Free The Sweetheart Hoax by Christy Hayes Page B

of her seat and lifted the lid off the stew steaming on the stove. “The guest room, of course.”
    He looked at Margot. Her eyes bulged and she fumbled the glass of tea in her grasp. He’d never expected to sleep with her under his parents’ roof. He’d made it perfectly clear the sleeping arrangements wouldn’t be an issue as his parents would never in a million years let one of their sons sleep with a woman in the same room in their house. He knew it had been a long time since he’d been home, but it sure hadn’t been a million years. Margot kicked him under the table.
    “Ouch.” He leaned down to rub his aching shin. “Mom,” he said and stood up to talk to her face-to-face. He couldn’t stand Margot’s accusing stare. “That’s not necessary. I know how you and dad feel about unmarried couples sleeping together under your roof. Neither of us would want to make you uncomfortable.”
    “Sweetheart,” she tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot and reached out to squeeze his arm. “You’re thirty-one years old. Seeing as how you’ve never brought a woman home, your dad and I aren’t going to make you two pretend you’re not sleeping together. We’re fine with it.”
    “You’re fine with it,” he repeated. Who was this woman and what had she done with his mother? “That’s very considerate of you and dad, but I won’t put you or Margot in that position. I’ll sleep in the den. It certainly won’t be the first time.”
    His mother turned around and, after giving Margot a forced smile, the same smile he’d seen her give to Mrs. Collinsworth after she’d given his mom a backhanded compliment after her second place finish in Cash’s annual chili cook-off, said, “Nonsense. You’ll sleep in the guest room with your girlfriend and that’s final.”
    Phil looked at Margot. Her eyes had turned dark with annoyance and her mouth twitched. She looked ready to take a swing at him if he dared step closer. He took a chance when he saw her open her mouth to speak. He yanked her chair back from the table and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll just show Margot to her room and let her change for the game.” He ignored the sting of her nails biting into his hand. “Kickoff still at seven?”
    “Seven sharp,” his mother said. “Give me fifteen minutes to get dinner on the table.”
    “Great.” He dragged her from the room and up the stairs. Dinner with his family, a high school football game, and sleeping with his ex-receptionist and pretend girlfriend in his boyhood home. What could be better?
    ***
    Margot was momentarily distracted from her red-hot anger by the sights passing by her. Fireplaces set with wooden logs waiting for a match and an evening at home. Fluttering curtains, worn rugs, rocking chairs, family photographs framed along the creaking staircase. Phil’s house screamed HOME as much as the needlepoint pillow she’d noticed on the chair in the foyer announcing they were Home Sweet Home.
    He practically shoved her into an upstairs bedroom and leaned against the closed door, staring at her with one brow raised. “I know this isn’t what you agreed to,” he said with his palms in the air. “I’m not real thrilled about it either.”
    Of course he wasn’t thrilled. She felt sure the last thing he wanted was to sleep in the same bed with her. Other than panic and an upset stomach that could very well be due to the ultra-sweet tea, she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about the turn of events. Phil’s mother, Margot could tell, was up to something.
    “Your mom planned this, Phil. She’s a part of the plan.”
    “What plan?” he asked. “My mother would never allow us to sleep together under normal circumstances.”
    “What’s so abnormal?” Margot asked. “You told her you were bringing someone to stay for the weekend. If she really had a problem with us sleeping together, she would have made arrangements to have a bed brought in.”
    “ Hummm . You may be right.” He