Fiancé at Her Fingertips Read Online Free Page B

like.”
    “He’s very nice-looking. Quite handsome, in fact.”
    “That tells me a lot, Debra. Be specific!”
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Mother. He’s got dark hair and blue eyes. He’s over six feet, three inches tall and wears a forty-four-long suit coat. He likes polos, khakis, and shorts for casual, and prefers boxers to briefs.” Debra bit her tongue. Good Lord . Why had she said that?
    Her parents’ eyes met.
    “And how would you know something like that, Snickers?” her father asked, using the nickname she’d acquired from her candy-loving days as a child.
    Debra executed a noisy swallow. “That was just another little joke, Dad. I feel like I’m getting the third degree here. My, uh, relationship with Logan is in the very preliminary stage. So far he seems to be everything I’ve wanted in a boyfriend, but I’m taking it slow and easy. I don’t want Logan to feel boxed in.”
    She’d almost lost it on that one. But she hadn’t; she’d bit the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing and it had all turned out fine. The next step in Debra’s hunk hoax had involved giving her office mates and her parents an actual peek at the hunk in question.
    The following day she’d placed Lawyer Logan’s five-by-seven in a fancy silver frame and displayed it just so, in a place of prominence in her cubicle. By the end of the day Debra was convinced that workers’ comp claims in her department were about to skyrocket as a result of neck and back injuries from the sharp turnabouts executed when coworkers got a look. Logan’s photo had been picked up so often, the frame was already dulled.
    And her mother? Debra giggled when she recalled her mother’s reaction. Alva Daniels had almost required a defibrillator when Debra flashed one of the wallet-size photos at her folks.
    Debra’s mirth now changed to an uncertain frown as she studied her own image in the work restroom mirror andwondered—not for the first time—if she’d made a big mistake with this latest step in her bogus-beau campaign: the all-important make over. Before, she had always insisted on a simple, low-maintenance, no-frills haircut. This time, however, she’d thrown caution to the wind and requested a whole new, dramatic look.
    What was that saying again— Be careful what you wish for ? Well, she’d certainly gotten her wish—and so had her stylist. After being restricted to performing the same old boring cut year after year, her stylist had accepted the challenge with the undying enthusiasm of a die-hard Cubbies fan at the beginning of the major-league season. The long-suffering Angela started with a body perm and trim, and finished up with dramatic highlights. Debra prayed she hadn’t gone too extreme in the make over department—and that, by some miracle, she’d be able to replicate Angela’s creation if the style was a success.
    She had also ventured into one of those make over places that hawked miracle wrinkle cream and charged an arm and a leg for a tube of lipstick. Under the guise of treating Suzi to a birthday make over, Debra had shamelessly sacrificed her friend as a guinea pig. Only when she was satisfied that Suzi wasn’t transformed into a lady of the evening, postmake over, did Debra summon the courage to put her own face under the magnifying mirror.
    Looking at the stranger in the mirror staring back at her now, Debra still had serious doubts about her new look. It was a startling change from her norm. Why, that very morning Murray, the parking lot attendant, hadn’t even recognized her, and she’d had to haul out her ID and parking permit before he’d open the gate. Even then, he wasn’t convinced she was who she said she was. And in what had to be the first-ever documented case, Tanya Templeton’s mouth had dropped open at the sight of Debra, but no words had followed. Definitely one for the record books.
    By midmorning Debra was convinced she must have looked like a dowdy old frump before. Peter in payroll