A Family Circle 1 - A Very Convenient Marriage Read Online Free Page B

nodded. "Max set it up. It's a friend of his. A police officer."
    "Have you met the guy?" Liz's tea was forgotten as she leaned forward, her eyes bright with interest.
    "This morning." Nikki shifted uncomfortably, remembering that meeting. "In Max's office."
    "What's he like?"
    What was he like? Sam Walker's image sprang into Nik-ki's mind, far more vivid than she would have liked. Why couldn't Max have found her the kind of guy you forgot as soon as they were out of sight?
    "He's tall," she said slowly.
    "How tall?"
    "I don't know. Six-one, six-two. I didn't have a tape measure with me.''
    "Skinny, fat, somewhere in between?" Liz asked briskly.
    "Somewhere in between." The lackluster description hardly did justice to Sam Walker's broad shoulders and narrow hips, but it was close enough.
    "Is he handsome?"
    "No. Yes. Sort of." Nikki flushed as her friend's eyebrows rose.
    "Nice to hear you sounding so decisive," she commented.
    "If I'd known you were going to be so interested, I'd have taken a snapshot." Nikki winced at the defensive sound of her own voice. She had to get a grip. "He has... dents in his face."
    Liz choked on a mouthful of tea, coughed briefly and then stared at her friend. "Dents? You mean a birth defect or scars of some kind?"
    "No." Nikki waved one hand to dismiss that idea. As far as she could see, Sam Walker was as close to perfect as it was possible for a man to be. If you liked that type, anyway. She'd never really seen the appeal of shaggy dark blond hair, blue eyes, a smile to die for and muscles like a Greek god. No appeal at all. "He's got a cleft chin and creases when he smiles," she said, aware that Liz was still waiting for her to explain what she'd meant by dents.
    "Creases?" Liz frowned, "Dimples? You mean the guy has dimples?"
    "Yes." She didn't want to think of them that way. Dimples sounded... attractive, and she didn't want to find anything about Sam Walker attractive. Not his dimples, not anything.
    "So, is he good-looking or not?" Liz asked, her frustration clear in her voice.
    "What difference does it make? I don't care if he looks the way Danny DeVito did in Batman Returns. All I need is a husband for the next year so I can get my hands on my money."
    "That's true. Still, if you have to spend a year married to some guy, it wouldn't hurt if he was attractive and pleasant to be around. Is he nice?"
    "Nice? I guess." Nice wasn't the word she would have used, but she supposed he hadn't exactly been un-nice. Or, at least, no more un-nice than she herself had been.
    "And the two of you hit it off?" Liz pursued anxiously.
    "Well enough," Nikki temporized. There was no reason to mention that they'd hit it off about as well as oil and water. "Since this is just a business arrangement, we don't have to be bosom pals."
    "True." Liz took a sip of her tea, her expression thoughtful. Michael was scooting his hew toy up and down the wall, making engine noises more suited to a 747 than a three-inch-long dump truck. "It's ridiculous that you should have to go to these lengths to get your inheritance. Your grandfather didn't make your brother get married before he got his money."
    "Grandfather didn't think much of women and their ability to manage money." Nikki got up and refilled the teakettle, more for something to do than out of a desire for more tea. "I gather Grandmother had feathers for brains, and I can't say Mother is much better."
    "There's nothing wrong with your mother's ability to manage money. Every time she starts running out, she marries someone rich. Efficiency itself."
    Nikki snorted with laughter at this blunt summation of her mother's money management techniques. They'd known each other long enough and well enough for Liz to speak her mind without fear of offending.
    "I don't think Grandfather had your appreciation for Marilee's methods." Nikki glanced at her watch. "I'm supposed to be having lunch with her today. She's on her way to Europe tomorrow to look for husband number five. Or