At Your Service - A.C. Arthur Page 0,41

every morning. He’d pour that coffee into the old, stained, white carafe with the faded flowers on the front and take it to the back porch with him. There he’d sit from eight to ten, listening to the birds and smelling the fresh morning air—at least that’s how he explained it.

She should be pissed at Daisy for taking him the paper with her picture on it, but then again, at least her sister was doing her part to help take care of him.

“It’s my job,” she said and then wanted to snatch the words back.

“You’re working as some man’s fiancée?”

That sounded awful.

“His family’s company is the one I came here to meet with. They’ve agreed to give me a six-week trial period.” She paused and took a deep breath. “In exchange for this opportunity, I agreed to be the guy’s fake fiancée. It’s to help with a sales campaign they’re running. That’s all, Dad. It’s not real.”

And that somehow didn’t make it sound better. She was sure her father would feel the same way, which was precisely why she hadn’t told him these details.

“Why would you agree to such foolishness? Running around with some man you’re not in love with, trying to fool the world into believing you’re something that you’re not.”

“I need this deal to work, Dad.” It was as simple as she could explain her reason for being there.

“Why? You were doing just fine here starting your business. You can’t always put the cart before the horse, Nina. Growing a business takes time. I don’t know why my girls always want everything with such urgency. Never want to take the time to see how things will turn out, just like...” His words trailed off and Nina tried not to feel the bite of the comparison he’d almost made between her and her mother.

“I’m not doing this just for me. I want you to be able to move into that facility we looked at a few months ago.”

He was quiet for too long and she braced herself for an explosion of temper. Although it didn’t happen frequently, Jacoby could yell and argue just like his daughters.

“If I wanted to go into that facility, I could. I’ve got some money saved up. You don’t need to worry about me. I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted was for all of my girls to be happy.”

And by “all” of his girls, Nina knew he was including her mother. Lynn hadn’t been happy with the man she’d married and the three children she’d given birth to. But that wasn’t their fault. Nina only wished her father would finally come to that conclusion. She also wished that everything her mother had done didn’t affect everything she was doing now. Nina needed to believe that if she wanted a relationship for herself it could flourish. But the demise of her parents’ marriage had a much bigger impact on her than she’d ever believed before she’d met Major.

“Your savings isn’t enough, Dad. There are ongoing expenses and we have the portions of your medical bills that the insurance doesn’t cover. I’m just trying to do what’s necessary for my family. If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them? You taught me that.” Tossing old proverbs back at her father might not be the best idea, but it was all she had. She wasn’t going to let him talk her out of what she’d started.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” he said quietly. “And I definitely don’t want you degrading yourself in any way to help me.”

“I’m not. I promise. Major is a good guy and this is a wonderful opportunity for my business to get the exposure it needs.”

“If he’s such a good guy, why can’t he find himself a real wife?”

Nina didn’t have an answer for that. In fact, hours after the conversation with her father while she lay in the dark bedroom, she let herself think about Major finding his real wife and how she would ultimately feel knowing it wasn’t her.

Maybe if she were a different type of woman, one who hadn’t been showed so early in life the devastation that failed love could bring. Perhaps then she could allow herself the dream of falling in love with a man like Major and him falling in love with her. But that barrier she’d had no choice but to build around her heart just wouldn’t allow her to trust those types of thoughts. It wouldn’t allow