that her voice, all breathless?

  "The supply of condoms I bought. They're waiting upstairs by my bed."

  "How many is a supply?"

  He laughed again, a wondrous sound. "I got the huge economy box, thinking even that couldn't possibly be enough for the two full weeks."

  Heat spiraled through her