Chasing Charlie: A Romantic Comedy (The Texas Two-Step Series Book 1) (2 page)

He called out, "Wait, please, Charlotte!"

She ignored him, hoping she could lose him once they were in the Sears store. She checked over her shoulder as she passed Major Appliances. Between Sporting Goods and the lighting department, she saw the cowboy again, still hot on her trail. Darn it. He was gaining on her.

Trotting now, she headed for Lingerie—that last bastion for women—a female stronghold. Only the very bravest of men ventured into such territory. She’d lose him there.

She rounded the corner and darted down an aisle lined with undergarments. Now, if only she could locate the dressing room, the man would never find her.

She scanned the row behind her and released a sigh of relief. He must have gotten lost when she led him through the men’s department. She’d deliberately chosen a route near the button-fly jeans.

A flashy red teddy caught her attention. It was nearly the exact shade as her new dress. It hung on a circular rack of assorted other red items, all in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Some garments sported red-dyed ostrich plumes, others had white feathers and a few sparkled with glitter. Charlie grinned, wondering what type of woman bought these things.

Checking to be sure the Rhinestone Cowboy hadn’t found her, she tossed her purse and dress bag over her shoulder, then caressed the soft teddy between her fingers. What would it feel like to wear something so obviously feminine? All her underthings ran on the side of practicality rather than esthetics.

Feeling as though she was on a risk-taking roll, she considered buying it. The image of Joanne’s shocked face flashed into her mind, making her grin. As she pulled the garment from the rack, she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. Heck, Roy Rogers had picked up her trail. There was no time to find the dressing room now.

Without thought, she did what she’d done when she’d been seven years old and hiding from her brothers. She dived into the circular rack of teddies and ducked her head.

She waited for what seemed an eternity. Peeking through a few of the soft garments, she didn’t see him. She took a deep breath, inadvertently sucking in a couple of the feathers.

"Achoo!"

Oh, heavens. Had she given herself away? Seconds passed. Nothing. Good, he must’ve gone or he’d have been on her faster than a wild chicken.

What was wrong with her, anyway? Why should she allow some over-testosteroned hulk to intimidate her? As she stooped to gather up her new dress and the teddy, the rack of undergarments abruptly parted with a chorus of clacks. There, staring down at her, was the cowboy in question, attired in his customary conservative suit and Tony Lama boots.

Her brothers had always told her that the best defense was a good offense. "Oh, this is just what I was looking for." What else could she do but bluff her way out of the situation?

He offered a hand to help her. Ignoring it, she stepped out, realizing her face probably matched the scarlet-hued clothing in her hands. Not only had he followed her all over the mall, but he’d caught her humiliating herself as well.

"I hoped to talk to you," he said.

"I really need to get back to work."

"If you won’t do it," he demanded, "where am I going to find a fiancée?"

"Huh?"

"A fiancée."

One of Dallas’s most eligible bachelors needed a fiancée? A few months back, she’d read a magazine article on bachelors and he had made their Top Ten list. The article had gone on to disclose information about the many women he had dated and why he was such a challenge.

So, his explanation for why he was looking for a wife should be good, or at least entertaining. It was an unusual pickup line, that was for sure. "I can tell you I’m not interested, but talk fast. You can have as long as it takes for me to pay for this. Then I have to go."

She hadn’t intended to buy the teddy, but he’d aroused her curiosity. She wasn’t even sure it was the right size.

"I might need a little longer than that."

"I’m sorry, but it’s all the time I have." She made her way to the center aisle and a bank of cash registers, determined not to give him an inch. In her experience, men always wanted ten miles.

"I’m Davis Murphy." He smiled, showing even white teeth. "Can I have your phone number?"

"Nope." She rolled her eyes. "I have a rule against giving my number to men who accost me in lingerie departments."

A pleading expression flashed across his face. "But I need a fiancée."

"Why?" Charlie’s turn to check out arrived and she handed the teddy to the clerk, who rang up the purchase.

"I need a pretend fiancée, for one night…"

So he wasn’t looking for a wife. Paying the clerk, Charlie took her bag and stepped away from the counter.

"To go with me to a party and meet my mother…"

She looked at her watch.

"And that’s it. Just a short-term engagement."

"I’m sure any number of women would jump at the chance," she said dryly.

Davis sighed. "I won’t pretend there aren’t plenty of women who’d love to help me out of this fix."

She shifted the hanger to her other hand. "Why me?"

"My mother wouldn’t like them. You look like the type of woman who’s smart enough to pull this off. Be my fiancée, that is."

Charlie blew her bangs out of her face. What was it about her that made men think of her as not their types? He hadn’t said that exactly, but it was there in his tone. No reason to feel disappointed. It was what she’d come to expect. She wasn’t his kind of woman. She was his mother’s type.

She shook her head. "I’m sorry."

"One measly night? It’s a party at the country club and we could just dash in and out if you decide you’re having a bad time. The man my mother is in love with has been transferred out of the country. She won’t agree to marry him unless she thinks I’m settled. Then they’ll be off for Tokyo in two weeks, with no one the wiser. I’ll explain later that things didn’t work out. But in the meantime, she’ll be happy."

"When is this get-together?" At least his reasons for the deception appeared to be altruistic.

"Tomorrow night. Valentine’s."

"I’m really sorry. I’ve already got plans." Another boring evening with Philip. Even he didn’t seem too enthusiastic about their relationship. It was as stale as week-old bread, and probably as moldy.

"You don’t know anyone who’s smart and looks like you, do you?"

"There aren’t many women as smart as I am who’d go out with a cowboy." She almost felt sorry for him, as he turned pitiful brown puppy dog eyes at her. Almost. Somehow those eyes reminded her of her brothers’ prize bull. "Good luck!"

Turning, she started toward the parking lot, but John Wayne wasn’t about to let her go. Oh, no. That would be too much to ask. He tagged along beside her.

She stopped. "I’m sure you’ll find someone perfect. So long."

Still, he didn’t go away. Sheesh, what was it going to take to get rid of him?

"Is this man bothering you, ma’am?" Her prayers for deliverance were answered when a mall security guard stepped up to join them.

"
I
t’s
like I have a huge sign on my chest saying:
Not your type
," said Charlie as she poured milk into a glass, and accidently sloshed some on the counter.

"Men can be obtuse," said Joanne. "What did you say?"

Leaning over to grab a paper towel to clean up the mess, Charlie bumped her head on the cupboard. "Ow."

Joanne grabbed a sponge from the sink and wiped up the spill. Taking the carton from Charlie’s hand, she filled the glass. "Go sit down and drink your milk. I have a feeling you’re dangerous in a kitchen right now."

Charlie did as she was bid, taking her seat back on the bar stool on the other side of the kitchen pass-through. She watched Joanne as she went about the process of making dinner. To keep costs down, the two of them took turns cooking. Joanne cooked sophisticated foods, gourmet style, combining unusual ingredients into something delicious.

She was good-hearted about Charlie’s throw-it-together methods. Charlie was an emotion chef, specializing in comfort food, and often baked goodies when she felt down.

And this was one of those times. She felt a good old-fashioned chocolate meringue pie coming on at any time. And her normally placid friend Joanne had been known to knock people out of her way for a slice.

"I told Davis I have a date," Charlie commented between sips of milk. She snickered. "Just before security ran him off."

"But you just canceled your date with Philip."

Charlie shrugged.

"Isn’t Davis the same good-looking guy who made your heart flutter when he first came into the library?"

"That was before I realized he was some Rhinestone Cowboy."

Joanne reached across the bar and took Charlie’s hand. "I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m going to be bluntly honest. You know I care about you, right?"

Charlie nodded as Joanne released her hand and went back to slicing carrots. "I know."

"You’re going after the wrong kind of man. For some reason, you’re hiding, trying to stay safe. And safety can be great, but sometimes we need a little risk." Joanne made a few sword-like motions with her knife. "Men like a chase and a conquest, but you run off any man who comes on to you, who attracts you."

Had she been doing that? Heading them off
before
the pass? There was every likelihood Joanne was right. "What do you advise?"

"Calling Davis and saying you can go out after all."

Charlie couldn’t believe her ears. "You’ve got to be kidding."

"I’m totally serious. The man is good looking, makes a great living and has asked you out. What more do you want?"

"But he’s a
cowboy
, or at least, he wants to be."

"So, the man isn’t perfect. What man is?"

Charlie leapt from her stool, determined to bake that pie. What did she have to lose? The one thing she dreaded most was losing her heart to a cowboy.

"You don’t understand." She detested cowboys. The ones you loved broke your heart; the ones you didn’t you itched to slap.

"I think I understand all too well," replied Joanne. "You’re scared to death. If a guy has the slightest odor of horse about him, you run like crazy. So you took up with a loser like Philip who’d never love you, or you, him. No wonder you’re lonely."

"I’ve worked too hard to escape from a ranch. I won’t…I can’t go back to living on one."

"When did Davis ask you to?" Joanne threw the vegetables she’d chopped into the frying pan, and a delicate aroma filled the air.

She had a point. Charlie had been making a lifetime commitment out of one date, but that didn’t change matters. She
was
beginning to take risks. "I bought that dress, didn’t I? It proves I can be daring when I want to."

Joanne smiled. "You did good, sweetie."

"I’m lonely, but change can start small and it sure doesn’t have to begin by dating a cowboy."

"I know. It’s just that with me getting married, I worry about you darting back into your turtle shell." Joanne sighed. "What if I’m not here to nag you?"

"It’s not like you’re moving to another state, but I promise to keep working on it." She didn’t have much choice. She was lonely and feeling isolated already. With Joanne moving out soon and her brothers three hundred miles away, her support system was eroding to the point of extinction. Something had to give and that something was her. "I hope you’re done in the kitchen soon. It’s time for meringue."

D
avis tilted
his leather chair back from his desk and grinned. Charlotte Nelson was one cute librarian. Why hadn’t he noticed before? When she’d said she already had plans for Valentine’s, he’d seen the hesitation in her eyes. He didn’t believe her for one minute. No one as pretty as she should plan on spending Valentine’s alone—especially when he needed her help. There had to be some way to convince her to meet his mother.

Just then, Lily del Rietz, his new president, barged into his office without even knocking. Davis raised his brow, trying for a formidable look, but it did no good. She didn’t back off, but that was Lily. She never did.

"When are you going to stop moping and sign off on those contracts?" Lily never beat about the bush either.

Davis shrugged. "I’m sure they’re fine."

She ran a hand through her gray hair. "Since they’re the first I’ve drawn up without your assistance, I’d like to be assured they’re more than fine. And normally, you’d be combing through ’em looking to find some nit to pick. So what’s going on?"

Lily was a trooper, fifty years old and married to Murphy Title in a way he’d never be. Davis was glad she’d been around to drive him nuts. Until now.

"Woman trouble."

"Ha. A playboy like you doesn’t have woman trouble. Murphy Title isn’t having financial trouble, that I know. So what is it really?"

"I met a woman and—" Davis felt sheepish. He had an image to maintain, and women just didn’t say no to Davis Murphy, especially not when he turned on the charm.

"Don’t tell me you’re slipping. I see it all over your face. Finally, a woman with the brass to turn you down." She chortled and rubbed her hands together.

Davis glared at her, then sighed. "It’s even worse than that. She’s a librarian, Lily, and somehow, by tonight, I’ve got to convince her to be my fiancée."

She looked at him slowly, carefully. Davis tried his best to appear as if he was a man in love, not sure if Lily would see through his act or not.

"I see," she said. "This is a woman who knows the alphabet and had the audacity to turn you down. The combination must be lethal to a guy who normally dates women named after baby animals, like Bunni or Bambi." Then she smiled. "It’s about time, Davis. What can I do to help?"

"I don’t think you can." He picked up the pen on his desk, and twiddled it in his fingers. "I thought about just showing up at her house tonight and sweeping her off her feet."

"That sounds like a great plan. What’s stopping you?"

"I don’t know her address."

"What’s the name of this goddess of mystery and intrigue?"

Davis laughed. "Her name’s Charlotte Nelson and she’s no goddess. More like an elf."

"This is good. An elf who knows the alphabet and won’t go out with you. After all the women I tried to set you up with, I might have known you’d want a pixie rather than a fairy." She jumped from her chair. "I’ll be right back."

Davis groaned as he watched her dart from the room. His personal life would soon be the talk of the office. Why couldn’t he learn to keep his big mouth shut?

On the other hand, when his mother learned he planned to get married, it wouldn’t hurt if there’d been a fair amount of office gossip. She’d be sure to ask around. If, and that was a big if, he could somehow manage to talk Charlotte into going along with his scheme.

Lily came beaming back into his office with a smile so huge Davis couldn’t help but return it. "You look like a bull who’s gotten in with the cows."

"Here’s Charlie Nelson’s address."

"Charlie? Her name’s Charlotte."

"Well, when I called the head librarian, that’s what she told me the girl goes by." Lily sighed melodramatically. "Ah, young love."

Davis took the slip of paper she offered him and scanned the address. "I don’t know how you got this, but I owe you one, Lily."

"I want to meet her. That’s all I ask."

"I’ll do my best."

"Good. Now if you’ll be so kind as to get your patoot back to work, maybe we can make some headway around here, too."

C
harlie sneezed
. Then she sneezed again. "What am I going to do with all these roses," she wailed at Joanne.

Philip had sent them after she’d called and canceled their date for that night. It didn’t matter how many flowers he sent, though. She wasn’t going out with him anymore. She’d been certain he’d be as relieved as she was about not having to go through with it. And now the aromatic allergens. No matter how pretty they were or how sweet they smelled, she was still allergic to them. "Achoo!"

"Maybe if I put them in my room and close the door?" Joanne offered tentatively.

"Go right ahead. Otherwise, I’m throwing ’em out the window."

Joanne grabbed up the mop bucket filled to overflowing with long-stemmed red pollen, quickly placed it in her room and closed the door. She opened the front door of the apartment and waved it back and forth, clearing the air.

"Thanks. That’s better." Charlie grinned at her friend as she closed the door and came to take a seat by her in the living room.

Charlie grabbed a tissue and blew her nose again.

"So, are you going to rethink going out with him?" asked Joanne.

Charlie shrugged. "What’s the point? We’re never going to fall in love and I keep nodding off when he gets on one of his rants about jolly olde England. Staying home with a good video tape beats that any time."

"But what about that dress you bought? It’s perfect for Valentine’s."

She’d bought the dress for herself, not for Philip. "I’ll wear it for my big date with HBO."

"Yeah, go put it on! I want to see it on you."

Charlie dashed to her bedroom and pulled the dress from her closet. It was gorgeous. She tossed off her baggy T-shirt and jeans, then found the red teddy where she’d hidden it in her drawer. If she was going to do it, she’d do it right.

She stepped into the teddy and drew the red dress over her head, excitement gradually building inside her.

Picking up her hairbrush, she swept her unruly curls into the best French twist she could manage, then pinned it in place. She looked down at her feet, feeling a lot like Cinderella after she’d lost her shoe. Sneakers wouldn’t work, and neither would her penny loafers, nor her two-inch black pumps.

Never mind. Since she wasn’t leaving the apartment, shoes didn’t really matter, although she wished she could complete the image because Joanne was going to be truly surprised.

With the most prissy walk she could manage, she emerged from her bedroom. Joanne looked up and screamed.

"Charlie! I can’t believe it!" Joanne ran closer and looked her up and down. "I had no idea you had all those curves."

Charlie laughed. "I don’t think I do, but this dress sure makes mountains out of molehills, doesn’t it?"

Joanne nodded. "I wish I had molehills like those. Wow." Then she caught sight of Charlie’s bare feet and an impish look entered her eyes. "I’ll be right back."

Joanne made a beeline for her bedroom and came out carrying a shoe box as if it held the crown jewels. She handed the box to Charlie.

Pulling up the lid and pushing past the tissue, Charlie found the deadliest looking stiletto heels she’d ever seen in her life. "Where’d you find these, Madame’s Bordello of Love?"

Joanne flashed an embarrassed grin. "It was one of those buying binges. Once I got them home, I realized I didn’t have anything to go with them. We’re the same size. Try them on!"

They looked lethal, but before Charlie could figure out a way to decline Joanne’s exuberant offering, the doorbell rang. For once, she’d been saved by the bell.

"That must be Mike." Joanne checked the wall clock as she headed for the door. "He’s awfully early. I’m not dressed yet."

"He probably couldn’t last another moment out of your company. It’s been nearly twenty hours since he saw you." Charlie pirouetted, enjoying the feel of the satin against her skin.

"Yeah, right. And once he sees you in that, he may forget all about his poor little fiancée." She pulled open the door.

"Oh, Philip, uh, come in." She stepped back and swung the door wider, sending Charlie a questioning look.

Charlie gulped. What the dickens was Philip doing here, anyway? She’d made it clear she wasn’t going out with him tonight, or any more for that matter.

Philip stalked confidently into the apartment, then caught sight of Charlie and stopped dead in his tracks. For the first time, Charlie saw a man’s eyes boggle.

It must be the dress.

Philip smiled. "The roses must have worked, since you’re dressed and ready."

Joanne sniffed. "She’s allergic to roses."

"Oh. I’d forgotten."

Of course he had. Perhaps that had been the trouble. He’d considered her more of an accessory than an individual.

Joanne began to close the door but stopped on the threshold. "Well hello," she said slowly, her voice dropping an octave. "How can I help
you
?"

"I’m looking for Charlie Nelson," came a man’s voice.

Charlie looked from Philip, to Joanne gaping at the door, to the ceiling, wondering what could possibly happen next. Somehow, the voice seemed familiar. She took a step past the leering Philip, closer to the door.

"Come right in," Joanne told the man at the door.

And Charlie knew exactly what was going to happen next. She was going to expire right on the spot, because it was none other than the Rhinestone Cowboy. How on earth had he found out where she lived? Just as she was about to ask exactly that question, Philip grabbed her arm.

"What’s going on around here? Who is that man?"

Davis overheard Philip’s question. He grinned and took Charlie’s other arm. "I’m her date."