Free Husband Wanted by Charlotte Hughes Page B

her.”
    “There’s your answer.”
    She shook her head sadly. “But she’s my own flesh and blood, and I let strangers raise her.” Her eyes teared. “Surely, there was something I could have done. Should have done,” she added.
    Clay felt his gut clench at the sight of her tears and handed her a napkin. “This is not the time to cry, Frannie,” he said, using the same tone a father might with his child. “You don’t want to greet your daughter with red eyes. Besides, you should be happy that you’re finally seeing Mandy.”
    She reached into her purse for a small mirror. “You’re right,” she said, using the napkin, blotting the corners of her eyes. “If I don’t watch it, I’ll have mascara dripping all over Blair’s dress.”
    He wasn’t listening. He was noting how her tearful green eyes resembled emeralds. He wondered if another man had looked into those eyes and thought the same thing. Perhaps Mandy’s father? He tried to push the thought aside. He realized he had experienced more feelings of jealousy the past few days than he had in his entire life, even during high school where it wouldn’t have seemed so juvenile. What was wrong with him? He knew the answer. He should never have allowed himself to become so drawn to Frannie. She clearly had her future mapped out, and it did not include a relationship. Not with him, not with any man.
    “You have beautiful eyes,” he said at last, unable to resist telling her.
    Frannie tried to mask her surprise, and then covered her unease by checking her wristwatch. She wished he wouldn’t say things like that to her. It only confused matters, and she needed to keep her wits about her. “We should go,” she said, even though there was still time. She started to push her chair from the table. Clay caught her hand, forcing her to pause.
    “You always seem to be running from me, Frannie,” he said. “As though I’m out to hurt you.”
    She met his gaze. She wondered what it would be like to look into those eyes while he made love to her. A hot flush spread throughout her body. “Until a few days ago, you barely noticed I was alive.”
    “My loss,” he said. “But all that could change if you gave me the go-ahead.”
    She leaned closer. “I should not have to remind you that this is all an act, Clay. Once Mandy leaves, the curtain will come down, and we’ll go back to living our separate lives as before.”
    “It doesn’t have to be that way.”
    “For me it does. I can’t afford to get sidetracked.”
    He looked confused. “What makes you think I’d stand in the way of your dreams?”
    “If we got involved, you’d start complaining about how busy I am, and I’d end up cutting back on my classes. That’s the way it is for women. We’re the nurturers of the world, always worried about those we love and putting ourselves last as a result.”
    Clay was surprised by her words, and he wondered if she ever resented all those years caring for her sick mother. His gut told him she had not, but at the same time she had to have been aware that she might never realize her goals. “What if I didn’t ask you to give up your classes?” he asked. “What if I made it possible for you to give up the diner instead?”
    She arched one brow. “What are you suggesting, Clay? That I become your mistress?”
    “Now look whose being suspicious and distrustful,” he said. “I’m merely offering to help you.”
    “Why would you do that?”
    “I’ll admit my reasons are selfish,” he said. “If you can quit the diner you should have some free time on your hands. We could start seeing each other. I could take you to dinner now and then.”
    “Do you realize how grossly you’ve contradicted yourself?” Frannie asked. “From the very minute we began planning this whole charade, you’ve been convinced I was after the Coleman fortune.”
    “I mistakenly thought you and my father were romantically involved.”
    “Oh, I get it,” Frannie said,