Lady Love by Diana Palmer

I’ve caught is a chill.” Merlyn laughed nervously. “I’d better put on something dry.”
    “Yes, dear, we don’t want you getting sick.”
    “I’ll come and help,” Amanda volunteered, and followed Merlyn into the house.
    ***
    Cameron was rapidly becoming an unknown quantity. He watched Merlyn blatantly over the supper table, and it was all she could do to eat.
    “Will Delle and her mother be back any time soon?” Lila asked her son.
    He glanced at her, toying with his wineglass. “Next weekend. I’m giving a party, by the way. We’ll want a caterer and a band.”
    “A party,” Lila repeated enthusiastically. “How lovely.”
    “You’ll come, of course, Miss Forrest,” he added with a dark, intent stare. “We wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”
    “But I’m only a humble employee, sir,” she said, holding on to her sense of humor. He was up to something, but she wasn’t going to give him any openings. “And perfectly content to sit among the cinders.”
    “It will be formal,” he continued, with a pointed glance at the outfit she was wearing. “And something conservative, please,” he added in a long-suffering tone.
    “Like the uniform you wear?” she returned sweetly, noting the suit he’d changed into.
    He frowned. “What?”
    “Gray suit, white shirt, gray tie,” she replied. “It’s always the same shirt, always a tie the same color as the suit—always the same suit in fascinating shades of gray or brown or blue. Don’t you like plaids and stripes and florals, Mr. Thorpe?”
    “I’m not a woman,” he returned.
    She sighed, leaning her chin dreamily on her clasped hands, and stared at him. “No, sir, you sure aren’t,” she murmured huskily.
    His dark eyes narrowed. “You’ll have to wear an evening gown, or at least a cocktail dress,” he continued.
    She shrugged. “In that case,” she replied, “I suppose I’ll have to go shopping. I didn’t come prepared for a ball.”
    “There’s a lovely little shop in the mall,” Lila told her.
    “Yes, I saw it,” Merlyn sighed. “They had some pretty gowns.”
    “You can have an advance on your salary, if you need it,” Cameron said pleasantly.
    She glared at him. “How odd. I had the feeling that you didn’t think I was worth the salary I was already getting.”
    One dark eyebrow lifted. “I wonder what made you say that?” he countered, glancing in Lila’s direction.
    Merlyn could have gone through the floor. No, she couldn’t let Lila take the blame. “I was outside the door, actually,” she lied smoothly.
    “Eavesdropping?” he muttered.
    “Well, I thought you might be about to confess undying love for me,” Merlyn said outrageously. “And I know that you’re basically a shy man.…”
    Lila burst out laughing, and Amanda looked delighted.
    Cameron only stared at her. His dark, graceful fingers seemed to caress the wineglass. “Are you propositioning me, Miss Forrest?” he asked pleasantly.
    The counterattack was unexpected. Merlyn fought to keep from overreacting. “Why, no, sir,” she said fervently. “I’m an old-fashioned girl, you see, and what I had in mind was that you would seek my hand in—do I dare mention it—marriage.”
    He chuckled softly, amusedly. “Touché.”
    Merlyn smiled at him over her coffee. It was becoming a contest between them, to see who could score off the other first. The cold, hard man of her first meeting was slowly but surely coming out of his shell. But at what cost to Merlyn’s shredded nerves!
    “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he told Merlyn suavely, “but you’re not my type.”
    “Too much woman for you, hmm?” She grinned.
    He burst out laughing. “Too little.”
    That rankled, but she wouldn’t let it show. She raised her coffee cup in a mock salute and drained it. “I’ll be kind and let that barb pass me by.”
    “How is the research progressing?” he asked his mother.
    “Very well, indeed. We’ve settled on a pattern for a