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they’d leave me alone to work.”
    â€œYes.”
    It seemed so ridiculous now, and feeling a little embarrassed himself, he offered her a small, tight smile. “I told you also that they have a habit of matchmaking. If they thought I was taken, they’d have to stop. And then I could finish my project.”
    â€œYes, I understand.”
    â€œYou do?”
    She smiled tentatively, which gave him pause. It was one thing to recruit a woman to lie for him, quite another to tease one. He dated only occasionally, and he consistently chose women who were looking for no more, no less than what he was willing to give.
    Somehow, he couldn’t picture this little waif of a housecleaner being interested in a quickie affair with him. She seemed more like the kind of woman who played for keeps.
    And while he wanted everyone off his back, he absolutely did not want to be playing games with someone he could inadvertently hurt. Had inadvertently hurt. There could be no attraction between them, none at all.
    â€œSo you do still need a fictional fiancée?”
    â€œYes,” he said.
    She nodded slowly. “But no wedding date.”
    â€œGod, no.”
    â€œI see.” A light eyebrow raised. “You wouldn’t want to get stuck with the hassles of a real relationship.”
    Not ever again, he thought with a shudder. “It’s not necessary in this case. But…” he sighed, “I just found out my mother is coming in two days to meet my fiancée. She’ll want to stay at my house and get to know the woman.”
    â€œOh. So now you need a live-in fictional fiancée.”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œWell.” Lani flashed him a hundred-watt smile, which quite frankly dazzled him blind and left him decidedly unsettled.
    This was a business arrangement, he reminded himself. No reason for her smile to alter his pulse. Hormones had no place here.
    â€œI understand now,” she said.
    â€œWill you do it?”
    She looked at him, surprised, then reached out and squeezed his hands. “You can wipe that frown off your face, Colin. I don’t go back on my word.”
    The easy forgiveness startled him. So did the physical contact. Not only because she was surprisingly warm, but because he wasn’t used to being touched for absolutely no reason at all.
    He came from a family of firm non-touchers.
    His father had never touched him, unless of course he had been tearing the hide off Colin for taking apart an appliance or blowing up the garage with his biology experiments. His mother wasn’t a toucher, either, she had been too busy running everyone’s life or traveling.
    As a result, Colin himself rarely touched anyone, certainly not for no reason at all. Which didn’t explain why he’d done exactly that earlier when Lani had first arrived at his house.
    Suddenly Lani danced away, frowning and shifting uncomfortably, plucking at her clothes. The air hissed out between her teeth and she looked pained.
    â€œI’ve really got to get out of this shirt.”
    Before he could blink, she unhooked the two shoulder straps of her overalls and shoved the bib to her waist. She was still amply covered in that shapeless, huge T-shirt. Colin didn’t blink. After all, he knew exactly how that cleaner felt against skin. It hurt like hell.
    No problem that she appeared to be stripping down in front of him, in a kitchen so small he couldn’t breathe without nearly touching her. He wasn’t attracted to her, not in the least.
    Besides they were going to be living together. He could handle this.
    â€œDarn it,” she murmured, still wiggling and rubbing her chest, bumping into him with every littleshimmy. “Darn it all.” And with that, she ripped the T-shirt over her head, revealing a tight, cropped tank top. She closed her eyes with a dreamy sigh. “Yeah, that’s better. Whew! That stuff burns after a while.”
    Colin opened his mouth to