Free Fiancé at Her Fingertips by Kathleen Bacus Page B

well-mannered young man who, in case you haven’t noticed, happens to look like one of those hunks straight out of the pages of Playgirl .”
    “ Playgirl ? How do you know what’s on the pages of Playgirl , Mother?” Debra asked, trailing Alva to the kitchen.
    “Word of mouth,” her mom snapped over her shoulder.
    “Mother, this situation has gotten out of hand! You can’t know what a hideous hoax this fellow is pulling. It’s nothing short of, well, fraud. The man is an impostor of epic proportions!”
    “Yes, dear.” Her mother started clearing away the lunch food. “I noticed those epic proportions. I thought perhaps, with the way you’ve been acting, they’d escaped you.”
    Debra put hands to her warm cheeks. “For heaven’s sake,Mother, I’m not talking about the cut of his breeches here. I’m talking about the content of his character!”
    Her mother began to gather the salad bowls. Debra automatically began to help. She picked up the tea glass their surprise luncheon guest had used and stared at it. She found herself thinking about his kiss. His toe-curling, heat-provoking, hair-raising kiss. She set the glass back down with a clunk.
    “So, what happened after I left?” she asked. “Did he try to sell you a time-share in Afghanistan?”
    “Debra. I served my special date cookies. Logan seemed to enjoy them. The men talked golf, of course. They compared their handicaps, what ever that is, and agreed to play around some time this week.”
    “A round, Mother, not ‘around.’” Debra stopped. She couldn’t believe her ears. “Dad’s playing golf with him? With this Logan character? Where? When?”
    “I suppose the club. I haven’t a clue as to when. Why? You’re not thinking of making another scene, are you?”
    “Me, make a scene? I’m the one who’s trying to protect this family!”
    “Protect us? From what?”
    “From your insane luncheon guest, of course!”
    Debra’s mother got the same puzzled look she got when Debra’s father discussed asset allocation. “Why on earth would we need protection from you, Debra?” she asked.
    Debra groaned. “Not me. Logan Alexander! Mother, this is serious. You may have been harboring a criminal.”
    Alva Daniels wagged her finger at Debra. “The crime here is the way you’ve been carrying on. I can’t imagine what’s gotten into you. This can’t all be about Catrina. Apart from friendship, she means nothing to Logan. He assured us their relationship was over long ago. Really, Debra, jealousy doesn’t become you.”
    “Mother.” Debra took hold of her mom’s shoulder and steered her to a chair. “Please. Sit down and hear me out. I want to tell you the truth about how I found Logan.”
    Her mother sighed and perched on the edge of the dining chair. “I suspected you weren’t telling us the truth with that mall story. Imagine. A man like Logan hanging out at the mall in a novelty shop, hoping to be picked up.”
    Debra pulled a chair across from her mother’s and sat down, knee-to-knee, nose-to-nose.
    “Oh, but I did run across Lawyer Logan in a novelty shop at the mall. And I did indeed pick him up. That was all true. You see, I purchased him.”
    Her mother’s mouth flew open. “You purchased him?” She started to rise, but Debra put a hand on her shoulder and pressed her back into her seat.
    “It’s not what you think, Mother. You see, I was in the store looking for a gift for Suzi, and I was somewhat, shall we say, vexed about certain individuals’ preoccupation with my dating habits, and that’s when I saw him—I mean ‘it’— and I said to myself, ‘Yes! This is the answer to my problem.’ Of course, with my luck being what it is, all they had was Lawyer Logan. I could have had a CEO. Or a doctor. A pediatrician, Mother! But, oh, no, I had to settle for Lawyer Logan. Still, at the same time I thought he was well worth the twenty dollars I paid for him. That is, of course, until he showed up here today, complete