Wife for a Week Read online

  “I realize you’ve never spent the night with a man before.”

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Books by Carla Cassidy

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  “I realize you’ve never spent the night with a man before.”

  Hank saw the flush coloring Angela’s cheeks. “And what makes you think I haven’t had a lover...or a dozen lovers? You think no man would find me desirable?”

  “No, that’s not it at all,” Hank interjected, surprised at her instantaneous fury. “It has nothing to do with the way you look. I...there’s an innocence about you. I just thought probably you were rather inexperienced.”

  “It’s smarter to ask than to assume,” she said stiffly.

  He hesitated a moment, knowing he shouldn’t, but unable to stop himself. “So, how many lovers have you had?”

  “That, Hank Riverton, is none of your business. And now I believe I’ll go to bed.” Without turning back, she left the patio.

  Hank stared after Angela. He had a feeling there was a lot more to his secretary than met the eye....

  Look for Carla Cassidy’s next Silhouette Romance

  novel in January 2000.

  The Princess’s White Knight (#1415)

  is part of Silhouette’s exciting new cross-line

  continuity ROYALLY WED.

  Dear Reader,

  Silhouette Romance blends classic themes and the challenges of romance in today’s world into a reassuring, fulfilling novel. And this month’s offerings undeniably deliver on that promise!

  In Baby, You’re Mine, part of BUNDLES OF JOY, RITA Award-winning author Lindsay Longford tells of a pregnant. penniless widow who finds sanctuary with a sought-after bachelor who’d never thought himself the marrying kind...until now. Duty and passion collide in Sally Carleen’s The Prince’s Heir, when the prince dispatched to claim his nephew falls for the heir’s beautiful adoptive mother. When a single mom desperate to keep her daughter weds an ornery rancher intent on saving his spread, she discovers that McKenna’s Bartered Bride is what she wants to be...forever. Don’t miss this next delightful installment of Sandra Steffen’s BACHELOR GULCH series.

  Donna Clayton delivers an emotional story about the bond of sisterhood...and how a career-driven woman learns a valuable lesson about love from the man who’s Her Dream Come True. Carla Cassidy’s MUSTANG, MONTANA, Intimate Moments series crosses into Romance with a classic boss/secretary story that starts with the proposition Wife for a Week, but ends...well, you’ll have to read it to find out! And in Pamela Ingrahm’s debut Romance novel, a millionaire CEO realizes that his temporary assistant—and her adorable toddler—have him yearning to leave his Bachelor Boss days behind.

  Enjoy this month’s titles—and keep coming back to Romance, a series guaranteed to touch every woman’s heart.

  Mary-Theresa Hussey

  Senior Editor

  * * *

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  * * *

  WIFE FOR A WEEK

  Carla Cassidy

  Published by Silhouette Books

  America’s Publisher of Contemporary Romance

  To Angela Ulrich, the “daughter”

  who likes to borrow my clothes!

  Stay true and strong,

  because I love you.

  Books by Carla Cassidy

  Silhouette Romance

  Patchwork Family #818

  Whatever Alex Wants... #856

  Fire and Spice #884

  Homespun Hearts #905

  Golden Girl #924

  Something New #942

  Pixic Dust #958

  The Littlest Matchmaker #978

  The Marriage Scheme #996

  Anything for Danny #1048

  *Deputy Daddy #1141

  *Mom in the Making #1147

  *An Impromptu Proposal #1152

  *Daddy on the Run #1158

  Pregnant with His Child... #1259

  Will You Give My Mommy a Baby? #1315

  ‡Wife for a Week #1400

  Silhouette Shadows

  Swamp Secrets #4

  Heart of the Beast #11

  Silent Screams #25

  Mystery Child #61

  *The Baker Brood

  ‡Mustang, Montana

  †Sisters

  Silhouette Intimate Moments

  One of the Good Guys #531

  Try To Remember #560

  Fugitive Father #604

  Behind Closed Doors #778

  †Reluctant Wife #850

  †Reluctant Dad #856

  ‡Her Counterfeit Husband #885

  ‡Code Name: Cowboy #902

  ‡Rodeo Dad #934

  Silhouette Desire

  A Fleeting Moment #784

  Under the Boardwalk #882

  Silhouette Books

  Shadows 1993

  “Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”

  The Loop

  Getting It Right: Jessica

  Yours Truly

  Pop Goes the Question

  CARLA CASSIDY

  is an award-winning author who has written thirty-five books for Silhouette. In 1995 she won Best Silhouette Romance of 1995 from Romantic Times Magazine for her Silhouette Romance novel Anything for Danny. In 1998 she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from Romantic Times Magazine.

  Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

  Chapter One

  “I need a wife.”

  Angela Samuels stared at her boss, wondering if perhaps she’d misunderstood his words. Maybe he’d told her to “get a life.” Heaven knows she could use one, but no, that couldn’t have been what he said. Hank Riverton of Riverton Advertising Enterprises had never paid enough attention to her to know whether she had a life or not.

  “I beg your pardon?” she finally said as she tightened her grip on her memo pad and pencil.

  Hank Riverton leaned forward, his dark blue eyes studying her...assessing her. She felt the warmth of a blush stain her cheeks as his gaze traveled the length of her, starting at her head where she knew her long brown curly hair had probably partially escaped the clasp at the nape of her neck, down to the tip of her sensible, but ugly black shoes.

  He nodded, as if satisfied with what he saw. “You’ll do just fine. Of course it will only be a temporary, pretend kind of thing. One week. That’s all I need from you.”

  “Mr. Riverton, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” she exclaimed.

  He frowned, the gesture doing nothing to detract from his attractiveness. “Didn’t we talk about this before? About Brody Robinson and his wife’s marriage encounter retreat?”

  Angela shook her head. Hank sighed and raked a hand through his thick dark hair. “I thought I mentioned something about this yesterday.”

  Again Angela shook her head. “Not to me.” There was no way she would have forgotten a conversation where the topic was her becoming her boss’s temporary wife.

  “You know Brody Robin
son?”

  “Of Brody’s Biscuits,” Angela replied. Robinson was the largest account Hank’s firm handled. Brody was a colorful pseudocowboy who’d made a fortune by packaging his grandmother’s biscuit recipe in a ready-to-heat-and-eat format.

  “He recently bought a ranch out in Mustang, Montana, and my ‘wife’ and I have been invited to go. When I landed the account last year, Brody got the idea that I was married.”

  Angela looked at him in surprise. Hank Riverton was the most unmarried man Angela had ever met. “How on earth did he get that impression?” she asked.

  Hank cast her a slightly sheepish grin. “He just assumed I was married by the way I was talking and I didn’t do anything to correct the assumption.” The smile fell away and he frowned once again. “Hell, Angela, you know Brody. We won the biscuit account with an ad campaign based on family, home and good old-fashioned values. Brody is the most conservative man I know and he assumes I’m a kindred spirit.”

  Angela swallowed a burst of laughter. Hank Riverton, conservative? Hardly! Especially when it came to his personal life and relationships. She had a feeling his bedroom probably had a revolving door installed for convenience’s sake. “What’s this marriage encounter thing?” she asked.

  Hank leaned back in his chair. “Brody’s wife is a psychologist who specializes in saving marriages. She’s developed a week-long program geared to deepening commitment and intimacy between married people.” He said “commitment” and “intimacy” as if they were both four-letter words. “Anyway, Brody thought it would be a terrific gift to give me and my ‘wife’ a week at his ranch in Mustang, where his wife conducts these seminars. So, next Monday afternoon I’ll be in Mustang, and if I’m without a wife, I’m fairly certain there’s a strong possibility that Brody will pull his account.”

  “What about Sheila?” Angela replied, referring to Hank’s latest love of his life.

  He stared at her in disbelief. “Think about it, Angela,” he said dryly. “Does Sheila really come across as wife material?”

  No. The flaming redhead with the dynamite figure she revealed more than covered definitely didn’t give the impression of wifely attributes.

  Rather Angela thought the sexy woman probably made men think of hot nights and steamy, illicit sex. Definitely mistress material rather than the substance of a wife.

  “You, on the other hand, are perfect,” Hank continued. Angela didn’t know whether to feel complimented or insulted. “Look, it’s just a week. It will be like a vacation.” He leaned forward once again, his dark eyes holding a bewitching appeal.

  Angela wondered if it was the same kind of look he gave when he was attempting to bed a woman. It was the first time she’d ever had those sexy eyes completely trained on her, and warmth started at her toes and slowly worked to suffuse her entire body.

  “I just don’t think this is a good idea,” she murmured, gripping her memo pad against her chest. “What if I say something wrong? Jeopardize the account?” she hedged. “The whole idea is crazy.”

  “You’re right,” he agreed easily. “The whole idea is crazy, but I’ve got to do it and I need you in order to pull it off. One week,” he hesitated, then added, “and I’ll give yon a bonus of a thousand dollars.”

  Angela widened her eyes at the incentive. What she couldn’t do with a thousand dollars. Her mother needed a new air-conditioning unit and her brother, Brian, always needed extra money for school. And if she intended to hunt for a new job, the money would afford her a little time to decide exactly what she wanted to do.

  “Fifteen hundred,” Hank said. “For a week that will be more vacation than work.”

  “Okay,” Angela reluctantly agreed, knowing it was probably a mistake, but unable to turn down a windfall that would ease her family’s financial situation at least for a little while.

  “Terrific!” Hank stood, a smile of relief curving his lips. “Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off, go home and write up a sort of dossier on yourself. Bring it to work in the morning and that will give me all weekend to study it I’ll write up the same for you. By Monday we need to know enough about each other so we can give the impression that we’ve been married for some time.”

  Angela knew she was dismissed when he sat down and opened a manila folder. She left his office and walked out to the reception area where her own desk awaited her.

  Although she had been working for Hank Riverton for the past two years, she wasn’t sure she intended to keep the job much longer. When he had first interviewed her for the job, he’d explained to her that her position would include the duties of a personal assistant as well as that of secretary.

  Angela had been thrilled to get the job in the oneman office and at first hadn’t minded running his personal errands, buying his aunt and his father their birthday presents and picking up his dry cleaning. She hoped that eventually she’d work up to her dream of copywriting, of actually being a part of the creative process involved in advertising.

  In the initial interview Hank had mentioned the possibility of advancement and knowing the Riverton Advertising Agency’s reputation in the business, she was thrilled with the opportunity to learn from him.

  So far she’d learned he liked his shirts starched heavy and his sandwiches without mayo. She’d discovered his average dating time for any one woman was about three weeks and he always sent flowers when he dumped them. Although she felt she’d learned much in the past two years, she’d had no way of putting her knowledge to use. She felt stymied and wasted and wanted more from her job.

  She quickly cleared off the top of her desk, but paused at the large picture of her boss that graced the wall opposite her.

  Hank Riverton. At the age of thirty-three he was already highly successful in the advertising business despite his relative youth and the fact the he worked neither on the east coast or the west, but instead out of Great Falls, Montana.

  He was a hunk, no question about it. His dark hair was thick and wavy, his eyes midnight-blue. His chiseled features not only radiated attractiveness, but intelligence as well.

  For the first couple of months she’d worked for him, Angela had entertained a massive crush on him. She’d been tongue-tied in his presence, her heart had quickened when he was near and she’d suffered erotic dreams about him nearly every night.

  The crush had waned, leaving behind an admiration for his business sense, but the knowledge that he was certainly not the kind of man she’d want to fall in love with. She admired his business acumen, but wasn’t even sure she liked him very much.

  With a deep sigh, she grabbed her purse and left the office. As she drove home, the reality of what she’d just agreed to set in.

  Wife for a week. Hank Riverton’s wife for a week. Rolling down the window, she breathed deeply of the warm, late summer air and fought the impulse to turn the car around and tell Mr. Riverton that she wouldn’t be a party to the lie he intended to perpetrate.

  What’s more, she wanted to tell him that she was tired of being a gofer for a man who rarely acknowledged her existence as a real, living, breathing person.

  The idea of pretending to be his wife for a week was total lunacy. The idea of collecting fifteen hundred dollars for the moment of insanity was frighteningly comforting.

  It isn’t fair to perpetuate a lie, take money for doing it, then quit the job, a little voice whispered in her head. Do the week, take the money, then run, a louder voice exclaimed.

  Angela decided to listen to the big-mouth. After all, the lie was relatively harmless and the money had been offered as a bonus.

  After the week was up if she decided to quit the job, she’d give Hank Riverton the required two weeks’ notice. She owed him nothing beyond that.

  As she turned into the driveway of her mother’s small house, she wondered how to explain the trip to her mom. A business trip, that’s all she had to say.

  She didn’t have to mention the little part about pretending to be Hank’s wife. She knew her mother
wouldn’t approve of such a deception. Besides, Angela was twenty-eight years old...old enough to have a few secrets from her mother.

  As she got out of the car, her mind quickly jumped to the next problem at hand. What did one pack for a week of “pretend wife” at a Montana ranch?

  “Yes, Brody. We’re really looking forward to it,” Hank said into the receiver. “We’re driving in and planning on arriving around noon tomorrow.”

  “Great, great!” Brody Robinson’s deep voice boomed across the line. “You’ll love Mustang and I guarantee you and the Mrs. will come away from here feeling like newlyweds.”

  “Angela and I can’t wait,” Hank replied.

  “Angela?” Brody paused a moment. “I thought your wife’s name was Marie.”

  Hank felt the blood leave his head. Of course, at the time he’d landed the Robinson account he’d been dating Marie. “Angela Marie,” he improvised. “I call her by both names.”

  “Must get damn confusing,” Brody replied. “Oh well, I don’t care what you call her as long as you bring her along. We’ve invited two other couples to join you. Should be a great week.”

  After a bit more small talk, the two men said goodbye. Hank leaned back on the sofa and drew a deep breath. He hated the deception he was about to pull, but he’d talked himself in a corner and didn’t know any other way to get out.

  He picked up the dossier Angela had given him on Friday. He hadn’t had time to look at it until this moment, which gave him less than twenty-four hours to learn what he could about her.

  Funny, she’d been working for him for almost two years and he didn’t know anything about her personal life. Of course, he’d had no reason to care until now. She was highly efficient, nearly invisible as she accomplished all the tasks that made his business and personal life run smoothly.